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junicai · 4 years ago

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Aria at Award Shows

Iconic Outfits

2020 AAAs NCT Daesang Award

Peoples’ jaws dropped when they saw Aria sidle up alongside the other 23 boys, strolling out like she owned the building. The heels gave her enough height to be nearly level with Renjun - something she wouldn’t let the boy forget - her hair dyed back to a natural black like it had been during NCT2020 promotions. It was rare that Aria didn’t look slightly apprehensive about stepping out onto a red carpet, but the confidence was rolling off her in waves. As she walked, the slit in the dress seemed to keep on going, trailing up her leg and changing the otherwise classy dress into something that left the innocent bystanders in the first row suffering from a high chance of a heart attack.

tldr; Aria’s hot and people are Noticing.

2019 Show Champion NCT 127 ‘Superhuman’

NCT’s second win with Superhuman left a huge divide in nctzens; a rift between those who were ot21 stans and ot22 stans (sans and plus Aria). Up until then, there had been rumors around whether Aria was to leave NCT now that there was a new girl group supposedly debuting under SM. Their management team had refrained from publishing a response - but that only lead fans to create their own speculations and theories. This outfit played perfectly into the growing rumor; with the large circular pendant on Aria’s bracelet having two chrysanthemums etched into the gold. The flower symbolized happy endings and goodbyes, with nctzens taking this as the proof that Aria was truly set to leave NCT in the coming months.

tldr; nctzens need to learn how to Chill.

2017 M! Countdown NCT 127 ‘Cherry Bomb’

Unfortunately, this era was the cause of a lot of strife for Arizens; the stylists either hit it out of the park and Aria was drop dead stunning - or she ended up looking a little like a bratz doll a toddler had gotten their hands on. Unfortunately for Aria, their first win with ‘Cherry Bomb’ left pictures of her in a plastic, obviously dyed blue skirt and cherry pink hair to match immortalized on the internet forever.

tldr; arizens hoped that her stylist got fired after this era. the plastic skirt wasn't the worst thing they'd done.

Other Iconic Outfits

Seating Arrangements

Depending on the venue, idols are normally sat on straight rows of chairs and benches, or at round tables. Given the choice, Aria would always prefer to sit at one of the tables, as not only does it give her a chance to not have to worry about her legs being seen while being covered by the tablecloth - if there is one - but it lets her keep everyone sitting near her in her direct line of vision.

However, should she have to sit in one of the main rows, she’ll normally end up squished beside one of three boys - Donghyuck, Yuta and/or Renjun. Should one of those three be unaviliable, Doyoung and Jeno are usually quick enough to fill in the empty space.

Donghyuck would always be her first choice, was it not for the boy’s incessant energy that sometimes left her nerves fried before their performance. Most days she adored the company - adored him and his efforts to get her mind off their impending songs with various games and ways to pass the time (they're not allowed play footsie anymore though, because Aria stomped on his foot with her heel once) - but other days she just needed someone to hold her hand and say nothing. That’s where Yuta and Renjun come in.

As Aria’s found out over the years, for all the man’s tactile affection and loud displays of love, Yuta’s highly perceptive to when she needs some silent comfort. Now, she’s not sure if he’s that perceptive to everyone or just her - but either way she’s not complaining.

With Dream, Renjun is the one she’ll sit with and doodle on the white napkins that are laid out on the table for lord knows what reason. After being bored out of their minds for their first few award shows, Renjun had snuck two black ballpoint pens into the venue in the inside of his red suit jacket. The drawings had become somewhat a tradition, and the best doodle normally is uploaded to bubble shortly after the show has ended.

All in all, Aria’s normally quite content to sit in the centre of the large group of boys - split over several rows or tables, boisterous and bubbly with energy. The only real downside to it all is the lack of blankets available to protect her modesty once she is seated.

Most venues split the idols fairly evenly between the boy and girl groups - with blankets being allocated especially for the seating of girl groups. This meant, unfortunately, that when NCT files into their seats and sits down, there is rarely something in the close vicinity that Aria can borrow quickly without causing a fuss.

Sometimes she gets lucky - other female idols might spot her and are normally kind enough to hand over one of their cushions or blankets, content to share with their neighboring member. Occasionally though, Aria has no such luck and is left to either pull down her dress multiple times per minute to cover the prickly feeling over the tops of her legs when she felt like eyes were boring into her, or wait for some kind of break so she could go find a spare covering.

Aria supposed after the third time something like that had happened, her members were getting fed up with it all.

At first it was their plan B: should some type of cover-up not be available in their immediate vicinity, Johnny or Lucas or Jaehyun - once, even Dejun - or another member who ran hot near-constantly would shrug off their jacket and fold it over Aria’s legs, pulling it up and then lifting her hands to place them in her lap to hold their jacket there.

Eventually it became their plan A however, now commonplace for Aria to go looking for the member who was wearing multiple layers and who wouldn’t suffer from the loss of their outermost one.

Iconic Moments

Twitter: [180821] and people rly say nct doesn’t care abt aria :/

Red carpets were always something to dread, in Aria’s eyes.

The cameras flashing bright enough to blind you, and the knowledge that if she stumbled or - god forbid - fell it would be immortalized forever on Koreaboo’s newest blog post.

However the worst bit, was always the footwear. High, stiletto heels that left her teetering around on nothing more than her tippy-toes, precariously balanced as she made her way up and down stairs, over carpet and tiled flooring alike.

Aria was used to wearing heels, but the one’s she performed in were usually fitted with various types of ankle support and a thick heel to give her balance. Wobbling around on a heel the same width of a piece of uncooked spaghetti was not something she’d willingly choose.

Not to mention the blisters.

Designer shoes were gifted to the company on a regular basis - shipped over just in time for Aria to slip into the pair before stepping out of the van into the sea of bright flashes and reporters. It always seemed like designers were too pre-occupied with making a shoe look good rather than making them actually wearable.

The first time Aria had been gifted a set of heels - early 2018 - she made the mistake of assuming that they would be in similar comfort as her performance heels.

Two hours later and with a wad of bloody tissue stuffed into the back of them, Aria had learnt her lesson.

From then on, it was commonplace for Aria to bandage her heels before she went out to shows - not quite as heavily as she normally would for a performance, but just enough to stop the skin splitting under the constant abrasion.

She’d only been caught out badly once - but it was all caught on camera by a fan sitting close by, and spread over twitter like wildfire.

Aria had limped her way back over to where NCT 127 was sitting, lips pressed together in a tight line and hands clenched in the tight material of the leather trousers she had been given to wear. The trousers stopped a few inches above her ankles, so the red mess of her heels was clearly visible as she hobbled over and sat down with a thud onto the seat.

Donghyuck placed a hand on Aria’s shoulder, leaning in so that he could see her face behind the curtain of hair that she had let fall to hide her tear-filled eyes from him.

“Riri?” Donghyuck whispered to her, thumb beginning to rub soothing circles into her arm. “Hey, Riri? What’s going on?”

Aria only shook her head, gesturing to the pair of torturous heels on her feet.

Donghyuck inhaled sharply when he saw the blood trailing up her leg and soaking into the back of the heel. He turned to his side to elbow Doyoung, grabbing his attention.

“Hyung. Hyung.” He hissed, Doyoung turning around with an over-exaggerated sigh.

“No, Hyuck, I told you I’m not going to-” Doyoung cut himself off upon seeing Aria’s pain-filled face. “Aria? What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

Donghyuck slid off his seat onto the ground despite Aria’s protests that the floor wasn’t clean, get up, and explained what had happened to his hyung. Sliding her heel off as slowly as he could to not pull at the skin more, he muttered apologizes to Aria as she inhaled a shaky breath before exhaling it on a small, wet cry.

“Hyung, did you bring anything for Taeyong-hyung’s shoulder that we could use?”

“Yeah, yeah I did give me two seconds.” Doyoung bent into the small bag that he had tucked underneath the seat, pulling out a length of bandage that was stowed away in the outermost pocket.

Donghyuck took it from Doyoung’s hands with a small ‘thank you’, moving to kneel back down in front of Aria and taking her ankle back into his lap.

“Hyuck, no I got it, c’mon the ground isn’t clean-”

He silenced her with a look. Aria settled back into her chair - defeated - and Donghyuck wrapped the bandage around her heel as quickly but as painlessly as he could manage.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Twitter: [190323] HSHS ARIA IS A CARAT WE’VE WON LADIES N GENTS

Maybe Aria should have been paying more attention to the camera that was slowly panning around the idols, projecting their faces up onto a large screen beside the stage, but she was too engrossed in the current group’s performance.

“그렇다고 네 맘이 작다는 게 아냐,” Swaying gently side to side and mouthing along to the lyrics, Aria was happy enough to smile along to the song and move her hands in a small mimickery of the choreography she’d taught herself off the group’s dance practice video she’d watched only a few dozen times.

It wasn’t until Mark poked her in the side that Aria broke out from her own little bubble, twisting her head to look back at him and then up at the screen when he pointed.

There, her face, staring back at her from the big screen was enough to make her mouth drop open a little bit and her eyes widen. She clapped a hand to her mouth before turning to hide her face in Jaehyun’s shoulder, shaking with embarassed laughter.

Aria could hear Taeyong’s teasing laugh in return, before a hand came and ruffled the hair on top of her head, that she swatted away.

--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Twitter: [170911] lmao same aria

Aria knew she was there.

She knew that she was sitting right there and that she was in one of those really skimpy dresses stylists loved to put girls in because apparently female idols don’t deserve modesty and Aria knew that she had a blanket for once and she should share it but oh my god.

It was Chungha.

Aria was going to pass out.

Taking side glances every few seconds only confirmed the fact that Chungha was pulling down her dress to cover as much of her legs as possible, tucking her ankles together and underneath the seat.

Ok.

Ok, she could do this.

Aria took a steeling breath, before shifting on her seat to face Chungha on more of a diagonal. She lifted her hand before lowering it slighly, looking away.

Should she- no ok she’s doing this.

Without giving herself time to talk herself out of it, Aria moved to rest her hand on Chungha’s arm. The older woman jerked slightly - startled - and Aria was quick to apologize.

There was no audio in the video uploaded - the original poster having been too far away to capture much - but the two women talked for a moment before Chungha pointed to the blanket and then herself.

Aria nodded emphatically, and Chungha’s face crumpled into something fond, bowing her head in thanks before they unfolded the blanket another time and Chungha scooted an inch closer to Aria so they’d both fit.

Chungha sent Aria another grateful smile before refocusing on the performances - apparently not noticing, or perhaps choosing not to comment on the rather obvious red tinge that the younger idol’s cheeks had taken on.

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lokixreader · 4 years ago

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Just a simple maid (soulmate au)

Requested:

Yes

Words:

4,044

Summary:

Y/n, an Asgardian maid, seems to be the soulmate of prince Loki, and for some reason she always wears long sleeves.

Warnings:

A lot of crying, sleep deprivation, ANGST, panic attack (kinda), sadness, tears, some more crying and a lot of bad writing

A/n: alright first soulamate fanfic, let’s hope for the best

A/a/n: finally I’m back, but only shortly. I recently redound some inspiration and will to write and to try being present on my blog again. But now I must warn you. I wrote this in the span of 2 years more or less, and for how impossible it might seem, I lived a lot of things in 2 years. This has been specifically written in 3 different periods of my life which would be a few months before, during and a few months after my depression. I hope you will enjoy it, and to everyone that is going through what I have, please I beg you, be strong. Carry yourself and keep going. Even if it hurts. Talk to someone about it. Someone who will understand and not treat you as attention seekers. Remember that you are loved, that even if you don’t have anyone now, life works in unexpected ways, and that maybe tomorrow you will find those people or that person that is willing to love you, perhaps not romantically, but trust me, aromantical love is the best. You will get through it. It doesn’t matter how hard it gets. You’ll get better. You will be better. You deserve it. And you are not alone❤️.

As a maid, you have never imagined yourself in a higher rang then where you already were and never expected something more. Children often imagined themselves being a lot more then what they were, imagined being princes or princesses, kings and queens, gods and goddesses and so on, but not you. You only dreamed to be free. Free from everything and everyone. Being raised as a servant blocked your dreams. You never dreamed what the other kids did, you didn’t want to be a goddess, you didn’t want to be a queen or a princess, all you ever wanted was freedom. Something that you never tasted since you turned 19. Exactly. 19 was the official age when a girl born from a servant became one as well.

Your mother was a wonderful and loving person, the best person in all of Asgard. She was the queen’s servant and Queen Frigga, being the sweet and kind person she was, often left you to play with her sons, Prince Thor and Loki, giving you the possibility to grow up with them too, and so you did. You were practically the same age as Loki, who soon became your best friend. Strangely, like probably not all of the royalty would do, he never treated you as a servant, but as a friend, and Thor did the same, leaving the servant-treatment aside. Time passed fast leaving child you, child Thor and child Loki behind and welcoming yourselves as adults. When you turned 19 and became a servant, for how much Thor and Loki claimed to care for you, they couldn’t do anything to solve your situation, those were the rules and the laws of Asgard and breaking them would have meant for them to go against the throne that one day one of them would have sat on. However, you couldn’t blame them, and you did the only thing that remained: you dealt with it. You were a maid. You couldn’t change it. You simply decided to keep it that way. But then again, when you turned 500, after centuries of service, you finally found a joy. In fact, when an Asgardian turns to the age of 5 centuries, they get strange writings on their arms, because of soulmates, as you once read on a book. When you started having writings on your arm, you went directly to your mother, who explained what a soulmate was and how it worked, better than any book could.”Y/n, darling, a soulmate, as the name already explains, it's a person whom you share a close relationship and a deep understanding. It's someone made to love you, that destiny decided you would be in love with. You can't hate them nor not love them, it’s a deep connection that can't be broken ” she explained to you, and you asked curiously ”What are these writings on my skin? How can I find this person?” and you kept making questions ”This writings are something that your soulmate wrote on his own skin to contact you. In fact, this is the only way you can find your loved one. You are lucky. Some people, unfortunately, never find their soulmates”. That night you received another writing on your arm, and you didn't hesitate to answer.

Only that, nothing too special, but you still responded

Hey

Nothing too special either

What are you doing?

Compared on your arm and you answered

Just talking to you, nothing much, you?

And he answered, and you two kept talking for longer than 3 hours. When you realised how late it was you wrote:

Oh, it is so late! We should go to sleep!

Even if you didn’t want to leave.

Wait! Do you think that we could meet tomorrow?

You suddenly found on your arm.

Tell me your name and I will find you

You wrote back, even if you weren’t sure that you could have, due to all the work you had to do tomorrow. But then reality hit you harder than ever.

I am Loki Odinson.

Oh great gods, oh great gods! Loki Odinson, Loki, that Loki, practically your best friend since childhood!

From that moment you stopped writing and since that night you promised yourself to avoid Loki, for how much you could, due to the fact that you were one of his maids.When you dressed up in the morning you chose a long-sleeve dress, in order to hide the writings on your arm and, without even thinking about meeting him, you cleaned his chambers only when he left them.This is what you did for almost a month, but it couldn't last forever, and you knew it. What hurt you the most was shutting Loki out, he was your best friend, always there for you, and now you just let him out, but obviously, he kept writing on his arm to talk to you, to see if he was the one that did something to you. He kept on writing and writing until your arm didn't start to hurt. It started to hurt every time he wrote something, every word, every letter, getting worse and worse, but you couldn't ask anyone for help, not even your mother, because you couldn’t risk her knowing that your soulmate was Loki. Again, you did the only thing that you could do, you dealt with it. When you found the time, you went to the library to find any reason why the writings caused you pain and any way to stop it. Today was one of those days when you had the time to go to the library. The library was a huge room, full of shelves and departments, with millions of books of every genre. You went to the section where you found the books on soulmates when you were younger. You had been searching for it the whole day and you didn't find it. You could see from the huge window that it was getting dark outside and that you should have gone to your room, so you decided to leave. The following morning you got up with a stringing pain in your left arm. Again. Loki had probably been writing on his arm for most of the night. He often did that, without thinking that it hurt you, or maybe he just didn’t know. Then you looked at your arm, not surprised in finding many questions such as “What are you doing?” “Where are you?” or even “Who are you?”. You didn’t answer any of those, you didn’t want to, you simply couldn’t, so you just got out of your bed and dressed with a long-sleeve dress, as always. Then, you got to Loki’s chambers, when he left them of course. He wasn’t a messy person, in fact he was quite the opposite, even if sometimes it might happen that he left his bed un-maked, mostly because he was late for something or he had something to attend to. You started making his bed, and picking up a pillow which probably fell while he was sleeping, you found a book. You weren’t surprised, Loki loved reading just as much as you did, and it came to you without a surprise that he read in bed before sleeping, or even for the whole night. But what surprised you was what the book was about. On the brown cover, in a beautiful golden writing there was written ‘Soulmates: the lifetime bondage’. This was te book you were searching for the last day! And it was in Loki’s room, but why did he have it? The answer suddenly popped in your mind: you weren’t answering him when he wrote to you, so he was probably searching for the reason why. Opening the book and going through its pages, you saw a few notes here and there, till you didn’t reach the chapter about ‘not answering soulmates’ and you started reading carefully.

“Not answering soulmates:

When a soulmate does not answer to the question the other soulmate wrote on his arm, there are more reasons why it happens:

- The soulmate does not answer because of its own will

- The soulmate might not be capable of answering

- The soulmate might be dead”

The last part made your heart drop. Did Loki think of you as dead? No, he couldn’t, you were right there, alive and well! But he didn’t know, you never talked to him. You rolled up your sleeves, looking at all the questions he wrote, between them there were some “Are you alright?” or “Are you safe?” and similar. Tears started appearing in your eyes, one already falling on your cheek: you didn’t realise you started crying.“So you found the book” a voice said behind you. You rolled down your sleeve, got up from the floor you were sitting on and took in all of his form, recognising it as the younger prince of Asgard. “L-loki, I was not expecting you here!” You said. “I know, I had a very important meeting, which I actually did not have to attend�� God his accent, you had really missed his voice. “Anyway, how come that I have not seen you in a while?” He asked “I..I have been busy..” you lied. He smirked. “Y/n-“ “I know, I know you are the god of lies and you know that I lied” you stopped him in the middle of his sentence “I was about to say that I know you since we were children, it is impossible for me not to know” of course you thought “So, what is this truly about?” you had to tell him the truth, but you couldn’t, not this way “I am just having problems with my soulmate” you said. Half truth and half lie, or better only truth and an omission. ”That is interesting, I am too” You were surely surprised that he said so “Oh, really, why, what is happening with them?” You tried to pass the topic on him rather than on you “I think you do already know by reading the book you are holding” he said. You looked down at your hands, finding the book “I am sorry, Loki. But do you know why they are not answering?” You tried to get the informations by directly asking him. “Unfortunately, I do not, but I do have an idea” you but your lip “Do you believe that they are dead?” He sighted “They might be..” he said without daring to look into your eyes. You felt so bad for avoiding him and leaving him without telling him anything. “Oh, Loki” you sighted and gave him a hug. He was startled after feeling your arms around him but then he gave in an hugged you back “I missed you” he said, burying his face in your hair. “I missed you too” you said back. When he stopped hugging you, you stepped back and tucked a stand of your hair behind your ear “Now if you excuse me, I think I should change your bed sheets” you said to him “Yes, of course” he agreed. You started packing the sheets so you could take them more easily and started heading for the door when Loki asked “You know that it is June, don’t you?” You slowly turned around and gave him a questioning glare “Isn’t it too hot to wear long sleeves?” He said. What am I going to say now? You asked yourself “I just liked the dress” you justified, immediately leaving the room, not noticing the smirking god. That was close. The days passed and you couldn’t help but being sorry for Loki. Sometimes you could see him wandering in the corridors near his chamber, with the book in his hand, a pen in the other, a rolled up sleeve and, to conclude his look, two deep bags under his eyes: to say that he was visibly tired was a misunderstanding. He was completely sleep-deprived. This situation was getting out of control and seeing him like this made your heart feel only pain and pity for the younger prince. This, till the day you finally had enough and decided to talk with him.

You knocked on his camber door, putting so much effort in such a small gesture. When you received no answer was the moment you started questioning yourself, but gathering all the courage you still had in yourself you entered, despite him not telling you to do so. Then you saw him. You saw him and you felt full of emotions: sorrow and regret were the first ones, then joined by happiness and joy for finding your best friend again.He was on the balcony, reading, a concentrated expression on his face, probably not even noticing you entered the room due to the lack of sleep. Or probably he had, but couldn’t bring himself to care in that moment. “L-Loki?” you quietly spoke his name, getting his attention... “Mmh?”.... more or less...“Loki?” you called for him again. When you didn’t get his full attention, you brought his face to you, locking your e/c eyes with his green ones. In doing this you could see his tiredness and sleep deprivation, the way his eyes had lost the sparkle they once had.“Loki, look at you! What have they done?” You asked him genuinely worried “I can’t find them, they won’t answer me! What have I done? What has happened to them!?” Loki yelled, tears picking at his eyes. You couldn’t do anything to him, so you hugged him, holding him to yourself in attempt to comfort him. He then let himself go, sinking in your embrace and crying, crying on your shoulder. When he finished you wiped away his tears, looking in his eyes “What is wrong with me?” He suddenly asked you.“There is nothing wrong with you, Loki, you are perfect. You are not the problem, it is them, they do not know what they are missing, and if they really do not want to be with you, then move on and let them see your true greatness” you said with a small smile forming on your lips, making a similar one appear on his face. His eyes were looking into yours, like trying to get to your soul. “Now, you need to get ready, there is a ball tonight you need to attend to” you said, looking down to the ground to avoid his gaze. “Come with me” he said “What?” You were shocked, did you actually hear well? “You understood, come with me” “I-should not, I-I mean, I am not important like the people that will be in the ballroom, and not even at your level to actually come with you” you stuttered “Oh, you got me wrong darling, you will not decide, this is an order, and please do not underestimate yourself like this” . That was... shocking to say the least. Not less then three second ago he was crying on your shoulder, and then he was giving you orders? Well, it was something he could do, but still, he never did.

You went to your room to get ready for the ball. What could you wear? You were a mere servant, you didn’t have a dress for such an occasion. But then, when you opened your dresser, you saw something that didn’t belong there: it was a beautiful long f/c dress. You took it to examine it and you saw all the diamonds it had on it. You were speechless, where did this dress come from? A little light turned on in your mind: Loki. Of course, who else could have invited you knowing that you didn’t have a dress for the occasion, just to give you a new beautiful one? There was only one last problem: the dress didn’t have sleeves. And now? What could you do? Make up on the arm? No it would be too much. Gloves maybe? Probably the best option.

After finishing getting ready you looked at yourself in the mirror. You felt beautiful, the dress looked perfect on you, the slight make up you put was perfect, and the gloves you found were perfect. Everything seemed perfect. You got out of your room, closing the door behind you and when you turned you found yourself face to face with the God of mischief.He looked at you, mouth slightly open, gazing at you from your feet to the tip of your head. “Is something wrong?” You asked, thinking that you had something out of place “No, you look ravishing”. You whispered a small ‘Thank you’ while blushing madly.

When you arrived at the ball room, you started feeling insecure. You were just a maid, a mere servant, and behind those doors were important people, princes and princesses, probably even kings and queens. Loki seemed to recognise your insecurity, since you felt him take your hand in his and lightly squeeze it. Now you could see why the destiny put him as your soulmate. That small gesture made you feel better, a bit more confident. You two then decided to enter the room.The night seemed to go well, and by well you meant that no one of the royalty approached you, except for Thor of course, who had come just to see you, since it has been a long time from the day you had last seen the blond prince. He started talking to you only when Loki had left your side “Hello, Y/n “ he began “Greetings, Prince Thor” you said back. He then chuckled, making you laugh; you had always greeted him like this as a child, a small obligation from your mother, who wasn’t used to you being friends with the princes. You then went on talking about the past months and what you had been doing, including the reasons why you couldn’t spend your time together.

“Alright, say that one more time.”

“Thor, I have already told you three times” you complained.

“I just need to understand why you have not told him yet” he insisted “How can you not understand? Loki is a prince, a god, and one of the most perfect people to ever exist, how could I ever stand next to him. I am nobody compared to him, Thor. I am just... just a simple maid” you explained, pain almost visible on your lowered face, you were feeling miserable just thinking about it, about your unimportance and how at times it made your life a living Hel. You were taken back to reality and away from your thoughts by a hand being put on your shoulder. You looked up to see an understanding sad smile plastered on Thor’s face “You forgot to mention the most important thing: he is your friend” he gently spoke, emphasising the last four words. “He has been your friend for longer than I have, he has spent almost his whole life with you and has always cared about you deeply. It shouldn’t be so surprising that you two are meant to love each other, but still, you keep saying that it should not be like that, just because you are a simple maid. Well, you might be a maid, but you are everything but simple. You are one of the most amazing people I have ever met. You are intelligent, funny, curious and beautiful. And top of that, you are you, and have never been afraid of who you are. For all these reasons, I can say today that I am happy and proud of having you in my life, and I am certain that my brother feels the exact same way”

By the end of his surprising speech, you found yourself on the verge of tears. You had always been in the dark about them caring so much for you and had never thought that someone could see you in that way. The blonde prince then hugged you tightly, noticing some of those small tears fall down your cheeks

“Do you want to know a small secret?” He asked you and you nodded still hugging him, then he silently said “When you had to become a maid, you should have been my servant, but Loki insisted so that you could be his” your eyes widened. Loki wanted you...as his maid? “He was convinced that since you should have cleaned his room, which isn not usually messy or dirty, you could have more time for yourself and that he would have been able to see you everyday at least once” You abandoned Thor’s hug to look at him in disbelief. He moved his hand to brush away on of your tears “ He loves you” Thor said, so faintly and silently that you wouldn’t have heard him if you were just one more step away. That last sentence hit you hard. Everything Thor said hit you hard. The room which wasn’t so crowded immediately started to feel smaller and smaller. Your lungs seemed non-existent and your breathing increased. You quickly excused yourself before running away towards the balcony.

The outside fresh air seemed to calm you down, and to fill your new redound lungs. You were feeling normal again, up until you didn’t hear a well too known voice. “Are you alright? I came back to my brother only to hear that you run away here” his voice was like the one of an angel, beautiful and spectacular, but at the current moment it was slightly panicking you. But then you took a deep breath and exhaled. In the meantime Loki came closer to the railing where you were at and looked at you worryingly. After a few seconds of mere loud breathing, you finally spoke up “I know why your soulmate is not answering Loki” he looked at you with a confused face “We do not have to talk about them, it is about you I am worried now. Forget them and tell me what is wrong. I want to be sure that YOU are alright Y/n, not them” you looked away from him and broke into a small laugh.

Ah the irony.

And if Loki was confused before, now it was even worse. You looked back at Jim’s sad face , then you slowly took off one of your gloves. Loki’s expression changed from confused, to shocked, to surprised and finally to one you could quite muster, something between realisation and sadness. He gulped, closing his wonderful eyes, only to open them Almere moments later “Why.” Was the only thing he said. A cold expression hard to read or to understand. “I was afraid” you answered, tears already forming. “Scared? Scared of what?” He asked slightly furring his eyebrows “That you would have rejected me and abandoned me. I was afraid of not being enough for you or that-“ you didn’t finish your answer. Tears were falling on your cheeks without a care, but you were engulfed in a hug “I would never leave you, for no reason at all. I’ll always be with you.” You hugged him back, scared that the world might end if you even dared to let go.

Minutes went by, but both of you couldn’t care less of the time passing, you just stayed like that, in each others arms, after so much time divided. Loki then kissed your temple. “I wish I told you sooner” you apologised looking to the floor. His index finger lifted up your chin so that he could see your features “Me too” was what he said “but this does not matter, for we are finally together now” you smiled at him happily. He could have reacted in million different ways. He could have told you how much time he spent trying to contact you, how he suffered without you, how his best friend leaving him could have affected him. But not a word. Not even a mention. He was just genuinely happy that you were alright and that he had his soulmate in front of him. *how could I have been so blind to this* he kept asking himself, looking at the e/c pearls staring at him.

Unbeknownst to you both, a certain blond prince watched them together, kissing each other fondly, then observed them get back in hand in hand, finally happy.

Tag List

(I’m just going to start a new one so that I don’t bother people who don’t care about this kinda stuff anymore) if you want to be added just tell me anywhere <3

@volpenera0 & @casseythebee & @brightsunanddarkmidnight2-0 & @melodynoelle & @just-the-hiddles & @arch-venus25 & @marvelgirlonamarvelworld & @fanfictrashdump

#loki #loki (marvel)#loki friggason #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #loki fiction #loki god of mischief #loki x reader #loki reader insert #reader insert #sadnees #writers tears #im so happy #happy ending

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marvelsdc22 · 4 years ago

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Into The Wild West pt. 9

Intro: Hello lovelies!! This is finally back, sorry for the delay!! I hope to get back on track with this series!! This series will honestly take me some time, but I will finish it no matter what!! I hope you all enjoy!! :)

Note: Dutch doesn’t take the encounter seriously, which upsets Y/N, Kara gets to know Sean a little bit, and Y/N has some alone time with Sadie.

Word Count: 1180

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Looking at the note in your hand, you smiled before you shoved it into your pocket when you heard someone walking towards your tent, turning around just as Arthur poked his head in “You got a minute?” He asked, looking at you and you nodded, gesturing for him to take a seat while you sat down on your cot “What’s Dutch thinking? We can’t just let that threat slide!” You complained, looking at Arthur who nodded and sighed “I know, but he’s in charge here, you know that… But, he’s decided to move camp, they’re too close for his liking… Charles and I are going to head out shortly to find a new place for us to live” he said, looking at you and you couldn’t help but feel upset, you liked this place, but you knew it was for the safety of the camp.

“Do you want me to go?” You asked, looking at him and willing to go if he needed you “No, I think Dutch is going to need you for something else once we get to the new place… I just wanted to keep you updated on everything” he said, standing up and dusting himself off “Thanks… Are you sure you’re okay?” You asked, unable to keep his bloody face out of your head “I’m sure… You should see the other guy” he said, earning a small chuckle from you before you stood up and pulled him into a hug “I love you” you mumbled into his shoulder, feeling his arms wrap around you snugly “I love you too, kid” he said, giving you a small squeeze, the two of you hugging until you heard Charles call out for Arthur “You should go… You know not to keep him waiting” you chuckled, pulling back and giving him a smile “Oh I know, don’t get into too much trouble while I’m gone” he said, reaching over and ruffling your hair before he headed off, you watching him head off before you got your things together.

xxxxx

Kara had agreed to take first watch after dinner was done and everyone returned to their tents, her sitting on a rock not far from the small camp they had set up, sighing as she looked up at the stars… She missed National City, but at the same time, she was really growing on this place, the peace and quiet… Most days, she had honestly never seen this many types of animals before, and the being able to sleep under the stars every night was pretty nice, even though they were all basically hiding out while things calmed down in Blackwater, the fresh air was nice too, all she could get in National City was polluted with gas and oil and smoke.

“Anything out there?” She heard someone ask, causing her to jump as she turned towards the voice, seeing Sean standing there, him having found their camp before they ate dinner “Nothing but animals” Kara said, looking at him and watching as he sat down beside her, offering her a drink of his beer, her debating for a moment before deciding to just do it and taking a sip from it, the two of them falling into silence as they looked at the trees around them “You know, you guys aren’t too bad” Sean said, looking at her and Kara looked over at him when he spoke up “Did you think we were?” She asked, taking another drink of the beer “I didn’t know what to think honestly… Didn’t help I was still kidnapped when they found you guys… Y/N said you guys fell into a river?” He asked with a laugh before taking a gulp of the beer, the two of them falling into a comfortable conversation until Lena came out for her shift and the two of them said their goodnights before heading to their tents.

xxxxx

Using the moonlight, you made your way through the woods towards the lake Sadie had told you about, being sure to keep your eye out for anything, you knew that not taking Sid wasn’t the best idea, but you needed to stretch your legs. When you got to the lake, you saw Sadie already sitting on a log next to it, staring out towards the water and you stopped for a moment, letting yourself enjoy the view in front of you before you took a deep breath and headed towards her.

“Hey” you said, setting your pouch down in the dirt before sitting on the log as well, making sure there was some distance between the two of you to not make it awkward “Hey” Sadie said, not taking her eyes off the water and the two of you falling into comfortable silence until Sadie spoke up once more “Jake would always take me to the lake” she said “Granted it was always frozen, but it always seemed romantic, even if we were freezing our asses off, he still tried to make it the best time he could” she said, having a sad smile on her face as she looked at the water “He sounds like he was a good man… I’m sorry he was taken away from you” you apologized, knowing this whole thing hit her harder than she liked to admit.

Sadie nodded and offered a small laugh before she looked at you with a sad smile “He was a good man, best damn man I ever met… I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with him” she admitted, biting her lip to fight back the tears since she was done crying over it, looking at her hand when you reached over and rested one of yours on hers “I know… But you gave him the best years of the rest of his life, you can’t beat yourself up over this” you said, able to tell she was blaming herself for his death “The people that killed him… They don’t care who they hurt, they don’t care what they have to do to get their way… You did the right thing, you would be dead too if you didn’t hide” you said, looking at her and watching as she shook her head and gave a scoff of a laugh, pulling her hand away from yours as she looked back out at the lake “Maybe I shouldn’t of hid… At least I’d be with him and not a coward” and you couldn’t help but feel your heart sink at that thought, you knew she wasn’t a coward, she wouldn’t still be going if she was, but how were you going to convince her of that?

You looked at her for a moment and inwardly sighed when she just stopped talking, able to tell this meet up was over, so you stood up and grabbed your pouch, throwing it over your shoulder “Have a nice evening, Mrs. Adler” you said, looking at her and sighing when she didn’t say anything so you just headed back towards the camp, wondering if what you had said was wrong.

Permanent Taglist: @rianncreates / @natasha-danvers / @youngandwildx7 / @hopingforbarnes / @xxxtwilightaxelxxx / @venablemayfairgoode

Supergirl Taglist: @aznblossom / @stop-drop-and-drumroll / @worlds-in-words

Lena Taglist: @life2-live / @wlw-in-space / @ianarec / @thelonewriter247 / @kalistory-blog

Supercorp Taglist: @everything201197

Into The Wild West Taglist: @xixxiixx

End Note: I hope you guys enjoyed!! If you’d like to be added to a Taglist, shoot me a DM or an Ask!! Have a good day/night!! :)

Requests Open

#lena luthor x kara danvers #lena x kara #supercorp #sadie adler x reader #sadie adler x fem!reader #sadie adler #lena luthor imagine #kara danvers imagine #sadie adler imagine #dc #red dead redemption x reader #red dead redemption 2 #Into The Wild West

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isthisthingeven0n · 4 years ago

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not like the books say : d.d

brief summary: for years you’ve been friends with david, but of late you’ve developed a crush. in your attempt to rid of the burden, you start to distance yourself from david, except it doesn’t go unnoticed.

word count: 1.7k requested: yes - by a lovely anon, thank you for the angsty idea! warnings: none that i’m aware of

* masterlistin’ / masterlistin’ 2.0

(everything on my blog is my own writing. if it is shared on another page or website know it hasn’t been approved me unless specified. all rights reserved. - i have to start doing this as I had some shit on my other blog with plagiarism)

DO NOT STEAL MY WORK - IT IS ALL MY OWN WRITING

You always thought it just happened in films and books. Never in a million years did you think you’d end up being the protagonist who falls for her best friend. Yet, here you are; in love with your best friend, David.

It was something you intended to avoid thinking about, but when you spent nearly every moment with him it was harder than that. You kept your cool 90% of the time, and the only person who seemed to really notice was Natalie.

Since Natalie found out about your harbouring crush, you made the decision to try and distance yourself from your best friend. It was only going to be a temporary measure, just until you felt more like yourself again (and didn’t find yourself drooling over David.)

Yet, you quickly discovered it wasn’t going to be that easy. You see, being apart from David is like going without your phone for a long length of time- close to impossible. Even if you were in his house, but in a separate room, David just knew. He loved having you around, no matter what’s happening, he just wanted you to be there.

Leading you to now, sitting in your house trying to ignore the ringing and bombardment of text messages from David, wondering where you are.

“You gotta answer him at some point, Y/n.” Your friend, Dani speaks up.

She listens as you let out an audible groan before turning your phone face down. “Think that’ll stop it for a bit?” You glance up toward her unimpressed expression as she passes over your drink.

“It’s David. He won’t stop, next thing you’ll know is he’ll send the police around to make sure you’re not dead.” Dani passively jokes, but you both know it might be something he’d actually do one of these days.

Leaning forward, you reach for your phone as the mass of notifications illuminates your screen. “Yeah, I’ll just answer this one.” You mutter, seeing Dani nod out of the corner of your eye as she exits the room.

As you answer the phone, immediately you’re greeted by a long sigh of relief. “Oh thank god, I thought you died.” David dramatically exhales, hearing you chuckle through the line.

“Nope, not dead I can assure you.” You smile to yourself, feeling the all too familiar butterflies in your stomach. “Everything alright?”

Pacing around his bedroom, David nods to himself. “Yeah, yeah. I just wondered if you were coming over today? Jase is here along with Carly and Erin.”

“Sorry Dave, I can’t today.” You tell him, curling up into a cushion on the sofa as you picture his brows furrowing and frown forming.

“Oh,” David mutters, taken aback by your response. “are you ill?” Worry takes over his tone.

“No, not at all. I’m just super busy with some admin things I’ve left to the last minute. Need to just crash out in my office and get them done.” You lie, hoping he can’t tell. You’re always on top of your admin work, so being behind is highly unlike you.

“Okay, well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” David tries to hide his disappointment as you hum in response, hanging up shortly after.

Placing his phone in his pocket, David exits his room with his shoulders slouched forward. “Something up, Dave?” Jason speaks up, breaking from the conversation as David slumps onto the sofa beside Carly almost causing her to spill her coffee.

“Y/n isn’t coming over.” David states, looking up as if it isn’t the biggest surprise and everyone should be alarmed, but they’re not. “You heard me, right?” He reiterates his point, and Jason leans forward.

“Dave, it isn’t a big deal. She’s here nearly every day with you, girls gotta have some down time.” He speaks calmly, seeing David look down at his phone once more hoping you’ll change your mind. “Or maybe she’s just sick of your company.” Jason jokes, but David lifts his head up quickly at the comment.

“Fuck off, Jase.” David scoffs. “But what if she is? Like, she’s barely spoken to me all week, suddenly been super busy with work or helping out Dani with things.” David explains, everyone now captivated in his thoughts.

“Maybe she’s started to see someone.” Erin suggests, and immediately David tenses at the thought. “Or not, I don’t know.” She mutters, looking over to Carly who keeps her eyes on her phone.

Walking out from the room, David heads into the yard as frustration clouds his emotions.

“David, wait.” Natalie follows after him as he clenches his fists, leaning against the railing. “Y/n’s not seeing anyone, I know that much.” She says calmly as David sighs.

“Then why is she not around? I, I miss her being here for me to annoy all the time.” He tries to joke, but Natalie can tell he means it on a deeper level.

“Is there more to why you miss her being here?” Natalie pushes the subject, hoping he’d finally say something.

Sadly, David shakes his head. “I just miss her, alright.” He comments coldly. “I’m going for a drive, I’ll be back later.” He states before walking past Natalie without so much as looking up.

“Fuck.” Natalie sighs as she walks back into the house, hearing the front door close and everyone look up at her with the same confused expression. “He just needs to clear his head.” She excuses him before sitting back down with everyone else, sending you a quick text just in case.

Lying on your bed, you couldn’t tear your gaze from the ceiling, suddenly finding the detailing in the blank canvas fascinating.

“Y/n?” Dani yells your name, quickly followed by the sound of her running up the stairs and appearing at your door. “You’ve got a guest.” She swallows her breath as you turn to face her.

“But I’m busy, clearly.” You sarcastically comment, only encouraging Dani to sit beside you.

“Let me rephrase that.” She sighs. “David is here.”

Quickly you force yourself upright, looking at Dani quizzingly. “You’re not bullshitting me, are you?” Dani shakes her head, and you groan loudly into your hands. “Okay, I, I’ll come on down.” You mutter in defeat, following her footsteps as you descend down the stairs.

As you appear from the railings, David perks up immediately. He can feel his smile growing, even if he can’t see your tired expression just yet. All he knows is that you being home, and willing to see him is enough to make his day.

Appearing fully in his view, David’s smile softens as you face him. “Hey, what’re you doing here?” You ask calmly, but David can see the glances that Dani has toward you.

“I just came to see if you’re doing okay.” David mumbles, suddenly feeling like a child in a staff room at school. “You’ve not been 'round much and everyone's missing you.” He quickly adds, trying to ease the matter by focusing on the others, not just himself.

“Oh,” You think aloud, catching David’s eye. “I, I’m fine just been busy with stuff.” You repeat the same excuse he’s heard countless times now, and David nods.

“But like, is there something we can help with?” He asks, stepping forward as you step back. “I, I’m sorry if I’ve said anything or done something to upset you. You can talk to me, Y/n, you always can.” He raises his voice slightly, and Dani turns around and walks upstairs, leaving you both with some privacy.

Lowering your gaze to the floor, you watch as his feet shuffle against the wooden floorboards. “I can’t right now, David.” You tell him honestly, refusing to look up to see the cocktail of confusion and anger crossing his face. “It’s my fault, but I can’t explain it, not yet at least.”

David furrows his brows together as he focuses on you. “So we’re keeping secrets now?” He scoffs, stepping back as you do too, leaning against your sofa as your hands grip the ledge tightly. “Since when do we keep secrets, Y/n?”

“Since they involve you!” You blurt out, feeling your heartbeat thumping in your eardrums as you look at David, dead in the eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about you, wanting to be with you, being in fucking love with you and it’s driving me crazy!” You’re yelling now, unable to hold it back after so long of keeping everything bottled up.

Remaining in a state of shock, David just stares with wide eyes as he processes everything you’ve just said.

“How long have you felt like this?” He finally speaks up, and you can’t help but laugh as you cover your face with your hands.

“Too long, Dave.” You admit, still hiding your face.

David steps forward, lowering your hands down as he focuses on the worry in your gaze. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner, Y/n?” He mumbles, but you shake your head.

“Because it’s stupid, you’re my best friend. I, I can’t be in love with you, David.” You explain as if it were obvious.

Shrugging a shoulder, David raises his hand to rest against your cheek. “I don’t see anything wrong with it.” He whispers, leaning in closer as his lips brush yours.

Except, you pull away, falling back onto your sofa. “What’re you doing?” You ask, caught off guard as you stand up straight, the sofa being the obstacle between you both.

“I was going to kiss you, dumbass.” He chuckles, running his hands across his jeans. “Look, I didn’t mean to catch you off guard, it’s just, I feel the same.” David explains, and now it’s your turn to process what he’s just said. “I have for years, just I never thought you’d feel the same so I’ve supressed it. Kinda only realised it whenever you’ve dated some guy.”

“I, sorry,” You stumble over your words.

“Oh for god sake, people!” Dani blurts out, and you both look up to see her peering through the railings. “You love him, he loves you. End of!” She sighs dramatically before retreating back up the stairs, leaving you stood in silence once more.

“I guess this is the part where I ask you on a date then?” David turns to face you, shyly smiling as you move around the sofa and stand in front of him, your fingertips brushing along his.

“Yeah,” You chuckle softly. “I guess that’d be a good start.”

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omgilovemeawaterprincess · 3 years ago

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hey guys my phone might actually die before I finish this up but I have decided to link my photography blog to my online journal entertainment as tumblr has been one of the only consistent app off my days on social media. Anyways straight to it I’m meeting up peanut today lol this her nickname is super funny cause it rings something in my head as off the first time we ever met we met to actually fuck after chatting for just 3 days what made me interested in wanting to talk to her is her podcast I loved every single minute of her first 3 episodes it gave off a journal vibe like more of an accountability space. Proper audio essays in the bag, tried to know her on a sexual level and it clicked as I haven’t had regular sex for over a year I was super anxious but alas the day came and she squirts not up to 10 mins after I start eating her out. Guy it entered my mouth my eyes my nose I could taste and feel all the meals and drugs I fed her with shortly before we started. I was on molly and my lucky number with molly is 3 as everytime I have fucked in molly I have gone a round for 3 hours (on and off). Well we are seeing today and I’m super excited to link her up again this time she’s bringing her vibrator so I’d be playing tag team. Lol I’m not yet done but it’s not yet dead and I remembered so I’m just going to wrap up here and tell the remainder of how my day goes today once it’s almost over. my ashewo phase is back but I’d have fucking taste this time and it won’t be everyone that will get a chance to fuck on my deek. Peace out!

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astrawords · 5 years ago

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a symbol to remind you that there’s more to see

Characters: Jin Ling, Jiang Cheng, Wei Wuxian (& Co) Rating: T Warnings/Tags: No Major Warnings, Canon-Compliant(ish), Post-Canon(ish), Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Mild/Moderate Angst, Angst With Happy Ending, Yunmeng Shuangjie, Twin Idiots, Reconciliation, Jin Ling has too many uncles, Jin Ling deserves a hug, Jin Ling will save us all, excessive verbosity by yours truly

Summary: For as long as Jin Ling can remember, he has been immune to the majority of supernatural hauntings that plague the cultivation world.

Or: what if Jin Ling had received his first-month birthday gift.

Disclaimer: All characters and settings belong to MXTX and The Untamed. Set in CQL!verse. Before anyone asks, yes, I have read the novel.

Notes: HELLO! It has been a really long time since I ventured into full-on fic writing. This makes me nervous to post (I am @amedetoiles posting on my writing blog btw), but I was rambling to @winepresswrath about this and so of course I wrote it instead of doing productive adult things. Only this really got away from me. It was only supposed to be a short “what if” ficlet about Jin Ling, but Yunmengbros and their loud ass feelings got in the way, and it ended up being almost 10K D: Also, for @goblinish who was sad about jzasshole breaking wwx’s gift.

Basically, everything at Qiongqi Path still happened, but Wei Wuxian got the bracelet back before Jin Zixun crushed it (somehow), and it was delivered to Jiang Yanli shortly after the Wens surrendered (also somehow ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ PLOT? WHAT IS PLOT?). Not beta’d. We gonna die like wwx here.

[Read on AO3]

---

For as long as Jin Ling can remember, he has been immune to the majority of supernatural hauntings that plague the cultivation world. Any spirit or ghoul he has ever encountered would promptly redirect itself towards another target as if he were surrounded by an invisible barrier.

The first time it happens, he’s eight-years-old and accompanying his jiujiu to watch the YunmengJiang disciples get rid of a water ghost. In the midst of a coordinated luring, the water ghost had shot up right in front of him. Frantic, his uncle had thrown his arm out to shield him, only for the water ghost to hover above Jin Ling’s head with apparent confusion before diving back underneath the murky waters.

To this day, he still hasn’t forgotten the look on his uncle’s face.

(He tries to bring it up to his jiujiu only once, but Jiang Cheng had stared at him with a terrifying mix of fury and anguish that Jin Ling quickly learns to never mention it again, the same way he stops bringing up his mother.)

After a while, Jin Ling stops questioning it. Even if it’s a little strange, he can’t complain when it makes night hunting significantly more advantageous for him.

Of course, this doesn’t stop Jin Chan and his lackeys from mocking him relentlessly about it like they do with everything else. Their taunting comments that even the lowest of beings don’t want anything to do with him cut deeper than he pretends otherwise, adding to all the other still-healing wounds riddled across his chest. He punches Jin Chan partly in retaliation, but mostly because the throbbing in his hands makes him forget about the ache. At least for a while.

Silently, Jin Ling likes to think that maybe his parents are protecting him from beyond the grave, that perhaps their spirits are shielding him somehow, even if it’s a little farfetched. His memories of them are a gentle blur of gold and violet hues. On lonelier nights, they provide him with warmth when everything else is cold.

He carries his father’s sword with him like an anchor to that brief moment in his life when his family had been whole. The YunmengJiang bells are tied to his waist, marking him uniquely as an heir to two major sects. On his right wrist is his most treasured possession of all (though he will deny it if anybody asks)–the beaded bracelet his mother had left for him.

It was handcrafted. He knows from the hours and hours he’s spent tracing the uneven edges to the miniature nine-petaled lotus that sits at the knot and the intricately carved designs on the other beads. He isn’t sure who made it for him. From the little that he’s heard of her, his mother hadn’t been skilled at craftsmanship, and he has never been able to find anything similar in the markets. It certainly doesn’t match the golden opulence of LanlingJin to think that his parents had had it custom-made from a Lanling artisan.

Jiang Cheng skirts around the question whenever Jin Ling brings it up to him, but ever since that day on the lake, he’s caught his uncle gazing at it with eyes reflecting a confusing storm of unreadable emotions. Jin Ling tries his best to keep the bracelet hidden underneath his sleeve as often as he can, but he never takes it off, cherishing it like a lifeline–a symbol of a time when he’d been adored by the mother and father he never got to meet.

He tells himself it’s enough. (Sometimes he even believes it.)

As Jin Ling grows older and starts participating in more night hunts, he begins to realize that his immunity isn’t absolute. The fiercer the spirit, the more powerful the demon, the less likely his natural defense seems to hold. He still fares far better than the other disciples in his class. Partly because it holds up long enough for him to gather his bearings, and partly because his uncle is never too far behind, looming tall and threatening like the purple thunderstorms that roll through the Yunmeng skies during the summer.

It’s more comforting than he’ll ever admit, even if Jin Ling has a habit of running off without telling him. He wants to prove to his uncle that he’s strong and skilled enough to not need saving (and maybe a little bit to prove everyone else wrong, too).

But sitting in a room now trapped with a lunatic in a mask, even he has to admit that breaking into a haunted shrine was perhaps not the brightest idea he’s ever had. Being saved by Mo Xuanyu (if this man even is Mo Xuanyu–he certainly doesn’t act like the disgraced disciple he remembers) also hadn’t been on the list of things he’s ever wanted to experience.

If Jin Ling dies here, then his uncle is going to bring him back to life for the sole purpose of breaking his legs for not listening. (He might even admit to deserving it this once.)

Shuffling backwards on the bed, Jin Ling sputters angrily to hide the anxiety shooting up his spine as he frantically looks for an escape route. “You–! What were you taking off my clothes for? Where’s my sword? Where’s my dog?”

“Hey,” not-Mo Xuanyu says indignantly with his hands on his hips. “I just spent a lot of effort getting you out of the wall. You don’t know how to say thank you?”

Finding Suihua at his side, Jin Ling grabs it and raises it threateningly. “If it wasn’t for that, you would already be dead!”

“Alright, alright,” the man says, stepping back with a nervous laugh and raising his hands. “Listen. One death is enough for me. Be good. Put the sword down, okay?”

Jin Ling glares at him suspiciously but still lowers Suihua slowly to his lap. His sleeve rides up in the process, and not-Mo Xuanyu’s eyes travel to the bracelet on his wrist. The man freezes with a sharp intake of breath. “Jin Ling,” he whispers. “That bracelet…”

Jin Ling quickly covers it with his hand. “My mother left me this,” he snaps. “Don’t touch it!”

But the man doesn’t move, staring at Jin Ling with wide shocked eyes that he can see even through the mask. “Your… mother…?” he repeats, sounding strangled and winded, like he’s been knocked over.

“What’s it to you? It’s none of your business!” Jin Ling tells him hotly. Not-Mo Xuanyu doesn’t seem to hear him, standing so still that Jin Ling thinks he may as well have been stone if not for the way his hands were gripping at the skirts of his robes. Seeing the opportunity, he quickly puts on his boots and bolts from the room, ignoring the delayed shouts coming from behind him as he speeds away in search of his jiujiu and Fairy.

Predictably, Jiang Cheng scolds him loudly enough to echo through the dark empty streets for running off on his own again once Jin Ling finally makes his way back to the holding spot where the YunmengJiang entourage were waiting. Unpredictably, however, his uncle’s tirade gets interrupted by a now far-too familiar yelping as not-Mo Xuanyu falls out from an alcove with a string of exceedingly embarrassing whimpers, cowering into the ground as Fairy comes trotting along after him.

On the one hand, it all goes about the same as all the other demonic cultivators Jin Ling has watched his uncle hunt down over the years in search of Wei Wuxian’s returning soul, and yet, oddly, on the other hand, it’s not the same at all.

For one, he’s never seen that look cross his uncle’s face before when not-Mo Xuanyu finally removes his mask. For another, he’s never seen a cultivator unlucky enough to catch his uncle’s ire look back with such defiance.

Maybe that’s what pushes Jin Ling to lie to his uncle about seeing the Ghost General outside the village. That, and the man had saved him after all. No one besides his two uncles have ever bothered to do anything for Jin Ling, let alone dig him out of a cursed trap he unwittingly fell into on his own. (No one’s ever apologized to him either, and he’s left stumbling between embarrassment at being caught off guard and his practiced arrogance, completely unsure how to navigate around the strange almost proud smile on the man’s face that reminds him so much of his jiujiu’s rare satisfied grin.)

“That bracelet,” not-Mo Xuanyu says slowly. Jin Ling steps back, his hand automatically coming up to cover his wrist as he stares back with a narrowed look. The man rolls his eyes. “Ai-ya, what’s that look for? I’m not going to steal it, brat. I was just… wondering if you knew who made it.”

Jin Ling frowned. “I already told you, my mother gave it to me,” he says testily, still suspicious. “What’s it to you?”

“Ah, nothing, nothing,” the man says with a light innocent tone. “I just wanted to know where one might be able to find a bracelet like that, is all.”

Jin Ling scoffs, crossing his arms. “It’s an original. You won’t be able to find it anywhere.” Even though he’s never been entirely sure of that fact, there is still an unmistakable pride that colors his words as he says them.

“Hm,” not-Mo Xuanyu nods thoughtfully, lips quirking. After a beat of silence, the man says softly, “She must have loved you very much, Jin Ling. To want to protect you even after she was gone.”

Jin Ling flushes a bright red, taken aback by the bold words. Aside from the stories he’s heard from the nursemaids at Koi Tower who cared for him and what little he could get out of his jiujiu, no one has ever willingly spoken to him about his parents. And certainly no one, not even his uncle, has ever so matter-of-factly stated that his mother had loved him to his face. To think that this not-Mo Xuanyu, of all people, would be the first is ridiculously absurd, to say the least, even as his heart does something funny in his chest.

Belatedly, his mind catches up to the second half of what the man had said, and his head shoots up. “Protect me?” Jin Ling asks quickly.

Not-Mo Xuanyu hums again, turning away from Jin Ling suddenly. His voice sounds strangely thick when he says, “Of course. Why else would she leave you with spirit-repelling beads?”

Jin Ling starts in surprise. “Spirit-repelling?” he whispers as he lifts his wrist in front of him. “How– how do you know?”

The same smile from before was on the man’s face again as he looks at Jin Ling with an expression that feels strikingly familiar. “I can feel the spiritual energy coming off of them,” he says. “You’ll see. As your cultivation gets stronger.”

Jin Ling’s mouth forms a small oh but the sound barely leaves him as he stares intently at his bracelet as if seeing it for the first time. A burst of warmth floods into his chest, spreading all the way down to the tips of his fingers and toes. His mother, protecting him from beyond the grave, like he’s always hoped, has always dreamed. His head spins, feeling off balanced with his sixteen years long question suddenly answered by a man who shouldn’t have known anything at all, and yet…

A hand comes down on his shoulder, and he looks up, eyes wide. Not-Mo Xuanyu is smiling gently, his gaze soft. “She would be happy to see you doing so well.”

A lump forms in Jin Ling’s throat as his eyes burn, and he quickly shrugs off the man’s hand before he does something stupid like cry. “Who are you to say that to me?” he demands hotly, the tips of his ears going red from embarrassment. He quickly shoves away the revelation in favor of shouting at the elder for putting his brazenness.

In the days following, he spends an inordinate amount of time fiddling with the bracelet in a way he hasn’t felt the need to since he was thirteen, trying to concentrate on his qi to see if he could visualize the spiritual energy. After far too many hours, he is only able to catch the faintest trace of it, a crimson glow that fades quickly from his focus, but he feels so victorious as if he’s crafted the beads himself with his own bare hands. Perhaps that not-Mo Xuanyu is useful for something after all. He shakes his head, pushing all thoughts of that outrageous man from his mind.

But even as he tries, he can’t quite seem to forget how not-Mo Xuanyu had gazed at him with the same look in his eyes that his jiujiu has carried for all sixteen years of Jin Ling’s life.

Life becomes an unexpected whirlwind of chaos.

Jin Ling decides as he’s sitting tied to a rock on a poisonous mountain, being forced to listen to Jin Chan’s irritating complaining that, like everything else in his life, it is entirely Wei Wuxian’s fault.

Wei Wuxian, who not only murdered his father and got his mother killed, had then showed up at Dafan Mountain pretending to be that crazy Mo Xuanyu, setting his entire life into a downward spiral of unending problems, including but not limited to: his uncle’s ire, getting silenced by Hanguang-jun, creepy dead cats, fierce corpses, almost-poisoning, a sociopath and his murderous rogue cultivator-turned-corpse, and now kidnapping.

(The traitorous part of Jin Ling’s mind, probably responsible for the sharp burn of guilt in his stomach ever since Wei Wuxian had left Koi Tower bleeding from his sword, reminds him that the man has also guided him, protected him, and saved his life again and again. He had squeezed Jin Ling’s shoulders, looked at him with a proud smile, and told him his mother had loved him.)

Jin Ling gets into an argument with Jin Chan just to stop the storm of thoughts threatening to consume him. He isn’t entirely surprised when they’re interrupted by the same man who had set his life aflame, only for him to come save them all yet again.

He watches Wei Wuxian stand in front of a mob of cultivators all clamoring for his death with the same cool defiance Jin Ling has come to recognize, listens to his not-uncle expertly and systematically reveal Sect Leader Su’s secret treachery, and feels a confusing mix of delight and pride. When Wei Wuxian then throws himself into the line of fire as bait, exactly like he had in Yi City when he had protected them all from Xue Yang, it isn’t anger that fills Jin Ling but instead concern, worry–a fear that his… that Wei Wuxian might not make it out alive. He does, and Jin Ling doesn’t know what to do with the relief that floods through him.

The next evening Jin Ling leaves Lotus Pier without permission. Though he hasn’t seen his uncle all day, word of his uncle’s strange behavior has spread like wildfire through the YunmengJiang disciples. He tells himself that he’s sneaking out because he doesn’t want to get caught in his uncle’s temper and not at all because he maybe wants to run into someone who had left without even saying goodbye to him.

With the way everything has been tracking lately, it really shouldn’t have surprised him that he winds up where he is.

But it does, and he’s left trapped in a temple with two of the most powerful cultivators in the world now defenseless, and the man who has saved him time and time again unable to intervene, all while his own uncle orchestrates the whole thing without remorse.

He’s never been very good at following orders, so Jin Ling tries to escape as they’re pushed into the temple (his xiao-shushu can’t possibly be serious about killing Fairy, right?). He’s grabbed almost immediately by Su She. He struggles, yelling, and forcibly yanks his arm out of the other man’s grip, but his bracelet comes off his wrist as he pulls himself away. He watches, eyes going wide with horror as the bracelet soars into the air and lands on the ground, the impact scattering the beads all across the open courtyard, disappearing into the drenching downpour of rain.

It’s like a blade straight through his heart, and he stares, shock still, at his mother’s broken bracelet.

His vision is blurring with tears before he even realizes. “You!” Jin Ling screams angrily. Suihua is unsheathed and in his hands, and he swings it viciously at Su She. He’s deflected easily, and then freezes, feeling the points of several swords now at his throat.

“Su-zongzhu!” Wei Wuxian shouts, darting forward, but is stopped by two Jin disciples who grab ahold of his arms. “Get away from him!”

Su She sneers. “Yiling laozu,” he drawls disdainfully. “You’re not in the position to be giving orders.”

Something extraordinarily murderous flashes through Wei Wuxian’s eyes. For a brief moment, they almost seem to glow red with rage. “Su She, I am warning you, do not go too far,” he growls icily. Jin Ling gulps, shivering despite himself, and knows suddenly why his jiujiu and Wei Wuxian are brothers.

“Minshan,” Jin Guangyao interrupts calmly from the steps. Jin Ling swallows tightly as the swords are lowered, looking up at the man who has helped raise him, now staring at him with none of the warmth or concern he has grown up knowing, and feels hollow.

They’re pushed into the temple, and Jin Ling lowers himself onto the stone floor, Suihua cradled in his lap like a protective blanket. There are grey eyes across from him watching, pinched with worry, but Jin Ling doesn’t notice as he shakes with fury and anguish.

His wrist has never felt so bare.

Jin Ling sits on a pillar and stares morosely at the beads he’s gathered in his hands. Some of them are cracked, and the sight sends more pain lancing through his chest, sharper than any of the barbs anyone has ever thrown at him. The bitter angry tears finally spill down his cheeks.

There are more important things that he should be focusing on, like the millions of earth-shattering truths that have thrusted themselves upon his reality in the past few hours, but all he can see is the broken remains of his mother’s bracelet resting in his trembling hands.

“Jin Ling!”

He looks up and only barely catches sight of the black robes and red hair ribbon before he’s suddenly engulfed into a bone-crushing hug. Wei Wuxian (his uncle?) scolds him for being so reckless, an unbearable thread of frantic concern in his voice, and Jin Ling feels his face heat up. Even Jin Guangyao (resolutely, he doesn’t think past the name), the softer of his two uncles, had never been so casual and open with his care.

Wei Wuxian pulls back but doesn’t release him, holding him by the shoulders and frowning at him with an earnest worry that makes his face color even more. “A-Ling, promise me you won’t ever do something so stupid like that again.”

Jin Ling flounders, struggling to keep himself together in the face of this man’s unending onslaught of affection, but still can’t help but squawk indignantly. “You can’t scold me!” he throws back, a petulant frown forming on his lips. He pushes himself free, holding the beads close to his chest. “Go away. You’re going to break them even more!”

Wei Wuxian blinks down at Jin Ling’s hands, and then back to Jin Ling’s face, at his quivering lips, at the stubborn collection of tears in the corner of his eyes, and he softens.

“Silly boy,” Wei Wuxian admonishes quietly as he kneels down in front of Jin Ling. “What are you crying for?”

“I’m not crying!” Jin Ling retorts even as he wipes furiously at his eyes with his sleeve.

“Give them here,” Wei Wuxian says and takes all the beads into his hands. Jin Ling makes a sharp noise of distress, but Wei Wuxian shakes his head, “I’m not going to break them, A-Ling.” Reaching into his robes, he produces a new cord from his qiankun pouch, and Jin Ling’s eyes widen in surprise.

He watches Wei Wuxian thread each bead through the cord with nimble fingers, repairing the cracked ones with expertly drawn talismans that glow a very familiar crimson, and he knows.

“There,” Wei Wuxian says as he finishes tying the final knot and seals his work with another complicated sigil. With gentle hands, he slips the bracelet back onto Jin Ling’s right wrist and glances up at him with a soft smile. “See? Good as new.”

Jin Ling doesn’t move. There is a mad rushing sound in his ears. His heart is in his mouth. His vision is blurring.

Wei Wuxian reaches up, and he feels a thumb on his cheek, brushing away the stray tears that are falling. His uncle’s smile is immeasurably fond, tender, and also something achingly familiar that wrenches a sixteen-year old memory out of Jin Ling’s howling heart, making him think words like love and warmth and safe.

Across the courtyard, Jiang Cheng is watching them, his face reflecting that unreadable chaos Jin Ling has come to know so well (and has just realized why). Wei Wuxian looks over, too, but no words pass between the two brothers. Maybe there are no more words left to say. Maybe enough words are still lying on the ashy floors of the destroyed temple behind them. (Maybe they are all resting on Jin Ling’s wrist like they have for sixteen years.)

In the span of a few weeks, everything that Jin Ling has grown up knowing and believing has crumbled under his feet. He has come closer to death than he’s ever been before. His neck stings from betrayal. His head throbs from where he hit it falling onto the stone floor. His hands are still trembling.

He’s lost an uncle.

But somehow, kneeling in front of him, he’s gained another, one who’s been with him all along, who’s been protecting him for his entire life.

Seven months into Jin Ling’s term as the new LanlingJin sect leader, more than the sycophantic elders trying to curry his favor where before they had only looked at him with disdain, more than all the smaller clans trying to take advantage of his age and inexperience, and more than the overwhelming task of having to clean up after Jin Guangyao’s political mess (or the frighteningly painful shadows of the man he still sees everywhere at Koi Tower), it’s his two maternal uncles who are driving him slowly toward insanity the most.

“We could lock them up together until they finally talk,” Ouyang Zizhen suggests, after Jin Ling finishes regaling his friends over dinner with a tale of how a perfectly well-planned unassuming meal with both his uncles at Koi Tower had turned into an epic debacle. Even this morning, the servants were still trying to scrub away the damage done to his private dining hall.

“Do you want to die?” Lan Jingyi says through a mouthful of rice, still the most un-Lan disciple he’s ever met wearing the cloud-patterned forehead ribbon. “Because Jiang-zongzhu will definitely kill us.” He then adds, after a beat, “After he kills Wei-qianbei.”

Jin Ling groans and lets his forehead fall onto the table with a thunk. “Not. Helping.”

Lan Sizhui pats him on his arm. “Jin Ling,” he says, “it’s not your responsibility to make sure Wei-qianbei and Jiang-zongzhu get along.”

He’s right. Jin Ling knows he’s right, and not because Sizhui is usually right. Neither Wei Wuxian nor Jiang Cheng has ever asked him to embark on this solely self-decided journey to fix their estranged relationship. Both of them seem frustratingly content with the current status quo, only really maintaining some level of stilted cordiality wherever Jin Ling is concerned.

But he has gotten exceptionally tired of having to juggle around both of them. Neither of his uncles ever visit him at the same time, so he feels annoyingly pulled in two different directions and just ends up feeling guilty whenever he chooses one over the other. Never mind that after all these years, he finally understands a little of his uncle’s complicated feelings for his once sworn brother and the bracelet he had left for Jin Ling. Or the fact that, according to the YunmengJiang disciples, his jiujiu has gone from raging at people who dare speak Wei Wuxian’s name to snapping at anyone who thinks they can speak ill without impunity. And yet, the man still can’t have a civil conversation with Uncle Wei without it resulting in a shouting match.

Looking at them, Jin Ling feels a bone-deep longing to set right to what little family he has left. (He also wants equally as much to throttle both of their heads against the wall.)

“Ugh,” he groans, sitting back up and sliding his bowl of rice towards him. “Fine. But if they do try to kill each other tonight, you all better help me.”

The plan for their night hunt had started out so simple–a brief patrol through the eastern forests of Yunmeng to test out Jin Ling’s bracelet. Wei Wuxian has spent the better part of the past several weeks adding adjustments to it, struck by a burst of creative inspiration and spurred on by the necessity to keep Jin Ling safe as he settles into his role as the face of a sect that’s still awashed with scandal and many people looking at him to fail.

The concern thrums a warmth through Jin Ling’s chest that’s different than what he feels with his jiujiu. He has always been able to count on Jiang Cheng’s thunderous temper to shield him from anyone and anything that might harm him. Wei Wuxian, too, is unquestioningly overprotective and easily as exasperating as Jiang Cheng, but there’s also something sweeter, something softer, in the way he showers Jin Ling with constant teasing affection. He still isn’t used to it, but he can’t say he really minds that this is his family now.

He had briefly entertained the hope that he might be able to enjoy what would be an easy night hunt with his friends without his jiujiu interfering. But for some unknown reason, Jiang Cheng has been attaching himself to every night hunt Jin Ling has gone on where Wei Wuxian was supervising, regardless of how many times Jin Ling has tried to tell him he doesn’t need the extra supervision. This time is no different. (“Just because Wei Wuxian doesn’t have any sense of respect doesn’t mean you can just forget about rules and propriety, brat! Is this how a sect leader acts?!” “Jiujiu.”)

Both Jingyi and Zizhen stare at him with wary looks before going back to scarfing down their meals as if he hadn’t spoken. Sizhui smiles at him reassuringly though, so at least Jin Ling will have him as support tonight even if the other two abandon him like cowards.

Unsurprisingly, it all turns into an absolute disaster.

Jin Ling finds himself saddled with both his uncles right from the start after a suggestion to split the group off with one elder each is viciously slammed down by Jiang Cheng refusing to let Jin Ling go with Wei Wuxian.

“I am not letting you experiment on my nephew alone!” Jiang Cheng had snarled.

An extremely irritated look had flashed across Wei Wuxian’s face, and all the juniors had collectively held their breaths (the cold rage Wei Wuxian had unleashed onto Sect Leader Yao two months ago when the man had willfully omitted several important facts in his report to the Chief Cultivator regarding a haunting along the northern border of Meishan, namely that a collecting mass of resentful energy had risen to such severely threatening levels so as to cause a number of fatalities in the nearby villages, and got Sizhui gravely injured during an initial patrol, was still too fresh on their minds for them to believe that their beloved senior wasn’t just as prone to exploding as Jiang Cheng), but then Wei Wuxian had turned away and nodded with tense acquiescence. By then, Jin Ling already had a headache.

Predictably, Jingyi and Zizhen run away, taking Sizhui with them, who had looked back at him with an apologetic unsurety, leaving Jin Ling woefully resigned to patrolling their designated side alone with his two exasperating uncles.

Thirty minutes later, nobody has said a word, the only thing interrupting the tense silence is the sound of the leaves crunching underneath their feet as they walk. Wei Wuxian twirls his flute. Jiang Cheng glares at the trees. Jin Ling tries not to fling them both off the mountain.

Finally fed up, Jin Ling tries to speed ahead, but before he can even take a few steps, two voices call from behind him.

“Where do you think you’re going, brat?”

“Jin Ling, don’t run off.”

He turns around to see Jiang Cheng scowling at Wei Wuxian, who is suddenly finding the trees exceptionally interesting. “Are you both going to do this all night?” Jin Ling asks with a decidedly unimpressed glare as he crosses his arms. Jiang Cheng turns his scowl onto him, his mouth already opening to shout at him for his tone, but Wei Wuxian interrupts with a bright laugh.

“Hah?” Wei Wuxian says, advancing on him and brandishing his flute. Jin Ling’s lips twitch despite himself. “You’re getting quite mouthy these days, Jin-zongzhu. Just because you’re a sect leader now doesn’t mean I won’t plant you in the ground like a–” He cuts off abruptly, head whipping to his left as the hilarity fades immediately from his face. Jin Ling tenses, already half-unsheathing Suihua, but nothing happens, just the same rustle of trees above their heads as the evening breeze flows through Yunmeng.

“Wei Wuxian?” Jiang Cheng asks tightly, almost like an accusation, his face contorting into a mix of irritation and something a lot like worry.

Wei Wuxian startles as if shaken and turns back towards them. His brows furrow. “It’s… nothing. I thought I…” His shakes his head, looking strangely disoriented. It sends an uneasy feeling shooting up Jin Ling’s spine. He’s never seen Wei Wuxian, so normally brimming with bright humor and nonchalance (other than when he’s raining fire down on Sect Leader Yao’s head), look this rattled.

If possible, the tense line to Jiang Cheng’s shoulders stiffens even more. “What’s wrong with you?” he demands sharply.

“Da-jiujiu?” Jin Ling says frowning.

The address seems to pull Wei Wuxian out of his daze, something close to a normal smile spreading across his face. “Ai-ya, why are you both looking like that?” he says as he throws an arm around Jin Ling’s shoulders. “It’s nothing. Come on, let’s keep going.”

They fall back into step again, but the furrow doesn’t quite leave Wei Wuxian’s face. Jiang Cheng is pretending not to notice, but Jin Ling sees his uncle sending narrowed glances out from the corner of his eyes. As usual, Wei Wuxian teases Jin Ling until the tension bleeds right out of him in favor of annoyance over his childish uncle. Rolling his eyes, he huffs and speeds ahead again, keeping his ears trained behind him in case they try to kill each other.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Wei Wuxian is murmuring, exasperated.

Jiang Cheng scoffs. “You’re the one who froze like a headless chicken back there,” he snaps back irritably, but Jin Ling hears the gruff undercurrent of concern.

Wei Wuxian seems to hear it, too, because he says, in a tone that sounds like he’s rolling his eyes, “Jiang Cheng, stop worrying. I just thought I felt something.”

“I’m not–”

So engrossed is he in the conversation that if it hadn’t been for the sudden and grotesquely familiar smell, Jin Ling would have missed the loud rustling to his left. As it was, he only very narrowly manages to jump back in time before a fierce corpse leaps through the trees and lands exactly where he had been standing.

“Jin Ling!” shout both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng.

Spinning away, Jin Ling unsheathes Suihua, his heart slamming into his chest as he faces the violent rotting corpse. Only the creature doesn’t move, head cocking in what appears to be confusion, its soulless eyes looking right through Jin Ling, almost as if it can’t see him at all. On his wrist, his bracelet warms.

“It worked,” Wei Wuxian says with a pleased sound as Jiang Cheng rushes forward and tugs Jin Ling behind them. The momentary victory is short-lived, however, as the low growls of an incoming onslaught of fierce corpses reaches all their ears. They flood into the clearing, joining their companion, numbering nearly as many as the wave that had attacked them at Burial Mounds over half a year ago, until they are all at once surrounded.

“You want to try telling me again how I shouldn’t worry?” Jiang Cheng growls through gritted teeth as both Zidian and Sandu flare to life in his hands.

Wei Wuxian somehow still has enough defiance in him to roll his eyes, Chenqing flipping easily in his hands as he raises it to his lips. He turns his head. “Jin Ling, stay back,” he orders.

Jin Ling bristles at the command, but the sharp look Jiang Cheng sends his way makes the retort die quickly in his throat. Scowling, he leaps into a nearby tree, crouching low on a branch and watching as his uncles move to stand back to back. Without Jin Ling’s bracelet as distraction, the fierce corpses seem to refocus on the two cultivators in front of them, snarling in anticipation of satisfying their bloodlust. He has no idea why the hell so many are hanging around what should be a relatively benign forest in Yunmeng. He hopes with an uneasy feeling that his friends are okay.

The first notes of a dizi fill the cold open air, sending an involuntary shiver up Jin Ling’s spine, as Wei Wuxian closes his eyes and pulls a high-pitched luring melody from his blackened bone flute with practiced perfection. A fierce corpse leaps from the crowd. Like a thunderclap, Zidian whips out and smashes it backwards into a tree, scattering loose leaves all around them as the battle begins.

Jin Ling watches with startled amazement.

He has seen Wei Wuxian battle with Hanguang-jun at his side, standing still, completely trusting, while the other man dances, wielding his blade with deadly precision. He has seen Jiang Cheng battle alone, a furious flurry of chaotic movements and the constant manic whip of lightning.

But this– this is different.

Wei Wuxian is a blur of ink, weaving seamlessly around Jiang Cheng’s swift attacks, as the fierce corpses disintegrate under the sharpness of Sandu’s blade, the electricity of Zidian’s purple lightning, and the black blur of spirits being called to battle by the master who commands them. Their movements are graceful and synchronized in a way Jin Ling has never witnessed, as if they are each an arm to one single soul. He’s suddenly and very keenly aware that this must be how they had each learnt to fight. Not alone, but together, standing back to back, as brothers–partners–the Twin Heroes of Yunmeng.

The fierce corpses are rapidly dispersed under their combined efforts, and the surroundings fall again into an eerie silence as both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng survey the area for several more tense minutes.

Jin Ling drops back down to the ground, rushing over to them. His eyes frantically roam over each of them for injuries and frowns unhappily at the gash on Jiang Cheng’s arm. “Jiujiu! You’re hurt!”

“I’m fine,” Jiang Cheng says gruffly, placing a reassuring hand on Jin Ling’s shoulder.

“We should find the other kids,” Wei Wuxian says with a worried set to his lips.

Jiang Cheng jerks his head in agreement as he sheathes Sandu. He lets Jin Ling fret over the gash even as he rests a hand on Jin Ling’s head, repeating, “I’m fine, A-Ling.”

Distracted, neither of them senses the movement on their right until it’s too late. With a sudden furious roar, a lone fierce corpse soars from the shadows straight at them. It’s too close, moving too quickly–Jiang Cheng turns, instinctively shielding Jin Ling before he can even register what’s happening, but someone bodily shoves them both aside, sending Jin Ling crashing into the floor. The impact knocks the breath right out of him, and his head spins from the vertigo that follows. Above him, the familiar static whip of Zidian sounds, making the hair on the back of his neck stand, quickly followed by a sickening crunch some distance away, and then–a sharp, strangled gasp.

Jin Ling looks up and freezes.

There is blood sliding down from Wei Wuxian’s mouth as he sways unsteadily on his feet, blinking slowly. His hand comes up to his abdomen where the outer layer of his robes are rapidly darkening around a gaping wound.

Jin Ling’s heart stutters to a stop.

“Oh,” Wei Wuxian says, completely nonsensically, looking down at the blood on his hand in confusion. “Oh,” he says again, staggering backwards, his legs giving out underneath him. Jiang Cheng barely manages to catch him, sending them both collapsing to the ground.

Scrambling up, Jin Ling half-walks, half-crawls to his uncles, almost falling on top of them in his haste as a sharp unbridled fear spikes through his chest. No, he thinks desperately. You can’t take him, too.

“Idiot, idiot, idiot!” Jiang Cheng is shouting repeatedly. He looks more scared than Jin Ling has ever seen him, his eyes wide, all the color drained from his face as shaking hands come up to apply pressure over the wound. “What were you fucking thinking?!”

“Heh,” Wei Wuxian laughs, absurdly, through a mouthful of blood. “I guess I should make you a bracelet, too, eh Jiang Cheng?”

“Shut up!” Jiang Cheng roars angrily. His hands, still shaking, start to glow with chaotic bursts of purple qi. “What is a bracelet going to do when you’re such a fucking idiot?!”

Wei Wuxian coughs, wincing. “Hey, it protected Jin Ling, didn’t it?” he says, turning his eyes towards Jin Ling’s quickly watering ones. “Don’t cry, A-Ling. Your da-jiujiu is fine.”

Jin Ling glares at him through furious tears. “You’re not! Don’t lie!”

“I’m not lying,” Wei Wuxian says, reaching over and giving Jin Ling’s trembling hand a gentle reassuring squeeze. Jin Ling clutches it, feeling a heavy despair welling up in him as Wei Wuxian continues to pale despite Jiang Cheng flooding the wound with spiritual energy. Short labored breaths are falling from blue lips, and panic seizes Jin Ling’s chest as his uncle’s eyes start to droop.

“Da-jiujiu!” Jin Ling cries, frantically tugging on his arm.

Jiang Cheng grabs Wei Wuxian’s shoulder and shakes him roughly. “Stay awake!”

Jin Ling doesn’t realize he’s holding his breath until Wei Wuxian blinks his eyes back open, and it flows out of him like choking relief.

“I’m not going to die, Jiang Cheng,” Wei Wuxian says tiredly. Jiang Cheng flinches violently, and Wei Wuxian frowns. “A-Cheng…”

“Shut up!” Jiang Cheng snarls, his voice cracking. He’s trembling and glaring at his hands that are covered in Wei Wuxian’s blood. The purple glow of his spiritual energy illuminates his face, looking angrier and more lost than he had seven months ago, screaming at Wei Wuxian about his golden core. “You’re so fucking stupid,” he whispers. “What the fuck were you thinking? Going night hunting when all you ever do is attract trouble wherever you go.”

“Hey,” Wei Wuxian protests. “You’re the one who keeps coming along.”

“Of course I come, you idiot!” Jiang Cheng shouts at him, a sharp hysterical edge cutting through his every word. “When have I ever not come? When have I ever not fucking come?!”

The silence that follows is deafening. Jin Ling stares at them, wide-eyed, as Jiang Cheng heaves harsh broken breaths, and an unreadable expression passes over Wei Wuxian’s pale face. For a long, long moment, the brothers just stare at one another.

“Idiot,” Wei Wuxian finally murmurs. His tone is fond as his lips curve into a soft smile. Jiang Cheng’s face contorts with a miserable frown, and Jin Ling feels suddenly like he’s missed something terribly important.

Confusingly, Wei Wuxian reaches up with an unsteady hand and tugs a strand loose from the top of Jiang Cheng’s ever-present half-bun until it falls over his face, lips quirking at his brother’s wide startled gaze. “Haven’t you figured it out by now, you idiot?” he says, his voice slurring.

He brushes gentle fingers through Jiang Cheng’s hair, and Jiang Cheng’s face visibly crumples.

“You might be the world’s Sandu Shengshou,” Wei Wuxian’s breath rattles as he speaks, growing ragged, “but you’ll always be my didi.”

Wei Wuxian’s eyes fall shut, and his hand slides from Jiang Cheng’s hair, landing heavily on the ground. It echoes through Jin Ling’s head, louder than anything he has ever heard. He shakes, cold shock flooding his chest as his once so lively da-jiujiu goes deathly, terrifyingly, still. His uncle lets out a strangled noise, and it feels like a scream.

“Wei Wuxian!”

Jin Ling has only ever seen his uncle cry once, at Guanyin Temple, because of Wei Wuxian.

The second time is still because of Wei Wuxian.

“We’re all going to die,” Lan Jingyi says after four days, and Wei Wuxian still has not woken up.

Jin Ling is inclined to agree with him and would have said so if he doesn’t still feel a little bit like throwing up. They are sitting by the water in the inner pavilions of Lotus Pier, hovering close to Wei Wuxian’s rooms like they’ve been doing ever since that disastrous night hunt.

Sizhui, Jingyi, and Zizhen had arrived not long after Wei Wuxian had passed out. Somehow, they had managed to get him back to Lotus Pier in one piece. Mostly, Jin Ling thinks, because his jiujiu had been as close to hysterical as he had ever seen him, even during the mess with Jin Guangyao, and had singlehandedly carried Wei Wuxian back on Sandu. Sizhui had immediately sent word to Hanguang-jun, who had arrived before dawn broke, looking windswept and so overcome with worry that even Jin Ling could see it plainly displayed on the Chief Cultivator’s normally expressionless face.

Since then, Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji have sat by Wei Wuxian’s bedside in complete silence, both refusing to leave. If Jin Ling had thought the relationship between his uncle and Hanguang-jun had been strained before, then it was nothing compared to the tension radiating off both of them now, growing sharper and icier with each day that passes while Wei Wuxian remains unconscious.

Under better circumstances, Jin Ling would have crowed at the opportunity to finally see inside the Forbidden Room of Lotus Pier, his uncle having boarded up Wei Wuxian’s old room for the past sixteen years with strict orders forbidding anyone from entering or face his merciless wrath.

But right now, Jin Ling just feels ill.

“Wei-qianbei will be okay, Jin Ling,” Sizhui tells him, not for the first time, correctly interpreting his silence. Jin Ling nods, plucking miserably at the lotus pod in his hand.

Sizhui has been faring remarkably better than him despite how close he knows Sizhui is to his Xian-gege, spending a lot of time in the kitchens cooking up meals that he and Jin Ling both force Hanguang-jun and Jiang Cheng to eat. The cooking seems to give Sizhui something to do with his hands in the same way Jin Ling has been anxiously plucking lotus pods. At this rate, no lotuses are going to bloom in this portion of the lake come next autumn.

Zizhen throws an arm around Jin Ling’s slumped shoulders then and coaxes him into a game of Go. Halfway through their second game while Jin Ling is bickering with Jingyi over his stone placement, the brisk almost-run of YunmengJiang’s senior physician and her two attendants towards Wei Wuxian’s rooms have them all abandoning the game and sprinting off the pier after them.

Jin Ling bursts through the door, his friends quick on his heels, barely managing to skid to a stop before he crashes into one of the many disciples who are standing in the back. (It has occurred to him over the past few days just how truly well-loved Wei Wuxian still is amongst the survivors from the burning of Lotus Pier who remember their da-shixiong, especially now that catching Jiang Cheng’s displeasure is no longer exactly a consequence.)

“Lan Zhan…”

Wei Wuxian’s voice is clear even from the back of the room, and the sheer relief that floods through Jin Ling at hearing it almost sends him to his knees.

Jin Ling squeezes through the throng of people until he reaches the bed. Wei Wuxian has been shifted and is now lying on Hanguang-jun’s lap, looking pale, his eyes still closed, but awake. Hanguang-jun has his arms around Wei Wuxian’s shoulders, murmuring quietly, “Wei Ying, I’m here.” Beside them, Jiang Cheng is hovering, shoulders and back tense, while the sect physician performs a series of checks.

“Jiang Cheng?” Wei Wuxian says.

Jiang Cheng stiffens, and it visibly takes his uncle several moments to work the words out of his throat. “I’m–right here,” he grits out. “Idiot,” he adds.

There’s a flat line to Lan Wangji’s mouth, but a smile blooms across Wei Wuxian’s lips, and he lets out a short huff of laughter. “The kids?” Wei Wuxian asks.

“We’re fine,” Jin Ling says quickly, a little too loudly, and he flushes lightly in embarrassment when Hanguang-jun glances at him.

“Xian-gege, everyone’s safe. You don’t need to worry,” Sizhui adds, quieter than Jin Ling, but the relief in his voice is palpable. Jingyi’s and Zizhen’s loud clamoring additions behind them widen the smile on Wei Wuxian’s face, and he finally blinks his eyes slowly open to look at them. Jin Ling has never been so glad in his life to see the familiar teasing amusement in those grey eyes.

“Brats,” Wei Wuxian murmurs fondly.

The sect physician finishes and turns to bow to Jiang Cheng and Hanguang-jun. “Your Excellency, zongzhu, Wei-gongzi is recovering adequately, but he won’t be well enough to travel for some time. I recommend he rest for at least a week or more.”

Lan Wangji inclines his head, turning his attention back to Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng exchanges a few quiet words with her that Jin Ling doesn’t catch before she bows and leaves the room. A sweeping look from his uncle scatters the rest of the mingling disciples from the room, leaving only the three adults and the juniors. Wei Wuxian is in the process of pulling himself up into a seated position with Hanguang-jun’s help when Jiang Cheng comes back to stand beside Jin Ling.

“Xian-gege,” Sizhui says with a concerned frown when Wei Wuxian winces even with Hanguang-jun supporting him from behind. “You shouldn’t strain yourself.”

“I’m fine, A-Yuan,” Wei Wuxian reassures despite sounding winded. He rests his hand on the crown of Sizhui’s head and smiles. “I’ll be up running with you all again in no time, you’ll see.”

Jiang Cheng’s jaw clenches tightly, and Jin Ling glances at him warily–he can practically hear his uncle’s teeth grinding. Being in a coma for four days apparently hasn’t taken away Wei Wuxian’s ability to know when Jiang Cheng is annoyed either because he turns to look at his brother. Jiang Cheng’s face is a stony canvas of too many emotions, wound up tighter now than even these last few days of waiting for Wei Wuxian to wake up. The tension is suddenly so thick it could be cut with a sword.

“Jiujiu,” Jin Ling tries weakly.

Several things happen then at once. Swift and sudden as the crack of lightning, Jiang Cheng is swinging his arm forward. Startled, Wei Wuxian moves backwards as Jin Ling gasps and reflexively grabs his uncle’s other arm to try and tug him away. Faster than any of them, Hanguang-jun’s hand shoots out and closes around Jiang Cheng’s fist, stopping the movement instantly.

The ensuing silence reverberates so loudly against the walls that Jin Ling’s ears ring. For a moment, no one dares to breathe.

“Jiang Wanyin,” Lan Wangji says coldly, his voice sending warning bells through everyone’s heads. Jiang Cheng looks at him, and the temperature in the room cools several thousand degrees as the two men glare at each other.

“Jiujiu,” Jin Ling protests, tugging at his uncle’s arm. (How is he back this already?) Nobody moves.

Finally, Wei Wuxian reaches up and grabs Jiang Cheng’s wrist. “Lan Zhan, let go,” he says. Hanguang-jun turns to look at him, and even though his expression doesn’t change, his incredulity is clear. Wei Wuxian smiles, and not for the first time, Jin Ling feels like they’ve had a thousand conversations without saying a single word. “Lan Zhan,” he says again.

Slowly, Lan Wangji releases Jiang Cheng’s hand but fixes the man with a frosty stare, looking poised and ready to strike. Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, just tugs lightly at his brother’s wrist.

“A-Cheng,” he whines, his face taking on an absurdly deliberate pout even in the face of Jiang Cheng’s temper. Jin Ling would have been impressed if his heart wasn’t trying to slam out of his ribcage. “How can you try to hit me so soon after I wake up?”

“You deserve it,” Jiang Cheng says viciously, but there’s very little heat to his words. He hasn’t even bothered to pull away. His uncle looks angry and lost again, like he had back in the forest with Wei Wuxian bleeding under his hands because he had stepped in front of a fierce corpse to save them both. His uncle had screamed, had cried, had carried Wei Wuxian home and held vigil by his bedside for days.

Maybe that’s why Wei Wuxian waits now, patiently refusing to let his brother go. “I know,” he says softly, his lips curving into a gentle, knowing smile.

All at once, Jiang Cheng deflates, crumbling like a puppet losing its strings. Jin Ling watches with wide eyes as his uncle folds himself onto the bed and wraps his arms around Wei Wuxian in a crushing hug, curling himself tightly into his brother’s shoulder. A tender, watery smile blooms over Wei Wuxian’s face as his arms come up around his brother.

“Idiot,” Wei Wuxian says, and it’s fond again. “Didn’t I tell you I wasn’t going to die?”

“Shut up,” Jiang Cheng mutters, voice muffled. He’s shaking, just a little. “You’re the idiot.”

Wei Wuxian laughs, soft and warm. “It’s okay, didi,” he murmurs. “I’m here now.”

Jin Ling is rapidly trying to blink away the stinging in his eyes, aware that he looks ridiculous with his mouth threatening to split open with the force of his smile. But his chest feels so warm that he thinks it might burst from the strength of his joy.

Their next meal together is at Lotus Pier. (His drapings have been drenched with enough flung soup, thank you very much.) Wei Wuxian brings Sizhui along, and thankfully, not Hanguang-jun.

His uncles still bicker the entire time, but their traded barbs have become more teasing over the past few months than terse. There’s a relaxed line to Jiang Cheng’s shoulders now, who appears so much less wound up like he could snap at any moment, and his heart throbs with happiness to see his jiujiu so carefree.

Jin Ling asks his uncles cheekily if they’re ever going to shut up and eat and has to hide his smile when they both turn their threats onto him instead. He snickers with a giggling Sizhui as Wei Wuxian dramatically promises to plant them both on the ground like radishes. Beside him, Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes.

A loose strand of hair frames the right side of his uncle’s face. On his left wrist sits a bracelet.

Fin.

---

Bonus Scene:

It isn’t the first time he’s had his brother’s blood on his hands, and certainly not the first time he’s seen him bleed.

As children, his mother had worked them and the other disciples down to their bones, hours and hours of intense training that left their hands calloused and bleeding. Their friendly competitive sparring matches as they grew older always drew blood from the minor nicks they inflicted on one another (his brother never did injure him for real, until that last time). When the war fell upon their heads, the cuts and gashes turned commonplace, both of them taking turns dressing each other’s wounds after each battle so their sister wouldn’t have to see. Later, after he stabbed his brother on a mountain, he had cleaned the blood off his sword while trying not to vomit.

This shouldn’t have affected him.

But Jiang Cheng wakes up for the sixth night in a row to the darkness of his room, drenched in a cold sweat, an unbearable sensation of slick warm fluid on his hands and the bitter smell of copper in his nose. He swallows and looks down. His hands are clean, dry and still reddened from the number of times he’s scrubbed them raw since carrying his unconscious brother back to Lotus Pier. (Wei Wuxian dying in his arms is not how he had imagined his brother’s next visit to Lotus Pier would go, if Jiang Cheng could ever manage to shove aside his old bitterness to allow it to happen.)

A restless anxiety courses through his entire body, unable to shake off the feeling of stickiness on his hands even when he can see that they’re clean. He throws the covers off himself and puts on his slippers, escaping his room before the haunted shadows swallow him whole. Before Jiang Cheng even realizes which direction his feet are taking him, he’s standing in front of his brother’s room, and some of that old anger flares up into his chest.

He hates that he still loves him, as much as he’s always had. He hates that he still needs him, still yearns for his brother’s companionship, even after everything. He hates that his brother had thrown himself in front of Jiang Cheng for the millionth time, as if he hasn’t already accumulated enough debt between them that he can never hope to pay back, the last sacrifice still burning sharply in his lower abdomen.

He hates, most of all, that having his brother at Lotus Pier for the past week has loosened the tightly wound coil in his chest, blowing open the doors of his heart with bursts of sunlight that warms him all the way to his fingertips, in a way he hasn’t felt since the day he lost him.

It’s okay, didi. I’m here now.

He enters the room quietly, thankful that Hanguang-jun had been pulled away by duties and had to return to Gusu for the next few days while Wei Wuxian continues to convalesce at Lotus Pier. Without that man’s constant aggravating presence, Jiang Cheng feels less like he’s standing on the chopping block in his own damn home.

His brother is fast asleep, curled over on his side. The color has returned to his face, and the healthy flush eases some of the tightness in his chest. Jiang Cheng isn’t sure he will ever forget the way his brother had looked, laying blue and still on the forest ground, nor the cold terror that washed over him at the thought that he had lost his brother again after he had just gotten him back.

(He wonders what he would have done if he had really discovered his brother underneath that fiery mountain all those years ago–if he’d been faced with the indisputable reality that his brother was truly gone, would he have just disintegrated where he stood. Sometimes, he thinks the hope, the certainty of seeing Wei Wuxian again was the only reason why he survived.)

Jiang Cheng stands watching his brother sleep for a long time. He’s seen him now, he tries to tell himself. His brother is fine. He should turn around and go back to his room. He’s not a child anymore, seeking comfort from his siblings after a nightmare. He’s a sect leader. He’s been alone with the world on his shoulders for decades. He really, really shouldn’t need this.

But the thought of returning to his cold room, haunted by the phantom smells of blood and the echoes of his brother’s rattling breaths, keeps his feet stubbornly rooted in place.

He feels like a wound that’s never healed, smarting at every turn, every prod, every instance of his brother’s sunlit grin. He’s angry, exhausted, so weary that he can barely hold himself up from under the weight of all the years of mistakes and regret, but mostly, he misses his brother so much he could choke.

Go on then, A-Cheng.

His sister’s voice is sweet and encouraging, so familiar and clear that it drags a sharp stuttering ache across his heart. She’s always been able to unwind his stubbornness, his inability to just do what he wants without thinking of a thousand reasons why he shouldn’t, and it finally, finally pushes him forward now.

Wei Wuxian wakes as Jiang Cheng crawls underneath the covers. His brother doesn’t speak or ask any questions, shifting aside and letting Jiang Cheng curl himself against his brother like he hasn’t done since they were both twelve and afraid of thunderstorms. He trembles, only a little bit, when his brother’s arms come around and hold him close.

His brother’s heartbeat is a reassuring sound against his ear, a surety that he is wholly and invariably alive, returned to the world, to Jiang Cheng’s life against all possible odds–a second chance that Jiang Cheng probably doesn’t deserve but has been given anyway. It soothes away some of that old anger and settles the last of the anxiety fluttering through his veins. Slowly, he’s lulled into sleep by the steady sound of his brother’s quiet breathing.

Jiang Cheng dreams of lotus blooms and smiles.

---

Final Notes:

1. Title is lyrics from Imagine Dragons’ Whatever It Takes.

2. So there's probably like established xianxia/wuxia rules about what magical spirit/demon/ghoul-repelling beads actually do and how they are made, but I couldn't for the life of me find any credible sources, SO I just made it up. Yolo. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

3. I don’t know how well I executed what I wanted to do here, but I love (2) idiots, and I will die on this hill. Did I screw up everyone’s characterizations? Highly probable.

4. I really love Jiang Cheng’s one-sided bang in CQL. (CAN WE JUST BASK IN WZC’S BEAUTIFUL FACE?) It's an immense travesty that he stops wearing it when he decides he needs be an adult™. But Wei Wuxian secretly misses it, and I wanted to play with that symbolism of change a little.

5. Thanks to @winepresswrath for dealing with my incessant rambling and for the genius idea of the “Forbidden Room” of Lotus Pier. Lmao.

6. I know this was meant to be a Jin Ling perspective fic, but I couldn’t help writing the bonus scene and had to stop myself from turning it into a Jiang Cheng version of this, because I already have too many WIPs that I will never finish. (Dammit plot bunnies, leave me alone!)

7. Please feel free to come scream with me about cql/mdzs and yunmeng shuangjie on my personal tumblr. :D

8. Thank you so much for reading!! ♥︎♥︎♥︎ Stay healthy and well!!

#fytheuntamed #the untamed #mdzs #yunmeng shuangjie #!fic #!fandom: mdzs #!brotp: twin idiots #*

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hyperion-moonbabe-art3mis · 4 years ago

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Caught In Between 33. Debrief

Summary: Athena Dumont has finally found a place to call home after many years of foster homes and traveling. She had finally tamed her supernatural side and just wanted to live a normal teenage life. She quickly discovers that there is nothing normal about her hometown, Mystic Falls and gets sucked right back into the supernatural world.

Post Date: 02.09.21

Word count: 1.3k

Based off: 04x15 “Stand By Me”

Masterlist

CIB Masterlist

The next morning Caroline and I head back over to Elena’s to clean up the mess. As we were scrubbing the floors Elena and others walk-in.

“Hey, you’re home,” Caroline says as I continue scrubbing the floor.

“We were trying to clean the burn mark where Kol--” I start before we both notice Stefan carrying Jeremy’s body. “We couldn’t get the spot out,” I say quieter.

“Come on. Let’s get him upstairs,” Elena says. Caroline and I look at each other confused before we start to clean again, giving them their space.

“How long has she been like that?” Caroline asks Stefan as he makes his way into the kitchen.

“Ever since we found his body. She hasn’t said anything except that she’s waiting for him to wake up,” Stefan explains while helping.

“But he’s not going to wake up. She knows that right?” I state. Stefan puts his finger to his mouth and moves to the sink to turn the faucet on.

“Look. Deep down, I think she has to, but we’re talking about Elena here. She feels grief more powerfully than anyone else. I think her denial is the one thing protecting her from letting it all in,” Stefan explains.

“She can’t stay like that forever,” Caroline says.

“I know, but I don’t want to be the one to break her out of it, not until we know that bonnie is safe, not until we get Damon over here too, you know--,” Stefan trails off.

“Use the sire bond to convince her that everything is ok?” Caroline finishes for him.

“I’m not in denial,” Elena says and Stefan turns the water off. “I know that he was supernatural, but did you see? His tattoo is gone. The tattoo had the spell that opened Silas’ chamber. Maybe it being gone means that he fulfilled his supernatural destiny. Maybe he’s back to normal, it’s possible right?” Elena suggests.

“Elena--” I say.

“It’s possible, Athena. There’s a chance. It may be minuscule, but it’s hope, and I’m gonna hold on to that hope with everything that I’ve got because there’s no way-- there’s absolutely no way that my brother is dead. I’m not in denial,” Elena states before walking away.

I continue to finish cleaning while Stefan and Caroline step outside to make a plan. After a little while, I start to smell something. “What’s that smell?” I ask making my way to the porch.

“It’s his body. He’s starting to decompose,” Stefan says. “Tell your mom to get Dr. Fell over here,” Stefan says to Caroline.

Dr. Fell came over to inspect Jeremy’s body, but as she inspected it I heard a commotion from upstairs. Elena was freaking out over Dr. Fell saying that Jeremy was dead. I head outside since it was a family matter that I don’t think I should involve myself in. As I wait for Dr. Fell to finish, Caroline arrives at the house on the phone with Bonnie and Damon arriving shortly after.

“Thank god,” Caroline says.

“We were so worried,” I say as we take turns hugging Bonnie.

“I’m ok,” Bonnie says.

“Could you get Stefan out here?” Damon asks.

“They said that she knows what to do,” Caroline says.

“Caroline, I need to talk to my brother,” Damon demands.

“What’s wrong?” I ask. I head back inside with Caroline and Bonnie to talk about what happened. Me, Bonnie, Caroline, Elena and Matt all sit at the table.

“It’s called an expression triangle. I need to complete it for Silas,” Bonnie explains.

“What? Bonnie, you can’t kill 12 people,” Matt says.

“I know it sounds crazy, but it’s the only way to get enough power,” Bonnie says.

“To do what?” I ask.

“Once the veil is dropped, the other side doesn’t exist anymore. There’s nothing separating us. We’re all just one,” Bonnie explains.

“Bonnie, you are talking like a crazy person. You are not killing 12 people, and you sure as hell can’t invite every monster who has every died back in this world,” Caroline says.

“Caroline, I think she knows that,” Matt says.

“No. I can do it. I have the power. I can bring everyone back-- Jeremy, Alaric, Vicki,” Bonnie says.

“Bonnie, stop it you can’t just say these things,” Caroline says before a phone rings.

“I’ll get it,” Elena says.

“Hey, look. I’ll get it,” Matt offers.

“I said i’ll get it,” Elena says moving to the phone. As she answers the phone Damon and Stefan walk in. “Jeremy can’t come to the phone right now. He’s not...I’m sorry. He’s dead,” Elena says before hanging up. She then heads upstairs leaving us a bit clueless.

A few minutes later Elena comes back downstairs, “Where Bonnie?” She asks.

“We told Matt to take her home. We thought it’d be best,” Stefan says.

“Ok. Guess we’re gonna have to do this the old fashioned way,” Elena says.

“Do what?” I ask.

“Put his body on the couch,” Elena says.

“Elena? Elena, you need help finding something?” Caroline asks.

“Got it,” Elena says immediately dumping gas onto her kitchen countertop.

“What are you doing?” Stefan asks.

“We need a cover story right? You think I didn’t hear you guys talking earlier? Well, what are we gonna say--animal attack, tumble down thw stairs? No. We burn the house down with him inside of it,” Elena says dumping the gas all over her house.

“Elena, stop it,” Stefan says.

“Why, because you want me to not be in denial? You want me to face the truth? This is the truth, Stefan. I don’t want to live here anymore. I don;t want these sketches. I don’t want this x-box. Not gonna need this bourbon anymore. Alaric’s not here to drink it, i mean, unless you guys are willing to bring back every supernatural creature on the other side to get him back. Would you? I know you want your drinking buddy back. Would you, Damon? Because I wouldn’t. I don’t know. I mean, does that make me a bad person? I have no idea,” Elena rants while spreading alcohol around the room and on Jeremy. “He’s not gonna need that anymore,” She tosses Damon the Gilbert ring.

“Elena, stop it. You’re scaring me,” I say.

“What else are we supposed to do with the body, Athena? I mean there’s no room in the Gilbert family plot. Jenna and John took the last spots,” Elena says lighting a match.

“No,no. Elena stop,” Stefan says.

“There’s nothing here for me anymore, Stefan. Every inch of this house is filled with memories of the people that I love that have died--my mom, my dad, Jeremy, and Jenna, and Alaric, John, even John. I mean they’re all dead. Everyone is dead. So what and I supposed to--I mean how am I--I can’t even--There’s nothing left for me. Ahh!” Elena says and drops the match but Damon catches it before it hits the ground.

“Elena I need you to calm down,” Damon says.

“No, no, no. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I--. No It hurts. It hurts. Just make it stop. Please make it stop. It hurts,” Elena sobs.

“Damon...help her,” Stefan says. Damon quickly kneels next to her and embraces her.

“I can help you. I want you to let me help you. I can help you,” Damon says.

“How?” Elena asks.

“Turn it off,” Damon says.

“What? No, no,” Stefan says under his breath.

“Just turn it off, and everything will go away. That’s what you have to do. It’s what I want you to do. Just turn it off,” Damon says and just like that Elena was no longer sobbing.

After everything seemed to be sorted, even though none of us wanted Elena to turn her humanity off. I decided to head out. I went back to the Salvatores to grab my stuff before making my way to my own house.

A/N: I know the scene at the dining table is a bit awkward, there was three convos stitched together in the show….so i hope it makes sense. I may or may not skip the next few eps in case they don’t have much of an impact on Athena’s story. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

#the vampire diaries #the vampire diaries fanfiction #the vampire diaries imagine #the vampire diaries series #the originals #the originals fanfiction #The Originals Series #the originals rewrite #elena gilbert #caroline forbes #Stefan Salvatore #damon salvatore #bonnie bennett #matt donovan #TVDCIB

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ts-unsolved · 5 years ago

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Final Wrap-up for Chapter One

((since chapter one will be coming to a close shortly and there is still an assortment of questions left over, here is a masterpost of responses to queries that couldn’t be addressed during the story!

[reminder: the ask box will be left open, however the characters are not available. please keep in mind that non-plot related questions will not be answered by the characters after this post.]

Anonymous said: ((Just wanted to tell you your drawings are so pretty and I love ur blog. That is all I have no braincells to ask questions))

Anonymous said: OKAY MOD I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW I LOVE THIS AU SO MUCH AND ITS SO COOL AND GOOD AND YOUR ART IS TOO!! sorry for caps I’m just excited

Thank you! Sorry I didn’t always get around to answering asks like this, but for every one that was sent in, I appreciated it with all my heart. You guys are angels 💖

Anonymous said: What is one haunted location you guys would really like to visit someday?

Poveglia is definitely the highest on the list for the notoriety alone, although they would likely never get the permission to go (the history in general is almost excessively horrible and tragic, so nothing good would come out of doing an episode there. Maybe it’d be good as a final-chapter type location? 🤔).

@anxious-fander-bean said: Hey Logan, have you ever tried swing dancing? It's really fun and good excersize! There's also a lot of bouncing and upbeat music, so Patton might enjoy it as well! ((I'm doing it. I need the qpp boys to be happy and have fun, bc they deserve it.))

(LOGAN: I’ll...consider it.)

You did it, you got them to go on some good ol’ platonic dates! B)

Anonymous said: I feel bad that I don't have any deep question or something along those lines, but what's your favorite thing to bake, Pat? - 💐

That’s alright! Questions don’t have to be deep to be fun/interesting.

(PATTON: Cupcakes! You can make so many different flavors, and there are tons of fun ways to decorate them!)

@why-should-i-tell-youu2 said: Why cant anyone else see the seal?

You need to have The Sight to be able to see demon sigils. Patton has this ability naturally, and Dee has it because Elliott taught it to him. Otherwise, Virgil and Roman would be the closest in terms of gaining this ability, but a scared/skeptical part of them is holding them back.

Anonymous said: My good dorks, is there a way to, I don’t know, get a better/more effective charm for your office? One that costs more than $10? -🍁

Anonymous said: Hey, Logan, potential naturalistic explanation for ya: depending on what the charm was made of, shifts in ambient room temperature could have caused minuscule expansions and contractions in the material that would eventually crack the charm. Do I believe my own explanation? Absolutely not. Am I grasping at straws for a non-supernatural explanation? Absolutely. And ambient room temperature doesn’t even begin to explain the red symbol around the charm

(LOGAN: Our budgeting is already a mess as it is, the last thing we need is to waste more funds on decorations. And that theory seems much more reasonable than the contrary explanation.)

Anonymous said: Is the demon that Pavreen summoned the same demon that possessed Elliott?

Anonymous said: Welp Virge SUMMONED A DEMON- (Why do I have a feeling Remy was the demon that possessed Elliot-)

Nope, they’re all different demons! The demon that Parveen summoned is notoriously difficult to contact, so a bunch of teenagers wouldn’t have been able to do it. Likewise for Remy; you can only summon him once you have his True Name, and he’s already destroyed most references to that (sorry Patton).

Anonymous said: omg omg omg what part of mythology is remy part of???

He’s not from any particular mythology, but he is partly based off of Alps from German folklore and the general mythology around sleep paralysis!

Anonymous said: Can Patton see supernatural beings like ghosts and demons and stuff? I just think it would be interesting if his scars make him able to see them :3c

Anonymous said: If both Dee and Patton can see the sigil, and Dee can see ghosts, does that mean Pat can see ghosts too? With the whole red glowing thing (forgot what its called) it seems to be connected.

Yes he can see ghosts/demons, and you’re right that the scars (or rather the deal with the demon which gave him his powers and scars) are what lead to him being able to do it. The red is just a general indicator of something supernatural/not of our Realm.

Anonymous said: Wait so if Patton and his family all have that mark could that mean Patton is not completely human 👀 -🌈

I supposed you could say that Patton’s not entirely human because he’s a witch who was born without a soul, but he’d find that pretty offensive tbh.

Anonymous said: Are Elliott and Patton maybe related, even distantly? Also, roman needs to suck it up and have Feelings for the Snake Man

There’s no relation between Elliott and Patton. Elliott is the child of a seer and a psychic, Patton is the son of witches. They’re similar, but different. (Also you’re assuming that Roman hasn’t liked the Snake Man since high school, but considered him off-limits because he’s his brother’s best friend).

Anonymous said: Does Patton know that Dee can see spirits and does Dee know that Patton is protecting them all?

Anonymous said: Dee, pat, do you know that each other can see the sigil?

Anonymous said: is ... is patton a witch and dee a dee-mon and that's why they don't like each other.....?

Anonymous said: Pat what do you think about making deals with demons?

They’re both aware of each other’s secrets! Technically they’re both doing their best to protect everyone, but that doesn’t mean they agree with each other’s methods or bond over the shared responsibility.

Patton is indeed a witch, and Dee is a regular human who happened to summon a demon one time. Patton thinks Dee is the occult equivalent of a satanist, which he disagrees with because dark magic is unnatural/dangerous in his eyes (making deals with demons only leads to trouble!), and would prefer Dee not endanger his friends. Dee doesn’t like Patton because of his perceived moral superiority, and finds the way he can be so secretive and two-faced creepy

Regardless, they’re both sitting in glass houses and have more in common than they think.

Anonymous said: Patton Should Hug Dee *

Maybe. But he won’t. 8′D

Anonymous said: Since Dee has been able to see ghosts for a long time, was he an open believer in ghosts before Elliot died? Since it was mentioned that the reason he lies about his belief is because he knows that they're dangerous, he wouldn't have had a reason to hide it in the past. And if he did are any of the others aware of the belief change? Well, besides Remus. I'm guessing that one is pretty obvious.

He may have been more involved as a believer in the past, though that doesn’t mean he was ever super open about it. He was aware of how it would look like to outsiders (being genuinely skeptical at one point himself), so he wasn’t going to paint a target on his back by talking about ghosts and demons and things most people can’t see.

Of course, that didn’t stop people from stereotyping and making those sorts of assumptions about their friend group anyway, but no one besides them really knew about their secret-- not even Virgil.

Anonymous asked: What would happen if one time, the gang ended up getting something supernatural on camera?

The result of that would depend on the being. Ghosts can kinda appear on camera, although it’s very rare for them to appear as a full bodied apparition, which is why they usually only manifest in spirit orbs or light/shadows. Poltergeists are better since they’re able to interact with objects, but likewise since they can’t manifest into a physical form they can easily be brushed off. Demons and other miscellaneous creatures will straight up not appear if captured directly on film; you’ll simply get video glitches and distortions.

So essentially, they may technically have found something already, but capturing evidence that’s also compelling is a lot more difficult than you’d think. I imagine there’s a good chance that anything legitimate wouldn’t get taken too seriously because of how easy it is to fake evidence nowadays.

Anonymous said: Okay so a little bit of a rant but not really ig but imagine the ladylike and unsolved crossover for this AU like I can see it as like Thomas' friends dressing up Roman and Dee in style and seeing a blushing mess and maybe flirting going on because of how good the clothing complements each other but this is kinda a weak idea lol

It’s not a weak idea at it, it’s really cute! (though I may just have a soft spot for the Ladylike cast and crossovers).

The only thing to note is that I’ve chosen not to include Thomas’ friends in this AU because I personally weird about writing fiction about real people? (I was on the fence about including character!Thomas for a while too, tbh). So, apologies to anyone who’s sent similar asks or wanted to see any of Thomas’ friends; they wont be around!

Anonymous said: Did Dee and Remus ever have that talk Dee said he would try to have a while back????

They might have gotten the opportunity to chat back when Remus came back to help shoot the Room 1046 video. It wouldn’t have been a complete reconciliation by any means (dealing with years of baggage in one sitting is Hard), but now Remus is aware that Dee is open to discuss things again at some point in the future, so progress!

Anonymous said: wait wHAT?! When did he (Emile Picani) die?? Give us the deets oh wise one

Anonymous said: emile is... dead? what happened?

I see y’all, but unfortunately you’re not getting any answers from me just yet! You’ll have to wait until the next chapter~.

Anonymous said: Shit is about to go down and I am worried about the next ghost "adventure"

:) Don’t Worry About It.))

#OOC #((that should be all the big questions!#i'll update this later if anything comes up))

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crackedoutgiraffe · 4 years ago

Text

The Stars in Your Eyes

THIS IS PART 2 OF TO THE MOON AND BACK

Part 2: Chapter 1 Part 2: Chapter 2 Part 2: Chapter 3 Part 2: Chapter 4 Part 2: Chapter 5 Part 2: Chapter 6 Part 2:Chapter 7 Part 2: Chapter 8 Part 2: Chapter 9 Part 2: Chapter 10 Part 2: Chapter 11 Part 2:Chapter 12 Part 2:Chapter 13

MASTERLIST

A/N: Thank you to everyone who comments, votes, and re-blogs! Ask to be added to the taglist. I meant to put this out on Wednesday, sorry.

8/29/2019

Your plane landed earlier that morning but you didn’t get to the BAU until 10. You had to drop Jason off at your mother’s house and catch up with her for a little bit. When you did finally make it to the BAU, you stopped at the door. You never hesitated about anything in your life, but there was something in your gut that was warning you from going in. You didn’t listen to it. These people were your family; they stuck with you through thick and thin.

The hallways were empty, abnormally so. The ding of the elevator brought back memories of your first day. The silence in the bullpen made your stomach twist. You looked toward the conference room and saw your old friends talking about the case. You hadn’t changed much, but you had changed. At first glance they probably wouldn’t recognize you. You had gained a little weight and your hair was darker, but other than that, you were still you.

Your steps were light as you walked up the stairs. The pit in your stomach grew deeper the closer you got. “Right now, she's a fixed variable. We need to focus on identifying the unsub and her victims.” Even though you hadn’t seen her in about two years, you could still recognize Emily’s voice.

“One of them is Lucia Gomez,” you pointed to the distorted image of your friend on the screen. The look on their faces was something you’d never forget.

“Oh my god,” Penelope whispered. You watched as tears rolled down her cheeks. The room was silent after that. No one wanted to be the first to speak, or they couldn’t. They were all in varying states of disbelief. Matt and Luke seemed more confused than anything. Rossi and Tara were stoned faced. They weren’t smiling, but they weren’t scowling. JJ and Emily hung their heads and fiddled with their hands. Penelope was crying in her seat, you could see her trying to pull herself together but she was losing control. You couldn’t tell what Spence was feeling. He didn’t dare turn around and look you in the eyes, after all you were dead to him.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered. You took one step closer to him and went to place your hand on his shoulder, but he beat you to it. He whipped around, looked you dead in the eyes, and brought his hand down across your face. You fell to your knees and watched through teary eyes as he stormed out of the room.

JJ started to rush after him, “Spence!” she shouted.

“JJ,” you managed to squeak out, “don’t.” You brought your hand up to your stinging cheek and covered it. Matt rushed over and helped you stand up. “Thank you,” you wrapped him in a quick hug. Emily tapped your shoulder and escorted you to her office.

“Y/N, are you sure you want to be here?” she sighed as she shut the door and walked back to her desk. “Spence clearly isn’t ready for you to be back.”

“I know,” you kept touching your cheek, seeing if it still hurt. “He’s been through a lot and I always stayed by his side. He’ll forgive me eventually.” You could feel tears returning to your eyes so you quickly left her office. You passed the concerned faces of your colleagues as you made your way to the bathroom. If they knew you well enough they wouldn’t follow you in.

You spent the next few minutes giving yourself a small pep talk and regaining your composure. You wiped the tears from your cheek and made your way back to the bullpen.

“What are we working with?” you sniffled as you grabbed the chair closest to you and sat down. The few seconds of silence that followed your question almost killed you. Everyone in that room stared at you like they had just seen a ghost.

Finally, Simmons broke the silence, “Three people were kidnapped by that unsub,” he pointed to the photo of four people on the screen. “She gave us her demands, ‘release Cat Adams in 24 hours. Cat is in the interrogation room now.”

“What does Cat want?” you furrowed your brow as you looked through the file in front of you.

“We don’t know yet,” Matt finished.

Garcia came running into the room with a panicked look on her face, “Someone put up wanted posters downtown with my number on them.”

“Alright, me and Luke can check that out,” Tara smiled as she stood from the table and left the room. Garcia followed the two of them leaving you, Matt, JJ, and Rossi.

As the time passed you tried to distance yourself from the team. Tensions were high and nobody really knew what to do. Spence passed your desk from time to time as he walked to and from Emily's office. When it came time for he and Cat to go on their ‘date’, Emily forced you to stay out of sight. You watched from afar as your husband(?) got into the elevator with his own worst nightmare. They disappeared and the team got back to work. With Spencer out of the way it was easier for you to re-adjust to the BAU. You didn’t want to be in anyone's way so you stayed at your desk. The team came and went, but you stayed put. You watched and waited for hours, but eventually everyone came back.

You had heard whispers from the team that Reid was dating someone new, but you didn’t know for sure, until she stepped off the elevator. She had short blonde hair and brown eyes. She looked familiar, but you couldn’t put your finger on it. Spence arrived shortly after her. You watched from your desk as the team told Reid of their master plan. You watched his face as they talked. He looked at her the way he used to look at you. Your heart hurt as they all laughed together, but hey, at least they were happy. Before you started crying, you grabbed your bag and started for the elevator. Rossi caught up with you before you could leave. “Can you help me with something?” You nodded and followed him to his office. You waited in the doorway as he grabbed a small screwdriver from his desk.

You followed him to the elevator’s hallway and to the wall of fallen agents. You stood there in silence as he unscrewed your photo from the wall and handed it to you. He was the only one treating you like a person anymore. You quickly wrapped your arms around him and started to sob into his shoulder. He let you cry for a few minutes before your eyes ran dry. He took your face in your hands and wiped away your tears. “Do you need a place to stay?” he asked as the two of you walked back.

“Are you sure?” you smiled. “I don’t want Jason to wake you up.”

Rossi stopped dead in his tracks. You looked at him confused before a smile crept across his face, “Did you name your son Jason?” You nodded. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you need.”

Taglist:

@la-vie-en-amour1 @vixengustin88 @aperrywilliams

#spencer #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #Criminal Minds #Criminal Minds Fanfiction #criminal minds fic #Matthew Gray Gubler

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lucarioisinthevoid · 4 years ago

Note

a Series of stupid ideas and misfortune (not sure how to ask the characters from this yet.) how is everything plus dave doing? also something for you, there is no henry in that universe right? or he just is dead and doesn't exist there

For asking the other characters, uh- I don’t know either. I considered making it a whole point of the blog, like that you can actively ask them like normal and these specific people answer (Davetrap for Dave, etc.), but then the epilogue thing happened and yeah. This blog is a mess, you guys get what you’re paying for! Anyways, onto the questions at hand:

Oh, there is a Henry! I mean- was. It takes place after dsaf 2, or at least the lore I could get from there (RIP everything to do with BlackJack, never found anything about that until it was far too late). Henry was nulled and voided and didn’t find a vessel in time to make his way back. At a certain point resisting the void is not even about willpower anymore… it erodes you from where you pay the least attention… Okay but because I’m cripplingly afraid of the concept of death being permanent and souls being destroyed, making you unable to think, to exist, joining the great dark a very soft person who hates when people disappear, even if they’re objectively better off doing so: Henry is basically gone, but the blood pact he (unwillingly) and Dave made prevented him from actually disappearing and having his soul evaporating in the void. Instead the void consumed everything it could- basically memory, personality, capabilities. So in theory, it would be possible to remove Henry’s soul from Dave’s and send him to the afterlife ending in potential reincarnation (which IS a thing in my works even if I leave it up for interpretation) OR have him be revived. Thing is- why would anyone want to do that? Not only is he an untrustworthy psychopath by nature, he would also lack all the skills and knowledge he had before, being forced to relearn it from the very beginning. It might be easier a second time around, but it’ll still take a shitton of time!

>I would consider it super funny, because it would mean I get to have feral Henry (there’s a reason he could possess Old Sport) run around, but no in-universe excuse, so all I get to do is make stupid AUs and DREAM. - - -

The restaurant was SHINING. GLITTERING. GLOWING. Someone spilled radioactive waste all over it. And it was to the only three non-people in the world to clean it up! THAT’S RIGHT! “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, GIVE IT UP FOOOOOOOOOOOOR OOOOOOOOOOOOOLD SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORT!” Under cheering and applauding, Old Sport stepped into the restaurant waving to cheers from all sides, then he jogged towards the closet with the cleaning supplies. “NEEEEEXT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVETRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!” Being objectively way cooler than the Orange Guy, the giant bunny jumped through the door, allowing the momentum to carry him forward as he slid through the suspect liquid, splashing it everywhere, before giving an extremely badass s p i n, ending in a pose, before he bowed and moved towards the cleaning closet as wall. “LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAST, BUT NOT LEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAST- SECURITY PUPPET!” Floating from their box gracefully, the machine bowed directly, before moving instantly towards the closet. “THAT IS IT DEAR AUDIENCE, THAT IS THE LINE UP IN THE ULTIMATE CLEANING CONTEST AND-“ Old Sport who was starting to put the radioactive liquid into plastic bags, fully intending to throw them down some of Henry’s stupid workshops, shortly gave the Rockstar Freddy a judging look. “Hey! Why aren’t you helping?!” Upset the four-armed bear instantly shut up, glaring down. “Excuse?! I’m doing a WAAAAAY more important job and-“ Funtime Chica piped up. “We slip too much! We would break ourselves!” As though on cue, Dave slipped, landing on the neon green floor, groaning. “… well it ain’t stopping me, so-“ “We’re a bit pricier than you, old man.” Freddy instantly clapped back, before high-fiving Chica. “I can crush both of ya like bugs!” Old Sport was already looking at the floating puppet again though. “… wait, why can it float again? I’m sure you told me, but all the radiation is making me dizzy.” “Magic.” Chica answered. “Invisible strings!” Freddy guessed. “Magnets.” The Security Puppet answered calmly, continuing his work. Dave shrugged. “Don’t worry too much.” “Invisible strings would have been fun.” Disappointed Freddy mumbled. “Stupid magnets, magnets can’t do that stuff, we’re not in some cheap scifi from the sixties-“ As Dave was getting out the flamethrower to make the radioactive vapor everyone else’s problem, he laughed, harshly. “CHRIST! Can ya imagine?! If it were attached to strings that were bein’ moved by a computer system, then the Marionette would be in the computer system of the whole location! People would drop like flies!” It took another moment, before they noticed the Anon that had materialized out of nowhere, making all of them jump, as well as the two colorful people slip, dropping painfully. Now both of them were green! “Look, Sportsy, partner-look-! Ain’t that cute-” You wouldn’t get your answer here. Right outside the restaurant, with a security barrier, a small Phone Guy and a big bear stood, staring onto the streets, smoke coming out of the black bear. As the Anon approached, both of them looked up at them. “A-ah. Apologies, potential customer, but uhm- so uh, a few events happened and uh- we’re KINDA closed, so yeah I- I would r-recommend-“ “Fuck off.” “LEFTY! DON’T!” The bear chuckled to himself, glancing at the Anon out of one eye. “… why are you even here?” The Anon repeated their ask. Breathing out, the hidden Marionette shifted. “How we are doing… okay I guess. Considering everything.” “Like the tornado.” “After the earthquake.” “With the thunderstorm.” Both of them slowly sighed and the Phone Guy glanced at the asker, the dial shifting. “Uhm- I’m really, really sorry we don’t have better news! We’re- going to be open soon. Once new year starts, I’m sure w-we can have a grand-reopening!” “I wish we wouldn’t.” Marion growled. “E-EVERYONE IS EXCITED. RIGHT. YES. EVERYONE. THIS- Th-THIS IS A GREAT RESTAURANT THAT EVERYONE LOVES!” “Nobody got hurt in the events, so there’s that.” The bear mumbled, slightly muffled. “That’s- that’s true!” Relieved over having good news, Phone Guy nodded frantically. “The kids were fine. They come over sometimes to see if the place is okay to enter again, but uh- well. You just missed them, I, uh-“ “We’re not letting them anywhere NEAR this place. Especially with the toxic waste. And you should probably leave too.” “I-if you want to talk to them, maybe come back some other time? But uh- don’t breath in anything dangerous until then.” They watched as the Anon walked off.

#Dave Miller #old sport #I don't know who else I should really tag and dear god I'm tired #the thing freaked out on me for some reason I hope it's fixed now

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ask-the-party-god · 4 years ago

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Ask The Party God - Timeline

the pre-terezi-gang timeline post is here

height references over here

hi, im jade! everyones favorite party goddess and trans doggy girl~ but you already know that! if youre reading this, it means youre interested in learning more about my reality, because paradox space is fucking weird like that and you cant really be sure all the time

as far as im aware, everything up to the point where we beat the game happened without deviations from the alpha timeline? so this is what rose has talked about as a ‘terminal timeline’, or ‘post-canon’, or whatever the hell that is supposed to mean

we got to earth-c, and i settled in the troll kingdom because trolls are cool, dave and karkat were in the neighborhood, and the caverns are close by so i can visit rose and kanaya speedily as well! i still do have my old tower out on an island, with my workshop and garden, but i almost never sleep in it, too far away and isolated from everyone...

then one day i found this old active server in the furthest ring keeping tumblr active and i thought, hey, why not have some fun? ;D

as for the others...

my darling sis june egbert! she lives in the consort kingdom, but has been thinking about relocating elsewhere lately! she went through a rough patch right after the game, unsure of what to do and full of all sorts of doubts and questions, but shes doing a lot better nowadays! specially now that terezi is back, shes been a lot more peppy and hanging around with the lalondes particularly!

rose rose rose rose~ happily married to her wife kanaya, duh, but that doesnt make her any less of a flirty cutie! a while back she got really sick for a bit, and weve been keeping an eye on her just in case it happened again, but its been all good ever since! she helps kanaya at the caverns a bunch, which makes her schedule busy busy... and you didnt hear this from me, buuuut words out on the street that she and kanaya may be warming to the idea of having a kid! <3 well see how that goes!

one cool dude~ daves a little bit of a shut-in honestly! and honestly i dont blame him? he must be tired after all the timeline and time travel shenanigans, so he spends a good chunk of his time hanging out in his and karkats house! hes kind of awkward about opening up with feelings and stuff, and ive been trying to nudge him to be more open for a while! but with all the craziness thats been going down lately, and more people coming and going and getting together, hes starting to consider things he hadnt before~ hopefully, some specific someones? ;)

janey! my uh... ecto-mom, technically, although we see each other more like cousins than anything else! she still owns crockercorp, but ever since jasprose has been around, she has been spending a lot more time at home and just hanging out with her friends, which really, sounds a lot healthier than the big business thing she had going on a while back! she enjoys teaching me baking stuff, but doesnt have much patience for my decorating skills ;p

grandpa! and grandson technically, hehe, jakes kind of a weird case, hes a mixture of a shut-in, a celebrity and an adventurer! he can spend up to weeks at a time without leaving his manor, but then hell have full weeks of interviews and hiking, and thats not to say anything of when he and dirk put out another episode or two of their dumb comedy talkshow... hes often busy with stuff, but hes still a good pal and can clear his schedule in seconds if we need him for something!

one sweet nb dude! rox really is... something else, really! fun to tag along at a party, fun to chill at home playing games, fun to talk about more serious stuff and open up with him, he really is just solid as they come! hes been hanging out a lot more with june since she got out of her depressive slump, but sometimes i wonder if junebug finds weird to get flirty with roxy, considering im pretty sure we made out in front of her at some point or two... hehehe

dirk! if daves a bit of a shut-in, hes a shut-in times two, which is weird because youd think someone stuck in post-apocalyptic earth for so long would want to hang out more? not to say he DOESNT, though! hes around jake often enough, and keeps close to jane, roxy and dave specially! we dont see each other too often, but we HAVE been messing around with robots and planning out to upgrade our respective self-bots for funsies!

aradia! we only met briefly in dreams for the longest time, but i knew already that she was a riot! she came with terezis group after she finally found vriska, and seems pretty happy just... kind of... being around and watching shenanigans ensue! i actually dont know where she lives, but she drops by occasionally, because im apparently pretty ‘fun’... cant say i disagree ;)

sollux is blind, and not dead, and WILL kick you in the shins if you keep prying about how exactly he ended up like that, which is fair enough! he spends a good chunk of his time with aradia, and im not sure if theyre dating or not...? but hes been around the other trolls a bunch! specially kanaya, apparently theyre good friends that go way back! i guess they both DO style their hair similarly, with the side spike thingies...

the other half of the dave-kat duo! swooooon~ really though, i cant remember the last time i said “dave” or “karkat” without talking about the other shortly after... buuut theyre just roomies, and hell get awkward and grumpy if you even so slightly IMPLY otherwise, despite the fact everyone knows they fall asleep leaning against each other during friday movie night! roooolling my eyes~ with the rest of the living trolls having arrived, hes been a lot more willing to go outside, which im glad for! its healthy to get some fresh air from time to time, and specially hang out with friends!

oh-la-la, miss maryam-lalonde herself! kanayas the matriarch of the caverns, and quite the busy gal, having taken it upon herself to supervise her entire species reproduction and well-being... in my opinion, she needs a good vacation from time to time, and to be less of a workaholic! >:o ive been helping her occasionally in the caverns, and as of late weve begun trying to mess around with ectobiology for some troll-human crossing experiments with... not good results so far... but hey, rome wasnt built in a day!

terezis back, yes! after spending YEARS out there looking for vriska, she managed to find her and come back, the madwoman! personally im not sure why anyone would go to such lengths for... her... but also, its not my bond, not my place to speak, she obviously really loves her a bunch! with vriska no longer lost in the middle of the furthest ring, shes started to catch up with everything going on with earth-c, and i think shes really going to like being around! specially with how much june and the rest have missed her ;)

troublemaker extraordinaire herself! shes... well, shes vriska, im pretty sure she stole that eyepatch from sollux? so you just know she up to no good already >:/ speaking of her eyepatch, im not sure WHY shes wearing it? whatever kinda wound she got, she doesnt like mentioning it, despite bragging about defeating english at every chance she gets! terezi says they found her popping in and out of consciousness in the furthest ring with some messy wounds, and that shed probably been hovering out there after the fight for years... doesnt seem to have humbled her in the slightest <.<

callieeeee! theyre super sweet and wonderful but also really shy and awkward! they live with roxy but manage to outdo dirk in terms of shut-in-ness... they also totally like roxy but is unsure about approaching those feelings considering the whole species thing and whatever, ive been trying to get them to open up for a while now! weve written fanfic together and drawn grids, so i can definitely tell theres some attraction there, even if theyre afraid of acting upon it just yet <3

jaspie is roses bane, and the one cat that made me get used to their smell enough that i dont bark at them instantly anymore! im pretty sure she crashes at janes often, and is just as outgoing and flirty as i am around earth-c parties and bars, which is saying something honestly! i wont let her dethrone me as the party god, though >:)

and finally davepeta! theyre staying with june for the time being until they can get settled around and see what they want to do here! theyve also dropped by dave and karkats a bunch, which i most certainly dont mind! i definitely appreciate some help in bringing a romantic vibe into those twos lives~ ;o

and thats about it! theres also the nannasprites and tavrosprite and arquius, but they pop by so sporadically and rarely that i dont know what theyre doing a majority of the time... we lost track of gamzee after the session so hopefully hes totally gone, and we havent heard any message from caliborn in years... and with the furthest ring broken and the black hole sealed, leaving a weird white empty space right in the middle of reality, im not sure what our chances of bringing back the other trolls are :( but still, we keep living on happily over here and having our fun slice of life ending together!

id say after everything weve gone through, we deserve a big break, dont we? hehehe <3

also, particularly important events that happen and are recorded in this blog will be tagged as timeline shenanigans!

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asksciencesquad · 5 years ago

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Hello everyone would YOU like to read some angst tonight? ... No? Well here’s some anyways. Have fun :v

(also happy slightly-late 4th birthday to this blog!)

Summary: Sans and Alphys have a hard conversation. Takes place shortly before the events of the game.

Words: 3,732

Rating: PG-13 for a bit of swearing

Sans and Alphys stood quietly in the skeleton’s basement lab. It was rather messy – blueprints, notebooks, and spare parts littered the floor and almost all the available counter space. None of it had been touched today; when Alphys had arrived, she insisted on talking to Sans instead of working. And now, she was waiting out yet another long pause in the conversation.

Sans finally broke the silence. “It just… doesn’t feel right.”

“Sans, I know you miss him. We all do. But it’s been a long time. We really need a new Royal Scientist.” Alphys drummed her fingers on the table near her. “I just… think we need to move on, you know?”

Alphys noticed Sans tighten his grip on the counter. Obviously, this wasn’t an easy discussion for either of them. “… You’re mad at me, aren’t you?”

Sans sighed. “No, I’m not mad. Just feelin’ conflicted, is all.”

She bit her lip. “Y-yeah, I thought you would be. But I figured it was better to tell you.” The lizard monster had been considering trying to get the Royal Scientist position for a while now. She’d had a lot of her own back and forth thoughts, but she’d finally decided to go through with it. It had taken her even longer to gather up the courage to talk to Sans about it.

They both stood in silence, the only noises coming from the equipment and overhead lights of the makeshift lab. A machine covered by a heavy tarp stood in one corner – a grim reminder of why they were having this conversation in the first place.

“What if we do get him back, though? Then what happens?”

Alphys’s heart sank. She looked over at the broken machine that both of them had tried so desperately to fix for so long. “Sans,” she said as gently as possible. “I really don’t think we’re getting him back. He’s gone. They’re all gone.”

Sans looked down at the floor. He didn’t say anything for several seconds.

“Sans?”

He met her gaze once again with a pained expression. “So… you’re giving up, then?”

“I’m not-“ she began. She took a deep breath before continuing. “I’m not ‘giving up’. I’m just being… realistic.” She looked away. It had been years since the accident; she’d spent plenty of time trying to heal from the loss, and felt she’d made some good progress. She was much less sure about her friend, though. “I just want to move on. And honestly, I think you should, too, you know?”

The skeleton shook his head. “I’m not going to abandon them all. There’s gotta be some way to fix that thing. And I don’t think taking G’s position just because we haven’t figured it out would be fair.”

“I’m not ‘taking’ his position! Even if we could bring him back, it’s open now and someone should fill it. And hey, you could even be MY assistant. The pay would be better, you’d be doing science again, you could move back to New Home or even go to Hotland…”

Sans grimaced. “Thanks, but I think I’d rather just stay here in Snowdin.”

Alphys mentally kicked herself. Why did she even think it would be a good idea to suggest Sans go back into science after everything that happened?

She switched gears. “What about getting out of the Underground? The longer we don’t have anyone working on that, the longer we’re going to be stuck here. I mean, that’s the whole reason the Royal Scientist exists in the first place.”

Sans tapped on the counter with his phalanx. “I dunno. A few years of difference really doesn’t matter. I mean, we were having issues coming up with new avenues to go down even when Gaster was the Royal Scientist. You’d still need to get past that.” “The Core was built in just a few years,” she pointed out. “A lot can change in such a short time.”

Sans didn’t respond. There was another awkward silence between the two. “Alphys…” he finally said. “Losing Gaster was like losing a brother to me. That’s not something you just ‘move on’ from. And maybe you just don’t understand that - you don’t have any siblings.”

His words stung. “I DO understand! I was close with him, too! But it’s been years and you still keep trying to fix that machine. You have to accept that we can’t get him back. I know it sucks, but at some point you just have to let go.”

Sans bristled. “Look, if there’s even a CHANCE I can bring him and everyone else back, I think I owe it to him to do everything I can to do that.”

Alphys furrowed her brow. “Sans, we’ve both tried everything, and none of it has worked! Trying to fix that thing has been driving you up the wall! I think he’d rather see us continuing on with our lives. I’m in a really good position to be the Royal Scientist. You and I both worked right under him; I can pick up right where we left off before the accident - and I’m sure he’d be FINE with that.” She crossed her arms. “Besides, it’s not like anyone else seems to be willing to step up.”

Sans narrowed his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She huffed. “Never mind,” she muttered. “I just wish you’d stop fixating on that stupid thing. It’s not good for you.”

“Well,” he said. “You’re not exactly the picture of mental health either.”

“At least I’m TRYING to get better about it! I miss them all, too, but I’ve pretty much moved on to the ‘acceptance’ stage of grief. You’re just- you’re just stuck in denial. Gaster wouldn’t want this for you, I know that.”

“I want to keep trying. I want to get them back no matter what it takes.”

“Ughhh.” Alphys rubbed her temples. “How can you be so stubborn about this? I seriously worry about you sometimes! And you won’t let me help you.”

“If you want to help, then forget the Royal Scientist thing,” he replied. “Or maybe start giving me a hand with the machine again. That would be pretty fuckin’ nice right now.”

“That wouldn’t be helpful! Why are you being such an asshole about this??”

Sans stiffened. “Look, if you’re just gonna drag me down instead of helping, maybe you should leave.”

“Well, then maybe I will!”

“Fine.”

“Fine!” Alphys shoved past him and stormed out the door, slamming it behind her. She heard the click of the lock as she walked away.

Sans was such a stubborn ass sometimes. Why couldn’t he just move on? Why couldn’t he just support her? It’s not like she was stealing Gaster’s position or anything. He wasn’t even here anymore!

She slowed to a stop. …He’s not here anymore. For some reason that thought hit her hard. Even years after the accident, and all the steps she’d taken to overcome her grief, she’d occasionally be overcome with a sense of loss all over again. But this was different from that.

… She kind of was giving up, wasn’t she? For a long time, she and Sans had both worked tirelessly to fix the machine that had taken their friends and coworkers, believing if they could get it running again they might be able to bring them all back. She’d been losing hope over the years, but actually saying it to Sans and deciding to try becoming the next Royal Scientist was so final in a way it had never been before. Alphys realized that for the first time, she felt that Gaster was truly dead.

And there was no way to bring him back.

She tried to hold herself together, but despite her best efforts, a few tears started rolling down her face and she let out a choked sob. She walked to the nearest tree and sat down under it, doing her best to avoid the needle-covered branches. For a short while she let the tears run, sniffling and sobbing occasionally.

After a few minutes, she managed to regain her composure. Tears still stung at her eyes, but she wiped them away impatiently. Now wasn’t the time to have a total breakdown. She had work to do. She made her way across town to where the Riverperson was docked.

“Waterfall, please,” she told them. “I have a friend to visit.”

*****

Several months later…

Sans shuffled into his house, closing the door behind him. Today had been particularly long; for some reason, Papyrus had insisted the two of them go around recalibrating all their puzzles and patrolling more areas than usual for humans. Sans hadn’t objected, of course – it was something to do, and most days on the job were rather boring – but it had still been draining. Even going to Grillby’s felt like too much. He was more than ready to unwind alone.

He walked over to the fridge. After digging through the many containers of spaghetti for something actually edible, he found a lone can of soda hiding in the back. Sans knew Papyrus wouldn’t approve of something ‘so unhealthy’, but he was at Undyne’s house right now. He couldn’t give Sans any grief about his food habits.

Soda can in hand, Sans plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV, flipping through the channels. There wasn’t a whole lot of television content in the Underground, but he could usually find something at least mildly entertaining. As he flipped through, the familiar visage of Mettaton flashed briefly on the screen. He kept searching, but found nothing particularly interesting. Something compelled him to flip back and see what the robot was up to today.

“- and once again, a special shout-out to my friend Doctor Alphys for making all of this possible! Thank you, darling!” The camera panned to the side, revealing the lizard monster waving shyly at the audience.

Sans sank into the couch a little more. He and Alphys had only talked once or twice since she’d become the Royal Scientist. How long had it even been, he wondered to himself. He mentally tallied up the months. Almost a year, at this point.

On some level he still wasn’t all too happy she’d taken over in Gaster’s place, but he did miss her. They’d been friends for so long, but in a comparatively short time the distance between them had widened to a seemingly uncrossable gap. Sometimes he thought about getting in touch with her again, but he figured she was too busy to even have time for him. From what he’d heard, she hardly even left her lab anymore.

He wondered how things were going with her research. He hadn’t heard of any new developments in a while. He wouldn’t be surprised if she’d hit a wall – how many new routes could monsterkind even take with trying to get out of this mountain without another human soul?

He turned off the TV and, sighing, flopped down onto his side, setting the soda on the floor right below him. His thoughts drifted back to the subject anyways; what would things be like if the accident had never happened? Would they all have made a breakthrough that brought them closer to getting out of the Underground? Or would they still be grappling with the same problems?

Maybe he would be happier in a world where it all worked out. Snowdin was nice, and overall Sans was content with his life, but he had to admit that at times it felt… lacking. He wasn’t really using any of the knowledge he’d spent years studying, and he didn’t have any close friendships like he’d had back when he was doing science. His job was also pretty dull most days.

He wondered if Alphys was still mad at him for not helping her become the Royal Scientist. If she was, he couldn’t really blame her. Their last real conversation had ended on a rather sour note. Maybe she didn’t even think about him anymore.

And how would Gaster feel about all this? Would he have wanted her to take his place? Would he think lowly of Sans for being a mere sentry, instead of still working in science? What would he have said during that last fight they’d had?

Sans knew that at the very least, he wouldn’t have wanted this situation to divide Sans and Alphys like it had. But perhaps it didn’t matter what Gaster would think. Alphys was right – he was gone and there was no way to bring him or the other assistants back. Sans had finally admitted that to himself a few months after his argument with her. He’d exhausted all his ideas of how to fix the machine, and it had been the only way to move forward with his life.

He shut his eyes. If he took a nap, maybe he’d feel a little better afterwards. It had been a long day, after all. His mind still meandered between all the ‘what ifs’, but eventually, he was able to succumb to his exhaustion.

Sans was woken up to the sound of someone knocking on the front door. With a grunt, he sat up. Papyrus must have forgotten his keys, he figured.

… Although, that was very unlike his brother. Sans checked the time; he didn’t usually come home from Undyne’s this early, either. If it wasn’t Papyrus, there weren’t many other monsters Sans could think of that would stop by his house.

His hesitation provoked another earnest knocking. “Alright, alright, I’m comin’,” he told them loudly, finally getting up to answer the door. Once he opened it and saw who was there, he froze. It took him a good few seconds for his mind to catch up with his eyes - a very familiar yellow lizard bundled in winter clothes stood on the doorstep.

“… Alphys??” he said. “Uh, wow. I was definitely not expecting you to be here. What… what are you doing in Snowdin?”

“Uh, h-hi, Sans! Long time no see,” she stammered. “I was just, you know, in the neighborhood and thought I’d d-drop by and… and…”

Sans noticed her lip quivering. Suddenly she threw her arms around him and began sobbing.

“Oh my god, Sans! I screwed up! I screwed up so, SO bad! And it’s been eating me up inside for so long and I didn’t know where else to go and if I don’t talk about it I think I’ll explode and-“

“Woah woah, slow down!” He pulled away from her grip, putting his hands on her shoulders. “What happened?”

She attempted to explain between sobs. “Th-the experiments - on all those fallen monsters they sent to the lab – s-something went REALLY wrong, I… I…” She broke down crying again.

Sans frowned. He hadn’t seen Alphys this upset in years. Whatever was going on had to be very serious if Alphys had come here, of all places.

“Aw, man, Alphys…” He pulled her back into a hug. He wasn’t entirely sure what to do. Usually he’d try to lighten a serious situation with a joke or two, but this didn’t seem like the kind of thing a bad pun would help with.

He pulled away, keeping one arm around the lizard monster. “Uh, how ‘bout we go down to the basement and talk about it?” he suggested. “Y’know, just in case Papyrus comes home early. I, uh, get the feeling this isn’t something you’d want anyone else to overhear.”

Alphys only nodded. Sans grabbed his keys and they both headed down to his lab. The light flickered when he turned it on; he hadn’t actually been down here in quite a while. Things were strewn all over the floor and counters, covered in a fine layer of dust and with some cobwebs in the corners. He couldn’t even remember where he’d left off with his research. Perhaps would’ve been better for him to at least tidy up before abandoning everything.

Alphys, however, didn’t even bother to look anywhere but at the ground as she continued sobbing. He decided not to press her to start talking right away, offering to sit on the floor with her. For a while they both just sat, Sans hugging her as she wept into his shoulder. He wasn’t sure how long they were there, but it felt like hours. Eventually, she started to calm down and pulled away, wiping tears from her eyes.

“You ready to talk about it?” he asked.

She sniffled. “Yeah, I think so. It’s… kind of long, if I tell you everything.”

The skeleton shrugged. “If it’ll make you feel better. I don’t have anywhere to go.”

“Okay.” She took a shuddering breath. “God, where do I even start…?”

There was even more to the situation than Sans had imagined. Flowers, the extractor, determination, countless fallen monsters… once Alphys had finished a long while later, the two of them just sat silently for a few minutes.

“Wow,” Sans said eventually. “That sure is a lot. I can see why it was eating you up.”

“Yeah,” Alphys sighed. “It’s bad.”

Another pause. Alphys hugged her legs to her chest. “… I’m a bad person,” she murmured.

“Hey, don’t say that,” Sans said. “I mean, lying about Mettaton wasn’t the most ethical thing, but the thing with those… ‘amalgamates’ wasn’t your fault. It was completely uncharted territory n’ you were trying to help those monsters.”

Alphys looked away. “Does that really matter? People do bad things with good intentions all the time. It doesn’t make the harm they caused just go away.”

“No, it doesn’t,” he admitted. “But…”

“But what?”

Sans looked up at the ceiling for a moment. “I think… a lot of people who say they didn’t mean to hurt someone kind of frame it as if the people who were hurt are reacting irrationally - because, y’know, the other person didn’t mean to hurt anybody. But I think you recognize that this isn’t something that would go away overnight if word got out. You’d find it reasonable if people didn’t just forgive you and let it go.” He shifted a bit. “…And, honestly, I don’t think they would.”

Alphys shook her head. “Me, neither.”

She looked around Sans’s small basement lab. Her eyes fell onto the tarp-covered machine. It was covered in a lot of dust. “Uhhh… how’s work going on that thing?” she asked cautiously.

He chuckled sadly. “Alph, I gave up on that thing a while ago. Not very long after you told me you wanted to be the Royal Scientist, actually.”

“… Oh.” She looked back at the skeleton. “Sorry about that whole thing. I felt like a jerk afterwards. I said some pretty harsh things.”

“Yeah. I did, too,” Sans said. “But I think I was mad partly because on some level, I knew you were right. I wasn’t moving on like I should have. And once I ran out of ideas for how to get it running again, I finally had to just admit to myself they were all dead n’ gone.” He sighed deeply. “I don’t think there was ever any fixing that thing. It was pointless from the beginning, even when both of us were workin’ on it.”

“Yeah, probably.” Alphys stared at the floor, tracing circles on the tile. “… Do you think Gaster would be mad at me?”

“Well, I’m sure he wouldn’t be too happy about the whole Mettaton thing,” Sans answered. “But the rest? I don’t think so. I mean, that could easily have been him. We were all really struggling to find other options for a while even before the accident. We could have ended up doing the exact same thing.”

Alphys didn’t look entirely convinced. Sans wasn’t actually sure, either, but he really wanted to make her feel better.

“You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Nah. I think it would be a lot more meaningful if you were the one to say something, anyways. But you should probably come clean sooner rather than later.” “Yeah, I know. I probably can’t do it for much longer anyways; taking care of them is a lot of work. And, well, people will start asking even more questions about it.”

Sans put his hand on her shoulder. “Maybe I can help out a little here and there. Then you can have a bit more time to think about what to do next.”

She looked at him. “Really? You’d do that?”

“Sure. I don’t think you should be handling this all on your own.”

She fidgeted with her hands. “You know that helping me means people would be mad at you, too, right? For being, like, complicit.”

He shrugged. “Eh, I care more about my friends than my reputation. Not that I even really have one.”

She sniffled a little. “Th-thanks, Sans. That would… mean a lot to me.”

There was another pause between them. Sans stood up and offered his hand. “Hey, whaddya say we go back to your place and watch some anime and get our minds off this? Your pick.”

For the first time that evening, Alphys smiled. “Y-yeah, that sounds nice.” She let him pull her up. “Does that include Mew Mew Kissy Cutie?”

“Of course. I’d watch even the crappiest anime with you.” He went over to the door of the lab and opened it.

Alphys’s eyes widened when she saw her own lab on the other side. Then she made a face. “You know, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to you doing that.”

“That’s fair,” he said, stepping out of his basement. Alphys followed, stopping after a few steps.

“Hey, Sans?”

“Yeah?” he said, turning to look at her.

“Thanks again. For… for all of this. I know I haven’t been a great friend lately, but… I’m glad I could still go to you when I needed it.”

“’Course. I wouldn’t just turn you away like that.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I haven’t exactly been a good friend either; I could’ve tried to reach out to you and reconnect. Then you wouldn’t’ve had to go through all this alone.”

She hugged him tightly. “Shush, you’re a GREAT friend. You always have been.”

“Heh, thanks,” he said, hugging her back. “You, too.” He pulled away. “C’mon, let’s go watch some shitty anime.”

#undertale #Sans #Alphys #Gaster #just now realizing this probably won't show in the main tags because of the Fuck Words #thanks tumblr #oh well #I'll start doing asks again when the Seasonal Depression finally leaves me alone

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nazariolahela · 5 years ago

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Something Domestic: Chapter 12

A/N: Hey y'all! This story is told in first-person narrative, from Riley’s (MC) POV. There will likely be smidges of canon in this, but not too much. Thanks for reading, and please leave feedback, and/or if you would like to be tagged.

Catch up here

Series Tags: @burnsoslow @aworldoffandoms @dcbbw @ladyangel70 @texaskitten30 @sunandlemons @jlynn12273 @indiacater @jared2612 @rainbowsinthestorm @drakesensworld @badchoicesposts @msjr0119 @katurrade @blackcoffee85 @cynicalworlds-blog @hopefulmoonobject @beardedoafdonutwagon @cmestrella @sugarandspice-milkandhoney @superharrietsuper @custaroonie @lady-calypso @ritachacha @olympianpantsuit @desiree-0816 @the-soot-sprite @kate-mckenzie @narrytheworld @octobereighth

Synopsis: When Riley Brooks takes a new job as a nanny for the affluent Rhys family in New York’s Upper East Side, she assumes she’s just going to care for the children of the couple who hired her. But instead of just school pick-ups and afternoon snacks, she also finds herself spending time with Liam, the handsome divorced dad. Can Riley control her feelings for Liam while still performing the job she was hired for?

All characters are the property of Pixelberry Studios. Thanks for allowing me to borrow them.

Chapter Summary: Riley and Liam become “official,” but a shocking revelation threatens to destroy their relationship.

I stand in the kitchen of Liam’s penthouse, going over my plans for today. It’s only been a day since the divorce became final, but it feels like things are starting to look up. Liam and Madeleine worked out a schedule to take the kids every other week. This week is Madeleine’s week. She dropped them off at Liam’s house this morning before heading to work. I showed up for my shift shortly after. The schedule is set up for me to take Charlotte to school, spend my day with Philip, and then she picks them up at 5:30 p.m. Everyone agreed this would be the smoothest transition for the kids.

As I put the final touches on my itinerary, my mind wanders to last night with Liam. I’ve been replaying it over and over again in my mind all morning. His touch. His passion. How good our bodies felt together. I almost orgasm just thinking about it. I hear Liam’s footsteps approaching and turn to find him entering the kitchen. He wraps his arms around my waist and whispers into my hair. “You busy tomorrow night?”

“Oh, you know. The usual. Comfy pants. Junk food. Real Housewives.”

He smirks. “Sounds good. But what if I can offer you good food, good company, and really good sex?”

I blush. Is it hot in here? Or is it just him? “I’m listening.”

“Let me take you out on a date. I’ll wine you, dine you…” he grins seductively. “...well, you know the rest.”

I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him down to meet my lips. “You had me at good food.”

He groans and grabs my ass, lifting me up, and sets me on the kitchen island. His hands slip under my blouse, his fingers tracing up my sides, and toying with the lace of my bra. I tug on his tie and take his bottom lip in my teeth. “Where are you planning on taking me, Mr. Rhys? So I know what to wear tonight.”

“Well, if all goes as planned, you won’t be wearing anything. But if you must know, I’m taking you to Masa, so dress accordingly.”

My eyes widen. Masa is one of the most exclusive restaurants in the city. It’s also considered one of the most expensive restaurants in the world. One meal will set you back around $500-$600 and the waitlist for reservations is at least three weeks out. I wonder to myself how he was able to score a table at a place like that, but then I remember his family pretty much owns the city. He notices my expression and smiles.

“Don’t give me that look. You’re worth it and I want to spoil you. Let me have this.”

“Fine,” I sigh. “But just this once. You don’t need to spend that much money on me. We could hit up the drive-thru at McDonald's and I’d be happy.”

“I know. That’s what I like about you. Now, get your sexy ass upstairs and get my kids up. I’ll pick you up at your place at 8 p.m. tomorrow.” He steals one more kiss before helping me down off the island. I make my way upstairs and get the kids ready for the day. Once they’re both dressed and fed, we head off to school.

After dropping off Charlotte, Philip and I hit up the “T.Rex: The Ultimate Predator” exhibit at the Museum of Natural History. The place is buzzing with groups of school children chaperoned by adults. I keep Philip close to me as we make our way through the crowd. As we walk by a 12-foot-tall skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex, he tugs on my hand to get my attention.

“Riley? Do you think he comes to life at night?”

“What?”

“T-Rex. Does he come to life and play fetch?”

I give him a confused look. “He’s extinct, buddy. And has been for about about 65 million years.”

He looks back at me and gruffs in annoyance. “In Night at the Museum, he comes alive and plays fetch with Larry. He also drinks from the fountain.”

Whoops. Guess I didn’t see that movie. Feeling like a total dumbass, I grab Philip’s hand and guide him to the next exhibit.

After our daily ice cream stop, we pick up Charlotte from school. She tells me about an upcoming field trip her class is having and hands me a permission slip looking for chaperones. I wonder if nannies can even chaperone school field trips. When we get back to the penthouse, I set the kids up in the playroom with art supplies and watch them paint. Philip paints images of dinosaurs and Charlotte paints a dog. My mind wanders to my date with their father tomorrow night and the butterflies in my stomach start fluttering up a storm. Holy shit. I need to find something to wear. I fish my phone out of my tote bag and give Hana a call. She picks up on the second ring.

“Ohmygods, Hana. I need your help. Liam is taking me to Masa tomorrow night and I have no idea what to wear. What’s the dress code like for a place like that? Is it black tie? Can I wear my sponsorship dinner dress again?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down. What time is he picking you up?”

“8 p.m.”

She chuckles. “Okay, we can work with that. Meet me at Carmina at 6 p.m. tonight and I’ll help you pick something out that will blow his mind.”

“You’re a lifesaver, girl. What would I do without you?”

“Well, your rent would be much higher, that’s for sure,” she says with a laugh.

We say our goodbyes and hang up, and I return to the kids. When Madeleine arrives home a few hours later, I bid farewell and hail a cab to Carmina. I pull up outside the store and see Hana and Meghan leaning outside the store, locked in a loving embrace. My heart bursts at the sight of my best friend finally finding her happily ever after. Hana notices me approaching and smiles.

“You ready to find a gown that will make this guy fall in love with you?” she asks.

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but I want to find something that will make him want to skip dinner altogether.” She rolls her eyes and turns to Meghan and the two share a knowing look. “Okay, Lovebirds,” I laugh. “Let’s go inside and find me a dress.”

The three of us enter the boutique and began browsing the racks. While Hana continues to search for a dress, Meghan approaches with a few draped over her arm and ushers me to an open dressing room. As I begin to disrobe, I hear her speak from the other side of the door.

“Hey, Riley? What are Hana’s parents like?”

I stop dead in my tracks. Oh shit. “Uh...they’re ...they’re interesting.”

She sighs. “You don’t have to sugar coat it for me. She told me they don’t know she’s gay. It’s just that she wants me to meet them tomorrow night and I think she wants to tell them about us. I want to know what I’m walking into.”

Half-dressed, I open the door and move toward her. “Honestly, they’re kind of overbearing. They’ve been trying to set her up with this guy for the better part of a year. She’s told them numerous times that she’s not interested, but they keep pushing this narrative that she needs to be a wife and a mother to be happy. Especially her mom. I think she’s afraid that Hana’s going to die an old maid, so she’s trying to find her a husband before it’s too late. It’s not an excuse, but I wonder if she thinks Hana isn’t capable of finding happiness on her own.”

Meghan nods. “I remember how it was for me when I came out to my family. I guess I’m just wondering how they’re going to react. I’m glad Hana has someone like you to support her.” She leans in and gives me a bone-crushing hug then walks out of the dressing room to find her girlfriend.

After trying on half a dozen dresses, I finally decide on a sexy sequined charcoal gray number with a plunging neckline. Liam is going to lose his shit when he sees me in this. And the best part; it’s on sale, so if it gets “damaged” at the end of the evening, at least I’m not out that much money.

***

It’s just before 8 p.m. Friday night when I hear a knock on my apartment door. I take a deep breath to calm my nerves and make my way to the door. He stands on the other side, looking absolutely breathtaking in a dark suit. His blue eyes sparkle as they travel the length of my body. So glad I went with this dress.

“You look beautiful,” he says in a low voice.

“So do you.”

He takes my hand in his and leads me downstairs to the limo. He opens the door for me, but stops me before I enter, pulling my hand to his mouth and kissing the back of it. I feel my cheeks heat. His eyes study me, taking in every detail of my face. Suddenly, he looks away and clears his throat while adjusting himself. “We should go. We don’t want to miss our reservation.”

I smirk and climb into the limo. He climbs in behind me, and once we’re driving, I find myself trying not to stare at him. He notices me watching him and gives me a wink as he takes my hand in his and sets it on his thigh.

Twenty agonizing minutes and one steamy make-out session later, we arrive at the restaurant. The maître d' greets Liam like they’re old friends and the hostess shows us to our table. The tables are lit by single candles and soft music fills the air. A bottle of champagne sits in a bucket next to our table. Liam grabs it and pops the cork, pouring two glasses.

“Wow...this is fancy,” I say, sipping my champagne.

“I’m glad you like it.”

I look around, noticing servers taking orders from the other tables. “Where are our menus? What’s good here?”

Liam smiles. “Actually, there are no menus to order from. Only chef-selected meals prepared by Chef Masa Takayama himself.”

I nearly spit out my champagne. Oh, gods. This is one of those restaurants. I suddenly feel extremely uncomfortable. Liam notices me shifting in my seat and reaches across the table, placing his hand on top of mine.

“Hey. It’s okay. I know this seems like a lot, but you’re important to me and I want to show you that.”

“You didn’t have to bring me to a place like this though. I’d be happy at Applebee’s.”

He fake scoffs. “Applebee’s? Only peasants eat that crap.” I roll my eyes and he brings my hand to his lips, placing a kiss on it. “I’m kidding. If you’re really that uncomfortable here, I’ll take you wherever you want to go. Just say the word.”

I smile. This man is willing to give up his exclusive reservation for me. How did I get so lucky? “No, it’s okay. We can stay here. I already got dressed up. It would be a shame for it to go to waste.”

The reflection of the candlelight dances across his face and he watches me intently as I sip my champagne. He leans in and whispers in my ear. “What do you say we order our food to go and take this back to my place?”

We stumble into the penthouse, kissing and running our hands along each other’s bodies when a voice interrupts us.

“Is this what you do when you’re supposed to be watching my kids?” I turn around to see Madeleine standing in the kitchen, a look of pure rage on her face.

Liam steps away from me and addresses her, his tone laced with anger. “What are you doing here? And where are Philip and Charlotte?”

“They’re with Rashad, and don’t worry about what I’m doing here. What are you doing? The nanny? Really, Liam?”

“At least it wasn’t with one of my co-workers. While I was still married.”

“No, just the woman entrusted to look after our children,” she sneers.

Awkwardly, I make my way toward the door. “I...I think I’m gonna go.”

“I don’t think so, bitch!” Madelene snaps. “I don’t know who you think you are, but you will not jeopardize my children’s safety for a fucking payday.”

“Excuse me? What the hell are you talking about?”

Madeleine snorts. “Don’t play dumb. It’s unbecoming.” She retrieves a magazine from her purse and slams it down with force on the coffee table. “This,” she says. Liam’s eyes go wide. I look down at the magazine and feel the color drain from my face. No, please no.

Ohmygods, this is my worst nightmare. How could this happen? I look at Liam and his face falls. “Riley? What is this?”

“What do you think it is?” Madeleine says. “She sold us out to the fucking tabloids.”

“What? No! I-I swear… I had nothing to do with this.” I turn back to Liam. He continues to stare at the magazine, his face void of any emotion. “Liam? Liam, listen to me. I don’t know how this got out, but I didn’t leak this. I swear on everything we have.”

Madeleine laughs dryly. “You expect me to believe that? You were the only person besides our families who knew about this. Don’t think I don’t know about your little obsession with these trash rags. You left one laying on the kitchen table a few weeks ago. And Mara said she buys them for you every week. What? Did you think you could just sell details of our private lives to the tabloids, and then fuck my ex-husband and everything would be cool? How much did they pay you? I hope it was worth it.”

My voice shakes. “Ma-Madeleine. I swear. I didn’t leak this.” A lone tear escapes and rolls down my cheek. “Liam, please. You have to believe me. I would never do this to you. To Philip and Charlotte. I care about them. I would never put them in danger.” He continues to stare at the magazine, not speaking or making eye contact with me.

“I want you out. Turn in your keycard. You are officially relieved of your duties.”

“Madeleine, please...”

“I don’t want to hear it. You’re fired. You’re lucky we don’t take your ass to court and sue you for publishing private facts about our family. And you are to have no contact with my children or I will have you arrested for stalking.”

Mara appears to escort me out and I sob loudly, losing all control. I retrieve my keycard from my purse and hand it to her. She frowns and places her hand on my arm, guiding me to the elevator. The ride down to the lobby is quiet except for my cries. I wonder why Liam didn’t come to my rescue. Does he actually believe that I leaked the story to the press? It’s hard to tell when he just stood there and said nothing as Madeleine ripped me a new one.

“I’m so sorry, Miss Brooks,” Mara says as she escorts me out of the lobby and into the street. She stands guard until an Uber arrives to take me home.

I get into the car and break down. The tears stream down my face as I lean my head against the glass, watching the penthouse disappear into the distance. Before tonight, I had a great job and a man that I could possibly see myself falling in love with.

Now, I have neither.

#something domestic #trr au #nanny au #trr fanfic #riley brooks #liam rhys #playchoices fanfic #nazariolahela fanfic

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