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indiemick · 3 years

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The Seduction of the Duke of Suffolk || Part 8, Goodbye

This takes place somewhere between season 3 and 4 of the Tudors. Read these first Trigger Warning: age gap, sex, affair

The drip drip of the rain from the castle roof lulled Colette into a state of numbness. It had been what felt like an eternity since she last spoke to Charles in the corridor. The rain that streaked the windowpane reminded her of the tears that she shed that day. Her heart twinged. What would come of her if the pain of love never gave way? Was she to live a life as a broken woman? What of her marriage to Francis? Would she ever learn to love him while still reeling from her heartbreak?

Her pending marriage. The thought made her whole being cringe. It was merely two weeks away and she wanted nothing to do with the preparations. Luckily, her parents handled most of the work for her. Even planning the arrival of Francis’ family was all her father’s doing.

The Count arrived with his very young and very beautiful second wife. The late Countess passed earlier that year and Francis’ father didn’t waste his time replacing her. The Count was a handsome man. It was no surprise that he would find such a beautiful wife even in his older years. It helped that he held a large fortune and estate to keep any woman happy. Both his good looks and fortune gave Colette a little bit of hope for her future with Francis. Even if she didn’t fall in love with him, she had something nice to look at and money to spend.

Then, just like that, it was the day of the wedding. Again, Colette found herself staring out the window wishing she could find the care to feel something other than apathy. The whole time her mother yammered on about how life was going to be once she was wed.

“And tonight, you will be expected to lay with Francis.” Colette stared at her mother with wide eyes. She didn’t want to have the conversation her mother was about to embark on. “Don’t look so scared. It isn’t all that bad. My wedding night was sweet and soft. Your father—”

“Please, mother, do not finish that statement.”

“What I am trying to tell you is that you have nothing to fear. It is what the Lord wants. Hopefully, the pair of you will have much better luck than your father and d I.” Colette’s brow quirked. “We love you dearly. You know that. It would’ve been much nicer if we were able to have you without all the heartbreak.”

“Thank you.” Colette pushed the words out with as much sincerity that she could muster. Although the snark behind it was probably detectable.

The wedding night came, and Colette exhaled as she met Francis for the first time as his wife. His fingers gently tugged at the tie of her robe. They gently pushed the heavy fabric from her shoulders. The fabric hit the floor with a soft thud.

“You are so beautiful,” Francis whispered as his hands cupped her face.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

When his lips touched hers, Colette expected something more. She wanted to feel the fire she felt as the rain slammed against the stones as Charles finally broke from his stale state. Instead, she just wanted it all to end.

Even as he let his hands venture her body, Colette couldn’t push out the thoughts of how Charles held her. The heat that rose in her core for the elder nobleman was barely a flicker for Francis. It was like trying to ignite a wet log, futile.

“Is everything alright?” Francis whispered.

“I’m sorry. I’m just tired.” Colette lied.

“We can go to sleep.” Francis kissed her forehead. “We have an entire lifetime together to explore our bodies. Why don’t we get some sleep? We have a lot to do before we leave for France…”

It was natural for women to be starry-eyed in love around the castle. Colette witnessed her friends coo about their first night of marital bliss. For Colette, she was anything but doe-eyed and joyous. She sat quietly secluded in the palace rose gardens. The fresh scent of their blossoms engulfed her as she tried to pluck some sort of emotion from thin air. But to her dismay, her sadness persisted.

That was until the unexpected happened. A familiar pair of blue eyes fell upon her. Colette felt the heat rise in her cheeks. “Charles.” It was the first time she said his name out loud since the day her father caught the two in an embrace.

He cleared his throat and gave her a nod.

She let out a long sigh. Their relationship would never be the same. Even if she never married Francis, her father made it very clear that Charles was never to speak to Colette again. Men, Colette thought to herself.

“You can speak to me.”

His lips pressed into a firm line as his feet carried him closer.

“By the grace of the King, talk to me.” Tears welled up in her eyes. She just wanted something. Anything.

His gaze bore down on her with confusion. As if his better judgement and his heart were arguing. He knew if they were seen together, word would get back to her father. The castle wasn’t kind with proper information. Even if their talk were innocent, the rumors would not portray it as such. However, her sad eyes pulled at his heart. He wanted to wipe the sorrow that built up behind those emeralds that once shone at the mere sight of him.

Their stalemate was broken. “I hope you enjoy your new life in France with your husband.”

Colette rose to her feet. Her nostrils flared as she tried to form the words to convey how his words struck her. “Out of all the possible words you can fathom to string together, you decide to wish me luck on my move to France?”

A hand raked over his face as he expelled a groan. “What would you like me to say?”

“Anything but that.”

His eyes scanned her entire face. The plains of the cheeks he once held. The fields of fresh green in the eyes he once endlessly dreamed. The soft silk of her lips that begged to be kissed. “I wish I could say more than that without risk of making matters worse.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “Nothing can be worse than what I am feeling. Nothing can be worse than the gaping wound in my chest that aches for you.” Charles shifted as he tried not to let her words shove the voice of reason into the depths of his mind. “How can you turn off your feelings for me so easily?”

“That is hardly the case.”

“Then, please share with me how you are able to walk around this castle as if you are fine.”

Charles cupped her cheeks and let a thumb caress her fair skin, “I am hardly fine. I’ve just learned how to mask my misery with a stern gaze and cynical wit.”

Colette nuzzled against the warmth of his palm. Her eyes tried to blink the tears away. They gathered on her lashes and broke free down her cheeks. Charles tenderly whisked them away. “I didn’t think I could fall in love with you. Now, I don’t think I can ever love anyone else.”

Charles let a smile tug at the corner of his lips. “Well, you’ve already proven yourself wrong once. I have faith that you can do it again.”

The urge to press her lips against his was strong. She knew that kissing him would do more harm than good. It would drag her ten steps back. It would lead her to his door under the cover of night. If she were going to give marriage a chance, she would have to leave Charles’ lips unkissed.

“Goodbye Charles.”

“Goodbye, Colette.” His hand dropped from her cheek and left.

#fanfiction #henry cavill #charles brandon #the tudors #tw: age gap #affair #This is the end.

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kaen-ace-of-diamonds · 3 years

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Walking Space Heater

Word Count: 2700+ (oneshot)

[AO3]

Genre: Fluff/Hurt/Comfort

Characters: Cinder Fall, Neopolitan, Emerald Sustrai, Mercury Black

Pairing: Cinder Fall/Neopolitan

Summary: Written (late) for Day 4 of @spice-cream-week 2021, “There Was Only One Bed.”

With the heat of both her Semblance and the Maiden powers, Cinder's body is much warmer than the average person's. So long as she's still by her side, Neo intends to take full advantage of that.

~0~

This is definitely a step down from the Haven dorms. Neo’s thumbs moved lightning-fast over the keyboard of her Scroll. Don’t they have ANY concept of personal space here?

She could say something about Roman’s excessive use of emojis. But looking at his messages, she could hear his laughter clearly in her head, and she had no problem with that.

wtm? you got stuck with a shitty roommate? I’ll come and get her for you idgaf

That elicited the breathy noises that were the closest Neo got to laughter. Truthfully, she probably wouldn’t have minded sharing a room much in and of itself. It might even have been fun to mess with Emerald and Mercury in their own space.

But no, she’d ended up with the only one that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

Cinder Fall was calm, collected, and incredibly competent. Neo didn’t necessarily dislike her. She thought that they got along fairly well, in fact. But that didn’t mean that she trusted her.

Roman was content to stay in the dark about what exactly her ultimate design was beyond Beacon’s destruction, having already accepted the fact that they would be overwhelmed by it. It still gnawed at Neo, though. Thus far her only clues had been the couple private calls that Cinder had taken, and the way Haven’s headmaster cringed like a kicked puppy whenever he caught sight of her.

Sure, the man was jumpy enough in general, but Cinder — or, more accurately, whatever force had moved Cinder to the Academies — made him cower. Even Neo’s most devilish smile couldn’t do that.

She’s...not bad. She definitely likes me more than she likes you.

Now, did that really require five laughing emojis after I can live with that lol?

And

Neo’s thumb hovered over the screen. For the first time in several minutes, she glanced up from where she was curled up tightly on the covers of her bed.

Cinder was perfectly at ease on her own bed, leaning back against a stack of pillows with her Scroll open in front of her face. Still rifling through the records of all the Academy students, no doubt. Casting her great and bloody show, for which every little thing had to be perfect. It wasn’t enough that she was sending Emerald and Mercury out to run recon and collect as many relevant details about their players as possible. No, she had to study up herself for hours on end.

Neo was willing to play her own part, but it all seemed very boring to her. Certainly her interim leader could use a break. She returned her attention for one moment more to her Scroll:

I think she would be fun to play with.

Ignoring the several question marks sent in reply, Neo pocketed her Scroll and slipped off her bed. Moving soundlessly was one of the first skills she had ever had to master, and she still considered it her most important.

Cinder was still too engrossed in her research to notice as she crept across the carpet and climbed onto the other bed. Or maybe she just didn’t care enough to acknowledge her. She certainly didn’t look surprised when Neo’s head poked through the hole between her arms and her Scroll.

“Oh,” she said, smirking, in a tone that she might use with a stray cat that had come up to her in the street. “Hello there. Looking for some entertainment?”

Neo gave her her best strawberry-ice-cream smile, and scooted closer. From the meager rations of physical contact she meted out to Emerald, she wasn’t sure how much Cinder liked being touched, so she proceeded with care, little by little. It seemed to be acceptable: she stayed very still, but allowed Neo to settle down on her chest, resting her head against her shoulder.

“Or are you just lonely?”

Neo hummed thoughtfully, letting herself relax: not all the way, but just enough. This was nicer than she had expected, she had to admit. Cinder was dressed like she had been in the first round of the Vytal Festival: sleeveless jacket, long pants, and sarashi. Neo’s cheek rested mostly on bare skin, and though of course she had seen Cinder’s Semblance before (as well as the flames that didn’t quite seem to fit with it), it was much warmer than she had thought it would feel. Softer, too, with the scents of wood smoke and spicy perfume clinging to it.

“Well?”

Neo rolled lazily over onto her back, looking up at Cinder’s Scroll to see what she had been so busy scrutinizing. Hm. Several pictures of that Mistrali girl from the cereal commercials, accompanied by a passage about her Semblance which had been highlighted in a few places. There was one more tab open with an acronym on it, but that was it.

Nothing that could tell Neo anything about their situation that she hadn’t already guessed at. And what was more, absolutely nothing that could be more interesting to her temporary partner than her.

Clearly, Cinder could use a lesson on how to properly spend an evening. Dastardly planning, which seemed to be her only form of recreation, just wasn’t going to cut it.

So Neo helpfully reached up, laid her hands over Cinder’s, and pushed the Scroll shut for her. She put her pointer finger to the outside of her nose; her new teammates might not be picking up Valerian Sign Language particularly well, but she hoped the long, exaggerated twist away from her face coupled with a dramatic sigh got the message across equally well: Cinder, I am bored to tears.

Cinder tilted her head, puzzled but smiling. She slipped her Scroll into her pocket and wrapped an arm around Neo’s waist.

“Well, in that case, I’d be happy to give you some attention.”

Neo made as pleased a sound as she could muster up, and snuggled up to Cinder, as close as she could get. It might have been dark and cool outside, but she felt as if she were napping on a sunbeam. Rolling over to lay her head on Cinder’s chest, she could imagine that there was a powerfully burning fire inside it in place of a beating heart, whose heat was palpable, just beneath the skin.

She tried to look more sweetly smug than actually impressed, but gods, she had never felt anything like this.

Cinder held her tightly in both arms now, fingertips scratching lightly between her shoulder blades, and Neo nearly purred. Years of pulling back bowstrings had turned those arms wiry and oh so strong. All at once, she completely understood why Emerald was always trying to earn one of these rare hugs.

And speaking of which...

Neo wasn’t sure how long she spent in the lap of luxury, only that she felt like she might actually fall asleep in it, as toasty warm as it was. Cinder had switched from rubbing her back to stroking and playing with her hair, which, in her experience with other people, was a welcome first. But she was jolted back to full awareness when their dorm room door slammed angrily open.

Blinking, Neo lifted her head. She caught the lingering scents of jungle juice and sweat incoming, before she saw Emerald stalking inside, barely hanging onto her last scrap of patience. Mercury stumbled in after her, wearing a huge grin and mirrored shades that Neo was fairly certain did not belong to him.

Cinder smirked. “I was wondering when you two would be back. How did it go?”

Emerald forced a halfway convincing smile for her leader. “It was...interesting. Though not quite as informative as I was h—”

The smile froze on her face when she turned to look directly at Cinder, and saw Neo lounging in her lap like a spoiled cat.

Neo smirked, and signed, Party fun? With the reputation Vytal Festival house parties had, hopefully Emerald had gotten some attention as well.

“Oh, it was great!” Mercury shrugged off his jacket and pitched it into his and Emerald’s room, littering their carpet with brownie crumbs. “We saw a lot of everybody, didn’t we, Emmy?”

While Emerald tried to take a cue from Cinder and set him on fire with her eyes, Cinder herself just closed her Scroll with a soft laugh.

“Well, you can tell us all about it in the morning. We should all get some rest now.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You got it, boss...”

Neo watched them slink into their room, where muffled bickering started up as soon as the door closed, but did not move until she felt a gentle pat on her thigh.

“You too, dear. Go on.”

Though she made a show of huffing about it, Neo got up off Cinder’s bed and went back across the room.

Her own bed felt cold and uninviting now. Catching up on the several missed texts from Roman (including but not limited to what do you mean by that lmao, hey Neo dont leave me out of the loop :), Neo tf are you doing to her O_o, NEO) did make her smile, but as she drifted off to sleep, she couldn’t help but wish that she didn’t have to return to being alone just yet.

~0~

This was not at all the solution to that problem that she had envisioned, but Neo knew very well how to deal with whatever life threw at her.

She had never been to Atlas, and while she had to roll her eyes at its decadence, she couldn’t say she hated the place. Cinder, on the other hand, never answered outright when Neo tried to ask if she had ever been here before, but every bitter hiss from her about Atlas elites that had not been asked for gave her a general idea. It had taken them a while to find a vacant apartment to squat in, especially considering that there was an entire chunk of the city that Cinder refused to even go near.

But now here they were, and it was empty around them and quiet outside. The blackout curtains shielded them from the city lights. In pitch darkness the two of them were curled up together in the place’s one bed.

Cinder had initially balked at the idea of sharing it, insisting that Neo take an extra blanket and find somewhere else to curl up. So barky with her orders these days, and so on edge, too. Neo was beginning to wonder how she had ever thought of this woman as calm and collected.

In any case, she didn’t see what her once-again partner’s problem was. She had invited Neo into her bed with her before, hadn’t she? Maybe not to sleep, but still. And she was far from squeamish; she wouldn’t make a fuss about the scarring and empty eye socket on full display. As such, she ignored the demand, and simply undressed, got under the covers, and gestured for Cinder to join her.

After some indignant spluttering, Cinder threw up her hands and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She didn’t come out until Neo had turned the lights off and laid there long enough that she might reasonably have fallen asleep. Even then, she slipped in quietly, gingerly, and stuck close to the edge of the bed.

Now, that just would not do. Atlas was much too cold for that kind of nonsense.

Neo rolled over under the blankets, feeling just as bold as last time, but exercising even more care, Cinder being so volatile lately. She went out of her way to be heard, so it wouldn’t startle Cinder to be touched. She knew her bedmate was awake: though she lay very still, her breathing was nowhere near relaxed enough for her to be asleep.

Cinder didn’t jump when she felt Neo wrap her arms around her waist, but she did go still as a statue.

“Neo,” she growled, low in her throat, “what are you doing? I’m not in the mood for—”

Neo nuzzled her bare shoulder in a way she hoped was reassuring, as she pressed up against her back. Fortunately for her, Cinder’s new arm was tightly bandaged up for the night, so she didn’t have to risk touching the awful thing. Only human skin, just as fiery warm as before. Even the wood smoke smell remained.

As had happened so often since the Fall of Beacon, Neo caught herself writing a text to Roman in her head, wryly telling him that he was right, she shouldn’t have thought so hard about where Cinder’s flames came from, because she would never in a million years have hit on the right answer.

She gave her head a shake, and resisted the urge to glance back at the bowler hat perched neatly on a bedpost. If she started thinking too hard about that, she would never get to sleep either. There would be time, when the sun came up, to consider some more whether the woman in her arms was the key to her revenge, or its target all along.

Right now, the darkness was peaceful and the blankets thick and soft around them, and the heat of their bodies grew more soporific every moment. Comfort was a rarity in both of their lives. They ought to savor it whenever it came their way.

Cinder let out a long, exasperated huff, clearly not sharing the opinion.

“Couldn’t you just hug a pillow?” she grumbled. But there was no bite in her voice.

Neo smiled against her skin, entwining her legs with Cinder’s. Now, she would have said, were her hands not occupied, where would be the fun in that?

“...Fine. Just don’t think you’re going to make this a regular thing.”

Oh, she absolutely was, so long as they were staying in the coldest part of the world and she was in the company of a walking space heater.

As such, Neo ignored the question and snuggled closer. She was trying her best to communicate “calm down and go to sleep” through body language alone, so to feel Cinder slowly but surely relaxing in her arms, eventually going limp, was deeply gratifying. Almost fascinating.

From nights spent in the Beacon dorm room and Mistrali inns, Neo already knew that Cinder talked in her sleep. Most of what she said was sluggish and toneless as well as nonsensical, but sometimes it was a series of fierce snaps or pained moans. It came as no surprise to Neo that when, just as she was starting to doze off herself, she was woken back up by her partner’s twitching and yelping.

“No...don’t take...I’m...!”

Neo sighed drowsily, and tightened her embrace, humming as soothingly as she could. Her inability to speak never really bothered her, but there were times like this when it didn’t exactly help her, either. At least she could keep Cinder from thrashing around and hurting one of them: if that arm decided to act up while its host was in distress, she had zero faith in the bandages to hold those claws back.

It’s okay, she thought, hoping that somehow it would get across, just relax, you’re all right...

Nightmares never lasted forever. Neo had woken with her stomach still in free fall from enough dreams of plummeting wildly through a Grimm-infested sky to know that. Still, she hoped that her attempts at calming had helped this one pass quickly. Cinder’s mumbling devolved into moans, then to frantic whimpers, then finally to something close to the restful breathing that Neo had almost fallen asleep to before.

Neo took a deep breath of her own. She was too tired to smile, but leaned in to press a kiss to the back of Cinder’s neck, the ends of her short hair tickling her nose. To her surprise, she felt a burn scar here, too: thin and faded, but winding around her neck like garrote wire. Somehow she didn't think that Ruby had done this. But she certainly wasn't going to ask who had. They weren't going to discuss any part of this in the morning.

So she kissed her neck once more, soft and just a bit more sincere, before closing her eyes again.

Good night.

#spicecreamweek2021 #cinder fall #neo politan #rwby neo #spice cream #RWBY #rwby8 #kaen's fics

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yandere-ac · 4 years

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Maybe some yandere redd but for tom?

Ohohohoho!!! I’ve been waiting for this one!

Heads up! This one is a bit darker than my usual content (or well. The fix is normal but there’s one part that’s pretty dark) so if you’re faint of heart this probably isn’t the fic for you. I’m gonna post a different one in a few days, hopefully it’s not as dark. But with that aside, I hope you enjoy!

Yandere Crazy Redd X Tom Nook

Business partners

Oh Tom, his sweet Tom. Redd observed his past parter as he peacefully slept. His stomach was slowly rising and falling, rising and falling. Standing besides his bed, Redd watched him in amazement. He considered stroking his soft fur but that would undoubtedly wake him up. But god would he do anything just to touch his fur again. It wouldn’t have been the first time. After all, when he said that they were past partners, he didn’t just mean that in the business sense. Oh how he yearned to those days when he and Tom would work together, running that shop, then after the shift was over they’d go down to his place to watch a movie while snuggling. Tom would make dinner that he and Redd would eat while watching said movie. After that they would go up to Redds room and cuddle under the covers. Only to fall asleep in each other’s arms. Back then Tom didn’t have his own house so he usually stayed with Redd. Not that he ever complained.

The day that Tom first walked into Redds store and Redd first laid his eyes on him, he thought he would just be another fool that he could scam. He started to sweet talk Tom into trusting him, like he did with everyone. But then something peculiar happened. Tom had asked for a job. This baffled Redd beyond belief, no one had ever been interested in working in Redds shop considering how sketchy it looked. Then on top of that there was the fact that most people had grudges against foxes and usually would want to get out as soon as they bought their item. To see someone so eager to work with someone like Redd...it felt nice, almost reassuring in a way. And so, Redd accepted Toms offer and he became the second employee at Redds little shop. Needless to say, things got a lot nicer once someone else began working with Redd. The atmosphere was a lot less heavy and scary whenever someone came in to buy something. Tom would always walk up to them, telling them about their sales and deals and prices. That was something that Redd adored about his friend. He had such a calming and comforting aura surrounding him that no one ever felt uncomfortable walking in the store. Redd had never gotten any of his “customers” to feel safe around him. He just had that kind of menacing and untrustworthy look to him huh? But that was another thing about Tom. Back in the day when he was much younger he was still very uncorrupted. He hadn’t been exposed to just how cruel and unjust the business world truly was. Redd made sure to keep it that way. Tom wasn’t naive, not in any way shape or form. Redd knew that, but he still felt like he had to protect his parter from any scum around them. The world was imperfect, it was dirty and foul and didn’t deserve someone like Tom. That was the beginning of Redds downfall.

When Tom asked him out he was shocked. Shocked that someone like Tom would want to be with someone like him. He accepted of course and after a few dates they became an official couple. They displayed full affection when at Redds house but Redd made a rule never to show any sign that they were a thing while in the shop or outside. That wasn’t because he didn’t want to, no, Redd would love to be able to wrap himself around Tom when they were outside. Kissing him and holding him, making sure everyone knew he was his. You see, the part of town we’re Redd and Tom had their shop, let’s just say it wasn’t exactly the most clean place with the most accepting people. Redd was scared that something would happen to Tom if they did show public affection. Of course, Tom wasn’t happy about this. Not happy at all. This is ultimately one of the many things that led to him wanting to break up and move out.

“Redd, listen-“

“Oh c’mon nookie, quit fooling around like that. You scared me” Redd said trying to avoid the subject, desperately wanting to keep Tom from leaving him. He had packed all of his clothing and such and was simply wanting to tell his partner that he was going. “Redd, I’m leaving. You know it’s been a long time coming so please, let’s just not make this more difficult then it needs to be” Tom said sternly. Redd hated when he spoke like that, when he had practically no emotion in his voice because he knew he was just stating the obvious truth. He was trying to pretend that he wasn’t feeling something just so this can be easier. Redd knew he was bluffing, under that poker face was a storm brewing up. He just had to make it break out. “So that’s it huh? After all I’ve done for you? After all the sacrifices I made? After all those nights we spent you’re just giving up? I know you’re not that weak Tom” Redd said, trying to convince his soon to be past lover into staying. “There it is! That’s exactly why I’m doing this! All the time it’s just all about you ain’t it Redd! About how you feel. How you think. How you want it. It’s NEVER about ME is it!? You’re so selfish that you can barely look past your own ego to see that I’m unhappy!” Tom was now yelling. Tears threatening to spill out from his big eyes. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve last written to my friends back home!? No? ME NEITHER! YOU FORBADE ME TO DO SO BECAUSE YOU’RE TOO INSECURE TO TRUST THAT IM NOT CHEATING ON YOU! DO YOU KNOW HOW THAT FEELS REDD?! TO KNOW THAT YOUR BOYFRIEND DOESN’T TRUST YOU!” And there it was, the storm. Hot tears were now rolling down toms cheeks as his ears were down pointed. Now, he just had to...

”Oh...nookie...i...Im so sorry. I didn’t know you felt that” he reached out his arms and walked towards Tom. “Come here and-“

“Get away from me Redd...” Tom backed up and Redd stopped immediately as he heard this. “Get away from me! I know what you’re doing you bastard! You’re not sorry! Don’t EVER try to feed me that horseshit! You know it! I know it! I thought we could talk this out like adults...but I guess not...” the room became dreadfully quiet. The air felt like concrete. “I-“ “save it! I’m leaving. Goodbye...” and so the tanooki walked away, pushing into Redds shoulder as he stomped out of the house.

That was the last time Redd saw Tom for years. He moved back to his old home, completely giving up on his business dream. Redd stayed back in the shop, trying to move on. But everyone could see that something was different. The store became even more unsettling after that. For about two months, any and all hospitality that Redd gave his customers flew right out the window. He was snappy, rude, pushy and all in all just not having it. He couldn’t muster up any reason to even try to scam gullible people, the only thing he could think of was Tom. How did he do it? How did he manage to have such a welcoming exterior? It could have something to do with his comforting voice, the voice that he missed so dearly. Or it could be his big eyes, those big blue orbs that Redd would get lost in. Or maybe it was just that he basically looked like a giant teddy bear. Either way, Redd has none of those qualities and he wouldn’t even TRY to replicate them. He was to angry, but none of that anger was directed at Tom. Redd loves Tom more than anything and if anything was just mad at himself for letting Tom get away. He should’ve just taken him, locked him up in a cage where only he could see him. Yeah, just Redd and him. Alone together with nothing to disturb them.

And it was like that for maybe a year or two. That was until Redd found out were Tom was. And when he found out, he wasted no time taking a train to the town in which his ex now lived. He didn’t know why but he just had to see him again. He knew Tom wasn’t gonna be happy to see him but he didn’t care. The ride was long and unbearable, he couldn’t wait to see Tom again. He could barely hold in his excitement. Finally after driving for about 7 hours straight he arrived at his stop. Stepping out of the train he could see a big sign welcoming him to the small town. A small town with a peculiar name. “Mudmore? That’s an...interesting name...” As redd walked closer he swore he could hear distant music however he payed no mind to it at first, all he cared about was finding Tom. As he entered the town premises it was loud and clear what was going on. There was some sort of festival accruing. Although, it didn’t exactly change anything. He just had to find-

“Ough!!!”

“Ouch!!!”

Right before Redd could even manage to think of what to do next he had felt a strong impact on his left side. Someone had bumped into him. And in the process fallen down to the ground with him as well. They sat there for a few moments, rubbing their head before turning to look at him. Now he could see them more clearly. It was a girl, a girl with long black hair and brown eyes. She looked at him with worry. “Oh no! Are you alright? I’m sorry I wasn’t looking where I was going” she said as she rose up and reached her hand out for him. At first Redd was hesitant but after a few seconds he grabbed her hand. She pulled him up to his get and he brushed off some dust from his clothing. “Hey don’t worry about it kid...by any chance do you know if a tanooki called Tom nook lives here?” She looked at him and her eyes instantly lit up. “Oh yes! Oh yes I do! He’s my contractor and I work for him! I can bring you to him if you’d like!” This made the fox smirk. “Yes, I would like that very much”

The two of them walked through the town. A bunch of colourful characters running pat them as they were walking. Some stopped to say hi to the girl and some ran right past the two. “So, what’s your name?” A soft voice broke him out of his thoughts. He looked over to the girl. “Redd...it’s Redd...and you?” He said bluntly, he didn’t like to make small talk but it seems like he had no choice. “My name is Mariam! It’s nice to meet you Redd! So, why do you want to find Tom? Are you guys friends?” At this statement, Redd and to physically stop himself from laughing. “Umm...yeah I guess you could say that... we’re uh really close. But I haven’t seen him in a while and I wanted to visit” the human looked at him and smiled as he said this. “Aww, that’s so sweet! Well his store should be just around the corner now!” Store? Oh come on! Really? Tom would rather have some small store in this town than with him? That’s just insulting.

After a while Mariam stopped following him. Giving him directions as to where to go before running off to hang out with other villagers. No matter. It’s not like it would be hard to find the only store in town. Eventually he arrived at the so called store. Hmm. “Nooks cranny...not a bad name nookie...okay Redd...you can do this...” he took a deep breath before walking into the store. “Hello hello! Welcome to nooks cranny!” He heard a familiar voice call out to him. He was nowhere to be seen but he could hear the voice coming from the back room in the shop. “Just a second, I’ll be with you in a minute!” The door stood ajar as it filtered his voice slightly, not enough to block out his voice completely but just enough to silence it. And it was just open enough so that you can hear his voice. Looking around the shop while waiting in anticipation he could CLEARLY see that some inspiration was taken while making it. Shelves upon shelves stacked with items and furniture of all sorts. Soft footsteps could be heard coming towards him. The door opened to reveal a tanooki, walking at a brisk pace as he neared Redd. “Now what did you wa-“ the man in front of him halted as his eyes widened. Looking the fox up and down to make sure that his eyes weren’t deceiving him. “It...it cant be...” his voice was low and breathy, almost like he couldn’t, like he refused to believe what he saw before him. “Redd?” At that Redds lips turned into a small smirk, eyes still remaining gentle. He didn’t want to break the poor man so he had to be careful with his demeanour. “The one and only” he tried to ease the tension which lingered all too long, that of course didn’t work as most his attempts at bringing up someone’s mood. “What are you doing here Redd” he said. A now harsher tone underlining his voice. “Hey can’t a guy want to visit the oh so famous Mudville as it’s undergoing a festival? God Tom, my world doesn’t revolve around you, the small fact that you’re here as well is simply a coincidence” He said nonchalantly as he walked closer to his former boyfriend. He looked at one of the items on display. A glass chimpanzee statue. “How much for the monkey?” Before Tom could get the chance to say anything the sound of a chiming bell broke the tension. The girl from before ran in with a purple cat with a red shirt following behind her. “Hi Tom! Do you know where the fireworks are?” She asked him. Without taking off his gaze from the fox Tom quickly replies. “In the back room” the girl gave him a smile as she rushed past Redd, but as she past him she stopped. “Oh Redd! So you found Tom after all! That’s good. I felt a little guilty about letting you find him on your own but I see now that you’re more than capable!” After that she ran to get the fire works...

Well shit.

All the while the human and cat was in the store, Tom was glaring at Redd. He could almost feel his gaze burning into him as the two waited in uncomfortable silence for the shoppers to leave. Redd was trying to not look at Tom, fumbling with the monkey instead of facing his ex. Once they were gone Toms eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms, all the while Redd put down the statue and giving him a sheepish smile. “Coincidence huh? And for your information, it’s Mudmore. Not Mudville” ”same difference!” Tom could feel his temper get shorter and shorter as the fox started getting on his nerves. “I thought I made it clear that I didn’t want to see you ever again Redd. The only reason I’m not kicking you out right now is because there’s a festival going on, and i dont wanna spoil my good mood any more than you’ve already done!” Tom said as he shot the fox a glare. “Now, get out of my store! I need to close it up so I can spend the day with my children” Tom ordered as he went out of the store. “Pff! Fine! Like i- CHILDREN?! YOU HAD KIDS!?” Redd was completely stumped. How did Tom manage to move on with his life so quickly in the span of a couple of years! What was he married as well?! “Yes, I did. Or well, I adopted them” He said as he reached for his keys in the pocket of his apron. “Oh...why though? Kids are such a hindrance of your freedom. I thought you were all about that nooki-“ “don’t!....call me that...and for your information. I found them in a box underneath a park bench. It wasn’t exactly a decision that I could think about long and hard. But they’re the best thing that ever happened to me” Tom said, his voice becoming almost tender as he mentioned the small boys. “Hmm...well I never figured you as the dad type but sure. Whatever makes you move on from me!” Redd figured that he wasn’t gonna be able to get back with Tom so he thought, why not be a little petty while he’s still there. It’s what he does the best. When Redd said this Toms face went into a grimace that was a mixture of disgust and a mocking grin. “Oh that’s rich coming from you. I’m not the one who’s seemingly looking up where my ex is so I can stalk him when he was clear he didn’t want to see me!” Tom was now dragging Redd out of the store so he could get out of this predicament. “Yeah? That’s because you’re boring! You never wanna take risks! You never wanna do anything exciting! You never wanna-“ “scam innocent people?” “And you always do that! You make everything sound so horrible!” Redd rolled his eyes as he heard Toms statement. Anyone who’s gullible enough to be scammed shouldn’t be trusted with money! He’s simply teaching them a lesson. “I don’t make everything sound horrible. I just say things for how they are! And let me tell you how THIS is, I don’t want to see you! I don’t EVER want you to come near me, my sons, or my village ever again!” With that, Tom walked past him. “Goodbye Redd” his voice was cold and unwelcoming. And with that he stormed off. Redd could see two smaller tanookis run up to him and tackle him into a hug. Almost instantly Toms face went from irritation to pure joy. He was laughing. He looked so happy. He missed that. He missed being able to make him laugh. But it’s been about five years and Tom had moved on, gotten his own shop, found a home, gotten new friends, even started his own little family. A family that Redd was never gonna be apart of...

“...fuck, no! Not now!” He felt his eyes sting as they began to well up. “No no no no no!” He quickly rushed to the train station and once he made sure no one was in sight, he let the tears flow down his cheeks. He fucked it up yet again! He fucked it up the first time and now he did it again. Why did he have to be so stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why did he even show up here?! He thought that seeing Tom again would make him feel better! Just make him feel good for once! But no! Seeing him completely happy and having moved on makes him feel even worse than before. He regretted that night so much! The night that he let Tom walk away! Why did he let him go! He couldn’t stand this exile any longer!

Redd started showing up to the outskirts of the village in a little tent. He called it his black market. It was a cute name he thought. But soon crossed out the “black” part of the sign outside. Even if it was a joke he didn’t want to get in trouble, after all, he didn’t have a licence and was basically doing this illegally. But he didn’t do this for the money. No, he did this so he could still be close to Tom. He will admit, even if seeing him so cold towards Redd made him feel like garbage, seeing him happy awoke something I him. It reminded him of when they were together. It wasn’t ideal but it would do. However he stayed out of his way, not wanting another confrontation with him. The worst thing that could happen to him would be if he actually started crying in front of Tom. He didn’t want to show any weakness, that would show that he cared. And he couldn’t have that. The shop wasn’t exactly popular by any long shot. Only a few people came in once in a while but usually left because of his insane prices. Redd would spend his days in the shop and during nighttime he would spy on Tom. And that was pretty much how life was for a while. That is until Redd got some horrible news.

“MOVED!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE MOVED?! WHY?! WHERE?!” He was shaking the person in front of him who had given him the devastating news. “Well I’m not sure why he did it but I have a hunch it could be because a certain someone wasn’t leaving him alone.” As the person said this their voice became more prominent, clearly putting the blame on Redd. “As of where, I can’t tell you. Even if I knew where, I wouldn’t say.” After that, they left. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all! If he wasn’t with Tom, he feared that he might do something crazy! He felt completely and utterly hopeless, he just found Tom again! He couldn’t loose him! After about two weeks of nonstop searching Redd started getting desperate. He wanted, no, he NEEDED to see Tom again! And so, he started to consider doing some...morally questionable things. He may be a scammer but he never wanted to hurt someone...but...if it was for Tom...

“I’m telling you! Please I don’t know where he moved! I promise!” The owl begged shaking in the chair that Redd had tied him down to. He wasn’t gonna lie, he was a little ashamed he let things get this far. But it’s all for Tom. He had pretty much abducted the museum owner, Blathers. And was pressing him for the information of where Tom had moved. Throughout the time he lived in Mudmore one persistent thing was that Tom and this owl seemed to be friends, close friends. If anyone knew where Tom had moved, it was blathers. “Please! I don’t know where he went. You can take everything I have! My wallet, my clock, my bells, everything! Just- please don’t hurt me!” His pleading was wearing short on Redds patience. He narrowed his eyes even more than they already are. Walking closer to the quivering owl. “Tsk tsk tsk. Blathers, blathers, blathers...I didn’t want it to come to this...but I guess you leave me no choice” Blathers eyes went wide as his breathing hitched. “W-what are yo-ou going to do to me?!” Redd let out a heavy laugh as he walked away from the owl and into the darkness.

“No...no...I’m not gonna hurt YOU” blathers could barely see redd anymore, just his figure. “....say blathers...what would you do if your sister...LOST HER HEAD!!!” Suddenly, Redd threw another owl out from the shadows. It was Celeste! She was shaking as she layed before her older brother. Redd came up behind her and used one hand to lift her head up, Revealing her throat. Placing his other hand over it, his claws very prominently pointed to her. “NO!!!! LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!!! THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HER!!!” Blathers was now thrashing violently in the chair. Trying all he could to break through. “PLEASE SHES THE ONLY ONE LEFT!!! THE ONLY ONE I HAVE! YOU CANT TAKE HER!!!” Redd wouldn’t lie. Something about this situation, about seeing someone who were taking up Toms attention being in such pain...it felt good. To the point where he let out a deep chuckar at serien the owls futile attempts at escaping. “Now now Blathers. I’m not gonna hurt her...yet! All you need to do is just tell me where Tom moved. And I’ll let her go unharmed” Celeste looked at her brother, tears spilling out of her eyes. “B-blathers?” Her voice was raspy, damaged from crying to much. “I’ll tell you everything! Please just let go of her!” Blathers begged. Redd got what he wanted. He’s not gonna press the poor owl any longer. And so, he let go of the little bird. She quickly scrambled over to her brother. Placing her head in his lap as she cried. “Now talk!” “O-Okay okay! Tom has been working on this project for the past couple of years. H-he called it the- the island getaway package!”

Blathers told Redd pretty much everything he needed to know. About where Tom was going, what he was doing and how long he’d have to wait until Tom came out about it publicly. “Alright....now, where is he?” Redd asked, judging from Blathers eyes becoming slightly wider he guessed that he didn’t know. “I-uhh....he’s- he’s moved to this city called Bumbleville! Up north!” Blather said, Redd tried his hardest not to roll his eyes at this. “You’re not a very good liar blathy boy” “but I-“ “no! Shush!...lucky for you, I’m in a good mood. You’ve given me plenty of information. And off that I thank you” Redd walked up behind blathers, and in a swift movement he cut up the rope that was holding him to the chair. Immediately, Blathers embraced his sibling, trying his best to comfort her. “Get out of my sight Blathers. And don’t make me regret this” without skipping a beat. Blathers ran out with his sister. Redd would be leaving tonight. He’d just have to roughly wait a couple of months before he could see Tom again. He’d waited years already, so a couple of months wouldn’t be too bad.

And that leads us to where he is now. Watching Tom sleep. It had taken about five months until Nook inc came out with the news of island living. And as soon as Redd found out the general area of the islands that was gonna be used, he went to his boat that he’d saved up for during the five months and went out to sea. After that it only took a lot of trial and error to finally find the island that Tom lived on. He wouldn’t lie and say it was easy, because truth be told. It really wasn’t. He started looking way back in March and the day he finally found him was in the beginning of May. It had been long and tedious, but it was so worth it. He had finally found him again, just being in his presence made his stomach fill up with butterflies. This time he wasn’t gonna let him leave. Not EVER again. Taking out a white cloth and a bottle out of his apron he soaked it with the liquid inside. That liquid being chloroform. Getting ready to put his lover into a deep sleep he hesitated for a moment. What if...what if he just woke him up before? He wanted to see the fear in his eyes as he fell asleep once more. Looking at his soft fur, he decided. Taking out his paw, he carefully started stroking Toms head. He could hear him letting out a soft mumble, it was adorable. Toms eyes opened slightly, but once he saw Redd, they went wide open. “REDD- MMMPHH!!!” Redd pressed the cloth against his nose and mouth. Tom was flailing around like crazy, trying to get Redd off of him. But nothing worked as he felt himself drift off. Tom tried to hold on but he just couldn’t. The last thing he saw before he lost his Conscience was Redd smiling down at him. And just like that. He slipped into unconsciousness.

Part 2

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neokids · 3 years

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Fortune's Fool: Act VIII

Masterlist (read the previous ones here)

Act VIII

Tw: Lots of blood, character death, violence, murder, guns, knives, weapons, foul language, self-inflicted wounds, suicide, overall graphic content

They walked in an uneasy, tense silence.

They weren’t awkward– In fact, they would have preferred that instead. It was because of how Yeji was keeping her pace up with Jeno trailing five steps behind her, keeping his distance. He needed to keep his distance to avoid being seen, even worse, being seen together. Their situation felt way too familiar, and the last thing Yeji wanted to feel towards Jeno was familiarity.

Yeji mustered up the courage to glance at him as they were threading through the busy streets of Hongdae, when she looked back, he was already staring at her. He quickly arched his brow and turned his attention to the shops they passed.

“Careful, don’t trip.” He warned.

Yeji threw him a glare only for Jeno to stay oblivious, his attention still directed to his surroundings. She forced herself to keep her gaze straight ahead, she knew that any form of obliviousness from him was just an act. When they were still friends, nothing would go unnoticed by Jeno Lee. He noticed and pointed out everything. She once knew him more than she knew herself, able to predict his every move. That is until, when it truly mattered.

It was a scene like this, when the sun had just started to set and the moon was just about to rise, was when Jeno and Yeji would meet up to see each other. The busy streets were just about to die down, people rushing home to their families. People were so occupied with their own concerns that they would fail to see a Viper and a Neo, together. Yeji could feel her whole chest tighten as she remembered those moments with him, she exhaled a sharp breath into the night, hopefully shaking her mind from these thoughts.

“Are we there yet?”

“Calm down,” Yeji said, refusing to turn back in case he could see her expression in the dark. “I’m not leaving you.” She suddenly stopped as she realized what she accidentally had said.

Back then, Yeji didn’t know who he was, but Jeno already knew her. When Yeji first tripped in front of him, he already knew. If it wasn’t for the bright violet ribbon on the top of her high ponytail, then it must have been her distinct Hwang features. When he helped her get back on her feet and as she turned to leave, Jeno had reached for her hand.

“I’m here every afternoon, same time.” He said with his eye smile, “We can ride our bikes together, if you’d like.”

Yeji let out a laugh as her fingers slipped from his hands, “We shall race then!” she yelled, as she started riding her bike. “Only if you don’t fall!” He yelled back, causing Yeji to turn his direction and stick her tongue out, causing little Jeno to laugh.

She would later find out that the kid she was riding her bike with was actually Jeno Lee, heir of the Neos and the son of their greatest rival, but she would find herself coming back to him everyday. Yeji remembered asking why he had helped her in the first place, he revealed that because it was his first time making friends outside of the Neos. For months they had flirted, carefully balancing the line between friends and enemies. Both knowing the consequences if they got caught, but neither had the heart to leave the other. When they rode their bikes near the Han river with the sun setting in the background, they were just Jeno and Yeji, not Jeno Lee and Yeji Hwang, heirs of their gangs. It was funny how just a name could prevent them from being something more,

They fell in love.

At least Yeji did

“Yeji!”

Yeji stopped, she gasped as she realized she was just about to step on wet cement. If she had been a moment too late, she would have been a living statue. Jeno pulled her back instinctively, causing her to look at him. His facial expression was sharp and cold, except for his eyes, they never lied. His eyes were filled with concern, caution, and certainty.

“Let go of me,” Yeji glared as she jerked her arm away from his grip. “The hospital is near, hurry up.”

Yeji had quickened her pace more, but of course Jeno was quick to follow. Her arm burned from where he had touched her, the feeling lingered but she refused to take notice of it.

The futuristic building stood tall, “We’re here.” Yeji announced in an agonizing manner, “Keep your head down.”

As if he didn’t hear anything, Jeno looked up at the grandiose building in front of them. Yeji briefly glanced at him and she immediately felt the blood boil in her veins. He stood there so comfortably, like a foreigner admiring a tourist destination. He had no fear whatsoever, he should have since he was in her territory.

She had believed that she and Jeno were on the same side once, both wanting an end into this divide that ruled over Seoul. She had believed that she and Jeno could hopefully create a new world, where no one had to pick a side. Where names did not matter, nor dictate who you should and should not associate with, a world with no blood feud.

But it was stupid of Yeji to believe him.

Lies. Nothing but lies. The bombing of the servants’ wing was the most severe thing that the Neos could get away with. They would have failed in bombing the main mansion, where all the Hwangs and high-ranking Vipers had resided, instead they chose to strike the servants’ wing. It was unwatched, dismissed and was no one’s concern. So many innocent people had died that day,

And it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Jeno Lee.

The Neos had snuck in through many windows, careful not to leave a trace. Jeno could have only instructed these important details because of intel gathered spending many days with Yeji.

Yeji had been betrayed. Yet here she was, four years later, with the person she had sworn to kill. Here she was, forcing the fire in her veins to stay at bay because she had been robbed of an explanation, a reason, a confrontation. Here she was, an arm’s-length away from him, and she still couldn’t find it in herself to sink a knife into his chest.

I am a coward, she thought.

Not even the amount of hate she felt towards him was powerful enough to melt away every instinct she had to keep Jeno away from harm.

Maybe she had to wait. Maybe the strength to kill Jeno Lee would come in time, and she needed nothing but to wait for the time to come.

“I said keep your head down.” She warned him again as she pushed the glass doors.

“Miss Hwang!” A doctor greeted as soon as she stepped foot into the establishment, “Do you have an appointment today? How may I help you?”

Yeji approached the front desk and placed the key of the morgue in front of the doctor as she quickly placed a finger to her lips. The doctor looked at her and nodded, going back to typing away.

Soon enough, they had reached the end of the hospital. Yeji stopped in front of a marble door and turned back to Jeno who had been walking while staring at the floor. Even at his best to try and hide his identity he still failed. He was born with pride and dignity etched in his bones.

“In here?” He asked, unsure of where Yeji had led him. Without muttering anything, Yeji turned around and slid the key in, unlocking the door. As they both stepped in the room, she quickly turned on the lights, revealing a single corpse right in the middle of the room.

Jeno briskly approached the corpse as he rolled the sleeves of his jacket. He lifted the sheet covering the dead man, only for him to hesitate.

“You should better hurry up before anyone else dies,” Yeji said as she let out a huff of air, “Someone could transfer that man into a funeral home any moment now.” She finished as she placed her hands on her hips.

Jeno eyed her impatient stance she had on, causing him to look at her in a displeased way.

“Do you have anywhere better to be?”

“Yes,” she said immediately with no hesitation, “Anywhere else is better than here. Now get along with it.”

At this point, Jeno’s patience was running thin on Yeji. He yanked the sheet that covered the man only to find him bare feet, Jeno’s brows furrowing in the process.

Yeji looked at him as she studied his next move, he only stood there frozen. “For crying out loud,” Yeji said as she pushed herself from the wall. She marched beside Jeno and knelt to get the box underneath the table the dead man lay. After rummaging around a few bloody items, she finally came across a sealed bag with the man’s mismatched shoes. She stood up and waved the bag in front of Jeno’s face.

“Yes?” Yeji asked as she took the nicer pair of the shoe. Jeno’s lips had thinned, shoulders high. “Yes.”

“Then can we finally confirm that this man was indeed present during the first attack?” Yeji asked as she saw Jeno nod.

That was the end of that. No more words were exchanged as Yeji put everything back to its original place. Jeno had his eyes fixed on the wall, as he was unsure of where to look. Yeji figured that Jeno couldn’t wait to get away from her and this place as soon as possible. Just as she had stood up and placed her trembling hands behind her, Jeno spoke.

“After you,” He motioned towards the door

Four years. Four years should have been enough. As time passed and as leaves grew, he should have been nothing but a stranger. Yeji should have been met with a Jeno who had grown to act differently like Lia, or perhaps to walk differently like Karina, or maybe even become more obnoxious like Hyunjin. As they looked at each other now, the only difference was that he had grown older. Jeno looked at her, and Yeji found the same stare with the same expression–unreadable unless he let her in. Unbreakable unless he allowed himself to.

All this time spent alone, time spent in denial, time spent plotting revenge, she had quickly missed that her outrage would not change Jeno Lee even if she had gone insane.

He had remained and stood tall. Jeno did not change. The same Jeno who loved her, and the same Jeno who betrayed her.

Yeji forced herself to take a deep breath in hopes of maintaining her composure. With a brief nod, she walked towards the exit of the morgue. She waved for Jeno to follow her as he stepped outside the door. The feeling of bidding Jeno a firm farewell settling into her heart, but she did not care. She should not care.

Before she could even say the said goodbye, deafening sirens had echoed all throughout the hospital. At the far end of the hallway, where they first came from, they could see doctors and nurses all in chaos. Jeno and Yeji exchanged one glance at each other and immediately ran towards the scene. They reached the lobby with the thought of expecting something bad, only for it to be worse.

The floor was completely coated in a sea of red.

Everywhere they looked, patients, doctors, nurses, Vipers and alike had already clawed themselves, screeching in a tormenting pain. The count must have been more than forty, dying or already dead.

“Oh God,” Jeno whispered. “It’s starting.”

A/N: Again, this is just a work of fiction. All credit goes to Chloe Gong and her amazing retelling of Romeo and Juliet in her debut book "These Violent Delights". Make sure to grab a copy! The next book comes out this November so watch out for that!

#jeno mafia #jeno mafia au #yeji mafia #yeji mafia au #nct dream mafia #nct dream mafia au #itzy mafia au #itzy mafia #yeji x jeno #yejeno au #dreamzy au #aespa mafia #aespa mafia au #jeno smut #jeno angst #jeno fluff #yeji smut #yeji angst #yeji fluff

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kiingdcmscome · 5 years

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Promises - Part One

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any canon characters in this fanfiction, I do claim ownership of the original characters featured and mentioned in this work. This is an au / alternate timeline fanfiction for the TNT drama Animal Kingdom and will feature characters and events from that show. ( This is a rewrite of promises part one, which i posted a few months ago. I went back and reread it, and absolutely hated it, so here we go, hopefully this is better ). (gifs and photos are not mine unless stated otherwise. this gif belongs to the lovely @demctozdemir and can be found here ).

Summary: Marley Dossier is lost. Her mother has just been arrested, her dead beat father won't pick up the phone, and her grandmother wants nothing to do with her. Unsure of what else to do, she tracks down her childhood friend, J Cody. Little does she know, she's going right back into the world her mother fought so hard to keep her from, and the world that destroyed her family before it even started. | This fanfiction takes place six months after the death of nineteen year old J Cody's mother Julia. J and his best friend Marley have been reunited, though their reunion might bring more heartache than either can handle.

Content Warning: Mentions of Absentee parents, drug abuse, jail/prison, homelessness. | My main character Marley is in a wheelchair, please keep that in mind.

Word Count: 1.5k

The hot California sun beat down on me and my muscles throbbed in protest. He better fucking live here. The house was nice, which made me think I had the wrong place. Those suspicions were confirmed as I approached the front door. An older woman, probably in her sixties, came out the front door before I even had a chance to knock. Dressed in those obnoxious printed yoga pants with short blonde hair and oversized sunglasses she reminded me of one of those "cool" grandma's you saw on tv.

"Can I help you?" She looked me over. Starting at my slightly worn sneakers to my braided hair. She barely stopped to take in the wheelchair, which honestly surprised me.

"I'm sorry, I think I have the wrong place." Turning away, I didn't get far before a familiar voice brought my attention back.

"Marley?" I turned to see him, a smile erupted over my face. It was so good to see him, especially since I hadn't seen a familiar (nevermind friendly) face in over a week.

"Hey J..." He didn't look half as happy to see me as I was to see him.

"What are you doing here?" His question confirmed it. He didn't want me here, and I couldn't help the confusion and hurt that worked its way into my chest.

"Well, you stopped visiting, so I thought I'd come out here, see if you were still alive." I didn't want to tell him the real reason, not yet.

"Uh, Smurf...This is Marley, she and I grew up together." He introduced me to the older woman, who'd taken a step closer to me. She reached out her hand, and I offered mine. She didn't shake it, instead, she just gave it a gentle squeeze and gave me a smile.

"He's being modest. Our moms actually used to do smack together."

"Marley, this is my grandmother. Smurf." Shit, I just insulted this woman's dead daughter. Instead of appearing insulted, she just nodded, her smile growing slightly before letting go of my hand.

"You kids hungry? I'll go and make you two something to eat." Before either of us could answer, she disappeared into the house.

"So did you really come all this way just to check on me?" He questioned once she was gone. I contemplated lying to him but realized there wasn't any use, he'd have seen right through it.

"It's a long story, so I hope you've got time."

"Credit card fraud? How did that even happen?" I'd just got done telling him all the gory details of my mom getting arrested and charged with credit card fraud. We were sitting in the backyard, his feet dangling in the pool. "And this all happened two months ago? Why didn't you call me?"

"I tried. Your number was disconnected or something." I leaned back in my chair, looking him over for a moment. "She was dating this guy Jimmy, you know, the manager at the restaurant. He's a real piece of shit. He was running some fraud scheme and she got caught up in it." I wasn't defending my mom. She'd been stupid, but if Jimmy hadn't dragged her into his shit she'd have never been arrested. "Her lawyer's advising she take a plea deal."

"And how much time is she looking at?" His question had an answer I didn't want to think about.

"Five years. Minimum." I sighed, leaning forward. "I can't believe this shit. The relapse, now this."

"Relapse?"

"Oh. I didn't tell you about that." I took a deep breath, staring down at my hands. "Yeah, about five months back, less than a month after your mom died...I got a call from the hospital. She relapsed. Clean eight years and then that shit."

"Why didn't you call me?"

"Cause your mom just ODed and died. You had enough stuff to deal with." I finally glanced up at him. "Besides, we weren't really talking."

"Where are you staying?" He asked, changing the subject, which I was grateful for.

"I was staying with Claudia. But she kicked me out after realizing I wasn't going to be able to pay rent." Claudia, my grandmother (if one can even call her that) hadn't wanted me there in the first place. "Rita let me stay at her place, but her grandkids needed the room cause her daughter got evicted. I tried contacting Charlie-" My dead beat dad. "But he didn't even bother picking up the phone. So, this past week I've been at that shelter over on Granger."

"Shelter?" He stared at me for a moment. I could almost see the gears in his brain working to solve my problems, something he'd done since we were kids. "What about your uncle Eddie?"

"Eddie's in New Mexico or something. I haven't heard from him in weeks. But don't worry, I'll figure it out." I take his hand in mine, glancing down at his knuckles. Bruised, which wasn't anything new. "You can't fix all my problems J, and I not here because I need you to. I'm here because I've missed you, and I needed a familiar face."

He didn't get a chance to answer before Smurf popped her head out the sliding glass door beside us. "You kids come inside, I've got lunch on the table."

The house was nice. Way nicer than anywhere I've ever lived. Nicer than anywhere J's ever lived too. For as long as I could remember, J's lived in the shitty apartment above the one me and my mom lived in.

"Thanks for the food, Mrs. Cody." I leaned back in my chair, popping the last potato chip on my plate into my mouth. I couldn't help but stare at the place. The kitchen and living room itself was almost as big as my apartment.

"Call me Smurf." She sat down at the table beside me, and I gave her a smile. "And you're welcome." I glanced over at J, who seemed to be watching us closely. I furrowed my brow, and he just shook his head.

"So, how long have you two know each other."

"Almost twelve years." It was so weird to say out loud. "Me and my mom lived in the apartment below him and Julia."

"And how long have you two been dating?"

"We're not." J and I spoke in unison. He looked to each other, a small smile forming on both of our faces.

"We're friends. Best friends." Thankfully, someone opened the sliding door, breaking the awkwardness.

"You fucking asshole." I glanced behind me. Holy shit. The person I should have been thanking for breaking the awkward silence was...hot...And covered in bright orange and blue paint splatters. Dark hair, tattoos, facial hair. I probably should have checked to make sure I wasn't drooling.

"Oh Craig, did your brother shoot you with the paintball gun again?" I didn't have to know Smurf well to detect the mock concern in her voice.

The door opened again, and another guy, blonde, definitely shorter than the other one, and also covered in paint came inside. "Don't even think about crying to Smurf. You shot me first."

"Twice. You literally emptied yours into my back." He turned around, revealing large red welts on his back.

"Don't start shit you can't finish." At that comment, the taller one, Craig, grabbed the blonde around the neck, putting him into a chokehold.

"Boys, enough. Can't you see we have a guest." They stopped, both looking down at me. The blonde just stared a moment, but the brunette managed to muster a small smile.

"Who's this?" He asked, staring at me long enough that I could feel my face heating. Jesus, stop acting like you've never seen an attractive guy before.

"I'm Marley, J's friend." I offered a small smile to both him and the blonde, but neither of them smiled back. Instead, the blonde when to the fridge, and the brunette continued to stare at me.

"Jesus Craig, you look like you've never seen anyone in a wheelchair before," J commented. He's done in it the past, especially when we were in high school. Anyone who looked my way wrong heard it.

The blonde snickered, and the brunette turned away from me, also heading towards the fridge. "What're you making for dinner?" He grabbed a beer, tossing the cap into the sink.

"We're having salmon. Marley, are you staying for dinner?"

"Actually I have to get back." I looked at J, "Do you think you could give me a ride? I'm pretty sure my arms are going to be spaghetti tomorrow from the way over here."

"Do you still live in J's old building?" Smurf asked.

"Actually no." I wondered exactly how much more I wanted to say in front of a bunch of strangers. "I'm actually in-between places right now. There's this...Home, I'm staying at that has a curfew."

"Like a shelter?" She questioned, and before I could answer, "Why don't you stay here until your new place is ready?"

"That's probably not a good idea," J answered before I could.

"Of course it is. You don't want your friend staying in a shelter, do you?"

"I don't want to be a bother."

"Of course not. You're staying, end of discussion. I'll get the couch set up for you. Do you have anything you need to go get?"

"No. All of my stuff is with one of my mom's friends." She got up, leaving the kitchen.

"What just happened?" I asked, watching after her.

"Smurf." J didn't seem happy, "Smurf happened."

#j cody #smurf cody #fanfic #au #*my writing #*mine #animal kingdom tnt #animal kingdom

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worryinglyinnocent · 5 years

Text

The Real Housewives of Storybrooke

A ficlet series based on this premise here, following the lives of Storybrooke’s elite wives, with all the scandal, bitching and backstabbing that goes on behind the scenes of high society…

This verse is open for prompts!

====

Previously on the Real Housewives of Storybrooke: Zelena gatecrashed Ariel’s birthday party, and Ariel decided to nope on out of Storybrooke with Eric.

[Part One][Part Two] [Part Three] [Part Four] [Part Five] [Part Six] [Part Seven] [AO3]

====

REGINA

Naturally, Storybrooke being what it was, all exciting news, gossip and potential scandal travelled fast, and Zelena’s unwanted appearance at Ariel’s party was all anyone in the Storybrooke social media sphere could talk about.

Regina put her phone down with a sigh, deciding that a break from Twitter and Facebook was probably a good idea for a while. Ariel and Eric had had the right idea with opting out altogether and taking the boat south for a while. Too much drama made life hell, although Regina enjoyed her share of it in small doses.

Right now, she had to focus her energy on Victoria Belfrey, who seemed determined to remodel the entirety of Storybrooke on a large scale and turn it into some kind of Stepfordian Belfreyville. Regina had gone through pretty much every inch of the town charter and all the local by-laws, but it seemed that Victoria and Fiona were always one step ahead of her, and she was now at the stage of hoping for a miracle to prevent this new development from going ahead.

There was a knock at the front door and Regina peered out of her study window to check for green sports cars in the drive. She had not spoken to Zelena since Ariel’s party; she’d ignored her calls and was refusing to respond to her texts. Considering how much her sister had embarrassed her that evening, she’d thought that Zelena would have taken the hint, but no.

The drive was empty, and since Zelena never walked anywhere if she could take the opportunity to flaunt her latest vehicular acquisition, Regina thought that she was safe to open the door. It seemed ridiculous, hiding from her sister like this, but Regina simply didn’t have the energy for a confrontation on top of everything that was happening at work.

Robyn was standing on the doorstep, her huge hiking backpack slung over her shoulders and her cheeks red and stained with recent tears.

“Can I stay with you and Dad for a while, Aunt Gina? Please?”

“Of course, honey. Whatever’s the matter?”

Robyn dropped her backpack in the hall and accepted Regina’s hug.

“Mom,” she grumbled. “We had another fight. God, she’s so embarrassing.”

“You’re telling me. Come on, I’ll make you some cocoa.”

“It’s the middle of summer, Aunt Gina.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t need cocoa to make everything better. Besides, it’s overcast today.”

Robyn gave a weak laugh and followed Regina through to the kitchen, where all the paperwork for the Belfrey development was spread out on the table. Robyn looked at it with interest.

“That’s not even the half of it,” Regina said. “Most of it is out in my office but I ran out of room and I had to overspill.”

“This is terrible. They can’t build on the old playground site. I know it’s not safe as a play area anymore, but it’s so overgrown with wildflowers and plants; it’s gone back to nature. I’ve seen baby deer there, and rabbits by the dozen.”

“I know. I’m doing my best to block it but I’m running out of options.”

“Tilly and I could help when she comes up next week,” Robyn said. “We’re not doing much else this summer. Apart from college applications,” she added hastily on seeing Regina’s pointed look. “And if you think about it, this would look really good on my application. Organising a petition and protests against a new development, trying to protect a site of natural beauty.”

“All right, I’ll give you that.” Regina cleared the papers to one end of the table and brought the cocoa over. “So, what’s my sister done now?”

“Ugh, all this business with Ariel’s party.” Robyn sighed. “It’s all she’s been able to talk about for the last two days and I just got so sick of it, so I said that maybe if she was nicer to Ariel and her friends in the first place, then she’d actually get invited to these things of her own accord. I mean, no-one’s going to invite you to a party when you spend half your time insulting the other guests. I know how close Ariel and Belle are, and Mom’s never been kind to Belle. Anyway, I said that no-one owes her respect and invitations, and everything just escalated from there until I couldn’t stand to be in the same house as her.” She took a huge gulp of cocoa and nearly choked on it. “Has she always been like this?”

Regina nodded. “I think it comes in part from our childhood. She’d always been an only child until she got a younger stepsister in the form of yours truly. Neither of us were great at sharing. Coming to think of it, we were both pretty bratty whilst her father was still alive and married to my mother. But anyway, she was obsessed with fairness and making sure that she and I were treated exactly the same. I think maybe that’s carried over into adulthood. She just wants whatever I have, for the simple reason that I have it and she doesn’t.”

“Must have made life difficult when you and Dad got together.”

“Yeah.” Regina had never intended to end up marrying the man that her stepsister had previously had a daughter with, but life was strange and apparently her family was even stranger.

Robyn returned her attention to the Belfrey plans with renewed interest. Regina had to admit that she did have a point; maybe it was time to start looking to the local community for help in this affair. Hopefully Belle would be able to help on that score.

MARY MARGARET

“It’s been nearly a week. Can’t people find anything else to talk about?”

Mary Margaret sighed as she wheeled Neal’s stroller into the Mother and Baby group. It was always the place to come for gossip among the Storybrooke elite, but today the only gossip was Ariel’s party. Ashley Herman was at the centre of it all, which was to be expected. Ashley knew so much about everyone else’s lives that Mary Margaret wondered if she’d installed spy cameras in her neighbours’ houses. It was a shame that she’d become so catty of recent years; hers was a true Cinderella story and it would have been very romantic had Ashley not decided that she needed to retain her place in society by throwing as many of the fellow women under the bus as possible.

Mary Margaret unstrapped Neal from the stroller and carried him over to the gaggle of wives to accept a much-needed cup of tea, and she tried to change the subject to the Belfrey development.

Ashley sniffed emphatically. “I heard that Cameron Gold is trying to stop it because he buried his first wife under the play area and he’s afraid that she’ll be discovered if it’s dug up for new building.”

Mary Margaret immediately regretted changing the subject.

“The first Mrs Gold lives in Los Angeles with her new partner,” she said, as patiently as she could possibly muster. “Bae spends Thanksgiving and spring break with her. She is not buried anywhere.”

Ashley looked rather put out by this correction and steered conversation back to Ariel. Mary Margaret took a sip of tea to fortify herself and looked around the room. There were a couple of new faces since the last time she’d come to the group, two ladies with a chubby little one in a stroller, standing to one side in a corner of the room looking rather lost. No-one was making any effort to include them in the conversation groups going on, and Mary Margaret knew exactly why. A little smile crept over her face. Time to give everyone something else to talk about.

“Who are the new arrivals?” she asked, cutting Ashley off mid-flow.

“Aurora and Mulan Briar, and I believe that the child is called Philip. They were here last week, too.”

“And we’re not talking to them because…”

“I would have thought that was obvious.” Ashley sniffed again, and Mary Margaret almost asked her if she was coming down with a cold.

“Oh, so you’re not talking to them because they’re lesbians? Good to know.” Mary Margaret grinned. “Do excuse me, ladies.”

If there was one thing that Mary Margaret had to her advantage among all the Storybrooke housewives at the Mother and Baby group, one privilege that she could definitely use to the benefit of those deemed to be outsiders, it was money. She was easily worth more than anyone else in the room, and her wealth garnered more respect because it was hers alone and not gained through her husband. In this place, money talked. Ashley might be the head of the group and the gossip Queen Bee, but it was Mary Margaret who set the tone. No-one wanted to lose association with that kind of money.

She went over to Aurora and Mulan.

“Hello, ladies. I don’t think we’ve met before. Mary Margaret Nolan, and this is Neal. Who’s this gorgeous little one?”

The transformation on Aurora’s face was immediate and wonderful, breaking out into a genuine smile as she unstrapped her baby from the stroller and brought him over to meet Mary Margaret.

“This is Philip. I’m Rory, by the way, and this is my wife Mulan.”

“Pleased to meet you both. Have you been in Storybrooke long?”

“No, just a few months. We moved just before Philip was born; we were in Boston before. We didn’t want him to grow up in a big city, you know.”

“Not that Storybrooke seems too different in terms of social niceties,” Mulan muttered. She was holding Rory’s hand tightly, almost defiantly.

“There are bitches wherever you go,” Mary Margaret agreed. Maybe before she’d become a mother and she’d still been young and idealistic about the world, she would never have dreamed of maligning her fellow women in such a way, but the more she saw of the society she inhabited, the more she began to despair.

The next half an hour was taken up with discussing the babies and culminated with Mary Margaret inviting the two new mothers over to her place for coffee later in the week. She gave the gobsmacked Ashley a cheery wave across the room. She was not normally a spiteful person and she did try to see the good in everyone, but there was a limit even to her pleasantries, and Ashley’s expression would remain with her and cause a smile for a long time to come.

“Thanks for rescuing us in there,” Mulan said as they left the group and began to make their way towards their respective homes. “I was beginning to regret going. I mean, it would have been ok if Rory had gone on her own. No-one would have cared then.”

“I wanted you to be there,” Rory said firmly. “I’m not going to pretend that I’m not married to a woman just to be accepted into society. And you’re every inch as much Philip’s mother as I am. I just happened to be the one who gave birth to him.”

Mary Margaret was certain that she was going to end up very good friends with Mulan and Aurora Briar.

#OUAT Fanfiction #Regina Mills #Robyn Mills #Mary Margaret Blanchard #Sleeping Warrior #Series: The Real Housewives of Storybrooke

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pinksausageduo · 6 years

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hwang minhyun|the heirs

member: hwang minhyun genre: fluff summary: heirs au! you never thought you ever had a chance with hwang minhyun, the heir to the empire hotels and to billions of dollars, but you never knew you caught his eye either, who would have thought that a masquerade ball could make everything possible heirs series: hwang minhyun | kang daniel | park woojin | yoon jisung | ong seongwoo | park jihoon

you’ve liked minhyun from the moment you stepped into 101 academy

the school for the elite of the elite

everyone was a heir to millions or billions of dollars

you included

your mother was one of the best fashion designers in the world owning several high end and normal brands with your father dealing with the business side

your mum inspired your love of fashion and the aspiration to be a fashion designer

in total your family earned around 300 million dollars a year

but your family wanted to make sure you weren’t raised spoilt so you three lived like a middle class family in a 3 bedroom house, normal car, normal neighbourhood, nothing expensive and you were homeschooled

but when you got to high school you were suddenly exposed to your family’s wealth

huge mansion, fancy cars, ridiculously expensive private school, luxury everything

you got used to it after a while

but the luxury and grandeur of the school still amazed you

with a michelin star chef providing all meals and your own personal room with a bathroom and a closet

you could design the room any way you want

of course you made it into a fashion design studio

best bit was the second half of the day you get to make create and design clothes as that was your major, fashion

you can also request a personal tutor to give you advice with fashion and running a clothing business

it was an amazing school

but you still had to attend classes for the first half of the day which were really educational and suited for your fashion career

one of those classes was business with minhyun

you knew he didn’t need to attend the class or even school

he was ridiculously smart with degrees in hotel management and business from harvard

and he was in high school

he only went to school because his parents were alumni and insisted for him to go

you had absolutely no chance with minhyun

not only was he freakishly smart

he was part of the heirs

they were basically royalty, the 11 of them, the most eligible bachelors around, the richest, the most handsome, all the best in their own respective fields but they were distant towards nearly everyone except for a few of them, they were the kings of school

minhyun also was one of the most sought out guys in the school

he had the nickname emperor hwang i had to use it lol

minhyun would be taking over his family business of running the empire hotels. they’re the best hotels in the world every single of them 5 stars. and there were thousands across the globe. amusingly he’s named emperor hwang because he’s the “emperor” of his empire, his company.

he was also ridiculously good looking with milky white skin and jet black hair, his gorgeous dark brown eyes with an air of elegance and distant, nonchalant attitude

but that didn’t attract you to him it was his comforting innocent nature he hid under his mask he wore to the public

for some reason you wanted to be the one to crack the mask

but that was in your dreams even if he knew of his existence

he had so many girls after him

girls prettier, richer, smarter, nicer and more talented than you

you never stood a chance

you were completely wrong though

you caught his eye the moment you walked into his business class

there was just something about you

you carried yourself not with the arrogant stuck up attitude that so many did but with a gentle kindness

there was just a sweet softness making him instantly attracted to you

not to mention the gorgeous smile of yours and how adorable you were

and anytime he sees you laugh or smiling

he couldn’t help but smile

he knew he was falling for you

but he was just plain awkward around you

like no matter how he tried he could never say more than hello

and he didn’t talk to you in front of people because people would make a big fuss and give you a hard time

he even told the other heirs about it

they teased him endlessly and gave the worst advice which wasn’t surprising since they were all single

but both of you knew there was something going on

you had absolutely no fucking clue what it was exactly

he confused you to no end

when it was just you two or little people he was super sweet even though the interactions were always short

you’d glance at each other in class and share a smile

making you feel all soft and gooey

and whenever he’d say hello to you you couldn’t help but blush

but when there were other people he’d completely ignore you?

you just tried to ignore your feelings as much as possible

by basically avoiding him

not in sight not in mind right? lol you wish

but nope the feelings did not go down one bit

though you remember one incident

the one that gave you hope

you fell asleep in the library studying for exams and when you woke up you had the school’s blazer over you

the name tag: hwang minhyun

you had the biggest internal freakout at that moment

you’d fell asleep right in front of minhyun and looked really tired and cold so he couldn’t help himself but put his jacket over you

hoping maybe when you give it back you guys could start a conversation

but the next day you were too shy to give it to him person so you left it on his deck

he was super disappointed and pouted all day

and when you mustered up your courage to talk to him the next day

you found out he left for family business and won’t be back until new year’s eve

you cursed yourself for your bad timing

but that was a few weeks ago

you revert your attention back to the stunning dress in front of you

it was for the new year’s masquerade ball that ironically minhyun’s family was hosting

the ball would be extravagant with the finest food, expensive ball gowns and a special show of fireworks

it was your first time going to ball, you’ve been to fundraisers and dinners but nothing as big scale as this

and it was a huge opportunity to boost yourself into the fashion business on your own merit not your mothers

if people liked your dress you could give out your business card which led to business opportunities and connections

your attention turned to your dress

it was your best work yet

the gorgeous scarlet colour of dress contrasted amazingly with the golden embroidery which was done all by your hand

you especially dyed your hair into a super dark jet black to complement the dress if you have a black hair imagine the darkest jet black

with 2 hours left you needed to get ready

time flied by and you realised you were going to be late

you put your converse on there was no way in hell you were wearing heels plus the dress covered your feet you made sure of it

your limo pulled you out in front of the huge hotel as you put on your gold mask

the doors were nearly closing as you entered into a huge magnificent ballroom

which you had to go down a million stairs to get to

BANG! the doors closed and everyone’s eyes were on you

you went bright red thankfully with the dim lighting nobody could tell

taking a deep breath you walked down the steps as carefully and gracefully as possible

the lighting making the gold embroidery even brighter and the dress looked amazing

you got to the bottom and everyone was still staring at you making you super self conscious

before you could even walk a step

a tall handsome stranger decked out in an incredibly expensive looking suit and a black mask covering most of his face came up to you

he reminded you of minhyun

your heart sped up hoping it was but as the mysterious stranger said in a deep rough voice to you

“would you like to dance?”

you instantly knew it wasn’t him

minhyun’s voice was soft and sweet not rough and deep

but you automatically accepted annoyed at yourself for thinking about minhyun

as you started dancing the guy said “that was quite an entrance but i’ll say as much i am impressed with the dress the converse caught my attention a bit more” ending with a chuckle

you were properly mortified “oh gosh you saw? i knew i should of made the hem longer” you said trying not to look at him in the eye

“don’t worry i only noticed because i couldn’t keep my eyes off from you” he said smoothly making you blush and you literally wanted to swoon

before you could say anything he continued

“you made the dress?” he asked impressed

“yup, i’m a budding fashion designer” you said lightly

“well after this dance i’ll introduce you to all the people you should meet then maybe i get to keep you all to myself?” he asked hopefully

you laughed making him smile sweetly at you

“we’ll see pretty boy we’ll see” you answered mischievously

“well before i introduce you to people i should know your name right?” he said

“hmmm only if you give me yours” you quip back

“but i want to stay a mystery” he said jokingly whining a little

“i want to too” you say smirking

“well how about we reveal our faces and our names a bit before 12 in the garden and then afterwards we can watch the fireworks?” he compromised

“sure why not? but why so reluctant?” you asked

“well i think you’ll treat me differently when you know who i am” he said sheepishly

you smiled sweetly “i won’t i genuinely don’t care who you are or how much money you have, you’re already great company” you say sincerely

the guy gave you a beaming smile making you get butterflies

and for once in the last few months you think you might be able to get over minhyun

unbeknownst to you the guy you were currently dancing with thought the exact same thing but about you

minhyun felt different more confident, in the mask, plus the gorgeous girl in front of him just couldn’t help but make everything so much better

like he could not fuck up this opportunity with this amazing girl

plus if something goes wrong he can just run away and pretend none of it happened my backup plan for everything

the girl he was dancing with reminded him of you

you were both super sweet and sincere not to mention gorgeous

plus both of you made his heart beat way too fast to be humanly possible with a single smile

but he didn’t think it was you because your hair was a different colour

and the dimmed lighting of the ballroom made it hard to see people’s faces

for just this one night he decided to forget how hopeless and awkward he was with girls especially you

and maybe even get over you

and try to be the gentleman that the stunning girl in front of him deserved

the type of guy you deserved

the next few hours you were introduced to so many people who loved your dress or were in the fashion industry or investors

you gave your business card to about 50 people which was amazing and so many more than you expected

of course your mystery partner didn’t get to see your name on the card

your mysterious guy also introduced you to 10 of his friends

“meet my friends” he introduced them

“hey it’s nice to meet you guys” you say friendly

“that dress is amazing who’s the designer” one of the smaller guys said in a cute pubescent voice

you instantly smiled “me actually”

the tallest guy said “damn really you’re ridiculously talented”

“if you make mens suits i need you to make me one WITH LOTS OF POCKETS” said another guy who had his arm around the guy with the cute voice

“i need you to be my stylist” another one who was standing extremely close to the tallest guy said jokingly

“you definitely need one dude” said one with a wicked snaggletooth

pointing at the dark purple suit the guy was wearing clashing with his blonde hair

you secretly agreed

“can we have your business card?” the smaller guy said again

“sure but you can’t show this guy over here we agreed to remain a mystery” you said with a grin while giving your partner a nudge

you handed them your business cards

mischievous smirks appeared on all their lips as they read the card

they all looked like they were going to burst out laughing

suddenly the tallest excused them and you said goodbye to all five of them

you didn’t see daehwi, jinyoung, woojin, jihoon and guanlin taking of their masks off because of how much they were all laughing in the corner of the ballroom

“so what is such a beautiful lady like yourself hanging out with my oh so awkward friend” a guy with broad shoulders said light heartedly while slinging an arm around your partner

“he’s actually quite gentleman and very charming” you quip back jokingly sassily

the guys looked shocked and stared bewildered at your partner

“ahh he finally decided to accept my old and wise wisdom” said one of the guys

“you mean old and useless” said the shortest guy

“DON’T DISRESPECT YOUR ELDER” the older guy said very motherly

the other guy raised his hands in defeat

one of the other guys came up to you and jokingly said to you

“take care of him, he’s annoyingly clean, he’ll probably be more in love with his vacuum cleaner than you and he’ll totally ditch his best friend, me. but i wish you and him the best”

you couldn’t help but laugh

“OK~, OK~, she passed, i like her she laughed at my kind of joke” he said

“please don’t encourage him” the one with the broad shoulders said with a smile that most girls would go crazy over

“i’ll try not to” you say with a smile of your own

“so when’s the wedding” the supposed elder piped in with a smirk

before you could say anything

“there will be no wedding because of me” another guy smoothly interrupted he was a definite charmer

“nah im joking” he continued light heartedly with a goofy smile

“but if he isn’t up to standard give me a call” he ended with an over exaggerated wink

does anyone have a doubt this is seongwoo

“never happening” you say teasingly

“i like her, she’s definitely a keeper” said the shortest one

and before you knew it the other 5 guys came back with their masks and all 10 of them were incredibly sweet said they hoped their friend was treating you properly

the one with the broad shoulders saying if he didn’t, to come to them and they’ll handle it

all of them agreed

you genuinely already adored those boys already and loved spending time with them

but all of them had people to meet and duties to attend to

so you parted ways

other than meeting people you spent the whole time with your mysterious partner

he was so so sweet

and such a gentleman

he always made sure you were comfortable and treated you like a princess

he also had the most impeccable manners

and not to mention the conversation never stopped flowing

your heart could not handle it

it fluttered, did backflips and died way too many times for you to count

you never thought it was possible to like someone this quickly

but you did and you loved every moment with him

especially dancing in his arms

the night was so much fun

all because of this one mysterious guy

you were dying to find out who he was

and before you knew it your mysterious guy was holding your hand leading you to the deserted gorgeous garden which was lit up with fairy lights

it was a few minutes before midnight

you faced each other getting ready to take the masks off

“you ready?” he asked slightly nervous

“definitely” you assured him

taking a deep breath both of you counted down “1, 2, 3″

slowly you both took of your masks revealing your faces

you felt like your heart had a heart attack as you recognised his face

“MINHYUN??!!”

“Y/N??!!!”

you both exclaimed at the same time

you couldn’t deny it, it was minhyun

in all of his perfect handsome glory and of course at that moment he decided to do the hand through the hair thing

but why was his voice so different?

“minhyun why is your voice different?” you asked

“i have a sore throat, why the sudden hair change?” he asked in return

you groaned internally you dyed your hair of course he didn’t recognise you

“for the dress” you saw weakly

you both just stood there trying to process the whole situation

minhyun was cursing the guys for not telling him

you processed that you just interacted with THE HEIRS

and they knew who you were and approved?!!!

minhyun interrupted your thoughts by softly saying “y/n really thank you for the amazing night i haven’t had this much fun in probably years but it’s completely fine for you to go and search for other company” he ended dejectedly but politely

you were completely bewildered and asked earnestly “why would i want to do that?”

he looked a bit shocked too “because you don’t like me?”

“what do you mean i don’t like you??” you asked confused

“well you didn’t return my jacket in person and you avoid me like the plague” he answered with a touch of sadness and disappointment

you sighed in frustration and before you knew it words were spilling out of your mouth

“minhyun I LIKE YOU, i have since the moment i entered our business class, i avoided you and didn’t return the jacket personally because i knew i had no chance with you and i wanted to get over you not to mention i becoming a red blushing mess incapable of speaking”

you blush super red realising what you just said

but minhyun expression brightened like a million of city lights

he also realised how embarrassed you were

he sweetly said to you “if it helps i like you too, and it’s increased a ridiculous amount after tonight”

your head snapped up at his words “wait hold up, the emperor hwang, the one millions of girls want the attention of, the heir to the empire hotels and basically billions of dollars, likes me?” you said disbelievingly

he blushed more red than you at your compliments and he quietly said “yes y/n i like you a lot”

“i can’t believe it” you said completely shocked

he sounded sincere and you were slowly really believing it

you felt like your heart already died and went to heaven

your mind was going haywire but all of it stopped

to be honest you felt like the world stopped

as you felt a soft hand on your cheek leading you closer to him

you looked into those gorgeous brown eyes of his

his eyes flickered down to your lips and before you knew it

the softest pair of lips were on yours

and you were indulging every second of it

wrapping your arms around his neck

his hands around your waist pulling you even closer to him

you felt fireworks going off in your whole body

but you actually realised there were real fireworks going off which was the signal that it was midnight

you two parted and beamed at each other

“do you believe me now?” he asked with a bit of a smirk

“i do” you say with the biggest smile your arms still around his neck

you realised you just shared a new year’s kiss with minhyun

he came to the same conclusion as you

“happy new year’s minhyun” you said sweetly

“happy new year y/n” he whispered in your ear while hugging you making you melt into a puddle of goo

you both cuddled each other while watching the fireworks

both with the thought that this was the best start of new year either of you had

and both of you hoped to have the same start, the year after the next and for every single new year on

AHH THE FIRST INSTALMENT IS FINALLY HERE!! i want to thank everyone for voting again. i hope this was a good start to the series and i also hope this lived up to people’s expectation of the new series please please let me know if it did. i put a lot of thought and effort into it and i really hope you all liked it. i know it was really long but i hope it was worth your time! thank you for reading and please give me your opinions!!

also huge thanks to iris @alliwannado-w1 my absolute angel who helped me with this mess and its still a mess lol. and helped me make this into a better scenario, eep i hope. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH IRIS. if you haven’t ever read her scenarios go to her blog like RIGHT NOW she’s the best writer i know and her scenarios are amazing!!!

click here for more information about the heirs

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working-on-becoming-a-better-me · 3 years

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Day 253—Mar. 23, 2021

Okay, so the numbers for my previous consecutive posts were off by a day (like a day ahead) and February 7′s math was way off, but I googled this! so from here on out, we will be accurate! let’s go bois!

BIG UPDATE BOIS! Essentially? I’VE GOTTEN BETTER! Mental health is better, habits are better, outlook on life is better, productivity... isn’t as high as it was when I first started the blog, but it’s doing MUCH better than November and even January.

coping with minecraft:

So, I’m still addicted to the dream smp minecraft fandom. my friend got me a dream hoodie, bucket hat, and a georgenotfound hoodie for my birthday. but! I’m coping better. I’m behind on streams, and am now catching up during Spring Break. For a while, I was pushing back school work to watch and catch up on streams. I promised myself that during free periods I would work since I was catching up on streams at home, and then... yeah. ANYWAY! I’ve gotten a lot better at that recently by noticing that even fanart accounts (accounts dedicated to mcyt-ers) were talking about how they didn’t watch a phasmaphobia stream because they weren’t interested in it, or talking about how they were behind on streams... it really helped me accept the fact that I can be a real fan and not watch every single stream.

cultural convention:

My international school does events with other international schools but because of covid, we can’t travel. I act and made varsity drama (we call it a different name, but yeah!) and we had virtual conferences. I was incredibly friendly and loud and there were tons of zoom calls. Our schools kinda known for being... uh, stuck up? and kinda elitist. Not like I was being fake, but I was making an effort to talk during calls and be active on group chats made. I joke-flirt a lot and focused my attention on one person. A whole thing ensued, but some of the other actors in my school (there were only 11 of us) were joking abut sending me to “horny jail” and one girl kept apologizing for me. During “lounge sessions” I would interject with what I thought were funny comments and she’d say “again, I’d like to apologize for her behavior” and... uh... I cried at school. Cuz I’ve heard way too many times from too many different people about how I’m embarrassing... BUT.

What really helped was the fact that there were late night zoom calls and I was one of only three kids from my school the first night on a call with around 25 people. Other people said I helped give them a really good first impression of our school, especially considering all the things they’d heard previously. The guy I joke-flirted with (I previously dmed him asking if he was okay with it and he said he was) said on a call that I was one of the funniest people he’d met in a while. It was a huge confidence booster in knowing that the efforts I was making were paying off :)

confidence:

Since starting this blog, I’ve been trying to be nicer to myself. I’ve been practicing more positive self speak and have recently realized the difference between the way I speak about and to myself and how some other people do. Being nicer to myself out loud has helped a lot in feeling better and more comfortable.

I wanted to try wearing black masks, but my mom bought the wrong kind. They had patterns and I was really nervous because I didn’t really want to stand out. I used to not care, but... I dunno. Teenagehood and whatnot. We wear uniforms too, so the only differences are in accessories, hair, etc. I’m not sure why, but I was really nervous to wear the new mask patterns to school. But I told myself it was an experiment, to force me to be more confident. I actually forgot I was wearing it until I saw myself. And since I’d posted on my private story saying I was doing this to try and be more comfortable, some of my friends came up to me and told me it was actually cute. Shows that I really had nothing to stress for. Not that it was really self-expression, but for me, and anyone else who needs to hear this, no one cares. Maybe they even wish they had the courage to wear different things as well.

mcyt mantra:

I have a mantra now! adapted from something drunk Wilbur Soot said during Quackity’s livestream, I think. I repeat it when I’m happy and when I’m nervous or scared and I guess... I dunno, I’m like classically conditioning myself? Except not really since I’m doing it out of order. But yeah! get yourself a mantra!!!

character day:

more with confidence! spirit week is just an excuse for kids to not wear their uniforms, but I put a lot of effort into an Ace Ventura outfit I put together. I only saw around two or three other people actually dressed up as characters, but I had so much fun and thought I looked amazing. I was proud that I wasn’t a normie ;]

Also... it’s so humid in this country and the rubber bottoms of my boots actually stuck to the pavement and fell off. I spent the day without the bottoms of my shoes and it was so funny. Even my mom laughed after (she laughed for so long, it was adorable) and she said only I could pull it off and that the friend I walk to school with everyday is lucky to have me as a friend. My mom was telling me about how she never had a friend like me growing up, just so weird and goofy. And it made me happy to think that I can bring so much... zaniness to people’s lives

ao3:

been writing a lot more recently! haven’t been posting on my writing blog since it’s all fanfiction, but it’s helping me write! I update one of my stories every two weeks. When I feel like I’m not doing enough, it’s a nice reminder that I actually can be consistent. I may be getting better... who knows :)

nehs:

been editing lots of papers even though I don’t need to anymore since I made vp of my school’s nehs chapter. but it’s helping me learn too! I’m very instinctual when writing, but obviously when I’m editing I can’t just ask them to change something because “it doesn’t sound right”. So I google explanations and then tell the people who’s papers I’m editing. It helps both them and me!

ipad/drawing:

got a new ipad for my birthday. been messing around with procreate. been doodling in class (only dream team characters so far lol). might be getting better... hopefully I am!

also have a sticky notes app on my ipad and been creating to-do lists! yay!

teaching:

been teaching students in cambodia! last year I had a teaching partner who guided lessons mostly. this year I’m the leading teacher. It’s helping with my fear of leadership and responsibility.

social:

still not the most social, but more active on snapchat now with keeping in contact with some of the cultural convention kids. covids made it harder to keep in contact, and I’ve been trying to reach out more to my closest friend who I’ve not hung out with in a while. not that we don’t see each other at lunch every other day, but I walk to school with, share a class and after school study hall with another friend. so comparably, I’ve spent less time with my closest friend.

recently had a spa day with my small neighborhood gang! my friend painted my other guy friend’s nails! yes! we used face masks as well :)

general update:

- went to the pool the other day and now I’m hecka burnt

- yesterday I wrote letters for honor society points, caught up on math hw, wrote a reflection and plan for a class, reviewed chinese with my mom, met up with my “mentor” for a class

- have been helping a lot of people! am currently a part of two people’s pieces for their theater class and I have a rehearsal later today!

- was doing a lot of work as an officer of thespian honor society—I’m likely going to be on the officer team again next year and, until a few weeks ago, I hadn’t felt like I’d been doing much and was feeling unworthy. but then I was proactive about something and updated our sponser (school’s drama director) on what we as officers decided. felt... prettyyy goooodddd :)

- !!! yesterday I went on a walk and brought money and my student ID, ready to buy bubble tea, but then... I mustered up what little willpower I had and then didn’t buy it. Instead, I bought surprise lilies for my mom (and some groceries she asked me to get) - been trying to cut out unnecessary sugars and foods. if I’m not hungry, I shouldn’t eat, but also... I listen to my body and if I’m feeling really snacky, I’ll indulge - recently been craving ice cream, but not the flavors in my fridge so instead I’m just not eating ice cream at all and ate an apple once as a substitute :D

- not sure if I’ve been sleeping more, but it kinda feels like I have been?

- started taking pictures of the world when I think it’s pretty one sunny afternoon when I was laughing lots with a friend... especially right after cul con, I was taking a lot more pictures...

- just been more active (not physically... though occasionally, when bored, I’ll stretch some... but I should try and get more active (I mean... the walk yesterday?))... creatively speaking (ao3, with art), socially online (cul con kids), in person (making plans over spring break!)...

- I just feel like I’ve been putting more effort into life

of course, there are the down bits, like for one project based class where the end product is due in May-ish and it focuses on the “process”... I’m just... not... process-ing. I chose a writing project (why). I’m focusing a lot on my side projects, but not my class writing one :/ as well as that, when assignments pick up, I do too, but when I get down time I feel like I deserve it (which I do!) but I don’t work ahead. I’ve been really busy though. Teaching got cancelled because the school in Cambodia shut down unfortunately due to covid. But before spring break, I was teaching, editing papers, writing my own for lang, doing cul con and then catching up on work I missed because of cul con, studying for tests, attending rehearsals... there’s a lot going on and I need to recognize that I am doing so well, especially compared with a few months prior when I was in a much darker place.

mostly stress has been my plague, but yeah! also in the span of one week, two classes bumped up a grade (or half a grade... we have letters and + system (no -)) so my previously low gpa became slightly less low! It gave me confidence that I can end the semester strong!

procrastination: another plague. I keep delaying setting up college counseling meetings and have delayed this update for a while now... and the project-class...

also have babysitting jobs again so we gon get some monnaayyyyy! (job is not from people we met at the pool, but we did meet people at the pool and their kids liked me so much they asked me mom to get me to babysit them... another boost to confidence! yay :) I’m a likeable person :] )

thanks for sticking around! I’m glad I’m getting this update in because I’m doing... really well :D hope you guys are also doing well or that it gets better!

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peckhampeculiar · 5 years

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The Pex factor

SINCE IT LAUNCHED IN 2011, PEXMAS CHRISTMAS MARKET HAS ESTABLISHED ITSELF AS A FIRM FESTIVE FAVOURITE IN SE15.

With this year’s market set to feature new makers’ workshops and a visit from Santa, co-founder Sarah Taylor says it will be the biggest one yet

WORDS: HELEN GRAVES PHOTO: LIMA CHARLIE

It’s December, which means you’ll probably have noticed the signs for Pexmas, Peckham’s annual Christmas market full of festive food, drink and locally produced crafts. According to co-founder Sarah Taylor, it’s where you’ll find “everything you want to tick off your Christmas list”.

The market began in 2011 and it’s now “bigger than ever”, despite one new arrival to the team causing significant disruption. “I had a baby at the very end of last year and it’s delightful and all, but also quite time consuming,” Sarah says.

“I also decided that this would be the year to expand Pexmas, because you know, I’m nuts, so we’re adding in workshops. We also heard that Santa would like to visit Peckham this year. Of course we thought we’d better invite him to Pexmas, because where else could he really hang out? We’re making him a little grotto.”

It’s heart-warming to see the growth of a local market that began as “two friends wanting to do something a bit fun at Christmas”. The first market took place at The Dye House on Nutbrook Street.

“It was just lovely, loads of people came and we were really surprised,” Sarah says. “Everyone said, ‘You’re going to do another one aren’t you?’ And we were like, ‘Er, we suppose we better had, then!’ It just kind of snowballed from there.

“We did the summer markets and Pexmas every year. We did them in the Liberal Club, we did them on Holly Grove and we finally moved to Warwick Gardens, which is just the most sensible site. There’s more space for people to mill about and there’s just something special about the outside at Christmas. Plus there’s the really fun bit where you get to have heart attacks in the week running up to it thinking, ‘Is it going to rain? Is it going to snow?’”

Last year the weather was definitely not on their side. “We had what I refer to – with a big smile on my face – as ‘festive’ weather,” Sarah says. “It snowed, it rained, there was ice. So this year I’m basically tenting the whole thing. Who knows how that will go – it’s a slightly different look but it’s still essentially the same market.”

The challenges don’t end with the weather however, as Sarah explains: “Everyone thinks it’s the council that runs it or owns it, or that we’re making loads of money. We don’t. If we break even we are doing really well.

“A lot goes into putting on an event in a park. It’s entirely self-funded and we don’t like to put the stallholder fees up and up every year, because the nice thing is that Pexmas started with a mix of established businesses and new enterprises from local people and that’s still the mixture.

“We’ve got some traders who still trade with us who say, ‘Oh, you were our very first market!’ It’s so nice to be a very small part of other local people’s stories and we don’t want to lose that, because that’s what makes it different, something that’s part of this community rather than a cookie-cutter design that could happen anywhere.”

She also extends the market on a consultancy basis, helping create satellite markets elsewhere in London. The Pexmas brand was partly behind this summer’s Camberwell Fair.

“The crux is about increasing social capital, so we take on community engagement projects, whether that’s with a group of businesses or a geographical local area. Stuff that just makes life a bit nicer, where you get to meet people within that group, forge connections and maybe you’ll find a new local business to support or a service you want to be part of. The more links you make within your community the happier you are.”

The market is unique then, with a clear social conscience. “Unlike other markets that specialise a little bit, our thing is everything as long as it’s independent. We work with designer-makers, food people, small companies and people who import things, so we get people who support communities in other parts of the world.

“You can get stuff for your Christmas table, you can get pickles, chutneys, charcuterie, cheeses; you can pick up gifts for, hopefully, every member of the family, you can support community projects and charities and there’s nice stuff for yourself, baubles, decorations – and this year you can actually come and make those as well.

“We’re doing Christmas wreaths and things you might want to give as gifts, so London Terrariums are coming to do a workshop and the Social Circle are making pom-pom garlands. There’s street food. There’s 100 stalls a day and about half of those or just over are different each day.”

So what’s next for Pexmas? “I need to figure out how to actually remain in business with a baby! Pexmas will stay on the books for as long as I can physically muster the energy.

“I aired the idea with my partner that maybe I shouldn’t do Pexmas last year or this year, now that it’s just me who runs the company, and he said, ‘You do realise that if you don’t do Pexmas, we’ll have to move?’

“And I was like, ‘Really?’ He was like, ‘You’ve got to do it – everyone will be so disappointed.’ So I said fine. It’s not curing disease or anything, we’re just making a nice little market in our small corner of the world that does some nice things for other small businesses. Oh, and we have really great mulled wine!”

Pexmas returns to Warwick Gardens on December 8 and 9 from 11am-6pm. To book tickets for Santa’s grotto and/or the makers’ workshops, please visit pexmas.com

#peckham #pexmas #christmas #market #southeast london

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