#it’s not one of those cliches that you can just drop into a storyline like a seasoning | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lilac-5ky · 2 years

Note

As cliche as it may sound can i get a headcanon or imagine for Takasugi-kun who's strolling in the streets of edo accidentally bumps into the supposed to be dead reader (he saw her died at joui war) and she don't have any memories of him :) how will he react when he saw his lover again?

A/N: I could literally write a book with just this storyline lmfao there is something very appealing about heartbreak ;-; Funnily enough this turned out to be like a belated birthday gift to you since it took me a million years to finish, but hey happy birthday :p

Warning: This is obviously angst. Mentions of blood, depression, alcohol and smoking are included. Oh and, not really a warning but, THIS IS VERY VERY VERY LONG. Longest request I've written.

Takasugi with a presumably dead S/O reappearing in his life

Throughout the history of mankind, it's been evident that humans enjoyed observing the things around them. From studying the nature in the form of bird or flower watching, to spending hours upon hours of watching programs in their little black boxes; everyone had their vice. Takasugi was no different. Perhaps more so than others, one of the things he enjoyed the most was people watching.

There’s so much you can discover about a person just by studying them in their natural environment. How they talk, how they walk, their gestures, their laughter, all those little things reveal a great deal of information. A man who walks with his hands behind his back tends to be secretive, whereas a girl who points her shoes at the one she’s discussing with is most likely interested in them.

Takasugi always took his time noticing and analyzing such patterns. In a line of work where everyone was out to get him, picking up on these subtle cues came to be his shield of protection. After all, his intuition had yet to fail him.

While he did find some enjoyment in this hobby of his, more often than not, the conclusions he came up with disgusted him. Why was it that everyone appeared so carefree and lively when they had to share their land with the Amanto or, even worse, those filthy Bakufu dogs at the top? How could they possibly forget about what was taken from them, what was lost in the war? How could they afford to live so shamelessly, going about their days with smiles on their faces? Sometimes, he felt as if he was the only one who remembered, the only one whose wounds had yet to heal.

After such sessions, all he was left with was utter bitterness, directed at no one and everyone all at once. He detested that the world had somehow managed to move on when he was left all by himself in the past. There was no place for him to stand and breathe freely anymore. A passerby among passersby, that’s all he was. Just like the family of three that walked to his left, just like the old man selling takoyaki to his right, and just like the woman who-

“I’m so sorry!” The woman bowed. Her hands were clasped together, frantically moving up and down as if she meant to atone for the great sin of bumping into him.

“I’m terribly sorry, I really am, I’m just in a great hurry! If I don’t share these by evening, I’ll lose my job.” She went on, dropping to her knees.

An assortment of purple colored fliers had spread all around, some being carried around by the wind while the majority were scattered on the ground surrounding the two.

Looking down at her, an odd sense of familiarity rushed over him. A curtain of ruffled hair was obscuring her features, making it impossible for him to take a proper look at her face, yet he could swear this wasn’t his first time meeting with her.

Though she was the one who bumped into him, Takasugi ended up lowering himself beside her, using the fliers as an excuse to sate his curiosity. He picked the ones that were over to his side, stacking them up in a pile.

“Here.”

“Thank you so much! Once again I’m terribly sorry and, uh, please, feel free to keep one of these for a free drink!” The woman said, handing one of the fliers back to him.

The second her fingers touched his, it was as if time froze around them, or rather, as if time sent him to a bygone era, one that lived in his memories alone.

“Gotcha!” The girl said, waving his stolen headband before his eyes.

In a rapid dash, she moved out of his sight, her chuckle echoing through the endless rows of trees. She was always like that, seemingly doing everything and anything in her power to inconvenience him. His expressions were too funny; that was her reasoning and perhaps she was right. There was no malice in his glares, no real animosity that was meant for her. Though he never admitted it, the little games she put up were quite entertaining for him too.

Even when he finally caught up to her, his arms caging her body in a tight embrace, she never stopped laughing, not even for a second. He couldn’t remember what he was trying to do. Retrieve the headband? Hold her close? Time had hazed his memory in a mist, yet the one thing he was able to remember was her face. The eyes he adored staring into; the lips he adored kissing; the hair he adored caressing; everything that defined her.

Suddenly, she stopped putting up a fight, her limbs dropping on top of his arms as she turned around to face him.

“How do I look?” She asked with a smug smile, showing off the headband that was wrapped around her forehead.

Stunning as always, he thought.

“You look like you’ll never grow up.” He muttered in a stern tone. After all, his thoughts rarely matched his words when she was involved, a fact he came to terribly regret.

This face… could it be her?

He was now standing in the middle of the battlefield, the vile stench of blood and smoke numbing his senses as he moved through the countless corpses and rubble. Nothing but pain and anguish remained in the once lively village. Everything was reduced to ashes thanks to Amanto technology.

Following the explosion, a constant ringing vibrated in his ears, only falling second to the cries of a child and the shrieks of an elderly woman. No one was able to predict such calamity, not his men and certainly not him.

With each step Takasugi took, the lump in his throat increased in size, a foolish hope being the one thing that kept his legs moving forward. He’d barely realized what had just happened, barely aware of what he was searching for until his steps came to a halt. A white headband -one identical to the one he was sporting- was flowing with the wind between the rubble, confirming his worst fears at once.

Before he knew it, he was on his knees, cradling your ashen face between his fingers. Your eyes were semi-closed, blood running from the corners of your mouth. He looked at you, unable to grasp the reality that lied before him, the reality that he was about to lose you.

“Sh-Shinsuke.” A cough cut his name in half. “You came.” A frail attempt at a smile only worsened things for you, blood spewing onto his jacket.

“As I thought, it always looked best on you-” You said, your fingers trailing all the way up to his face before slowly dropping to your side.

“What are you talking about?” He failed to hide his fury. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not to him and certainly not to you.

“Y/N.” He spoke your name in a softer tone, but you didn’t reply.

“Y/N!” He called out again, hoping that his voice had simply gone unregistered amidst the chaos surrounding him.

“Oi, Y/N! Pull yourself together!”

By the third time, he was yelling at you, violently shaking your body to no avail.

Refusing to give up, Takasugi took your hand in his, desperately trying to get a hold of you. He squeezed at it harder and harder, as if he could keep you to life with sheer strength alone, but it was already too late. No pulse, no nothing. You were just gone.

“Takasugi, we need to go! There might be more coming, get out of there!” Even Katsura’s voice wasn’t enough to snap him out of it.

For a mere second, he wished to quit. He had seen enough carnage for a lifetime and he was tired. What were they fighting for? What was it all for if they couldn’t even protect a minuscule mountain village? How could they possibly save an entire country or, hell, even the whole world? The thought sickened him. At the moment, all he wanted to do was lie next to you, beg you to take him to wherever it was you were going.

No matter how much he wanted to do just that, Takasugi realized that such a luxury was one he could never afford. Not when so many people depended on him, not when he knew what giving up meant. No matter what, he had to keep going, with or without you. This was unfair. So unfair.

He leaned closer, his fingers slightly trembling as he pulled the headband off your forehead, replacing it with the cleaner one he was wearing. His words from that day held a different meaning now that he came to realize; you were never going to grow up. The life he dreamed with you was extinguished in a flash.

Bringing a hand to your chin, he rubbed at your skin carefully, trying his best to remove the blood from your face. You nearly looked as if you were sleeping, he thought to himself, a heartbreaking thought that only fueled the tears in his eyes.

Katsura’s yells were clearer now, meaning that he was approaching, but Takasugi was not done. He had to do this. Even when he was unable to share his true feelings with you, he needed to make sure that he could do this one thing properly, that he could give you the goodbye you deserved.

His palm made its way onto your forehead, slightly lingering before dropping above your eyes, shutting them once and for all. He glanced down at his other hand, taking a good look at the headband he retrieved. Its edges were painted in a bright scarlet color, blood having seeped through the fabric, your blood. Without thinking twice, Takasugi clenched his fist around the material, shoving it in his pocket. This was the only keepsake he could have of you, a reminder and proof of your existence.

With a sigh, he laid your body back down onto the ground, thinking that this was the last moment you shared.

Yet…could it be that it wasn’t? Could it be that this blood was fake? Could it be that those tears were fake? Could it be that the person whose eyes he closed were never yours? Could it be that the woman in front of him was, as a matter of fact, you?

By the time Takasugi snapped back to reality, the pink color of your kimono had nearly faded into the distance, leaving him utterly confused as to what he’d just experienced. He could call you out, run after you, yet looking at the flier in his hand, he got a better idea.

“Snack Smile bar? What a lackluster name.” He muttered, crumbling the paper in his fist.

“Come in, come in! Heaven’s sigh’s girls will leave you sighing!”

“Boss, how about a drink with us? We promise to take good care of you.”

“Would you like a nurse to check on your vitals or an officer to apprehend you? Whatever your fantasy, we can grant it!”

The empty promises of the hostesses served as ambient sound to Takasugi’s ears while he strolled through Kabukicho. With his hat lowered before his eyes, he attempted to blend in with the crowd, stealing a glance at the signs of the buildings as he passed them by. Many had the word bar or snack in their name, yet no writing matched the one in his flier.

If he was being honest with himself, he was unsure of what he was trying to do. Obviously, he was looking for you, but what good could possibly come out of it? Perhaps your encounter had been brief, giving you no time to realize who it was, but even so, there was no way you were unable to recognize him. Either you played dumb for whatever reason he failed to pinpoint, or he was once again chasing after the ghosts of his past. Whatever the case was, he needed an answer.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally found himself outside Snack Smile. A girl in a peachy kimono was standing by the door, calling out to any passerby who seemed interested enough to take a peek at the place. Her smile was bright, though it lacked verity. If anything, it looked as if she was trying to keep people away, rather than invite them in.

“My, are you new here? I don’t think we’ve seen your face before, dear customer.” She directed him with a sweet tone. “Please come in and we’ll make sure to turn that frown upside down!”

What am I even doing here, Takasugi pondered to himself. This was obviously a mistake.

Reluctantly, he brought two fingers to his hat, tipping it forward as a means of agreement. If anything, he was so close to his goal that he might as well walk the walk. The girl caught onto his gesture, beckoning for him to follow her to the entrance.

Unlike the rest of his subordinates and his comrades from the war, Takasugi wasn’t overly fond of such places. His visits to Yoshiwara or cabaret bars were numbered, mostly limited to the carefully timed opportunities he created to strike beneficial business deals. There were only so many men who could resist the cheap thrills a woman offered. Combine that with alcohol and you earned yourself an agreeable ally.

To be fair, Takasugi preferred his partners sober enough, turning to such tactics only when the occasion demanded it. On the contrary, when it came down to him personally, well, he found no reason to be visiting such places all by himself. He spared no time to play around with ignorant little girls, though somehow, he had now managed to surround himself with a dozen of them.

Tall, short, blonde, brunette, lean and curvy; every type of girl with conventional beauty had gathered up around him, pulling him towards an empty booth. They were so eager to tend to his whims, oblivious to the fact that he was feeling rather uncomfortable with their touch-y and intrusive behavior. They had completely misread his intentions, but then again, who visits hostess bars without indulging?

In an attempt to make him feel more comfortable, a girl grabbed onto the strings of his hat, his hand removing hers in time. It wasn’t as if he could afford to be spotted and arrested here, of all places.

“Master, what will you have?” One of the girls cooed in his ear.

“You are so good looking, won’t you have a drink with us?” The second girl chimed in after his lack of a response.

“What about some Dom Peri? Would that be to your tastes?” Another one followed.

That’s right. If he stood there without even ordering, he’d attract even more attention to himself. Sighing, Takasugi fished the crumbled up paper from inside his pocket, sliding it across the table.

“Oh, you have one of those? Let me show you how our reward system works!” The first girl, a blonde with a dark blue kimono suggested, scooting closer to him.

“Every time you visit our bar, you get a stamp, slowly unlocking milestones with certain rewards. The first one is a free drink of your choice, and then when you reach this one.” She paused, pointing at the middle of the paper. “You get the chance to play Uno with one of our girls, how exciting!”

Is that how hostess bars operate?

“The final reward is a free bottle of our finest Dom Peri, one that isn’t even watered down!”

Takasugi crooked an eyebrow, unable to tell whether this was some sort of deliberate joke or if this was an actual reward system they had set up. Uno nights and watered down bottles of champagne, was this really what Edo had turned into?

“How many visits till that Uno session?”

“Oh, you are interested?” Not in particular. “It’s five visits and you can choose any of the girls to play with. Will you choose me?” The same girl asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

Any girl, huh…

Though he’d been seated for at least five minutes, none of the girls around him, nor the ones that served the customers in the other booths bore any resemblance to you. Could he be mistaken?

The blonde kept pestering him, her one arm locked around his elbow, with her other hand rubbing at his shoulder. His patience was wearing thin, but causing a scene wouldn’t fix anything. After all, she was merely doing her job.

“Sake.” Takasugi said, hoping that her departure could at least get him some room for breathing.

Surely enough, the girl jumped on her feet, the other two maintaining their distance all the while eyeing him.

All of a sudden, the loud thump of a glass breaking forced his attention to shift to the bar. A man with his arms crossed over his chest was barking at a girl, something about salaries and final mistakes. Repeatedly, she bowed her head up and down, her clasped hands moving in sync with the rest of her body. She was frantic, spelling out one ‘sorry’ after the other. Eventually, the man, presumably the owner of this place, raised his hand to dismiss her, stepping away from the scene.

The girl stood in place, only turning around after she was left alone. The second Takasugi got a proper look at her face, the same feeling he’d felt earlier reappeared; the same sensation of having the air sucked out of his lungs was back. It was her, the girl from before, that girl… you.

“What a klutz.” The brunette next to him exclaimed with a scoff.

“I know, right? When will she finally learn? Boss is too lenient with her.” The second brunette sighed.

“I guess what they say is right, the pretty ones sure have it easy.”

“What’s with that girl?” Takasugi inquired.

“What? Her? She came about 5 years ago I think.” The blonde from earlier had returned, setting a tray of glasses and alcohol on top of the table. “She is such a weirdo, other than her appearance there’s not much going on with her. Just because she has a few regulars, she thinks she is someone, but truth is, she’s just a lost cause. A nobody.”

She poured a drink for Takasugi, then handed the rest of the glasses to the other girls. Bringing it to her lips, she downed it in one go.

“You know, there is something seriously wrong with her.”

Takasugi tilted his head towards the brunette to his left. It looked like both these girls held some sort of grudge against their coworker and while hearing them badmouth you irked him, he wished to find out why.

“When she first came here, she wouldn’t even give us her name. Claimed she had no recollection of that nor her past, but if you ask me, she is hiding something. Or else she wouldn’t put up with all the names people give her.”

“Aho-chan, Hidoi-chan, Kagome-chan, that’s how she goes by. What a pitiful creature.” The third girl commented, tipping her glass between her fingers.

No name and no background. That certainly was strange, though it would suffice as an explanation. Whatever happened to you back then, the only way for you to be unable to recognize him or seek him out in the first place, would be for your memory to get wiped out. An unlike scenario, but it was what it was.

“Now girls, let’s not bore our customer with such tedious talk. Master, whatever it is that you want, this girl won’t be able to deliver. Me on the other side…” The blonde mewled into his ear, one finger running along the hem of his yukata.

“How much?” Takasugi asked with a forced smile.

“Hmm?”

“How much should I give for you to keep your hands off ?”

The girl was stunned, her confident act dropping at once. Hesitantly, she retrieved her hand, returning to her own seat without any protest.

“That’s so mean, master.” She frowned, an awkward chuckle following her words.

Takasugi reached a hand inside his clothes, dropping a handful of bills on the table. He peered at the expressions of the girls; half disturbed, half excited at the sight of the money. They were all doing their best to keep their distance from him, scared of receiving the same treatment their friend did. Good leeches.

“This should be more than enough to cover your entire shifts. Leave.” Takasugi dismissed them.

Obeying, the three of them reached out to the table, each gathering their share before walking away.

“Not you.” He nodded at the blonde with his glass.

“Oh? Have you changed your mind, mas-”

“Add four more stamps to this, if you wish for a bonus.” He said, pushing the flier in her direction.

“But-

“This isn’t a request.” He cut her off, deliberately glancing down at the sword around his waist.

The girl slid a hand inside her pouch, pulling a red stamp out. Fortunately, she was smart enough to understand that he wasn't in the mood for playing around.

A game of uno wasn’t much of a reward, but adding you to the equation, he was left with no choice. If his theory was correct, then by his next visit, all the pieces to the puzzle would come together, or so he hoped.

“Please come again.” She muttered with next to zero enthusiasm, leaving his sight along with her bonus.

At last, silence.

For the rest of the night, Takasugi remained in the booth all by himself. A couple of girls attempted to approach him, though his previous companions managed to spread the word in time. ‘He is dangerous, he is crazy, he is… boring.’ He didn’t need to hear them to imagine the kind of things they were whispering to each other’s ears. After all, he was no stranger to such unimaginative discrimination.

A long while passed, and soon the only ones in the bar were him and a couple of merchants in the far back. Despite having consumed far more alcohol than the free drink he had been promised, he was feeling quite sober, his mind focused solely on you.

Following the accident you caused, your boss assigned you to a new post, forcing you to be on the move between the bar and the storage room. Each time you entered with a new crate, your expression seemed wearier than before, your legs on the verge of giving out. Judging from past experiences, lifting weights was never your forte.

Takasugi smiled right before his lips touched the glass. Some things never change.

By the time he finished his final drink, the bar had been completely emptied out, giving him the perfect opportunity to act out. He fixed his hat and clothes, propping his arm onto the hilt of his sword while he sluggishly made his way out of the store. He had no clue where said storage room was, but the probability of it being just past the back alley was pretty high.

It was dark and he couldn’t see much, the distant neon lights being the sole source of light. He could only stumble around, until his foot hit a crate, sending it flying towards a brick wall. The impact was followed by a shriek, one loud enough to obscure every and any sound that came from the bustling city.

Realizing what happened, Takasugi stepped in, his hands reaching out just in time to capture the falling champagne bottles from your hands.

“Thank you so much!" The voice exclaimed, belonging to none other than you.

If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have tripped in the first place.

Picking up on some of the bottles, he did his best to share the burden equally between the two of you. They were quite heavy, he realized, three of them being enough to weigh him down. There was no way you could manage such a task all by yourself.

On the way to the front door, you kept asking him to let go, assuring him that he’d already done enough, but he was having none of it. He even assisted you with putting them back on the shelves, ignoring your pleas to let go. He wasn't helping you for the sake of helping you; he just couldn't stand the sound of another glass shattering. Or at least, that’s how he justified his actions.

After everything was in place and your duty was fulfilled, Takasugi excused himself, seeing no more reason to stick around. Having a conversation without getting the chance to rationalize this absurdity would not end well.

“It’s you, isn’t it?” Your voice made him freeze in his stead.

“You remember?”

“Of course I do!” He turned around, his eye searching for yours in the darkness.

“I’m so sorry for bumping into you earlier and running away like this.” He felt his own heart sinking, the glimmer of hope disappearing as fast as it appeared.

Even if it was dark, your face was perfectly visible to him. Everything appeared to be the same as he remembered, as if not even a day had gone by since he last saw you. Everything but your eyes, that was. You used to look at him with such endearment and affection, such that was enough to thaw his icy exterior without any effort, but now that's gone. You bore the eyes of a stranger looking at another stranger.

“Are you from around here? What’s your name?”

“Shinsuke.”

“Shinsuke huh… that’s such a nice name. Don’t think I’ve met anyone who goes by that before.”

“I… see.” Hearing his name coming out of his lips stirred something within him. He had missed that sound more than he could ever admit.

“What brings you here, Shinsuke-san?”

“I was looking for someone. A woman.” He specified.

“Hm? Have you come here for one of our girls? Who is it?”

“Y/N.” It had been so long since he’d last called your name out, especially to your face. Part of him hoped that hearing it would have the same effect for you as it did for him.

“Y/N… I don’t think there is anyone working for us with such a name. Could it be that she gave you a stage name or nickname?”

He was unsure of what to answer. Such a charade was ridiculous.

“I guess the person I’m looking for doesn’t exist anymore.” Takasugi mumbled, turning his back on you. There was no point in trying. The woman he once loved was gone. It was about time he accepted that.

As he was about to leave, his sleeve getting tugged downwards caught his attention. A pair of delicate fingers were holding onto it, with another pair of pleading orbs staring right into his.

“Some girls do that. They give fake names because the owners don’t allow us to give our real names to clients. I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by that. You said her name was Y/N, right? I’ll try asking around to see what I can find.”

“There’s no need for that.” He attempted to leave, yet your clutching kept him in place.

“I want to help! Compensation for crashing into you and uh… a thank you for your assistance.”

Takasugi placed his hand on top of yours, briefly stuttering at the softness of your knuckles before he pulled your fingers off his sleeve. Your persistence was making things harder for him, another leftover trait of your past self. This wasn’t you, he reminded himself. A person with no memories was not themselves anymore. This wasn’t you, this wasn’t you, this wasn’t—

“Come again soon, Shinsuke-san!”

Even when his steps were taking him away from you, Takasugi realized that sooner than later they’d be bringing him back.

“Uno!” You cheerfully proclaimed, slamming a wild draw four card on top of the pile.

Takasugi shook his head as he scattered his cards across the table, an assortment of green and yellow clashing with the dark cedar. This was the fifth round you’d won in a row and although he didn’t want to admit defeat, perhaps going for so long without playing the game had turned him rusty. He used to beat you with such ease back in the day that he wasn’t prepared to face any sort of resistance. Could it be that he was more preoccupied with figuring out what had happened, or did your amnesia come with a streak of luck?

“Again.” With gritted teeth, Takasugi shuffled and stacked the cards once more. He wasn’t intending to end this on a loss. Besides, the reward didn’t specify how many rounds of Uno he could play.

Dealing seven cards to each of you, he took his time to study your expression. Your eyes darted between your hands, a loose smile hanging upon your lips that he couldn’t decode. Was it possible that you had another draw four? Nah, that couldn’t be it right? Unless you cheated, there was no such way.

Before you started the round, you reached a hand to the sake bottle, pouring the two of you another set of drinks whilst holding onto the cards with the other. Unsurprisingly enough, you ended up spilling more alcohol outside rather than inside the glasses, making a mess out of the table. What a lousy hostess.

As he was about to take a sip, your chuckle forced him to turn around.

“Is this your first time playing, Shinsuke-san? You’re pretty awful at this.” You exclaimed in a gleeful tone, bringing the glass to your lips.

“Should hostesses be looking down on their customers ?” He argued, shifting through the cards in his hand. A wild card and a reverse card, not bad at all.

“Should customers be threatening hostesses with swords?”

Unaware of his action, Takasugi tightened his grip around the glass.

Up to that point, your behavior had been nothing out of the ordinary. Unlike the other girls who kept their distance from his table, you didn’t seem particularly wary of him. Considering your relationship with your coworkers, he had assumed that the rumor hadn’t reached your ears, but apparently he was wrong.

“Don’t worry about it. Kasumi-chan has a tendency of overreacting.” You assured, revealing the first card of the deck; eight red. “Hmm.” You played a two.

“What if she wasn’t?” He teased, dropping a four.

“Well…” You contemplated, carefully browsing through your hand. “You wouldn’t hurt her, would you?”

Green four.

“What makes you think I wouldn’t?"

“You helped me out yesterday. Even if you are a Joui or whatever, unless you had good intentions, you wouldn’t have bothered.”

Takasugi shrugged, dropping a 6.

“Besides…” He looked up at you, finding a slight smile tremble upon your lips. “You must have really wanted to play uno with me, huh?”

So she’d heard the full story. Admittedly, he shouldn’t have acted on such impulse, but then again why did that girl feel entitled to interfere with his personal affairs? Perhaps he should have dropped more than empty threats on her.

Returning his attention to the game, Takasugi tried to keep his cool, yet his grimace gave out how he really felt. With his lips curling into a scowl, he threw more alcohol down his throat, pushing the glass back to your side. This wasn’t the way he pictured this night going.

While he was caught up in his own thoughts, you acted upon your turn, dropping two green cards onto the pile.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He growled, forcefully grabbing you by the wrist the second you played them.

You blinked, looking at him with confusion.

“Skip… card?” Your gaze fell onto the fallen cards below; a green skip and a green seven.

Oh.

In an attempt to save face, Takasugi released his grip, wondering how many more hits his pride could suffer before he snapped. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought that your presence was the cause of jumpiness, but that couldn't be the case, right? A mere hostess, even if such was you, wasn't enough to make him nervous.

For the next 5 minutes or so, you kept on throwing cards one after the other in complete silence, the voices of the rest of the crowd filling in the gaps. To focus on winning or to focus on extracting information; Takasugi felt himself waver between the two choices. Whether he admitted it or not, your reappearance had left him in a distressed state that he absolutely detested.

"So are you?" You broke through the quiet, changing the color to yellow with a five.

"Hm?" Takasugi inquired, switching the color back to blue with a wild card.

"A Joui."

"What if I am? Will you report me?" He smirked.

"Should I?" You mused, browsing your hand before pulling a card from the deck, one you ended up not playing.

He shrugged, throwing a blue six. "It doesn’t matter if you do. I don’t intend to switch lanes now."

"Then… What is it that you intend to do?"

"Bring about an end to all this." He nonchalantly admitted, weighing your reaction.

He expected to find at least a glimpse of surprise or a hint of recognition, yet he spotted neither. Not only did he fail to reignite your memory, but it also looked as if you were completely unfazed by what he’d said.

"Sounds ominous." You said, at last.

"What about you?"

"Am I a Joui?" You pondered as you pulled another card. "I doubt it, though I can’t be too sure." Blue eight.

Takasugi raised an eyebrow, eager to hear the rest of the story. Finally, he’d brought you exactly where he wanted you to be.

"There was an accident many years ago. At least that’s what the people who found me said. In reality, I can’t remember anything. The accident, that place, the people I used to know, the girl I used to be… it’s all blank. Each time I try to recall such details, my head begins to tick like a time bomb." You admitted, going through your cards.

"It’s funny though. I could be someone’s daughter, someone’s friend, or someone’s lover and I wouldn’t even know about it."

There was sorrow in the way you spoke, a faint smile appearing and the disappearing in an instant. To have all the answers to your questions, Takasugi felt great guilt plaguing him. Your loss had always been one of the many he was responsible for, another regret to add onto the over-increasing burden of his soul. If he'd gotten there faster, if he’d gotten word of the attack before it happened, if, if, if…

He thought there was no way to change the past, but now that he saw the very same past unraveling before his eye, he was uncertain of what he was supposed to do. Perhaps it was better that you didn’t remember him. What one could consider a curse was in reality a blessing in disguise. There was no need for you to remember what was taken from you, what was lost because of him, or even him. Yes, it was better like this.

Reaching for his empty glass, he was quick to pour himself another drink, only to realize that the bottle was just as empty. The irony, he thought to himself, pushing it aside. No matter how much he tried to fill his own void, it would always come down to this, he realized.

"What about your name?" Takasugi sighed, drawing a card. Had he played his reverse card, then the game would have ended right then and there, but he didn’t mean to do that just yet. Not when you have yet to reveal all your cards for him to see.

Once his turn was over, you pulled two cards from the deck, glancing at your hand and then the eight he had previously dropped.

"I don’t remember that either. Everyone here gives me a different name, though most of them are pretty horrible." You said, earning a sympathetic nod from him.

"Oh, I didn’t mean to complain. It’s fine, really, I don’t mind at all. Feel free to call me however you want to."

"How about Y/N?" He suggested in a rather affectionate tone.

"Isn’t that the name of the girl you are looking for?"

"Didn’t you hear me?" He inquired, flicking the remaining two cards between his fingers. "That girl exists no longer."

"Y/N… it does have a nice ring." You beamed with excitement. "But are you sure it’s fine?"

"A pitiful hostess with no memories or name, and a ghost who only exists in memory. You might as well claim that name, she won't be asking back for it."

After all, it’s yours.

"Y/N." You said in a quiet tone. "Y/N," you said more confidently.

"It suits you." Takasugi nodded in acknowledgement, a hint of a smile spreading across his features. At least now he wasn’t the only one holding onto this name.

Peering at his cards one final time, he let the reverse one drop onto the center of the table. There was no point in stalling his victory any further, not when the outcome was already set.

"Uno."

"You win."

"Not bad for a first timer." He smirked.

Admittedly, Takasugi enjoyed his reward much more than he thought he would. Not once in a million years would he consider that he’d get the chance to glance at your smile or hear your voice ever again, let alone play a game of cards at a crappy bar in Kabukicho. It all felt so surreal, but for now, there was no doubt. It was really you.

"Another round?" You asked, shuffling the cards between your fingers.

At that moment, Takasugi stood up, attaching his sword back to his hip. It was time to go. Searching through his yukata, he fished a couple of bills out, sliding them towards your side.

"I’m afraid it’s time for me to make an exit."

"Shinsuke-san." You hesitated, your eyes darting between the table and his own.

"I enjoyed our game."

He nodded, attempting to make his way out when you stopped him again.

"Will you be coming again?"

It was his time to consider things. Perhaps other than your memory, you weren’t all that different, yet the same couldn’t be said about him. He wasn’t the same boy you fell in love with over ten years ago, the one who could afford to fool around and play uno with you as if he had no care in the world. What was left of him could barely make up for the person he used to be; scattered pieces of a vengeful and hollow beast pieced together into who he was today. Could such a man even dream of reconciling with his past?

Takasugi had no answer for that. At least not right now, when your eyes were pleading him to stay. He wanted to see you again, yet he doubted whether he should. For the first time in a while, his selfish desires were standing in his way, and he wasn’t sure how to handle it.

Without saying a word, he waltzed towards the door, wishing that the watchful gaze of the stars would prevent him from repeating any past mistakes, at least for the night.

The following days found Takasugi spiraling through an endless abyss of question marks, the weight of his choice following him throughout his affairs to the point where he could not concentrate on anything else.

If he told you all about your shared past and who you really were, that smile you greeted him with would be erased in an instant. The pain you’d escaped would cling onto you like it did to him, the clutches of a beast he could never escape. To subject you to such suffering, to bring such a future to you… how could he ever do that?

On the other hand, knowing that to you he was no more than a mere stranger, that all those memories you created together had scattered through the wind, Takasugi felt his heart aching. Even if it was selfish, he couldn’t help himself from showing up before you, day after day, hoping that somehow everything would get solved on its own. That he’d get to hold your hand and kiss your lips once more, just once, even if there was no tomorrow for him.

Perhaps that’s what it meant to love someone to death. As long as you are able to make a step towards them, as long as your hand can reach out, then nothing can stand in the way, not even death.

With his mind set on vengeance and his heart on you, the thin line between right and wrong became even thinner. He was more perplexed than he’d ever been, his inner conflict clouding more than just his thoughts. The sleepless nights he used to spend by himself in the comfort of his room had lessened, finding him among bottles of sake and the very same carefree people he loathed. Even when he couldn’t decide on what to do, he was adamant regarding his visits to Snack Smile, as if all the answers were hidden behind those eyes of yours.

Soon enough, the flier in his hands approached the dreaded tenth mark milestone. With each visit granting him another stamp, Takasugi caught himself counting the days down to his final reward. There was no point in going through all this trouble for a cheap bottle of champagne, he was well aware of that. But, earning himself such a trophy was far from being his actual reason. In reality, the flier served as some sort of countdown, putting a number to the days you had left. After all, he’d finally made up his mind; the day he received his final mark, would be the day he’d say goodbye to you, once and for all.

And so, with your days numbered, there was a certain bitter aftertaste that accompanied both his arrival and his departure, the heavy atmosphere that lingered feeling heavier than before. He’d already lost you once. This should have been easier, but it wasn’t. The end he sought after was sure to leave his tainted soul with yet another scar. Was that what it meant to do the right thing? He wouldn’t know.

By the end of the week, he’d visited your bar five times. A total of eight marks filled the boxes of the flier, making him wish that he hadn’t threatened that girl to speed things up in the first place. He only needed two more stamps to end things properly with you, yet as he marched his way towards his sixth visit, he started to get cold feet.

Standing outside the bar at the crack of dawn, he wondered what the hell he was doing there. For once, there was no way the bar was open at such an early hour. He was too late, or too early, depending on how one looked at it. But even if it wasn’t, what was he supposed to say? Why would the goodbye of a stranger be of any importance to you?

Being in such deep thought, he barely noticed your fatigued form coming out of the bar, with a pair of garbage bags dangling between your hands.

"Shinsuke-san? What are you doing here?" Your sleepy eyes came to life upon seeing his, your expression lighting up your entire face.

"Just passing by." He shrugged, feeling the strain in his throat as he spoke.

You walked past him, disposing of the bags as quickly as possible.

"We are closed for business, but… would you like to come in?" You suggested, pointing at the door with your thumb.

"I’m good." He shook his head.

"You came all this way, it’d be a shame to go without having a drink at the very least."

Unable to come up with another excuse, Takasugi glanced at the sky and then at you. The first morning rays poured over you like a halo, dousing your figure in a warm light. Even when your eyes were plagued with dark circles, you appeared more beautiful than ever.

"I won’t take no for an answer. If you don’t come in, I’m reporting you." A chuckle broke through your threat, your head tilting to the side. "Just one drink. It’s on me, okay?"

How could he possibly say no when you put it like that? The moment Takasugi sighed, you both knew what his answer was. So much for his unyielding resolve.

Inside the bar, empty chairs were flipped on top of empty tables, the faint smell of alcohol and smoke having yet to dissipate. He followed you to an empty booth, setting his sword to the side before taking a seat. You told him to wait, returning minutes later with your drinks. If sake wasn’t his preferred choice, he would have thought that you were a cheapskate who couldn’t afford anything else. At least you didn’t seem to be one of those pushy Dom Peri girls.

"As expected, sake tastes best with good company." You exclaimed, drinking your first shot.

He smiled, following suit.

"I bet you have lots of good company to drink with."

"No one as interesting as an Uno loving samurai."

"Or a clumsy hostess with no recollection of the past." A chuckle followed his comment, the sound of your laughter echoing through the empty space.

"Y/N. What made you choose this path for yourself?"

"Hmm…" You pondered out loud, pouring the two of you some more alcohol. "Just like you said, I’m clumsy and have no recollection of my past. What could someone like me do to survive? Serving drinks and chatting with people is something anyone can do, me included."

"Do you like it here?"

You took your time before answering, glancing at him, your glass, the bottle, the table, the entrance, and then again from the top. Whatever answer you were planning on giving, it didn’t matter. After all, your reaction said enough.

"It’s okay. The pay isn’t bad and the girls are nice to me. Our boss is quite forgiving of my mistakes too, I manage just fine."

No, you don’t. If that was the case, you wouldn’t be forced to clean up their mess by yourself, all alone and exhausted.

Rather than argue back, Takasugi pressed his glass tight against his lips. He’d hoped that at least he’d leave you to a better fate than the one that awaited you with him.

Some time passed with the two of you drinking through the contents of the bottle together in silence, neither being too sure on how to proceed.

"There’s something I haven’t told you."

He raised an eyebrow, letting go of his glass for a moment.

"I asked around for the girl, the real Y/N."

Takasugi inhaled deeply before exhaling, his fingers clenching into a fist against the hard wood.

"There is no real or fake Y/N for you to find. What remains is only you. You are Y/N."

"But-"

He dropped his hand onto the table, the thump cutting through your words.

More silence.

"What was she like?" You had no intention of giving up. Unless he gave you some answers, you would keep on asking him.

Sighing, he reached for the bottle himself, giving you both a refill.

"A nuisance."

"A nuisance?" You asked, a hearty laugh evading your lips.

What was so funny about it?

"No one starts with a person’s negative traits unless it’s someone they care deeply for. You must’ve really loved Y/N, Shinsuke-san."

He looked up at you, at the eyes he so adoringly used to look at. Time may have erased your memory, yet it never managed to extinguish the love he held for you. For a second, he wished that you could share that sentiment, that his stare could somehow pour some of that emotion back into you. He didn’t want to be alone in this, not anymore.

"I’m sorry that I couldn’t find her for you." You sincerely said. "I was hoping you’d be leaving here with a smile."

Takasugi pulled his gaze away from yours, toying with the empty glass between his fingers. It looked like that goodbye had come up sooner than he’d anticipated.

"Then drink with me today. Until my own memory gets hazy, until I manage to forget, drink with me. Ignorance comes with bliss."

Slowly, you nodded at him with hesitation. If you could peer into his thoughts, you’d be able to see that such a thing could never happen. Even if all was lost, he could never forget nor forsake you. No amount of alcohol was capable of bringing him such deliverance. As long as he lived, he’d hold onto these memories like a martyr, making sure that there was at least one of you that remembered. After all, he was prepared to carry such a heavy cross the second he walked into that bar.

Just like Takasugi suggested, the two of you finished the first bottle of sake together, followed by another and then another. Your hand began to tremble halfway through, liquor spilling onto the table and the glasses. He did his best to finish his drinks before you finished yours, making sure that he was the one to drink the majority of the content. Drunk and exhausted was not an ideal state for you to be in.

Still, he forgot to take into consideration the fact that you’d been working all night long, most likely having finished many more bottles with other clients. It didn’t take long for you to collapse. The sun had fully come out now, bathing your skin in a lovely and vibrant light as you rested on top of the table. Your palms had turned into a makeshift pillow, with your cheek finding comfort within. The sound of your breathing befell the room like a quiet lullaby, your chest moving up and down in sync with it.

Takasugi kept drinking by himself, catching you squinting and quietly grunting from time to time. You were mumbling something incoherent that he failed to pick up on, yet once he brought his hand before your eyes, you went quiet. A smile spread across your lips, with a delighted sigh following right after. Takasugi muffled a giggle, propping his elbow onto the table so that he could keep on shielding you from the light with his body.

Unable to help it, he traced the outline of your cheek with the back of his finger, tugging a couple of loose strands behind your ear. You looked so peaceful, he thought as he dragged his index across your features. The last time he’d looked at you like this, he was the one to shut your eyes, unaware of the fact that you’d been fighting your way back to him.

He brought his finger down to your nose and then to your lips, ghosting over them in a light motion. You talked back at him so many times with this mouth of yours, bringing him headache more times than he could count.

Where’s that sharp tongue of yours now, he pondered, dragging your bottom lip downwards. Such a lousy hostess that can’t even handle her liquor, falling asleep before a man whom she barely even knows. What a pathetic sight.

So very... pathetic.

Before he even knew it, his lips met with yours, a feeling of utter bliss taking over him at last. Right or wrong, who was he to differentiate the two. In that final moment with you, nothing else mattered. He selfishly claimed this one final memory for himself, hoping it'd be enough to last him a lifetime.

I won’t take my chances with you anymore. This time… be happy. Be happy and never look back, not at your past and certainly not at me. If we ever meet again… No. Even if we meet again in this or our next life, walk past me as if we were strangers. Goodbye, Y/N.

And just like that, his ghost hunt came to an end.

By the time Takasugi reached the docks, the streets of Edo were bustling with the sounds of people. Some going to work, others returning, and then those who simply strolled around. Even more so than before, he felt like a fish out of water, unable to truly fit within the crowd. It was as if he was returning from a great battle, one that he'd inevitably lost.

Silently, he slipped back inside his ship, a couple of members from his faction bidding him 'good morning'. He nodded them off, unwilling to engage in any small talk. Such trivialities seemed rather pointless at the moment.

Just before he returned to his room, Takasugi made a stop by one of the common rooms, finding Matako and Takechi conversing, or rather arguing with one another as per usual. The two went quiet at his entrance, letting him say what he had to say without any disturbances.

Once that was out of the way, he was finally able to rest. Or at least that was his plan. He removed his bandages, neatly stacking them upon his nightstand. Bringing his palm above his destroyed eye, he traced his skin all the way to his lips, finding himself terribly missing your warmth. With his wish granted, he felt no better than he did before. If anything, water had managed to seep through the cracks of his void, threatening to drown him along with what was left of him.

Hoping for a moment of repose, Takasugi leaned back against the covers of his futon, yet such moment never came. Perhaps the daylight was too strong or his thought were simply too loud. Either way, he couldn't tell.

Giving up on that plan of his, he got up, the shamisen in the corner of the room catching his eye. Maybe if he could at least counter these thoughts with something louder, he could find some solace.

Time went by swiftly, with the light burning brighter and then fading into the backdrop. A dejected melody accompanied his equally dejected musings, with his fingers aimlessly holding onto the bachi. What his words could not speak, his music transmitted perfectly. A requiem of despair.

"Shinsuke, what's all this about?" The voice of a certain green haired samurai cut through his tune, followed by the thump of the door. "Matako told me we are leaving tomorrow, is that true?”

“What if it is.” Takasugi responded, refusing to look his way.

“I thought we’d be staying until the end of the month.”

“Something came up.”

“And that is?”

There was nothing for him to say to that. Whether they stayed in Edo or not, it didn't make a difference. He'd finally cut all loose threads, no point hanging around this hell hole of a city.

Bansai moved across the room, his steps taking him to the window where Takasugi was seated. Quietly, he observed him, listening to his song as if he meant to nitpick his intentions by the mere sound of it. He folded his hands over his chest, resting against the opposite side of the frame, with his head lightly moving along to the rhythm.

"Your tempo has changed, I daresay."

Most probably for the worse, Takasugi thought to himself.

“I have a gift for you.”

Holding onto the instrument with his legs, Takasugi reached a hand in his yukata, revealing the purple flyer. Nine marks stained its surface, only one requirement away from the "grand prize". He'd held onto this thing for days, but now he found no use for it. Disposing it while he could, was the only sensible choice.

“I’m not sure I’m following, Shinsuke.” Bansai mumbled, flipping the pamphlet between his fingers.

“There's no need to. Just accept the gift.” Takasugi said, his attention shifting back to the shamisen.

“This is very unlike you, I daresay.“

With the music picking up once again, Bansai moved outside of the room, taking his so called gift with him.

There was no telling how much time had passed, the never-ending melody stubbornly persisting. Takasugi felt numb, each of his thoughts melting away underneath his fingertips. By now, he should have met with you. Would you be disappointed that Bansai showed up instead of him? That was unlikely. Who'd be distressed over a stranger?

That's right. It didn't matter anymore. He'd given up on you, he had no right contemplating over such things. It was over. It really was.

“You’re back early.” His voice felt raspier after going for so long without speaking a word.

“I met with the girl.” Bansai admitted, stepping into the room. His tone was near suggestive, hinting that this was far from all he had to say.

Curious to see what comes next, Takasugi let go of the shamisen, an eerie quietness befalling the room as he set it to the side.

“… And?”

“And I must ask, who is that girl, Shinsuke?”

“A good for nothing hostess.” Takasugi sneered.

Bansai sighed, doubting that Takasugi was giving him the full story. More often than not, he was able to read into his thoughts with greater ease than most. Even if he didn't poke his nose into his business, he had no intention to let this one slide, and for once, Takasugi wasn't too appreciative of his friend's feature.

“That good for nothing hostess said I can’t accept it on your stead. You should know better than to give gifts one can't redeem.” He dropped the flyer onto the floor beside him.

“Is that so?" Takasugi inquired with zero interest, merely glancing at it and then looking away.

“There’s more to the story, I daresay." Bansai continued, his fingers browsing through his teal colored coat. "She asked of me to bring this to you. Said she’ll be waiting for you to return it one day.”

Takasugi glanced over at him, his eye widening upon receiving the item from his hands.

“I believe you recognize this. Then, I’ll leave you to it.” Bansai said before finally making his exit.

There was no way... right? This couldn't be it... right?

At the moment, Takasugi struggled to understand the meaning of it, seemingly lost as he studied the material. His fingers went over the fabric with great care, tracing each and every seam as if they were sacred. This was far from being the only one of it's kind, yet there was no room for doubt; this white headband could only be the very same that once belonged to him, the one he'd traded you all those years back.

"Such a foolish woman." He huffed in a low tone, his lips curving into a smile. Even when he'd given you a chance at happiness, you'd chosen to fall back into your own misery. What kind of fool does that?

Yet, such a foolish woman had managed to fool him. He wasn't any better, he realized to his dismay, guilty over the sudden rush of relief. Even by a little, the weight he'd been so adamant to carry by himself had been lifted, with or without his consent. He really thought that he could take it, but there you were again, stirring up trouble from miles apart. To think that he'd fallen for such a nuisance.

Lacing his fingers around the headband, Takasugi leaned back against the window. A sigh evaded his lips once he finally closed his eye.

Perhaps the destruction of the world was always meant to be celebrated with a cheap bottle of champagne.

A/N: Originally I planned to end it at this, but then I realized that the ending might be a bit unclear, so I'll add myself a mini QnA to explain certain things!

Q1: Did she know who he was all along?

A1: Nope. In reality she didn't reveal the whole truth to him. She had memories of a man and their times together, but she couldn't remember who that was or even his name. After she met Takasugi again, all those missing pieces came together and by the last time he visited her, she knew who he was.

Q2: If she still loves him, then why not tell him?

A2: Though Takasugi hasn't changed that much, she could tell that he had something going on that was bigger than their little love story. She knows him better than most and so she wouldn't want to stand in the way of his path.

Q3: Then why reveal it at the end?

A3: Takasugi may have been strong enough to stay true to his decision of ending things, but she wasn't. When he kissed her, she was able to feel it and when she realized that this was goodbye, she couldn't accept that this was their end. Even if it's harder for them to pine over one another, she hoped that by revealing her cards to him and giving him a place to return to, then one day he will.

Q4: So will he return?

A4: It might take some time, but he definitely will. After all, he has a headband to return and a drink to share.

Q5: Dom Peri is very expensive, why did you call it cheap?

A5: In comparison to his precious memories of her, Dom Peri feels very cheap to Takasugi.

#takasugi shinsuke #takasugi #takasugi gintama #takasugi shinsuke x reader #takasugi x reader #takasugi reader #takasugi angst #takasugi fanfiction #takasugi imagine #takasugi one shot #gintama imagine #gintama fanfiction #gintama oneshot #gintama angst #request

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theriu · 2 years

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An Average Shrub in a Video Game World

This is the story of an average shrub stuck in a video game.

I mean that more literally than you might think, but let’s back up and explain a bit first.

No one actually knows what happened to trap all of the active players inside the world of DragonWatch MMOVRRPG (massive multiplayer online virtual reality role-playing game, for those of you who aren’t massive nerds with a love of acronyms). Heck, I’ve read all the same books you have, I know the cliches: Terrorists holding the playerbase hostage, sentient or glitchy AI manipulating the network, magical overlords sucking peoples’ souls into the real alternate reality the game was unknowingly based on, etc. Could be any of those or something else entirely, but nobody in here has a clue. We were all just playing one day and then MASSIVE PSYCHADELIC TRIP and boom, no one can log off and physical sensitivity is way too realistic. It’s been about three weeks in-game, and no word from the outside. At least the panicking has died down a bit.

Oh, people are trying to find ways out of here. The first popular argument was that if you die in the game, you either A) wake back up outside, or B) die for real. Big hoopla about it at first, but then a few people tried it, and… yeah, turns out the respawn mechanic is working fine. It’s very weird seeing somebody’s digital ghost walking by begrudgingly as they try to track down their body and all the stuff they dropped.

The current trend is trying to beat the game’s main storyline, hoping that will reset it or send the winners back out as a reward, or something along those lines. It’s a high bar, seeing as only a few people had ever beaten it BEFORE the Event. It’s even harder now that dying—while not actually killing you for real—actually FEELS like dying. I’ve managed to avoid that so far, but I’ve been informed by a few people that it gets more tolerable after you’ve died a few times. I will take their word for it.

Anyway, a bunch of the guilds have been working on it, but they’re still getting wiped by the third level of the final quest. There’s, like, ten levels, so it could be a while.

I haven’t, uh, gotten the chance to try that yet. And not because I’m scared! I mean yes, what sane person wouldn’t be, but I’d totally try it if I could. Just, no teams will have me.

It’s not that I’m a bad player, either. I’m not a GREAT player, this is just a hobby for me, but I got my one and only character up to level 80 and I can survive a raid with a decent party. I’m not great or useless, I’m just average. If players could die in this game, I would have lasted at LEAST two days in my normal form! But I’d still be able to help out with smaller enemies and debuffing and healing. I’d be willing and useful. That’s not the issue.

The issue is that… look, I said I was being literal from the start, right? An ordinary. Shrub.

Like a bush.

I’m a bush.

I have been stuck in the shape of a mobile bush for three weeks, and the novelty of it wore off about three weeks ago.

So yeah. This is the story of an average gamer stuck in the most interesting possible gamer adventure scenario. As a shrubbery. If I’m going to have the dumbest fate ever, it might as well give somebody a bit of amusement, so here we go.

———

A/N: Randomly wrote this up after I wondered what a trapped-in-a-video-game story would be like from the perspective of one of the truly average players, not the main hero who saves the day but just one of the other poor shmucks stumbling through the experience. Then I wrote that first line, and…

I have a weakness for puns and situational comedy okay XD;

(To be continued? Maybe?)

#video games #writing #short story #short stories #writing wip #mmorpg #rpg #litrpg #lit rpg

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unboundedthought · 1 year

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[OPINION] No One Wants to Hide in the Macabre Closet

by Mark Lester Mendez

Illustration made by Lars Leetaru.

Paminta — the term used to pertain to the person who keeps their true gender identity a secret. Questioning someone's gender seems to be a mere deal for us, but do we even consider its impact on the person being suspected and put into the spotlight of judgment? Interfering someone's gender should be taken as a sensitive issue, given that it is personal. The thing that we can only question ourselves about them is why they try to hide from their closet, and I guess we should understand their situation.

Before, I have a junior high school friend who hid his true gender identity from his family and friends because he was scared. He had no one to talk to about the restrained transcending colors that he had inside except for me. I once asked him why he was scared of coming out of his closet, and I never expected the answer that he gave me as he said that it felt like he is being threatened every time they drop that pressuring bomb on himself.

"Bakla ka ba (Are you gay)?!", is the question that they kept on asking him every moment that he shows his clumsiness. He said that the way his family asked him that question was like being gay is a crime, where there were wide eyes open, and their tone of voice was deadly serious and loud. Just imagine that you are being bombarded with suspicions inside the court where one wrong move and statement will put you in lifelong danger; that was what he always felt. In his current situation, I am glad that he already came out of his shell; though his father is still against it, now he is busy proving to him that one's gender is never a hindrance in reaching the peak of triumph.

Since the Boys' Love series is prominent nowadays, one best example of this kind of topic is Gaya Sa Pelikula (Like In The Movie), written and created by Juan Miguel Severo. The story revolves around an architecture student named Karl who has an identity crisis that later acquainted himself with Vlad, an openly gay, as they shared a room since Karl can't pay his bills as he faced mishaps. One of the lines that calls my attention here is when Karl kept asking Vlad if he is gay and being reluctant to use the term "gay" as if it is an insult. He followed it with a line saying, "In fairness ha, hindi ka halata (In fairness, you are not that obvious)" as if it is a compliment when it is not as we are used to stereotyping LGBTQIA+ culture accompanying it with antediluvian conventions.

The series also delivers a message that all of us should agree with. It is about the "coming out" stage of closeted individuals wherein we should not put pressure on them as they own it only by themselves. They should be the ones taking their time how to get out of the closet without feeling the pressure, still, remember that no matter what we do, reality will always have its place in our life; and the truth is that the real battle is not in our comfort zone (closet or anyone's safe-haven) as it is in the outside world. The same way how their friend relates to Karl pursuing his filming career because, in film, we want our story to be told, seen, and cared for by the audience, but how will they care if you do not care about what they will say as you do not want them to know you? We better think deeper about that.

As the series title should be the one saying it all — just like in the movies where everyone has happy endings, this series ends cliffhanging the viewers as the expected cliche, and overused happy endings did not take their flight. Still, the good thing is that the characters are on their way to finding their truest selves (and yes, the storyline deserves a season 2!).

We may think that it is easy to come out, but if we put ourselves into their shoes, we will understand that our situation is unusual from theirs as they have different things to prioritize, and one factor is the family's approval. For those people who are still in their closet, take your time inside, and if the time comes that you feel suffocated and wanted to be seen, put in mind that there are many people outside who are waiting to welcome you. As quoted in the given series, remember that you are entitled to the love that lets you dance without fear and shame.

#LGBTQIA+

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bookishlyizzy · 3 years

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discussing the final season of carmen sandiego

*spoilers* umm....so yeah, i finished watching carmen sandiego, and i’m left in a state of perpetual sadness and despair. i feel like the ending of the show wrapped up wayyy too fast, and kind of left off on a bit of an unsatisfactory note for some of the characters. although i love the large and diverse cast of carmen sandiego, one of the drawbacks of having all those characters and arcs and storylines makes it harder to cram in a satisfying conclusion for everyone in a twenty-minute episode. so here’s what i would do if there was more time.

let’s start off with the threads that i think were tied off pretty well:

julia & chase devineaux: i wasn’t really a shipper of julia and devineaux but i actually really enjoyed their relationship throughout season 4. we see a lot of character growth from devineaux in the way that he interacts with julia and the world. julia pushes devineaux to become a better person, to see things with a broader perspective and from other people’s points of view. and he does really change a lot into an understanding person instead of the overconfident, arrogant detective we first saw him as in season 1. in addition, he also grows to respect julia as a person and partner, and it’s completely adorable how he looks at her while zari tells julia that they’ll follow her lead. also i love how he keeps wearing his lucky cat jacket from san francisco in season 4.

el topo & le chevre: okay, i was pretty much shipping these two the minute they showed up on the screen together. you can tell how much they care about each other throughout the series. whenever one of them gets hurt, you can really see how they prioritize each other over whatever thing vile is planning. when things are good, they’re so sweet and they have so much fun together. and they take dumb cute selfies. they’re so, so adorable, and this season definitely brings the shipping fodder. and they end the season moving on from vile and running a food truck together. the only thing i’m mad about is that we definitely needed more screen time from them.

shadowsan: i didn’t like shadowsan in season 1 but over the course of the series he really went through a lot of major character development and i love how he’s now basically a grumpy dad figure to carmen. the season ends with him finally reuniting for good with his brother in japan, and it’s a satisfying conclusion for his arc. i also love how he was the one to help carmen in the finale when she’s struggling with the brainwashing thing. which is way better than the brainwashing being resolved by some bs like true love’s kiss. (also carmen and gray are way too hurt and they’re super not ready for a relationship.) carmen sandiego is a show that emphasizes the importance of family with this father-daughter duo, and i think that’s something really valuable. also i’m interpreting that shadowsan isn’t permanently moving to japan, but rather just visiting his brother. he’s still definitely going to be there for carmen going forward when she needs him.

player & carmen’s friendship: i love this show for having a male/female friendship with absolutely no romantic feelings going on. it’s a solid friendship, and depicts a wholesome, supportive relationship. absolutely no qualms here.

and here’s all the stuff that needs expanding/fixing:

tigress: i actually really love tigress as a character, and i personally think that there should have been more of her in the series. i would have liked to see more depth and motivation to her, since she has a lot of character potential. i don’t really know how i would rewrite tigress’s arc, because it’s virtually nonexistent and there’s not too much to go off of. i don’t think she needs a redemption arc, but i would give her more of a spotlight. (also low key fictional-crushing on her.) i would like to include sort of a tigress-centric episode, which can also generally be more expansion on the inner workings of vile.

cleo & saira: villain couple. villain couple. they need to be a villain couple, enough said. i would rewrite season 4 to have include an emotional downbeat moment in which saira struggles with being able to fit in with society and humans and being completely awkward at it while cleo, in all her regal and ettiquite-esque manners, tries to help. this wouldn’t really help with the main plot, but it would be humanizing and provide character depth. i feel like this could be the b-plot in the tigress episode somehow.

coach brunt: you don’t betray family. at this point, coach brunt has lost the daughter she raised, who, in her mind, has basically backstabbed her entirely. coach brunt was also betrayed by shadowsan and left for the police to find, and in season 4, malestrom basically abandons her to drown. and it’s highly likely that somewhere in her backstory she’s been betrayed many times, likely by her own blood family, which would provide context for why she’s such a loyal person to vile, who she thinks of as her found family. in rewriting season four, i’m adding one extra episode that’s solely on the backstory of coach brunt. in this episode, we would explore brunt’s upbringing and the first time she is betrayed by someone she considers family. in my opinion, coach brunt was likely pushed to fall by another influence, but she also makes the conscious choice to choose revenge over moving on. potentially, we could also explore brunt’s budding friendship with the mechanic, who we never see again after that one episode, as well as a reflection upon this from her adult self.

gray & the freaking mind control thing & his moral struggles: *sighs* i can see what the show is going for, but i really just don’t see it in the execution. the way that gray struggles with morality is like it’s an on and off switch. he’s either graham, basic civilian, or crackle, basically evil. in that one episode, he flip flops between being overly heroic, even taking out time from his day to specifically track down a random kid to return his wallet instead of just dropping it off at the police station or leaving it where he found it. and then the flip side is like he’s just robotically relapsing into stealing mode, where he just suddenly has to impluse to steal literally anything. i feel like this flip flop wasn’t really a good portrayal of his struggle and didn’t really demonstrate many active choices made by him. and the way that he’s just like “i’m actually just evil” when he confronts carmen at the lab is just super one-dimensional. i just don’t buy it that he flips to vile so quickly in the span of a few episodes. i feel like there should have been more active reflecting and the decision should have been dragged out longer.

also it’s revealed in the finale that gray also changed his crackle rod to not go beyond a stun, and i think this was a nice touch, because it demonstrates his aversion to murder, which calls back to the first caper, in which he’s confronted with killing the archeologist at the excavation site. but he doesn’t end up having to make that choice, because carmen stops him. but this time, it’s his own choice to take that step away from vile ideals. i don’t think gray is ever going to be a “hero” of the traditional sense or have a complete redemption arc, because it just doesn’t fit him. to be honest, i don’t know what the future will hold for gray, but i definitely think of he will fall somewhere along the lines of red x (teen titans) or catwoman’s (in certain comic runs) gray morality. (and i think the way gray returns to vile kind of screws this up.) he’s still going to steal stuff sometimes probably, but he’s not going to straight up murder people. he would probably be the type to work for himself alone mostly, but be okay teaming up with the good guys sometimes. definitely no joining evil organizations tho.

gray & carmen & the “i know you’re in there somewhere fight:” i definitely ship these two, but i think they’ve got a long way to go before they’re really ready to admit their feelings for each other. i’m happy that the “i know you’re in there somewhere fight” didn’t culminate in a kiss scene being the thing that snapped carmen out of the trance. because that is just so cliche and not the message of the show. instead, it’s shadowsan who does. and that makes sense going along with the themes of family. i think the issue with this i dislike how there is no more elaboration after carmen supposedly kills gray. this is her best friend. i would imagine that the reaction would be greater, since he was also her friend and teammate during the months they were both working under vile. and then when carmen’s brainwashing wears off, she agonizes that she killed her best friend. but that’s it. the “i know you’re in there somewhere fight” is the last screen appearance of both of them together. then it’s directly cutting to taking down vile. there should have been a hospital scene where carmen rides with him in the ambulance and talks to him as he’s unconscious, and leaves behind a note for him to read when he’s awake.

i just really think there should be a “heart to heart” scene somewhere in this finale where they confront their feelings (not romantic stuff, but more about like shared trauma at the hands of vile and their broken apart friendship). this could happen at that sydney cafe. both times carmen and gray go on a “date” she leaves him sitting there alone, bewlildered. i think the finale should include a scene of them leaving the cafe together and then walking away and waving to each other. this shows development in their relationship, and that they are now closer, but it also visually shows that they still have differences as they walk away with a sort of two toned kind of environment angle that shows the different paths they have chosen. (and carmen calls him gray. and he doesn’t correct her.) it’s more of a see you later, than a goodbye though. we’re also getting rid of that part of when gray says he doesn’t want to complicate carmen’s life in the hospital scene. instead, he’s going to ask for a sheet of paper on which he will write an indiscernible letter to carmen. (the same letter will be seen in at the carmen brand outerwear hq a few scenes later for continuity, but unopened at the time, as if carmen’s not yet ready to read it. i feel like both of them need to heal a bit on their own before they’re ready to reconnect. gray knows he has hurt carmen in the past but he also knows it will hurt her if he disappears without a trace, so he’s leaving her with the choice if she wants to see him again instead of making the choice for her.)

ivy & zach & found family: carmen leaves a note behind for ivy and zach and leaves to find her mother. i feel like this did not handle team red’s found family very well. basically, the whole show is setting up this importance of family, especially found family not blood family kind of narrative. vile blood runs in carmen’s veins but she chooses to do good and find her own family. ivy and zach both choose carmen, their found family, over their racing career. i think that they should have stuck together, and when carmen goes to find her mom, they would have been totally onboard dropping her off at the airport and saying a “see you soon” or actually driving her to carlotta valdez’s house in lydia (the car). i just don’t think that splitting them up via a note is really a satisfying conclusion to the whole found family aspect. and in that time skip carmen really should have stopped by to say hi to the zach and ivy and the acme squad instead of maintaining the air of mystery. that would have definitely pushed the family feel, instead of the mysterious loner archetype.

that time skip thing: yeah, no. this part was completely not needed and unhelpful. instead, we’re going to have carmen hug her mother at the airport, and go to visit all of her friends and found family, especially shadowsan in japan and ivy and zach in presumably boston. and the time skip will be a few onths not two effing years. i think it’s natural for them to grow apart a bit and pursue their own personal goals in life after vile’s gone, but they’ll definitely be staying in touch and reconnecting and seeing each other pretty often. and lastly of all, carmen will meet gray at the cafe in sydney.

basically, this is how i would redo the episodes for season 4.

episode 1: the beijing bullion caper. (this episode remains as is for the most part, i would like more expansion on lady doksu and shadowsan's past since it seems like their pasts are more tied together than is revealed)

episode 2: the big bad ivy caper. (this episode remains as is for the most part.)

episode 3: the robo caper. (the scenes in which carmen first meets the robot and ivy runs it over with a truck can stay the same. where we start to deviate is with gray’s story with a revised, more complex, and in depth view of his moral struggles. instead of being unaware largely as gray flops between graham/crackle, he’s going to be a lot more aware. he’s still going to rob the house, but instead it’s because he feels hopeless that since he was previously a criminal, that’s all he’s ever going to be. gray doesn’t want to be a civilian, and feels like the only thing that he can do instead is be a part of vile. however, when he sees carmen again, he’s going to realize that if she got out of vile, then that means he has a chance to get out of it too. gray comes to a crossroads of deciding between carmen and vile, good and evil.

episode 4: this will be the episode that concentrates on tigress, with a cleo/saira b-plot. most of this episode will take place within vile, and give more insights on the workings of the organization.

episode 5: the himalayan rescue caper. (this episode is going to get a real makeover. with the insertion of episode 4, this creates more actual space between the last time we see gray grappling with his big choices, which makes it feel like more time has passed. so it actually feels like he had more time to think. carmen’s still going to try to rescue gray, and the part with player can stay the same. as gray is manipulated by malestrom, i think this episode should further emphasize how vile manipulates their recruits and amp up the shittiness of how malestrom is acting. i think malestrom should say something along the lines indicating that vile is gray’s only family left, this is what he was born to do, he belongs with them, and make up a bunch of bullshit lies about carmen. malestrom will portray this stuff as the “truth” and then say something like “we told you to the full truth, while carmen was hiding your past from you. didn’t you say you wanted to piece together more of your past?” (which gray did express interest in a previous episode.) since more time has passed, malestrom will play the “if carmen wanted to rescue you, she would have done so already. she abandoned you.” card. of course, it’s not easy to get into a super advanced vile facility, so instead carmen’s going to be having more struggles with getting in, which is the real reason she’s taking a while.) i want to keep the scene where he says that his name is crackle, not gray and not graham. i think this scene is particularly painful because graham/crackle is kind representative of the two sides of good and evil that gray thinks he has to choose between. gray will accuse carmen of abandoning him, both in the present but demonstrating that he’s still hurt by the time when she first left vile, and all those times when she kept secrets from him and disappearing in sydney. carmen asks him to leave with her, but instead of him being like “i’m bad, and i was always a villain,” he’s just going to be hurt and feel manipulated and be so conflicted. i feel like gray would choose vile, but not because it’s where he belongs but because he’s afraid of being brainwashed again if he doesn’t agree and because he just wants to know the truth, which vile happened to tell him first (and carmen had been hiding it from him for a while). why would it make sense for gray to willingly side with vile because he’s “throughly bad?” actions speak louder than words, and it’s clear that he’s definitely not evil enough for vile.

episode 6: the vile history caper. (we’re just going to keep this episode as is for the most part. but like more el topo and le chevre moments.)

episode 7: this will be the coach brunt backstory episode, piggybacking off of her hurt feelings about maelstrom’s intended betrayal.

episode 8: the egyptian decryption caper. (this one is just going to be as is for the most part. the cleaners kidnap carmen, but we’re going insert one more painstaking scene of gray learning of vile’s plan to kidnap carmen. he’s not going to know they are planning to brainwash her. he’s going to feel conflicted and try to protest, but then realizes that now that he’s stuck with vile, if he goes against them he’s probably going to get brainwashed himself. and the brainwashing was really traumatizing, so it’s understandable he’s really afraid of it happening to him again.)

episode 9: the viennese waltz caper. (mostly just keeping this episode as is, but more worrying gray scenes. i feel like he should have had a bigger reaction to seeing carmen so unlike her personality. carmen’s lack of empathy should have pushed himself to question if vile is really a healthy place for anyone if they’re so willing to brainwash his best friend in a greater capacity. i think gray should recognize how bad the situation is but he still won’t act upon it since he’s trapped in the nostalgia of their old squad and since he’s been abandoned by carmen before, he’s too afraid that reversing the brainwashing will result in a repeat of her leaving him again. and he’s still afraid of the brainwashing.)

episode 10 + 11 + 12. the dark red caper. (yeah, this episode is kind of just way too quickly wrapped up. i’m going to expand this into a three parter so we have more time to focus on everyone. basically, we’re going to expand this for the angst. and because this is the last season and i need more content. i feel like we can follow the general plot trajectory but with more nuance and include the improvements i wrote above about the finale. absolutely pushing the found family trope to its limits, and less vagueness since there’s not going to be another season. oh yeah, and the scene when carmen fights shadowsan, i feel like they could have amped up the emotional stuff and make it as much as about him being her dad figure as the doll because #foundfamily. and also the extra time gives more space for all of that other stuff like endings for all the characters, and more team red found family, and a bit about the non-jailed vile operatives, and the acme team, and also maybe a little infrastructure rebuilding montage, and also that carmen and gray moment.)

basically i just want a satisfying ending for gray, and i love him, and he can’t just stare out of the hospital bedroom and agree to stay out of her life while melancholy music plays.

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thevindicativevordan · 3 years

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How do you feel about the way New Krypton was resolved? To me it felt really callous. Like DC was just sweeping it all aside with the Kryptonians being genocided, and then the whole world moves on a week later.

Two words: Wasted potential.

This should have been Superman's Sinestro Corps War, his big event/storyline that completely rejuvenated his sales and brought in a ton of new readers. It had all the hallmarks of being the big shakeup that the Superman franchise desperately needed: it gave Superman a big conflict that allowed him to punch stuff while also not being something he could solve solely by punching, it centered all of his big villains and gave them the revamps they needed (particularly Zod as I'll get to later), it involved all the other members of the Superfamily (bar Conner who was dead at the time) and gave them stuff to do, it even brought in the Legion of Superheroes at one point! The setup was all there to do something great, to give Superman that big event storyline he hadn't had since Death of Superman (or President Luthor if you're feeling generous).

And DC completely fucked it up.

First you had Busiek and Johns, the guys who were doing the actual setup and who had been doing great work beforehand, both leave the books right as the event was kicking off. Busiek to go do Trinity and Johns to go prepare Blackest Night, both leaving their big event to be executed by new writers who had not been involved in the process of conceptualizing this event. Then you had Clark taken out of Superman and Action Comics, those titles given to Z-Listers, and Clark himself dropped into a brand new mini. No offense to those who like Mon-El but there was never a chance in hell of him sustaining his own book as the lead guy unless Johns was writing it. Then you hilariously had the first son of Clark and Lois, Chris Kent, aged up in a bizarre way and made a costumed hero himself with a romance to boot in a deeply unpopular move (funny how history repeats itself, although I like what's unfolding with Jon a lot more). So of course the sales tanked, and what happened next was inevitable.

DC panicked and hit the reset button so hard a planet exploded and everyone died, except for Kal, Kara, and Zod plus some of his loyalists.

God I was pissed because while the side books may have floundered, the main mini itself following Clark on New Krypton? That was really good in my opinion.

Clark was forced into an interesting position: a second chance at life with his people, at the cost of renouncing ties with his adopted homeworld. Can Kal-El find a way of keeping the peace between the two worlds, with the leadership on both ends preparing for war? That's an exciting and enticing premise or at least it was for me! I loved the storyline also because it took the usual cliche storyline of Superman losing his powers and flipped it: what if there was an entire new planet full of guys who were just as strong as he was? What makes Superman special then? And we got to see the answer: his brains and his experience.

It was cool seeing Clark kick ass, seeing him navigate the politics of the Guilds and Kryptonian society. There was so much worldbuilding going on at the same time, old Kryptonian animals and plants being recreated on New Krypton, the dissatisfaction within the Labor Guild, the military spoiling for a fight, Kal's internal struggles with everyone seeing Zod as a hero and him having to try to work quietly to change that, it was all really fun to read about for me. There were also those hints of long term plotlines being set up, such as those aliens from Saturn who were also super powered, and were letting the newcomers know they were keeping an eye on things. I seriously thought we were going to get a Solar War with every race in the Sol system fighting each other for dominance. And the Superman/Zod dynamic has never been better than it was in this storyline.

The two did not like each other, but there was a grudging respect being built up between the two. Kal was coming to appreciate that Zod genuinely cared about protecting the Kryptonians, and Zod was coming to respect Clark's skills and insights. Zod was sympathetic and understandable in his goals while also still being a ruthless son of a bitch, which is exactly how I prefer he be depicted.

In all honesty this was the first big Zod story I read and it shaped my perceptions of how he should be. You also had General Sam Lane on the other side, putting together Project 7734 to tackle the Kryptonians, drafting Lex Luthor, Metallo, and others to his side. Hell this was the last and as far as I know only story to pit the Big 3 of Lex, Brainiac, and Zod against one another, something I would dearly love to see tried again. All these major players working their own agendas simply isn't something you usually get in Superman books. Lex working to kill Superman and the other Kryptonians of course, but also out to steal knowledge from Brainiac and secure his freedom. Brainiac wanting to recapture the Kryptonians. Zod and Lane out to preemptively destroy one another, with Zod seeding Kryptonian sleeper agents back on Earth. Superman's Rogues got good showings as the dangerous threats they are in this story, I'll say that much.

All of it torched in the end alas. DC definitely wanted it all swept under the rug and forgotten. I liked the retcon of Grounded really being Superman suffering a massive case of PTSD which is why he was being an asshole under JMS, but I doubt that was the original intention. You're right, Clark having to experience the pain of losing his people as an adult, and Kara having to re-experience it along with the death of her mother, really should've gotten more focus. But they wanted it gone and done with.

You know what kills me? Not even a few years later they'd reboot the whole damn universe anyway, so what was the point of taking Superman back to his "status quo"? They should've just said fuck it and let the writers go wild in the final years before the New 52, let New Krypton play out as it was intended to, it was all going to get rebooted anyway. Of course New 52 was a rush job I understand, so they didn't know ahead of time what would happen, but I can't help but be bitter.

The potential New Krypton offered is one I would 100% love to see revisited, in an animated movie or in that upcoming My Adventures With Superman cartoon. The animated side keeps changing the stories as they adapt them anyway, and I would love to see the ending to New Krypton get changed. Give me the original Johns/Busiek plan for the event, or give me something else entirely, it can't be a bigger disappointment than what we ultimately got anyway.

#superman #new krypton #supergirl #dc comics #general zod

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thefairyletters · 3 years

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✨ Spooky Recs✨

I read a lot of fanfictions... More than I am proud of. I thought I should recommend as I go before I lose sight of their existence among the sea of my favorites.

Since past few days I have been craving for some creepy, unnerving fanfics that will keep me restless and awake at night. I remembered my favorites and wanted to read more of the kind so I looked up, patiently going through each story that sounded compelling. I also revisited old stories for nostalgia's sake.

Of course, rare as they are, in Naruto fandom no less, it's even harder to find a horror and mystery fic that is well written, not dropped under 2 chapters, and really keeps your attention.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Comedy

I've rated 4 aspects of the work -

Writing – I don't judge writing based solely on the grammar and vocabulary. I also consider how the author expands upon a subject, if they are consistent with the facts, if they are able to keep the attention of the readers regardless of their creative writing skills.

Characters – If the characters are well-developed, in their given character, if OCs have any real significance to the story.

Plot – How gripping is the storyline, if the story sticks to its original plot, the structure of the story, plot holes.

Flow – Mother-of-slow-burn, slow-but-steady, steady, fast, I-am-speed

When the flowers cry : TCOOKIES777 || M || AO3/FFN || SasuSaku || Goth Horror || Post-Canon, set during Blank Period || Ongoing

When one of the greatest medical-nin in the world goes missing in what should have been a simple delivery to the Land of Spring’s Hidden Snow Village, the rest of Team 7 must reunite to find her. But even the most powerful team of shinobi will find themselves challenged in a battle against the supernatural. With Sasuke's return, vengeful ghosts of the past will test him and his love.

My thoughts : One of the best stories I've read in a while, and top tier SS stories. I read this in one sitting. I never listen to music while reading, preferring silence, but for this one, I suggest you do as the author says. Also, keep some tissues and food with you. This story is major in mystery and minor in horror but otherwise full of SS fluff.

Writing: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Plot: 9/10

Flow: Steady, if a bit confusing (but that's why it's mystery)

Kyuro : silver_shot || T || AO3 || SasuSaku || Mystery || Post-Canon || Complete

“Oh,” says Naruto, “well, its sort of like that. Except in this village, the story has a way more darker ending – it basically goes like this: the girl and the guy plan to run away together. The guy steals a bunch of treasure, and stashes it away. But then, when he goes to get the girl at her village, he kills her and decides to run away with all that money. But then he is killed by the guards of the girls village and now they're both dead and the treasure is hidden away somewhere”. Sasuke stares blankly at the blond, “that story makes no sense”.

My thoughts : I know you must be thinking the same thing as Sasuke – "makes no sense". I did too, but it's a pretty cool short story. It lies on the funny, creepy side that slowly starts to lose its funny touch. SS makes stupid mistakes later on but it could be because they are MCs. The ending is very ambiguous. It's not my favorite mystery but it is something. Enjoyable read but not something I will pick again.

Writing: 8/10

Characters: 8/10

Plot: 8/10

Flow: Fast

Moon stuttering in the sky : xfrinz || T || AO3 || Gen || Mystery || Pre-Shippuden || One-shot

Kakashi is suspicious of many things about Haruno Sakura. Too many things about her don't make sense, with too many incongruous explanations.

My thoughts : Author of this story just summarised Pre-Shippuden in less than 4k words and made some tiny changes to it. Not much though. One of my favorite gen fics yet. Read it if you haven't yet. You'll feel more sad than thrilled tbh. But worth it.

Writing: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Plot: 10/10

Flow: I-am-Speed

Breath mints : silver_shot || T || AO3 || SasuSaku || Comedy-Mystery || Post-Canon || Ongoing (maybe)

Their home no longer exists with the life it once had – in fact no settlement thrives anymore; they exist only in a snapshot that contradicts time itself. Families within their own homes sleep in a slumber that they cannot wake from. Those that were chatting on the street prior to the event simply drop their heads and remain unresponsive.

My thoughts : I picked it up for Mystery but I stayed for Comedy. But of course that's not to say supernatural elements in this story is not it, but it sure pales in comparison to effortless humor in this story. Lee and Kiba pair is something you don't see often but they get along too well here. Charactisation is on point as well. SS angst! + NS angst (but it's downplayed)

Writing: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Plot: 9/10

Flow: Steady

The Curse : sincerelyLen || T || FFN || SasuSaku || Horror || Post-Canon || Ongoing

Team 7 is unexpectedly assigned an S-Ranked Mission involving an unsolved mystery of 10 years. An eerie adventure that will test their teamwork, strengths, and greatest fears. Do you believe in Curses?

My thoughts : My all-time favourite horror Naruto fanfiction. To me, this sets the standard of how mystery and horror elements should be handled. I have never been able to get this story out of my mind even it's been years. Perfect charactisation of Team 7 with Smart-yet-Stupid!Sakura, I-can-fight-aliens-and-reanimated-corpses-but-keep-ghosts-away-from-me!Naruto and I-dont-get-paid-enough-for-this!Sasuke. I especially love OCs here. They kinda reminds me of Pillars from KnY. You must read this story, loosely based on Zombie apocalypse + curse concept.

Writing: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Plot: 10/10

Flow: Slow-but-Steady

Silent High : Istoria || T || FFN || Gen || Mystery || Post-Canon || Complete

A bit of the Silent Hill series mixed in with Naruto. Trapped in an illusion whose rules are unknown, they struggle to find answers before darkness consumes them.

My thoughts : One of the best mystery fanfictions I've read. I especially loved how this story handled Genjutsu in the best possible way it could without it turning into some cliche, ghost story. Though really, this story has shown what my greatest fear actually is. I will never be able to leave my back open to a wheelchair. This story has simple writing yet it gives you creeps with the twists and turns. A must read one because it is unlike any other in this list.

Writing: 9/10

Characters: 10/10

Plot: 10/10

Flow: Steady

Silence of the Damned : Daystar Clarion || T || FFN || Gen || Psychological Horror, Mystery(?) || Pre-Shippuden || One-Shot

When Naruto wakes up to a dead body in his bathroom, he begins a quick spiral into madness.

My thoughts : Listen to Halsey's Control while reading this. Quite chilling, deals with mental issues and morbid but in a fascinating way. It gives a new meaning to Dark!Naruto, but one that actually makes sense. I never saw the ending coming... I had something else in mind and I was convinced it would be, but nope. Here's a sequel to this One-Shot (Uzumaki's War) which I never picked up.

Writing: 10/10

Characters: 9/10

Plot: 9/10

Flow: Slow-but-steady

To the Victor : Letta || T || FFN || NaruSaku || Psychological Horror || Shippuden || One-Shot

Naruto loses the fight and Sakura is a trophy of war.

My thoughts : A very twisted NS, if you squint. It's not horror but it might as well be... it is still a disturbing story to see from the eyes of Sakura. Quite chilling to be in Sakura's shoes. But I love this because it is one shot and I loved the ending.

Writing: 9/10

Characters: 10/10

Plot: 8/10

Flow: Steady

Under the Skin : BukkakeNoJutsu || T || FFN || Team 8 || Body Horror || Pre-Shippuden || One-Shot

Your actions don't make you a monster. Your reasons do.

My thoughts : There's a reason why Shino is my favourite team 8 member. In my opinion, Shino is also one of the strongest Shinobi of his generation. His clan techniques are just that horrifying. This story is testament to that. He is so terrible.

Writing: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Plot: 10/10

Flow: Slow-but-steady

Instant Message : Keelah || T || FFN || SasuSaku || Murder mystery || Modern AU || Incomplete

She gave him names to kill, in order not to be killed herself. But having blood on her hands was turning out to be much worse than dying. "…There's still round 2…3…4…" When does this game end? She asked. "Don't you see, Sakura?" He said, "It never does."

My thoughts : I read this story a long time ago and have read this twice. Personally, it has the most interesting concept of all stories in the list. It reminds me of Vocaloid series, "Bookmark of the end". Kind of. To those who are thinking of picking this up, go ahead! It's a great book and has one of the best suspense I've read in Fandom. BUT, it has been stopped in mother-of-all-cliffhangers and Author is MIA for 4 years now. But, all things considered, it remains to be one of the best stories I've read.

Writing: 10/10

Characters: 9/10

Plot: 10/10

Flow: Steady

Monomoth : Ohtze || M || FFN/AO3 || SasuSaku || Horror || AU || Incomplete

Everything ends, eventually. Eight years after the war, Sakura's unhinged and Sasuke's obsessed. The fields are filled with corpses.

My thoughts : I read this story right after "The Curse", my favourite. From what I remember, Sakura and Sasuke are both mentally deranged, in different ways. Lots of death and gore to stomach, so not for weak readers. There's no speak of fluff in this one. Zero, Zilch, Nada. I wouldn't call it your classic 'Horror', but it is very disturbing, so psychological horror is more like it. Don't eat food while reading this one. Did I mention how Sakura is mentally disturbed beyond help in this one? And Sasuke is obsessed. If these suit your tastes, go ahead.

Writing: 10/10

Characters: 9/10

Plot: 10/10

Flow: Slow

I hope you enjoy this list. Let me know your opinion in comments.

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kn1feinthec0ffee · 4 years

Text

picking it apart - spencer reid

spencer reid x reader

warnings: fluffy fluff and like one? curse word 😌 also final destination spoilers if you haven’t seen it? do i need a spoiler alert for something that came out 20 years ago?? idk

word count: 859

notes: this is a little segment i like to call flora watches 3 seasons of a show and thinks she’s qualified to write something true to the character but she’s gonna write it anyways

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

tonight was one of the rare nights spencer hadn’t been overworked into a nearly unconscious state, so you decided to make the most of it.

“wanna watch a movie?” you slid into his lap with a grin. you gave him a kiss, relishing in the deepness of it, but subtly using it as a tactic to get him to say yes to you.

he almost immediately gave in (of course) and got up to pop some popcorn. you were scrolling through the horror section on netflix, jumping when you heard his voice behind you. “you know, all these films have extremely vague titles that invoke the feeling that something’s wrong, therefore convincing the viewer to click on it to find out the relevance of the name.”

“thank you for the lesson in marketing, doctor,” you giggled. “now get your ass over here.” he took a seat and balanced the popcorn on both of your laps as you cuddled into his side. “hmmm, what are we feeling tonight?”

you continued to browse through your choices, finally deciding on one. “i think you’ll like this one, spence,” you muttered as you clicked on final destination. “there’s so much to analyse.”

“i’ve analysed enough today, my brain is tired,” spencer whined, dropping his head onto your shoulder.

you pouted at his statement. “aww, poor baby. this one should be perfect for you then, it’s pretty mindless.” you hit the play button, eager to get the movie started.

the two of you laughed at some of the cliche teenager moments, but you could’ve predicted that when it came to the inciting incident, spencer would most assuredly have something to say.

“did you know 49% of all plane crashes are caused by pilot error? and that crashes are 95% survivable?” you turned to look at him, the orange from the flames on screen illuminating his features.

“no i did not,” you grinned. “but you’re gonna have to suspend disbelief if you want to enjoy these kinds of movies.”

the survivors of the plane crash lamented their loss as some new faces entered the room, two of them introducing themselves as fbi agents. “look, it’s you!” you nudged him playfully.

“wow, they definitely picked the coolest names to represent such a high profile government organization.” he murmured sarcastically.

“you’re right, spencer reid is a much cooler name, why didn’t they use that one?” you teased. he gasped in offense, crossing his arms and letting go of you. “hey, i’m kidding! i think you have the coolest name!”

“alright, alright, you are forgiven, come here,” he sighed, uncurling his arms to wrap them around you once more. as the investigation played, you could practically hear the gears in spencer’s head whirring as he memorized the student’s statements. you were tempted to remind him he didn’t have to look at this like a case, but he seemed pretty invested at this point. oh well, that’s just a profiler’s brain, you thought.

the parents of the survivors rushed into the room to console their children while some of their parents didn’t show up. you looked over to spencer to see a pang of remorse on his features, clearly sympathizing with many victims he’d seen before. “bub, i can skip this part if you want?” you offered.

“no, it’s okay, i don’t want to miss a minute of this enthralling storyline.” he smirked. “it’s interesting, but i think it could’ve been thought out a little more.”

“ooh, i didn’t realize one of your three phds was in cinematography, doctor reid! please, tell us more.” your giggles were quickly tuned out against his lips. with the cheap gore of the movie having become background noise, you indulged in the closeness of each other.

the sudden sound of a train rattling across the tracks emanated from the tv, scaring you both apart with a jump. as you tried to calm your racing heart, spencer looked over to you with a knowing gaze. “wanna call it quits?”

you nodded quickly, switching off the tv as the room became swathed in darkness. you stumbled into the kitchen, bumping your hip against the table as you blindly walked.

“you scared death personified is coming after you?” spencer cooed in an eerie tone. you scoffed and reached for the flashlight on your phone. “oh please, why should i be scared?”

“because horror movies trigger the fight or flight response which can often cause people to have nightmares.” he offered simply. you rolled your eyes, though you doubt he saw in the pitch blackness.

“how did i know you’d have a fact about that?” you mumbled, reaching for your doorknob.

“maybe you’ve somehow avoided death in the past few days and its working its way to get you, now!” spencer shouted suddenly, gripping your shoulders tightly.

“what the fuck, you dork?” you squealed. “do not put those ideas in my head this late at night.” you flopped onto the bed, pulling your boyfriend down with you.

“no more talk, only sleep and cuddle,” you groaned, wrapping your arms around him. all was silent for a few minutes until:

“you never know, though, the statistics o-”

“spence!”

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

in case you were curious, here are my sources for any statistics/facts mentioned: planecrashinfo.com, businessinsider.com, bustle.com

also idrk who to tag and i’ve also never written for spencer before soo @sojournmichael @linguinereid

#not me being too self conscious to tag more people couldn't be me #NOT THE WORD COUNT WEBSITE SAYING YOU COULD READ THIS IN 3 MINUTES #this was supposed to be longer but i got anxious so no ❤️#this is also not my best work #god why do i keep apologizing (and rambling)#n e ways #spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid oneshot #spencer reid fic #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid criminal minds #criminal minds #mgg #mgg character #my writing

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millers-planet · 3 years

Text

Handled - Boba Fett x GN!Reader

Storyline/ Prompt: The damsel in distress can handler herself. (themed in S2 finale but instead in this, Boba stuck with them to fight.)

Notes: i’ve been really out of it lately, so I’m writing shorter fics until I get back into it. so if you send a request that I really like I might have it on hold until I get myself back together.

Warnings: None but language, not really angst or fluff tbh. Cliche enemies to lovers trope.

Pairing: Boba Fett x Mandalorian!GN!Reader

POV: Reader

This entire godforsaken rescue mission I have been treated like a helpless princess, I say princess because that is what Boba has been calling me since we crossed paths. Bo Katan wants to help them so we can get the chid back but mainly get the dark saber. Quite frankly, I couldn’t care what happens, just whatever gets me away from Boba Fett the fastest.

I was relieved that he was essentially dropping us off on the Empires ship until I recognized the landing noises. He decided to show up and help out after all. I wish he didn’t because his “helping” is stepping in front of me to take the guys shooting at me.

There were stormtroopers down the hall, so I put myself against the corner to give me some protection. I took out a few by myself before he grabbed my shoulder and forced me out of the way, “let the adults handle this.”

When the coast was clear, I stood up and pushed his shoulder several times, making him bounce back a little. “Who the fuck do you think you are?” I looked him up and down, keeping my steps firm as the rockets on his back hit the wall. “Did you want me to shoot you back there? Because I swear to the Maker, I was this close to doing it!” My fingers were mere millimeters apart.

Before I could pull away, Boba grabbed my wrist and put me in his position, our helmets just inches apart. “Talk to me like that again and I will show you who I am.” His voice was deep, no hesitation in his words. Bo and Koska came around the corner just as I pushed him off me.

“I won’t have to talk to you like that again if you don’t pull that shit again.”

His helmet turned to me as we continued down the hall, “maybe try and take them out quicker and I won’t have to step in, Princess.”

Under the shadows of the helmet on me, I rolled my eyes. However, the way he hesitated on his next step and lingered a stare made me wonder if he knew that did that. “Stop calling me princess.”

Bo stepped in front of us, pushing herself in between Boba and I. “Get to the side!” Groups of stormtroopers came from all side of the intersection up ahead in the hall. She shot a few down and got in cover, Boba pushed me into a doorway and he was, once again, inches from me. I hated this. I could handle myself.

Pushing him out of the way, I mumbled a “move.” I threw a grenade that knocked a majority of the troopers off of their feet. “How’s that for taking them out quicker?” I walked out of the cover and shot a few troopers as I moved across the hall, away from Boba. I felt his gaze linger on me as I moved.

Koska took out the last one, making Bo get up and lead the way to the command deck of the ship. Or wherever she thought Moff Gideon was.

Only when I moved out of cover did Boba move as well, making me stare at him. I was tired of his antics and about to jam the butt of my gun against his stupid metal head unless he didn’t stop. “In case you haven’t noticed, I can handle myself, I really don’t need you protecting me like I’m a puppy. Or, no, a princess. That’s it.”

“Watch the attitude, kitten.”

“Thanks for the response, it’s a very fulfilling answer. I’d prefer Din’s quietness over your snarky-ness any day.”

“And I prefer his humility over your cockiness any day, as well.”

Bo and Koska were a few feet ahead, so they didn’t hear his comment that made me stop dead in my tracks. “Me? The cocky one? You’re the asshat who can’t help but think I’m some damsel in distress that can’t pull her own weight.” I walked up to him and pulled my helmet off. “Well, guess what, you’re not such a knight in shining armor yourself.”

Boba turned his full body and faced me, stepping forward, expecting me to walk backwards, only I kept my ground. “You’re asking for yourself to be shot everytime you leave cover in a battle, which is all the time. You act like you can take down a full army of those stormtroopers, but truth is, you can barely pull your own weight without my help.”

“Your help? I’ve kept myself alive this far and I only just met you. I need no one’s help but yours.”

“The only reason why you are still alive is because your teammates have had to babysit you.”

By this point I was fuming. He really is one to talk. I am not helpless, I can do anything without his help. I know my limits, unlike how he doesn’t know boundaries. “If you-” I turned my head and saw another large group of troopers storm to us. Bo Katan and Koska were already farther ahead so it was just Boba and I.

“Why are you just standing there? Go!” He pushed me against some crates and I put my back to it as he shot at them, placing my helmet back where it belonged. “Now we’re outnumbered because you wanted to argue. Do you have any more of those grenades?” I shook my head and he sighed.

I stood up and began firing at the white-armored enemies. It took out a handful before it jammed, making a few of them push forward. As they approached, I slammed the butt of my gun against their helmets and took their blasters, until I saw one of them had a timed bomb. I grabbed it and handed it to Boba. “What would you do without me?” There was a smile underneath my helmet as he armed it and threw it towards them, grabbing my hand and pulling me down, more gentle than earlier.

Boba was essentially on top of me when the bomb finally went off. When it did, I jumped at the sudden noise, making him laugh. I pushed him off of me and stood up, rolling my eyes as I walked towards Bo and Koska.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me, Princess.”

“How did-”

part two

tags: @gabile18 @evabellasworld @blondekel77 @mysticdeerpolice

join the tag list!

#boba fett #boba fett x reader #boba fett x din djarin #boba fett x you #boba x reader #boba x you #jango fett #jango x reader #jango fett x reader #jango fett x you #star wars #the mandalorian

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kinksvt · 4 years

Text

behind closed doors (m)

requested

→ pairing: actor!mingyu x actress!reader

♕ summary: you and mingyu have a secret relationship and before he leaves for two weeks, you both decide to tie the knot.

✱ genre: celebrity au

✱ warnings: cursing, humor? (i tried), slow sex, angst at some parts

✱ word count: 5.9k

You knew that being in the movie industry would not be easy. You knew you had to work and sacrifice many things to avoid scandals, drama and rumors. So when you and Mingyu met on a set of a movie that your agent recommended, you had no idea what was to come.

The movie's plot included two characters—you and Mingyu—sent back in time to "save the world." You and Mingyu are friends in the movie but slowly fall for each other during the quest. You both shared a few kisses in some scenes in the movie and that was it. Yeah, maybe the storyline was a bit cliche but, a gig is a gig, you always thought.

Over the course of a few months, outside of your roles, you and Mingyu got close due to rehearsing and making sure it all went as planned. Closer than you would've guessed. You've heard of costars falling for each other during the filming of a movie and end up dating in real life to be admired by everyone? Well, unfortunately, this wasn't the case for you. Your agent, Seungcheol, did not like the idea of you dating in your career. He said that it might distract and hold you back from getting certain roles for future parts. You tried to tell him that it wouldn't change anything but Seungcheol didn't listen. He just waved you off and answered a phone call outside of the room.

And that's how you ended up in the situation now. Since the filming for you and Mingyu's movie ended, you haven't been able to score any parts that involved him as the lead as well. Not even a substitute role either. You enjoyed working with Mingyu, even if you didn't consider it working and more like just having fun with him while in character. He was an amazing actor and he was so passionate as well. You've heard many actors and actresses that's worked with him compliment on how dedicated he is in roles and how serious he takes his career.

Everyone loves Mingyu, he's handsome, funny, sweet, tall and not to mention, well built. Who wouldn't fall for him at his feet? But, what no one knew was that you and Mingyu have been seeing each other on the low. After those months of working with each other, texting and getting to know each other truly, you developed feelings and so did he luckily. He asked you out and, though you wished you could date freely, you two dated in private. It was still something though, even if you couldn't hold his hand out in public or even be seen in public—it was still nice to know that he cared for you and wanted to be with only you.

It had been six and a half months since he asked you out and what a wonderful six and a half months it had been. Six—and a half—months of pure and utter affection and dates at home that involved binge watching movies and shows, ordering out and spending as much time as you both could with your busy schedules. Including tonight.

Tonight was one of the few nights that you and Mingyu were available this month and of course, he called you and asked you to come on over. Both of you were initially cuddling on the couch, watching a random show that you put on when he put his hand on your thigh, accidentally sparking something inside of you that you've been dying to push down since the moment you laid eyes on him.

You guys have kissed, plenty of times and during those times there's been plenty of moments where it escalated to the point of almost having sex. Although neither of you both were virgins, you both were somewhat afraid of "sealing the deal." You knew at least that if you were to have sex with Mingyu, it would be hard to let him go eventually, like you knew you would one day. Mingyu knew if you guys were to have sex, he'd fall harder for you and wouldn't want to leave you. But at this moment, both of you didn't care.

You ended up on Mingyu's lap, the blanket that covered the both of you tossed to the side and the movie long forgotten. Mingyu's hands wandered all over your back, moving down south to grip your ass, making you moan into his mouth. Your hips subconsciously began to grind on him, making him moan into your mouth. The only sounds that were present in the room was the sound of your mixed heavy breathing and the television on low.

"Y/N," Mingyu panted as his cock began to get hard under your movements.

You whined against his lips, feeling yourself get wet at the friction. Mingyu broke the kiss, kissing your neck and nipping only slightly at the skin, knowing that if you suddenly showed up with a hickey, the press would get suspicious. "Mingyu," you spoke softly.

He stopped his movements, "Yeah?" he replied. He was sweaty, his hair sticking to his forehead and cheeks flushed.

You wanted to have sex with him. At this point you didn't care about the consequences or the possible feelings that you might have hurt. You just needed him then and there or else you felt like you'd explode. "I think I'm r-"

Ring ring!

Are you fucking kidding me?

Mingyu groaned as you felt disappointed. You got up off of Mingyu's lap and let him answer his phone which laid face up on the table. "Hello?" He said when he picked up, mouthing an I'm sorry to you. You sat quietly, listening to Mingyu's responses and also straining to listen to who was on the other line. "Oh, hey Jeonghan. What's up?" He spoke nonchalantly as if you two weren't dry fucking on his couch.

Jeonghan was Mingyu's agent who—to put it nicely—wasn't the biggest fan of you. He knew that you two had a thing and when he confronted you about it, he made you stop speaking with him. Of course you didn't listen to him, sticking it to the man. You couldn't help yourself, trying to cut ties with Mingyu for the better of your career. But every time you tried, you imagined his sad little face in your mind and didn't have the heart to really end it.

"Really?" Mingyu got up suddenly, visibly excited. He glanced at you and his face dropped. "Okay. Friday? This Friday? That's too soon." You were on the edge of your seat, curious to know what was happening. "But- Jeonghan- I," Mingyu sighed, "Okay. Alright, thank you. Yes Jeonghan I am thankful. Yeah, I'll talk to you later. Okay, bye." You looked at him, waiting for him to talk to you.

"Jeonghan got me a role."

...

After hearing those words, you felt something in your heart. Mingyu would be gone for, God knows how long and you were—to say the least—devastated. You wouldn't see him, feel him, touch or hear him for whatever many months and it upset you. He would be leaving this Friday, only—technically—two more days. Two days to spend as much time with him as you can. That night you wanted to seal the deal. To hell with your fear of it because in reality, you were already in deep with Mingyu. You cared about him and you knew he cared about you too. But not yet. You wanted it to be meaningful.

You picked the absolute fanciest hotel you could find and were pleasantly pleased to find a private house for you and Mingyu, for two nights. You got there before nightfall, just before 6 o'clock, giving yourself time to set up and build up your confidence. When you entered the house, it was breathtaking. You knew Mingyu was going to love it.

The house was secluded, overlooking the mountains and the Pacific ocean. It was huge, beautiful wooden floors, the most expensive decorations and up to date appliances. Two master bedrooms, both with gorgeous bathrooms that made you wish you could stay in forever.

"It's that nice?" Mingyu's voice echoed throughout the living room as you had him on speaker.

"Yes, it's more than nice, it's amazing. You're seriously gonna freak out when you get here." You smiled at the thought of Mingyu's reaction. You can already see his eyes sparkling with his pearly white canines showing.

"Well, I'm only about an hour-ish away according to my GPS."

"Okay, drive safe for me. Come here in one piece."

"I will, Mom."

You groaned at his words, earning a laugh from him.

...

"Ho-ly shit, Y/N, you were right." Mingyu said right after you had opened the door. The sun set by the time he arrived and it made everything look so much more beautiful. Mingyu looked all around, taking his jacket and shoes off, setting the small bag he packed on the floor.

"I told you," you replied, giggling. You showed him around, every room making his eyes grow wider and wider. After Mingyu came to his senses, the sound of his nose sniffing filled your ears. "Y/N, you didn't." He turned to you, his eyebrows furrowing together while he pouted.

You winced jokingly, "I did."

"You made dinner for me?" Mingyu looked at you, pouting even harder that it made his lower lip ache.

"For us. I just wanted to do something nice for the two of us. You know," you trailed off. "Before you go." You said sadly.

Mingyu cooed and grabbed your hand, pulling you into his arms. "You're such a sweetheart, Y/N."

You sighed in his chest, "Just wanna make our last few moments a little special."

...

After Mingyu arrived, you served him his food and you both sat on the luxurious and quite comfy couch and ate together. You found a show to put on and you two cuddled. You glanced at the microwave that read 9:46. Mingyu had his arms behind his head while you laid on his chest, your left arm wrapped around his torso. Without looking at him, you called out his name. "Mingyu?"

"Yeah baby?" He looked down at you—well, the top of your head actually.

You paused for a second, thinking over what you wanted to say. "You remember what happened yesterday?"

At this moment, you sat up to look at Mingyu in the eyes. "Which part exactly?"

"When we were making out, I was gonna tell you something." You played with your fingers, nervous that you were ready but Mingyu wouldn't be. You didn't want Mingyu to feel pressured to have sex with you. He nodded his head slowly, waiting for you to continue. "I was going to tell you, that," you took a deep breath, "I'm ready."

Mingyu tilted his head a bit, "Ready for?"

"Sex. I, uh, I want to have sex with you. B-But if you don't want to that's fine! I don't want to if you don't want to."

He scoffed and sat up to grab your hands. "I thought you'd never be ready." You furrowed your eyebrows. "No! I didn't mean it like that! I meant," You stared at him, allowing him to dig his little hole. "Like, I meant- I thought that I was the only one ready and I was like, just, waiting.. for you."

You stayed quiet, internally giggling at his nervous state. "I know what you meant, goof." You leaned in and gave him a kiss on the lips. Standing up, you held out your hand for him to grab. He looked at you curiously but took your hand anyway. You led him through the house, into the main bedroom.

The room was filled with soft lighting—thanks to the candles that you lit beforehand and you bought a few rose petals to scatter on the floor around the bed, just to make it a little more cheesy. "Oooh," Mingyu said as you two walked entered and he admired your handiwork.

You laughed and turned back around to face Mingyu. He pulled you closer to him, connecting his lips to yours. Your face began to heat up, flustered at the situation. His tongue glided over yours as his hands rested on your waist. Your hand gripped the back of his neck while you stood on your tippy toes.

The kiss got hot quickly and you weren't sure if it was because you two were finally going to have sex, or if it was the romantic scenery that made you want to dive right in.

Mingyu began walking you backwards toward the foot of the bed. Your legs hit the edge and you pulled away from Mingyu, noting how cute he looked while his face was flushed. You smiled shyly at him as you hesitantly hooked your fingers under your shirt, pulling it over your head. Mingyu's face seemed to grow more pink, as he carefully watched your every move. He was trapped in a trance as more and more of your skin was exposed to his fortunate eyes. He always thought you were perfect but he didn't think you were this perfect. His eyes raked over every curve, dip and wonder of your now bra-clad torso. "You're so beautiful Y/N." Mingyu said quietly, a smile forming on his face.

You avoided his eyes, looking at the ground in shyness. "Oh stop," you replied jokingly.

Mingyu followed your actions and took his own shirt off. You knew Mingyu was built and despite seeing him shirtless plenty of times during a few of his previous movies, it felt more personal. Sure, he's shown his body on screen but seeing it in front of you, in a way that only he wanted to show you made you feel special. You were also in a daze as your eyes traveled over his defined abs and bicep muscles. "You're beautiful too," you said mindlessly.

He laughed at how adorable you were. Mingyu walked closer to you, grabbing your hand and sitting on the bed while you stood standing. He pulled you down gently, reconnecting your lips. He backed up on the bed to rest against the pillows and you ended up sitting on his lap, running your fingers through his hair, lightly tugging when you felt that addictive feeling down south.

Mingyu's tongue ran over yours, making sure no inch of your mouth went untouched. Both of your moans merged together, the air in the room slowly becoming hot. Your hips instinctively began shifting underneath Mingyu's, receiving a whine from him. He moaned, "Fuck, keep doing that, baby." Your clit pulsated at Mingyu's voice—he sounded so hot yet so cute at the same time. Mingyu's hair began to stick to his forehead, sweat quickly building up on the both of you. You halted your movements to unbutton the pants Mingyu wore, following your own afterwards.

Mingyu's cock strained against his underwear, giving you a clear outline of what you've been only dreaming about seeing since you two started dating. You definitely underestimated him though. Lost in your thoughts, Mingyu noticed you spaced out, basically drooling over his crotch. "Are you enjoying yourself, Y/N?"

You snapped out of it, your cheeks heating up from embarrassment. "Sorry.." you whispered.

"Your underwear is cute." He pointed. Your underwear were red with a black bow at the top. He messed with the bow You rolled your eyes playfully, ignoring him. Mingyu leaned up and pulled you down with him, kissing you once again. Your heat came in contact with his cock, making the both of you moan. Mingyu's hips instinctively bucked up, rubbing against you in a way that had your clit beating harshly and arousal building.

The kiss was sensual and soft, yet also rough at the same time, due to the both of you waiting for this moment for as long as you both could remember. In the past, you and Mingyu shared some heated experiences with one another before, but nothing at all like this before. The getaway, the room, the warm lighting that shined against both of your faces made the two of you stop and smile.

"I know this might not be a good time- you know, since you're leaving but, I'm really glad that you asked me out." You confessed to Mingyu.

Mingyu awed at your words, giving you a slight pout. "Well, I'm really glad that you didn't reject me."

You laughed, looking down and back up at him. "How could I ever even think of rejecting you?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, maybe you thought I was ugly."

Scoffing, you gave him a bewildered look. "Ugly?" You said, a bit too loud for your own liking. "Who could possibly think you're ugly?"

Mingyu winced. "I know a few haters that could tell you otherwise."

You rolled your eyes and leaned down to give him a kiss on the cheek. "You're perfect to me, Mingyu." He smiled shyly up at you, avoiding your eyes. "Whaat? It's true, baby. You are perfect."

He shook his head, disagreeing with you. "There's so many other guys out there that could treat you so much better than me. I'm going to leave you for weeks, maybe even months in just a few days." He said in a sad voice.

Leaning down, you gave Mingyu another kiss on the cheek, rubbing your thumb on his cheekbone softly. "Mingyu, I don't care if you leave me for a year. I'm always going to have the same feelings for you."

Mingyu's eyes began to water, guilt settling in the entirety of his heart. Mingyu thinks that he might love you, but he's afraid if he says it out loud, it'll ruin everything. He knows his feelings for you are strong but he didn't know that they were strong enough to make him consider turning down the role Jeonghan got for him in order to stay close to you. It scared him.

"We can do long distance. We can Facetime whenever you have the chance or call or text. Whatever it takes. I just know that I can wait for you." Your own eyes began to tear up, your heart aching at the sight of Mingyu beginning to cry.

"I just-" he paused for a second, looking up at the ceiling as a tear slips down his cheek. You wiped to off, waiting for him to finish. "I don't know, I don't want you to wait all this time for me and give you false hope that the production time won't extend or whatever. I don't know, Y/N. I don't want to hurt you accidentally or whatever because I love you and I want you to be happy and-"

"Wait, wait. What?" Your thumb stopped caressing his cheek, and you sat up straight. "You what?" Your heart felt like it stopped, or maybe that's the loud thumping you hear in your ears.

Mingyu looked puzzled, "I want you to be happy?"

Your heart began beating faster. "Y-You-you love me?"

"Oh fuck." Mingyu mumbled, covering his mouth with one of his hands. He wanted to slap himself. He just said that he didn't want to say he loved you because it would ruin everything and now he did and you're probably freaked out and a million thoughts began racing in Mingyu's mind. He wanted to literally slap himself so hard right then and there.

"Mingyu-"

"Don't say it. I know that you don't feel the same way. I'm sorry, I didn't even mean to say it. I don't know why that came ou-"

You shut him up with a kiss, a deep, soft kiss that took his breath away. Which was what you were going for. After breaking the kiss, you paused for a second. "If it came out that easily, then that must mean that it has to be true."

"Y/N, I'm really sorry. I didn't want to say this then leave for who knows how long."

You shook your head, letting the fact that Mingyu actually loves you settle in. "I think I feel the same way."

"You know you don't have to say that if it isn't true. I didn't say it for you to say it back." Mingyu looked really sad and you knew that what he said wasn't how you really felt.

"I do though. I don't know for certain but I do believe that the love for you is there, Mingyu. Trust me, okay?" You gave him a small smile, making him smile back.

Mingyu nodded his head and rubbed your arm softly. "Okay. Do you still want to do this, baby?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

He sniffled, wiping his eyes. "Well, I kinda just cried and shit so I wasn't sure if that turned you off or anything."

You laughed as you caressed his cheek lovingly. "You didn't. I'm glad we had that moment." Sighing, you reached behind your back, unhooking your bra. "Now, can we continue?"

Mingyu's eyes dropped to your chest, "Yes ma'am." He grabbed you and pushed you backwards, attacking your neck.

You moaned as he licked your neck, dragging his teeth against it since he couldn't mark you officially. He kissed from one side to the next and moved down to your collarbones.

Mingyu kissed and licked his way to the valley between your breasts, sucking a small hickey right beside your nipple. "I hope you don't have any roles that involve you being braless anytime soon." He said, making you laugh. Mingyu's lips were soft against your skin, giving you goosebumps as he reached your stomach, going down further and further before stopping above your underwear. Glancing up at you, he looked at you curiously.

"Please," you whined.

Mingyu smirked as his fingers slipped under the band of your underwear. Before pulling them down, he kissed your clothed clit and dragged them down your legs. You shyed away from him, hiding yourself. Mingyu moved his hands onto your knees, "You're beautiful, Y/N."

You pouted, his slightly cold hands making you shiver lightly. Mingyu placed his hands on your thighs, spreading you open slowly. Your breathing got deeper, the knowledge of how much you're exposed to him making you throb. Mingyu took note of the way your wetness shined from the candlelight, edging him to finally taste you.

His tongue flattened against your pussy, making sure he got every drop of your arousal. You let out a whine, as his tongue flicked your clit. "Fuck, you taste so good baby." Mingyu's lips latched onto your clit, sucking gently while swirling his tongue around it.

Your back arched off the bed while your hands tangled in his hair, pushing his face closer to your pussy. He took his right hand and used one of his fingers to slowly push inside you. You bit your lip as your walls clenched around his finger. "So warm too." Quickly taking his finger out, he scooted up close to your face, "Say 'ah,'" he said, opening up his own mouth for you to mimic.

Obeying his order, your mouth dropped open and you stuck your tongue out a bit. Mingyu pressed two of his fingers on your tongue. You closed your mouth around them, sucking on them and looking into Mingyu's mouth. "If you don't stop that I'm gonna have to put my dick in you right now."

"Do it then." You challenged as he pulled his fingers out of your mouth. Honestly, you wanted this to move along already. You were aching to have Mingyu inside of you, on the edge of begging for it.

"Really? You want to?" His eyebrows raised up as he held up his saliva covered fingers.

Giggling, you nodded your head. Mingyu laughed nervously, "W-Well okay then." His back smacked onto the bed, lifting his hips up to take off his underwear a little too eagerly. You started laughing as he struggled slightly. While he did, you stretched over to the nightstand on the side of the bed, grabbing a pack of condoms you placed there before his arrival.

Opening the pack, you noticed Mingyu's underwear were off and you stared for a moment. A breathy "wow" left your lips before you realized. His confidence peaked a little bit but didn't let it show. "Thank you," he smiled and grabbed the condom from your fingers. He opened the condom, pinching the top and rolling it down his length. You watched his movements carefully, admiring him in all his glory. Your eyes traveled up to his eyes, seeing his concentration and you felt your heart beat at the sight.

You laid down on the bed, in front of Mingyu who began positioning himself. He took a deep breath, "Ready?" You nodded your head and closed your eyes. He held his cock in his hand and slowly pushed into you. You winced and Mingyu groaned, both of you not used to this feeling. Mingyu was a bit thicker and you felt yourself stretch to his girth. Your walls clung onto Mingyu, making him feel like he was in heaven. "Tell me when," he grunted. You took in the sight of him inbetween your legs, his hair sticking to his forehead slightly and cheeks a light pink hue. Mingyu looked at you suddenly, "What did you just do?"

You looked at him, clueless as to what he was talking about. "Huh?"

Mingyu chuckled, licking his lips. "Your, uh," he scratched his head. "You kinda clenched around me."

Your eyes widened a bit, not even knowing you did so. "Oh," you said quietly.

"I'm not complaining though! I-It felt good actually," Mingyu admitted.

When you knew you were ready you told him and closed your eyes. Mingyu mouthed an okay, moving his length almost all the way out of you before pushing back in. You gasped, eyes popping back open as you seen his mouth drop open and a quiet moan leaving his pink lips. Grabbing the back of Mingyu's neck, you pulled him closer to kiss him. Mingyu developed a steady pace—slow yet forceful at the same time.

"Mingyu," you purred in his mouth. His cock hit the sweetest spots of you when he pushed himself the furthest he could go.

His tongue swirled around yours, caressing it lovingly and making your insides fill with butterflies. "Y/N," he breathed sensually.

The kiss broke, but Mingyu kept himself close to you. His forehead touched yours, resting it gently on you as his hips kept the pace. Mingyu's hips ground into yours tenderly, making you see stars. You looked into Mingyu's eyes, "I love you."

Mingyu smiled, brushing a piece of hair out of your face and holding your cheek. "I love you too, Y/N."

After saying that, Mingyu picked up his speed. Both of you moaned, drunk off the way the two of you made each other feel. Mingyu's cock felt warm in you and your walls hugged him in a way that you knew you'd miss when he left. At the thought, you wrapped your legs around Mingyu's lower half, wanting him to be as close to you as possible before he would be gone.

Mingyu laid on his forearms that were right next to the sides of your head. His breath mingled with yours, making your head spin slightly as his lips brushed your own. Your hand rested on his jaw, admiring his facial expressions. He moaned, feeling your pussy pulse around his cock. "You must really be whipped for me because every time you look at me, your downtown gets affected in a way."

You smacked his face gently, "Shut up, dork."

"No you." He said desperately, his hips going faster and faster. You whined while Mingyu placed his head in the crook of your neck. His breath tickling your collarbones as he moaned into your skin. "Fuck, Y/N," he rasped.

Your arms hugged his shoulders, fingers tangling in his hair as you felt your orgasm building. "O-Oh my god, f-fuck," you stuttered. You swallowed harshly, broken moans slipping past your lips.

Mingyu grunted, his own orgasm building quickly alongside yours. "God, you feel so, so good, Y/N fuck." He moved away from your neck to kiss you again. His teeth caught your bottom lip, making you giggle.

Mingyu swallowed your high pitched moans, as you felt yourself get closer and closer to the edge. Your fingernails raked down his back, making him growl in your mouth. "Do that again," he mumbled against your lips.

You repeated your actions, your fingernails scratching red marks down his shoulder blades. "Shit, I'm close. Mingyu," you pleaded.

"M-Me too," he whimpered.

You slipped your hand between the two of you, rubbing your clit messily to edge yourself closer.

"That's hot," Mingyu chuckled as you rolled your eyes at him.

"I'm almost there," your walls began pulsing around Mingyu quickly.

Both of your moans got higher and higher until waves of pleasure washed over you two. Mingyu's hips halted as he came into the condom while he grunted softly. Your walls clenched around his length as your back arched off the bed. You collapsed back on the bed, your clit beating in a rhythm that you felt in your toes.

Mingyu sighed, pulling out of you gently as you mewled. He took the condom off of himself, careful to make sure nothing spilled out. Mingyu searched for the trashcan before looking back at you. You laughed, checking out his butt before pointing to the bathroom. He waddled his way into the room, flipping the switch on and tossing the contraceptive in the bin. Mingyu walked back in the bedroom, running his fingers through his damp hair.

You smirked, looking him up and down. "You know, you're really sexy, Gyu."

He waved you off, bending over to grab his and yours underwear. You gave him a wolf whistle and he covered his butt with his boxers before throwing your panties in your face and tossing your bra at you as well. Both of you laughed as you slipped your undergarments on and you put your bra on. Mingyu plopped back on the bed next to your right side. You and Mingyu stared at the ceiling, knowing that his indefinite leave will be even harder now.

After a long moment of silent staring, you spoke up. "If you find someone else, I don't want you to hold back."

Mingyu shifted his head to look at you. "What?"

A tear slipped past your eye. You turned your head to look at Mingyu as well. "I don't want to hold you back, Mingyu."

"But Y/N-" "No," you interrupted him. "You're an amazing guy, Mingyu. And I know that I'm not going to forget us or this night or any other nights we spent together. But Jeonghan doesn't approve of us. What if he wants you to be with someone else?"

Mingyu then turned his whole body towards you, laying his head on his hands. "I don't care what he wants. If it comes down to it, I'll tell him about us. I love you, Y/N. I want you and only you."

More tears began to fall, slipping out of the corner of your eyes. "I can't affect any of your decisions when it comes to your career though, Mingyu."

"Y/N, please. I can't lose you. Please just, let's give this a try? Please, just don't give up yet. I know we can do this." He cradled your cheek, wiping your tears away with his thumb. "Please," he begged.

You saw his eyes water, a tear forming before it slipped down the bridge of his nose and landing on the pillow. Taking a moment, you thought about what he asked. Could you really make this work? Will this make Mingyu deny roles that will keep him away from you longer? Was it selfish to want to make it work? Was it selfish that you wanted him to stay? Yes, but you knew you couldn't do that. "Okay," you whispered.

...

The next morning, you and Mingyu woke up in each other's arms. The two of you got up from bed, yawning and walking to the main room. You made breakfast while Mingyu helped in any way he could. He stopped you midway to finish and served you before himself. The day consisted of lounging around, watching tv, napping and making small meals whenever either of you got hungry.

The day after, you packed your things while Mingyu cleaned up and made sure everything looked the way it did when you got there. After you and Mingyu finished, you both stood in front of the doorway, taking in the last moments you'd be able to spend next to each other. You faced him. "I'm going to miss you so much."

He nodded his head, facing you as well. "Me too."

Both of you started tearing up before he pulled you in for a hug. His arms held your head, hugging you in a way you'll desperately miss when you wish he was there while he's away. You sobbed in his arms, muffling most of the noise in his shirt. Mingyu's tears fell in your hair—which he tried brushing off sneakily but failing. You laughed, pulling away and shaking your hair.

It was time.

You stood and looked at him one last time. You couldn't even go to the airport to say goodbye. Not only because of Jeonghan but because of paparazzi and fansites. "I love you, Gyu."

Mingyu pressed his lips together, his eyes glossed over from his tears as more shed down his cheeks. "I love you too, Y/N."

"Call me when you land?" You grabbed his hand and held it for a bit.

He nodded, picking up his bag with his unoccupied hand. He opened the door, and looked back at you. His hand slowly pulled from yours, a pout forming on his face. Mingyu's warmth left your palm as he looked away from you and began leaving the rental.

...

The whole ride back home, you cried your eyes out. Before getting back, you put on some black sunglasses, hopefully hiding your puffy eyes. You entered your house, already missing Mingyu's presence.

The rest of your day, you spent watching tv alone. At night, you got on your laptop, checking Twitter and seeing Mingyu's name trending.

Actor Kim Mingyu seen boarding plane with tear-filled eyes. What could possibly be breaking the 23 year old's poor heart?

You scrolled down the tag, seeing fansite photos and seeing how sad he looked. You got your phone out, sending him a message.

[11:19 pm] You: Hey babe. I seen the airport photos, I miss you and I love you. I hope you landed safe <3

You clicked your phone off and scrolled through a few more photos before heading to bed. He must've been too busy to call you.

...

Ring ring!

A phone call woke you up at the crack of dawn. You answered as fast as you could. "Hello?" You croaked, your morning voice definitely worse from all the bawling yesterday.

"Hey baby, I'm so sorry I didn't call yesterday."

You smiled at Mingyu's voice. "Hey, it's okay."

a/n: yerrr finally posted after ten years, hope u all enjoyed! <3 i feel like this wasn’t super interesting at all so feedback would be appreciated :(

#seventeen smut #seventeen imagine #seventeen scenario #mingyu smut #mingyu imagine #mingyu scenario #mingyu #kim mingyu #seventeen

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miggydiaz · 3 years

Note

For the salty ask 1, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 14, 16, 20, 22, 23 and 26 for cobra kai pretty please

My answers are so long, so I am putting this under the cut @wonderwolfballoon! Also I just noticed your Daniel icon I SWEAR I’M NOT DRAGGING HIM TO BE MEAN!!!

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?* My biggest IDGI ships for CK are probably Elimetri or Kiaz. I’m not here to yuck other people’s yums or anything, but I do think there is something to the idea that Migueli isn’t popular because it’s a ship predicated on mutual respect for one another. Kiaz has the obvious enemies to lovers vibe and I just generally don’t sail those ships. Elimetri has... its problems, IMO, most especially around the idea that Demetri has to like... save Hawk from himself? Idk. I just like romances that I feel are based on love and mutual respect and not ...tropes.   I am also not a Lawrusso shipper although I have a lot of those on my dash and you all are great! Again, not yucking yums! Daniel just makes me want to head butt him too much to pair him romantically with anyone 😂 I don’t even want his wife with him. He needs to self reflect~   4. Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?*   I once saw someone ship Amanda and Anoush and I noped out of that so fucking fast I almost tripped over myself. I’m not sure if they’re popular. I just think some people feel the need to get Amanda out of the way to sail their ship and stuck her with Anoush which... no. Just no. Let Amanda be a messy single queen with a martini hobby, thanks!   5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?*   Not in CK. I’m lucky because I pretty much stick to my little Migueli bubble and I’m okay with that? Lmao lord knows the Squad on my dash is all about the DISCOURSE™️ so idk if I just don’t feel the need to get sucked into the wider ship wars because we have good healthy debates, but so far, so good.   6. Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?*   I never hated it... I just didn’t have many feelings on shipping with this show in general at first. Then I was in the CK tag one day and I saw Migueli fan art. Then I discovered @afurioushawk‘s falconry series and it was all over for me after that! So fandom DID make me love a ship, just not one I hated.

9. Most disliked character(s)? Why? Oh boy. How much time do you have? In some instances, it’s a good thing season 3 happened because otherwise, this would be a multi-page essay on the problems with race and class privilege as it pertains to Sam LaRusso and just some... generally not nice comments about Demetri that I’m conflicted about because I’m not sure if the writers are intentionally trying to write him a specific way and it’s just not translating to me or what. But season 3 revamped both of their images with me a lot. I’m way more flexible in terms of Demetri, but lmao I was the number one Sam LaRusso hater for a minute there (or maybe number 2, I can think of at least 1 other person who was in that boat with me back in like... August/September, but I won’t call them out because I don’t want them to get hate...) However, I have grown a bit in my opinions of Sam, and even though I still think she’s responsible for a lot of shit she NEVER gets held accountable for, I also think that’s a reflection of the adults around her too, and this includes my otherwise unproblematic queen, Amanda.

But honestly, my most hated character (other than the obvious villain that is Kreese) is Daniel. No matter how handsome Ralph Macchio looks in cable-knits, because Daniel has always been a sanctimonious, shit starting drama king and I say that about KK Daniel too. I’m not saying Daniel was the ~true villain~ or anything, or that Johnny was innocent -- I can only drink so much Red and Yellow Kool-Aid -- but Daniel’s always been annoying to me as a protagonist, and turning him into a smarmy wealthy car salesman who is also a class traitor did not do him any favors in my book. I will say, I also like Daniel more in season 3 than I have in previous season, but since he is the adult, I will be mad at him longer than I will be at the kids, ya feel?

10. Most disliked arc? Why?   Johnny’s entire season 3 storyline. The sheer level of REGRESSION at every turn drives me bonkers. It’s like watching him go through all of the stumbling blocks of season 1 all over again, but without the “he’s learning! He’s going to make mistakes!” free pass that I was willing to give him the first time around. He regularly jeopardizes Miguel’s recovery and it’s played for laughs. He fucks up on every level with Robby. He spends most of his time running away when things get hard or too real. He drops the ball completely with Hawk, and like, not to put too fine a point on it, but a lot of Hawk’s issues are because Johnny put Hawk on this ‘flip the script and be a badass’ path and then offered him no guidance for how to walk that path and instead left him in the hands of Kreese. And then he has the nerve to go to Hawk and basically be like “I made you what you are!” lmao yeah Johnny, you sure did, that’s why he’s breaking peoples arms, hoss. And then all of the nonsense with Ali and Carmen, like... if you were planning on teasing KK fans with Ali and him getting back together, why write her as married in the first place? Why even tease the idea of Carmen and Johnny until after you were sure what you were going to do with Ali as a character? Instead, they do what they did in season 3 and it makes him look like a colossal jerk. So yeah. Literally every choice they made with Johnny this season, I hated.

14. Unpopular opinion about your fandom? People who hate Tory are not valid, sorry not sorry.

16. If you could change anything in the show, what would you change? I would have kept Miguel entirely out of Tory and Sam’s beef. Or at least not directly inserted him into it like he was with the kiss. I know the writers thought it was necessary to push Tory to the point of inciting a fight at school, but I am just so exhausted over girls being unable to fight about anything but boys. Also I would bring Aisha back.

20. What is the purest ship in the fandom?   I am probably biased, but I still maintain it’s Migueli. Look, Miguel stood up to Kyler for Eli and Demetri both. Hawk joined CK because he saw what it could do for some skinny nerd who was getting his ass kicked. And he took to CK, really took to it! Even flourished before he started getting mixed messages. And he and Miguel were pretty much inseparable after that. They coordinated their wardrobes ffs. Hawk dubbed him El Serpiente and no one else calls him that — it’s Hawk’s nickname for him. Miguel confides in Hawk only secondary to Johnny, who is like a father to him. The entire Coyote Creek exchange shows they can fight and disagree but... well, to use the cliche, they don’t go to bed angry, you know? They’re square the very next day. Hawk is the first person at Miguel’s side when he gets kicked over the balcony and the LOOK he gives the second floor where Robby is? That boy is out for blood immediately to avenge Miguel. So much of his s3 behavior is fueled by that need for vengeance because MD is wholly responsible for what happened to Miguel. And Miguel is so confused and betrayed by Hawk’s shift in behavior, and yet still holds out hope that Hawk will see through Kreese’s BS and come with him to The Dojo I Refuse to Name. And when Hawk does make that deflection finally, he shows up at MD with Miguel. There’s so much more that I know I’m missing but whether someone ships them or not, that is a tried and true love and respect for one another, a willingness to fight for and defend one another that you don’t often see in TV friendships... or even in most tv relationships. And I just think that’s the best ❤️

22. Popular character you hate?   Daniel, hands down. I mean... I don’t even necessarily hate Daniel, you know? I just think it’s really, pardon the pun, rich that a guy of immense wealth and privilege can’t get a therapist or turn to his far too patient wife for help with his existential crisis over his high school bully opening up a karate dojo to make some money and help a kid who is getting the crap kicked out of him. I get that Daniel’s narrative is necessary for the rivalry, but it does nothing to make him sympathetic as a character.

23. Unpopular character you love?   Tory, definitely! Everyone hates her and then there’s me and the Squad over here banging away on our Coors Banquet cans yelling TORY RIGHTS! Seriously she catches so much flack for a teenage girl who is... the sole income provider for her family? At 17? While caring for a sick mom and a little brother? And fending off a creepy landlord? Tory has it so rough and then she meets a cool girl at her dojo who asks her to hang out at some fancy ass country club which is probably the nicest place Tory has ever been in, and then she gets talked down to and accused of being a thief and has another girl lay hands on her, only to find out that same girl is her new boyfriend’s ex and... ugh. I HATE that Tory gets shit all over when Tory and Sam wouldn’t even have beef if Sam had apologized to Tory as she SHOULD have. Tory isn’t innocent, but damn, I’d be pressed too.   My other unpopular character I love? Nathaniel. Seriously that kid is THE best. He’s a literal child but is out there like I WILL FUCK YOU UP, even though he’s MD. Honestly, his Cobra Kai energy is so ferocious I won’t be surprised if he moves back to CK eventually. Anyway, I love him. 

26. Most shippable character?   Miguel, hands down. It’s because he’s so affable and sweet overall. And because his hair is so fluffy and pettable that no one can resist touching it. I like to imagine that one day he and Hawk are talking about their hair and Hawk makes a joke about how Miguel’s mane is getting so long that it’s going to be bigger than his own, and then he reaches out to ruffle it and internally has a bisexual meltdown because oh no IT’S SO SOFT AND NICE. But uh... anyway, yes. Definitely Miguel.

#ask game #cobra kai #sorry y’all I gotta tag #uh #anti Daniel larusso #anti lawrusso #anti Kiaz #anti Elimetri #it’s not *really* anti those ships but uh... tagging for the culture???#plz don’t flame ship who you ship!!!#Migueli #i hope this is tagged appropriately if you need something else tagged lmk

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hailbop1701 · 3 years

Text

@yueci picked prompt #42. Here you go, sweetie! Thanks for picking this week! 🥰

Fandom: Almost Human

Type: X Reader

Stolen Hearts

Word Count: 1,123

John Kennex X (Thief) Reader (Almost Human)

Hey everyone welcome back to Prompt Wednesday! Now, this was fun to write but if I'm being honest I had no clue where I was going with it. I left it opened ended in both the beginning and the end. Who knows maybe I'll turn this into a future project or maybe one of you would want to take a crack at this type of storyline! 🤷‍♀️ who knows? But for now please enjoy "Stolen Hearts"

No beta typos and mistakes will be present.

-H❤🖖

“This was one of my worst ideas,” the choked strangled voice of one detective John Kennex said to absolutely no one. The detective squirmed and struggled against the shackles around his wrists. John groaned in pain as the harsh metal bit into his skin, his shoulders ached with the weight of his body. “I really should have waited for Dorian before meeting Anna,” he laughed breathlessly and took a good long look at his surroundings.

Concrete floors, battered walls, and broken dirty windows. “Well, isn’t this a cliche,” Kennex muttered unimpressed, and there it was sitting on a beat-up table ten feet in front of him. His damn leg,

“Now that’s just not fair,” he muttered a scowl breaking across his bruised face. The sound of heels against the hard floor made John look up sharply; there you were striding across the floor graceful as ever. You blended in with the shadows easily, for all he knew you could have been standing there the entire time.

John gave you a bloody smile, “You here to finish me off, sweetheart?” he asked, chuckling softly at his innuendo. You smirked stopping less than a foot away, he could smell your perfume. Lilies and cigarette smoke, with a hint of bourbon. John couldn’t help but smile with more tenderness.

You give him a crooked smile, “Hardly, I came to repay a debt. I no longer owe you anything John,” your voice was sweet like honey but held the burn of whiskey. ‘Dorian is never gonna let me hear the end of this,’ he mentally chided trying to push his smitten thoughts away.

You pulled a bobby pin from your hair and easily undid the locks, “We need to hurry before Insyndicate comes back,” you whispered grunting under John’s weight. The detective huffed and groaned out in pain as you helped him over to the table housing his leg.

“How did you get past them all?” Kennex asked shakily sitting down, you breathed out a little laugh. “I have many talents John, and one of them is-” an explosion rocked and shook the walls of the old warehouse.

“Explosions?”

“I was going to say subtly but…” you shrugged, smiling almost sheepishly. You grabbed his leg from the table and despite his protests helped John put it on. Taking his arm over your shoulder you pulled the injured man toward the exit, “I met your ex, she was a peach,” you said sarcasm dripping from every word. Kennex snorted,

“I bet that went over well,”

You grinned, “Let’s just say she won’t be walking or seeing right ever again,” the venomous tone made John look at you in surprise. “What did you do?” he asked, hating the dread and worry filling his whole body. You rolled your eyes,

“I defended myself and you should really stop asking questions you don’t want to know the answers to,” you murmured pushing open the exit door with your hip. Kennex shook his head ruefully,

“How did we get here?” he asked, spitting out blood onto the sunlit gravel. You pressed your lips into a thin line,

“Well, I drove, and you were bashed over the head and dragged,” you sassed not wanting to think about the deeper meaning of the question. John gave you an unamused look, sighting you rolled your eyes.

“I broke into your apartment, you hunted me, I escaped. That kept happening and then we slept together and lather rinse and repeat, that’s how we got into this mess,” you grumbled, keeping an eye out for any Insyndicate you may have missed on the way in.

“The good ol’ days,” John whispered, his voice breathy and wheezing. You looked down at him, your heart dropping like a stone. Cursing under your breath you hurry along to your car, the sound of shouting and running footsteps several yards behind you. Shoving John into the backseat you quickly looked him over.

Cuts and bruises littered his body making it hard to see the most problematic areas. Using gentle hands you prod up and down his torso, your fingers skimming over his ribs. John couldn’t tell if the burning was from the pain of broken ribs or your lingering touch. “I think you punctured a lung,” you mumbled mostly to yourself. Biting your lip you pulled back and slammed the car door shut.

Getting into the driver’s seat you pulled on a pair of sunglasses, John couldn’t help but cough out a laugh. “Those are mine,” he accused, his lips quirking upward. You pushed them down a little so he could see your eyes; giving him a wink you peeled out onto the drink and drove until the hospital and Dorian came into view.

The back door was yanked open before the car could come to a full stop. John was gently lifted and set onto a gurney before being quickly ushered into the building. You got out of the car and stood hesitantly by the open door. Dorian looked at you sadly as a few MX’s and Sandra Maldanado exited the building.

You looked down at your feet, hands shaking you held them up so they could cuff you and take you in. The Captain looked at you with mild approval and nodded for the androids to do their job,

“Thank you (Y/N),” she whispered when she got close enough. She placed a kind hand on your shoulder as the cuffs were fastened and secured. “We’ll talk to the DA, see if we can get your sentence reduced or-” Dorian floundered trying to make up for everything.

You gave him a soft smile, “It’s okay Dorian,” you whispered as you were being led away. The DRN looked at his captain pleadingly,

“We can’t let her take the fall for it all,” he whispered his voice steady but the emotion in it made Sandra wince. “I’ll do my best Dorian, maybe we can get her on a monitor,”

Dorian brightened at the thought his mind going back to John the android couldn’t help but smirk. “John could watch over her,” he suggested with a knowing smile. Maldanado laughed, understanding his meaning perfectly.

“He would fall for a thief, wouldn’t he?” she asked with a snort. Dorian grinned crossing his arms, “head over heels,” he agreed following his boss back into the hospital.

“At least this didn’t end as Romeo and Juliet did,” Sandra whispered remembering all the times she warned and told John to stay as far away from you as possible.

“I don’t think the story is over just yet, but so far so good,” Dorian sighed looking into the room where his partner and best friend lie. Sandra nodded rubbing her hands together nervously,

“So far so good,”

Tagging:

Everyone:

@thottiewithashotgun

@lauraaan182

@writerdee1701

@stileslover13-blog

@cowenby2

@bluesclues-1234

Prompt Wednesday:

@stardustednerd

#almost human #almost human on fox #john kennex #john kennex/reader #john kennex x reader #Dorian #reader insert #prompt wednesday #hailey the queen of typos

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yeochikin · 4 years

Text

egg tarts. | s. mingi

a/n: thank you for requesting this fic, anon! i do apologise if it is not exceeding to your expectations. but still, i hope you enjoyed this! also, this is not proofread so do excuse any mistakes in this! this is also a long read, 10k words!! so i really hope you guys will like this ✨💖

to say that today was a bad day would be an understatement yet saying that it would be the worst day of your life could be too exaggerated as well. but all you know is that you wanted to go back home and let sleep take over your exhausted body as soon as you jumped into the plush mattress of your bed, wrapped into a cocoon made with your soft blankets. all you wanted today was for everything to go smoothly like it always had been, but life managed to just laugh and add a little spice to it just to stir things up.

you had the worst sleep last night, courtesy of your neighbour next door who somehow just decided that it was a good idea to rearrange all of their furniture in the ass crack of dawn which had caused you to not only have a little amount of sleep for the night. that wasn’t it, oh no. life would always add a few sprinkles here and there. as if having little hours of sleep, someone had bumped into you during your morning run and spilled their drink onto your pants. you would have cursed the person out but instead, you just made a run for it to run to campus.

like some type of cherry on top, your literature lecturer, professor kim, seemed to think that it was a good idea to suddenly drop a project that was due in two weeks.your professor thought that it would be a good idea to make up an entire storyline with the elements of what he had taught your class. of course it wasn’t bad but for a huge procrastinator like you? it might be a huge nightmare, considering that you had more assignments at hand from your other classes. yet, that wasn’t the core of your dread.

professor kim just had to pair you up with one of the most obnoxious boys in your class, song mingi.

“i swear, professor kim either hates me or he just really likes to see me suffer.” you groaned into the palm of your hands, both elbows rested on top of the table you and your best friends, yeosang and wooyoung, were sitting at. yeosang could only look at you in a pitiful manner with his large hand patting the top of your head, while wooyoung cackled out next to you.

ah yes, song mingi. the boy that could come straight out of a cliche love story. The boy who was a part of the basketball team of your campus, also known as the captain of the team. the boy everyone loved yada-yada. of course you didn’t hate him, oh no. let’s just say that if mingi were to have his toe being stubbed, you would be the furniture that he stubbed against. So, no, no hard feelings at all.

okay maybe there was some sort of.. unpleasant feelings (as what you had claimed it) between the two of you.

believe it or not, mingi and you used to be close friends during middle school and high school. you remembered the time where you would always wait for mingi during your lunch with him, knowing how he could take his time during his meals, yet you didn’t mind. sometimes, some of his friends would even join the both of you at your usual table. you would always fill the time by doing your own work or even making some random conversations with him and his friends. truly, you enjoyed spending your time with him. it was after the first half of your final year in high school, was where it started. ever since he joined the basketball team, he had gotten together with a girl that was part of the cheering team. don’t get me wrong, she was nice! everyone seemed to love her sweet nature, and she would even join you and mingi during lunchtime. surprisingly, despite being in a relationship with her, they weren’t too big on the pda. you would be lying to say that you didn’t have a small crush on a certain tall boy but as a good friend, you supported them.

it was during a couple of months before you graduated that the two of you seemed to drift apart. you had tried to contact him yet, it was either a simple one worded answer or none at all, until the two of you finally stopped contacting each other. you would even catch mingi in the hallways talking to his friends, his girlfriend at his side as usual, and tried to make a conversation. but every time you did, he looked at you with an unreadable expression, face all stoic while his friends looked at you in pity. to say you were confused, would be an understatement. it felt as if you were kept in the dark. this went on until it was finally the time where you bid goodbye to your old school and start a new page in your life, your university life.

to your surprise, the two of you had enrolled in the same university. you went to greet him one time with a huge smile on your face but.. he merely looked past you, much to your disappointment. you’ve tried to greet him a few more times after that, and still received the same reaction. like any other person who needed some closure, you had confronted mingi one time when you ran into him in the hallways of your campus to ask what happened to him, to the both of you. you had hoped you could get some valid answers from mingi, hoping that the two of you could ever reconcile once again and go back to being friends who dragged lunch time in the cafeteria.

but there was none.

mingi merely looked down at you, some type of coldness was held in his eyes, at least from what you remember. without even a word, he walked past you as if you never even asked a question. thus, that was all it took for you to finally accept that he is no longer a part of your life anymore, making the emotions inside you to be all jumbled up, you becoming overwhelmed.

it was now that whenever you see mingi, all of those memories would come rushing back to you. the memories that only made you choke up on your tears from how easily he had thrown them out of the window, just like that. before you know it, the sadness in your chest you felt every time you saw mingi around campus somehow grew into a ball of anger. it also didn’t help due to the fact that mingi is in the same major as you, so whenever you had class with him, you made sure to sit as far away from the tall boy as possible and hopefully, not interact with him at all.

until today.

“oh come on, y/n. i’m sure it won’t be that bad.” wooyoung reassured, pulling you away from the brief time of reminiscing the past, yeosang humming in response.

“who knows? maybe the two of you could finally get that closure.” the blonde male continued.

you merely deadpanned at the two of them, “or i could be the one doing all of the work for this project.”

wooyoung rolled his eyes at your answer before looking down at his phone. “oh crap, i should get to class, professor park would have my head if i’m late!”

with the claim, the three of you started to gather your things. you were about to bid goodbye to the two of your bestfriends and head to your respective classes until a deep voice called out your name, your whole body feeling a flash of chills running down your spine. you knew who that voice belonged to all too well.

before you responded to him, you gave yeosang and wooyoung a reassuring smile, watching as the two boys stared between you and mingi for a few seconds before walking off, wooyoung mouthing at you to text him when you were done.

“what is it, mingi?” you finally said, arms folded in front of your chest as you faced the tall male, feeling the growing anger just bubbling up in your chest.

said boy rubbed the back of his neck with his hand while the other one was hidden in the pocket of his pants, “so.. we got paired up for this pr-”

“ah, yes. tell me something more obvious, mingi.” you cut him. of course, you did not intend to have snapped at him but how could you not from what he did?

mingi, on the other hand, was taken aback by your sudden sassiness before exhaling through his nose, “can you just remain civil for a bit?” he grumbled, only making your eye twitch before scoffing at his words.

“me? why don’t you give that advise to yourself.” you hissed.

“fuck, y/n. i have no time for this.” mingi groaned and ran his hand through his hair.

“me too, so tell me now instead of making me late for cla-” your words died down as you felt a large hand cupping your mouth, effectively shutting you up. with eyes still glaring daggers at the said boy, you raised an eyebrow at him, mingi taking it as a cue for him to finally start talking.

“i know that you will hate working on this project with me but if we want those points we gotta work together on this or we won’t even get to continue this class.” he started, you listening to him intently though still glaring at him.

“so, what do you say about getting that project started after our classes today? in the library?” he continued, teeth sinking down against the soft muscle of his lower lip, albeit nervously.

it took you a little while to process his words. from the months of not talking to each other and cold glares being thrown every now and then, what gave him the audacity to come up to you and ask this as if nothing ever happened? you could feel blood rushing to your face out of frustration. but, as much as you hated to admit it, he had a point. whether you like it or not, he is still your partner for this project.

your tense shoulders relaxed ever so slightly, a hand slowly moving mingi’s hand away. with a heavy sigh leaving your lips, you nodded your head and tugged on the strap of your bag, adjusting it on your shoulder.

“fine. in the library after classes then, don’t be late.” was the last thing you said and brushed past him, heading to your class.

as soon as you were sure that you’re out of mingi’s vision, you felt your legs give out, yet not to the extent of collapsing completely right on the floor. your breathing was ragged as you tried to calm yourself from the sudden crash of emotions hitting right then and there, a hand quickly reaching up to muffle the quiet whimpers you released, feeling the concerned eyes from the other students passing by you, hushed whispers being exchanged with their friends yet you were too overwhelmed to care.

you don’t hate him. you never hated him. yet why did he do that? why would mingi just shut you out all of the sudden and suddenly started talking to you so casually? you don’t know. but will you ever find out the reason why he acted like he had?

finally having yourself composed, you took a deep breath before standing up, walking off to your next class with one thing left in mind as you did so.

maybe yeosang was right, maybe you’ll soon have that closure from mingi.

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

“are you guys up for milkshakes at the diner?” wooyoung asked, running his fingers through his now messy hair from his habit of running through them numerous times, as soon as he saw you walking out of your last class with yeosang leaning against the wall next to him.

yeosang shrugged his shoulders, “i don’t see why not. y/n?”

you, on the other hand, was staring blankly on the floor, only looking up in shock once wooyoung slung an arm around your neck to catch your attention.

“huh? what?”

“we asked if you were up for milkshakes later.” yeosang repeated, his brow raised from the distracted look on your face. “you good?” he asked.

“yeah, you’re kinda out of it. wait, it’s because of mingi, isn’t it? let me beat his a-” wooyoung said, rolling his sleeves before starting to walk, only to be abruptly dragged by yeosang by his collar to where you were standing.

“as much as i wanted you to do so, i don’t think it’ll solve anything, no?” you joked, an attempt to lighten up the mood with a shake of your head.

“though i’m gonna have to sit this one out, guys. mingi and i are supposed to be discussing the project today.” you continued, a small pout on your lips from not being able to hang out with the two boys.

wooyoung and yeosang looked at each other then at you, “you’re actually starting your project early at least.” yeosang said.

cue the sounds of a gentle slap on his arm from you and the sound of wooyoung’s high pitched laugh.

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

your foot tapped against the floor impatiently before looking down at your phone to check your phone. you had been waiting in the library for almost two hours now so where the hell is mingi? your eyes looked around the place and saw some students popping in and out yet still no sign of a certain tall male. with a frustrated huff, you slowly gathered your things, convinced that mingi had somehow blew you off.

just as you got up from your seat, the doors suddenly burst open, and in came a panting and not to mention, sweaty, mingi. his eyes frantically looked around the library until he finally spotted you in the corner of the library, quickly making his way towards you. upon arriving, he literally collapsed on the chair in front of you, taking deep breaths to catch his breath. raising an eyebrow at him, you were about to ask what took him so long until he raised a finger as if to give him a moment, still panting. you could only roll your eyes and decided to sit back down in your seat, waiting for him to calm down.

“sorry, i had a last minute meeting with my teammates and the coach.” mingi managed to say between his pants. for the captain of the basketball team, he sure seemed like he was struggling for air.

you waited for him to finally calm down his breathing with a finger tapped against the table, eyes looking everywhere but the male in front of you awkwardly. how could someone not be awkward with their supposedly close friend who suddenly dropped them without telling them anything, was in front of them. your nerves were getting the best of you and made you fidget in your seat, much to mingi’s attention.

“you alright there, y/n?” he asked, snapping you out of your thoughts.

‘why did you do it?’ was what you wanted to ask yet it remained stuck in your throat as your eyes were met.

you felt a huge lump threatening to form in your chest, wanting nothing but to just bombard him with questions of what had happened to make him treat you like the way he did, what did you ever do to him, or what had happened to the friendship you both built. yet, you just couldn’t ask him. no, it was more like, you weren’t ready to know the answer. not now, not when you’re letting your emotions almost get the best of you.

“y/n?” mingi called out again, a flash of concern shown in his features.

“huh? oh, yeah. definitely.” you rambled, sitting straight in your seat before clearing your throat, “should.. should we get started?” you offered, busying yourself by taking out your laptop.

mingi could only study your expression for a few seconds before nodding his head without another word before scooting a little closer so the two of you could finally start discussing about the said project, giving each other certain tasks to do. you would have to say, keeping your mind on the project you were working out seemed to be effective in taking your mind away from the gnawing thoughts in the back of your mind, yet a different type of frustration was instead being replaced, a certain feeling that students from all around the world knew all too well. everything was going smoothly, the both of you managed to discuss most parts of your project yet somehow you were stuck on how to actually start with the storyline.

“mingi, for the last time, we can’t suddenly put two of the characters in the script to suddenly start fighting right at the start.” you groaned, rubbing your face in the palm of your hands. with a roll of his eyes, said boy aggressively pressed onto the keys of your keyboard to erase the sentence he had started.

“uh huh, you say that yet you apply that in real life.” he grumbled underneath his breath, to which made your eye twitch out of annoyance.

“i don’t do that, what are you talking ab-” you started until mingi deadpanned at you.

“when i asked you about this project? or did you hit your head on your way here that you forgot all about it?” he retorted, to which made you scoff out of disbelief.

“if you weren’t being an ass, i wouldn’t do so.” you snapped, clicking your tongue as you snatched your laptop away from him to work on your part.

“says the one who looked like they were about to bite my ass earlier.”

a loud slap on his arm reverberated throughout the library along with mingi’s yelp that came along with your neverending bickers afterwards, only for the librarian coming up to warn the both of you to keep it down or else she will have to kick you out.

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

“you going back home?” mingi suddenly asked, his eyes watching you pack your things.

the both of you decided to stop the discussion after a couple of hours, agreeing to meet back in the library the next day to finally get a work on the storyline after finally being able to write out some outlines. fixing the strap of your bag, you raised an eyebrow at him from the sudden inquiry.

“what does it look like?” you answered, though there was a bite in your tone, mingi disregarded it.

“calm down, for fuck’s sake.” he rolled his eyes before getting up from his seat. “i just thought that i could accompany you when you head back.” he offered, much to your surprise.

“ain’t really a good idea to let you walk alone, it’s getting a little dark.” mingi continued, nodding his head towards the windows, to which made you look out.

mingi was right. the sky was turning dark, only a few traces of crimson were apparent in the darkened sky. it didn’t help with the fact that your apartment took a little while to get to by foot. turning back to look at him, you narrowed your eyes up at him.

“how do i know you are not planning to kill me?” you asked, mingi poking his tongue against the inside of his cheek, amused.

“and what will i even do? knock you out with a basketball?”

the response was enough to make you snort, a hand coming up to cover your lips to release a faint chortle. the corners of mingi’s lips twitched up ever so slightly from your reaction, a little familiar tug was felt in his chest. he won’t lie. he had missed seeing your smile. he had missed making you laugh. hell, who was he kidding? he missed everything about you. so why was he acting all cold to you? why was he acting like an ass whenever you tried to greet him before?

from your side of the view, you were clueless. But to mingi, somehow he was the conflicted one. he remembered the time when he was on a date with his ex girlfriend in the past. he had recalled the time whenever you and him hung out during lunchtime, he had to deal with the girl whining as to why you would be at their table right when you left the table to head to class. confused, he had explained that you had always been hanging out with him during lunch time, much to the girl’s dissatisfaction. the girl merely complained that she felt threatened, thinking that you were out to steal him away from her.

it took mingi to put two and two together to realise the situation he was in. he needed to pick a side. It was either his… ‘sweet’ girl or you who was always there for him through thick and thin. but to a lovestruck mingi? he simply chose the girl, listening as she would insult you behind your back to mingi and how she mentioned you were only around him to date one of his friends, even to the extent of not making mingi interact with you in any way possible. hence, the dirty looks he sent you every time you tried to talk to him back then. his friends had noticed the tense atmosphere and decided to confront mingi about it, saying how she was controlling him and how he shouldn’t just drop you because of her. this only led up to a heated argument between mingi and the boys.

fast forward to being in uni, he had finally broke the relationship off with the girl, having enough of her controlling side. the male was surprised that you enrolled in the same university as him, being in the same major even. but.. he couldn’t talk to you. no, he chose not to interact with you at all. it was the guilt that was eating him alive that made him avoid you at all costs, instead, focusing on basketball with all of his practices and games to keep his mind off of you. It was his teammate and one of his close friends he made during his time here, yunho, advised mingi that he should at least give you some closure instead of letting you stay confused and wonder what you had done wrong. the amount of times he had tried to approach you, he chickened out. every time he wanted to approach you, the words were stuck in his throat. he just couldn’t face you.

that was until, today.

“mingi?” you called out, mingi looking up at you with wide eyes.

“yeah?”

“you ready to go?” you asked.

“oh.. oh, yeah! right, let’s go.”

with a confused gaze set on the male in front of you, you shrugged it off before walking out of the library with him.

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

the walk to your place was a little awkward, mingi looking around everywhere but you, and you leading the way. thankfully, the street lights and neon signs from a few shops here and there were already lit up, so the walk back wasn’t that long. however, the previous thoughts you had started to appear in your head once again, the same heaviness filling your chest. It was when you both stopped at a playground, just a little further away from your block, you called out mingi’s name softly.

you want to ask him. no, you need to.

hearing your voice, mingi turned to look at you, raising his brows as if to say you had his attention. you looked over at the swingset and pointed at it.

“can.. can we sit there for a bit? please?” you asked, mentally slapping yourself from the slight quiver in your voice as you spoke.

confusedly, mingi merely shrugged his shoulders before making his way towards the swings, sitting down on one of them, then looking up as you sat on the swing next to his. silence hung over the two of you, only the occasional squeaking from the rusty chains of the swings could be heard.

‘come on, ask him. you need that closure!’ your mind screamed, you heaving out a shaky breath.

mingi, upon hearing your sigh, furrowed his brows in confusion and concern before asking softly if you were okay, or if you were feeling faint. you slowly shook your head as if to reassure him you needed a moment, to which, mingi quietly complied. with a shut of your eyes, trying to ease the growing anxiety just bubbling up in the pit of your stomach, you took in a few deep breaths. once you were ready, you parted your lips to speak.

“i’m sorry.”

your head snapped to the side to look at mingi with wide eyes, not expecting him to be the first to say something. the words that you at least wanted to hear from him. mingi’s gaze was set on his feet, teeth gently chewing against his lower lip. your throat felt like someone was squeezing onto it, feeling as if all of the emotions you felt from all the pent up frustrations slowly started to pour out.

“why did you do it?” you asked, mingi’s heart aching from how shaky it was, somehow feeling how broken it was. and it was all because of him.

it was when he finally explained everything to you that made you feel as if time had stopped. from how the girl was spreading something about you behind your back, to poisoning mingi’s love struck mind, and to the breakup they had. Your mind was all over the place the longer you listened, heart starting to beat rapidly in your chest as your breathing grew ragged, vision slowly turning red.

so this was the reason? this was the reason why he was avoiding you ever since high school? thinking you would steal and date his friends? this was the reason that made you think that there was something wrong with you? your eyes welled up with tears of anger, laughing in disbelief before abruptly getting up from the swing to stand in front of mingi, eyes all glossed with fresh tears, along with hurt that was apparent in them.

“that’s it? you avoided me in high school and our time in uni just to believe her words?!” you whispered shakily, clenched fists at your sides. mingi looked up at you in alarm and stood up as well, he called out your name softly.

“y/n..” he started.

“no… no! mingi, did you fucking know how i felt? did you know how many nights were spent thinking that there was something wrong with me? did you even know how hurt i was for you to suddenly drop me like some type of a doll?!” you yelled, tears now cascading down your cheeks, mingi pleading for you to listen to him.

“and you even listened to someone you just met in the span of a few months? and not only that, but implying ever so slightly that i’m some type of whore just to date your friends?” you ranted.

“y/n.” mingi whispered.

“no, mingi! you even had the chance to explain it to me right AFTER you guys broke up, so why didn’t you? were your friends all in on this as well? is that why i was kept in the dark-”

“i wanted you to hate me! i couldn't live with the fact how selfish i was for choosing her over you, so i purposely avoided you to make you hate me more. i’m guilty!” mingi yelled back, effectively cutting you off.

silence.

it felt as if everything around you was muted, mingi’s last words the only thing ringing in your ears repeatedly. said male’s breathing was ragged from the sudden outburst, his torso heaving up and down. you pinched the bridge of your nose and sank your teeth down against the plush muscle of your lower lip, before looking up at him.

“do you have any idea how fucking stupid this is?” you said, suddenly feeling too exhausted as you gathered your things, swinging your bag over your shoulder.

“y/n, you don’t have to forgive me but.. i just wanted to let you know that i missed you.” mingi responded, his hand holding onto your wrist.

once again, you felt a fresh wave of tears flooding your vision. you wanted to say that you missed him too. you missed hanging out with him during lunch. you missed laughing at his lame jokes. you missed everything about him.

you missed song mingi.

you wanted to say those words out loud but not even a whisper could be heard. it was when you felt a large hand wiping away the lone tear rolling down your cheek managed to steal your attention away from your now jumbled up mind, looking up at mingi who was staring down at you with a hopeful look in his eyes. the two of you stared at each other, as if waiting for the other to say something. with a low sigh, you finally broke the silence.

“i missed you too, mingi but.. after all of this? i’m hurt, mingi.” you whimpered out, taking a deep breath a few times to stop yourself from breaking down once again.

“i’m sorry, y/n. i really am.” mingi whispered, eyes casted down on the wrist in his large hand.

“i might not be able to forgive you now. but if you really do want us to start over again.. you need to prove it. mere words are not enough.” you continued as you slowly moved his hand away from your wrist.

“and how do i do that, y/n? i’ll do anything, please.” mingi asked, desperation glinted in his eyes as he tried to reach for your wrist again, to which you took a step back.

“that’s for you to find out, mingi.” checking the time on your phone, you emitted a soft sigh before sending him a faint smile.

“i’ll.. see you tomorrow.”

and with that, you turned around to leave, leaving mingi standing there alone while watching your retreating figure head off to the apartment’s direction. a wave of mixed emotions hitting you like some type of a tidal wave, coming all at once. now that you finally had closure, were you relieved? were you disappointed? you were not sure. but all you know, is that you feel as if a huge weight has been lifted off of your shoulders.

meanwhile, a heavy sigh was heaved from mingi’s lips before he looked up at the sky, the stars hanging on the canvas of the night sky.

“i promise i won’t let you down again this time, y/n.” he whispered, staring at the sky for a little longer before turning around to leave as well.

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

“that’s it, i’m gonna beat his ass!” wooyoung yelled out, only to be dragged back by yeosang to make him sit back down in his seat, other hand holding onto a chicken wing he was eating. of course, you had expected his reaction after you told them what had happened yesterday.

“wooyoung, i swear, he’s just gonna step on you like some type of bug.” the blonde deadpanned, wooyoung pouting in response as he sulkily sipped on his drink.

“guys, please. i’m conflicted.” you groaned, smacking your forehead on the table, yeosang grimacing at the soft thud your forehead had made against the surface before shaking his head.

“give it time, hm? though, valid. but who knows?” he took a bite from his chicken then continued. “maybe he really does wanna make it up to you?”

there was a reason why you and wooyoung had called yeosang the reasonable one of the group. he was the one who kept giving some more options before wooyoung or you did anything rash out of impulse.

“and if he’s not doing that, then i would have to talk to him.” wooyoung grumbled, teeth biting down on the straw he’s chewing.

of course, a friend group wouldn’t be complete if the chaotic one of the group is not present. and that role would be given to wooyoung, the life of your little circle.

“speaking of the devil..” yeosang mumbled underneath his breath, eyes focused on something, or rather, someone from behind you.

you paid no attention to it, only keeping your head on the table as you were fighting with your inner thoughts. it was only when a familiar deep voice called out your name that you immediately lifted your head to look at the owner of the voice. however, as you did so, your whole body seemed to jump in place, causing your knees to hit against the table. hard.

a string of curses flew out of your lips, hands rubbing against your poor kneecaps, much to yeosang and wooyoung’s amusement, both boys clamping their mouths shut and started to look around everywhere in the cafeteria but you as an attempt to hold in their laughter. you sent them a glare until mingi mumbled your name.

“you okay there?” he asked, eyes full of concern.

you still didn’t want to look at him, instead keeping your gaze on your knees. you swear you can feel them still throbbing from the impact.

“what is it, mingi?”

“can i… can i join you?” he asked out of the blue, making you look up at him in shock. it was only now that you noticed that he was holding a paper bag in his hand while the other held a duffel bag, probably filled with extra clothes for basketball practice later.

wooyoung was about to deny his request until yeosang pinched his thigh, effectively shutting the boy up. with a glare from him, wooyoung huffed underneath his breath yet he behaved, though subtly glaring up at mingi’s way. for some reason, his anger reminded you of a chihuahua.

“oh, what about your friends?” you asked, you didn't hold any malice in your tone, but you were just genuinely curious as to why he had suddenly come up. though to mingi, he flinched at your question as he rubbed the back of his neck in a sheepish manner.

“oh uh, yunho had to go for practice and i haven't exactly had lunch yet since i got out of my previous class a little later than i intended to.” he admitted, a shy smile on his lips.

“i thought that.. i could sit with you?” he continued. you could only stare at him, losing your voice all of the sudden until yeosang cleared his throat.

“oh, would you look at that, wooyoung. i think i heard professor park looking for us.” he declared, standing up from the table, much to wooyoung's confusion.

“what do you me-”

“see you guys later!” yeosang waved and pulled wooyoung away from the table, his eyes catching the panicked look on your face.

‘talk to him.’ he mouthed before walking off, wooyoung whining next to him.

as soon as the two boys were out of your line of vision, you turned back around to finally face mingi. much to your surprise, he was already looking at you after sitting down right across from you. this certain moment right here was enough to make you feel like you were in a repeated dream, memories of you and him from back then rushing to your head. Maybe he’s just sitting here until both of you were done with the project? You weren’t sure, yet would it be selfish of you to think he would still talk to you? the both of you sat in silence until mingi’s features flickered, making it seem as if he realised something, before rummaging through the paper bag and pulled out two egg tarts.

“i remembered that you liked the tarts from that old bakery we always hung out at after school. I know that the bakery closed down and these aren’t exactly the same but i just thought that you would like them.” he explained.

at his words, you couldn’t help but smile ever so slightly, touched at his gesture before taking one of the tarts from with a quiet ‘thank you.’ again, you both sat in silence as you ate your tarts, mingi fidgeting in his seat. the awkwardness was so thick in the air that you could almost cut it with a knife. with a clear of his throat, mingi was the one who broke the silence between the two of you.

“so.. how are you?” he asked, a look of uncertainty was etched in his features as if wondering whether it was the right thing to say.

finding it endearing for some reason, you chortled lightly, “i’m.. okay, i guess? and you?” you asked with a slight tilt of your head.

“i’m fine, good. yeah, good.” mingi rambled on, almost wanting to hide behind his tart at the little crack of his voice.

another giggle had made its way out of your lips, hand coming up to cover them as you did so. and that was enough to have mingi relax ever so slightly in his seat, at least you are smiling. so that’s a positive thing maybe? he hoped so. he really wanted to patch things up, catch up with each other, but of course, with how he had acted towards you before? It wasn’t easy, but mingi is willing to try. so, the two of you spent the remaining free time you had, just talking about the project you were both partnered for most of the time. occasionally, the two of you would even throw in a few bickers here and there but all were lighthearted.

it was when you looked down at your phone that you had to cut the brief hang out short, much to your silent dismay, and mingi’s. as you were gathering your things, the male called your name, making you halt in your movements.

“is it okay if we meet in the library again? for our project, i mean.” he asked, fingers nervously tugging on the ends of his sweatshirt.

you were taken aback from the sudden question but sent him a smile, shrugging your shoulders.

“i mean, we are partners, no? so, i don’t see why not. same time?” you agreed, watching as the corners of the boy’s lips quirked up.

“oh yeah, definitely.”

“and don’t be late, mingi.”

“yeah, yeah. I won’t, see you soon, y/n.”

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

it has been a little while now after that closure you both had. you expected for things to still be awkward. worst case? mingi going back to being a total asshole like before. yet from the amount of times mingi and you kept meeting up to work on your project, you felt as if the awkwardness around the both of you slowly fade away. both of you starting to open up to each other once again, sharing pieces from the past and even what happened during the time the both of you drifted apart, catching up with each other. of course, you were still hurt from the way he treated you from before but, as much you didn’t want to admit it, you still gave mingi another chance.

even when the both of you had completed your assignment, you were surprised that he came by your table to join you, yeosang, and wooyoung every time the both of you had lunch the day after turning in your assignment to professor kim, even to the extent of bringing egg tarts whenever he came by. you were even more surprised at how wooyoung stopped wanting to beat his ass, instead, laughing his high pitched laugh at mingi’s jokes while you and yeosang would sigh at the lame joke. his friend, yunho, sometimes would join in. despite him being intimidatingly tall, he had a bright personality that reminded you of a golden retriever. before you could even realise, the days of hanging out turned into weeks, and into almost two months by now.

more often than not, you would even tag along to watch mingi practice. despite seeming like a bouncy kid during most times, he was serious in the court. the way he dribbled the ball across the court away from the opposing players, and made a couple of three pointers easily, it was no surprise at how he was chosen as the team’s captain. whenever he was done with practice, mingi would always ask if you wanted to try playing with him. now, for one, you weren’t exactly a sporty person, so suddenly having to play with the captain of the basketball team? yeah, you would definitely have to pass.

as usual, you were sitting at the sidelines watching the team practicing their aims and evading, along with mingi trying out new strategies with the team, you couldn’t help but to admire them. occasionally, you would catch mingi staring at you whenever your eyes landed on him after watching his other teammates play in the court, confused when he avoided your gaze as soon as you looked at his way. did you have something on your face? brushing the question away, you continued watching them. It was probably nothing.

everything seemed like a blur, and before you know it, everyone was packing up their things, giving each other words of encouragement on the way out of the court. once his teammates had left, you went up to mingi who was still standing in the middle of the court, bouncing the ball in his hand absentmindedly before getting ready to shoot it into the hoop.

“you did well today, as usual.” your voice surprised him, missing his timing as he threw the ball, missing the hoop. with a playful scowl of his lips, mingi looked down at you.

“damn, you weren’t supposed to see that.” he complained, making you roll your eyes at him.

“just like how i wasn’t supposed to see you trip a few times today?” you retorted, smiling as mingi rubbed the back of his neck, a clear habit of his whenever he felt embarrassed.

“i thought you didn’t notice.” he chuckled, the timbre of his deep voice somehow sending a chill down your spine yet you kept your calm demeanour.

“i may not know how to play, but that doesn’t mean i don’t notice the small things, mingi.” you laughed and crossed your arms, raising a brow up at him.

mingi mimicked the expression on your face and crossed his arms, lips quirking up as if there was a lightbulb having his switch being flicked on. you knew what was coming up as a groan left your lips, shaking your head at him.

“mingi, for the last time, i don’t wanna play. I don’t even know how to pl-”

“then let me teach you how to play!” he pleaded, pulling his best puppy eyed look. did yunho teach him that?

you stared at his face for a little while, mingi about to give up before he grinned upon hearing the sigh out of defeat from you. well, what’s the harm in learning anyway. at least if you embarrassed yourself while playing, mingi would be the only one to see it.

“okay, fine. teach me how to play, captain.”

and with that, you spent the rest of the late afternoon just having mingi teach you the basics of how to play basketball, exchanging laughs and teasings here and there. though you still weren’t entirely a fan of the sport, you find it rather enjoyable.

“okay, let’s play one game. winner makes the loser do anything they want.” mingi suddenly declared, balancing the ball between his side and arm.

your mouth fell open. was he being serious right now? you barely even got the hang of all the techniques he had taught you, and suddenly he wanted to one up against him, the captain of the basketball? with a scoff, you shook your head at him.

“mingi, there’s no way i’m gonna do that.” you rejected, clicking your tongue.

“come on, y/n. i’ll go easy on you, please?” mingi whined, nudging your side, you deadpanning up at him in return.

“no.”

“please!”

“i said n-”

“i’ll buy you ice cream tomorrow after classes.” mingi offered, knowing how you had a sweet tooth.

“..fine.” you sighed out, to which made mingi cheer and took a few steps back from you with a huge grin on his face. running over to the side to pull out his phone and placing it on the bench, then running back to where he stood before.

“whoever has the most points before time’s up, wins. ready?” with a look of determination, you nodded your head.

“start!”

before you could even react, mingi ran towards your goal, causing you to squeak at his sudden moves before quickly trying to block him from getting closer. but of course, with the years of experience, and maybe due to his long legs as well, it was almost impossible. he smirked down at you once he made his first shot through your hoop, you huffing up at him.

‘going easy, my ass.’ you groaned in your head as you narrowed your eyes up at him.

the quiet court was now filled with the sounds of mingi’s laughter mixing with your own, you yelling at him for being ‘unfair’, and the soft thudding of the ball hitting against the basketball court’s floor. this went on for quite a while until the timer in mingi’s phone went off, you two immediately halting your movements, chests heaving up and down to catch your breaths. too tired to stand, you sat down on the floor, mingi doing the same next to you.

“looks like i won, princess.” mingi teased, earning a gentle slap on his shoulder from you.

“oh, come on. someone who knew to actually play versus someone who never dribbled a basketball across the court? of course you would win!” you whined, glaring over at the laughing boy next to you.

“i went easy on you, y/n. be thankful.” he defended, sticking his tongue out.

with a scoff, you turned slightly in place to face him while staying seated on the floor. “okay, okay. now what do you want?” you asked, voice sounding rather sulky.

mingi went quiet for a few seconds, teeth chewing on his lower lip as his gaze was casted down on his fingers that were fiddling with his shoelaces. your eyebrows furrowed, confused as to why he went quiet. surely it couldn’t be that hard in wanting whatever he wished for. you were about to ask whether he was alright or if he did not hear you when you asked before he suddenly turned to look at you, causing you to jump slightly in surprise.

“you owe me some egg tarts.”

dumbfounded, you could only stare at his face, why would he want some considering he basically had been eating them every time you guys had lunch? but.. you couldn’t complain. he is the winner here, and what a winner wants is what they will get. with a nod, you mumbled out a soft ‘fine’, causing mingi to grin over at you and jump up to his feet.

“i’ll go and take a brief shower, then we can go to the bakery i always go to!”

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

the sweet smell of various baked pastries filled your nose upon entering the bakery mingi led you to. the bakery wasn’t too small nor was it too big, it was just the appropriate size for people who just wanted to chill or needed to unwind after a long day with a plate of their favourite baked goods of their choice. you noticed the decor a few knick-knacks as well, probably to fill the empty spaces of the bakery.

“oh, mingi, you are here!” an unknown voice reached into your ears, making you turn around to see a middle aged lady, maybe in her late fifties, giving mingi a hug.

“hi grandma, i am! I guess i couldn’t resist your treats.” mingi laughed after he pulled away, a hearty laugh leaving the woman’s lips before your eyes met.

“oh my, i take it you are a friend of mingi’s?” she asked, sending you a smile that somehow reminded you of a mother’s warm smile. not wanting to be rude, you bowed your head slightly in response.

“my name is y/n, y/n l/n. i am a friend of mingi’s indeed.”

right after your name, the middle aged woman gasped as her eyes stared up at mingi’s wide ones, much to your confusion from the sudden reaction. mingi could only purse his lips and gave her a vague gesture, the old woman forming her lips into a small ‘o’ in response. your eyebrows creased together, was there something going on?

“my, it is nice to finally meet you, y/n.” she giggled, eyes holding a certain glint that you just couldn’t figure out.

that was until you realised when her words finally processed in your mind. finally? what did she mean by that? you looked over to mingi, his cheeks somehow a tinted pink as his eyes were looking up at the written menu board hanging on the walls. something was going on, you just know it.

“now, what can i do to help you, lovebugs?” ‘grandma’ had said, making her way to the cashier.

lovebugs? before you could ask, mingi suddenly spoke up.

“the usual please, grandma.” he chuckled, albeit nervously. why was he acting so weird all of the sudden? yet, you decided to ask later and walked up to the cashier to pay for the treats until grandma tutted.

“no, no, dear. this one is on the house. consider it as a lil present to meet the infamous y/n our mingi has always mentioned.” she chuckled, hearing mingi slapping his forehead in the background.

thanking her, the both of you made your way to a vacant table just at the back of the bakery right next to the window with some type of device in your hands to inform you when the tarts would be ready. once both you and mingi had sat down, you released a little noise out of interest that piqued mingi’s interest, wondering what had made you to do so.

“the sky’s really pretty.” you mumbled, irises focused on the sky, mingi doing the same.

it was your favourite time of the day. the sky ranging from how the shades of crimson had mingled with the orange colours, along with a few streaks of pink here and there, looking as if someone grabbed a huge paintbrush and the sky was their canvas. it was always this time of day that made it seem like time around you had slowed down, letting you whisper your goodbye’s to the daylight before finally having to greet the night sky.

mingi tore his gaze away from the sky to look at you, saving your awed expression in his mind. the male took the brief opportunity to admire your side profile, the familiar tug in his chest reminding him the feelings he thought were long forgotten. but how could he?

how could he forget when you are just sitting right in front of him? how could he when you looked especially pretty when you briefly stopped in your tracks to admire the things you loved in life? how could he when you genuinely looked at ease? he could feel his heartbeat just beating so rapidly against his chest, his large hand coming up to rest on his chest. With a glance towards you again, he knew damn well what he was feeling.

mingi fell for you.

it would be a lie to say he didn’t. it would be a lie to say he didn’t develop these feelings for you when you would always have that quiet yet snarky side of you. it would be a lie to say that he didn’t purposely make mistakes in the project just so he could hear your voice explaining to him. but.. did he even have the right to do so? he had been an asshole towards you. though with the two of you finally having patched things up, he still felt the guilt gnawing at his mind every time you looked up at him with those bright eyes of yours.

it was the sudden beeping from the device along with your voice calling his name making him just snap out of it, you looking at him, concern painted over your visage.

“are you alright?” you softly asked.

he needed to tell you. sooner or later.

“i’m fine! just daydreaming for a bit there. i’ll go get the tarts!”

as quickly as he stood up from his seat, mingi went off to return the device along with getting the said baked goods.

you, on the other hand, weren’t stupid. you had noticed the gaze that landed on you while you were looking at the sky, you noticed the way he briefly placed his hand on his chest as soon as he tore his gaze away from you. with a shaky breath escaping your lips, you shut your eyes momentarily. It felt as if you were back in high school again, feeling the way your stomach flipping every now and then.

you had thought those feelings were long gone. yet, with all the lingering gazes that were exchanged between the two of you whenever your eyes met? or how you felt some sort of electricity shooting up your spine every time his arm brushed against yours when he stood next to you? but should you even tell him how you felt? no matter what the consequences will be?

your eyes looked up to the said male as he bounded over towards the both of you, a bright smile on his lips as he mentioned how good the tarts smelt, fresh out of the oven. seeing how his eyes widened ever so slightly out of excitement, you had your answer.

you needed to tell him. sooner or later.

but for now, you needed the right timing to do so.

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

you laughed as mingi had told you one of his rather embarrassing moments during the first few months of becoming the captain of the basketball as you two walked side by side, mingi offering to walk you home considering the two of you lost track of time in the bakery. the crimson sky from before turned into night.you swear that you could feel the little tears just rolling down your cheeks from how much you were laughing as mingi continued on with his story.

“if only my voice didn’t crack that time, the other teammates wouldn’t even start to drag me every chance they get.” he sighed, though the corners of his lips twitching up at the sound of your laughter.

“hey, they do listen to you. your teamwork is great too! i’m sure they would be frozen in place if you kept a strong persona.” you reassured him.

suddenly halting in his steps, his eyes landed on the familiar place. the place where he finally came clean, the place where you burst into tears, the place where… he had promised to himself that he won’t let you down yet again.

turning around, you only noticed he had stopped in his tracks from the lack of presence next to you. “something wrong?” you asked.

pointing at the swingset, mingi looked over at you. “can we.. sit on the swings?”

deja vu. only, the roles were switched.

without a word, the both of you made your way to the swings and sat down, side by side. the sounds of the creaky swings filled your ears as you slowly swung yourself, both of you growing quiet as if the words in your heads disappeared. that was, until mingi spoke up.

“you do realise that technically you still need to do what i want you to do.” mingi reminded you.

he was right. the egg tarts weren’t actually from you, it was on the house. raising a brow, looked over at mingi.

“and what are you planning, hm? don’t tell me you want another egg tart.” you joked, an attempt to lighten the mood, mingi chuckling in return.

however, the smile on his lips disappeared as soon as it was shown. you would be lying if you said that you weren’t nervous. suddenly, mingi stood up and knelt in front of you. your eyes widened as you stared into his own intense one, gulping the huge lump forming in your throat, fingers clutching tight on the chains of the swings.

“min-”

“i want… i want you to like me. to take responsibility for what you are making me feel.” he spoke up abruptly, effectively making you freeze in place.

silence hung over the both of you, the sounds of cars occasionally passing by filling the quietness. did.. did you hear it right? or were you just dreaming? yet, the cool breeze of the night air was enough to tell you this was very much real, you were not dreaming. you could hear the way your heart beating violently in your ears, not being able to find the words to answer him.

to mingi, your lack of response was enough to make him grow nervous. the negative thoughts started to swirl in his mind, scolding him for suddenly acting rather hasty. he was starting to feel scared. scared that you might run away, scared that he won’t be able to watch him during practice, scared that he might not be able to walk you home.

scared that he would lose you once again.

“i’m.. i’m sorry i shouldn’t have said that. you can reject me, y/n. just please.. please don’t leave me again. you can forget this ever happened. you can forget i ever said any-” he rambled.

however, your actions effectively made him stop talking. your hands cupped his cheeks before crashing your lips against his with your eyelids shut tight, couldn’t say the same for mingi though. poor boy was frozen in place. it took him awhile to process what’s happening before slowly reaching up to place his hand on the back of your nape, eyes slowly fluttering closed to reciprocate the kiss. it felt as if time had slowed down around the two of you, lips moving in sync.

both of you wished that you could have this moment forever but the need for oxygen was urgent, burning both of your lungs. slowly, the both of you pulled away, faces just centimetres apart from each other’s. no words were exchanged between the two of you, just staring at each other as mingi rubbed the pad of his thumb along the length of his cheekbone, and your own digits playing with the strands of his hair absentmindedly. clearing his throat, mingi started to speak to break the silence.

“i guess that’s a yes then?”

with a jovial titter, you pulled him by the collar of his shirt to place your lips on his once again, mingi happily returning it as he circled his arms around your waist, the twinkling stars on the night’s canvas along with the bright moon being the witness of the start of a new level between the both of you.

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

“are you fucking kidding me?” wooyoung screeched, eyes all wide at the sight of you and mingi coming to your usual table hand in hand. yeosang, who was peacefully drinking his tea, nearly did a spit take at the sight while yunho laughed at their reactions with a shake of his head before looking back at the two of you.

“i’m guessing you have something to tell us?” the other tall male asked, spinning a basketball on his index finger before swiftly catching it in his hands as wooyoung poked it.

“what else do they have to say? the answer is right there, puppy.” yeosang gestured at the your intertwined hands, not missing the fact that both of your cheeks were in a faint tint of pink.

yunho merely raised an eyebrow at the blond, amused, “for someone with a snarky attitude, you sure can’t sense someone else’s sarcasm.”

wooyoung cackled at the way yeosang deadpanned at yunho, immediately shutting his lips at the sight of the blonde’s glare, though not without letting out a stifled laugh.

you couldn’t help but to laugh at your friends’ antics as both you and mingi sat down at the table, eyes turning into small crescents as you did so. It was when yunho had asked the two of you what exactly went down between the two of you, yeosang and wooyoung leaning in expectantly. you looked over at mingi, who was already looking at you with fondness and adoration just written all over his face, before turning back to your friends to finally tell them.

alas, the rest of the lunch time you had was filled with your friends just teasing the both of you. though you didn’t mind, you were content.

somewhere in the back of your mind, you thanked the heavens for giving mingi and you another chance to start over. It was a rocky start, yet you didn’t drop each other right then and there. and you were glad that you didn’t.

“wanna go to grandma’s after this, y/n?” mingi whispered into your ear as your three friends bickered in the background.

“just don’t be late, hm?” you teased, making mingi roll his eyes in a playful manner before gently pinching the bridge of your nose.

“hey, don’t make us feel single, lovebirds.” wooyoung yelled.

cue a slap on his arm from you along with the round of laughter filling the air.

#ateez #ateez writing #ateez fanfic #ateez angst #ateez au #ateez scenarios #ateez imagines #ateez reactions #ateez x reader #ateez fluff #ateez song mingi #ateez wooyoung #ateez yeosang #song mingi #ateez yunho #mingi scenarios #kpop #kpop scenarios #colly's writings

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viastro · 4 years

Text

stay with me | wen junhui

ミ★ synopsis: in which you open your front door to reveal your favorite manga character who wants to change the ending of your story. [requested by @shoshishua]

ミ★ genre: alternate universes, fluff, humor

ミ★ warnings: none!

ミ★ word count: 4,970

ミ★ pairings: jun x female reader [mentions of woozi x female reader and seungcheol x female reader]

ミ★ notes: hi! long time no see since my last oneshot! this one took me like a week to write? idk why i guess i’m just dumb HAHAHAH anyways, this was requested by my dear friend, @shoshishua so i hope you guys like this !

Now, you wouldn’t say that you’re a weeb. You just enjoy reading manga and watching anime in your free time. You aren’t like an intense weeb that does those hand gestures and cosplays on tiktok. You’re just… a lowkey weeb.

yeah. that sounds better.

No it doesn’t.

However, there is this one manga that you can read over and over. It’s titled from winter to spring, in which a boy falls in love with a girl over the span of three seasons. It’s literally the most cliche manga of your life but the art and storyline is so beautiful that it has you crying each time you read it. NOT TO MENTION… the main character Jun is the prettiest 2D character you’ve ever seen in your life. You find yourself resonating with him easily as well, considering he’s also a lowkey weeb but also just very sweet in the manga. You love him so much, he has such a soft spot in your heart because of how overall wonderful his character is.

And that’s why you’re spending the entirety of your three-day weekend re-reading from winter to spring. It’s going great so far, you’ve only cried once, a new record on your part. You’re about to sit back down on the couch after taking a quick shower, only for there to be a knock on your door. You raise an eyebrow, walking over confused as you had not expected any company.

You hear another knock before opening the door, only to lay eyes on the most handsome 4D guy you’ve ever seen in your life. His hair is brown with a hint of red, a sliver of his forehead showing which reveals his nice eyebrows. His nose is strong, matching his overall powerful aura. You can’t help but feel as if you’ve seen him before though.

“You’re yn.” He states and you nod your head slowly, feeling confused as to how he possibly knows. Knowing for a fact that you’ve never seen him before in your life because you’d make sure to remember such a pretty guy.

“Yes, who are you-”

“Okay I’m glad I found you.” He interrupts, stepping into your apartment and you watch him with wide eyes as he heads over to your living room.

“Wait, excuse me-”

“Wow, this is so cool! It’s literally the same except real.” He says in awe and you rub the back of your neck in confusion, unable to tell him to get out because you’re so confused.

“Oh my God! I can’t believe this. WAIT!” He turns around and points in your direction, and you turn your head to see if there’s someone else behind you. “Me?”

“Yes! Yn, my name is Jun. I come from an alternate universe and I have to SAVE YOU.” You stare at him with wide eyes, realizing why he looked so familiar.

It’s Jun from “from winter to spring.”

“Y-you’re Jun from ‘from winter to spring.’” He cocks his head to the side, resembling a confused puppy.

“From winter to spring? You know what - that’s not important right now I’ll ask later. You’re my favorite character in my manga and I know how it ends but I want to change it. You’re gonna meet this guy named Jihoon, right? And you’re going to end up with him! BUT I can’t have that happen because Seungcheol is so much sweeter and you deserve better!” Jun rants as he paces around your living room. He stops and turns to you, walking forward and placing his hands on your shoulders. Your eyes widen even more at the close proximity between you two, giving you a chance to analyze your favorite manga character that is apparently a real person up close.

“So please. Choose Seungcheol, not Jihoon.” He stresses, giving your shoulders a squeeze before letting go. You stare at him for a moment, and he raises an eyebrow, “What?”

You pass out before you’re able to respond.

“Yn? Oh thank god you’re awake! I was so worried about you.” You groan, blinking a few times before turning your head to find Jun’s face a few inches away from yours.

Oh my god it wasn’t a dream.

“Oh good God, I’m gonna pass out again.” You mutter, closing your eyes again in an attempt to sleep away your problems.

“Wait! You’re gonna choose Seungcheol right?” He asks, poking your cheek and you frown. You open your eyes to turn and look at him, still wondering how the FUCK this isn’t a dream.

“I’m having a hard time trying to process the fact that you’re actually real and in my apartment at this very moment.” You tell Jun instead of answering his question, and he cocks his head to the side.

“You know me?” You sit up from the couch, rubbing your head and staring directly at him.

“Of course I do! You’re my favorite character from my manga from winter to spring!” His eyes widen as his mouth drops open, letting out the loudest gasp of his life.

“No way! I’m a manga character too?!” You nod your head, reaching over to your coffee table and grabbing the manga. You hand it to Jun and he opens it, his eyes widening even more once he sees himself.

“I’m so handsome in this!” He exclaims and you giggle at his reaction. He turns his head to look at you, expression turning into a soft grin.

“Your smile is a lot prettier in person rather than in the manga.” Jun tells you, a look of awe on his face as your cheeks turn red from the compliment. You look away, staring down at your hands as your face warms up even more.

“Why aren’t we both more concerned at the fact that we both come from mangas?” Jun asks after a moment of quiet, and you find yourself rather stumped at the question.

“You know what? I’m not sure. I don’t know why I kind of just accepted it right away? Maybe it’s because I believe half of the conspiracy theories I read.” You respond honestly and he nods his head slowly.

“You know… that makes sense. I think I’m not that surprised because I was able to come to an alternate universe, so finding out that I’m also a main character in a manga is not that surprising.” Jun explains and now it’s your turn to nod your head slowly. You both sit in silence, soaking in the fact that you’re both each other’s favorite character in a manga.

Oh god we’re each other’s favorite character in a manga.

“Oh my GOD!”

“OH MY GOD!”

“Jun! How are you supposed to get back to your universe?! What season is it there?!” You ask, turning to Jun with wide eyes.

“I just need to walk back through this one door in the city! It’s the same season as yours, spring!”

“ThAt OnE DOoR in ThE CItY! What if that door closes?!”

“The lady said it’ll close in like two days! It’s FINE!”

“Is it?! Why would you jeopardize your safety just to tell me to choose Seungcheol! I don’t EVEN KNOW a Seungcheol!”

“Because he’s so much nicer! Jihoon is such a tsundere! I don’t know why people like that! Wait- YOU DON’T KNOW SEUNGCHEOL?!”

“No!!! HELLO??!!”

“You haven’t met Seungcheol yet?! Damn maybe I came too early. How old are you right now?”

“I’m 20.”

“Ah shit, I came a year early.”

“What the fuck!!! Jun, you shouldn’t have risked your safety just to come and tell me to choose a guy I haven’t even met yet-”

“It was for the BEST!” Jun states with finality, and you glare at him.

“You better get back to that door soon, I don’t want you to ruin your chances with Hyoon.” You threaten and he raises an eyebrow at the unfamiliar name.

“Hyoon? Is that the female lead in the manga?” Now it’s your turn to stare at him with wide eyes.

“You haven’t met Hyoon yet?!”

“No?”

“How old are you?”

“I’m 21.”

“Ah shit, you won’t meet her until you’re 23.” You mutter and Jun pinches his nose, muttering about how stressed he is and how that whole conversation was deja vu.

“Listen, I don’t wanna leave yet.” You turn to him with wide eyes, an expression on your face that basically means, what the fuck did you just say?

“Now why not?”

“I’ve always admired your world through drawings, I wanna be able to go and experience it for at least one day.” Jun tells you, looking around your apartment with sparkling eyes. You bite the inside of your cheek, now feeling conflicted. After a moment of thinking, you finally let out a sigh.

“Fine, we can spend tomorrow exploring my city. You HAVE to go home by the end of the day though, I don’t want you getting stuck here Jun.” Jun’s eyes light up after the words leave your mouth, and he turns to you with a big smile on his face. You notice how the rays of the sunset hit his face, putting a nice glow on his melanin. His eyes turn into pools of honey, and his hair turns a slight brown. You feel your own face warm up at how handsome he is, turning away to look down at the floor instead.

“Really?” You nod your head, still refusing to look at him in fear of shitting yourself from his beauty. Jun stands up from the couch, beginning to jump around the room in celebration and you let out a small laugh.

“We’ll wake up early tomorrow so that we can make the most of your time.” You tell him, standing up from the couch.

“Okay, can I shower?” He asks, and you nod your head slowly. He gives you a smile, “Epic.”

“I’ll go get you a towel.” You mutter, walking into your room and grabbing a blue towel out of your closet. You walk back out to see him taking off his shirt and you let out a small squeak, covering your eyes as your face burns with warmth from the sight of his muscular back. Jun turns around at the sound of your squeak, seeing you with your hand covering your eyes as you blindly hold out the towel to him. He lets out a grin, taking the towel from your grasp, making you let out another small squeal.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, I’ll be, uh, in my room. You can sleep on the couch,” You say as you take careful steps back into your room. Jun watches you with an amused smile on his face as you continue to back up slowly. “I’ll bring out a blanket and some pillows to make it comfier. If you’re hungry you can eat the leftovers in the fridge- EEK!” You screech when you back up into something, which you presume to be the door frame of your bedroom. Jun lets out a laugh and you feel your face burn even more.

“You know you can look, right?”

“No! Nope, I will be keeping my eyes closed until you’re in the bathroom and I’m in my room. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Goodnight!” You let out another squeak as your hip slams into your door handle as you thought you were safe enough to just take a leap into your room. Jun smiles as you close the door after patting around to make sure you weren’t in the way anymore.

“Goodnight yn.” Jun mumbles, turning around and walking into the bathroom, a little joy in his step. You let out a sigh as you sit down on your bed, deciding to fling yourself backwards after a moment so that you’re now laying down. You let out a sigh,

“What the fuck have I gotten myself into.”

“Good morning Jun.” You mumble sleepily as you step out of your room the next morning. Jun lets out a snore in response, and you chuckle slightly. One of the pillows is now on the floor beside him, his leg also hanging off the couch as well. His mouth is open, a dribble of drool pooling at the corner of his mouth.

“Ah, cute.” You walk into the kitchen to start making breakfast, deciding to wake him up once the food is ready. Turning on the stove, you take out the frying pan and spray it with cooking spray. You stretch your arms over your head as you let out a little yawn.

“I like my eggs over medium.” A deep voice says behind you as you crack the egg into the pan. You let out a squeak, dropping a whole egg shell into the pan. You turn to see Jun snickering at your shock, and you glare at him.

“You were snoring on the couch like two minutes ago! How’d you get up so quickly?” Jun shrugs, and that’s when you take notice of the fact that his shoulders are bare and he has really nice collarbones holy fucking SHIT he’s not wearing a shirt.

“Oh my god!” You cover your eyes immediately, and Jun giggles at your cute action. He takes a step forward, grasping your wrists and slowly removing your hands from your eyes. You try to look at everything but him but he’s too close to your face and his defined chest and abs are RIGHT there.

“Like what you see?” Jun asks cockily, and you look up into his eyes, squinting at him.

“You’ve been here for a day and one night and I’ve seen you practically naked for all of that time.” You tease and he rolls his eyes, leaning back to give you a big smile.

“You left the egg shell in the pan by the way, so maybe I should cook?” You stick your tongue out at him, and he grins. You try to will away the warmth flooding your cheeks as Jun lets go of your wrists to take over the breakfast making.

“I forgot you’re a top tier man.” You mutter under your breath as you remember the qualities of Jun’s character that made you love him. He somehow hears you, and lets out a small chuckle.

“Am I really your favorite manga character? Why isn’t it Haruhi?”

“Her name is Hyoon.”

“Hyoon, Haruhi, potato tomato.”

“No?!?”

“Yes!!”

“Haruhi is from Ouran High School Host Club, Hyoon is the girl you’re going to meet in a couple years and fall completely in love with.” You clarify and Jun shrugs, turning back to the egg and flipping it.

“I’m already falling for someone though.” Jun mutters and your eyes practically bulge out of their sockets. You grasp his arm, causing him to turn around and look at you.

“Who! Hyoon and you are literally like, soulmates! There can’t be someone else!”

“Pft.” Jun turns back to the egg and places it onto the plate, cracking another egg into the pan afterwards.

“Don’t pft me!” You exclaim and Jun shrugs again, quickly cooking his egg as the stove is rather hot. He places his egg onto his plate, before turning to the rice cooker and placing rice onto both of your guys’ plates.

“Let’s eat and get ready, hm?” Jun says with a smile, handing you your plate and walking out of the kitchen. Clearly not wanting to continue talking about it. You let out a sigh, respecting his wishes as you follow him towards the dining table.

“Well, where’s the first place you’d like to go to later?” You ask, and Jun gives you a big, excited smile.

“You… wanted to go to Mcdonalds…” You mutter and Jun nods happily, reaching down and intertwining your fingers with his, pulling you both towards the counter. You stare down at your intertwined hands with wide eyes.

“In my universe we don’t have a Mcdonalds, we have a… Burger King...” You raise an eyebrow at the strange fast food name.

“Is it… good?”

“...”

Jun’s silence is enough of an answer for you.

You order twenty piece nuggets and two large fries, as Jun insisted on trying the nuggets you always seemed to order in your manga with Seungcheol. You both sit down at a booth after claiming your order, and you dig into the grease filled food.

“God… I wish I had this in my universe.” Jun groans as he shoves another nugget into his mouth. You let out a giggle, causing him to look at you like a deer caught in headlights with a nugget in each cheek.

“You look like a chipmunk.” You state and Jun quickly chews the nuggets before swallowing and giving you a smirk.

“A cute chipmunk?”

“If I answered that I feel like that would make me a furry.”

“Aren’t you? You always mention how Jihoon looks like a cute cat in the manga…” Jun trails off, a frown taking over his features at the reminder that you’ll soon be meeting Seungcheol and Jihoon once he goes back to his universe. You raise an eyebrow at his frown, reaching out and shoving a fry into his open mouth. Jun looks at you with wide eyes and you smile.

“You were frowning, what’s up?” You ask and Jun shrugs, “No biggie, let’s hurry up and finish this so that we can go to the next place.”

“Are you sure? You can talk to me Jun-”

“Nope! Can’t hear you, the sound of my chewing is too loud hahahahahahaha let’s finish eating.”

“This is just like that one scene where you and Seungcheol- ah shit I shouldn’t spoil the future.” Jun covers his mouth after the sentence leaves him, and you roll your eyes. You watch as the cherry blossom petals fall from the trees, floating around you and Jun.

“Is Seungcheol cute?” You ask, and Jun’s jaw tenses as you both walk slowly beside each other.

It’s nearing the end of the day, the sunset will begin in an hour or so. You and Jun spent the day going to different cafes you go to often, so mainly eating. However, he brought you to an arcade you haven’t even gone to yet, but Jun mentions how important it becomes to you later on in your life. He even got you a pikachu from the claw machine, saying it’s something to remember him by once he leaves. The last place he wanted to see was the city center, where the cherry blossoms are in full bloom.

“Yes.” Jun answers curtly, and you nod your head slowly.

“Is Jihoon cute too?”

“Yup.”

“Do they both dress well?”

“Yup…”

“Where will I meet them-”

“Yn, I’m only going to be here for like another hour. Can we talk about something other than the mangas?” Jun interrupts, turning to you with a small smile. You nod your head, muttering a small apology and he reaches down, intertwining your fingers once again and giving them a squeeze.

You both walk in a comfortable silence, soaking in the atmosphere. However, you’re having an internal conflict because Jun hasn’t let go of your hand and you also kind of don’t want him to let go.

You don’t want him to leave.

“You know, even though meeting you was incredibly confusing and terrifying at first, I’m glad you came.” You say, and Jun turns to look down at you. He takes notice of the fact that you’re literally glowing under the sunlight. Your short black hair is slightly curled at the ends, accentuating your cute cheeks. Your eyes look like they could drip honey at the way they’re shining under the sun.

You turn to Jun to catch him staring at you with an affectionate smile on his face, and you find yourself fighting back a grin. “What?”

“I’m glad I came too.” Jun mutters softly, before pulling you towards a bench underneath the largest cherry blossom tree in the square. You both sit down, and Jun turns to you.

“You’re a lot better in person than in the manga.” You raise an eyebrow.

“In what way?”

“In every way. The art doesn’t do your appearance justice, but it’s not just that. Your personality is so wonderful, you’re like a breath of fresh air.” Jun tells you and you bite the inside of your cheek.

“Don’t make me get attached to you right before you leave Junnie.” You say and he lets out a small laugh, squeezing your hand.

“I’ll stay if you want me to.” You look at him with wide eyes and immediately shake your head no.

“I had a really fun day with you yn, and I don’t want it to end. I want to stay here with you.” Jun admits nervously, and you kinda just… gawk at him.

“But, you have to meet Hyoon, and Minghao is still in your universe! You can’t leave your friends like that just for me Jun.” You argue and Jun looks away, disappointed. You notice the sun beginning to set and you feel your heart pound against your chest.

“It’s time to go back Jun, the sun is setting.” Jun doesn’t respond, he just lets go of your hand and begins to walk in the direction of the restroom.

“Jun? Why are you going to the bathroom-”

“That’s where the door is.” He answers bluntly, still refusing to look at you. You pick up the pace and grab his hand, causing him to stop.

“You’re not gonna say goodbye?” Jun lets out a sigh, turning around so that he’s facing you. He rests his hands on your shoulders, bending down so that you’re both at the same eye-level.

“I’m not gonna lie, I think I love you even though I’ve only known you in person for a short time. I want to stay, but I know it’s not our time yet.” He stares into your brown eyes, holding a lot of warmth.

“You think you what.”

“You heard me.”

“You love me?” Jun gives you a smile, leaning back so that he’s now standing at his full height. He shrugs his shoulders and you give him the best, bruh what the FUCK! expression you can muster.

“Thank you for showing me around, and thank you for making me your favorite manga character. I’ll see you soon yn.” Jun says, before leaning down and pressing a kiss to your cheek. You stand there speechless as he turns around and walks away, leaving you to lift your hand up to your cheek.

“B-bye Junnie.” You mutter weakly as he turns around one last time to wave goodbye at you. You analyze his features one last time, the way the sun hits his brown hair making the red shine softly. The blue sweater that compliments his melanin, his strong side profile. You stare at his smile, and the way his eyes soften when he looks at you.

He disappears behind the door, and soon you see the cracks of the door glow a bright gold before it goes back to normal. You bite the inside of your cheek, suddenly full of regret at how shitty your goodbye was.

So you run in the direction of the restroom, opening the door in hopes that maybe Jun is still there. You’re disappointed when you see that it’s just a normal male restroom, with gross urinals and poor lighting. You let out a small sigh when you take notice of its emptiness, no sign of Jun having even been in there.

“I’m gonna regret that for the rest of my life.” You mutter sadly, before turning around and heading in the direction of your home.

one year later…

“Where are you Irene? I’ve been waiting at the arcade for ten minutes.” You say into your phone, pacing around as you wait for her response. You’ve been standing by the entrance of the arcade Jun took you to a year ago. You and your friend Irene were supposed to meet here ten minutes ago and she still hasn’t come.

“I’m so sorry yn! Seulgi really needed my help on making this meal for her mom and we aren’t done yet! I don’t think I can make it, I’m so sorry.” Irene apologizes profusely through the phone and you let out a small sigh.

“It’s okay Irene, you help her out okay? We can go next week or something.”

“Yes! I’ll pay for everything to make up for it next week. Thank you for being so understanding yn.” Irene says and you hang up the phone after bidding goodbye. Letting out a sigh, you turn to look inside the arcade.

“I guess I should play at least one game before I leave.” You mutter to yourself as you head inside, walking subconsciously in the direction of the claw machines. You get lost in your thoughts when you bump into a hard chest, making you take a few steps back.

“Watch where you’re going.” The guy says, and you look up to see a guy with black hair that falls softly onto his forehead. His eyes are small, similar to that of a cat. He’s shorter than other guys you’ve met, but he’s still taller than you.

“Be nice Jihoon. Sorry for my friend. He’s a bit of a tsundere I guess you could say.” Your eyes widen at the familiar name, turning to look up at the male beside him. As Jihoon turns to argue with the man at the name he called him, you take the time to look over his features. He has blonde hair that makes his soft eyes pop. You can tell he also accompanies Jihoon to the gym since they’re both rather muscular. You stare in silence as your mind processes the fact that you just met Jihoon, the man Jun told you not to choose.

“I’m uh, I’m Seungcheol. I hope you’re okay.” The man beside Jihoon introduces and your eyes widen even more at the familiar name.

oh my god oh my god oh my god.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Sorry about that.” You say, giving them a smile before immediately walking away. Seungcheol and Jihoon watch you turn the corner before you’re out of sight. Seungcheol grins softly, finding himself intrigued by you.

“She left cause you scared her. I don’t get why you’re so antisocial.” Seungcheol teases Jihoon, causing him to get elbowed in the stomach as they leave the arcade.

You blindly speed walk towards the claw machines when you bump into another hard chest, you’re about to fall backwards when strong arms wrap around your waist, balancing you. You look up at the person you bumped into, only for you to just about pass out.

“Jun?” You whisper, and he gives you a smile. His hair is now black and fluffy, resting comfortably on his forehead. His eyes are bright as he looks down at you with a big smile on his face. You try to take a step back so that his arms will fall from your waist but he tightens his hold around you.

“How? Why? WAIT! What about Hyoon?! What are you doing here! You have to go back to your universe!” You basically screech, causing a few people passing by to give you and Jun a strange look.

“Well, I came back to my universe, but it just didn’t feel right anymore. Minghao and Mingyu could tell I was going through it and that I wanted to come back, so I basically got their blessing.” Jun explains, letting go of your waist to instead hold your hands.

“I knew today you were gonna meet Seungcheol and Jihoon, so I thought I’d intervene before you met them. I was too late though.” Jun shrugs, and you just stare at him in awe.

“But-”

“I told you I’d see you soon when I left, didn’t I?” He teases, and you look away, choosing to stare at your intertwined hands instead.

“I can’t believe you came back, you were supposed to be with Hyoon not me.” You mumble and Jun chuckles, letting go of your hand to tap your chin, making you look up at him. He leans in so that your faces are inches away from each other.

“I think we can change our destiny, and I’m making you mine.” You let out a little scoff, muttering about how cheesy he is, making Jun grin before pulling you into a kiss. Your stomach does a flip at the feeling, as does Jun’s except his is more like a tingle. Your arms tentatively wrap around the back of his neck as his arms find solace around your waist once again.

“You know how I told you that I think I love you when I left last year?” Jun asks, pulling away from your lips, causing you to slightly chase after him, causing him to giggle. You feel your cheeks burn and he squishes your face with his hands.

“I love you.” He states and you smile softly. Jun thinks he can remember the way you look at this exact moment for the rest of his life. From the way the neon lights from the arcade games reflect against your skin, to the way your eyes seem to hold stars in them.

she’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen, Jun thinks to himself as you smile at him. You reach up and squish his cheeks too, making his eyes widen in surprise.

“I love you too.” You breathe out. Jun lets out the biggest smile you’ve ever seen as he lets go of your face to pull you into a hug. He holds you tightly, and you nuzzle your face into the crook of his neck, haven’t felt this content in a long time.

Unbeknownst to you, the plot of from winter to spring has changed into the story of Jun. The man who took charge and changed his destiny to be with you.

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