#<- gonna try not to lose this post smh

[orcelito]

Also me being like "I Gotta get the itnl update out before i get 2800 hits" when I was at 2700 hits

But I'm already at 2718 hits hfkshfk like slow Down a little man I'm workin on it

[shomatoriashi]

08/12/24; 09:40pm

sung jinwoo x fem.reader

{ request - drabble - 18+ thirst post }

[ minors don’t interact; by choosing to interact with this content, you have consented to viewing something n-fw despite the warnings. ]

anonymous asked: r u gonna hear me out if it's a sjw thirsty ask. k so�� what if his neck's starting to hurt lately from being too tall, smh he always has to look down most of the time bc he's a tower and instead of healing himself like he always does, an idea came to his head: he makes you ride him. his face. for hours. to take the pain away. he says it's like an exercise. he does it until you're crying and shaking from (it all)

your legs were trembling, with jinwoo keeping his hands on your waist while forcing you to grind your slick heat against his hot mouth.

quite some time ago, jinwoo came home with complaints of his neck hurting so much. he grimaces while trying to ease out the kinks from his sore neck. when you appear before him, you asked if there was anything you could do to help with mitigating the pain.

you should have known something was amiss when jinwoo flashes you a wolfish grin, not disclosing how you could help him when he takes your hand and leads you back into your shared bedroom. it’s while you were in the comfort of your locked bedroom that jinwoo strips you of all your clothing. as his eyes rake down your naked form, he gets on the bed first while snapping his fingers, practically demanding that you straddle his face and suffocate him with your thighs.

despite how you felt the heat against your cheeks (further accentuating your embarrassment), the ache and moisture that was quickly beginning to mount was far stronger than any inhibitions you once had. so, with your body practically trembling with need for him, you climb on top of him and place your pulsating sex over jinwoo’s lips, barely putting your weight on him when the man suddenly snapped forward, burying his face within your soaked core.

you lost count of the sheer amount of times you had came on his tongue, feeling the wet muscle prodding and exploring at your center, drinking up each drop of your honeyed arousal like a man starved. with your legs practically trembling, you found yourself quickly losing focus-

yet still, jinwoo remained relentless.

his mouth was felt tracing at your pussy lips, lathering it with the evidence of your prior release with his tongue as you felt his teeth lightly grazing at your hardened bundle of nerves. your clit had long since hardened into a stiff pearl, and yet despite the slight pain you felt each time jinwoo brings you to heaven, you couldn’t help but crave for moremoremoremore!

time was lost when all you could feel-

all you could comprehend-

was the sheer amount of pleasure the shadow monarch had given you.

once jinwoo had his fill and finally removed his face away from your trembling legs, you were dimly aware of the way your thighs felt wet and sticky, your legs shaking at how they had gotten numb from how long your beloved had kept you in place. a lingering smirk paints his handsome expression when he leans down closer to you, his full lips still shining with the evidence of your release-

needless to say, such a sight was enough to make a painful pang shoot across your veins and into the spot between your legs, feeling your cunt aching once more. as if reading your mind, jinwoo lets out a growl of your name before surging forward, capturing your lips within his in a deep kiss, (making you moan as you tasted yourself against his lips.)

he manages to distract you with his heated kisses, and you were dimly aware of the shifting of fabrics when something velvety and hard presses into your thigh. your mind was still in a haze due to the onslaught of pleasure jinwoo had given you, making you momentarily forget about how thick his erection was straining against his pants the entire time he had been devouring you-

however, you quickly remember it all the moment jinwoo successfully thrusts inside of you, sheathing his cock to the hilt as you arched your back against the bed in response.

“j-jinwoo!” you gasp, hands already gripping at the ruined sheets below you. your lover’s dark chuckle was all you could hear when he works on tirelessly pounding into you, his stamina seemingly endless.

jinwoo’s eyes were dilated when he takes a hold of your leg and tosses it over his shoulder, pistoning his hips faster against you all while biting down on his bottom lip. the pleasure had taken over for him as well when he admits to you in a guttural groan, “my neck finally stopped aching… but now, it’s time for you to help my cock cease aching as well.”

feeling the way he slams his cock inside of you, the squelching sounds being evident of your sensitive cunt being pounded into, you could only manage to let out a whimper while burying your face within the pillows.

if it took him several hours of eating out your pussy to help his neck feel better, then you could only imagine just how long it would take for him to get rid of the ache within his pulsating cock-

however, you suppose you had already resigned your fate as being unable to walk the moment sung jinwoo was finished with you…

end notes: i was thirsty for jinwoo and finally did something about it 🫠🫠🫠🫠

all stories are written by rei; please do not repost, plagiarize, or translate my works!!

[calkale]

cal I’m just popping in bc I saw ur user on my dash and was reminded that I want to say:

1. your art is so cool I love seeing it always, I could ramble about it for ages. Bless u for always sharing it and im sorry for the like/rb ratios they’re the work of the devil (also I need to catch up sooo bad bc I’m hardly ever on to rb….. smh @ myself…)

2. you’re literally such a great dude. Top tier mutual who I adore so much. You’re the wind beneath my wings always and I am so so so grateful for the support on my art even if I’m not creating for TG rn. Like I see ur rbs & tags and I’m just like “(tears in my eyes) thx 👍” in the best way possible

Literally just thank you for being such a kind & welcoming person in the fandom. Ur so epic dude I hope ur having the best day thank you for being my pal 🫶🫶

AHHH WOODSY STOP ILL CRY THIS IS SO SWEET 🥹🥹🥹🥹 beloved mutual my beloved you're too nice i cant take it 🤚

im very thankful for the like to reblog ratios i get cause ik the internet isn’t as into traditional art but i’m still gonna complain about it 💀 and do not worry about reblogging/seeing all my art!! I used to be so on top of reblogging everyones art but i have fallen off a cliff so we’re in similar boats

WOODSY PLEASE YOURE SO NICE I AM ON THE FLOOR!!!!! I try to be welcoming cause ik when i started posting it was so scary and i have a bigger following now i guess? so i wanna use that to showcase more people art (which i need to get on top of reblogging i fear im losing my way) 🫶

[suspiciouslackofclowns]

Have another snippet from my wip Billycule fic that I’ll hopefully be uploading soon on ao3

Yk, if I find the motivation to hurry up and finish mocking up the plot

-

“Look“,” Billy says, and sighs. Stares down at the clipboard in his hands without bothering to try and read the words anymore. “If you really wanna do me a solid, maybe you can come help me in my garage sometime. I have a project that’s pretty slow-moving right now, and–”

“It’s the Camaro, right?” Eddie interrupts.

There’s new excitement on his face, and Billy raises his eyebrows.

“Not the one I had, no. She, uh… got scrapped.”

Eddie nods.

“It’s the ‘68 Z28, right? Your old one was seventies.” The brunet chuckles when Billy narrows his eyes at him in confusion. “Red told me. I promise I’m not that obsessed with you, I just think about you in the bath sometimes and that’s it, I swear.”

Satisfied and probably downright pleased with himself, Eddie brings one of his hands up to tug a lock of hair in front of his face. Billy tries to look offended but his cackle echoes off of the cinderblock walls anyway.

“So she does listen to me when I talk,” he muses.

Eddie drops his arms to his sides.

“Really? The bathtub joke didn’t land? I thought for sure it���d make you blush.”

Billy laughs again, and Eddie’s face burns red as this lopsided smile creeps onto his face.

“I’m not entirely convinced that you bathe, Munson.”

“What?” Eddie gasps. “I bathe. Smell me, I can prove it.”

“I can smell you from here.”

There’s a moment of stillness, like an unspoken challenge is being accepted, before Eddie lifts an arm into the air. Billy barely dodges out of his way when he strides back into his space, shouting, “smell! Smell right now!”

Billy gags when he gets a face full of pit, and Eddie makes a noise of offense.

“I fucking showered this morning, you asshole!”

“With what, hotdog water?”

Tools clutter to the floor when they bump into the workbench, Billy’s lungs sufficiently deflated from laughter while Eddie backs up to check for himself. Billy loses it even more when he grimaces.

“Guess I need to wash my jumper,” he says. Then promptly crosses his arms. “I do shower, though. With soap.”

“Just soap, huh?”

“No, and the water isn’t of the hotdog variety, either.”

Billy composes himself, leaning his back against the table, and can’t help that a fond smile forms on his lips while he watches Eddie pout. Jokes aside, Eddie’s musk doesn’t smell… bad. Hell, sometimes Billy catches himself freezing in his tracks after the guy walks past him just because it carries lightly on the air wherever he goes.

“I’d have to see it to believe it,” Billy says.

The expression wipes clean off of Eddie’s face, replaced by confusion. Just briefly.

“You sayin’ you wanna watch me shower?”

Billy pushes off of the table and smirks as he looks back at his previously forgotten clipboard, flipping through the pages as he strolls over to the car that they’re supposed to be working on.

“I mean, you’re already thinkin’ about me in there, right? Just food for thought.” He doesn’t have to look to know that Eddie just died and came back to himself. And then died again. “You better clock in before Sam catches you slacking, Munson.”

Eddie’s movements stutter as he strides over to the timeclock, head ducked.

Now it’s Billy’s turn to be pleased with himself.

-

It’s a bit of a task to write, but it’s gonna have Harringrove, Mungrove, Tomgrove, Argilly, and Byergrove

Plus other side ships like Stommy and Jargyle, etc

I’m like six chapters in, just gotta work up the nerve to start posting smh

[kafus]

i made it through routes 216/217 and got to snowpoint city

the visual of dawn rummaging in the snow for solid gold but the snow is so high and she is so short that she is THIS buried is really, really funny to meSDFKSFDL

of course i picked up the rock climb HM and i realized while doing this how funny this interaction is. not only does this guy just give you the HM he was still complaining about losing, but it's... right outside his house? and it's not even something you have to use the dowsing machine for, it's peeking over the snow and is really visible. like did he even try to look for it?? he also gives you an icicle plate for your honesty. it almost feels like he just wanted to give someone a gift but wanted to be "cool" about it. i am looking way too far into this interaction that solely serves a functional purpose but IT'S JUST FUNNY TO THINK ABOUT IT MORE

as per usual this woman who gives you the spell tag and then disappears when you re-enter the building is a bit unsettling

and also as per usual in new areas DEX COMPLETION BABEY!! i can't get snorunt until nighttime though :( hopefully i remember to catch both a male and female for evolving later. i'm saying that here so hopefully i remember lmao

ANYWAYS. BARRY I LITERALLY JUST TREKKED THROUGH A BLIZZARD TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT BEING EATEN ALIVE BY TEAM GALACTIC. I KNOW YOU AREN'T AWARE OF THE DANGER. BUT. (dying noises) OKAY i guess i have to beat the gym to come RESCUE UR ASS (i'm being mean for comedic effect, i actually love barry shhh)

gee i wonder if i have to come back here later after i beat the pokemon league. also damn is cynthia too good for this man?? smh...

i am curious about this crane though. i've never thought about it before until i was walking around and taking pictures for this playthrough livepost, but... what is it doing? it looks like it hasn't been used in a while because of the sheer amount of snow on it and in massive bins, though it's constantly snowing here so maybe it hasn't actually been that long. perhaps to keep the city from snowing everyone in they're constantly using the crane to lift massive amounts of snow into the ocean? idk

also this is a really funny thing to say when regigigas literally lives in your backyard (snowpoint temple) though of course the NPCs here probably don't know that, considering that no one is allowed in other than "the chosen", whatever that means (this is rhetorical, i know what it means but i'm pretending i don't)

i've kind of been glossing over gym fights bc tbh? none of them have been that interesting so far but candice's was really funny so i'm gonna talk about that one. in another post because i think it deserves a separate one

[starlightshadowsworld]

hi! sorry to report back but that post about the sick cat you just reblogged is unfortunately a scam! i just really want to make sure no one loses their money, and am trying to spread the message

i made a post about it here! (it's also in the recent notes of that post if you would rather not follow links) https://www.tumblr.com/nyungies/732455477465808896/this-is-a-fucking-scam

Thank you.

I got the message and felt obligated to share it, smh.

You never want to think someone's gonna try and scam you for something like a sick cat.

Taken it done, thank you so much.

[princesssszzzz]

If you have any what's your opinion on all the hate daenaera's been getting?

I don’t get how anyone can hate an angel, what did she ever do other than smile and be pretty. I’ve seen comments calling her stupid and saying she shouldn’t exist and it sounds like repackaged Nettles slander lmfao. Literally the same but it’s another character. Right down to the “the story should be altered” and “she’s too young.” But I mean ironically the alterations hotd will make would be aging her up the same way they did everyone else. Really some people get upset when the story doesn’t give them what they want I don’t like canon plot points being changed (Laenor, Aemond, whitewashing, etc.) especially when GRRM writes everything for a reason and anyone wanting a girl to prove or justify her life...the misogyny side eye I have. We start off with a Targaryen & Velaryon wedding and it’ll end off with one to start the next chapter for the Targaryen dynasty. If anything people hating a fictional innocent girl just shows how insane the fandom is.

I haven’t paid attention to hotd fandom discourse for a while tbh so I haven’t seen any post recently. Craziest one I saw months ago was that her children shouldn’t be hers so it’s gone from “I wish this was altered” to “this entire bloodline should be changed.” Just bonkers smh. Anywho I’m excited to see how Daenaera & Aegon cope with being orphans and they’ll have to bring back the Daemon/Vaemond situation I love the drama. The symbolism of marriage bringing together split apart families because Targaryens put the Velaryons through alot throughout the dance so they get solace. They’re both the blood of Old Valyria, and needed repair after the damage and mistrust. I hope Rhaena gives Daenaera a ride on Morning also because the girl likes dragons let her ride a dragon 😭😭 Post-dance with Morning and Aegon getting to marry girl who’s trying to be resilient despite all the death everyone had to endure, it’s obvious that optimism and light at the end of the tunnel is a theme after they lose so much and Daenaera is apart of that. Daenaera being Queen is literally the resolution. “Hope and good feeling reigned over the Red Keep as the new year dawned.” So I just don’t get wanting the conflict to be ongoing or wanting to rebuff House Velaryon. Then we have much needed portrayal of trust between Baela/Rhaena and Aegon iii when the Targaryens just had siblings fighting for the throne. The most important for Daenaera (to me) is the light v dark battle with their personality difference and her love for dragons/him being rumored to kill dragons is just so !!!! Daenaera’s personality is Baela/Rhaena mixture it’s so interesting. It also just lets me know book!Aegon iii is not a pervert, it’s the familiarity and comfort from who he knows won’t hurt him coming from Daenaera that draws him to her nothing sexual. GRRM wants the Targaryen bloodline to be from Targaryen/Velaryon blood so anyone that really hates that is gonna have to write fanfiction 🤷‍♀️

Everyone has narrative punishments btw. Because of Corlys Velaryons suffer nonstop even post dance it’s like a curse on their house, Greens die off, Rhaena loses Morning and Aegon iii loses his innocence but the biggest punishment is that the dynasty falls because of their lack of dragons which they did to themselves

[kirwell]

A Starless Clan Predictions - Shadow

I finished reading Shadow a couple of days ago, my guys, and while it’s relevant, I wanna share my predictions! What did you think of Shadow?  Spoilers and speculations for A Starless Clan, book 3 "Shadow", below!

PRE-READING PREDICTIONS 1. Fognose, Podlight, and Splashtail slipped away to kill Reedwhisker, and Curlfeather had heavy suspicions about Reedwhisker’s disappearance when he didn’t return with them. Especially after they found his body, and this caused her to rethink how Mistystar died. And she was killed because she was too close to the truth of what happened.  2. Mothwing may have been involved in the RiverClan conspiracy in the beginning but never meant for cats to die. But now she’s forced into silence and to answer to the demands of the real culprits. 3. Nightheart is going to leave ThunderClan, and may even clan-jump from ShadowClan to RiverClan. But he’s probably not gonna be happy anywhere he goes, because he's his own problem.  4. Nightheart and Sunbeam will not end up together, or they’ll try, but it won’t work out. Or at least not until Nightheart goes through his arc and matures. But not until then. 5. Frostpaw won’t have any romance arcs. If she does, it’ll be one-sided and won’t work out. 

MID-READING PREDICTIONS 1. Someone is going to attempt to kill Icewing, but the plot will fail.  (It can still happen... Especially if Tigerstar appoints her leader of RC) 2. Spalshtail and Duskfur are most upset about Frostpaw becoming a warrior apprentice because they need someone with a connection to Starclan for their plot to work. (Eeyup. Fuck u Splashtail. stay away from frost baby) 3. Whistlepaw may be attacked on the moor when talking to Frostpaw (Welp. I was almost right. Oop) POST-READING PREDICTIONS 1. I think Mothwing will become Mothstar at some point. I think she'd be a refreshing leader to see. And the reason why this idea didn’t cross Frostpaw’s mind before when looking for a new leader, is because Mothwing is already a medicine cat and she isn't exactly StarClan's biggest fan. 2. When Squirrelflight gets her nine lives, she'll try and appoint Lionblaze as her deputy, but ThunderClan won't stand for that shit. Too many of Firestar's kin have been in power over TC, and they need to shake things up. I think this was even brought up in A Broken Code, and about Lionblaze specifically. 3. SkyClan will attack ShadowClan on behalf of RiverClan, and I feel like Leafstar's going to lose a life, and it's gonna upset everyone because it could have been avoided. How many lives does she have left...? Imagine she actually just dies for the final time and it's Tigerstar's fault. I tried to stick to more realistic post-reading predictions writing this, though there's so many ideas I could TALK AND TALK about, BUT they're pretty far out there wafting in fanfic territory and probably won't happen smh

[m1ckeyb3rry]

Wait…hydreigon kinda goes hard (im biased because i like dragon types) but also if it can’t learn pursuit that’s a good amount of uprooting esp with the whole mega thing but it does give more avenues for the dragon on dragon hate crimes final battle stuff….this has me scratching my head LMAO hm

Wait that’s actually really don’t now that you mention it because I actually forgot Rin existed like we’ve even mentioned CHARLES in the pokemon au but not once have we felt the need to bring up Rin LMAOOOO

With those big ass chompers there’s no way raticate can’t…right…but LMAO karasus ptsd has him auto sending out garchomp like against readers joktik (imagine he LOSES LMFAOOOOO)

ANOTHER DIAGRAM YIPPEE wait on that note how do you imagine her hair color being like? Do you think she has that same fade Karasu (or ig Tabito LMAO) has? But your comments LMAOOOOO they always crack me up

AHAHAH hiori and Karasu pokemon swapping is so funny nidoqueen would fr be so good at helping Karasu with the daycare (also when I thought about teams myself way back when I lowk saw Karasu with a nidoqueen LOL) also wtf it can’t have eggs?? Ig that’s pokemon logic for you smh AIKU WINGMAN LMAOOO oaeu aiku pulling up the pokemon au is just an interconnected web of all the other miraverses

I love how the ridiculous scenarios can double as both really deep and serious but also crack like we talked about regarding wb it’s so tear jerking when you read but when you think simply you’re like wait he built a whole ass house instead of just trying to get her number???

Nagi making you a cup of instant coffee is his form of “marry me and stay with me for the rest of your life” LMAO I need some yuki fan who actively thinks of yuki tropes to come through and drop a req LMAOO but I was actually thinking that too like there’s quite a few types I wonder what Mira’s gonna choose

Pause imagine ponysonas for them LMFAO not to plunge myself back into mlp but I definitely occasionally see ocs floating around (probably because of the whole viral infection trend going around?) and some designs kinda slap

TABIEITA TRIANGLE wait that’d be so interesting but also means we’d have to split the duo up SHSHSHS ok but BAROU REPRESENTATION LETS GOOOOO your blog is fr a safe haven for Karasu fans we come here to escape the dudebros dragging him SJDHSJ imagine people think it’s supposed to be threesome they’d be in for a surprise but I think generally people know triangle means there’s competition for being the male lead and esp since you asked for second lead specifications that probably solidifies that…THE “haha…nice” HAS ME CRYING actually now that I look there’s a lot of pretty recent gen pokemon lowk more than I expected? Like fire dragon my first guess would’ve been reshiram or charizard x maybe im just too out of touch with the latest games

SHSHSH FR I looked it up like “WHAT IS THAT??” (Yk that one tiktok audio…oh my god… what IS that??? Yeah that one) ok im ngl wtf is scovillain I do NOT fw the design im sorry SHSSJJSHSHS “sae it is…” PLEASE real though omg have fun with that one LMAOO OOOH wait ykw is funny j actually thought “lmao what’ll happen if Mira gets a ness request” LMFAOOO Karasu ftw I saw those tropes too and agree that fic is gonna eat!! Very curious to see what those last three slots will be! I’m also kinda surprised Rin hasn’t found a home there yet

I SAW THAT POST AND THAT WAS MY FIRST THOUGHT I was looking at it and saw seabird and fr was like WAIT surely there’s not many fics names seabird (I also looked to see if any of your other fics were there too I was kinda expecting cherry tree but maybe they just read the sae fic on Ao3 and didn’t scour your masterlist) that seabird anon fr having a snowball effect LMFAO NOOOO STAY STRONG (I will hold you to that and laugh if you swerve but feel free to do the same LMAO)

- Karasu anon

HYDREIGON IS INSANE LIKE I LOWKEY LOVE IT i just think it’s so cool plus like the vibes of reader being this sweet looking girl and then she tosses out this villainous looking dragon vs nagi being all cold and intimidating but then his main pokémon is just a cuddly squishy pink blob of a dragon LMAOAO it’s so cuteeee plus lowkey since hydreigon are supposed to be super territorial and hate each other maybe aiku’s studying how much trainers’ feelings impact their pokémon?? and that’s why the two hydreigons are hesitant to fight even though it’s characteristic of the species (because reader and barou love each other #siblinggoals) also i think hydreigon would cook in the sense that there are some RANDOM characters that have pseudo legendaries when reader herself does not…like okay i can excuse nagi “main rival” and noel noa “the real number one” but KARASU??? CHIGIRI??? HIORI??? none of them have any business with pokémon like that /hj

okay wait i did a lot of reworking to make things work with hydreigon as a starter (it was not fun because pursuit is built on the barou cousins + houndooms bonds) but i just deleted it all because i realized that i didn’t need to…LMAO okay hear me out we keep houndoom as the starter and have the houndoom v houndoom family plot as well as the houndoom/arcanine parallels because i’m attached to that and houndoom is just iconic to reader at this point!! instead we change the two most irrelevant (sorry) members of her team: dragalge and donphan 😰 so the entire reason reader seeks out dragalge (as a skrelp) is because she needs a poison type to defeat pablo c because none of her pokémon are strong against fairies right…so replace dragalge with a nidoran that eventually evolves into nidoking (replace luna’s nidoking with muk or smth idk) and then you have a ground type on the team, making donphan (who’s only a ground type) irrelevant!! so then donphan can be replaced with hydreigon and that way the type composition of the team is still the same just spread out differently (instead of ground and dragon+poison it’s poison+ground and dragon+dark but the dark type is irrelevant because houndoom) but we get to keep houndoom and arcanine as the starters hehe…lowkey this makes reader’s and nagi’s teams correlate super well too like houndoom/arcanine, goodra/hydreigon, clefable/nidoking, snorlax/galvantula (they’re literal opposites in terms of size), reuniclus/gyarados, and whimsicott/aegislash SLDKJFN reader’s team is giving nagi’s team if it was evil (number one gender stereotype defying couple for LMAOOO yes nag does have all squishy cuddly pokémon and yes reader does have a team of monsters + one insect what about it)

HELP to be fair charles doesn’t show up until pursuit boruto but agreed we’ve fr discussed everyone BUT the itoshis lmaooo this is so on brand of us i’m proud…itoshis can have many things but they can NOT have pursuit ‼️

hm i think in bfb i described both karasu siblings as having hair like crow feathers?? where it’s still black but almost iridescent in a purplish greenish way i think i’ll stick with that in pursuit because purple hair is so not karasu LMAOO but that’s an explanation for why it’s drawn purple?? like it just looks purpley when the light hits it but it’s not actually purple…i think bfb also has yayoi with very very blue eyes whereas tabito’s are more of an indigo bordering on violet so i’ll probably stick with those descriptions!!

pokémon logic is so interesting sometimes LMAOO but agreed i feel like nidoqueen + garchomp are giving that one audio that’s like mama y papa HAHA like they’re def the ones running the place lowkey (imagine an ova that’s just nidoqueen and garchomp dealing with the baby pokémon) actually lowkey nidoqueen’s just glad to be away from swanna for a bit HAHAHA omg aiku channeling his oaeu self just to help karasu out LMAOO pursuit is actually just every other fic i’ve ever written but with pokémon and barou angst

NO YOU’RE SO RIGHT like when you actually think about it it’s truly the most ridiculous thing he could’ve done but when you’re reading it’s just angsty and hopeful and SLDKFJN all in one

nah because honestly just being in a relationship with nagi is basically him confessing his love because he’d never get with someone unless he was down BAD (@ peregrine reader)…too real though we need a true yuki stan to show us the light the way we show everyone the karasu vision

BRO I WAS LIKE DO YOU WANT ME TO MAKE TABIEITA BEEF???? HELLO??? jkjk i love some good old angst (karasu in love with otoya’s gf and he knows he can treat her better but he’s just mediocre so she never looks his way af) but BAROU REP so real so important so necessary (and speaking of which…hehe smth’s abt to drop hopefully by the time you’ve read this you’ll know what i mean)…my blog is home for all karasu lovers and honestly real LMAO i’m happy to do it anything for my man 🤩 THE “haha…nice” IS SO ISAGI SOMEHOW I’M CRYING i think the vibe i’ll go for is reader doing increasingly insane things to attempt to confess meanwhile isagi is just determined to view things platonically and that way it’s still “unrequited” without being angsty yk?? more humorous than anything

the scovillain design is so ugly i was reminded of why i don’t get the new games DSLKFJSH anyways…yeah haha i technically did get a ness req but karasu for LIFE LMAOAO my fyp has been trying its best to convert me to itoshism i keep getting sae tik toes on my FYP and i’m like NOOO GET BACK I DON’T WANT HIM!!! agreed i’m interested to see what the last three slots are as well…i was lowkey hoping they’d fill up before i started writing so i can make sure not to repeat ideas but tbh i think the rest of the spots will only be filled once i’ve posted the first request or two for the event 🙂‍↕️ or maybe not we’ll see!!

HHAHAAH I WAS TAKEN ABACK LIKE SEABIRD??? MYYYYY SEABIRD?? i think all of their reqs are from ao3 and cherry tree isn’t on ao3 HAHA of my 500 event only seabird, the instrument, and the first part of fwtkac are also on ao3 (and then all of my long fics plus karasu’s bfb [not otoya’s] and freaky friday) so it makes sense that only seabird was included!! fr flattering either way but like…come on now y’all why does NOBODY know me for liking nagi 😭 sae fans and karasu fans after finding my blog not even realizing i’m a nagi fan first and foremost: 😛

[mybiasisexo]

Girl i just have so much to say so bear with me

I'm not gonna lie I love how complicated this whole story is because it surprises me every time with what they do and how it all turns out

First of all the peeps, Jongdae being so loud with his realizations made me laugh like dude was thinking out loud making everything more awkward lmao but i love him like that ❤️

baek is still the mvp, my guy, my true champ in this mess 🫶🏼🫰🏼🤘🏼 and poor nini he didn't do anything wrong he just loves his friends so much and wants them to be all together and happy 🥺

I loved the easter eggs like i thought wow jongdae still can't cook meat on a grill to save his life 😭

You're so good at conveying emotions and details, i felt the anxiety when Mel was trying to hide the marks of what happened and everyone was so nosey 😖

By the way when Mel said he took the ring i thought he took it forcibly against her wish but i didn't expect that at all, now i want to know what was Mel's reasoning behind the decision to give it back if it affected her that much to lose it 👀

Mel Mel i just want to smack her in the head, i mean chan has always been straight forward with his feelings (except for that one time he just left) and she just dived deeper into something she's still hesitant about and mislead chan into thinking she was ready to work it out smh

I love all the parallels and how they've both done similar things to each other, but their wounds are so deep that they cannot be fixed with a simple sorry, she still resents him too much to accept that she did a lot of damage too and the lack of communication just worsened the situation beyond repair 🤧

Oh and that last forehead kiss and soft thank you broke me I hope you know that 🙂

you said that it's almost over and it made me sad, what would I do without this amazing story, it's been going for so long and I've been following it since ch1 always looking forward to the new updates 😪

Anyways great chapter, I'm devastated 💔 I'm gonna go wrap myself in a blanket and cry, ily bye ❤️

Yay let’s go essay!!! 👏🏾👏🏾🥰

I was hesitant to post this chapter bc I was nervous about backlash. I knew it was gonna upset ppl but was scared folks were gonna drop it 😭. But seeing this fills me with relief 😮‍💨

Jongdae was a mess this whole chapter, I blame it on the weather 😂 and one thing he shouldn’t ever be is behind a grill lmao. Bbh is THE voice of reason but idt anyone is actually listening tho 😬. And nini is such a poor baby. The couple was really couple-ing when it came to bullying him 😭

I love getting compliments about my writing!!!! Esp this one, it’s such a high honor and helps with the imposter syndrome 😭🙌🏾

The drama with the ring oh boy. All imma say is they def have different stories on what went down that day and we haven’t even began to get into it 🙃

Mel needs a good shaking I can agree. Chanyeol has been so patient with her ☹️. Some would say she don’t deserve him 🚶🏾‍♀️

These two react so strongly with their emotions. And the thing I like about them both is that they never seem to realize just how badly their actions hurt each other until they voice it. Then they’re like ‘oh that was bad, huh?’ 😭

Don’t worry the last kiss messed me up too 🤕

I knoooow I can’t believe it’s almost over either. But I appreciate you sticking around! And am glad I can create something you can look forward to 🥲

So sorry for breaking you. I promise it’ll get better ❤️. Well….👀

[lovemyromance]

I'm so tired of them acting like toddlers smh.

Like yeah- getting that kind of troll graphic and fucking disgusting troll message is awful ... but elriels get like 40 of those a DAY. They're not the only ones receiving those kinds of messages - and often they're the EXACT SAME ONES in my inbox.

We know it's a troll - and we move on. We don't get on our soapbox and cry and whine about GAs wanting Elriels dead 🙄 we don't sit here and make the hatred in this fandom WORSE.

All they want is attention, and the more you feed into a troll - the more they troll ... it's like basic common sense.

Sorry we're not playing victim every .5 seconds and using every opportunity to call GA/ELs disgusting terrible people 🤷🏻‍♀️

sorry we have basic common sense to know when we get a message like that, it's a troll and not from a GA/EL

Like sorry for being action oriented and trying to LIMIT the hatred in this fandom while all they do is go cry about how Elriels are sending these messages.

Like tf they want from us? They have us all blocked (bc they can't handle even SEEING canon text proving them wrong at every turn) ... and yet they expect to see their FYP filled with Elriels apologizing 24/7 for a TROLL account??

They post every hate message they get and blame Elriels and then yell at us for "not condemning this troll" like ??? How tf am I supposed to know about this!? I don't stalk their pages like they clearly stalk ours.

How are you gonna call Elriels toxic dumb and stupid and then expect us to come to your defense over what is clearly a troll?? 🙄

GTFO.

The only way is to stop giving it attention. But the GA/ELs can never lose an opportunity to play victim and point a finger at Elriels! They can never lose an opportunity to answer a hateful ask to shit on Elriels even more!!

So which one of us is going to volunteer be the Elriel mommy??

Requirements: wag your finger in your fellow elriels faces for simply existing, Slap the trolls on the wrist and keep everyone in line.

Lmaooo get a grip people, you’re all adults, delete and block trolls. Ignore them. Turn off anon messages if you cannot deal with it. The more you draw attention to an idiot troll message the more it seems like you sent it to yourselves to garner attention.

No one is responsible for anyone else’s behavior 🙄 can this fandom get anymore ridiculous?? Posting “elriel” troll messages in the elriel tag just makes you look like a silly child playing the blame game.

[tenrose]

It's been the second time in less than a month that I fuck up an online order in less than a month because I'm being too expeditious and too inattentive FML 🙃

[chaninfused]

I . literally don’t know where to start oh my god.

before I start rambling under the cut: IF YOURE READING THIS GO AND READ EVENING STAR I BESEECH THEE 🗣

ok OK you know how excited I’ve been for a new installment of es and let me tell you- IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT !! like when I woke up yesterday and saw the post about posting part two I SHRIEKED (silently) I will forever lose my mind over this series there’s nothing you can do about it 😌

anyway time for real feedback let me just say. Kat. I am OBSESSED with your writing like you don’t understand. I am obsessed. And this fic reminded me of that cus omg !! YOUR STYLE NEVER MISSES 🗣 from the very start like the way you described mc waking up. the disorientation the confusion the panic it’s just so scrumptious 😙👌🏻 I was truly so engrossed in reading and that was evident in my STRESS omg I wanted to physically reach in and grab those two and just SPRINT out of there 💆🏻‍♀️ it was truly getting serious.

The suspense !! mc running through the forest and then reuniting w chan !! it was all just written so beautifully <3 and oh my goodness that part where chan finds mc in her room ✋🏻 I was stressed as HELL but im glad it all went well in the end sdhjksld I said this in my feedback for pt 1 and I must say this again—reading this felt like watching a movie. Perhaps the bg music played into it but I know that it was all thanks to the way you went about writing those scenes. You paid so much attention to detail and it shows cus every sentence was crafted so beautifully. There’s a certain flow ?? dynamic ?? to your words that just pulls the reader’s mind through the scene it’s like seeing something through a camera. I’m trying to say that your camerawork is excellent ig 👁 LMFAO SDHJFKSLDFS

There was this line, “stories of heroes could be immortalised by ink and tongue, but things like safety were only temporary” that I just really really liked. Nothing particular I just think it’s nice so i’m drawing attention to it 😌

Speaking of lines I also liked this part “No; Chan wouldn’t just be pointing fingers - he’d be pointing a sword at whoever’s name you let slip” cus it’s 1) funny 2) clever 3) sums up chan’s character pretty nicely GHFSDJKLSD

I must say minho’s first line is the most iconic tho I IMMEDIATELY knew he was gonna be my favorite character and I know I’ll suffer because of it 😔✋🏻 but that’s okay everything for mister snarky mage

Pardon the incoming minho rant btw I JUST REALLY LIKE HIS CHARACTER DGHFJKSD 😭 him helping mc from a distance and then his introduction—just immediately threatening the One Guy With A Sword. Absolutely a moment for the history books I must say. Also his backstory ?? whatever history he has with mc ?? I am utterly and absolutely shaking with curiosity I need to know 1) what happened 2) WHO LEFT HIM SO HURT 🔪

I may have been all heart eyes over knight chan but it seems that my agenda has changed 😔 as it often does when minho appears.

ALSO WTSFDFGSDHGSDJ I NEARLY FORGOR

HYUNJIN ????????????????????????????????????????????????/ HYUNJIN I KNEW IT TJHKDFSHDJFKSLD;KDSJGHSJDK he was suspicious from the very start smh I can’t defend you for this one bestie 😔 I say this fully knowing I’ll be over here kicking my legs if he shows up again it’s just the hyunjin stan in me I cannot stop her she’s embarrassing ✋🏻

Oh also I said something that I want to elaborate on/clarify further—that the way you described minho shows the familiarity shared between him and mc ☝🏻 this could just be the overthinker in me but like you focused on how his features had changed and matured rather than introducing them (if that makes sense 💀) so like, as readers, we got a general description of him, but then this focus nicely depicted the relationship he and mc have. They haven’t seen each other in years but still he’s familiar yk familiar enough that mc would notice the growth in him after so long- IDK IF ANY OF THIS MAKES SENSE BUT I JUST WANTED TO EXPLAIN CUS !!!! YOUR WRITING WAS WONDERFUL OKAY 😤

Anyway idk what else to say cus my brain is just a big ol’ keyboard smash atm 😔 im so excited for what comes next (MORE MAGE MINHO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and now I honestly feel inspired to go revisit my wips and finish writing so sdfhgjsdf thank you :P

This was overall an amazing wonderful exciting installment of the series thank you for blessing us, kat 🤲🏻🤍

☾⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ: evening star ; two *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

⋆*･ﾟ story preview. ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:

pairing(s): knight!chan x princess!reader, mage!minho x princess!reader featuring: prince!hyunjin and others. story summary: you were soon to be married to a well liked and nobel prince from one of the wealthiest kingdoms. however, when the engagement ball takes a turn for the worst, you’re to try and reclaim your kingdom with the help of your knight and best friend chan, as well as the mage who you have a secret history with.

⋆*･ﾟ part two ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:

wordcount: 13.9k chapter warnings: blades, mild violence, some injuries note that these warnings are specific to this chapter. if you read something you think should be tagged, please send me a message/ask. a/n: hihi! sorry for the long wait but she's here!! i did have to repost this for reasons which i won't get into, but anyhow. happy reading! taglist: @kpop--etc / @freckled-felixlee / @foivetimesacharm / @tremendousminyoongi / @wearethethunderousones / @chrisishungry100397 / @freckledquokka / @starrylino / @soulssung / @scarsnfevers / @sahazzy / @djeniryuu // unable to tag some :(( --- m.list | one | two | tbc...

It's cold.

That's all you can seem to think about as you slowly come to, the heaviness in your head tempting you to keep your eyes shut. Your ears are ringing dully, and your limbs feel heavy, the way they had years ago when you had first tried to swing Chan’s sword.

The memory blurs in your brain as you try to push yourself up. Your shoulder is killing you - you must have fallen asleep with your arm at a strange angle, but for how long? How long had you been on the staircase for your shoulder to hurt like this? There was nothing to indicate the passage of time that had passed, though the moon was viewable through a small cutout in the staircase. It shown down through the gap, cold moonlight casting an eerie blue glow over you

Deep breath in, deep breath out. Repeat.

As the ringing in your ears start to die down, an unsettling feeling overcomes you. It was quiet. Too quiet. There were no footsteps, no distant chatter or sounds of the quartet playing. There didn’t even seem to be any nightlife - the sounds of crickets and owls that you were positive almost always accompanied the night were no where to be heard. Had it always been this quiet?

As if the world was desperate to prove you wrong, the sound of clattering footsteps makes its way to your ears from below. There was the familiar footfall of the palace servants - more rushed and skitterish than normal, but the sound of their shoes on stone was one you had grown up with.

And then there’s the heavy sound of boots, creating a dull thud with every step.

“To the ballroom! Now!”

It was an unfamiliar, gravelly voice - none of the guards you knew sounded like that. None of them sounded that demanding. As the steps come nearer, you can make out panicked whispers and muffled crying.

Pushing yourself up, forcing your weak legs to hold you up, you scramble up the staircase, away from the noise. With each forced movement, whatever power had fatigued you seems to wash away.

Some part of you - the part that had grown up on adventure stories and fairy tails of princes saving princesses - wanted to run down and help whoever was crying. But you knew that wasn’t the smartest of ideas - and the castle staff, knowing their kind hearts, would tearfully scold you for putting yourself in danger for them.

The sound of your shoes on the stone stairs reverberates in your ear. Kicking them off, you continue barefooted up the staircase.

It was a good idea - not only were your steps quieter, but the cold floor beneath you was grounding. It shocked the drowsiness out of your system, heightened your senses.

And thank god for that, fpr had you continued on with your shoes, you may not have noticed the voices from the second floor until it was too late.

“Find her! She can’t have disappeared into thin air!”

Were they talking about you? So whatever had happened had been to target you?

The thought makes your blood run cold, a sudden wave of dizziness hitting you. To your knowledge, you had never been made the sole target for anything, and all the drills and procedures that you had been taught- they all revolved around someone escorting you away, someone protecting you.

But right now? You were alone, unsure who the enemy was and had no way to contact the only person you trusted. You didn’t even know where he was.

Your mind jumps to your mother - where was she? Was she alright? The last time you had seen her, she’d been in the ballroom. There had been plenty of guards in the ballroom. Hopefully, she was alright.

“Have you checked her room?” A new voice - familiar, but not enough that you can put a face to it in your panic.

“Yes, sir. She isn’t there.”

You wait, holding your breath and pushing yourself flat against the curved wall of the staircase as you wait for the men to move away - anywhere but down the staircase. It seemed an eternity before the one in charge replies.

“Fine. Go find some men and comb through the forest. If she somehow escaped, she can’t have gone far. Not in heels and a ball gown.”

“Yes, sir!”

Hearing their footsteps fade, you take the last few steps up to the top. To leave the temporary sanctuary offered by the darkness of the staircase seems like leaving the only safe haven you know, but you also know that almost nothing was ever permanent - stories of heroes could be immortalised by ink and tongue, but things like safety were only temporary.

Your bare feet pad across the cold floor, the lack of echo each time your feet hit the ground alien to you.

It was tiring and absolutely terrifying to look over your shoulder every few steps - what if, in that split second, someone appears in front of you? Or what if you look back, and someone is there? You weren't sure who the men were, who they worked for (if anyone at all), nor were you sure what they wanted.

Despite there having been men above and below the staircase, you manage to make your way down the hall without being spotted. When the door to your bedroom finally comes into view, the adrenaline increases in your veins - this was it, this was the last sprint. As soon as you're in, you can lock the door and then figure out your next move.

Taking a deep breath, you set off on a run to the door, feet falling hard against the ground.

Just as you reach the door, the sound of footsteps from down the hall reach you. You start fumbling the door handle, hands suddenly uncooperative and breath erratic and heart beating in your ears and the footsteps are speeding up, getting closer, closer, closer-

The door opens, and you barely manage to push it shut behind you as you stumble in. Spinning around, you throw yourself back against it, fingers struggling to lock the door based off of muscle memory.

You can hear the lock slide home, the click calming your nerves ever so slightly.

Finally, you were safe once again, your room providing temporary solace. And familiar, it could have been, had your room not look like it'd been torn apart.

The blankets on your bed had been pulled off, and the wardrobe doors thrown open. Closet doors had also been opened, and you could see the gaps in your clothes where someone had pushed them apart. And at the center of your room - the flowers you had been gifted earlier in the day, spilling over the edge of the table, the vase knocked over.

Whoever had come looking for you had really looked through everything, you thought, face warming despite all. But it should be the last thing on your mind, you chide yourself. There were more important matters at stake - like your life, and whatever on earth was going on.

Running to your open wardrobe, you rummage through the mess that had been left behind for something to change into, grabbing at the darkest thing you could find - a dark, velvet dress. You quickly undress, letting the stained tulle gown fall and bunch around your feet. Stepping out and kicking it aside ungracefully, you struggle to pull the velvet dress on while simultaneously digging around for something that wasn’t heels - it takes longer than you had thought to locate some riding boots. You crouch down, pulling at the laces.

How long would it be before someone was going to return to check your room? If you were still here, what would happen? Could you fight them off by yourself? ...No, probably not. You might be able to fling a few measly knives, but you had never been in combat of nay kind. If anyone returned, if anyone found you, you’d be helpless.

And then what? Would they take you to the ballroom, where it seemed they were gathering everyone, or would they lock you in the dungeon? Or would they ki-

Like a deer who had heard a twig snap, your body freezes when you hear your door rattle. Every joint in your body feels like it’s been locked in place, and your breath unable to leave your lungs. Had you overthought this all and imagined up the door rattling? Or was someone really outside, trying to get in?

It rattles again, a catalyst for movement as you crawl to your bed - an unsightly scene for a royal, but you couldn’t care less - and reach under the bedskirts. Your hand grasps at nothing until finally your fingers wrap around the string of the drawstring bag you had handed Chan earlier that morning. Pulling it out, you could hear the metal daggers sliding against one another, the harshness of the sound amplified against the stone even through the fabric of the bag.

Click.

Your breath is caught in your throat, trying so hard to force its way out that you feel like you’re about to puke. The drawstring bag seems to be stitched shut, your fingers prying helplessly at the string and the material.

Over your raging heart, you can hear the door shut softly.

Someone was in your room.

Hands shaking and sweating, you finally manage to tug the bag open, and you pull it wide, not caring for what noise it made - if someone was in your room, they were bound to find you anyways - and you reach inside, hands sliding against cold metal that sends shocks up your your arm.

Like some twisted nightmare, all you can see is a pair of black boots before you feel yourself being pushed over onto your back, the stranger putting his weight onto you and pinning your hands above your head with one hand, the other covering your mouth.

Eyes squeezed shut, you thrash around, kicking and twisting, yells muffled despite all your effort. The grip around your wrist was secure, preventing you from even twisting your hand around and nicking the person’s hand with the small dagger you had tried to hard to retrieve.

“Shut- Shut up, y/n, it’s me-”

Your body stills at the all too familiar voice. Eyes snapping open, You find Chan leaning over you, face flushed and eyes wide. He was panting, as if overpowering you had taken all the strength from him.

He releases your wrists, bringing a finger to his lips. Be quiet.

When you nod in response, he lifts his other hand from your mouth.

Without another thought in mind, you reach up and pull him down on top of you, hugging him tight despite your shaking limbs and burying your face into his shoulder. He smelled of the forest at night, the smell of earth and wood mixing with sweat and Chan.

“Chan, I thought you were someone else-”

Your breath rushes out, words barely squeezing past the sob in your throat.

Seeing Chan’s face made you want to cry; you wanted to be held, to be cradled in his arms and have him whisper words of comfort in your ear, for him to stroke your hair and tell you hey, everything’s alright, this is all just a bad nightmare and you’ll wake up soon.

He does stroke your hair - you feel his hand come under you, holding your head to the crook of his neck. He pats your head, hand running over your hair rhythmically until the adrenaline in your veins dissipates.

The smell of forest and night and Chan, the feeling of fabric between your nails and your palm, the sensation of being held by someone safe - it grounded you, each rattling breath shaking out the fear from your mind.

Slowly, your hands open and release his shirt. Even with your arms loose around his torso, Chan continues to hold you, and then you feel it, adrenaline leaving the room for your senses to recover.

His arms around you are strong - you’ve always known that he was strong - but they’re tense, as if he was restraining himself from holding you any tighter than he already was. You can hear his breaths, forcibly steady and controlled, and his hands are shaking against your hair as he calms you down, leaving an onlooker to wonder who it really was that needed the comfort.

He gulps, and you think he’s about to say something, but he pulls back. Still on top of you, he looks down, his bangs hanging and brushing against your forehead. He seems to be scanning your eyes, your face, for something that you couldn’t quite figure out. Injuries, perhaps? Or was he trying to see if you were still scared?

With each passing second, you can see his eyes soften. Simply looking at you, it seems, was enough to ground Chan.

“Did- Did you lock the door?” you break the silence after a while, and Chan blinks rapidly.

As if suddenly remembering that he was straddling your hips and leaning over you, he throws himself to the side, rolling into a kneeling position. He nods minutely, glancing across the room to the door. Though it stands silently, though you can't help noticing the feeling of impending doom it seems to radiate.

You push yourself up from the floor, retrieving the dagger you had discarded upon recognising Chan. The metal is unnervingly cold against the palm of your hand, and you quickly drop it back into the bag.

"What happened?"

Chan is across the room, peering out one of the two windows in your room. His eyes flick to you, and quickly back out the window when he catches you staring at him.

You shake your head, still trying to piece it all together yourself. "I don't- I don't know. I was going back to my room-"

"Why?"

"To change my dress - There was an accident-"

"Accident?"

"Yes, I knocked into someone- No, they knocked into me- Oh, I can't remember, but my dress got stained, so I was told to go back to my room and wait for a new dress. I was- I was on my way to my room, and then everything started getting all... weird, and it was like the castle was moving - I couldn’t - I couldn’t walk fast enough, and I was scared, and the torches kept moving and-" It was all mixed up in your brain. You could picture it all happening, could see yourself talking to the maid, could see the hallway, the fire and dancing shadows on the wall-

"Breathe, your highness. You're safe right now. I'm here." Chan had, at some point, made his way over to you. He had his hands on your shoulder, his thumbs rubbing circles into your skin. "Now, have you been in your room all this time?"

“I-” shuddering breath in, shuddering breath out. “No. I only made it to the stairs before I... before I fell asleep.”

Once you had calmed down, Chan starts the questioning. What do you remember seeing? How long were you asleep? What did you hear? You had expected this to happen, and tried to recall all the details.

The story, though short, slowly unravels, and Chan shares his side too. He had been making his rounds, ensuring everyone was stationed where they were supposed to be when he noticed the change in the atmosphere - everything had gone quiet. He’d found one of his men on the ground - unwounded, but asleep, and Chan couldn’t wake him up. He would have kept trying, but then he saw the group of men approaching the castle.

“There were too many for me to try and beat. And I didn’t know how many more there were, and it was just- there were too many risks.” Chan had regret painted all over his face. You knew how much it must have hurt him to walk past his men, all on the ground, and be able to do nothing to help them. “But they said it had worked. And I don’t know what it is, but from the looks of it...”

“Magic.”

The word hangs in the air, a dark cloud that could bring anything from a light shower to a thunderous storm. No one really knew what the nature of magic was - after so many years of separation between the magical and non-magical, there was little interest in educating the non-magic folk of what magic really was. Magic was wild, something you nor Chan could fully comprehend.

“What I don’t understand,” Chan starts, pacing around the room, “Is why you were the only one who woke up. I mean - I assume I was outside of the spell’s perimeter, but you, your highness... Everyone was asleep, when I made my way here. No matter how hard I tried to wake them, no one would open their eyes. They were all breathing, though.” A reassurance, for himself or for you, no one knows.

You had an idea about why you were awake. A voice, a memory, a boy from long ago. You were sure he was connected to this somehow, that he had somehow tried to protect you - he had told you to run, had he not? That had to have been his voice.

But you knew that mentioning him to Chan right now wouldn’t be the best of ideas. Chan - always protecting you, always ready to cut down anything that could be a risk to you - was already sure magic was the root of whatever trouble you were now in, and to tell him that the reason you woke up was most likely because of someone’s magic?

No; Chan wouldn’t just be pointing fingers - he’d be pointing a sword at whoever’s name you let slip.

So instead, you shake your head. “But what now? We can’t stay here and wait the spell out,” you reason. “Besides, I heard the men moving everyone to the ballroom. We- We can’t even stay here.”

The realisation settles in your mind, a cold blanket that seemed to freeze you in place.

You had… never spent a night outside of the castle before. Chan had, of course, but he had been out with people who were able to protect themselves, able to take care of themselves.

But what were you, if not a princess who had grown up sheltered by the castle? And sure, you theoretically knew your way around a blade, but you could barely do more than hit within two meters of your target.

"...And I know we don't have time, but we'll figure this out, okay?"

You would be nothing more than a burden on Chan; extra baggage that he had to carry and take care of, whether he wanted to or not.

"I won't let anything bad happen to you or our kingdom. I promise."

Sometimes, you simply wished for a life free of the responsibilities you and Chan had.

"Your highness?"

It was hard to shake the thoughts from your head, though you tried - too much was at stake right now for you to get lost in your own shortcomings.

"Y/n," comes Chan's voice, closer and softer than it had been a moment ago, drawing you away from all the possibilities of the past, present and future. "I know this is overwhelming, but I need you here with me, okay?"

He raises a hand, palm cupping your cheek and thumb swiping under your eye - had you been crying? You hadn't even realised.

"I'm here," you tell him, and despite your voice betraying you, you really were present. Wiping away at your tears, you take a deep breath. "I'm here," you say again, more confidently this time.

"Good. Now,” Chan takes a breath that seems to rattle his body as much as you felt rattled. “Go grab that dagger from above your bed."

It takes a moment for your feet to move; once they do, it was like everything was being sped up.

You had to get up on the bed to reach the dagger. You go to step on your pillows, almost falling as they move under your weight, and kick them out of the way. They fall onto the floor with light thumps, and you reach up for the dagger.

“What about the prince?” You ask as you unhitch the blade from where it was mounted. The light catches on the star etched at the hilt, flashing as you move off the bed and back to Chan. “Him and his men aren’t familiar enough with the castle to-”

“With all due respect, my only responsibility right now is you,” Chan replies. He isn’t cold or dismissive, but his tone tells you he wasn’t going to compromise your safety for anyone else. “There are too many unknowns right now for us to try and find him.”

He’s standing by your window, peering out of it from the side. You sneak a glance out, curious as to what he was watching.

Nothing. He was watching nothing.

All was still outside your window, which overlooked the back of the castle. The forest was dimly lit by the moon, though you could see the shadow of clouds inching closer and closer. The only thing that seemed to move - even the trees seemed like they were still, unmoving against the wind that moved the clouds.

“Are we… Are we going?”

He nods silently, solemnly, before turning on his heels with what seems to you like newfound determination. Had he been thinking all this time? Trying to come up with a plan?

Well, you’d probably know had you not been so caught up in your thoughts before.

“Now listen, your highness.” Chan is busy rummaging through your bag of knives as he talks. “It’s just the two of us, so I should be able to fight should anyone come at us. But in the case that someone gets to you, you use the dagger, all right? And if you don’t have your dagger, use your body. Fists, elbows, knees. Connect with the throat, with the eyes. You might not be strong enough to faze an armoured person with a hit to the torso."

You nod, repeating the words in your head. Dagger, fists and elbows, throat and eyes.

“These will be too loud if we’re to carry them around, and we don’t have any harnesses on us.” He balls the bag up, sliding it and the daggers across the floor and back under your bed. He turns to you next, hands on your shoulders and looking into your eyes with a fierceness that almost shakes you. “If we get separated, you run into the forest, okay? You aim for the forest, and get as far in as you can. I’ll find you.”

Brows furrowing, you shake your head. “You- You say that like I’d leave you behind.”

“You have to, if I get caught- If I’m fighting someone. If you have the chance to run, you run, okay?”

You continue to stare at him, at Chan, who had been by your side all your life, who was asking you to leave him behind if the situation called for it.

“Promise me, your highness. If I tell you to go, you go, okay?”

He’s looking at you with such seriousness, with so much will and determination and need for you to to promise. And, were you to look closer, look longer, you’d see the fear in his eyes.

What was it that he knew, that he had thought about that you hadn’t quite comprehended about the situation yet? Surely it wasn’t so bad that Chan would have to… sacrifice himself, right?

“Y/n, I need to know you’ll be safe if I-”

“I promise.” The words manage their way up and out your mouth, leaving a vile taste behind. It was both a truth, and a lie. I promise I’ll be safe. I won’t leave you behind.

—

The plan had seemed simple when Chan had talked you through it, and perhaps it was naive of you to take his words at face value. You definitely thought so now, as you almost run into Chan for the third time as he stops abruptly at a corner.

Ahead, you can hear the sounds of voices - not hushed, but far enough that you can't make out any of the words. They slowly grow louder, louder, footsteps drowing out the words, and then all the sounds fade out all together.

“Okay, let's go.”

After a moment of silence, Chan moves again. You follow closely behind, glancing back every few seconds to make sure that no one had walked around the corner.

You were near a staircase, you knew. Another small spiraling one, not unlike the one you had fallen asleep upon.

Chan stops before the entrance. He pokes his head in, cocks his head slightly to the side - you wait, heart beating in your ears until Chan gives the all clear.

The pair of you descend the stairs, the cold entrapped in the small, stone-walled space sending shivers down your spines. You spare but the smallest thought to curse yourself silently for forgetting to bring coats - but this wasn’t a planned outing, really. Who had the luxury of time to remember coats?

As yellow torchlight can be seen reflected on the walls of the staircase, Chan turns his head to speak to you in a hushed voice.

“Once we exit the staircase, we’ll head straight for the back door. Once outside, head straight for the forest. If we get separated, meet near the clearing where you practice-”

Chan disappears from your sight, thrown to the left with a grunt of pain.

“Chan!”

You quickly descend the last few steps, turning to find Chan on the floor, an arm over his head protectively. As you go to take a step towards him, mind gone in your panic to see if he’s alright, your feet leave the ground.

“Let- Let go of me!”

The person behind you has a hand around each wrist, pushing your arms against your chest as they lift you off your feet. You’re kicking and yelling, the dagger in your hand useless with what little range of motion you have.

As if you were but a pillow, the person - a man, you guessed, from the grunts in your ear and the thick, muscular arms around you, - carries you over closer to Chan.

“It wouldn’t do his highness any good to leave someone so devoted to the princess alive-”

You freeze as dread feels your veins, your mind, every part of your body, filling you in a way that seemed to offset your balance.

His highness? He couldn’t mean- no-

The man moves you to the side, jerking motion pulling a cry from you. He pulls his leg back, prepares to kick Chan. You shut your eyes tight as you can, turning your head away - to see Chan in pain right now, to see him be hurt, would crush your spirit.

“Don’t worry, some of your buddies will be joining you soon,” the man says, before bringing his leg forward and-

A sharp curse is yelled into your ear before you feel yourself fall, eyes staying shut until you feel the body behind - no, beneath you, make impact with the ground.

The man’s arms loosen around you just enough for you to pull an arm free. The dagger, held so tight in your hand that you feel like it’s hilt would be imprinted into your palm, swings behind you blindly. There’s a shout of pain before the tip skids along the stone ground.

Whatever damage you had done was enough of a surprise for the man to release you.

You roll off of him, being sure to keep the blade of the dagger away from you, and scramble to your feet. Eyes wide, you take in the scene before you.

Chan, still on the ground, was pulling the man towards him by the foot; had he stayed on the floor on purpose to pull the perpetrator down with him?

“Chan-”

“Go, y/n!

You stare in horror as the man, getting dragged slowly but surely towards Chan, starts to come back to his senses and recover from the initial shock of the fall. Chan, while not lacking in the muscle department, looked like he would be done for if he took another few hits.

And yet he wanted you to leave him.

It was his job, you knew, but still-

“I’ll be right behind you! Just go!” Chan yells, half frantic and half commanding, eyes jumping haphazardly between you and the slowly awakening man. “You promised!”

You had, and yet you had also promised yourself you wouldn’t abandon him. But what use were you if you stayed?

Chan wouldn’t be able to use his sword, not at that close a distance. You knew enough about battle to know that. So you do the only thing you can for him in that moment.

“Here!”

Before Chan could even look at you, you slide the dagger in your hand towards him, hilt first. It glides across the ground, metal against stone filling your ears, and as it passes the man, a brief image of him grabbing it and diving forward at Chan flashes in your mind.

But he doesn’t grab for it, and the dagger comes to a stop at Chan’s knees. He looks at it in shock, confusion, then back at you and nods.

Now, go, his eyes seem to say.

A strange calmness had settled in Chan’s face, as if he had come to some final decision, had accepted something.

A pit of newfound discomfort makes its home in your stomach, but you do, this time. You go slowly at first, one step back, two, and then you turn your back and run.

You can hear grunts and yells as you run away from Chan and the other man. You can hear him yelling to let anyone nearby know that the princess was getting away, but you don’t turn back to see if anyone’s following you. Part of you feared you would lose your footing if you did, the harsh sounds of your running steps a driver to keep you going, and the other feared the potential scene you had left behind.

It was awfully difficult to run in the velvet dress. Though no where near the heaviest dress you had worn, the way the skirt’s layers moved against your legs seemed to act like a barrier. You fought on, pulling it up to free your ankles of the resistance. The echoes of your steps fill your ears, heart beating against your chest, in your ears, as the wooden door you had come through this morning finally becomes visible. As if in response to your near success, you can hear the sounds of more men coming - the clunking of armour, of swords being unsheathed, of incoherent orders being yelled.

You push the door, the velvet of the dress catching on the old wooden door; though reinforced with iron bars, the door itself had stood sturdy for as long as you can remember, and though well maintained, time had brought forth a few chips. It stood strong, even now, and your face scrunches up in effort - had it always been this heavy? - until finally, finally it groans open.

Cold night air slips through the gap, drying your eyes and piercing your already pained lungs further. You step out, one foot, then the other, and the door slams shut behind you.

The vast silence that greets you is deafening.

Despite the breeze that had slipped through the door, the air was still. Lack of wind didn’t make you any less cold, and you feel a shiver run through your body as you scan the horizon.

The forest behind the castle seemed frozen in place, and had it not been for the eerie way the clouds floated above the trees, you’d have no trouble believing someone had stopped time in its place.

Draped in the blues and purples of night, the stone stairs that lead down the east side of the castle and to the stream that separated the castle grounds from the forest looked colder than ever. You had fallen on them once when you were younger, the cold biting into your palms when you had gone to brace yourself. To fall again now might mean more than just scratched up hands and knees.

You hands fist at your sides when you feel the unnerving thoughts fill your mind. Into the forest, Chan had said. As far in as you can go, and he’ll find you.

He’ll find you. He would always find you, unless-

You take a deep, bone-rattling breath in and let the pain of cold air in your nose ground you. Pulling your skirts up once more, you make your way down the stairs.

Steady but fast, you descend the stairs. Each step reverberates through your body, the sound of your own breathing in your ears.

You didn’t dare to concentrate on anything other than placing one foot before the other and not missing a step - a tumble would be detrimental to everything, would put you at risk, would make Chan’s sac- would mean that Chan had stayed behind to fight for nothing.

Your boots make contact with grass, the soft surface of the new ground unsettling to your legs. One step, two, a glance behind. The door stood dark and unmoving - had the men not seen you leave it, or were they occupied elsewhere?

It mattered not - you take a deep gulp, cold air filling your throat, your lungs, before you start running towards the stream. Just past there, and you would be at the forest. While you had yet to explore the entire forest, you knew most of it, and you were certain that at the very least, you knew it better than the men who were attacking the castle.

The men who were attacking the castle… His highness, the man had said.

You were in denial, you knew, but there was only one person that you were aware of that held that title.

Your throat seemed to close up at the thought - the prince had been nothing but kind to you and your servants, had done nothing but try to get to know your land better… and it all could have been an act.

Yet some part of you wanted to believe he was better than that - better than someone who acted kind and gentle, who spoke fondly of their men, their friends, just to sympathise and get on your good side. But he had said it himself, no? That with the lives of their people in their hands, there are things that royals need to sacrifice?

The maelstrom of thoughts is pushed from your head when your feet meet new ground once again. The stream is shallow and unmoving, and yet dragging your feet through the water seemed to require a great deal more energy than ever before. It’s cold, the width from one side to the other large enough that despite your boots, your feet seem numb by the time you reach the other side. Your skirt, though you had held it as high as you could manage, had been caught by the river in the crossing and now seemed to drag behind you as you trudge through the last stretch of land to the forest.

And just in time.

Shouts from the castle reach your ears as you step between the trees, and you turn to see silhouettes of men, flames from their torches lighting up the sides of their face. Too far away for you to make out if the three of them were your men or not, yet close enough that they could see you should they descend the stairs.

So you push aside the small slimmer of hope that these were Chan’s men and scurry into the forest.

It was dark, twigs and leaves on the ground catching on your dress as you make your way in, and yet you found an odd comfort in the shadows of the trees. If the people chasing you were in fact from another land - you refused to even think that they might be your people - then being in the forest that you had explored since you were young would, theoretically, put you at an advantage. You might not know the entire forest inside and out, but you knew it well enough that you were confident you would be able to evade the pursuers.

At first, you follow the path you normally take when you go off in the early mornings to practice your knife throwing. Down between the two trees, perfectly lined up with each other, past the boulder that Chan had once chased you around - Chan- no, don’t get distracted - and down the steady slope, the well-trekked path obvious for it lacked foliage and branches in the way.

It was obvious.

So without a second thought, you turn to your right and dash madly in between the trees, losing yourself in their shadows.

No one had really ever travelled off the path, especially not this close to the castle grounds. The ground was far more uneven than the path before, sticks catching on your skirt, hitting the leather of your riding boots - you could feel the small thumps. Even your sleeves, though not wide, caught on the lower branches as you tried to push them out of the way. There was little to light your path but whatever moonlight managed to slip past the trees, highlighting the odd patch of forest ground. Leaves and rocks, roots and fallen branches. You tried to avoid what you could, tried your best to keep your footing, but it wasn’t long before you tripped.

Hands met the ground and a jarring pain shoots up your left arm. You try to stop the cry of pain from escaping your lips, your mouth opening in pained silence as your left hand gives way and you fall onto your side.

The ground is rough through the velvet of the dress, rocks digging into your shoulder as you cradle your arm to your chest. You give yourself only a second, two, to collect yourself. Your wrist hurt, the initial sharp pain dulling down to a strong throb that made you feel like your veins were about to burst with each pulse.

You push yourself up, forcing your legs to carry you further across the forest.

It feels an age before you finally come to a stop, hand against a tree to support yourself as laboured breathing hurts your chest, your head almost woozy from the adrenaline, the exhaustion, the panic and the confusion and the fact that you just didn’t know what was going on and if Chan was even-

Snap.

You force yourself to hold you breath mid-inhale, force your muscles to freeze and your mind to quiet down and your ears to listen.

Snap. Snap.

it wasn’t coming from directly behind you. You gulp, turning your head to your right, squinting against the darkness in some hope it would make your vision clearer.

There’s someone there, and even silhouetted from a distance, you can tell they’re in bad shape - one hand held a sword, the other their side, and with each step forward, a limp becomes more noticeable.

They raise their sword hand in greeting and it takes you a second to process.

Chan*.***

You trip in your haste to get to him, barely managing to regain your footing before your next step propels you forward. You’re stumbling across the ground and you feel the twigs get caught in your skirt, feel your feet kick them out of the way, but you don’t bother to hold your skirt up. The pain in your arm was holding you back from doing so, yes, but the sheer fact that Chan was alright and was here and that you’d found each other - that fact was enough for you to push forward.

You seem to reach him before he does you, your eyes drawing instantly to his left side - a hand was holding a piece of fabric to his side, and as your eyes scan him, you notice he had only one sleeve; he’d torn one off, using it as temporary gauze to stop what you can only imagine to be bleeding. The sword was held loosely in one hand, and to his thigh, your dagger was strapped.

“You’re a mess,” you whisper into the night, heart aching. Your fingers reach out, first for the wound at his side, then to cup his face, but they move ever so minutely that when you stop yourself - you’re a princess, damn it, and Chan was your knight; such acts weren’t befitting of your positions at all - Chan doesn’t even realise you had moved at all.

He chuckles, despite his appearance. Chan drops his sword and lifts his hand to your head, pulling something from your hear and flicking it away. “You’re one to talk.”

You pout, suddenly self conscious and try to clean off whatever dirt had clung to your dress. “Well, you could hardly expect me to look presentable, given the situation.”

“Ah.” Chan grimaces, as if suddenly reminded of the present. “The situation. We- We should get going, deeper into the forest and find somewhere to hide for the mean time.”

“Will you be okay? How bad is the wound?”

He nods, face set in a smile. “It’s nothing life threatening - just a graze,” he comments. “Just a bit of blood-”

He’s cut off as you reach for the dagger strapped to his leg.

“What are you-”

Reaching for the hem of your skirt, you drag the blade across the fabric. It rips with a satisfying sound. Dropping the dagger onto the forest floor, you continue to tear the fabric from the bottom of your dress. Your face burns - standing in front of Chan with your skirt pulled almost to your waist to tear the fabric… you somehow still had the mind to feel self-conscious.

“You can’t just hold that the entire time,” you explain with a final tug to the skirt. It falls back around your legs, higher than before. With a gulp and furiously burning ears, you wrap your arms around Chan’s torso, pulling the fabric around his waist twice before securing it with a knot. “There. Now your hands are free.”

Standing back, you smile at your work.

“Okay, let’s go,” you say and turn.

Though you were ready to move, Chan doesn’t budge. Your muscles relax in confusion, head cocking in question.

His eyes are on you. They’re dark, shadowed by his features, silhouetted by however much moonlight manages to trespass the trees, but you can feel his gaze.

“You’re not…” He gulps, taking in a shuddering breath that causes him to wince, and slowly exhales. “You’re not injured, are you?”

Eyes softening, you feel the urge to cup his cheek again. You shake your head gently. The pain in your arm was easing - it was nothing worth him fretting over.

But how could he, bleeding as he was, still be concerned for your wellbeing?

“I’m fine.” A gentle smile tugs at your lips, and you eye the makeshift bandage around his torso. “Start worrying about yourself more.”

Chan's concern falters and he scoffs. “It's my job to worry about you, your highness.”

He was right, you knew. It was his job, had been his job for as long as you could remember.

“We should get moving, though.” Chan breaks the silence that had fallen between the two of you. “If I were in their shoes, it won’t be along until I either loop back around or send out a full search party to cover the entire forest.”

“So what do we do?”

Your question is met with silence. Chan’s eyes had fixated on a spot on the ground, though you knew he wasn’t really looking at the ground. He had zoned out, the way he does when he gets lost in his thoughts.

Giving him his moment to think, you collect the dagger from the ground. It’s clean, void of any violence it may have taken part in. The blade shone in the night, edges sharp and though cold, the weight of it in your hand brings you an odd sense of comfort.

It reminded you of a time in your childhood when you’d carried an identical blade through these woods.

“I think I know where we can go.” It’s a rush of words as the idea fills your mind, as your brain tries to figure out the kinks in your underdeveloped plan. “He would help us. I know he would.”

An incredulous look passes Chan’s face, so theatrical and comedic that you almost burst out laughing despite the situation.

“’He’? Who is ‘he’?” Chan, so perplexed by the fact that you were acquainted with a boy outside the castle, is frozen in place. “Do I know this person? Why- How do you-” He clears his throat, composes himself, and tries to regain neutrality on his face. “I apologise, princess, but I… have been with you for years, have barely left your side when outside the castle walls… so please forgive my confusion at the moment.”

Though you’d not seen him since that night long ago, you knew he was here. Knew he had stayed in your kingdom, and knew he resided on the outskirts of the town. Any and all businesses who dealt in or with magic were to send official notice to the castle regarding the purpose of their business. Along with a variety of other contracts, it was a method through which the use of magic could be indirectly monitored. The practice had been picked up by all the kingdoms, and any one found to profit off of their magic outside of what they had agreed to would be punished.

You had spied Minho’s name, once, in one of the books that kept such details. An address had been scrawled next to it, and though you had read it out of interest, you had never expected to remember it, especially in a situation like this.

But a mage, you realise, would be the last person Chan would turn to. And how were you to explain how you knew him? How were you to explain why he would help you, without having Chan go off at you about how stupid your decisions had been?

So instead, you take in a slow, deep breath. Tilting your head back to look up at the moon concealed by trees, you exhale. It shone bright, a beautiful sight in the treacherous night.

“Do you trust me, Chan?”

He doesn’t miss a beat, voice filled with absolute certainty as he crosses an arm over his chest and lowers his head into a bow.

“With my life, my princess.”

You and Chan were fortunate enough to not run into anyone as you made your way around the castle grounds. The adrenaline pushes you, keeps your legs working and your ears on high alert. Many times, he had pushed you against a tree, his arm or even his body pressed against yours at the faintest possibility of running into anyone.

You held your breath in these moments. The proximity at which he held you left little space for you to even inhale as deeply as you needed to calm your breathing, and besides - the sound would be too loud to hear anything over it.

When the trees finally start thinning, your legs are heavy and your lungs feel something akin to having had inhaled a thousand thorns.

The forest ended at the top of the hill. To your right, the gates to the castle, the long road up hidden by the night. Before you, the town lay spread out. The houses clustered, divided at intervals to form the many streets. Lit windows were few, and yet you thought that you could almost, if you tried hard enough, hear the hearty laugh of men at pubs.

“Your highness, are you alright? On the edge of the forest may not be the wisest of places for us to rest, perhaps we should-”

Shaking your head, you gather your skirts once more and lift your head. “No, no rest. I was simply sentimental, for a moment. I apologise - such feelings will do us no good right now.”

An expression of confliction crosses Chan’s face, so brief that when you look at him, he looked impassive.

“So, where does this… this person live? Where are we headed?”

The address tumbles from your lips, pulling from Chan a strained look.

“That’s on the other side of the town-”

“But we’ve few, if any other choices,” you reason. “We can’t possibly return to the castle nor can we try and make it to the next town over with nothing on us. We don’t even have money, Chan.”

“Then the people of the town-”

“Will insist on helping us, I know, but I will not take advantage of their kindness when such a thing could put them in danger.” The words come out with much more force than you had intended, the subtle escalation of your conversation with Chan having taken the better of you.

But Chan is seemingly unaffected by it. He regards you with a thoughtful gaze, eyes dancing with both amusement and respect. “Very well. Across town we shall go, your highness.”

Tonight was a night of many firsts for you. The first time you had ever had to flee your home, the first time your life had ever been in danger, the first time you had ever genuinely feared losing Chan.

The feeling had been so alien to you, so impossible to ever fathom, so unnecessary to even had imagined in the past, that as you walked through the sleeping streets of the town you had grown to love so much, you had to resist holding onto Chan like you had when you were a child. It would be silly now, to hold his hand as you had in the past whilst sneaking around the castle. This wasn’t a game anymore; the consequences of being found by the wrong people wasn’t forced study in the library. It was worse, much worse.

So why not hold his hand? Keep him close, know he’s safe - not that you would be able to do much of the protecting, you knew.

But as it had been in the past - when one was in trouble, so too would be the other.

Your fingers flex at your side now, itching to reach out and hold onto Chan as he peers around the corner to ensure no one was there.

He tenses, the same time the sound of a girl's laughter reaches your ear. Footsteps are fast to fade, alongside the quiet murmurs of a man, loud in the soundless night. Lovers, perhaps, heading home together as the night grows old.

A quick gesture of the hands from Chan indicates that it was safe to move. The two of you dart out of the small alley you had been hiding in and enter the town square.

Another first to add to the list; never had you seen the town square bathed in the silver light of the moon, street lamps flickering orange and crossing at the center of the square. Perhaps it was your circumstances, but the emptiness of the town square leaves an uneasy feeling in your stomach.

Chan leads you around the edge, behind empty stalls and shrubbery. Your footsteps echo off the walls of the buildings, playing back into your ears as if to emphasise the emptiness of the town.

“Half way there,” Chan mumbles as he enters a dark alley.

Had that alley always been there? Had any of the roads you’d taken always been there? You knew, realistically speaking, they had been - and yet you could not recall ever having seen them before. Perhaps the street that the bakery had been on, you’d seen before - but the alley that smelt of old blood and meat, the alley that had crates of empty glass bottles stacked by the door. How did Chan know of these roads, of these many paths? Had he memorised the map of the town, the many streets that had never existed to you before now?

It was his job, you supposed, to know these things. And yet the sheer ability to know his way across the town amazed you. Had he ever walked these roads before, or was he simply relying on his mind’s eye, on the chance of an accurate mental recall of the many maps he’d studied?

The scenery had changed - houses were few now, the paths between buildings more dirt and stone than they were stoned tiles, like they’d been in the town square. As you and Chan make your way down the street, Chan a hand on his sword the whole time, you can’t help but marvel at the contrast present in just this one town. Had you not walked here with your own two feet, you would have believed this to be a whole new place. The town you were familiar with had tiled floors, had flowers blooming on the balconies and children in pinks and blues, greens and purples. Not the browns and creams that hung from laundry lines at the front of the houses in the night.

“Up ahead,” Chan breaths, and your eyes scan the distance.

It wasn’t hard to spot, really. The only lit house in the dark street, windows warm with yellow light. There was a sign hanging by the window, but you couldn’t make out the words - weather had gotten the better of the paint. It swung feebly with a passing breeze.

“I trust you, your highness.” Hushed words leave Chan’s lips, followed by a resigned sigh. “I just hope your own trust isn’t misplaced. If they so much as look like they’re going to hurt you, I’ll-”

“He won’t, Chan.” You place a hand on his arm. After a moment, you feel his muscles relax, and Chan moves towards the lit house.

He… won’t, right? You believed he wouldn’t - The last time you had seen him, he had been afraid. He hadn’t hurt you, though you knew he could have. He had listened to you, and you to him, and he had accepted what little help you could offer. You wanted to believe that people were good - that kindness would be remembered.

And yet, back at the castle, his highness-

“There’s someone inside.” Chan, nearing the lit window, holds a hand out to stop you. “I can’t be sure, but it seems to only be one person.”

It’s him. You swallow nervously.

How had the years changed him? Had they even changed him? Would he recognise you at all?

Chan was right. There was someone in the house, their silhouette faint against the window. They were moving around, though it was near impossible to tell what they were doing.

“Are you sure this is the house, your highness? And if so, are you sure this person can be trusted? We don’t know what will happen in the next few hours-”

“Well, we’ve little other choice.” Your statement is all you manage to get out before you push past Chan’s hand. It was now or never - dawdling by his door wouldn’t change the current situation.

Chan makes a shocked sound of protest as you push past him, but he doesn’t move to stop you - only to follow you, and you’re aware of his hand securing it’s grasp on his sword.

Standing in front of the door, you could make out the sound of running water. You raise a shaking hand, fingers curling uncertainly before you squeeze them into a fist and rap on the door. Three quick knocks, breath caught somewhere in your throat as you wait for a response.

Chan speaks up from behind you, voice urgent. “Your highness, please step back-”

The door swings open abruptly, causing you to flinch back in shock.

The heart is a funny thing, really. How can it hold so many emotions at once?

Looking at Minho after so many years was strange. It was like he hadn't aged at all, and yet he looked like he had matured twice as fast as you. His face, though as angular as it had been that night so long ago, was now more jawline and cheekbones, as opposed to malnourishment.

“Lower your weapon, knight, or else I’ll blast you from my door.”

He speaks with a tired drawl, though you see the way his eyes quint in suspicion.

“Minho, it’s me-”

“Yes, I saw you,” he cuts in, eyes still trained behind you. “Not as flashy as your friend’s sword, unfortunately.”

It’s a cold response, not at all what you had expected, but you turn all the same and glare at Chan.

“I told you he wouldn’t hurt us, so-”

“He just said he would blast me from the door-”

“Because you’re waving a great, big sword around, idiot,” Minho says with a roll of his eyes. He’s leaning against the door, body blocking the rest of his house.

“I’m her highness’ knight,” Chan states defiantly, as if challenging Minho. His gaze lingers on Chan for a second longer before he looks at you - really looks at you.

It feels like ice piercing through you, his eyes reading every thought in your head. He knows why we’re here, a small voice in your head tells you. But how could he possibly know that?

“’Her highness,’ huh.” Minho lets the words sit on his tongue, lets it mull over in his head as he regards you. His gaze falls briefly to the dagger in your hand. “Well, I don’t suppose that after all these years you just decided to spontaneously come by in the middle of the night to see how I’m doing, so it’s probably best I invite you in,” he concludes with a sigh. “Tell your knight to sheath his sword, or it’ll be as existent as his sleeve there.”

“We- We don’t have sheaths on us,” you explain hesitantly. “Or anything, really. Just his sword, and the dagger. Not even any money.”

Minho looks down at you - he was taller than you and held himself with such an air of indifference that you couldn’t bare to maintain eye contact. Were you right to come here at all? To ask for help, and, despite your position, have nothing to offer in return?

A defeated sigh leaves him before he steps aside. “Whatever. Hurry in, then.”

He steps aside and after a moment’s hesitation, you make your way into his house.

It was cozy, unlike the great stone walls of your home. Sure, the library fireplace was warm and comforting, but the sheer size of the castle and all of its many rooms were nothing compared to the small space Minho lived in.

Dried plants hung over the window, each bundle a different kind. The table was laid not with the remnants of a meal well eaten, but with more plants and glass bottles, books opened with feathers marking different sections, and a range of things you barely had time to try and identify before you were ushered further into the house.

A fire blazed low in the corner of the room, opposite a messy looking kitchen. The sink was filled with unwashed dishes and more glass bottles, which you had only ever seen in books before. Few chairs were scattered around the room - wooden chairs that you assumed to belong to the table out front were occupied by books and blankets, and a long, two-person sofa had been turned into a makeshift bed. In the corner between the sofa and the fireplace, two wooden doors lead off into unknown areas of the house.

“Well, do sit down,” Minho says with a wave of his hand. Static seems to fill the air as items move from the chairs to the floor, neatly stacking themselves upon one another. “Having the princess and her royal knight standing about my living room is making me quite… anxious, for lack of a better word.”

You watch in amazement as the blankets fold themselves up.

“You’re a magic user?!” Chan whirls on Minho, eyes wide in shock. There’s an edge of something akin to fear or anger - you can’t quite place it, distracted instead by the way the room accommodates for two more people.

“What, your princess didn’t mention that I’m a mage?” Minho retorts, amusement in his eyes. “Shame. But that seems the least of your problems, if you’re coming to my door at this hour. Now, sit.”

An invisible force maneuvers you and Chan down into the sofa. Chan falls with an indignant sound - was this his first time encountering magic? You’d never talked to Chan about magic, before. Nothing beyond stories of faeries and witches, curses and potions.

“Minho,” you begin, before Chan could say anything to worsen a relationship you were surprised had started off on such bad footing. “We- we need you help. I need your help.”

You meet his eye, and for the first time that night, Minho holds your gaze with a seriousness that felt befitting of the situation. Was he aware, after all, of the situation? You were sure that the voice you had heard earlier that night had been his. But no matter how you tried to rethink the situation, there was nothing you could think of that would explain why he had told you to run.

Perhaps you had imagined it, in your drowsed, sluggish state, but you search his face all the same, for any sign that he had sent you the message, had been aware of the potential danger you had been in.

He turns away, a shrug of his shoulders the only sign that he had heard your request at all.

Minho moves to the sink, and in a surprising act of normalcy, picks of a sponge and turns on the tap. He begins to wash his dishes.

Chan glances towards you - this person who you had believed would help obviously showed no care about whatever predicament you were in.

You fidget nervously at the velvet of your dress. Minho places a soaped up plate in the adjacent sink.

“I was hoping-”

“If you knew where to find me,” he suddenly says, his back still towards you and Chan, “Then you’ll know I run a business. Magical assistance in exchange for payment. And, as I recall, the pair of you are quite penniless at the moment.”

“Her highness is still the royal princess.” Chan sounded like he was speaking in court, stating facts as if to argue their case. His voice was clear, rock solid despite your wavering faith in Minho. “Whilst we may currently be in a difficult situation, rest assured that your assistance, should it be provided and adequate, will be rewarded fittingly.”

Minho doesn’t reply to this. He continues to wash his dishes. In the silence, you look around the living space.

Unlike your own home, the walls of Minho’s house were bare of any intricacies. Simple wood, with no grand photos of family members hanging - though, knowing Minho, you’d be surprised if he even had any. Across the fireplace mantel were jars of what seemed to be dried up herbs, sticks of what you recognised as cinnamon, and- were those egg shells? A strange assortment of things, you mused.

“Your highness,” Chan whispers. He leans in towards you, sofa shifting under him, and raises a hand to cover his mouth. “Perhaps your trust- Apologies. Perhaps we are unwelcomed here. It may be best we leave as soon as possible, if this boy refuses to help us.”

“He’s the same age as us, Chan.” Well, you think he is, anyways. “Please - just give it another minute.”

Despite your hopes, Chan seems to be right. The only thing dissuading you from the belief that Minho wanted nothing to do with your recent events was the fact that he hadn’t blatantly turned you away.

The sound of water eases and shuts off. Minho busies his hands - with what, you couldn’t see.

“Was there trouble? At the palace?”

You’re surprised by his question - so he was willing to help? Or, at the very least, hear you out?

“Yes, how did-”

“What makes you say that?” Chan says, and a jolt ran through you. Never had Chan spoken over you so forcefully before. He doesn’t meet your eyes and instead frowns at the back of the mage’s head.

Minho doesn’t answer immediately. He continues whatever other task he had started, back to you. After a few seconds, he turns and grabs for a tea towel. He leans back against the sink, wiping his hands.

“Well, is it not the most obvious thing to have happened?” With a forced smile at Chan, Minho discards the towel behind him. “Why else would you and the princess be at my door, penniless and on foot, at this hour? If not for trouble at the palace, surely you would have opted for a horse or two, and if you knew I ran a business, surely you would come with some form of payment.”

The points, while well made, seemed to do little to ease whatever suspicion had overcome Chan - it didn’t take much to guess what those suspicions were concerning, and you turn to Chan with a resigned look.

“It took you some time to formulate such an easily deducible answer,” Chan muses aloud.

“Well, then why ask such an obvious question?” Minho retorts and all of a sudden the temperature in the room seems to drop. The air seems to fizz, and a stroke of fear enters your body as he returns Chan’s glare with his own pointed look.

He pushes off of the sink and walks forward.

He doesn’t carry the same angry threat that you’d seen come from Chan when his men were out of line. No glowering, no fists at his side, no long strides to advance upon his opponent. He seems to simply walk across the room instead, his head held high and jaw clenched ever so subtly, never breaking eye contact with Chan. He stops half-way - he doesn’t need to make the full distance. Chan abruptly stands up and makes his own advance.

“Chan, honestly*-***”

“I don’t quite appreciate the way you’re regarding me, knight.” Each of Minho’s words seems to be accentuated by the flicker of the fireplace flame. They’re spoken clearly, carefully - not quite a whisper, but then again, it didn’t take much for him to be heard in the silence. “The implications you’re making, while subtle, are not left unknown to me, human.”

The two of them, knight and mage, are in the middle of Minho’s living space, the tension so high that you didn’t know who to fear for.

“I’ll have you know something, mage*.***” Chan snarls. “I don’t trust you. Not one bit; not at all.” He’s breathing down Minho’s chest, a snarl you’d never seen before turning the face of someone you’d grown up with into someone almost unrecognisable. “I’m only here because her highness believes strongly that you will help us.” He jabs a finger into Minho’s chest, though the latter only raises a brow. “However, it is my job to keep her safe and even if I respect her opinion of others, it does not mean that her and I are of the same mind.”

He’s breathing heavily by the end of it, the tips of his ears red. You had risen from your seat at some point, the waves of unease in your stomach turning turbulent. Your eyes dart back and forth between the two of them.

“And I’ll remind you that it is my house you are standing in and it is my assistance that you are seeking.”

Minho is no where near taller than Chan. The two stand face to face, and yet it was like the mage was looking down at Chan. The scary calm that had taken over him, the careful control of his emotions and his magic - you could feel it in the air, feel the static you had felt earlier, only this was cold. Cold, chilling static, like that of winter waters or thick snowfall.

He doesn’t break eye-contact with Chan. He blinks, he takes steady breaths, he keeps his chin raised, but he doesn’t falter.

After what feels like an age, Chan turns and walks past Minho. You take a step after him, fearful that he was about to leave out the front door, but he simply places himself on one of the vacated stools. He was out of Minho’s point of view, and though the latter was still in his, Chan crossed his arms and closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall.

It seemed impossible for you to exhale fully, much less take a deep breath. You had expected some resistance from Chan when he inevitably found out that Minho was a mage but whatever had happened in the last few minutes was beyond anything you could have imagined.

“Minho, I-” You turn hastily away from Chan and to Minho, who had not moved. He looks at you now with troubled eyes. Gulping, you take in the deepest breath you can manage and exhale through pursed lips. You try again. “Could we perhaps take this elsewhere?”

A tired, resigned smile makes its way to Minho’s face. “Perhaps that would be best.”

It turns out, you discover, that one of the two mysterious doors led out to a garden.

The door shuts quietly behind you as you breathe in the night air. Minho’s garden, while no larger than his living space, seemed to house a variety of plants. Flowers of differing colours, shapes and sizes filled the majority of the space, alongside some recognisable vegetables - tomatoes and lettuce, though few, seemed fresh and ready to harvest. All the plants, you notice, seem to shine in the night. Taking a step closer, you almost let out an exclamation as one, two, three glowing creatures dart in and between the flowers.

“They maintain the garden for me,” Minho says, as if it explained everything. You turn to him, having forgotten for a moment that he was with you. “A marvelous help, they are, especially when I’m away on business.”

He picks up a basket, hanging it off his arm and walks up to a purple flower. You watch as Minho inspects it before pulling a pair of scissors from the basket and cutting the flower off its stem.

“Minho, I wanted to apologise for-”

“There is no need. I don’t seek an apology from you - nor the knight, I might add, before you berate him for his behaviour.” His basket was quickly filling with flowers, though you note there’s no more than two of each kind. “It is not uncommon for me to hear such things, for it is not easy to place your faith in things you do not understand. Though, I confess, such things are less common now. Do you mind?”

He hands you the basket - now filled with so many things that you wouldn’t know where to start if he were to ask you to remove a flower from the lot - and picks up another. This one he begins to fill with produce.

“But he is still my knight, and I ask for your assistance not just for myself but for him as well. Tonight-” You break off, and Minho spares you a glance over the shoulder before he returns to his carrots. “It is perhaps unfair of me to ask you for your help, after all these years,” you finish, an increasing hopelessness somehow making sense of itself in your mind.

A decade, perhaps, it had been since you last saw him. You had every possible means to seek him out after parting, had an abundance of ways you could have assisted him - for you knew, even if he had rejected help the first time, that to do something was better than nothing, and yet you had kept quiet about your encounter. For his own safety, one may have reasoned, but in hindsight it seemed a child’s selfishness was what kept him a secret. Something for you to know, and no one else. Not the maids who tended to you every day, or the queen who asked you what you had done that afternoon, or Chan who was by your side whenever possible.

Minho had returned to stand before you, the second basket full of tomatoes, lettuce, and a range of root vegetables. The hem of his pants were speckled with dirt, and a smudge of it ran over his cheek.

“You saved my life, y/n. I think you underestimate the consequences of our meeting far too much.”

It was like the child you had met so many years ago was back before you, a vulnerability in his eyes that you couldn’t quite understand. You, who had always been sheltered, had always had your safety assured, prioritised, and the child who had been covered in dirt and bruises, twigs sticking out of his hair and so tangled up that you’d had to sit him down and carefully undo all the knots.

The way Minho looked at you now almost scared you - if your request had been not for help, but for his life, you were sure he would have said yes.

Unable to hold the truth in his gaze any longer, you busy yourself with readjusting the basket in your hand, carefully easing the petals away from the rim as to not crush them.

“The last thing I wish to do is to hold that over you, Minho,” you say softly. “It was wrong of me to come to you for help when I fear that asking it of others would endanger their safety. You too are part of this kingdom, and I cannot simply treat you different because of the past.”

“Can’t you?” He sounds wistful, you think, the words almost musing, so soft and quiet that you weren’t sure if they were meant for only your ears, or for no one’s at all.

Then, as if there had been no sentimentality at all, Minho flourishes his hand and the basket of flowers levitates out of your grasp. “I’ll help you - but first, it would seem a good night’s sleep would do you well.”

The door swing opens as Minho nears it, and he gestures for you to enter the house first. The flowers follow you in, Minho bringing up the rear.

Chan, who’d been pacing by the fire, looks up abruptly when he hears you come in. Relief seems to wash over his features, and you give him a strained smile.

“Minho said he’d help us.” You lay a hand on Chan’s arm, and the tension seems to leave his body at the confirmation of your physical presence. “We can rest here for the night, and figure everything out tomorrow.”

“On that note - here, to help you sleep.” A small opaque bottle floats its way to you. “Just light a match, drop in there and leave it in the room. I’m sure the night’s events will leave your mind running when given the chance.”

You take the jar in your hands, feeling its weight as the magic disappears. Peering inside seemed pointless - the opening was just small enough for your finger to fit in; barely enough light could enter the jar for you to see its contents.

“And a salve, for any minor wounds you may have.”

This time, a red jar lands by the sink. It’s even smaller than the bottle, barely the size of your palm. Though Minho doesn’t look at him, you know that he had taken note of the wound at Chan’s side.

“You can take my bed, y/n. The knight can sleep on the floor, or something. I don’t really care.”

“You little-”

Minho ignores Chan, moving to grab a satchel from the table. Your eyes follow him, the way he truly seems to disregard Chan’s presence as he walks past him and towards the front door.

“And you? Where will you sleep, then? I insist you keep your bed-”

“Oh, I won’t be sleeping tonight.” Hand on the doorknob, he turns to you with a glint in his eye. “The moon is full. It’d be a waste to do something as mundane as sleep tonight. I’ll be close by, and there are protective charms on the house. Worry not.”

The door shuts behind him before you or Chan can even protest.

—

Chan’s wound had stopped bleeding. Though he had played it off as a simple graze, you were relieved to see it wasn’t too much of an understatement. The initial redness that surrounded the wound had frozen your mind with fear, but after taking a wet cloth to it, you discovered that it was mostly dried blood that had spread.

The salve Minho had given you smelt resinous, like wood that had been left out in the rain. Your face scrunches up as you scoop a small amount up with your fingers. Setting the jar down next to the chair Chan was sat on, you steady yourself with a hand on his knee and run the salve over his wound. He flinches at the sensation, muscles tensing under your fingers, but keeps his shirt held up.

“You don’t think he’s tricked you into poisoning me, do you?”

You spare a glare at Chan.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” you say, though you know he was just trying to ease the tension.

Though Minho hadn’t returned since he’d left, you could still feel Chan’s discomfort with the situation. He too seemed to sense that you wee troubled - you had caught him shooting you anxious glances as you’d prepared to treat his wound.

“You know, he told me not to berate you.” Having finished applying the salve, you push yourself up from the floor and dust your skirts off. Chan avoids your eye, fixating instead on straightening his shirt and picking at the torn fabric under the flickering light of the fireplace. “Just because he says he doesn’t seek an apology, doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t get one.”

Chan’s jaw clenches, and he looks up you through furrowed brows. “Are you ordering me to apologise to him?”

Your jaw drops at his words, helpless against the hurt that they bring you. For him to bring status into this, to make it seem like he would rather be anywhere but here - his words from earlier echo in your brain: I’m only here because her highness believes strongly that you will help us.

“Chan, that’s not at all what I-”

“I don’t feel like I’ve anything to apologise for,” he says, voice edged with annoyance. “I don’t trust him. I have spoken my truth - but I won’t interrogate you for yours.” His voice is gentler, resigned. “Though, I admit the mage is right. You should rest, your highness. It has been an eventful night, and you will need your energy for tomorrow.”

It felt wrong, to leave and rest without resolving the tension that had formed between you and Chan. A part of you didn’t understand why he had been so aggressive towards Minho, why he was so against the idea of his help… and yet you knew it was wrong of you to expect Chan to understand your thoughts and feelings when you had given him nothing to help form an understanding of your relationship with Minho. To Chan, you realised, Minho was simply an unknown stranger who possessed the abilities to have aided the night’s chaos.

But it felt wrong to reveal your and Minho’s shared history with Chan. Afterall, it wasn’t only your story to tell.

So you take a deep breath, try to catch Chan’s eye one more time, before murmuring a small goodnight.

Minho’s bedroom, located behind the second of the mysterious doors, was dimly lit by a a candle sitting on the corner of his desk. There was a single, unmade bed next to it, and a set of drawers at the other end of the room. Another door (which you presumed led to the bathroom, for you hadn’t seen one in your time here, and what home had no bathroom?) stood in the corner, next to the drawers. There was a window,

It was a small bedroom, void of anything unnecessary.

Placing the bottle Minho had given you on the table, you search for a match. His desk was covered in books and papers, and it’s not until you brave a small box on his desk that you find the matches. You do as he had instructed - striking one, you watch as the corner you stood in lit orange before dropping it into the bottle.

You had been skeptical that dropping a match into such a small space would work - surely, the fire would be extinguished, right? - but you’re mildly surprised when a soft, sweet scent arises. It reminded you of home, of late nights spend in the library reading stories of knights and princesses, witches and curses. A familiar drowsiness overcomes you.

It doesn’t take long for you to find yourself sliding under Minho’s covers. Your mind spares a moment for you to feel embarrassed at the act of sleeping in not only someone else’s bed, but in a man’s bed, before it lets the exhaustion take over.

This time, you don’t fight the heaviness of your body like you had so many hours ago.

This time, you let it consume you.

---

a/n: hi hi! thank you for reading. comments, throughts, feedback, questions - all of these (and more) are appreciated! if you want to be added to the taglist (or alternatively, removed) please let me know &lt;3

[twillightteaparty]

I really liked your post about the Pomefiore members acting like the reader's older brother. I'd like to request headcannons for the same concept but with Heartslabyul this time! Thanks~

Heartslabyul Boys Acting Like An Older Brother!

Ace

“Ace, why are you acting like my older brother? I'm older than you/same age as you” “nobody else was gonna do it! So I may as well!” “But I don’t” “SSSH now help me out would yeah?”

Definitely not the best choice for an older sibling figure- but definitely not the worse choice for one either? He probably tries to pretend to be a protective older brother-type dude when you very much can handle yourself.

You thought the teasing was bad when you guys were just friends? Well, you're in for a whole new boat of cringy pain. He means well I swear but boy does it just hurt.

Brightside out of all of this is that you are now his go to partner in crime, well for the most part anyways. So I hope you like causing problems on purpose.

Down side is the fact that i want to make so many joke of him being the dumb brother figure from any show i watched growing up.

Deuce

Despite never having been an older brother figure once he is surprisingly good at it. He never overstep any boundaries. Goes out of his way to help you when he sees you struggling with something. Very sweet boy.

With that said he would also fist fight someone for you if required. Mind you he doesn’t want to fight someone if he can avoid it but if some rude individual can’t take a hint or is being extra on the gross side? He can reconsider his politeness.

Quality time together is always something he likes to do. Playing video games together? sure! Going to hang out and get something to eat together? Awesome! Need help studying? He isn’t the smartest but you two sure try and figure it out.

You’re upset about something? Well he's gonna make you some hot coco, or tea or whatever. He got you. Gonna get a blanket if he can and y’all watching (disney movie) a movie.

Riddle

You will never forget to do anything on the bright side of things, but this comes at the price of him nagging you to do things all the time. He definitely does this because he wants what's best for you and wants to see you succeed, but due to his life experiences he doesn’t know how to convey that in a healthy manner.

If your tie isn’t tied properly he’ll definitely fuss over you and fix it for you, and maybe lightly scold you and remind you how important appearances are and how you should maintain them. If a hair is out of place he’ll tuck it behind your ear or he’d redo your hairstyle to fix it.

Now if you get into trouble and he’s the one to scold you and have to face the consequences of your actions the odds are that he’ll scold you but almost never collar you or completely lose his temper at you.

Now if you're ever upset he’ll have no idea how to help, he’s not good at handling his own emotions let alone anyone else’s. He’ll try his best, get you a cup of tea, maybe offer you a hug. But ugh that's it buddy.

Trey

In front of figures of authorities or adults y’all sweet little angels, y’all would never do anything wrong. But the second no one is looking, y’all being naughty. Opening Christmas presents and rewrapping them. Maybe stealing a lost 5 dollars to buy candy. Eating tarts when no one is looking. You name it.

Blaming the damages on the ‘pets’ aka Ace and deuce and riddle assuming Trey would never, EVER, lie to his face. What a shame smh.

Trey is someone that you go to for advice and someone who gives good advice, or at least he tries to. Often gives you a good perspective on matters that you probably wouldn’t have seen by yourself.

Though he’s busy he always makes sure to check in with you and make sure your doing well, and when you're struggling with school work he’ll tell you to take a break and have some tea before going back to the grind.

Cater

What can I say? You're just his little pogchamp, buddy. He thrives off of being the older sibling figure for once and he embraces it wholeheartedly.

A lot of hanging out and relaxing. He’ll paint your nails and gossip with you, and he even gives you lots of practical life advice while he’s at it.

A lot of self-care / me time I feel like is a shared time between the two of you. Like you do your skincare routines together. Help each other with your makeup or hair and make sure that you guys are feeling your best selves. A lot of this is done with you both singing along to your guy's favorite songs.

Definitely, the sibling figure you bring your crush to see if they pass the “test”. The sibling that interrogates them and makes sure that your crush should never ever hurt you. Not even a little bit.

~~~

this shouldn't have been so hard to write but it was. But all and all I think it turned out very well and I am up most delighted with it. special thanks to my friends that helped me out <3

Signed, Admin Tea.

[pondslime]

2022 writing wrap up

tagged by my beloved @possumteeths MWAH ILY

Total Words Published: 

30,725

Additional Words Written: 

about 9k of assorted other wips lmao

and about 4k for a random non-fic writing project that I kinda......abandoned......but maybe we’ll pick it back up idk

Grand Total of Words: 

about 44,000!

Fandoms:

house of wax exclusively. smh. bc I lost my mind in october over it and have published nothing BUT content for it

however!! I would love to branch out eventually and write some other shit lmao!!

I have a bride of chucky fic in the works and I’d love to dabble into other slashers PERHAPS

none of them own this ass quite like those wax losers UNFORTUNATELY

Highest Everything (raw kudos, hits, comments):

it’s my first HOW fic, poacher’s dream...which is a categorically nasty and weird lil house of wax oneshot about bo sinclair bein nasty w/beer bottles.

glad to know that all of u are intrigued @ the thought of being debased w/a budweiser bottle by this hick loser bc same tbh

Highest Kudos to Hits Ratio:

pumpkin guts! a silly lil halloween romp in which the reader carves pumpkins with the worst men in america! spooky!

New Things I Tried:

x reader fics lol!! I never thought I'd write anything in that format! tbqh, I didn't think I'd return to writing fanfic at all! bc for years I’ve had this cycle of getting into something, writing one (1) fic for it, losing all interest in fic writing, and disappearing off the face of whatever fandom I scuttled into lmao

seems like the only thing that motivates me to semi-regularly post fics is the concept of screwing the vilest fictional men?? interesting!! I love my neurological functions

Fic I Spent the Most Time On:

it feels like it was sanguine lmao

I wrote 9.5k words of weird cerebral EDGING porn for this deranged elvis impersonator and his mechanic LARP

I really did 

and it’s 100% the least accessible of my fics bc it’s Peculiar™. but when I tell u I sat and absolutely labored over that fic rfhsdjwjfedskrfjwds

I put a lot of time and energy into it and it knocked 7391932 years off my life tbh

Favorite Thing I Wrote:

something borrowed! 

I think it’s the strongest fic in my catalogue tbh. Just pacing/format-wise. I really like the overall structure and tone! It’s this strange little foray into Bo’s demented little pea brain and has several scenes I love a lot 

I’m also very fond of miss ambrose, my lester fic! it’s just GOOFY fluffy nonsense!!! I had SO MUCH fun writing it 

Favorite Thing I Read:

everything LITERALLY EVERTHING that my fuckin INCREDIBLY talented friend @possumteeths​/ @raccoonspooky​ wrote!! like I’m actively trying to narrow down my favorite and I am having the most DIFFICULT time bc they are all works of fuckin art lmao

I literally just reread obedient dogs the other day. go read that. have u read the SOUL SHATTERING and AWARD WINNING they'll pay you a thousand for a kiss & .50 for your soul ?? HAVE U?? BESTIE if U HAVE NOT??? 

basically, go gargle down all of poki’s content idk man IT’S ALL SO GOOD 

@visceravalentines​ wrote THIS incredible piece and it made me clinically fuckin insane. edit: AND THIS ONE. HOLY SHIT. I have reread both of these 7382817983 times!!! meg ily!! u just wait I’m gonna attack ur masterlist like a frenzied bear after a long winter hibernation I swear

regrettably, I didn’t consume a ton of fic this year!! granted, I only got into this fandom in october so I have time to catch up lmao!! definitely plan to have a more extensive list next year 

Writing goals for 2023:

write more nonsensical insanity and just have fun lmao

as for concrete plans!! I’d love to write a whole series of x readers with horror ladies (final girl/villain/what have u)! carly and tiff are already on that list, but if you have any other ideas, I’m all ears! I need to brush through my horror lady mental catalogue and give them some ao3 rights lmao!

New Works:

The previously mentioned Carly x Reader fic! It’s been my super self-indulgent brainchild for the past couple months, and I love it a lot! I really want to hammer it out this month and toss it out into the internet void......but we shall see. 

If only I can get the weevil that is Ho Binclair out of my goddamn scriv doc..........speaking of him.......................

☢️💥🤡 I’ve got 37171984918342 Bo WIP’s bopping around my skull at all times yikes🤡💥☢️

I don’t need those. u don’t need those. I’ve already written enough for this man. what else is there 2 say!!! and yet

I’m also writing bits and pieces of this multi-chaptered Vincent slowburn. that will be out..............................at some time? in the future jfrdsjhrjhwfdskrwfds who knows

tagging the writer moots that I haven't already seen tagged!! no stress of course mwah 

@visceravalentines, @venus-haze​

also consider urself tagged if u read 2 the bottom of this hell post 

[m1ckeyb3rry]

You’re fr doing us all a favor by writing about deconstructed popular tropes I LIVE for it!! I’m crying don’t remind me abt hollyhock Karasu or else I’m gonna start swerving again and I’m gonna forgot that otoya is the male lead

I loved the pi ending I feel like the balance of bittersweet was just right with all the tragedies that happened along the way plus Yuta losing his ce

You’re cooking too well with oaeu the ideas are genius but I’m DYING THE KARASU ONE??? LMFQOOOO HOW TO BECOME A HOMEWRECKER 101 “aiku is so experienced with that” is BRUTAL HAHAAH so true though I’m so excited!!!!

All hail irl tullia counterpart!!! Tell her Karasu nation (and bllk and jjk community too) owe her one for getting you to post your writing omg but I’m actually crying and laughing so fucking hard the epigraph is too good

I love chigiri bestie content….actually I love chigiri content in general too but he also just fits so well in a best friend role too!! I’m crying maybe the peregrine Nagi was the friends (reo) we made along the way LMAOO it’s ok what’s a good long Nagi fic without reo meddling in the storyline

DHDGSHS it’s ok…trust it’s coming soon!! Im pissing myself WHAT is that edit the first pic of Rin as Sukuna has me rofl wtf (yeah what’s sad is how his face card is giving more than wtvs going on in the current match smh) WHAT IN THE TARGETED AUDIENCE?!?! Bro I need more yotd on my fyp now that you’ve shown me this but omggggg also I’ve been Lowk kinda obsessed with the song they used something about the harmonies hits hard but that’s besides the point erm anyways. ok but like…….strike while the iron is hot yk…don’t wanna lost the motivation for these fire ideas…yk…..having inspiration and motivation while writing truly brings out the best flavors so I meaannnnnn whatever works yk! That’s true though I thought both of those slapped I wouldn’t have guessed that you weren’t working with any inspo for those at all

DISCORD KITTEN HAHAHAAH REAL new idea for the bllkverse is bllk gaming/streamer/youtube era I’ve seen fanart of people drawing the characters over some iconic meme YouTube videos and they’re so funny

SAMEEEE epinagi is actually serving us starving children because speaking of DID YOU SEE THE CH?? I love you epinagi thank you for the meal and delicious panels of the characters we don’t see in the main series

- Karasu anon

DECONSTRUCTING POPULAR TROPES IS SO MUCH FUNN!!! LMAOO omg that’s so real though like yes otoya is the male lead…but karasu…🥹😩😓

agreed i think it felt satisfying because it’s not like a disney-esque happily ever after ending where everyone is happy and alive it’s more of a “making the best with what we’ve got” type of deal where things aren’t perfect but at least they have each other and they can kind of rebuild a new life?? like there’s a hint of hopefulness even though they’ve lost sm

LMAOAOAO IT’S LITERALLY AIKU GIVING KARASU LESSONS ON HOW TO RUIN A RELATIONSHIP now ofc normally karasu would never be a homewrecker but like…is it homeWRECKING if the home is already in shambles 🤔

irl tullia counterpart is fr the goat we owe so much to her 🤩 THE OAEU EPIGRAPH IS SO GOOD definitely my best work…yk aiku has the most devious grin on his face while saying that meanwhile niko’s just like 😐

FJSNDJS considering the current point that we’re at in the story is reo trying to get reader to be his friend it really is just all abt reo rn 😭 but reo slays we love him it rlly isn’t a nagi story if he doesn’t play a massive role!! and at least i’m not making him all psycho or a freak or smth…chigiri content always slays truly he has no better role than as a bestie imo

OKAY WAIT QUESTION DOES TIK TOK SHOW YOU MY ACCT WHEN I SEND THIS VIDEOS TO YOU??? I JUST LEARNED IT DOES THAT SOMETIMES LMAOAAO DO YK MY FULL GOVERNMENT NAME AND EVERYTHING I’M CRYING this actually is freaking me out i turned the option off so nobody will get my acct suggested to them in the future but i’m terrified at how many people have already seen it…genuinely sickening to think about…i’m like actually so paranoid about people from irl finding me online and vice versa so this is stressing me out so much 😓 i don’t rlly mind if you know because we’re besties so i would literally give you my socials and not care but like random people on tumblr 😰 ick ick ICK

THE RIN AND SUKUNA EDIT HAD ME CRYING IT’S SO RANDOM 😭😭😭 but agreed his face card serves more in the edit than it has in the entire pxg vs bm match 😓 anyways AHHH YES YONA EDITS i have so many shinah edits saved i think i ended up rewatching them because i was searching for audios so my fyp remembered that i love yotd and put the edit on my fyp!! and agreed that song is rlly good the way their voices blend together is so nice (bruno mars is insanely talented but he drops songs once in a blue moon so people always forget that i feel)

EEK that’s my thing i don’t want to put the oaeu off for so long that i stop caring abt it 😓 so i think i might just start it and post and honestly it is what it is…people have waited this long they can wait a couple days more…i’ve posted a lot of request stuff recently i think so everyone will just have to be okay with me taking my time ����

I LOVEE WHEN PEOPLE MAKE MODERN MEMES AS CHARACTERS FROM MEDIA it always slaps…it’s like smaus but actually done properly instead of butchering the characters beyond belief

I DIDDD I JUST READ IT AND OMG KIYORA CONTENT??? truly aligned w the miraverse there also the way karasu is all “we’ll fight meatheads with meatheads 🥱 so here’s the ball kiyora 😋” VILLAINOUS LMAOAOA also nagi looked extra majestic fsr…and zantetsu having literal train aura was so randomly funny to me because everyone else has cool animals and motifs and shit (chigiri + panther, barou + lion, kaiser + roses/thorns) meanwhile zantetsu is just a literal bullet train 😭 he’s so goofy i hope he has a moment in pxg vs bm i miss him