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#this gives me such soft spring vibes <3

wakatshi · 1 year

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daria!!! my assumption is u smell good 😳😳 like white musk n just....clean good! ok but what's ur favourite scents 😊

anonymously make an assumption about me and i'll confirm/deny it <3

my new boss told me i smell rlly good/sweet yesterday omg🫶🏻 i always make sure i smell good i care a lot about it and my perfumes. and i love floral/sweet/fruity scents!! esp floral. roses (bulgarian roses are divine) vanilla, bergamot orange, COCONUT, jasmine, peonies, etc etc. idk if you wanted me to give you any names but these are some of my favs <3

#u remind me of something very #very soft and floral #sweet but not too sweet #it’s because of your theme #spring ish #BDNNDNFNFNFNFNMF #but the vibes you give off too #<3<3<3 #🦢 — inbox.

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ur-dad-satan · 3 months

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I know it's 8 am right now, HOWEVER, I have headcanons I need to get out of my brain before they're all I can think about... That being said: I have Obey Me! Headcanons about how I think the characters would smell. This is based on sleep deprived delusion and nothing else <3

I feel like most of the characters would wear some type of Cologne or perfume that perfectly encapsulates their personality or vibe. Like I know that's the purpose of Cologne/perfume but hear me out.

Luci would smell like some fancy Cologne with hints of vanilla and maybe even coffee. Not coffee breath, but maybe like his soap smells like coffee or Shea butter.

Mam would smell like an expensive Cologne with some really masculine scent like Cedarwood and like sea breeze or something. OR he would smell like men's deodorant and the smell of the two together would be intoxicating. (I'm getting off topic)

Contrary to popular belief, Levi would smell really good if not clean. Like he would probably smell like some type of soap and maybe sometimes some Ruri themed perfume for special occasions. Aside from that, he would just smell like soap. Maybe sea salt and something else.

Sat would also probably smell like a fancy cologne but I feel like he would also have like undertones of something familiar that you can't put your finger on. It's not indescribable, but it's so hard to pinpoint.

Asmo would smell like some type of fruit perfume or a delicate flower. I feel like he would also almost always use body glitter filled perfume/lotion for special events or when he felt extra pretty.

Beel probably wouldn't wear any perfume/cologne regularly but he never stinks. Not even when he's drenched in sweat; he actually kinda smells sweet. It's a subtle sweetness that you can only smell if he's close enough

Belphie also wouldn't wear cologne/perfume on a regular basis, but he also wouldn't stink. He would probably smell like fresh linens. He wouldn't quite smell like laundry detergent, but fresh sheets and pillowcases. It's a relaxing and comforting smell.

Dia would definitely smell like some fancy cologne. It's probably a gift from Luci that he likes to wear around him the most. I don't know why, but I get cinnamon vibes from him. Like his soap would be cinnamon scented and it gives a slight spice to his not quite savory cologne.

Barbs would smell like tea. He would do this on purpose. So no one can smell the bloodlust he feels for Solomon. I'm thinking like some type of green tea, jasmine tea blend with a hint of vanilla or something else sweet. He takes great pride in how he smells and loves when people complement him on it.

Luke would smell like cupcakes and icing. It's not just cause he's a kid or anything, but he goes out if his way to use sweet smelling products. He likes the way they make him feel and keep his skin soft. Everyone loves it. Not a single person complains.

Sim would smell like something natur-y like flowers or some type of tree. Maybe a nice spring day if that makes sense. This smell would mix with the smell of his deodorant -probably a pretty masculine smelling one- and be heavenly (no pun intended). He would know that he smells good but not how good he smells.

Solo would smell like a nice human world cologne. I feel like he would wear a basic deodorant and let his cologne do all the heavy lifting. It would be something like burning wood or like some type of ocean mist. (Y'all don't know how hard it was to not just tear Solomon a new asshole just then and IDK why)

Being mean to solomon under the line <3

Solomon would wear shower in a can and smell like fucking axe body spray. He almost certainly had a hippy phase in the 60s where he did a LOT of drugs and then he had an emo phase in the 2000s and can most definitely sing the entirety of Welcome to The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance.

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twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat · 8 months

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i’ll go see you again tomorrow (spring is coming to an end) ; sashisu

[ part 0 - first meeting ]

synopsis; the gradual blossoming of a youth shared with three strange classmates, at the weird, isolated boarding school you all attend. as the seasons of your first year together pass, the relationship between you changes into something you don’t need to put into words to understand.

word count; 1.6k

contents; sashisu/reader (but can be read as either platonic or romantic, or something inbetween!! i wrote it with the latter in mind), gn!reader, no curses au (dw they’re all still a little bit insane and damaged), very shoujo manga-esque, reader is a little bit in love with all their friends, just wholesome comfy vibes :), characters may be ooc but pls bear with me </3

a/n; this is the shorter opening piece of a sashisu/reader series i’m writing and the first out of six planned parts!! :> the rest will be much longer this is just me setting the tone. sorta. i’m extremely normal about sashisu and i wanted to write something summery and sweet so <3

you first meet them in a sun-soaked classroom, with blue-tinted windows.

the room in question, clearly not having been of use for some time, is just a little dusty. enough that you notice it, nose scrunching up as your gaze trails over the space.

tiny specks of light dance around, meeting and intersecting between the gaps where streaks of sunlight fall and illuminate the floorboards. they’re oddly mesmerizing, a little hard to forget. the flicker of their movement begins to etch itself into your retinas; for some reason, you can’t quite take your eyes off them.

eventually, your attention is caught by something else, coaxing you into moving your gaze towards the translucent windows. they glimmer softly, tantalizingly in the sunlight, reflecting the blue of the sky. through the glass, it’s all you can see at first — a sky so blue that it’s a little irritating. big, white clouds are scattered like splotches of paint across a blue canvas, treading gently over the boundary of your vision.

in a similar fashion, the ground of the schoolyard is littered with dots of white. for just a second, you delude yourself into thinking that it’s snow; it’s not until you spot the skeletal trees and their pale blossoms that you see them for what they are. soft petals flutter down to the ground eagerly, covering everything in a pure white.

it really is eerily reminiscent of a snowy landscape, ephemeral in its beauty. it gives you the impression of having stepped over some sort of threshold, into another realm, another world entirely. coated in apricot blossoms, soaked in sunlight.

(it shouldn’t be possible from where you’re standing, behind the windows — but the scent reaches you all the same. everything smells of apricots.)

it’s springtime, and you’re in the prime of your youth.

a youth you’re about to share with three other kids, all standing in front of you and wearing mildly indifferent expressions as you give each other a brief glance.

you try not to stare too hard, but it’s difficult to resist the temptation. three new classmates, mysterious and just slightly intimidating; two guys, and one girl. the tiny glances you steal at them aren’t very sneaky, but you doubt they’d care, when they’re all doing the same.

you study their appearances, eager to sate the curiosity clawing at your heart.

the girl is pretty.

the expression on her face is laid-back, almost bored, and she looks a little like she doesn’t quite want to be here. her hair reaches down to her chin, just barely, brown and smooth and silky. estimating her exact height is a little tough; you can tell she’s fairly short, but you don’t know how much of it is exaggerated, courtesy of her placement between the other two. their lanky legs and broad shoulders only make her look smaller in comparison.

her eyes are chestnut-coloured, a little dim, somewhat hazy. there’s a mole under one of her eyes, too, and you’re acutely aware of how charming you find it. you’re relieved to have at least one girl in your class, anyhow. you hope she’s nice.

the boy on her right is pretty, too.

he’s much taller, and wearing a somewhat serious expression, but something about him feels almost comforting all the same. he seems relaxed, but also sharp, as his eyes trail across the room. his hair is black and silky, and it’s long — or so you assume, judging by the fact that he’s got it in a bun. two things about him stand out in particular; one, the black gauges on his ears, and two, a single lock of hair framing his face. his hair is tied up and neat, prim and proper, with the exception of his bangs. you don’t think it looks bad, exactly, but it’s an odd choice.

at first glance, you think his eyes are black, but when a ray of sunlight falls across his face you realize that they’re brown. a deep colour, oddly soothing, warm. little sparks of amber glitter in the depths of his irises, illuminated only by the sun. it gives you the impression that there’s more to him than meets the eye.

then there’s the other boy.

he’s the most intimidating out of the three, without a doubt, though you still can’t pinpoint exactly��why. he strikes you as particularly unnerving; maybe it’s the expression on his face, that you can’t seem to identify. he’s also tall, very tall, even taller than the other guy — though only by a smidge. he towers over you slightly, and that unnerves you even further. there’s something in the way he’s standing that almost seems a little menacing. his hair is white, and soft, and just a tad messy. and he’s wearing a pair of round sunglasses, even though you’re indoors.

you can’t see his eyes well, behind the black glass, but you get the vague impression that they’re blue when sunlight cascades down the contours of his face and reflects in them.

you take another moment to simply look at them, observing them, as if trying to reach some sort of conclusion about what they’re like. it doesn’t really work, but you do get some semblance of an impression.

finally, your teacher clears his throat, breaking the silence of the classroom — urging you to hurry up and get the introductions done and over with. the impatient reminder snaps all four of you out of your collective trance.

the first person to speak up is the boy with the weird bangs. that alone gives you a sense of his personality; polite, proper, the first to do the thing no one really wants to do.

”my name is suguru geto,” he begins, well mannered. ”it’s nice to meet you.” his voice is pleasant, somehow. nice to listen to. there’s something comforting about it, that you can’t quite place; it sounds almost familiar, like you’ve heard it all your life.

then, the cute girl chimes in, casual and unbothered as she fiddles with something in her pocket. ”shoko ieiri. just call me shoko,” she says, short and sweet.

she really is pretty, you muse, bathed in the streaks of sunlight falling haphazardly across the room. and she seems nice, not uptight or obnoxious; the kind of person that’s easy to talk to, easy to be friends with. you think you like her already. but she notices your lingering stare, and so you look away, gaze falling to the floorboards.

finally, after a slight pause, the boy with the sunglasses speaks up. you still can’t get a good read on his expression. ”… satoru gojo,” is all he says, and you can’t seem to grasp his tone of voice, either.

it irks you, though. you’re not sure why. you almost get the sense that he thinks he’s appeasing you, by introducing himself, like hearing his name is a priviliege. that, and you feel a little like you’re being dissected when his gaze falls on you — like he’s weighing your value, deciding your worth. you think you almost catch a glimpse of his eyes behind the black tint of his glasses, and they strike you as acutely menacing, bright blue and uncanny. you decide that you don’t like him, and that his sunglasses are kinda ugly.

their gazes fall on you, at last.

you’re the only one whose name they don’t know, now. it’s a kind of power, in a way, the power of mystery. intrigue. their stares feel heavy on your skin, and you feel more than a little nervous; but you’re intent on following the silent cue, all the same.

and you do so, dutifully, raising your hand up in a silent hello before tentatively saying your name. then, in a voice you hope doesn’t come across as bored or unpleasant:

”— it’s nice to meet you.”

some of them hum in affirmation, as if to say it’s nice to meet you too — others remain silent. even when the introductions are finished, you continue to look at each other, vaguely and discreetly, as if trying to look inside each other’s heads.

but then your teacher begins to speak, in an authorative voice, and you’re snapped out of the trance, once more.

he babbles on and on, about something you’re sure is important, something about the school and the classes you’ll be having and the dorms and so on. you try to listen, you really do, but it’s tough — you vaguely get the gist, but all you can really think about is your classmates, still so mysterious and intimidating.

you try to repeat their names, inside your mind, trying to ingrain them into your memory.

suguru geto, shoko ieiri, and satoru gojo.

you still don’t really know what to think about them. shoko will probably be fairly easy for you to warm up to, but the other two are a different story. all three of them seem to have strong personalities, reflected in their eyes; a dim hazel, a deep umber, and a stark azure. you don’t know what’s hidden in them, but you have a strange inkling that you will, in due time.

that’s how the four of you meet. and in this moment, as you look into their eyes for the first time, you have no idea how much your life has changed — how much they’ll change it for the better.

you only know that it’s springtime, and that you’re in the prime of your youth.

a youth you’re about to spend with these three kids in front of you, who you know nothing about. some part of your soul urges you to find out, for yourself.

maybe you will.

(outside the sun-soaked classroom, through the blue-tinted windows, the world observes your meeting with bated breath and barely contained excitement.)

part i

#title is taken from the lyrics of yorushika’s ’spring thief’ btw i listened to it while writing this n cried <3 its sooo sashisu.#anyway!!! this series ended up kinda reader-centric but the focus is meant to be on the relationship between all 4 of them #its just… really easy to analyze the characters from a third party pov. and im a shameless self inserter so. x reader it is!#this series is also my excuse to (attempt to) analyze sashisu as a trio/individually but idk if my own interpretation will align w/ canon #in my defense theyre a lot less traumatized in a no curses au #but i still wanted to try and explore their high school selves + their issues w/ intimacy and trust n all that. im obsessed with them.#so i hope i did a decent job :’) anyway thats enough ranting in the tags if u read this far i am in Love With You #sashisu x reader #shoko ieiri x reader #geto suguru x reader #gojo satoru x reader #sashisu #gojo satoru #geto suguru #shoko ieiri #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk x reader #…. i think thats all #jujutsu kaisen #jjk

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mgcldydrms · 1 year

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Admirer ( George Weasley )

requested by anon: "ooh if it vibes with you I think you'd do the prompt "I'm not staring at you, I'm admiring you." with George weasley really well :3"

word count: 1.2k

warnings: a whole lot of fluff, like a lot a lot

pairing: george weasley x fem!reader

author's note: I needed some fluff and this was the perfect request. thank you for sending it in. I definitely vibed with it.

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On some weekends, when most of your fellow students were all in Hogsmeade, you liked to stay behind and enjoy the quietness of the common room. There were still the first and second years around, but seeing as though it was now spring, most of them were outside and enjoying the warmth of the sun.

You sat on the sofa, in front of the fireplace that wasn’t lit up, yet it still felt cosy to sit there. You had your favourite book in your hands, smiling every so often whenever something funny or sweet happened to the characters. From time to time, other Gryffindors walked past you to either go up to the dormitory or to slip through the portrait hole.

You were too immersed in your book that at first, you didn’t even notice someone sitting down next to you. Only when they cleared their throat you looked up at that person. A bright smile graced your face once you noticed that it was your boyfriend, George.

“What are you doing here? I thought Fred, Lee and you would be in Hogsmeade getting new stuff for your products.”

George shook his head, moving closer to where you were. He pressed a soft kiss on your temple, quickly glancing down at the book that you were still holding tightly in your hands before he looked up into your beautiful e/c again.

“We were supposed to get a few things, but the delivery takes one more week, so we all must wait. And I, the good boyfriend that I am, thought I would come back and spend the rest of the day with my gorgeous girlfriend.”, he explained, wiggling his eyebrows.

You couldn’t help but laugh while you playfully pushed him away from you. You looked down at your book, swiftly flicking through the pages, noticing that there were only a few more pages left.

“This is really sweet, but can you give me a few more minutes? I’m almost done with this chapter and I want to finish it. It’s getting really interesting now.”

“Sure. I’ll just sit here and wait.”, your boyfriend stated, moving away from you so he could completely stretch out, his feet almost touching yours.

You uttered a quick ‘thanks’, and before you knew it, you were back in the world of your book, reading as quickly as you could without missing a thing. You didn’t want George to wait for too long. Seeing as though the young man who you were lucky enough to call your boyfriend was a year older than you, hence you weren’t really able to see one another as much as you would like. He was not only busy with schoolwork, which of course he sometimes neglected a bit too much but he was also immersed in developing his and his twin brother’s new products. So, normally the two of you mostly saw each other late at night in the common room or in one of the abandoned classrooms that no one really used anymore. You were able to spend most of your time together on the weekend though.

Occasionally, you looked up at George, wanting to know what he was up to, but whenever you glanced his way, you noticed his eyes already watching you, a soft smile gracing his lips until you looked at the words in your book again.

The more you peered over at your boyfriend, the more embarrassed you got. Why couldn’t he stop staring at you? Of course, it was adorable, but it also made you lose focus.

“Can you quit staring at me? I can’t concentrate.”, you said, shutting your book a bit too harshly.

“I’m not staring at you, I’m admiring you.”

You could feel the heat rushing up your cheeks after your boyfriend's confession. You put your book in front of your face, hearing George chuckle. He moved closer to you again, lifting his hand up only for him to lower your book.

“Why are you hiding? I love to see you blush.”

It was true. George loved to make you blush and seized every opportunity to do so. He loved the way your face was almost as red as a tomato whenever he complimented you or whenever he teased you. You were lucky though. It was mostly compliments that your boyfriend used to make you blush.

“And what were you admiring? I was just reading my book.”, you mumbled, putting the book on the floor before you sat up properly and waited for George to explain himself. You pushed a strand of hair behind your ear, your eyebrows lightly raised.

“You looked really cute … beautiful actually. You were so concentrated on the story, and your eyes moved so quickly from side to side. Your hair fell in front of your face multiple times. Sometimes you didn’t even notice, but when you did, you pushed them back, only for them to fall back. You even tried to blow them out of your face. You pouted, I don’t know why, but it looked adorable, and - ”

“Okay. I get it.”, you said quickly.

George chuckled once more, stretching his arm so his hand could find yours, which he gently squeezed. He pulled you closer to him, wrapping his arms around you before he pressed a gentle kiss on top of your head.

“I could see the passion you have for this book. Maybe you can lend it to me, so I can find out what it’s all about.”

You looked up at the young ginger-haired man, your eyes slightly widened, still comprehending the words your boyfriend had just said to you.

“You? You want to read? Voluntarily?”

You both couldn’t help but laugh out loud, knowing exactly that George would never read a book. He wouldn’t even read the books he needed for his classes. He always hoped that you or maybe Hermione had already read it. Although both of you were younger than the twins, you liked to read books that needed advanced knowledge.

“You just know me too well. Come on, let’s go outside.”

Your boyfriend got up from the sofa, simultaneously pulling you up as well, only for you to stand face to face now; George was just a bit … a lot taller than you.

Now it was your time to admire him. His beautiful smile, the slight crinkles by his eyes, his fluffy hair …

“Stop it.”, he interrupted you, his lips finding yours almost instantly, kissing you as lovingly as possible.

You smiled into the kiss, reluctantly pulling away, knowing that a few first years sat in the common room, watching the two of you making out in the middle of the room.

“Let’s go, admirer.”, you whispered against his lips, kissing him once more before you made your wait through the portrait hole.

#george weasley x reader #george weasley imagine #george weasley x you #george weasley x fem!reader #george weasley fanfiction #george weasley fluff #weasley twins imagines #weasley twins fluff #george weasley fic #george weasley x gryffindor!reader #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter imagines

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tarotphil · 22 days

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Bestie I need to know what answers corresponded to Dan or Phil

oh my gosh I’d love to share :)) take the quiz before reading below the cut!!!!! also take this as the performance art it is, I’m not genuinely assuming very specific things about dan and phil’s internal worlds lol

for Dan: love like a dog as in loyal, eager to provide a service, full blown adoration. love like a leaky faucet as in always present even when the sink is “off”. but also as in sporadic, unexpected, unavailable. (this is not a dig at dan, that is the option I would choose)

for Phil: love like an archaeologist as in dedicated to craft of discovery, careful, curious. love like a snowstorm as in all encompassing, obscuring, hungry

for Dan: Catholic guilt yeah, but also thinking on the past in a “I wish I had done it different way”

for Phil: mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. among other things his commitment to nostalgia is a type of grief.

for Dan: peeling fruit as an act of service has big dan energy. he would pass tiktok clementine theory. cannabalism bc i think he’d enjoy himself on yellowjackets Hannibal hunger as love tumblr. angels is his for a lot of reasons. I was thinking about angels as machinery, which meshes with his clean brutalism aesthetic. also angels as fallen from grace, as a subversive queer symbol

for Phil: time loops, we are back to the grief and nostalgia. but I’m also appealing to his brand of creativity here. glitch theory, fantasticalism. ghosts….. we are back to grief, but also his understanding of horror. the ocean is something I associate with phil a lot for some reason. I think it’s the mystery of it

for Dan: he’s a teddy bear, he’s so soft. he has his childhood teddy still. glowing globes for mystery, matches the aesthetic of the moon room. kiss me lollipop…… must I say more

for Phil: I was so captivated by him going “I think that’s what god looks like” in relation to the golf with friends structure. so, for phil, interesting lines and lights that evoke a feeling of reverence <3 icy stag bc I associate him with snow and the fantastical. surreal spotlight sky… I can’t explain it just is

for Dan: A Boat is a poem to me about navigating depression, I think dan would love it. Dan is SO this too shall devastate coded, I don’t think I need to explain.

for Phil: the Kyla Jamieson poem for a few reasons. Love of the natural world, but also I think it carries a sense of creative frustration? The Athena Davis poem because of how gentle it is. meditations on death, meditations on kindness

Dan and Phil: this is the only option on the quiz that gives points to both outcomes…. I want to do with you what spring does with cherry trees. That’s so them

I actually think these kinda speak for themselves

for Dan: he’s such a sensitive soul, which is why he got the heart hurt option. he puts so much of his heart into everything, so this is an acknowledgment of him not being as cerebral as he thinks. for the bones, an ache in my bones is one of the ways I visualize my depression. a bone deep heaviness

for Phil: hurt in your hands because of hands as a symbol for creativity. to me this meant an itch to create. hurt in your lungs I can really only justify by vibes. the hurt of running too hard maybe? Of a body meant to house you doing a bad job of it?

for Dan: mmm realizing I said I associate phil with the ocean which is true, but I associate Dan with whale falls. that’s all I got for that lol. for the microbiome, I love love love the human microbiome, it’s fascinating. I think dan would have a heck of a time with the idea that we’re mostly made up of non self organisms

for Phil: beauty in the small things and beauty in natural system we’re not at all a part of. nod to his love of birds, love you Steve

these are mostly all vibes, except for Phil’s sense of otherworldliness and Dan’s commitment to forward growth

for Dan: the wooden overcoats quote…… sorry not get 2009 on you. The Beatrice letters quote is a little bit “it’s awful work” “not to me, not if it’s you”. as a doctor loves his sickest patient for real

for Phil: the Mabel quote is a little bit about love as a creative I think, and a private creative at that. The love exists even if you destroy the art. the locked tomb quote, they are so dependent. he dyed his shoes green

#asks #it’s like a gag quiz but I’m also unwell about them and thought about it A Lot so #phan #Dan and phil #amazingphil #daniel howell #robin 📢#absolutely normal uquiz

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piratecaptainscaptainpirates · 1 month

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Can I request a 1k fic where Ed and Stede are just having a really good day, and Ed's thinking about how good a boyfriend Stede is, so he thanks him for never hitting him or treating him badly? And Stede's like wtf why would you thank me for that? Just gentle healing vibes and Ed getting to realize that he deserves love and gentleness.

Thanks for this one! <3

(Wanna see me write something? Send in a prompt and I'll write a 1k word fic if I'm inspired!)

Stede was so different.

Yeah, that was true in a lot of ways. Stede was unlike anyone Ed had ever known before. He was so himself, so genuine and earnest and just bursting with so much love. Every day, Ed was grateful to call him his boyfriend.

But, like, even though he was the first guy Ed had ever called his boyfriend, he was different from Ed’s past relationships in so many ways, too.

He was always kind to Ed. He never yelled at him, even when they argued. He encouraged Ed to wear the clothes that made him happy, and he told him he was beautiful. He touched him gently, and Ed knew he would never, ever hit him.

He said he was excited, to get to build a home they could share together.

“This is nice, isn’t it?” The rocking chairs on the front porch were a recent purchase, one that Stede was still preening over as they sat hand-in-hand, just enjoying the spring air and the smell of the wildflowers as they watched the sun go down.

“Yeah,” Ed hummed, letting his eyes slip shut in contentment, squeezing Stede’s fingers so he could enjoy the way Stede’s hand tightened in his in turn. “Thank you.”

He could hear the smile in Stede’s voice. “It was really good, wasn’t it? Did you like that thing I did with my hips?”

“I’m not talking about that, man,” Ed snorted. “Though, like, yeah. I did like that. I think I was coming for a solid minute there. I really like making love with you, Stede.”

It still made him a bit shy, saying things like that. Getting to have it. Making love, not just fucking.

“Aww.” Stede tilted his head, his curls flopping adorably. “I like making love with you, too.”

“But I wasn’t talking about that, just now.” Ed forced his brain back towards the tracks.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Ed brought Stede’s hand up to his lips, brushing a kiss over his fingers. “I just wanted to thank you. For being such a good boyfriend.”

“Well, you’re an amazing boyfriend, too,” Stede said, never one to allow a chance to compliment Ed to go untaken. “You’re so sweet, and such a good cuddler, and you’re so pretty, and I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Ed said. “I love how you’re so thoughtful, and kind, and that you never hit me -”

“Hm?” Stede interrupted softly, his smile slipping. “What?”

Ed blinked. “I said thank you? For not hitting me?”

“Sweet pea?” Stede straightened up in his chair, frowning properly, now.

Ed shrank back. He wasn’t sure what he’d done wrong, but he felt suddenly all strange and wrongfooted, and Stede was clearly upset.

“I love you so, so much,” Stede said, giving his hand a squeeze, “but why do you feel like you have to thank me for not hitting you?”

Ed shrugged, looking down at the floorboards. They’d done a great job of patching them up. Looked nice. Way more interesting to look at than the worry and disappointment on Stede’s face, that was for damned sure.

“I’m not mad at you.” Stede must have realized Ed was a bit freaked out, because he dropped his voice to a soft pitch barely above a whisper. “I’m not angry with you at all, and you’re safe, but… I just want you to understand that I wouldn’t do that. Never. There is not a single circumstance, ever, that would make me want to hit you.”

Ed glanced up. Stede’s face looked very serious.

“Alright,” he mumbled. “Thanks.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” Stede sighed. “That’s just… common, basic decency. You don’t need to thank me for not being a monster who walks around hitting his boyfriend.”

“Huh,” Ed said thoughtfully.

It surprised the fuck out of both of them when he burst into tears.

“Ed!” Stede yelped, practically launching onto the floor in front of Ed’s chair so he could pull him into his arms. “Oh, sweet man, it’s okay, you’re okay.”

Ed clutched at the fabric of Stede’s shirt, wailing into his chest, feeling pathetic and small and lost -

“It’s alright,” Stede whispered, rocking him slightly back and forth. “You’re doing great, and I’m not going anywhere. You’re okay.”

“Sorry,” Ed mumbled, pressing his face hard into Stede’s chest, as if that might stop the tears.

“Nothing to apologize for,” Stede said firmly. “But… I can listen, y’know? If you wanna talk about it?”

“I guess I just realized…” Ed sniffled into Stede’s shirt, trying to find the words. “If you can do it, if you can be such a good boyfriend, if you can treat me so well… then everyone else could’ve, too. They just didn’t.”

“I’m so sorry,” Stede whispered, kissing his forehead. “You deserved better.”

“Got you now.” Ed pulled back, wiping at his eyes, and he laughed when Stede kissed his cheeks, over and over. “That counts for something, right?”

What a strange thought. Maybe Stede, the way he treated him, maybe that wasn’t some kind of fluke. Maybe there had never been anything about Ed that caused people to treat him badly. Maybe… it wasn’t his fault that they had.

He brought it up again before bed, as Stede sat in bed with him and braided his hair. It was their favorite way to end their day.

“Maybe,” he said, haltingly, “d’you think that maybe I’m almost a good person?”

“I think you’re an amazing person,” Stede said easily. “And you’re an amazing boyfriend.”

“Maybe it wasn’t my fault,” Ed whispered, just to see how it felt in his mouth.

“It never was.” Stede tied Ed’s hair off, then pulled him back to settle against his chest, kissing his cheek. “It never was your fault.”

Huh.

Stede wasn’t perfect, but Ed knew he was good. And if he said Ed was, too, if he saw some good in Ed, if he said nothing had been Ed’s fault, then…

Maybe there was some truth there.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd fic #my fics

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kdramaxoxo · 10 days

Note

Sorry if you've been asked this a million times, but who are your favorite couples from the last couple years?

Congratulations Anon! This ask is AMAZING and I've never been asked it before! Shocking right?? :P

My favorite K-Drama Couples 2023- Spring 2024

NOTE: I tried to include 2022 but my list got too long :)

Moving (Bong-Seok & Hee-Soo, Joo-Won & Hye-Won & Doo-Shik & Mi-Hyun): It's very obvious by this list how much I love this drama and how many blorbo-from-my-shows it created for me. And I know I'm only reviewing couples, but I was blown away by this drama. I don't even LIKE superhero shows, but I made an exception for this one and I'm so glad I did. If you like character development and plays on good vs. evil, I highly rec this! Bong-Seok and Hee-Soo are one of my favorite couples EVER and I loved the softness and epic romance of Joo-Won & Hye-Won. (And we all know that scene at the rainy window with Bong-Seok and Hee-Soo). These couples are really EVERYTHING.

Tale of the Nine Tailed: 1938 (Lee-rang & Yeo-Hee): This is the only time I've ever watched a season two and liked it better than season one. It's probably because it featured my favorite tragic half fox Lee Rang and gave him a love line with a mermaid. The two are SO sweet together---SOB!

Tell me That You Love Me (Mo-Eun & Jin-Woo): Wow. Maybe one of the softest couples I've ever seen in existence. Just watching them together was like a warm blanket in front of a cozy fireplace. I didn't like the ending choice which is a shame, but the drama was super well done and I still think people should watch it. There is also a very cute high school couple too!

The Eighth Sense (Jae-Won & Ji Hyun): not to be dramatic (just kidding!) this is the best bl kdrama I've ever seen. Literally this is it! I don't even want to tell you about the couple because I want you to just watch it! I'm dying for the writer to make another one because we need more queer media like this one!

Crash Course In Romance (Haeng-Seon & Chi-Yeol): Give me a noona romance featuring a man who has not felt warmth in 1000 years (ok not literally but this dude needs to have a warm meal made by an amazing lady!) This drama fell apart at the end (this seems to be a theme this year) but the couple makes it worth watching.

King The Land (Gu-Won & Sa-Rang): If you're looking for a low stakes, totally fluffy, rom com with TONS of chemistry (featuring MY BIAS!), King the Land is for you. Amazing skinship, kisses and just like a really fun duo to watch. Plot? Not so much but there are a billion good moments-- just look at the tags: They are full of cuteness.

Love After Divorce Season 4 (Benita & Jerome): Listen, I know I'm cheating by putting a reality tv show on this list but if you're in the mood for one, I highly recommend this season (it's on Netflix). Benita and Jerome will steal your heart and they are still together! I'm rooting for them. <3

See you in my 19th Life (Ji-Eum & Seo-Ha, Da-Hoon & Cho-Won): My bias Shin Hye Sun kills it in this drama featuring past life romance. Honestly it's not fair because this drama is totally my vibe so I'm obviously going to love the mains. But when a drama gives you more than one love line and they are both interesting and lovely?? Chef's Kiss!

Dr. Slump (Jeong-Woo & Ha-Neul): This drama TOTALLY fell apart at the end and left us all very disappointed, but that's not because our leads weren't a perfect couple! They bonded over mental illness and even took their meds together. Communication: check. Comfort/Healing: check. Chemistry: check!

The Story of Park's Marriage Contract (Yun-Woo & Tae-Ha). You probably don't know this but I've been following Bae In Hyuk's career since we was in silly little web dramas. Seeing him as a lead is really wild! To be fair, he's not nearly the actor that Lee Se Young is, but do we care about that when there's a time slip romance drama featuring a historical lady who's been thrown into the future and has to fake marry someone who looks just like her de*d husband for reasons??

Thank you so much for this ask - it was super fun!! Maybe I should do 2022 next?? :D

#kdrama #i love a list #king the land #kdrama recommendations #crash course in romance #tale of the nine tailed #ask #kdrama couple #the story of park's marriage contract #dr. slump

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pyotrkochetkov · 2 years

Note

i absolutely love the long post you made about Svech like it’s so sweet and dedicated! I was just curious to see if you had a 🌶 thoughts list about him tho cause u know Svech thirst is lacking on here. Mwa 😘

oh i seeeeee well i might have some thoughts 👀

his love languages are by far physical touch and gift giving these are not up for discussion

he grew up with nothing, knows what it's like to have nothing, and wants to give his loved ones EVERYTHING he didn't have and that they deserve

sends you flowers or chocolates randomly at work or brings you your favorite coffee on the way back from practice

those you are happy to accept

but him springing any lavish gifts or jewelry (a chain with his number on it thanks) or surprise trips on you had you a little unsure

didn't want him to think that's all you're with him for because it isn't AT ALL which you assure him of all the time

but you see how important it is to him/how happy it makes him to give you nice things

and you would do anything to see that dimpled grin of his <3

he loves touching you at any and all times, can never get enough of you

tiny gentle kisses, deep nasty tongue kissing, hugs, holding your small hand in his huge one, giving you piggybacks around the apartment, tucking you into his side when you're in public

something as innocent as coming up behind you and wrapping his arms around your waist as he places soft kisses on your neck while you're making your morning coffee

or laying his head in your lap while you lay on the couch watching a movie and play with his hair

loves pulling you against his chest as you sleep, arm slung around your waist and the way you fit against his big body

you love it too even though his skin is so hot he's like a human furnace

and he wouldn't admit this to anyone else but sometimes he loves being the little spoon as you're curled up in bed (thanks for that one @suitandtys)

or just going out to the bar with the guys but he insists you sit on HIS lap as he massages small circles into the gap of skin peeking out between your shirt and jeans or kissing your shoulder

NOT above giving your ass a squeeze with a cheeky grin just because he can

oh and if you're wearing a skirt??? loves letting his hands wander to your inner thigh, dangerously close to where you need him most

he also strikes me as a huge boob guy

loves the way they fit in his hands and i'm not saying he can make you cum just by sucking on and playing with your nipples but that's exactly what i'm saying

OBSESSED WITH MARKING YOU UP AND VISE VERSA

loves sucking hickeys into your skin anywhere he can, neck, chest, stomach, inner thighs and having his fingers bruise your hips as he drives into you so that when you look at them later you know just who did that to you

but he also loves when your nails dig into his shoulder leaving little crescents or having them rake down his back

oof and if you draw blood he loves that even more

loves when the guys chirp him at practice seeing his back all torn up "svechy got himself a pretty kitty"

major pleasure dom vibes with this one

your pleasure is his top priority

loves being the one in control even when you're on top

maybe i'm just a whore for a chain but i want to yank his cross as i ride him so bad

but his absolute favorite thing in the world is the blissed out look on your face as he makes you cum whether that's with his fingers, tongue or cock

his stamina is insane and he has a VERY high sex drive

THOSE FINGERS HAVE YOU SEEN HOW THICK THEY ARE

the thought of even taking three of those is intimidating as hell

loves holding you down and maybe tying you up and MAKING you take his fingers while he makes you watch them disappear inside of you

loves edging you and overstimulating you because he is a freaky little tease

nothing compares to the feeling of fucking and feeling you bare for him though

he is a big boy yes we know this

he's so mesmerized every time he watches you stretch around his cock as you take every inch of him

SIZE KINK AND PRAISE KINK

he loves hearing how big he is and how deep he feels. kissing your cheek as he tells you how you're "doing so good for me baby" or "taking me so good"

cocky as hell too

"never had anyone as big as me, no?"

often uses his size to crowd you and fuck you from behind

loves hearing you moan his name, yes the thought of calling him drei does make me weak in the knees every time

but yeah his fucking voice, all deep and rumbly and accented... i could listen to him all day or read a fucking grocery list it's just so damn sexy

loves to dirty talk

i have it in my head that he is extremely loud in bed (thank you to the hallway videos)

can't help but pant, moan and groan about how good your mouth or pussy feels fluttering around him and how perfect you are to him

sometimes gets so overwhelmed by the pleasure he feels that he slips into russian and you don't really understand but know it must be something nasty

makes you cum so many times you're ready to pass out

some sick part inside of him actually enjoys watching your eyes water as he pushes you to the brink

huge fan of grabbing you by the jaw or squeezing your throat as he spits into your mouth

loves cumming anywhere, inside of you, on your chest, on your face, he just loves marking you as his

maybe he even likes playing with your cum and pushing it back inside of you so you don't waste a single drop of him

but he is always so attentive to you and gentle afterwards

leaving soft little kisses on your skin as he cleans you up, assuring you how good you did for him, bringing you something to drink, massaging lotion onto your bruises, running a bath for you and holding you with your back against his chest kissing just below your ear murmuring deeply how amazing you are as you both wind down

if you comment how sore you are or how you can barely walk? that's the goal

carries you around everywhere with your legs wrapped around his waist like his little koala bear while rubbing your back

touch is so important to him that i KNOW he's into cockwarming

he has the self discipline to not want to fuck into you, and also the masochism of it all at the same time? pushing himself to the brink of torture is nothing new for him

loves the way you feel around him and you love the fullness of him

this feels closer than close and he never wants there to be any space between you two

he's young and adventurous and open to trying lots of things

he'd be very down for semi-public sex

loves the thrill and possibility of getting caught

fucking you while you're wearing his jersey seeing his name & number on your back? a huge turn on for him

bondage? he'd try it

loooves a pregame blowjob

not above fucking your face to take the edge off before a huge game to ease his nerves or anxiety

isn't opposed to ummmm... sharing hehe

also!!! has russian pet names for you of course

often calls you malyshka "baby girl" or solnishka "little sun"

he enjoys teaching you little russian words and phrases

sometimes you try to learn some russian for him on your own to surprise him and it makes him so fucking soft (and horny)

you've picked up enough that you can understand a bit of his conversations facetiming with his brother or something and it's all so very domestic

and you love helping him with his english if he doesn't understand something

comparing hand sizes with him!!!

always doing fun stuff together like going to concerts or trying new restaurants or showing him all of the deliciously unhealthy american food he probably shouldn't be eating during the season but for you he would try anything

he's just an all around insatiable big boy who loves the hell out of you and making sure you know it

#andrei svechnikov #andrei svechnikov imagine #andrei svechnikov smut #HOW DO I TAG THIS LMAO #enjoy this dumpster fire of sin #anonymous #ask

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nerdieforpedro · 3 months

Text

Weekend Update 02/11/2024

Nerdie! It's the middle of the month, how are you?

Good. Nothing to complain about. Mainly relaxed and then worked Thursday and Friday. My orientee made me laugh.

Oh? How so?

She said that now that she's had some different preceptors she enjoys my balances of being a bit hands off since I know she's experienced, but still checking in during the shift to see how things are going. (Puffs out chest and also wonders if that's a good or bad thing.)

I mean, if she said it's fine, it should be fine right? Now did you do anything writing this week?

I did a bit. Not as much as I normally do. I'm gearing up for projects I have either agreed to or planned for myself.

My two fics are quite different. One was silly and sweet and the other was filth. Nerdie in a nutshell really:

Is it for the wallet of the shoebox? (Tim Rockford x plus size female reader) Tim being silly in a bookstore leads to a serious conversation and a partial photoshoot at home. Comedy and domestic fluff with slight spice.

One Pass for the both of Us (Lucian Flores x female reader x Benny Miller) You and your boyfriend Lucian have the same hall pass. All smut with sweatpants and gold chains.

Working on two things I promised people. One requested fluff and the other action and smut.

I decided to start a new series (because clearly I don't have enough - Dieter, Frankie and Tim give Nerdie a death glare) 👀 because this Pedro character was in my WIPs way before the three of you! Might even help me brainstorm…

Two Hearts by the Ocean will feature Javier Gutierrez x Abigail (plus size OFC). The vibe is sweet summer romance. Mainly fluff every Wednesday, not sure how many parts, at least five. Let me know if you'd like to be tagged for it. I have a few people in mind but if you'd like to be added, let me know. 😆

Roc & Doc and Weddings 101 with Dieter are still ongoing, no worries. Tim and Dieter have calmed. Frankie is a bit pissed still but you have the longest masterlist Fish! You don’t care…well. Okay. 🫡

I might be trying to figure out how to write Ezra. I love reading fics with the man, but his speech patterns have so many nuances to it. I've been studying @morallyinept aka Jett's Pedro Pascal Character Database that she's been compiling and her entry on Ezra from Prospect has been invaluable. It's an excellent reference for Pedro character fic writers or if you just wanna know more. She also has one specifically on Ezra’s speech patterns that I swear I’ve read at least four times.

It's me, I'm the problem. 😭 I’m either overthinking or not focusing on the right parts. Ugh…

Fics I read this week: ( I took time off work and had plenty of time to read - still didn't get to everything. 🥸)

Movie Night by @munsonownsmyass (Zach Ellison x reader)

No game at all (but I can do this) by @for-a-longlongtime (Marcus Pike x Tim Rockford - Frankie Morales floating in thots)

Wouldn't It Be Nice - Chapter one by @lady-pug (Agent Whiskey x female reader)

02 x birds - Frankie Morales x reader by @trulybetty

Mon Amour by @saturn-rings-writes (Jake Lockley x black female reader)

The Stars by @youvebeenlivingfictional (Poe Dameron x reader)

Mutual by @morallyinept (Ezra x female reader)

Dinner Party by @lavendertales (Steven Grant x fem reader)

The Mercenary and the Whore by @absurdthirst and @storiesofthefandomlovers

Comedy of Errors (MK Spring Bingo #3) by @soft-girl-musings (Steven Grant x GN reader)

03 x snowfall - Marcus Pike x reader by @trulybetty

Ambrosial by @spacecowboyhotch (Din Djarin x fem. black reader)

Half of you - part 1 and part 2 by @foxilayde (Santiago Garcia x female reader)

God Speed by @magpiepills (Tim Rockford x female reader)

Not for nothing @magpiepills (Ezra x female reader)

Perfect Fit by @lowlights (Frankie Morales x plus size reader)

To the Flame - chapter 5 by @pedroshotwifey (Dark Javier Peña x female reader)

Come back to me by @reallyrallyauthor (Poe Dameron x female reader)

If you’re not looking at @immarocketman ‘s art, then I feel sad for you. It’s beautiful 🤗 They put out a sketch of Din/Cobb this week that’s apparently going to have a fanfic written about it by @theywhowriteandknowthings

There was also an excellent head cannon about Sarah’s younger years by @clickergossip that resonated with me on Black girlhood. ☺️

That's about it until next week! 🥰

Stay hydrated and safe!

Love Nerdie 💜

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hwaightme · 2 months

Note

BUBBIE !! have you seen this picture of seonghwa??? he looks so sweet dreamy and kind 🥹 kinda getting sweet librarian, kindergarten teacher, or barista vibes from this picture. ik he loves his hair long so i hope he can keep growing it out more

how was your day? how have you been!

hello lovely <333 AAAA THANK YOU FOR SENDING THISSSS oh my goodness i am and always will be enamoured with this look ;~; he gives 70's nostalgia, a sweet daydream or memory, a paradise in a sepia filter...

omg all these scenarios sound so so adorable! maybe this is me being affected by the season, but spring feel is *there*. windows open to let a fresh breeze in, warm glances, and a light heart.

(don't mind me putting songs that gave me this energy here:)

Sunflower by DOHU

너를 사랑하고 있어 (my love) by Baekhyun

Matsuri by Fujii Kaze

a miniature vision: seonghwa quietly passes you a book with a soft smile on his face, and when you flick through it, you find a pressed flower between the pages - one of your favourites. "this was the work you were looking for, wasn't it?" it is, but while searching, you have found so, so much more than just the novel. you grin back in silent understanding. lost and found, and here to stay.

my time has been alright~ hopefully will be getting better as i take things easy and enjoy the waking of the world (i have a mild - read as any antonym to that - fondness for cherry blossoms). how are your march days going? how have you been? <3

#hm/asks #would you like a tag? <3 #megumisthv

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starhvney · 10 days

Note

any tips for us beginner writers? :3

honestly this sounds super cliche, but practice! i’ve improved in my writing skills just from a few weeks ago because i’ve been posting so much. writing is a skill kind of like art.

although that’s cliche, here’s a few resources i use to improve my writing:

☆ pinterest | i have a board full of character descriptions, prompts, word substitutions, world building tips for realism, etc. that i reference all. the. time. look up writing tips on pinterest and you’ll find millions of suggestions. i’ve scrolled for hours on there.

☆ plan | have a general idea of where you want the story to go, even if it’s for a short story. if you don’t know that you want your character to end up from point A to point B by the end of the story (because you don’t even know what point B is), then you’re writing can become drawn out and pointless.

☆ online dictionary/thesaurus | sometimes i end up reusing a word too many times, but still want to convey the same idea. look up that same word and find a synonym for it that works!

☆ grammarly | sometimes checking my own spelling is too time consuming and i don’t want to do it. gradually it’s useful for pointing out places with spell checks (but don’t always take its advice if it wants to shorten or reword a sentence, it’s not always right for creative writing)

☆ walk away | if you feel like you’re just not in the creative headspace and you’re getting frustrated, or you’re not sure of what you wrote is good, get up and do something else for a bit! once you’ve cleared your mind, come back to it and look at your work with fresh eyes to correct any mistakes or think of new ideas.

☆ listen to music, ambience, or even asmr | i do this a lot! i find a playlist of mine that fits the vibe of what i’m trying to write, and it helps me focus on the story. for instance, if i want to write a scary scene i listen to film soundtracks that are intense and eery, or listen to an ambience from a horror game. if i want to write something peaceful, i listen to soft music or a spring morning ambience. this really helps if you struggle to get in the writing zone like i do.

☆ shut off your left brain | sometimes when we write or draw, our focus and thoughts become too critical of our work, and we stunt ourselves or get frustrated and completely give up. you have to switch over into the creative side of your brain, and not care if you make mistakes as you write! you can edit it later, but just focus on getting the story and thought out of your head. i do this by daydreaming the situation first, and then writing it out while listening to music.

☆ study other artists! | similar to art, you need to study others works to develop your own style. look at the works of a fan fiction writer who’s really good, or a popular book that made it big. when do they break off their paragraphs? how do they change scenes? how do they form their sentences and describe the scenery and characters?

i’ll also say that i did grow up with an english teacher mom and much older sisters who also became teachers and had an extensive vocabulary, so writing came easier to me than others because of that. BUT! even still my writing was awful a couple of years ago. it took a lot of practice and trashing my old work to get to this point.

i’m not that great of a teacher myself, but i hope this advice helps! best of luck to anyone who wants to try writing, don’t be scared to start!!! i believe in you :)

#☆ star's inbox!

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seokgyuu · 7 months

Note

hello mitch!

relate your moots with svt songs go!

oh my god hi!! took me a while but here i am... this really took some time lmao.

@honeykyeom - Adore You, because she literally brought me back into writing and it felt like a "debut" all over again, also i adore her so so much, my little peanut <3

@bitchlessdino - IDUBIL - mainly because we both go feral at dino's part, but also because i know how much she loves the song and how this just is THE performance unit song like nothing else matters!!!

@smileysuh - HOT - well, first of all, my baby is hot ;) HDSJF but also idk just a real banger and always fun to listen to, its unique and a completely new style for svt and it really lifts me up and so does nova!!

@cheolism - Hello - I can't really explain it, but I think because I love talking to katie so much a simple hello from her just makes my day <3 the fact that the song is a banger just adds to it, hehe.

@lovelyhan - Domino - just a true feel good song, and kai always makes me feel good and brightens my mood!! not to mention this is one of my fav svt songs ever and kai is one of my fav writers ever!!

@onlymingyus - CHEERS - just an overall cool song, and mars is an overall insanely cool person. never a skip, always delivers, just like mars does!

@idyllic-ghost - Darling - this is truly one of my all time favs and its so cute and sweet and uplifting and SO ARE THEY!! its a soft song, and they are a soft human ily

@strawberryya - April shower - once again, amazing song for an amazing person!! gives me spring vibes (duh) and nea also kind of does?? i can't explain it! but overall a warm and comforting feeling i get from the song that i can associate with beloved nea <3

@onlyhuis - Crush - no, this is in fact not a confession, BUT crush just never misses, like it's fun and it's catchy and it keeps you on your toes and june literally never stop keeping me on my toes, like no one can ever know what her next move is basically like how it felt when I listened to this song for the first time

@onlyseokmins - Lie again - not accusing elv of being a liar, but this is one of my fav vocal unit songs and since we are both seokmin simps i feel like it fits. its soft and sweet just like elv, but its still sentimental in a way and i feel like elv can be too?? maybe i'm wrong but yeah. hehe.

@playmetheclassics - Rock with you - just a banger. always there to cheer you up. just like indi, for real. makes you wanna dance, makes you wanna shake your ass, and indi makes me wanna dance too but in like a not really going to dance, but just feeling really good and happy kind of way?

oh god, i probably forgot people and i am SORRY but this is already so fucking long i love all my moots so much, you're my favs ily <3

#asks #this took so god damn long #do i even know all of svts songs #dhsfbhsdjf

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momobani · 1 year

Text

GHOSTS NEVER SAID NO TO A POT ROAST

If Your Winter Is Hard - Chapter 9 - 13.5k

medium!minghao x exorcist!reader

SERIES MASTERLIST

Warnings: exorcism(duh!); discussion of ghosts + death, reference to death of family members, light violence/ fighting, mention of guns, light police work, food + alcohol mention, depiction of [magical] rituals, minor blood tw

Sum: after everything that you’ve been through, you can finally finish what your sister started.

Song rec: Fearless - Seventeen, also Super - Seventeen (it slaps and it also fits the vibe, thank you svt for releasing this bop while I’m still writing)

TAGLIST: @sleeplessdawn @aceofvernons @kyeomsworld @lilactangerine @candidupped

A/N: it’s been a long work in progress, but goddamn I will finish this series no matter how long it takes haha, thank you for being patient guys. Spring is coming (or is already here?) anyway, stay tuned for the last chapter!!!! Enjoy <3

“Remind me again why we have to do this?” Minghao asks as he makes to pick up another crystal.

“Hands!” You snap quickly before he touches it.

“Oh shit, right.” He says then gingerly picks up another crystal using the barbecue tongs you’d made him dig out of your kitchen drawer. You hold the tiny, colourful pouch open as he deposits it inside amongst the dried herbs and other few crystals.

These weren’t just any crystals - they were freshly charged with pure aura from your friend’s nieces and nephews. You’d gone to the trouble of babysitting in order to get the kids to play with the crystals for a little while so they could fill them up with energy. You would have mentioned it to your friend but somehow you weren’t sure they’d be too happy to let the kids spend any time with the crazy crystal hoarding freak.

So you didn’t.

“Because,” You sigh because that is the nth time you’ve had to answer the same question. “If we don’t, then we will definitely be making our own lives much harder. And I don’t know about you, but after this whole thing, we’re going to take a hiatus.”

“Alright, first - a holiday, Boss.” Minghao replies while you hold the bag and wriggle it to make everything fit without touching it. “Second, can’t we just let those bastards get haunted for a while? Isn’t it deserved after everything they’ve done?”

You don’t let yourself consider the possibility. It was tempting, you had to admit. The people from Platis like the President and the new CEO, as well as the organised crime bosses, had all caused so much grief to countless people, some of whose spirits were lingering and wandering aimlessly because of their wrongdoing, that yes, you wanted to hurt them. To give some kind of retribution for their evil.

“It is, but it’s unfair to the spirits, Hao.” You say, pulling the strings on either side of the pouch’s opening and tightening them closed. “Or at least, that’s what I’ve been taught growing up. If it were up to me, I’d let the spirits wreck havoc because it’ll probably mean they can rest after, but apparently the Council has like ethics rules or whatever and we can’t.” You shrug.

Minghao nods. “Must be some kind of Hippocratic oath for exorcists.”

“I guess. But I’m legally and ugh, morally obligated to protect those fuckers regardless of whether they deserve it or not.” You conclude while tying knots on each of the five pouches on the table in front of you.

“Oh, you poor thing.” He says sincerely as he gets up. You expect him to just walk away but he takes a step and leans over to you and plants a soft kiss to your temple before doing so. You had got to get used to that.

To what exactly?

To someone being affectionate to you? To Minghao specifically being really touchy and clingy - much more so than you’d expected? To actually being with someone after all this time you spent alone? It was definitely weird at first; the two of you would be doing something as normal, maybe work or stuff around the house, then suddenly he’d just hug you or hold your hand out of nowhere, or even kiss you.

It was rattling to say the least.

You followed Minghao upstairs to your conference room. You were about to have a meeting about the final steps of your exorcism and you’d invited everyone involved to be present. Hoshi, Seungkwan, Vernon and Chan were already seated, chitchatting about this and that, mostly the others trying to gaslight Chan into thinking this job is the best in the world (it was not).

You waited while the rest of your guests arrived - Seokmin and Mingyu stumbled in (quite literally because Mingyu tripped over the door of your office), Seungcheol and Wonwoo strode in in aviators and leather jackets (like cooler versions of Jake Peralta), then Jeonghan rolled up lastly, fashionably late, although he had an excuse since you’d sent him to pick up a special delivery from one of Jun’s contacts.

Once everyone was seated you took the helm at the head of the table.

“Alright, team. We have several days left until the winter solstice and we still have a couple of important things to take care of.” You said. “We’re going to need to split up in order to complete these tasks by the day before the exorcism so that we have enough time to organise the site.”

“We’re going to need a few volunteers to help set up shop at the apartment block, who’s coming with?” Jeonghan asks from your left. “Our cop friends included, of course.” He says with a sly smile toward Seungcheol and Wonwoo.

“The police is always on the citizens side.” Seungcheol replies in just the same tone. You roll your eyes because well, it was a reflex but Minghao nudges your right arm. Right, you still needed the police help so you pretend you had something in your eye.

“Before we get volunteers, you should know that whoever takes one of the tasks will not be able to come with to the site. You’ll still be dealing with your task by the time we set up.” You say. Part of you wanted to see who would volunteer since only a few of you knew what the tasks actually were.

That and you may or may not have had a loose bet going with Jeonghan, who was now diligently waiting to take note of who’s signing up to what.

“Phah! A tiger never runs from danger, I volunteer to help set up.” Hoshi announces boisterously.

“You know I’ll be there, so that’s two. Then you, Seungkwan and Jeonghan, so five.” Minghao says, mostly addressing you.

You met his eyes for a moment and nodded. You felt unexpectedly exposed in front of everyone, like your - who was he now? Boyfriend? (jeez) - was looking at you, even though technically speaking he was a medium that was under employment in your office so obviously he would come help but still, you averted your eyes to the papers in front of you since they looked incredibly interesting all of a sudden.

“Well, I’m incredibly scared of ghosts, which probably explains why I have a desk job, so I’ll take whatever the other thing is.” Mingyu pipes up.

“I’ll second that.” Seokmin grins.

“Dude, you’re a medium; working with ghosts is your whole job.” Chan points out.

“Your point?” Seokmin replies. Chan frowns for a second but accepts the reasoning.

“I’ll go too, why not.” Vernon raises his hand.

“Okay, I think we misunderstood what the question was, but guys - congratulations. You just made kitchen duty with Joshua.” You smile at Mingyu, Seokmin and Vernon.

“What do we need kitchen duty for?” Chan raises his eyebrows. You’d picked him for his potential but you were realising he was still too green so there was a lot you’ll have to teach him.

“Sacrificial purposes. Besides all the protective rituals we have to do, we must also offer sacrifices to appease the spirits. And you’re new around here, but you must know that ghosts never said no to a pot roast.” You explain to Chan.

“At least kitchen duty is safe.” You hear Mingyu mutter.

“Not if Joshua is in charge. The guy is a madman.” Jeonghan warns him but offers no explanation. Classic Jeonghan; unaware that he and Joshua are cut from the same maniacal cloth.

“Right, so that leaves everyone else for the other mission.” You look around the table; that left eight people including yourself, which was more than enough.

“So what are we doing?” Hoshi asks excitedly. You attempt to open your mouth but clearly you take too long because Jeonghan beats you to it.

“Breaking into Platis.” He declares.

You sigh at the shameless thunder-stealing. If you had a buck, or better yet a gold bar, for every time Jeonghan managed to do that, you’d be rich enough to buy Platis and save yourself the whole plot.

“Oh my god, for the last time you are not ‘breaking in’ to Platis.” Seungcheol shakes his head in disbelief. “I am not letting you participate in a sting for you to fumble the name.”

“Fine, we’re infiltrating Platis.” Jeonghan corrects himself. “Happy, Chief?”

“Very.” Seungcheol pouts.

“Anyways,” You try to steer the conversation back. “Yes, we are going in partially to complete our project, but also to wreck general havoc internally. It’ll be fun.”

“That leaves us with one question before we hear the plan.” Jeonghan says, standing up. “Anyone else want kitchen duty? This is not for the faint hearted.”

“Oh, will you cut it out? We’re headed into a company building, not a haunted temple.” You smack Jeonghan’s arm lightly to make him sit back down. Judging by the silence and tentative glancing around the table, you see that everyone seems to be happy in their current teams. “Good, in that case, you can start brainstorming a menu of easily flammable food. Enjoy, guys.”

For the sake of efficiency, you let the cooking team split off and mind their task while you swapped places with Seungcheol and Wonwoo so they could share the plan they’d come up with after you asked for their help last week.

Wonwoo plugs in his laptop to your projector like many times before and settles as Seungcheol stands in front of the white wall, ready to lecture you through it. What appears to be a mix between a blueprint and floor plan appears on the screen swiftly.

“Okay, listen up. The plan is very simple; create a distraction so that YN and Minghao can move unnoticed.” Seungcheol begins. “Wonwoo has managed to hack the system and add in another sales pitch team that will see the company’s investment department, which includes the CEO and the President. That’s going to be the distraction.”

“I’ll be able to monitor and coordinate each group in order to keep you in the camera’s blindspots and cut the footage at the correct timestamps.” Wonwoo continues. “We’ll keep communication lines at all times so I can also open the correct doors since you won’t have access to certain areas.”

“YN and Minghao, you guys are going to pose as cleaners. Then we just need someone to do the sales pitch and keep the investors occupied.” Seungcheol says.

“Alright. Not bad.” Hoshi nods. “But who do we know is shameless enough to bamboozle executives of a big corporation?” He asks. The question hangs in the air for a split second as every head in the room swivels towards Jeonghan, who’s doodling on a piece of paper in front of him. He notices the silence and looks up.

“Huh?”

“Perfect. Jeonghan, Hoshi and Seungkwan will go in as the sales team.” You suggest.

“What about me?” Chan asks, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

“Ah,” Seungcheol pauses for a second, as if he’s almost startled that Chan is even there. “You’ll be backup with me. You can be our runner in case we need one.”

“Sounds doable.” Seungkwan nods. “What exactly are we pitching?”

“Exactly what they want to hear: how to finish the apartment complex. That will definitely get their attention.” Seungcheol replies. “And it’s also an opportunity for us to hear anything they might let slip. Your job is very important. All you must do is sow the seeds of discord amongst friends.”

“That we can do, gentlemen. That we can do.” Jeonghan says determinately. You glance at him and find the almost-disturbing smirk on his face. Of course, this is what he excels at - causing chaos. You’ll never forget his and your sister’s graduation party - and neither did their classmates or lecturers. Or other faculty. (You were pretty sure it might be the reason why your family discouraged you from going to college).

“Okay, so here’s how we’ll begin…” Seungcheol continues.

After what seems like an eternity, the whole team is clued into their roles and what they’ll have to do in order to keep this operation running smoothly. You just hope it would be enough to get the job done.

The next day, you send off the kitchen duty goers to Mingyu’s tiny box apartment where they’ll be joined by Joshua. As it turns out, Mingyu has the most kitchen utensils and whatnot, though that’s hardly a surprise. (You’d heard that Mingyu was attending culinary school before his ass got haunted by the ghost of failed chef and he had an epiphany that he too should throw his life away and work in paranormal activity because of course, why wouldn’t one come to such a conclusion.)

In the meantime, your squad gets geared up courtesy of Seungcheol and Wonwoo and it becomes apparent to you that your mission just got a whole lot bigger and very much realer.

You see Minghao materialise next to you in the corner of your eye and you glance towards him. He and you were wearing identical grey overalls that were the so-called uniform of your cleaning company. He smiles at you almost apologetically.

“Oh no, one of us is going to have to change, babe.” He jokes. “We’re a fashion disaster.”

You ignore the way your heartbeat spikes at the nickname and sass back.

“Keep that up, babe, and you’re sleeping on the couch tonight.” You warn, equally unseriously.

“Wow, you guys! This is your first couple item!” You hear Hoshi yell from across the table. Clearly he hadn’t heard the exchange between you two about your outfits or he’d have had something to say about it. You cringe internally at the prospect; god forbid you and Minghao became one of those cringey, cavity-inducing sappy couples who consciously and purposefully sought out couple items.

“Okay, everyone, are we ready to go?” Seungcheol calls from the door way. He and Wonwoo are the only ones not in some kind of disguise, although to be fair to them, they are supposed to pretend to be civilians for the day.

“All set.” You confirm and grab your exorcist bag. Today you’d chosen a smaller one that could be hidden easily because it was full of smaller items.

“Let’s roll.” Seungcheol said. “Don’t forget, we need to establish coms as soon as you’re on site.” He reminds everyone.

And with that, your squad left the office.

Going first by car were Seungkwan, Jeonghan and Hoshi, all clad in suits - light grey pinstripes, solid navy, and charcoal respectably. It was hard to believe they looked the part, since you’d personally never be able to disregard the clownery that lurked underneath the veil of professionalism.

Chan was posing as an office worker should the opportunity call for him to act and went with Seungcheol and Wonwoo in their car, which left you and Minghao to the monstrosity waiting for you adjacent to the door.

“I hope you didn’t want to date me because I drove a motorcycle, ‘cause this is…uh, well, I can’t explain.” Minghao says as you gaze upon the fiery steed that will carry you on your mission.

Parked in all its glory, was a semi-busted up Ford Econoline white van that was screaming for a good bath. On its side was a freshly placed sticker of your fake company’s name. You looked at the smiling tiger character underneath it and gritted your teeth. That’s the last time you let Hoshi do anything.

“Oh god, we’re gonna look like drug dealers.” You deadpanned.

“Or worse.” Minghao adds.

“Nope, nothing is worse than Horangi Cleaning Power.”

You reluctantly got into the van and set off. You had a schedule to adhere to after all.

You let Minghao drive since you were beyond grossed out at the prospect and sat in the back part with the cleaning supplies instead. You didn’t want to be seen in that thing in broad daylight.

Minghao found the parking spot Wonwoo had secured for your van beforehand easily enough, mostly because it was near one of the staff back doors, to which he’d also given you fake real passes to open. Once parked, Minghao made his way to join in the back.

“Okay, let’s contact the others.” You said, bringing out the ear pieces Wonwoo had provided. You each took one and positioned it the way he’d taught you. You texted in the group chat to let them know your ear pieces were on so Wonwoo could bring them into the network. Or that’s what you thought - you truly had no idea how this crap worked.

“Now what?” Minghao asked. The two of you sat amidst your fake real cleaning supplies, waiting dumbly.

You don’t know where the thought comes from, but you look at the tiny proximity between you and Minghao and get an idea. You hum, thinking for a moment, then look up at Minghao only to find him already looking at you, a mere few inches between your faces. You start smiling since you figured he was on the same page as you, as the two of you close the distance and lean in to kiss.

His lips are addictive, you couldn’t help it, you wanted to be close to him, to be around him like he was your sun and you were a little planet gravitating to him regardless of how far away you were. Minghao pulls you closer and into his lap, your arms wrapping around him on instinct. You had time to kill so you didn’t care for a few minutes. You’d been to busy to do anything like this in the past week, mostly just conking out as soon as you got to bed because of how drained you were from making final preparations.

Out of nowhere, there was a crackling noise right inside your ear and you jumped apart, startled. You were panting, mostly because it had caught you off guard and scared you but also because you were getting so heated while you sat in Minghao’s lap.

“YN? Minghao? Check in. Over.” You heard Wonwoo’s voice in your ear. You were suddenly hit with a horrible flashback of your near death experience on the train tracks when you’d also worn an earpiece. You shook your head slightly and snapped back to reality.

“Yes.” You said.

“Here.” Minghao adds, clearing his throat, totally not awkwardly. Or at least you hope.

“Copy. That’s everyone then.” Wonwoo confirms.

“Okay, YN, Minghao, standby. Sellers, remember to be careful of exactly what you say. Stick to the stuff we discussed in the script. Platis is tied with one of the biggest organised crime syndicates in the city and we cannot make their side suspicious. Especially not enough to trigger them into starting a turf war with the other organisation. Over.” Seungcheol says.

“You got it, Chief.” Jeonghan replies. “Controlled chaos only.”

“Exactly. We cannot have any casualties. Also, stop calling me ‘Chief’. Over.” Seungcheol says.

“Ha, this is so cool, we’re like actual cops!” Hoshi giggles over the line. There’s a loud thwacking sound and you can only imagine it was Seungkwan making him behave.

“You most certainly are not.” Seungcheol weighs in. “You’re civilians helping out the police. Over.”

“Enough. Any further questions?” Wonwoo asks. There’s a silence on the line. “Good. Okay, it’s almost go time. I’m going to separate the teams; you cannot hear each other. If there’s a problem, report straight to me. Over.”

“Copy.” You say automatically. Minghao gives you a look for a second then looks away. ‘What?’ You mouth, but he only shakes his heads, but you see him suppressing a small smile.

‘Cute.’ He mouths back. Your eyes widen in shock. It’s only temporary as you get up and smack his shoulder gently with the pair of latex gloves you were about to put on. You couldn’t leave any finger prints, of course. That, and you were supposed to be cleaners and it was part of your schtick.

“Seungkwan, Hoshi, have you got the camera glasses on?” Wonwoo speaks in your ears. You cannot hear the response but you remember that you also have to film what you see.

You turn to your cleaning cart and make sure the little GoPro is positioned nicely. You had a cover for yours if anyone asked - your cleaning company’s insurance against being accused of messing up anything in the offices as you cleaned.

After a minute you get the signal to get going from Wonwoo.

“The others are almost in the meeting room, which means that the CEO and President are also gone from their offices. Leave now.” He says.

“Copy, leaving. Over.” You reply as you and Minghao open the van doors and lower your cart down. You move quickly and discreetly to and through the doors, using the passes smoothly and entering the building. You appear to be in some kind of garbage storage facility and you’re reminded of the way you entered that museum a few months ago. “Why is it always garbage?” You mutter mostly to yourself but keep moving.

You’d been briefed on the layout of the building and memorised the route that you needed to take as well as a possible emergency escape route in case Wonwoo wasn’t able to guide you out if anything happened.

“Okay, the meeting is starting. Get to the CEO’s office first.” You hear Wonwoo say.

“Copy.” Minghao says. You were already in the elevator going up to the thirteenth floor. There was nothing but offices up here and the CEO’s was the one at the end of a long corridor.

You knocked for appearances though you knew there was no one in there, then entered swiftly.

“We’re in.” You said instinctively, although you knew that Wonwoo could see that from his computer screen. He and Seungcheol were stationed with Chan in the neighbouring building, monitoring the sting closely.

“Alright, YN do your thing. Minghao, get the cameras. Find the angles - like we talked about. Doors, seats, desk.” Wonwoo instructed through the ear pieces.

You were already opening your exorcist bag to find the bags of herbs and crystals. Minghao dug into his overall pocket and fished out five minuscule cameras from one of those clear plastic seal baggies. You were both looking around the room, trying to decide on the perfect spots for where to put the items.

You walked around to behind the desk.

Perfect.

Only one of the drawers had a lock on it so you decided to go with what you’d thought of the other day. You crouch quickly and pulled on the bottom drawer, gently easing it out of its frame. There were a bunch of files in the drawer, little folders that just looked like regular paper work to your incompetent eye so it was a little heavier than you thought.

When you put it down, you gasped audibly. Someone had beat you to the hiding spot.

“YN? What is it? What’s going on?” Wonwoo asks immediately.

Underneath the drawer in the hollow space between the floor and the drawer was another, slightly slimmer stack of files.

“I found a hidden stack of paper work. Do you want to see?” You ask.

“Yes, get me eyes on it as you look through.” Wonwoo says.

“Okay.” You say and straighten up. “Psst, Hao. Throw me the spare GoPro, it’s under the box of gloves.” You whisper across the room. Minghao is crouched on the ground by a big plant, trying to secure a camera to the pot. He’s closer to the cart and springs up smoothly to grab it and chuck it gently in your direction.

You catch it easily and switch it on.

“Right, got it. Keep going.” You hear Wonwoo. You hum in approval and proceed to take out the stack of files with one hand and prop them up on your knee, all while keeping the camera on it. You leaf through the first file while Wonwoo watches and accesses what he’s seeing. “Right, these are meeting minutes. The real important stuff must be hidden in a safe somewhere. This is useful though, leave it where it is. We’ll pick it up in a search and seize later.”

“Alright.” You say and put everything back. You shove the bag of herbs and crystals to the very back of the space where it’s too dark to be noticed, especially if someone is only reaching under to get the files without being eye level with the space. You replace the drawer carefully and move on to find another spot for the paper talismans.

Minghao seems to still be working on his camera task because he’s reaching up against a bookshelf, trying to position it to it shows a good shot of the seating area of couch and arm chairs.

“Minghao, report.” Wonwoo asks.

“This is the fourth, I’m almost done.” He huffs as he tries to secure the camera.

“Copy.”

You were just about to stick a talisman on the back of one of the tacky wall paintings when you raised the frame away from the wall and sighed.

“Here we go again.” You said. There was a piece of paper already stuck to the back of the frame. Clearly you and the CEO of this office were very much in sync. You’d just pocket the GoPro but thankfully it was still turned on in your pocket so you reached into it and brought it out to film. “Wonwoo, another one for your collection.” You said as you brought the camera to the front of the painting so he could get a good look at where the paper was located.

“That looks like a password for something and I’m willing to bet it has to do with the gold.” You hear. “Good work, YN!” He replies, uncharacteristically upbeat. “Chicken on me next week.”

“Great, I’m so glad I can do your job for you, bestie.” You chuckle and put the painting back against the wall before trying the next one over. It’s equally as tacky, a single duck in a pond watercolour composition and although you know next to nothing about art, even you can tell it’s kind of bad. Thankfully though you can stick your talisman on the back of it.

“Okay, I’m done.” You hear Minghao say as you reach for the final part of haunt-proofing the office.

Salt.

But not just any salt. Since you couldn’t do any protective rituals here and burn any repellant incense, you had had to work on the salt and bring it. It was salt that was ground into incredibly fine dust so you could just throw some around the room without needing to worry about it being seen.

“Okay, get moving, you guys. How long do you think they’ve got, Cheol?” Wonwoo asks. You imagine Seungcheol was paying close attention to the others’ meeting. You hear a faint murmur but not the actual reply as you make sure everything in the office looks immaculately untouched. “Not good, hurry. I think our jesters aren’t entertaining the kings too well.”

You scoff at the suggestion.

“Please, have you met Yoon ‘Big Mouth’ Jeonghan?” You whisper as you exit the office, Minghao leading with the cart.

“Good point.”

You take the elevator up to the seventeenth and final floor, trying to draw as little attention to yourselves as possible as you make your way to the office. When you get there, there’s no one manning the secretary desks and you knock and enter the office with no problem.

Minghao reaches into his pocket again and begins his camera mounting silently while you scan the room for good places to hide your items. There’s no art here so that rules out the back of frames. The desk is more of a fancy piece of modern architecture crap table that has no big storage space so that’s out of the picture too. There is however a massive wall of cabinets and storage units to make up for it, it was like a showroom in here.

“Must be the blood money.” You mutter under your breath. You reach for the sliding door of the waist height cabinet and open it to reveal a two shelf set up and a grey safe on the bottom rack. “I found the safe.” You say to Wonwoo as you bring out the camera and show him its location.

“That’s probably where all the dirt is, although they’d be stupid to leave it lying around like that. It’s probably a decoy safe and there’s another one somewhere.” He says to you as you slide the talisman in the crack between the cabinet wall and safe and stick it on the back of the safe.

“Probably, but that’s your problem.” You straighten up from your crouch and carry on. You manage to stick the pouch of crystals behind a stack of books on a high bookshelf, which judging by the fine layer dust, have never been moved since they were put on display as props. You’re about to sprinkle salt when you hear voices outside the office.

“Hao!” You hiss. He’s already heard it and frozen. He smacks a camera against a lamp frame quickly and bolts towards the cart. You step towards the window and snatch up a rag from your overall’s pocket. The procedure was to act like you belonged there, it was what you’d been instructed to do in case of emergencies.

The office door opens unexpectedly and you force yourself to be leisurely as you turn around while still keeping a steady hand sliding the rag across the window sill. There’s an office worker, who you assume might be the missing secretary from outside.

“Who are you?” She asks, clearly confused with your appearance.

“YN, get out of there ASAP. The meeting is over. The President is on the move. Over.” You hear Wonwoo in your ears.

“Oh hi, miss. Were you not expecting us?” Minghao says. He puts on his best chipper neighbour voice and you feel bile rising to the back of your throat. He doesn’t wait for an answer. “We’ve been called in by Mr Na himself, we usually clean his house.”

The secretary looks blankly at the two of you.

“Hmm, well. I guess maybe he wasn’t satisfied with his office but didn’t want to embarrass the company cleaners.” Minghao continues, voice coating in faux sympathy.

“I’ll say.” You agree, bringing up your rag. “It’s a disgrace, miss. Look at all this dust.” You bring your hand up to the window sill and blow. A small cloud of dust flies up and you fake a stifled cough. Except it wasn’t dust - it was the salt that you were meant to sprinkle all around the office. You just hoped it was enough.

“Right.” The woman looked absolutely mortified. “Well, carry on.” She cleared her throat and turned around. She left the doors open but didn’t stick around outside the office while you and Minghao breathed a sigh of relief.

“Let’s go.” You said and reached for another couple of pinches of salt dust to sprinkle as you left for good measure.

You walked calmly to the elevators and managed to make your way down quietly without any more hiccups. Once you were outside and trudging toward your van, you dared speak.

“Did you get all the cameras?” You ask Minghao as you load up.

“Yeah, that was my last one, I just hope no one looks at that ugly ass lamp too close.” He says with clear distaste.

“Good job coming up with all that crap.” You compliment as you shut the doors. “Have you been hanging out with Jeonghan lately?” You joke.

“Ah YN, jealous much? You know you’re my favourite exorcist.” He replies. “More like desperate times call for desperate measures.” Minghao smiles, shrugging it off.

“More like cowardice breeds ingenuity.” You smile back.

“Guys? Report?” Wonwoo asks through the ear pieces.

“In the van, ready to leave.” You say. You sat up front this time around, you weren’t sure you wanted to leave Minghao alone in the front again.

“Did you position the cameras?”

“All done. Barely.” Minghao confirms as he puts on his seatbelt.

“Good work. The others are out too. We can go back to base now. Over.”

“Copy.” You sigh and lean back on the headrest. “Well, that was easy.” You laugh sarcastically. Minghao cracks a smile as he starts the engine up.

“Yeah, and I never want to do it again.” He adds before pulling out and into the street.

With the Platis business out of the way, you could focus solely on preparing the site for the exorcism. You’d called Joshua to check in on the sacrificial side of things and they were making more progress than expected.

“We did have to fill up Seokmin’s fridge too yesterday and there’s no space left in Mingyu’s.” He tells you over the phone.

“Hey, no one said the food has to be fresh.” You say. “Or edible for that matter.” You add. You knew it was all being taken care of, so you’d just been getting things in order at the office, loading up the cars with Minghao and Seungkwan’s help.

You’d insisted that all mediums take it easy for the twelve hours before the exorcism, because they needed to rest their bodies well before an intense job like this, but Minghao wouldn’t comply. He insisted that he was a perfectly fine specimen and the picture of health so his body could endure the spirits even if he exerted himself lightly.

You’d then conveniently reminded him about how he’d yelled at you for overworking before and that couched him for good. You even attempted to force him to take a nap but you knew he was just lying there, not actually asleep, but you didn’t say anything.

Instead you talked to Jeonghan up in the office as the day drew into darkness and you could start preparations. You’d decided to wait for a few hours before midnight in case there were any people at the site during the day.

“So, how was Jun’s delivery?” You asked, biting into a banana. You as an exorcist also needed your energy but that was going to come from nourishment instead of rest.

“It was more than I expected. Filled my car up to the brim so I suppose it should cover everything.” He nods thoughtfully.

“I just hope we made the right choice,” You hum. “It really does feel like the safest.”

“Yeah, I think it is. Besides, the narc said he’ll hook us up with some more equipment, so we’ll be just fine.” Jeonghan reassures you.

“‘The narc’? You mean Sergeant Choi?” You correct. “Jeonghan, he’s been a big help, as has Wonwoo, we couldn’t have done this without them.” You remind him. He breathes a deep sigh and slouches in his position behind Minghao’s desk.

“I know. It’s just working with the police…” He trails off. You know what he means.

When he and your sister had worked together as the head exorcists of your firm, they’d had some run ins with cops and that’s also the way that Wonwoo had met them for the first time after you’d already shown him the existence of ghosts. He’d been the reason why they hadn’t gotten into trouble for breaking and entering and trespassing. They’d been so close to being charged so it was only natural that Jeonghan was still weary of the police.

“I get it, but you have to trust me on this. Wonwoo would never turn on us, neither would Seungcheol.” Now it’s your turn to reassure him. “They promised they would help, and it’s also in their interest if nothing else. Look how we set up Platis. Those bastards are gonna pay and it can only happen if we all work together.”

“Woah, YN.” Jeonghan’s eyebrows shoot up his forehead. “Look at you being a grown up, kiddo.” He chuckles, then sighs. “When did that happen, huh?” He wonders.

“I don’t know either, but I am a grown up now, and that means you need to trust me.” You say, getting up. “Now, let’s go appease the dead.”

“Right behind you.”

You and Minghao end up taking your car, while Hoshi, Seokmin, Seungkwan and Vernon squeeze into Seungkwan’s car, which leaves Chan with Jeonghan. You call Joshua and Mingyu to make sure that they’ll arrive on time so that the food doesn’t take up space at the site while you’re busy setting up. That just leaves you waiting for Jun’s arrival and he said that he’ll help move the food cargo with the others.

All in all, you feel relieved that so far, everything is going according to plan so you relax as you start the car and drive off to the apartment block. You’d asked Wonwoo to do some editorial work on all the nearby CCTV just in case anything bizarre ended up happening in the area, especially because you knew there’d be a lot of spirits on the move. That, and in order to be able to drive in and around without having to park far away from the site.

You had a ton of stuff to bring after all.

Once you entered the building site, you found Jeonghan’s car already parked near the entrance. Him and Chan were already unloading the cargo from his car’s trunk.

“That’s a lot bigger than I thought.” You call out to get Jeonghan’s attention as you and Minghao get out of your car.

“Well, you wanted the biggest ones. If you have a complaint, kiddo, you can always call-” Jeonghan pauses to read the label on the box. “‘NeoLitCity’ and give them a piece of your mind.”

“Of course not, the supplier is Jun’s friend, they gave us a big discount and did us a big favour. I was just saying.” You counter.

“What on earth are we going to do with those?” Minghao looks at the number of large boxes in abject horror. You’d left the details of the delivery out, mostly because you wanted it to be a surprise. “You bought a ton of super jumbo glow sticks?” He cries. “For what reason?”

“Because we cannot work in the dark, babe.” You shrug, opening a box and taking one neon purple tube out.

“And we need to keep it lit.” Jeonghan laughs. You and Minghao turn to stare at him in unison. He shrinks back a little. “Just trying to relieve the tension.”

“So, this is the big surprise?” Minghao asks, clearly judging your massive boxes of super jumbo glow sticks.

“Yup. And you get to help us hang them up!” You grin at him as you walk past, breaking in the glow stick so it starts glowing. “Now, let’s move them to the third floor.”

“But why glow sticks?” He still asks in disbelief even when he picks up the box you just opened. You sigh but keep walking, lighting the way since it was already dark. You stop to place the glow stick in your hand on a step so everyone will be able to see where they’re going and pull out another one from the box Minghao is carrying, cracking it.

“Because fire is too dangerous around spirits and there’s no electricity here, let alone the fact that with this much supernatural activity, nothing will be working properly. Hence, glow sticks.”

“Fine, I have to respect the hustle, it’s a good idea.” Minghao gives in as you round the third floor stairwell.

You’d chosen the third floor because it had a slightly higher ceiling and less walls since it was mostly large, open office space so you could work easily.

“Hmm, thought so.” You hum to yourself. Downstairs, you hear more voices and car doors slamming, signalling the arrival of the rest of your crew. Perfect, you could get all hands on deck and speed up the process. You leave a few more glow sticks to mark the path that you need everyone to follow upstairs.

Within a few minutes, the group of you has transported the glow sticks up the stairs and have started unloading the actual exorcist equipment from the cars. Seungkwan’s car had all the swords, daggers and blades that you’ll need and yours had all the guns, salt, incense, talismans and other bits and bobs that were necessary for your exorcism.

You ask all the mediums to start securing the glow sticks all around the third floor. Unfortunately, you didn’t have any choice but to stick the glow sticks up with duct tape; the walls weren’t complete, only cemented over what you assumed was brick and smoothed into a uniform grey all around the building so you couldn’t even use normal duct tape, you needed the real industrial stuff - its tougher cousin, gorilla tape.

In the meantime, you, Seungkwan and Jeonghan started on the sword formation. This was crucial to the sacrificial part of things rather than the actual work of exorcising the spirits from the mediums. Indeed, you didn’t need the swords anywhere near the mediums and your glow stuck apartment floor. You needed them stuck into the ground outside, ready for when the food arrived.

You worked in semi darkness, using your car’s headlights as the sole light sources and tried your best to follow the arrangement that Jeonghan had sourced from his research. You knew that he had gone the miles to get it perfect so you didn’t worry about there being something unexpected. It shocked you that you thought that way, as you stuck a particularly old blade into the ground.

Behind you, you heard approaching footsteps and turned around to find a silhouette walking towards you. You recognised Minghao’s figure immediately and greeted him.

“How is it going up there?” You asked. You were done with the few bigger swords, now you had the daggers left.

“We’re pretty much done. I came to check up on you.” He says. You smile, appreciating the gesture.

“Thanks. We’re in the home stretch too. Do you want to help me with the blades?” You nod toward the box to your right. Minghao goes to open the lid without hesitation. He picks up the first dagger and weighs it up in his hands. You expect him to just put it back but instead he twirls it around in his hand. You stand there stunned for a second, then you remember he’s a trained martial artist - knives were no big deal for him.

“Where does it go?” He looks around the swords. You step to the left and look up at the formation, making sure to point out the correct spot.

“Here.” You point, checking the angle with your hand. “Yup, here.” You point to approximately where you’re standing. Minghao follows and crouches to the ground next to where you stand, and looks up at you for reassurance. You nod and he sticks the blade into the ground, mimicking the angle of the others in the formation.

“Oh my god!” You hear a screech behind you. The joyous shrill of Hoshi’s voice is unmistakeable and you mentally prepare yourself for whatever the hell he’s about to say. You swivel you head in the direction of the noise and notice that you had company. “Hao, bro, this is not the time to be proposing. There’s like demons here!” He says earnestly. “It’s scary and totally not romantic.” He adds, eyes wide with conviction.

You purse your lips and wait for the ground to open up and swallow you up. Of course, it doesn’t; that’s not the type of ritual you were running over here.

“Hoshi, I’m going to need you to never open your mouth again.” Minghao grumbles as he gets up. “If I was going to ask YN to marry me, you wouldn’t be within a five mile radius.” He clarifies. You think your ears deceive you, and you swallow thickly. Even a minor utterance of the possibility of marriage coming from Minghao shook you to the core. But you didn’t hate it.

You snap back to reality.

“If you’re running your mouth, then you better have every single glow stick stuck, bestie.” You warn, walking away and not meeting Minghao’s eyes.

“As a matter of fact, we do.” Hoshi grins. “And we found an extra box. Here, look at it.” He says, Vernon and Chan are standing over the final box of glow sticks and Vernon pulls back the flaps to reveal its contents.

“Aw, hell no.” Minghao shakes his head defiantly. “Not gonna happen.”

“But they’re so pretty, and we need the extra light.” Chan argues. You hated to agree but he was right, any extra light would be useful, no matter how gaudy it was.

“I am not putting that on.” Minghao throws his hands up.

And that’s how you ended up getting decked out in tiny glow sticks; there were bracelets on your wrists and ankles, positioned exactly so they wouldn’t restrict your movement. The mediums were far more decorated than you were, most of them sporting several on each arm and some on around their ankles. While you were putting on your gear, Seungcheol and Wonwoo had arrived on the scene.

“You’re just in time. Here, put these on.” You offer each of them a pair of neon yellow and green glow stick glasses.

“You’re kidding.” Wonwoo deadpans, not taking it. You say nothing for a second. Then smile.

“Yeah, I totally am.” You reply, shrugging. You pocket the glasses instead.

“We bought torches, the kind you can strap on to your arms or shoulders. You know, like a normal human being.” Seungcheol says. “Also there’s an emergency medical team back on the main street. They think they’re waiting on some event, but they’re there in case you need them.”

“Thanks, we can try using the torches, but I doubt they’ll withstand the spirits’ energies.” You say.

“Okay, we’ll be on standby, just call us if you need anything.” Wonwoo gives you a firm nod, which you return. You’d asked them to be in the area just in case you needed back up if anyone from Platis showed up and so they could secure the perimeter around the complex so no outsiders came in.

You heard your name being called. It was time to lay out all the talismans, incense and protective ornamentation up on the third floor.

“Take a break, you guys, and wait for Joshua, Mingyu and Jun with the food.” You instruct the group of mediums that’s gathered in and around the cars. It was incredibly cold tonight, yet was still warmer for this time of the year. Those spells of snow had gone just as quickly as they had arrived, thankfully. You left them in the warmth of the cars and ran back upstairs to join the others.

The task of putting up the talismans and arranging the protective charms all around the floor was tedious but possibly the most important part of your whole operation since that was the stuff that would help you summon the spirits and do the actual exorcism.

You laid it all out, carefully, putting the paper talismans up around on the walls, then drawing a large salt cage where you were going to separate the mediums, as well as a small protective station for Mingyu and Joshua to stay on each end of the space you were using. They were going to help you man the incense and get you supplies if you needed, as well as keep an eye on isolating mediums and spirits, kind of like snipers.

Seungkwan and Jeonghan were busy setting up the incense and organising the supply stations for Joshua and Mingyu, while you gathered the crystals and talismans necessary for the pre-exorcism ritual. According to Jeonghan, when dealing with any type of vaguely demonic entity, even spirits, you needed to state your intentions. You knew what that meant and you were somewhat dreading it.

“YN!” You hear Seungkwan shout from the other side of the room. You look up expectantly. “Food’s here.”

“Alright.” You say, ignoring the way your anxiety spikes.

You’d been preparing for weeks, months even and it was all coming down to how you did tonight. The pressure was just hitting you now. You had to get this right, or something bad might happen. The thought of your sister was still passively haunting you; she had lost her life trying to do something like this; granted something more extreme, nonetheless, the whole ordeal still filled you with fear.

You finish the last part of your set up - a small metal bowl filled with dried herbs and incense. You’d spent a fair amount of time scrutinising over the collection of items, but you call Jeonghan to check over it too since he would know if something was out of place.

“It’s perfect, kiddo. Don’t worry so much, we’ll be finished soon.” He says, planting a cold hand on your shoulder. You nod, believing him. “Now let’s go see what feast.”

And a feast it is.

Joshua, Mingyu and Jun have already unloaded most of the food with the help of Seokmin and Hoshi. You stop and drink it all in; calling it a smorgasbord on meth would be an understatement. This was a super king seized, mammoth amount of food. It was truly a thing of beauty but you didn’t want to look too hard at everything since it made you sad it was all going be purely sacrificial.

“You guys did a great job. Well done.” You shake your head in disbelief. Mingyu beams with pride as he crosses his arms and looks at the food.

“We did alright, didn’t we?” He giggles. You sigh because you know how devastated he will be once he sees it all burn up to a crisp.

“Prepare the fire pit.” Joshua instructs. Mingyu and Jeonghan get on it right away. “YN, can I talk to you for a sec?” Joshua catches your attention. You follow him back to his car, inside which you find Jun sitting in the passenger seat, shivering as the heater turns on. You give him a small, apologetic wave.

“What’s up?” You ask Joshua. He’s opening the trunk of the car, reaching in and pulling out an old bottle. It looks familiar as you look at it and you try to place it. It’s a black glass bottle with a wide oval base. It’s obviously home brew, not commercial as there’s nothing on the bottle and- “Oh my god! I haven’t seen this since my grandparents were working in the office.” You exclaim.

“I thought you’d recognise it.” Joshua smiles.

“Of course, I would. Where did you get it?” You ask, a little giddy at the sight of the family heirloom. It was special spirit brewed by your ancestors to help withstand the energy expulsion that exorcists faced during exorcism. It was a unique recipe and very few people still made their own stuff. It was a handy little tool but very old school as far as you knew. It would certainly keep out the cold tonight.

“Your aunt had given it to my mother for safe keeping. I’m not sure she really wanted your sister and Jeonghan in charge of it.” Joshua explains. “You should take it, so the three of you can have some before we start.”

“Yeah,” You nod, a little overwhelmed. “I’ll take it. Thanks for bringing it, Shua.”

“No problem, kiddo.” He hands you the bottle. The cool glass freezes your hands immediately but you ignore the urge to put it down. Joshua hesitates, looking down at the trunk. “There is one other thing…” he trails off.

You perk up, listening. It’s dark so you hadn’t noticed it before, but Joshua reaches down and pulls a wooden box across the soft fabric of his trunk. You know exactly what that is and you step back slightly.

“YN, you’re going to need it. What was started with this, must also be finished with this.” He says solemnly. You know he’s right but you can’t bring yourself to reach towards the box, clutching the bottle to your chest instead.

“I know, but can’t you do it?” You ask, finding yourself sounding childish for a split second.

“Do what?” You hear a voice materialise next to you. Minghao stands beside you in his coat, hands in his pockets.

“It’s the final piece of the sword formation.” Joshua says. “I’m asking if YN will take it and put it down.”

“Of course, you will. Won’t you?” Minghao looks at you expectantly. It’s as if Joshua planned it, but you find yourself nodding. “Good, I’ll take it since your hands are busy.” He offers and Joshua hands him the box.

You throw Joshua a pout but follow Minghao back to where almost everyone is gathering. The fire pit has been set up in the middle of the swords sticking out of the ground and the food laid on top of it. You spy several bottles of what appears to be vodka in the hands of some of your companions and you know they’re waiting to douse the food. Mingyu is unwittingly still smiling as he arranges the food in the fire pit, dishing it all out on paper plates.

You go to stand next to Seungkwan and Jeonghan and show them the bottle in your hands. Jeonghan gasps and reaches for it, but you hand it to Seungkwan instead. “You’re in charge, Boo.” You tell him. He nods and gives Jeonghan a smug look.

You glance at the time on your pohne and see it’s getting closer to midnight. You’d better get moving because who knows how long it might be before the spirits take the bait and show up?

You take stock of everything and run it against a checklist on your phone. Lighting, swords, food, fire pit. Check. Police, mediums, runners, exorcists. Check. Now you just needed to finish the rituals and wait to begin.

You could do that.

You could totally do this.

You clear your throat and try to get everyone’s attention.

“Hey guys, is it okay if we get started around 11:50?” You ask. You see the show of nods and mutterings of ‘yes’ and ‘let’s go’s, so you take it as a signal to go to your car.

Jeonghan and Seungkwan follow you as you pop the trunk, opening the boxes that lay there. In the first two, there is a number of guns and several cartridges of salt bullets, waiting to be loaded into the hardware. In the next, there is a large pile of exorcist blades, the enforced ones that Joshua had told you were strong enough to deal with demonic entities.

“There’s twenty all together, everyone grab at least five. Hopefully we don’t have to use all of them.” Jeonghan says. You reach in first, distributing the holsters and securing one around your thigh. You count five blades and put four around your thigh and one around your opposite calf, in case you were mid-acrobatics and couldn’t reach.

Seungkwan copies you, but instead he puts his around his upper arm. Jeonghan twirls his fifth around then decides to use it as a hair pin, twisting his hair into a bun using the instrument. He’d dyed his hair a darker shade of red recently and in the darkness it looked almost black.

You take the box of guns out and leave it on the ground so you’d take it upstairs with you. You shove the remaining five blades in there too and you make a mental note to tell Joshua and Mingyu they’re all there.

“A toast, gentlemen?” You ask, as you pluck up the plastic cups that Mingyu had swished by and deposited in your car’s trunk while you were preparing.

“Don’t mind if we do.” Seungkwan smiles, grabbing the bottle of special exorcist spirit. You assist him in pouring out a smidgeon of booze in three cups, just enough to call it a shot. You hold the cup up to your face and sniff it experimentally. You hadn’t ever properly smelled it, let alone tasted it, so you were astounded by the strength of the smell. It almost makes you double over.

The three of you raise your glasses slightly.

“Here’s to our hard work.” You say, looking at the two, letting your eyes linger on Jeonghan. “I’m really thankful we can finish this.” You feel the tears well up in your eyes, not sure it it was just from how strong the alcohol was.

“Here’s to a successful exorcism. Let’s do it without mistakes.” Seungkwan adds.

“Here’s to family.” Jeonghan finishes. You look at him, glassy eyed in the semi-darkness. He looks back at you with much the same expression and blinks at you with a nod. “Cheers.”

You bring the cups to your lips and throw back the shot. You’re certain it’s going to burn so you did it quickly, not wanting to savour the stinging of the alcohol as it went down your throat. You’re too busy trying not to cough up a lung to notice as Seokmin creeps past you and attempts to sneak the bottle from the trunk. Luckily, Seungkwan is closer and hand slices at Seokmin’s arm before he can get his hands on it.

“Listen, that shit might kill you.” He warns a sheepish Seokmin. “It’s not meant for mediums, dude.”

“Whatever, man. I’m just freaking out here.” Seokmin replies, jiggling his legs, probably without meaning to. He looks like he’s about to bolt the hell out of here. You couldn’t let that happen.

“Seokmin, can you do me a favour?” You ask him gently. Best to pre-occupy him, in case he gets any ideas. He looks at you, paled but seemingly conscious. “Can you get everyone moving?”

“No prob, YN.” He says, looking a little dazed but he complies. He turns away, heading back toward the crowd around the fire pit. “Alright, places people,” He yells. “Curtain in ten.” He continues, clapping his hands and making a ruckus.

You’d chosen the right person; after all, Seokmin was a theatre man, he knew what to do. Without thinking, you walk toward the fire pit and find Minghao waiting diligently for you with the box in his arms.

“It’s time.” He says simply. You place your hand over the lid, and lift it open to reveal the inside.

Lying in a soft casing, is the familiar purple leather and almost charcoal shine of the most cursed, wretched blade you had ever known. Just looking at it made you feel sick. But you had to carry on, despite your feelings.

Your hand hovered above the handle, and you could already feel its intense energy. You looked around you; Joshua and Mingyu had doused the food in the vodka, a sheen of wetness coating everything in the fire pit. All that was left was for you to deposit the final piece.

Without another moment of hesitation, you grabbed the leather, your fingers curling over its smoothness, and picked it up. It weighed a ton in your hand as you walked to the edge of the pit and threw the blade into the middle, where you hoped the fire would become the most powerful.

“When we give the signal, you can light it up then come upstairs.” Jeonghan tells Joshua, who nods in agreement. The three of you had made sure to steer Mingyu upstairs before he had to witness his beautiful works of art disintegrate into char; it’d just be too cruel to make him watch it burn.

It’s a few minutes before midnight and you call Wonwoo, letting him know you’re starting.

“Good luck.” He says, over the line.

Seokmin has already ushered the mediums upstairs and you can hear their voices as you and Jeonghan get up the glow-lit stairs. You find Mingyu and Seungkwan fussing over the box of guns near the staircase and Jeonghan goes to see what’s going on.

You’re about to follow but Minghao walks up to you, walking carefully so he doesn’t disturb the salt. You stand in a semi-lit part of the room, the closest light source being a purple glow stick stuck outside the door of the room.

“How are you doing?” He asks quietly. You take one of his hands in yours and attempt to smile at him, trying to be reassuring despite your nerves.

“I’m okay.” You whisper. He can see right through you and steps closer, bringing his free hand up to your cheek and stroking it gently. You close your eyes for a moment, finding comfort in the gesture. You find yourself leaning in to kiss him, unbothered by the number of people standing around the corner. “For good luck.” You say as you do. He hums in agreement and kisses you. You’ve been cold so far but you find Minghao’s lips so warm, his body radiating heat next to yours. You pull away after a moment.

“Ew, get a room.” You hear from the side. You narrow your eyes at the source of the comment and glare at him.

“Oh, be quiet. It’s about time you got a taste of your own medicine.” You snap at Jeonghan. It had been years that you’d felt like a third wheel, so you didn’t mind sharing the experience with him, after all, sharing is caring.

You join the others in the main office space you’ll be using for the exorcism and everyone is in position. The mediums are standing in the salt cage you’d drawn earlier, playing rock, paper, scissors for who has to go first. You leave Minghao with them and he reluctantly joins the game while you go over to Mingyu and the box of guns to get your weapon.

“I left half the ammo on Joshua’s side and put several lighters there too.” Mingyu tells you as you grab a gun and load it.

“Great. Thanks, Mingyu.” You say. “Make sure you keep some for yourself too. You’ve got your protective talisman on?”

“Yeah, don’t worry, I’m all set.”

And with that you walk to the centre of the room where Seungkwan and Jeonghan wait for you. They greet you with hand sanitiser and you comply.

“Alright, hands in, palms up.” Jeonghan instructs. You’d been dreading this part of the ritual. Indeed, you’d been sceptical when you’d first heard about it, but you trusted Jeonghan to know what he was doing after all this time so you’d accepted that you’d have to do it.

In order to declare your intentions to the spirits and show your sincerity, beside the food sacrifice, each of the exorcists had to offer a blood sacrifice too. It was just a prick of the finger, just to add to the small bowl of dried herbs and incense where you’ve added the individual names of each of the spirits in rolled up piece of paper, which usually went into your exorcist blades.

You hold out your hand and Jeonghan pricks one of your fingers, then one of Seungkwan’s and finally his own. The three of you let drops of blood fall into the bowl and then withdraw your hands. You suck on it, semi-grossed out and accept the band-aid that Seungkwan hands you.

“Okay, it’s midnight. I’m lighting it.” Jeonghan declares. He turns around and raises his hand, signalling Mingyu, who reaches for something dangling around his neck and picks it up to bring to his mouth. You realise it’s a whistle and he blows it, presumably to let Joshua know to light the fire.

The three of you say an incantation and Jeonghan produces the daisy lighter from his pocket, clicking it open. The flame starts off small, the dry herbs catching fire, then the incense. You and Seungkwan each run toward an incense pot stationed around the room and light them in turn.

Soon there are several different sources of smoke in the room and you put away your lighters. Joshua jogs in and makes his way to his station, standing in the protective circle you’d created earlier.

You all stand still in the neon-lit room, the glow sticks and burning bowl the only things illuminating the room. The few torches that Seungcheol and Wonwoo had lent you are being held by some of the mediums, their light reaching only a few feet in front of them so not enough for the rest of you to benefit, although your eyes have adjusted to the darkness a long time ago.

It’s no time until you’re feeling the air thickening. There’s change in the atmosphere - there was a sudden, intense anticipation in your surroundings, the tension deepening. You clutched your gun, ready to start isolating spirits or the mediums.

It was then that the torches started flickering. You heard someone (probably Seokmin) yelp in surprise but you didn’t see anyone really freak out over it.

Next, you felt the temperature dropping as was expected. You were grateful you were wearing layers under your coat because you could see your breath now frosting in front of you. The small fire in the bowl was flickering too now, the wisps of the flame licking at the bowl unnaturally.

Some of the torches had already gone out, so you were relying on the glow sticks to see properly. Luckily, there really was a million of them so the room was fairly well lit although there were many shadows cast upon the walls too. You felt like you were in a basement of a club or something, especially with how everyone had glow bracelets and anklets.

A particularly strong gust of wind blew through the building and managed to knock over the bowl to the ground, spilling its half-burnt contents on the cement.

“Leave it, it’s still burning.” Jeonghan warned. “As long as it’s still alight, then it’s okay.”

You nodded, looking down at how the embers lay strewn across the ground. Then, in the corner of you eye you see it; a lightning flash. It’s followed by the loudest crack of thunder you’ve ever heard in your life, or perhaps the second loudest, if you count that night three years ago. You all whip around to the sound, searching for any movement.

“It must have hit the fire pit.” You say out loud, walking around to the edge of the building to look out through the whole in the wall meant for a window. And you see that you’re right; there is now a large fire in the pit and no traces of lightning around it. It must have struck right in the centre.

You have half the mind to wonder why no spirits are showing up yet, even though you’re using every ounce of equipment to summon them. Then, it hits you - the gnawing feeling of dread settles in your stomach - and you grimace.

They were here.

You put your guard up, zeroing in on any movement in your surroundings.

“There!” You here Seungkwan exclaim. You turn around and locate what he was talking about and you find yourself several meters away from the first spirits. There are four of them, three coming very close and a fourth one lagging near the door way.

“I count four.” Jeonghan says.

“Me too.” You confirm. “We need four mediums.”

You hear some shuffling and whispering and hissing behind you and then Jun, Minghao, Vernon and Hoshi step out of the salt cage, waiting for further instructions. You’re all facing the oncoming spirits as the glide forward fairly quickly, somehow urgent but languid at the same time. Maybe the urgency was in your own head.

They’re getting closer so you all step back while the mediums step forward.

“I’ll take Jun and Minghao. Seungkwan take Vernon. Jeonghan stay with Hoshi.” You call out.

“Okay!” Seungkwan calls from the side. He rushes to Vernon to make sure he won’t run off when possessed.

“I think we’ve waited long enough.” Jeonghan says. “Now!” He yells.

The mediums all take off their protective talismans, keeping their hands in their pockets as they did it so the talismans could hopefully remain on their person. Each exorcist had two spare talismans in their pockets in case anyone lost theirs, just as a precaution since it was dark and you couldn’t see where it might fall. And if that failed, then you’d have to resort to throwing salt at them.

Within a blink of an eye, the spirits zip into the mediums’ bodies and you grab a blade off your thigh holster, approaching Jun and Minghao. You can tell Jun gets possessed first and you think to tackle him first too. He dodges your attempt to grab his arm and spin him around so he faces you, instead grabbing your arm and twisting. You’re anticipate it and follow the motion so you flip around and it doesn’t hurt you when he does. You then aim a light kick to his shin and watch him crumble quickly, and you aim the blade at his chest but something grabs you into the air and throw you down.

You’d been paying attention to where Minghao had been but he’d moved too fast while you were busy flipping around with Jun. You roll on the floor, using the momentum to land back on your feet. Jun and Minghao are ready to run away but you shoot your gun and isolate the three of you in a large box. As you do, you notice the movement outside of the crystals walls - there are three more spirits lingering.

While you attempt to chase down Jun, you keep an eye out to see if Seungkwan and Jeonghan have managed to exorcise their first ghosts. You notice Vernon struggling with Seungkwan and what looks like Hoshi kicking Jeonghan.

Jun doesn’t want to run away and instead charges you, aiming to tackle you, so you prepare to grapple with him. You end up on the ground, the cement coming up to greet your back but you push him off and throw yourself over him, stabbing his chest with lighting speed.

“Go peacefully.” You say. You can’t watch the blade burn up because you immediately snatch another one of your holster in anticipation for Minghao dragging you off Jun. You flop around a little as he does and then you kick out at him, tripping him so he lands on the ground. You practically fly on top of him and stab down. “Go peacefully.” You repeat.

“YN?” You hear Jun croak. You turn and isolate him with four salt bullets while he gets his bearings. You’d planned that after each possession, the mediums would have a resting period. You isolate Minghao too and look around to monitor the situation. Seokmin and Chan have used the gun left to the mediums to keep themselves in a crystal cube.

In the meantime there are about five spirits just flying around the empty part of the room. You see Hoshi lying in a cube and Vernon too.

“Seokmin, Chan, it’s your turn.” You call out. You watch as they come out of the salt, taking off their talismans. The closest two spirits fly into them and you barely jump out of the way so they don’t pass through you.

What you don’t notice is the other two spirits flying behind you into Jun and Minghao’s bodies, so when you run to confront Chan, you have two tails. Chan wants to grab you by the shoulders while Seokmin is still stumbling around, but you don’t let him, pushing his arms outwards and grabbing him instead. You’re about to stab the blade down but get thrown again, this time by Jun. You slide down on the floor and look up, trying to get your bearings.

You realise there’s suddenly too many of them. Jeonghan is dealing with Hoshi again while Seungkwan is fighting off a very aggressive Vernon. It was possibly the most you had ever seen him move ever in your life. You raise your gun instinctively to isolate them but after you fire off several bullets, your gun clicks on empty.

“Shit.” You spit and jump back to your feet. You’re just in time to miss a very focused Seokmin running at you. “Mingyu! Reload!” You yell, hoping he hears you. He notices immediately and throws a cartridge in your direction then fires off several bullets from his own gun to isolate Jun. You try to catch it but miss because Minghao tackles you to the ground and you’re stuck under him. You stretch your arm to reach the cartridge which landed just out of your hand.

Suddenly, his weight is lifted off you and you roll over and get up, finding Seungkwan trying to deal with a kicking and screaming Minghao. You grab the cartridge, reload and fire a wall to stop Chan and Seokmin from wandering to far away. They seem to be quite enraged now.

You spy Jun isolated and running into a crystal wall curtesy of Joshua over and over again. For the moment you breathe out then realise you’ve only exorcised four spirits so far and there’s several more floating around the room. You hear gunshots and know that Joshua and Mingyu are isolating them as much as their position allows.

You go for Chan first because you’d promised him that you wouldn’t allow him to stay possessed too long since he was still new and didn’t know what he was doing. The wall stopping him from moving evaporates and you yank him by the collar to make him face you, stabbing down your third blade and letting it dissipate.

“Go peacefully.”

Chan becomes dead weight in your grip and you struggle to catch him and bring him to the ground gently. You isolate him and move onto Seokmin, who’s also broken free by now.

He throws a punch in your direction but you grab his punching arm and twist it behind his back to make him buckle down on his knees. You stab the tool down once again. “Go peacefully.” You only had one left. Which means you’d done four alone. Add the first two Jeonghan and Seungkwan did, six, then Jun and Minghao were still possessed, that’s another two, eight, but Jun wasn’t exorcised yet, was he? Minghao was sitting in a cube catching his breath, so he was done with another one.

“Seven.” You say out loud. You find Vernon was just tackled to the ground by Jeonghan. In the mean time you find Seungkwan now running after a screaming Hoshi. “Eight.” You turn around and look for Jun, who’s now way out of Joshua’s gun’s reach and find him banging on Minghao’s cube. You only had one blade left so you decided to take the route that takes you past Joshua. “Blade!” You called as you ran.

Joshua held it out so you could grab it as you whizzed past. You pulled Jun away and turned him around, moving your arm as quickly as you could to stab down into his chest. “Go peacefully.” You said. You let Jun fall limp against you and you helped him sit down on the ground.

“Guys! That’s ten!” You hear Mingyu shout. He and Joshua were supposed to keep count because you weren’t able to be totally sure about what the other exorcists were doing at any time. You’d missed the one that had made nine, clearly.

“Okay, three more.” You call. “Three mediums.”

“I’ll go, I can take ano-” You hear Minghao say near you but he’s cut off when the cube evaporates and a spirit smashed into his body. You call for a reload from Joshua while you have two seconds. As you do, you try to pay attention to the conversation in the room.

“I’ve got Seokmin!” Jeonghan yells. That’s two.

“Hoshi’s the last one.” Seungkwan confirms.

“Okay!” You yell, keeping an eye on Minghao getting possessed. He’s been stumbling away from you as you were reloading your gun so you run after him. He seems to get that you’re coming and bolts away unexpectedly. You fire your gun to create a wall in front of him but trip over something and end up flat on the ground, your bullet misfired. You realise it was that stupid bowl from earlier that made you land on the ground.

You look behind you and notice Seungkwan and Jeonghan struggling with Hoshi and Seokmin respectively, while Minghao was getting away. He was running toward the stair case. You cursed and dragged yourself to your feet, stumbling after him. You have a horrible sense of deja vu, originating at those train tracks a couple months ago.

This time was different.

You were suddenly thankful for all the running sessions Minghao had forced you to go on; you knew his speed and how to follow him. That, and you were thankful for the stupid glow sticks you’d made everyone wear because it was incredibly dark on the staircase leading upstairs but you could still see the faint neon pink glow ahead of you.

You remember those silly glasses you’d pocketed earlier and bring them out as you run, snapping them to glow so you had some extra light. It was hard to believe this piece of crap was useful for something.

He made you follow him to the fifth floor. You were catching up however, so once you were in the main long corridor of the fifth floor, you shot your gun to block off the directions in which he could run. He ran into the wall and screamed at the impact. He didn’t hesitate for long to turn left and run in that direction. You ran as fast as you felt like you could.

It wasn’t as dark as you expected here and you wondered why.

It was several seconds that you got your answer.

The fifth floor had a balcony so Minghao had run out to where the moonlight was shinning in the night sky, illuminating the scene in front of you. He realised he’d reached some kind of limit when he bumped into the ledge.

Your heart stopped.

What if the ghost made him jump?

“Hey!” You screamed, throwing the neon yellow glasses at his back and trying to get the ghost’s attention on you. You needed to think of a way to get Minghao away from the balcony.

Luckily, it does work and he whips around to stare at you as you close in on him. You fire a shot to your left and to your right, sealing you into a smaller area so he couldn’t keep running. Minghao’s eyes stay on you, their ghostly silvery glow glimmering in the moonlight, as if the spirit’s sizing you up.

You figure this one responds to sound, so you keep talking.

“Why don’t you come here and I’ll set you free? Just leave him alone.” You say. You don’t know if the ghost understands anything but he steps towards you and you think it’s working -

And then he launches himself at you. You dodge as much as you can, letting him fall on the ground away from the ledge of the balcony. You place yourself between him and the edge, pulling your last blade off its holster. The ghost doesn’t look happy and he’s already up on his feet, charging at you again.

You take a good aim at Minghao’s chest but he knocks both your arms away, sending your gun skittering down on the ground while you clutch the blade. Then you’re in his grasp, struggling to get free. You’re moving without realising, trying anything to free your arms from his grip but you instead you feel the solid balcony ledge at your waist and find yourself backed up against it with a very angry ghost.

With Minghao’s strength, the spirit lifts you easily enough so that your upper body is dangling off the edge. You’re immobilised completely and that’s when the fear shoots through your veins.

You were on the fifth floor; if you fell from here, you’d probably die. You glance to the ground in your peripheral vision and see all the cars underneath you and the fire pit some distance away. They looked incredibly far away all of a sudden.

You stop struggling in Minghao’s grip and exchange it for clinging onto him as much as possible.

“Don’t do this, please!” You beg, still trying to get your arm free enough to get the blade to his chest but he has an iron grip on your forearms, sticking them close to your body as you half dangle off the ledge.

You can’t help but think that you falling was inevitable as you look up at the moon.

You really were balancing on the edge, and completely at the ghost’s mercy.

And whilst you were freaking out that you were going to die, there was a plaguing worry about what would happen to Minghao after you fell. Would the ghost make him jump? You couldn’t stomach that the idea.

He could push you down, but he wasn’t going to take Minghao with you. You wouldn’t allow it.

So with one last effort, you put all your energy into releasing the arm that had the blade with a grunt and you stabbed forward.

“Go peacefully.” You exclaimed, as you wondered if this was how you were going to die.

A/N: thanks for reading!! feedback is always appreciated <3 Gosh, it’s been a long ass time since the last update, I’m really sorry about that, it’s just life hit me a little too hard lately so it was hard to get on to this, but I’ve missed it so much and it made me realise how much I love to write my silly little tales :’) I had to include the sting op thing cuz I’ve been hooked on B99 lately oops and while I don’t believe in any of our institutions truly, it’s fun to write about. And I loved thinking up of all the little details and how they were going to do it all, really let me use my imagination :’) The last chapter will hopefully be done within the next week or two, I can’t guarantee it because I might not be physically able to write it yet haha but I’ll try my best to make up for all the waiting before. Thank you again, and see you next time <333

#seventeen #xu minghao #the8 #minghao #seventeen scenarios #seventeen imagines #seventeen x reader #the8 x reader #the8 scenarios #the8 imagines #minghao x reader #seventeen fics

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separatist-apologist · 2 years

Text

@velidewrites and @ladybriar and I were having a very normal, not unhinged conversation about High Lords/ACOTAR men and their breeding kink. Remember to take your pussy out of it when you read the CORRECT rankings

12. Azriel- afraid to hold a baby. Does not believe himself worthy. Breeding kink is there, but my man needs someone to hold HIM before he can think about holding a child

11. Jurian- 500 years as an eyeball will change a man.

10. Thesan- I just don't know enough about him to say yes/no. Gives of very strong "cool uncle" vibes? Feels child free to me, can't explain it. Less self-loathing than Azriel though, so.

9. Eris- Suspicious of small children. Would have them but its giving "oh shit oh god the condom broke" versus breeding, you know?

8. Tarquin- too busy advocating for equality to worry about being tied down. When the time is right, he tells reporters with a "fuck me" smile. Everyone in line. Me included.

7. Lucien- honestly stunned he DOESNT have a child. Not for lack of trying. Man gets around (all over spring courts border). Hoes in every area code. Likes breeding in theory- good sexy talk. Would absolutely panic if that test came back positive

6. Cassian- got real soft about Nesta holding baby Nyx. Wants to do it when the time is right. SEED was said so much in ACOSF it's hard not to think Cassian is talking about breeding when Nesta has her hands on the headboard

5. Tamlin- wanted children, probably still does. The beast thing just radiates breeding kink, I can't explain it. Also I won't.

4. Kallias- Daddy Winter you mean? 50 years UTM and his only goal was his MATE and getting her pregnant. Having children is hard? Not for him, he managed it in a YEAR. Goal oriented

3. Helion- Accidental pregnant. RADIATING breeding kink. Assuming he did it on his first try that year. Effortless. Immaculate. Virile.

2. Rhysand- Literally heard his mate say she was ready to have a baby and dedicated himself to the task. Unclear about ACOWAR-ACOSF timeline, all I know is Rhysand took it SERIOUSLY

Beron fucking Vanserra- SIX SONS? In a place that STRUGGLES to have ONE? Sorry. But in a more real way, I'm not. Why he wanted six sons, I can only guess given his eldest was utter perfection, but I digress. Is he a good dad? No, but that's not what this list is about. It's about breeding and Beron said bet

#ranking again #sometimes the lists are fun #and sometimes they tell us something we dont want to see #namely #beron vanserra winning something #he also wins: most terrible dad #worst high lord #most killable in the series

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