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[mirnilop]

𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝑜𝓁𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝓋𝒾𝓁 𝒸𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 ˚₊·͟͟͟͟͟͟͞͞͞͞͞͞➳❥ wally darling

⚠ tags: sfw, mob au, yandere!wally, gn!singer!reader, power imbalance, discussions of violence

♡ synopsis: you’d be surprised how many fans you accrue as a small-time lounge singer. while this is usually a good thing, one of yours happens to rule half the city, so he isn’t exactly receptive to the word “no”.

♡ word count: 5,310

⛧ﾐ‧*･ﾟ the following content may be triggering to some. please proceed with caution! ･ﾟ*‧ミ⛧

a/n: hello!! ₍ᐢ.ˬ.⑅ᐢ₎ goshh, my very first post on this acc!! i haven’t posted fanfic in a hot minute but i’m suuuper excited to get back into it!! 💞 i have sooo many wips for this fandom, it was difficult to choose which one to finish first! credit to @/clownsuu for creating the au and for the lovely art!! i tweaked the concept a wee bit so that it takes place in a roger rabbit-esque world where puppets and humans live together unharmoniously (with a jessica rabbit inspired reader ofc >v>). it was a lot of fun trying to marry wally's canon personality with a Scary Mob Boss (*´ 艸`) i can't wait to post more!! what are y'all's favourite aus? let me know!! ･*･:≡(　ε:)

There’s a rose on your vanity.

The sight of it snuffs out your high spirits, irritation igniting in its place– and it was such a good day, too! You and the girls were perfectly in sync for your entire performance, bolstered by the unusually affable audience; you even rewarded them with a sneak peek of new material, which made them go wild!

Dreams of stomping it beneath your heel stew in your head as you drop it in the faience vase at the rim of the mirror, where a crinkled, beige-tipped rose droops against the rim. Why not break the vase too? An idea that’s crossed your mind too many times, and while it gets harder to resist with each flower, you endure it. They’re presents, after all, and you doubt your admirer would take kindly to the news that you’ve trashed them. You’re certain one of his minions would obtain the evidence, if not witness you do it; you can’t pinpoint the extent to which they survey you, but the crawling sensation of eyes on your back crops up often, and obviously they have no problem barging into your dressing room to play delivery service.

Sighing, you comb through your rolling rack to pick a suitable outfit to change into. Most of the articles hanging are also gifts, but you’ve made sure to keep some of your own hard-earned clothes here out of sheer spite. A burgundy cashmere number has just slipped into your grasp when the door bursts open.

“How’s that for a show?! And what a great crowd, a whole buncha dolls! Or– well, puppets– and humans! Hahaha!��

Lottie skips in with her usual energy, the bell on her collar jingling alongside the clack of her Mary Janes. You hate that their manager mandates the bells as a part of their costumes, as if puppets being treated like second-class citizens wasn’t enough. “You wanna make money or not? It’s part of the appeal! You know, Mary Had A Little Lamb and all that!” is what he told you after one of your countless tirades regarding his treatment of them, but the sleazy smirk wrapped around his cheap cigarette allowed you to read between the lines. As much as you despise that man, it’s not your business to judge the trio for staying contracted with him. Mottie’s recalled to you how difficult it was to hire a manager at all, and you suppose you have to (begrudgingly) thank him for bringing them into your life, since he’s the one who bagged them the backup singer gig.

A swell of color in your peripheral lets you know that she’s come near, but you don’t bother diverting attention from your search. This is such a common occurrence between you two that pleasantries are no longer required.

“And they were mighty generous with the tips! So me and the gals was thinking we should go somewhere to… celebrate…”

Hearing her trail off, you turn to find her staring at the new rose, her once-perky ears fallen limp. You click your tongue, remorse prickling your heart, though you’ve done nothing wrong.

“I’ll be alright, Lottie. Here,” You grab a wad of bills from your personal tip jar and fold them into her hand. “You take your sisters somewhere nice, my treat. As an apology for having to skip out tonight.”

When she doesn’t move from her spot, merely pouting at you with big, glistening eyes full of concern, you swaddle her in a hug. Fleecy strands of shell pink hair tickle your nose as she nestles her snout into your shoulder, squeezing you like a lifebuoy. Having her in your arms is a vital reminder as to why you continue to put up with everything. Lottie, Dottie and Mottie are your beloved friends– your family when you had none– and you are willing to do whatever is necessary to build a life with them.

“Are ya sure?”

“Positive. And if that bug gives you even a whiff of trouble, you come get me right away, got it?”

She laughs, the sound a balm to the ache of your worries. “He never gives us any trouble– n’fact, I haven’t heard ‘im say a single word!”

“Good. At least one of them has manners. Now go have fun!”

After a few more hugs and a promise to relay your apology to her sisters, she trots towards the entrance. Halfway through it, she pauses.

“Promise ya’ll play nice?”

An involuntary grimace twists your face, which you smooth immediately.

“I was planning on it,” you concede, earning an exhale of relief from Lottie.

“Thanks. Honestly, I’m kinda worried...” She leans against the doorframe, gaze trained on the checkered floor. “I see more and more of that Napoleon-wannabe’s goons lately. Do ya think he’s gettin’ antsy? It’s been real quiet since that incident with Dorelaine.”

Ah, the incident. It happened a handful of months ago; he refused to go into specifics, but what you’ve gathered from his gnomic recount and various news stories is that their rival organization– led by Ronald Dorelaine, a human man– planted explosives somewhere important, racking up thousands in damages and dismembering several puppets, left to be mended with those horrific stitches. You didn’t receive another rose until several weeks afterwards.

“I can’t be sure,” you admit. “He doesn’t tell me much about the goings-on of the ‘family’, not that I care to know. But I noticed he’s been more wound up lately… maybe they’re going to retaliate?”

A visible shudder travels through Lottie, and she tosses her head as if to ward off the gravity of your predicament. It was easier to ignore the implications when there wasn’t an active turf battle.

“You’re right, we should stay as far as we can from that nasty business. Wear the red, then. To butter ‘im up a little.” She offers you a conflicted half-smile, most likely holding herself back from proposing a makeover, before sidling out the door.

Glowering, you follow the advice, shucking your tight, shimmering stage outfit for the cozy cashmere you were eyeing before. Like I need to be reminded of his favorite color. I’ve practically lived in red since I met him. It inexplicably fits like a glove, as do all of the clothes you've been bestowed; for the sake of your sanity, you prevent yourself from delving too far into that subject.

As you fix the little bits of your appearance that got mussed up during your performance, you can’t help but contemplate hiding in your room until morning, even though you know it wouldn’t work– and you’d have to pay for a broken front door. Once every speck of lint has been removed and your ensemble is flawless, you steel your resolve with a hard look in the mirror. If things go south, at least you’ll make a gorgeous open casket.

You step into your shoes and out of the dressing room, swiping your bag and a matching hat from the plethora that dangle on knobs affixed to the wall along the way. The haze that eternally permeates the lounge envelops you as you walk, no longer springing tears to your eyes like it did so long ago, when you were a starry-eyed fledgling. Upon entering the foyer, you call out to the owner, Gene, who’s counting the register behind the bar.

“Hey, I’m heading out!”

“Geez, you’re in a hurry! Got a hot date or what?”

“Something like that,” you breathe, your nerves relighting tenfold now that you’re so close to the outside.

“Ahh, I getcha.” His amusement is clear, construing an innuendo within your words that is absolutely not there, but you’d rather die than clarify. “You did a great job today, you deserve it!”

Somehow, your admirer has managed to limbo directly under Gene’s nose; thus far he’s made no indication that he’s aware he has a very important patron. For a moment, you observe him, and see how he absentmindedly rubs the pocket of his button-up– where a polaroid of his two children is safely tucked away– and you decide that it’s probably for the best.

“Thanks, Gene. Have a good one.”

“You too!”

His reply barely reaches you as you cross the threshold from the comfort of your work into the cold, pensive night. A luckier soul may have suffered a fright when greeted with the colossal figure standing below the street light, carved with shadow, but it’s a familiar sight to you now. An inconspicuous black car is parked behind him.

“Hi Howdy.”

“Evening, Mx.” He bows slightly, whisking open the sleek passenger door which you reluctantly slide inside.

“I wish you’d stop calling me that. I do have a name.” It’s true. Being addressed formally by such an important figure imbues you a with a sick feeling, like he’s won, and you’ve already been initiated into this fucked up institution.

Though he waits for you to finish speaking before shutting you in, he doesn’t grace you with a response; not that you were expecting one. In all the times he’s escorted you to these duress-dates, as you’ve taken to calling them, he’s remained stoic to a mechanical degree, acknowledging your presence and nothing more. Thrashing, crying, screaming– you’ve tried everything to escape, and have never elicited a reaction more severe than that of a tired parent handling a tantrum. If you resist, he simply manhandles you. It’s hardly a fair match, with him having 4 arms and several feet of height on you, so you opt to reserve your energy for dealing with his headache of a boss.

When he hauls his many limbs onto the driver’s seat, the car lurches, too small to accommodate a puppet of his stature; he has to hunch forward to see the windshield, antennae pushed flat. You lean back and vacantly turn towards the window, wondering if cars big enough for someone like him to drive comfortably even exist while the engine rumbles to life.

The umbrous cityscape passes you by, inklings of humans and puppets flashing in and out of the darkness like ghosts. Thick boughs of red and green tinsel are strung across a few lamp posts, but by the end of the season they’ll all be covered. Dottie’s already triple checked that you and her sisters have one day of the annual Christmas market off, even though you strike the same deal with Gene every year; the four of you get Saturday, then he gets Sunday to take his family. It’s one of your favorite times of the year, if only because you get to experience the aura of wonder that enlivens Lottie when the first snow falls, Mottie’s timid wheedling to attend The Nutcracker, and Dottie’s alphabetically-organized checklist of fun winter activities.

Those cheerful thoughts are wiped away as Howdy turns into a private garage attached to a sleek, angular skyscraper. He parks in the spot nearest to the entrance, the first in a row of spaces labeled with metal “Reserved for Staff” signs, and circles the car to let you out. The sensation of him gingerly lifting you comes with no alarm; he always assists you up the concrete stairs leading to the elevator, as if you’re so physically inept you can’t handle 3 tiny steps. You assume his needless precaution is for the same reason he hasn’t beaten you yet despite defying him so often: boss’s orders.

With a reedy knell, the elevator glides open, and Howdy signals for you to go ahead. Once you’re both inside, he inserts a key and presses the button for the uppermost level. Expecting a noiseless ride, you tune into the low muzak emitting from the speakers, which makes you miss the first time he calls you.

“Mx.”

Startled, you swivel towards him. His steadfast profile is unreadable.

“Boss doesn’t know you’ve opposed him so vehemently in the past. Please keep that in mind tonight.”

The entrance broaches before you can interrogate him as to what the hell he means, granting you entry to a luxury penthouse laved in gold, ivory, and– of course– red. A glimmering chandelier suspends from the ornamental ceiling, bathing the antique furniture in an amber glow. If you hadn’t just ridden up the elevator, you would have assumed such a lavish drawing room belonged to an old mansion.

It’s something straight out of a romance novel, except instead of a chiseled, broody Italian, it’s a short puppet sitting at the marble-topped dining table. He lounges at the head in a slate blue silk suit with its jacket buttoned to the top; an honor seemingly reserved solely for you, because it’s the only way you’ve seen him wear it, despite street tales describing the way it billows from his shoulders as he stalks the town. Revealed by its plunged neckline is the collar of a white dress shirt embossed with rainbow pinstripes, and a red ascot neatly tied and pulled askant around his throat.

Wally Darling, in the felt: kingpin of The Neighborhood, and resident thorn in your side.

When you arrive, he rises to meet you, dismissing Howdy with a pointed glance; you’ve learned that the relationship between a crime lord and his loyal bandog transcends language. You watch him as he leaves through a pair of swinging doors to the left, his cryptic advice-slash-warning heavy on your mind.

And so, you find yourself alone with the most dangerous man in the city– puppet or otherwise.

“Good evening, dearest. I hope my gift found you well.”

The concept of personal space might as well be Greek to Wally, since he hasn’t once respected it from the day you had the misfortune of making his acquaintance. He crowds so close that you have to crane your neck to see his face, the heat emanating from him eliciting shivers in your chill-soaked body.

“Yes, thank you. It was quite a lively night,” you chirp, wielding a civil smile.

Although the contours of his wispy, coiffed curls only reach your ribs, he extends his arm to you, which you take with such a featherlight hold that you barely brush his sleeve. Rather than leading you to the dining table like you expected, you’re guided towards a small lounge area to the side, the crackling croon of Billie Holiday wafting over from a refurbished stereo console in the corner. Oh, great. He’s feeling sentimental.

“Would you indulge me with a dance before dinner?”

Don't have much of a choice, do I?

“I’d love to.”

Dancing with Wally is funny, in an ironic sort of way; it certainly caught you off guard the first time he asked. When you envision dancing with a powerful, deadly mobster, you think of being swept away, wrapped snugly by strong arms and a dastardly smirk, or perhaps something more courtly, like a waltz steered by a polite hand on your waist. Turns out both versions are incorrect.

Muscle memory ushers your arms open, and Wally falls into the space in between them– literally. Slack against you, his full weight is heftier than his height would imply, but not physically uncomfortable– emotionally and morally, however, are another story. An air of pure peace washes over him as his cheek nuzzles the underside of your chest, arms limp at his sides; you swear you even hear a little trill. Your face burns, but you say nothing as you begin to sway faintly to the beat, tracing a loop with your feet as you traipse along. Wally follows easily, tethered by the reluctant cage of your embrace.

“Do you remember the night we met?”

The query is felt more than heard, his gentle monotone muffled by the downy fabric of your garb. You huff softly to yourself, rustling a few gel-slick strands atop his pompadour.

“How could I forget?”

The day the infamous Mr. Darling appeared in your club, his two largest henchmen in tow, is burned into your brain like a regrettable tattoo; Gene was off, so you were covering entertainment for the night while the sisters managed the bar and floor. As you were singing the very song playing now, you detected a curious hush that had overtaken the throng of guests, and strained to cut through the stage glare and cigarette fog to locate the cause. Tracking the audience, who were all regarding the bar with varying amounts of subtlety, you nearly dropped the microphone when you saw the broad blue back of Barnaby B. Beagle, someone you’d only heard of in gossip. He gesticulated as he spoke boisterously to poor Mottie, who was as white as a sheet behind the counter. Situated a slight ways away was Howdy Pillar, who stood as motionless as a statue with both sets of forelimbs fastened behind him.

And then you noticed him. A puppet no more than 4 feet tall, but whose oppressive presence commanded full attention. He paid no mind to the (one-sided) conversation between his colleague and your friend– no, he was staring right at you. Boring into you so acutely that you felt pinned, compelled somehow to continue singing until the final note trickled away.

As if a spell had been broken, you leapt from the platform and scurried to Mottie, who stayed petrified even when you tried to covertly nudge her to the side. How avidly you wished a fissure would open beneath their shoes and swallow them whole; but, armed with years of appeasing difficult and sordid customers, you spoke.

“Evening, fellas. I hope you enjoyed the show.”

Barnaby, who had stopped talking when you rounded the bar, bellowed a laugh.

“Fellas?! Is that any way to greet the boss and I?"

He tilted forward with menacing glee, propped up by furry elbows as his claws scraped the laminate countertop. Each of his fangs were as big as your nose.

"Dontcha know who we are, toots? Or do ya just need a refresher on respect?"

The acrid smoke from his cigar blew directly into your face, making spikes of anger bubble in your belly as you choked back a cough. Just when you felt composed enough to reply, a surprisingly mellow voice chimed in.

"It's alright, Barnaby."

The shock slacking his jaw mirrored yours, although you hid it under a mask of cool indifference. You dared a glance at Mr. Darling, but the pressure of his peer chased your gaze back to Barnaby, who grumbled as he straightened back up. It was difficult to stay trained on his good eye, but you soldiered on. Fear was not something you could afford to show, and you knew you'd crumble if you peeked at the fabled gaping socket that he stapled open himself.

"I don't suppose you're Gene Clifton, aged 54, father of two, owner of this joint?" He joked, recovered from the flub.

"No, sir, but my banker would sure be happy if I was. Can I take down a message?"

"A message! I love this bird!" Snickering cruelly, he waved a flippant paw. "Y'should try that material on stage sometime, might bring ya more customers than the singing bit."

You sucked a sharp inhale up your nose. Serenity now.

"See, here's the problem. This is family territory, and in return for our protection, we charge a teensy fee. Now, we ain't unreasonable– we've sent ole Gene a few letters. And what’s our thanks for such humble hospitality? Zilch."

Oh dear. Gene doesn't bother investigating any mail the lounge receives before tossing it because it’s typically adverts. He definitely would've noted The Neighborhood's seal if he did. Regardless, the frank abuse of power only fanned your annoyance, obscuring your better judgment.

"What protection? I don't recall seeing any of your members patrolling outside. Besides, we didn’t ask for protection."

Mottie snapped towards you, looking as though she might faint. The corner of Barnaby's mouth twitched skyward, like he was hoping you'd argue, but his boss beat him to the punch.

"We can reach an agreement, I’m sure. I'd hate to see a family establishment go under, especially when they have such lovely entertainment."

Apparently Wally was so smitten that he'd accept your company in lieu of money, and so the agreement (if you can even call it that, since you were coerced) was this– whenever a rose was delivered to you, you'd attend a rendezvous with him. When you returned to your dressing room later that evening, you discovered the first gift of several: your vase.

“I knew because of your eyes.”

The floral wallpaper in front of you shifts back into focus, Wally’s voice shaking you from your recollection.

“Pardon?”

“That night, you drew me in; I couldn’t concentrate on anything else, least of all a petty protection tax. And I knew I had to have you when I met your eyes.” He sounds dreamy, reminiscing as you were before, though his framing of events is worlds apart from your own; he recalls a destined encounter with his future partner, whereas you mark it the day your wings were clipped for good.

“They shone like stars, even through the smog.”

It’s only after he’s finished that you realize you’ve stopped moving, wrapped in an intimate hug like true lovers. A strange mix of pride and disgust floods you at the compliment, stomach flip-flopping rapidly.

He untangles from you, receding so that only your hands remain connected. The newfound distance eases some of your tension, but to your horror, you find yourself mourning the loss of the husky scent of his cologne. Loath as you are to admit it, the bastard smells amazing: a dark, leathery swirl of apples and saffron that you’d buy out if someone turned it into a candle.

“Let’s not delay any longer. You must be starving.”

True to his gentlemanly veneer, he seats you at the table before settling himself. You don’t see him call, but a server emerges immediately from the doors through which Howdy left with a tray of appetizers.

There are two graces you award Wally Darling: his excellent taste in cologne, and his staff’s Michelen-quality fare. Though they adopt the four courses typical of fine dining, the dishes are more grounded, toeing the border between grandma and Gordon Ramsay perfectly. Truthfully, you’re not even sure what to categorize it as; virtually everything is transfigured into a jello, pie, or salad, harkening back to the post-war cookbooks you used to gawk at as a child in your late mother’s library. The yellowed pictures in those books appeared extremely unappetizing, but somehow The Neighborhood makes it work.

It could be because of an illusive member named Poppy, one of the 7 who make up Wally’s illustrious inner circle. She’s scarcely seen due to her fretful and skittish nature, but Wally lauds her cooking and baking skills, regaling you in the past with plenty of kitchen mishaps that occurred when she tried to decompress by experimenting with recipes and was interrupted by their more excitable comrades. If you remember correctly, he once told you that most of the menus in rotation were created by her.

The nature of these duress-dates is wholly dependent on Wally’s mood– if he’s happy, then he’ll gladly chat your ear off about frivolous happenings in his and his friends’ private lives, though he takes care to be shrewd with any details that dive too deep into the murky underbelly lying just below. If he’s unhappy, then they can be utterly unbearable; his mere existence puts you on edge, so it’s exponentially worse when he’s out of sorts, tone curt and glare fierce.

Thankfully, he’s amiable tonight. The first 3 courses march on without incident, and painless conversation flows between the two of you, even if he does most of the talking– you’re not exactly eager to share more than you have to. It’s when the server presents dessert that things go awry.

“Say, how are those triplets you work with doing?” Wally says, spooning at the Bananas Foster. “I haven’t had the pleasure of catching a performance since our mishap a while back. So much paperwork, so little time, you know how it is.”

The mention of both your friends and the aforementioned Dorelaine incident have you bristling reflexively, but you do your best to tamp it down.

“They’re well, overall. Sometimes it’s difficult for them– their manager’s a real piece of work, and we get all types at the lounge.”

“I see…”

He lets out a long “hmmmm”, like he’s reflecting on this information.

“My family has also come upon hard times. It can be… trying, sometimes, to guide my children. Especially now, when we are under unjust attack.” He confesses, wistfully resting his chin on a thread-scarred palm. “Every family requires a head, but what is a head without a neck?”

Unjust my ass. Still, the weird metaphor confuses you.

“A neck?”

At that, his catlike grin only grows. What is he talking about?

“Yes, a neck; that is, someone who supports the head. I care for my family, so it’s only right I am cared for in return, wouldn’t you say?”

Though the phrasing is puzzling, you’re fairly confident you can infer what he’s purposefully dangling in front of you, and oh, it makes your stomach plummet. Sweat breaks out underneath your suddenly-sweltering outfit; it's as if you've been tied to a railroad and have managed to divert the train through pure will for a year, but now it's steamrolling square for you. The anxiety of impending doom renders you mute, unable to piece together a coherent thought.

Taking your silence in stride, Wally leans forward, intense as he grasps your hand in both of his own. The yellow fuzz does nothing to help how clammy you feel.

“What I mean to say is, I think that it’s time to settle down."

No.

“Wh– what? Settle down how?”

“To get married, silly.”

You’re unable to help the gasp that escapes you. No, no, no!

“Get married? You mean– to me?!”

“Of course. I’ve been courting you all this time, haven’t I?”

You sputter, and he rubs your hand as if to soothe you. His many gold rings gleam under the chandelier, teasing a glimpse of your fate.

“I know in the beginning you weren’t receptive to the idea of this life, but I've shown you that I can provide for you better than anyone else.”

Your expression must betray your surprise, because he chuckles– a slow, stilted sound that sends gooseflesh blooming across your skin.

“You thought I didn’t know? Howdy may not have reported it– which I’ll rectify in due time– but I have eyes everywhere, dear. You’re quite the talented actor, though.”

That trademark simper melts into something beguiling; he cradles you as if you’re the most precious thing he’s ever held.

“I love you, and I will take care of you, as I ask you to do for me. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?”

An inviting facade of genuine affection, so ardent that you almost want to believe it. Wouldn’t that be the easiest path to take? To surrender to the hand that feeds, because where it strangles others, it caresses you sweetly? It’s more tempting than you’d ever divulge, because underneath the armor of aplomb you've so carefully forged, you're exhausted. This burden has been yours alone to bear– and what a bear it is, because if you mess up, the people you love could be injured, or worse. So much worse.

Perhaps sensing an opening, Wally continues.

“Be reasonable. The family welcomes you with open arms! Haven’t you missed having a family?"

The words stab you right through the heart, and your waning resolve springs back tenfold by the fury that ruddies your vision. When you rip your hand away, he makes no move to stop you.

"My friends are my family. I don’t want anyone else, especially not murderers!” You snarl. “You kill people– and torture and maim them! How can you expect me to accept this?!"

"All in a day's work when cleaning up the city, unfortunately," Wally hums. "I wish we didn't have to resort to such things, but you must understand. As it is, puppets are treated as less than, and hardship runs rampant for both humans and puppets alike. You’ve experienced these firsthand.” With the elegance of a master conman, he touches his chest in mock respire. “All we wish to do is provide a safe haven for those in need– somewhere to rest your bones, enjoy a hot meal, and where everyone accepts you as their own. A home.”

You abruptly stand up, feeling like you’re wound so taut that you could erupt at any moment. The mahogany chair behind you tips over from the force, striking the floor with a leaden thud, though the sound is deafened by the blood rushing in your ears.

“Bullshit! You don’t have to start a gang to combat discrimination or help suffering people! Maybe that spiel works on the poor saps you trick into doing your dirty work, but it won’t work on me. The answer is no.”

All is still for a moment as you struggle to calm your heaving breaths, trembling and locked in a quiet stalemate with Wally, who’s as relaxed as ever. Your attention flits from his right eye to where the left would be, if not for the lesion carved from a notch above his eyelid to an inch below, giving the illusion that what lies beneath is impaled.

Oh shit.

The magnitude of what just transpired comes crashing down as your adrenaline flushes out. After playing it safe for months– stomaching unwanted exorbitant gifts, being tailed by his employees, and rousted to innumerous “dates”– you just rejected Wally Darling in the most aggressive way possible. So you do the only thing that might garner you a chance to make it out of this alive: run.

You’re halfway across the room when 4 thick arms suddenly wrangle and force you to halt, a scream ripping itself from your throat out of fear. Can this motherfucker teleport now?! How the hell did he get here so fast?? Thrashing, you throw your head back to search Howdy’s face, desperate for an ounce of the sympathy he’d offered in the elevator, but it is in vain; his stony visage is impenetrable, as though it had never wavered.

“How about you sleep on it, hm? Think about all of your options. We wouldn’t want anything to happen to those little lambs when their adorable shepherd isn’t around to protect them.”

Delicate fingers cup your jaw, making you freeze as Wally stretches up to plant a faux-kiss on your cheek, complete with a small “mwah!”. You scowl daggers at him as he collects your hat from where it flew to the floor, dusts it off, and lovingly places it back on your head before giving you a few pats.

“Aw, don’t be that way, darling. I truly meant what I said; you have beautiful eyes. I can hardly wait to try one on.”

With a snap, you’re hauled over Howdy’s back and spirited out of the room, presumably to be transported to wherever you’ll be staying. Hopefully not Wally’s quarters.

It’s all too much; you feel like you’re trapped in a nightmare. How else did you expect this to end? You’re not sure. With all of the awful things he’s done, forcing you into marriage is not beyond him. You just thought you’d have more time: to plan, to save up enough money to take the girls and race to the hills.

Tears gather on your waterlines, and the minute your mouth wobbles, they spill ceaselessly. Full-bodied sobs wrack you, the pain of Howdy’s shoulder jutting into your midsection compounding the profound ache of sorrow. All this time, you’ve been trying to fight, but there was no fight to be had; it ended the moment his eyes found yours across the lounge that day.

[awmancreeper]

ミ★Just Say You Love me </3 . 17 - For the Plot

--★ Kai’s friends roast him for not being in a relationship since he was 12. While Y/n tries to avoid getting into a relationship every week. One day Kai spots a familiar girl hiding in a tree finding out she was hiding from her 2nd confession that week. After hearing the university’s IT girl struggles Hyuka comes up with a plan.

Masterlist / prev / next

!!Written Part!!

WARNING: slightly suggestive (very tiny)

“I can’t believe you!” You cried out angrily walking away from your couch. “Y/n please!” Kai called after you “no you’re a liar!” Kai follows you into the gray kitchen “what was I supposed to do?” He asked but you just scoffed “I don’t know keep your promise!” You went around the center island avoiding the tall boy. “Y/n wasn’t my fault!” You rolled your eyes “the boys-“ he began but you put your hand up in response “don’t bring them into this, you are your own person!” You made your way back to the living room “I thought I could trust you” you told him plopping down on the couch as he looked down ashamed. “I’m sorry okay?! it’s just the boys they were nagging and- I’m sorry” he slumped on the couch. You watched him, the boy truly did look remorseful.

You smirked and scooted closer to him “it’s alright,” Kai looked at you smiling softly as you sat close to him “but! now we have to watch an anime of my choosing” you laughed as he groaned “come on!” He whined “hey you were the one that decide to watch Jujutsu Kaisen without ME after we AGREED of watching it together,” you told him booping his nose. He blushed but laughed scooting even closer to where your legs touched. You looked down at your thighs seeing the space close and smile at the feeling of comfort. You stared at him as he used the remote to put on a show ‘his side profile is immaculate’ you thought, his dark hair peeking from the gray hoodie he wore, the little moles scattered around his face, his warm-welcoming eyes that were set on the tv, his cute lips but they were kinda dry, even his nose was unique with the bump that sat on his bridge the tip holding a tiny mole. He was explaining something but you were too mesmerized to really hear him “You know you’re really pretty” you spoke out interrupting his rant. Kai froze and carefully looked over at you “w-what?”

“You’re pretty… like everything about you is nice to look at,” you explain to him while his face turned red “I mean could use some lip balm but other than that you’re solid Hyuka!” You told him as his hand shot over his mouth gasping at your words “could’ve left that out you know?” He grumbled not looking you in the eye, you smile at his reaction. Kai peeked over at you, to him (and almost everyone at Hybe University) you were the most beautiful person he’s ever seen both with looks and personality. If he were to tell you how he felt you’d be there all day while he recited a novel-length description of what about you makes him feel like jelly, yet maybe a sweet remark was all he needed to say right about now but the sound of the doorbell ringing shut him down quickly. “Oh, the Pizzas here!” You said excitedly tapping his knee “I’ll get it-“ he began but you held out your arm “I got it!” You got up but used his thigh as stability causing him to recoil and grunt. He embarrassedly look up at you but you were non-in wiser walking towards the front door, a weird feeling overtook Kai’s stomach but soon traveled down. He looked over at where you were, you were paying the delivery person in the cutest pjs he’s ever seen “how can someone be so adorable?” He thought caused the feeling to grow. His face felt hot yet still pulled the blanket on top of him. Kai felt odd while his mind replayed your smile and the warmth of your thigh against his. The sound of the front door shutting brought him back “Hyuka I order one Hawaiian and the other was my choice” you sang happily he needed to use the bathroom now. You walked over to the living room looking at the boxes smiling when a gust of wind blows by you. You looked up and Kai was nowhere in sight but the sound of a door closing reassured you “emptying your bowels I see” you yelled jokingly setting the pizza boxes on the coffee table.

Kai contained himself slashing cold water on his face “why are you so nervous around her?” He questioned himself “it’s already been a month” Kai looked at himself in the mirror although his face returned to normal yet his ear still steamed “how am I supposed to meet her friends tomorrow?” Gripping the counter edge tightly he finally calmed down.

He made his way out of the bathroom spotting you calmly eating a slice of pizza as you ranted about being able to choose an anime. “It should a romance anime that way we can take notes!” You spoke excitedly while Kai joined you back on the couch. You smiled at him but it dropped quickly kinda leaning away making him worry “w-what!” You squinted your eyes at him “did you wash your hands?” He laughed “yeah!” He shook his hands as water flew everywhere “hey! Oki! I was just making sure sometimes I have to remind Riki- hey you're meeting them tomorrow how exciting!” You smiled at him. “Im nervous” he rubbed his neck as your smile dropped “you should be, but I’ll be rooting for you from afar” you shot a thumbs up before returning your gaze to the tv.

“We’re meeting them at an amusement park, right? Are you gonna be okay with that?” You fidgeted for a second before looking over at Kai and smiling “with my friends I get drained easily BUT with you, you give me energy for some reason so I’ll be fine I think” you scrolled through the catalog of shows “hey that’s soobin’s favorite anime!” Kai pointed out as you sided eye him “I'm guessing he doesn’t watch it for the plot”

[risustravelogue]

“hello, good sir. pardon the interruption to your leisurely rest, but have you seen this woman?”

a clink of mora passing between hands, and the vagrants studied the photo of a short dark-blue haired woman closely.

one of them answered with a rough voice, “a foreigner? lots of them been roamin’ around since the sakoku decree being lifted. can’t really remember well…”

another gold coin joined the other. the ronins talked amongst each others in inazuman as meirin tapped her foot almost impatiently.

“i guess she looks pretty distinct… might have seen her around, maybe in the capital.”

“are you absolutely sure?”

“chances are, she’ll be there. you said she was doing some commission work and stuff? if they could afford someone from overseas, they must have some good money. people with good money generally live in the main city.”

all general information, yet again. what do these people think we are, dumb?

the woman sighed and grabbed her husband’s hand before he could hand over yet another mora to the fifth group of vagabonds they’ve encountered that day, “alright. thank you for your cooperation, good sirs. we’ll be going n—”

“now, now,” the ronin who had been observing the scene from behind chuckled, hand inching towards their sheathed blade, “you both seem loaded, so why not throw a few more mora our way, eh?”

meirin frowned and glanced up at her lover before whispering, “is the welfare in inazuma that bad? why do they all say the same thing? what are these guys, npcs?”

“an interesting theory. are you suggesting that we’re in a game of sorts?”

“wouldn’t that be fun? in which case, i command you to bonk these npcs!”

“haha, as my dearest wishes.”

ミ𒆙𒆙𒆙

“— really! we really don’t know anything else!” the nobushi pleaded, visibly trying to struggle against the petrification to no avail.

the teashop owner sighed and pondered over the small teapot, before reaching into her bag with a soft smile, “i think you need more tea to remember, good sir… ah, yes, why not add the amount of jueyun chili in this one? and ground sand grease pupas for an added flavor! that should jog your memory!”

“wait, wait, please! i swear i don’t know anything! never seen that girl in my life!!” the man cried out, glancing back towards his friends who were laying out cold on the ground after a cup of… whatever devil’s drink that woman had forced down their throat.

were they dead? he had no idea.

and why the hell was the woman’s husband making himself home on their camp while having tea?!

clearly this couple wasn’t normal.

“look! i-i may not have information about the girl, b-but i’ve seen a weird-looking guy walking around these parts!”

“… a weird-looking guy?” meirin tilted her head.

the kettle sang on top of the portable stove. the man watched with quivering eyes as she poured the hot water into the teapot containing the 'concoction’. even from the smell, his eyes had started to water.

“y-yeah!! he’s got a mustache and wears this purple cape!! he looks like he’s up to no good if you ask me!!”

“huh… anything else?”

“uh. um……. n-no?”

“….”

“….”

“welp! special tea delivery! open wide~”

[ 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚠𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚡𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌 ]

shoes crunched against inazuma’s soil as the pair trekked down the path towards konda village. perhaps once they’ve reached the settlement, they would be able to find some clues, or at least people who had seen kurisu. though their pace was deliberately slowed from all the venturing and questioning almost everyone they came across, it was always better to be meticulous and slow than careless and fast in these situations.

….. and on that note….

“xiànɡ gong, i love you dearly, but let’s try to be just as ultra-careful and not spend our money that willy-nilly, alright?”

“ah… yes, of course. my apologies, tiánxīn.”

@i23kazu - another ebg submission from yours truly!

I'm not sure how you'd count these, but there are 2 doodles on screencaps, 2 drawings, and 1 edit of a drawing (idt that counts as a whole piece?). Feel free to see for yourself!

230 words.

03. trying something

That morning…

“We’re here.”

“You! Boss-man! I challenge you to an Onikabuto fight!” exclaimed the young girl.

Itto cackled. “Bring it on!”

Kurisu smiled. “Haha… Have fun, you two.” 

She walked inside the tent. There, she found something glinting near one of the tent’s wooden pegs.

“What’s this?”

“Huh? A Vision? Whose is this?”

Kurisu walked out of the tent and approached Shinobu, who was walking down towards the tent.

“Kuki. I found a Vision near one of the pegs. Do you have any idea whose it is?”

Kuki’s eyes looked at the Vision, then to Kurisu’s face, then back to the Vision in her hand.

“A Sumeru Vision… hmm. Why don’t you try using it?”

Kurisu frowned.

“Odd idea, but how do I do that?”

Shinobu tapped her cheek. “Hmm. Try connecting with it, then focus on something you can’t do without a Vision. Since it’s a Hydro Vision, maybe try conjuring a ball of water floating above me?”

Kurisu nodded. She closed her eyes and imagined a big ball of water above Shinobu’s head.

“Amazing.”

She opened her eyes to find Shinobu poking the ball of water with her index finger.

And it popped, showering her green hair with glistening droplets.

“Ah! Cold!” she yelped.

“...”

“Wow, it is yours!”

“But…”

“... Kurisu?”

“But... But I—I’ve never—!!”

A horrified shriek echoed through the air.

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME?????”

[bigkittenbread]

......... just checked the tracking and........ it's not even out for delivery right now ....... I've been waiting for nothing ....

....

... ミ●﹏☉ミ

I had no idea that adding a single bottle of alcohol free cold medicine to an online order meant I would need to wait around all day for fedex to actually sign for the package. Because a decimal of a percentage of people use it to make drugs or whatever :(

[k1rabunny-edits]

flowercore leafeon icons for @mini-hanahana! (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ like + reblog if saved, and credit if used!

[lcsflcurs]

i swear

walking in a winter wonderland with yurye ( @furryfeetworld​ )

tiny snowflakes melted onto the knight’s face as she trudged through the snowy field. the scenery which surrounded the two looked like it was straight out of a painting. in the distance, the rooftops of the palace were decorated with blankets of snow that glistened under the moonlight. warm yellow lights acted as beacons of light under such snowy conditions, inviting the two to hurry back in to avoid the cold. though, despite yearning for a spot in front of a lit fireplace, sieun’s feet remained grounded under the piles of snow. 

tonight, the palace was holding a huge feast to celebrate the winter solstice, and, as expected, it was sieun’s job to make sure the kingdom’s beloved prince attended. although, this task wasn’t easy as the prince had a mind of his own. and sure, sieun enjoyed the private moments she shared with him, but the fear that the prince would face punishment because of her lack of responsibility overcame her desire for some quality time with yurye. 

what would happen if the queen found out the two were messing around in the snow instead of being present at such a formal event? sieun was too anxious to find out. “hey, pretty boy,” the knight teased, “pick up the pace! i’m sure everyone is sitting around waiting on you.” for a moment, sieun wished she was tall enough to both walk through the several feet of snow and carry yurye back, but alas, she wasn’t the wonder woman she thought she was. the knight could already envision it: her short legs stomping onwards as she hoisted yurye up with her arms moments before falling in the snow. it wasn’t a scene she wanted to play out, but if the prince was unwilling to walk back to the palace himself, well, sieun wouldn’t be opposed to taking such drastic measures. 

“c’mon, hurry up! before i . . .” sieun quickly looked around before picking up a handful of snow, forming a small, firm sphere in her hand. first she threatened him verbally, and now she was moving onto physical threats? if this was any other princess or princess, sieun swore she would have lost her job by now ( tgiy— thank god it’s yurye ). “i’ll do it! don’t think i won’t.” what a bunch of lies that was. both of their coats were already damp from the snowfall, and there was no way sieun was going to risk ruining yurye’s outfit right before a dinner party. her prince was going to get to his dinner party in perfect condition. however, yurye did not need to know any of this. for all he knew she was fully ready to start a war if it meant getting him back in time to eat to his heart’s content.

[straw-bii]

ミ💌 delivery! ミ💌

[godznunz]

[aestheticsemojis]

Aesthhetic Emojis Copy and Paste 🦋ꦿ⭒

⌗ h o o n i e 🌿 |⠀ꗃ

░᪶⃗ ˖🥨！ ⩩﹕🌷៹࣪ 📁̲ั𓏸𓈒

ーׁ̫🔪ׅ★ ┊ᶻᶻ🧠ຳ 𖦹Ꜥꜥ🧺᳝゛ 🦋ꦿ⭒

ꕤ̲·🗒︔ 𓍢🥞𝅄 仌 ⟆࣪ 🥥ֶָ֢﹆ 👒᷏ ຯ࣪

嗨! 𓂃 𝙟𝙖𝙮︙✿ 🍦 ˙˖ ॄ

꒰ 💌 ꒱ ♡ ༘°⁣ ⁣ ┊ ┊⁣ ⁣ 歡迎.🥮┊ 𝑨𝒆𝒓��𝒊𝒂 🥀⁣ ⁣ ┊ ┊⁣ ˚ ༘♡ ⋆ 𝕴 𝖌𝖚𝖊𝖘𝖘 𝕴 𝖆𝖒 𝖆 𝖋𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖆𝖘𝖞 •° *࿐⁣ ⁻ᴹᵃʳⁱˡʸⁿ ᴹᵒⁿʳᵒᵉ

┊ ┊⁣ 🦋 ˚ ༘ ♡ s u n o o ˚ ༘♡🐉

❝ e n g e n e ❞ 🌸

𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 ﹫𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆;> ┆彡 ·˚ ༘ ꒱ ⌕ @username

꒰꒰ 🍢 J a k e y ⠇‹3 ˊˎ -

��� 📍country ⿻

˓˓ก₍⸍⸌̣ʷ̣̫⸍̣⸌₎ค˒˒ ░e░n░h░y░p░e░n░

⌁₊ ·˚ ᨳ 𝐧 𝐢 - 𝐤 𝐢 ഒ 𓏲 🈀۪۫

ꔛ🐰‧₊˚🤍 * ⋆𓈒 ꔛ˚✊🏻📦◞˚ 💖 ‧⁺◟

˚◞♡🦕⸝⸝⸝ ☄️ ✱. ꔛ˚ 📦 +꒰ ✈️☁️ ꒱

=͟͟͞♡🎀 ·˚ ༘ 🏰 . °◞ 🥣ˊˎ - ﹆°

~🥛🍪 ◞ 🥣ˊˎ - ﹆ 🩰🎟 ꒰♡꒱

♡‧ ⁺彡🌷🐈 ⋆◞ °₊·ˈ∗♡ 👒🌂 ┊͙

꒰ ⁺🎨🖍⋆ °˖✧ ₊˚ 🎀ꔛ🧸﹆ •

🧀⌯✧🐭⋆♡̷̷̷ 💌 ✿。꒰ 🐄 ₊🥛꙳ . ꒱

˚ ꒰🍰🍎✨❕꒱ ◞ ⁎⁺˳✧༚🥣💥ˎˊ˗

ꔛ 𓈒 *🌷🖇˚ ᦃ ･ ﹆ ˚ 🖖🏻◞˚ₓ 🧩 ⁕˚

ꔛ ⋆⁺ +.ﾟ🥣🧤⁕꒱ 𓂃꙳ ⋆ 🍪❕ ⊹ ｡ ﾟ⁖

ｒ⌒ヽ　　　 ／⌒ヽ |⌒ヽ＞-──く／⌒ | ヽ／　　 ＿　 ヽ､ノ `/ 　●／●＼● ヽ /　 　(　 人　)　　ﾍ |　／￣￣￣￣￣＼ | | 士 ●　ｏ　● 士 | し_乂γ⌒ｖ⌒ヽメＪ 　　(^)　love (^) 　　 | ＼ 　 ／

૮₍˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶₎ა ./づᡕᠵ᠊ᡃ࡚ࠢ࠘ ⸝່ࠡࠣ᠊߯᠆ࠣ࠘ᡁࠣ࠘᠊᠊ࠢ࠘𐡏

へ卯⌒⌒卯へ 　｜｜ﾉ人ﾉヽ))｜ 　ﾉノCﾘﾟヮﾟﾉﾙ|ﾉ 　　 とL♡Lつ 　　　<//.\\> 　　　 ∪∪

＿＿＿＿ 　 ／ 　／ ／ |" 　 |￣￣￣￣| | 　 |　　 | ／ 　　￣￣￣￣ ° ° 　° ＼Haioo!／ 　 　 ∧＿∧ ＿ 　　／(´･ω･`) ／＼ 　／|￣￣￣￣ |＼／ 　　|　　　 |／ 　　 ￣￣￣￣ {\__/} (• - • ) 🔫⊂\

₍˄·͈༝·͈˄₎ ��໋ 𖥻 ⋆ .˖ ᨳ᭬ 𓄲 ࣪˖ 𓏲 › ݁ ՚ ♡̶𖥨 ִֶָ ࣪ ִֶָ ᵎᵎ ָ࣪ 𔘓˓ 𖧧 ָ࣪ ˓˓ ٫ Ꮺ ִֶָ オ ⋆ ∿ !! ،̲،̲ ˖ ࣪l⋆ ִֶָ 𖥔 ۫ ، ▭▬ ♥︎ 𐀔ʾʾ. ▭ ⌕ ʾ › ゲ! ⸃⸃ ꩜ ៸៸ ᯽ ៸៸ ⊹ ִֶָ𓏲࣪ . ❜ 𓆩 𓆪 ʾ ִֶָ%˓ ᵎ ҂ ࣪˖﹫𓂃⌁. ࣪˖ ★ ⋆◗ ૪ 𖤩˖࣪ ◖ ִֶָ ໑ ָ࣪ ¡ ♡̆̈ 𓍲 𓍱 ꪔ̤̥ 𓍯 ꊞ 𓂃 ꕀ *﹆ ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ⤾・°☆ ✎ ̼ ◡̈ ⑅ ♡̷ 𖦹 ･͛♡̷̷̷･͛ ᐧ༚̮ᐧ =͟͟͞♡ εїз ᙏ̤̫ ˳✧༚ /✿ ˙ᘧ ͜ ˙ ♡ ⊸ ꒰ ❛ ❜ ꒱ ‎♡⃕ ◡̈ ˚◞♡ ⃗ ʬʬʬ ༊*·˚ ‎ꕀ .* ♡̩͙ ✧˖*° ꪔ̤̥ ˙ ͜ʟ˙ ‎♡‧₊˚ ◡̎ ♡̷ ·˚ ₊˚ˑ 𓆸 ‎ꔛ *﹆ =͟͟͞ ♡̩͙ ꙳ ⋆ ⸝⸝ ‎യ ◞ ♡･ ͜ʖ ･ . ˚◞♡ ‎ෆ ･῾ ᵎ ⌇ ⁺◦ *´ސު｀ ༘⋆ ꙳ ꕀ ꒰ 𖧧 ·͜·♡ ꒱ ღ𓏔 𓂃 𓌉◯𓇋 𓌈 ˒˒ 𓎩 ⸝⸝ 𓆸 𓆱 𓍯 𓅿 𓇥 ⿴𓏯 𓈒𓂂 𓈒𓏸 ☄︎ 𓊆 𓊇 ︴◌ 𓂋 𓎛 𓄻 𓏭 𓏲 𓐇 ↷ 𓈈 ╯ 𓏫 𓋪𓂂 𓍲 𓍱 ﹋ ⿻ ⬚ ⌇

/ )))　　 _ 　 ／ イ　　　((( ＼ 　(　 ﾉ　　　　￣Ｙ＼ 　|　(＼ ∧＿∧　｜　) 　ヽ　ヽ`(´^ㅅ^)_／ノ/ 　　＼ |　⌒Ｙ⌒ / / 　 　 ＼ヽ　 |　 ﾉ ／ 　　 　 ＼ ﾄー仝ーｲ / 　　　 ｜ ミ土彡 ｜

♡ (\(\ （ • . •）♡ ┏━ ∪∪ ━━━━┓ ♡ ᴜʀ sᴏ ᴄᴜᴛᴇ♡ ┗━━━━━━━┛

•　°★　•▁▂▃▄▅▆▇▇▆▅▄▃

( ) ( ) (=ㅡ_ㅡ=) 凸 凸

ding ding 🌸🌷🌸 　　　 🌸🌷🌸🌷🌸 　　　Λ🌷🌸🌷🌸🌷 　　 ( ˘ ᵕ ˘🌷🌸🌷 ／ 　　　ヽ つ＼　 ／ 　　　 UU　/ 🎀 \ delivery for you u w u

૮₍ ˃ ⤙ ˂ ₎ა ₊˚ ૮₍ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ₎ა ૮ ˙Ⱉ˙ ა rawr!

╔╗╔╦══╦═╦═╦╗╔╗ ║╚╝║══║═║═║╚╝║ ║╔╗║╔╗║╔╣╔╩╗╔╝ ╚╝╚╩╝╚╩╝╚╝Birthday

＋　．*　　。 　＊　　。 ． .∵∴　*　。 ┏┓ ┣┫ ╭╯╰╮∧_∧ ┣━┓┃^ω^｡) ┣━┛⊂ 　 | ┗━━┛し∪=3=3=3

🌷 🥡 🤍

🍼 💕 ✨

🌸 🍭 💓

🌻 🍓 🦋

🧸 🧺🧁

🍓🐁💌

🎀💀🌷

🌷🐁🌿

⚪ 🎀⚪ ⚪⚪⚪🎀🎀💗⚪ ⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪🎀🎀 💕 ➖🎱⚪⚪⚪🎱➖ ➖⚪⚪🌕⚪⚪⚪➖ ⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪ 💕 👛👛👛👛 ⚪👛👛👛👛👛👛⚪ ⚪👛👛👛👛👛👛⚪ 👛👛👛👛👛👛 ⚪⚪ ⚪⚪ ⚪⚪ ⚪⚪

┏━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ♡thank you for stopping by~♡ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━┛

Get more here.

[haokyeom]

last a lifetime | xu minghao

ミ★ synopsis: sometimes forgiveness doesn’t just mean forgiving another person, it’s forgiving yourself too. aka, in which the virtue of forgiveness helps you forgive yourself and open your heart again.

ミ★ genre: virtue of forgiveness!minghao, angst, some fluff

ミ★ warnings: minor character death, mentions of blood

ミ★ word count: 8,824

ミ★ pairings: minghao x female reader, joshua x female reader

ミ★ notes: hi guys ! it’s lila, aka, @viastro​. you know how it be. uh, this might be one of my favorite oneshots i’ve written? as well as my upcoming oneshot for this collab that’s coming next week hehe. i’m just incredibly proud of this piece even though it is incredibly long. i hope you guys enjoy it, make sure to give minghao lots of love <3

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“Are you seriously going to walk out on me? Without an explanation?” Juyeon asks from behind you, and you clutch the door handle in your hand. You don’t dare turn around, because you know that if you do, you’d fall back into the toxic cycle. 

“Yn, please?” You stare at the wooden door, wondering how the cycle first began. How Juyeon became someone you cared about too much, to the point that you’d die for him if necessary. It’s scary how fast you go to him when he needs you, how you’re the shoulder he cries on every time his newfound relationship didn’t work. What’s scarier is that he could never see how much it hurt you each time.

how could he not see that you loved him? You wonder to yourself. You feel his hand rest on your shoulder, causing your breath to hitch. 

“Please stay, yn.” Juyeon mumbles, staring at the back of your head with tears filling his eyes. He clutches the back of your t-shirt in his hand as a means to make you stay, and it almost works. 

almost.

“I can’t anymore. It hurts too much.” You state, biting the inside of your cheek once a tear falls from your left eye. “What hurts?” Juyeon asks quietly. 

The two of you stand in silence for a moment. With him wondering what he did wrong, and you questioning whether you should simply just risk it all. 

You decide on the latter.

“Loving you, but seeing you fall for everyone else.” You answer, before opening the door and stepping out of Juyeon’s apartment. You quickly run over to the elevator, pressing on the buttons before Juyeon can make it over to you. 

“Yn! Wait!” You hear him call, and you thank the heavens that the doors open just in time. You push the button that closes the elevator doors, and you scream internally at how slow it takes for them to shut. You hear Juyeon’s running feet, and you watch through the sliver of the door, catching his heartbroken expression before they finally close. 

You let out a breath, feeling a sense of pain when the elevator begins to go down. You wonder whether it was better to have talked out your feelings with him, if you should’ve stayed. What would’ve happened if you did? 

no, juyeon doesn’t love you back.

Your thoughts get cut off when the elevator doors open, and you step out into the main lobby. You head over to the entrance, only to freeze when you hear the call of your name. Turning your head, you see Juyeon standing where the stairs are, and your eyes widen. 

“Yn!” You run out the doors, sprinting over towards the crosswalk so that you can get farther away from him. The closer you are to the bus stop, the closer you are to getting away from Juyeon. 

“Yn, please! Hear me out!” Juyeon yells from behind, begging for you to slow down and talk to him. You continue to run, not even thinking twice when you step onto the crosswalk. Juyeon’s eyes widen when he sees that it’s not your turn to cross the street, and he turns to see a truck not making any means of slowing down. 

“YN!” Juyeon screams, running faster to get to you. You finally turn around at the desperate call of your name, a tone you’ve never heard from Juyeon before. Juyeon’s sprinting towards you, yelling words you can’t decipher. You see bright lights out of the corner of your eye, and you glance to your left to see a truck heading straight towards you. 

“Juyeo-” You get cut off when you get pushed out of the way, landing hard on your side. You hear the loud screech of the tires and the slam of the car, and you stare at the ground with wide eyes. The crosswalk light turns green and the signal begins to repeat itself like a mantra. Telling you to walk, walk, walk, as the blood drains from your face when you turn your head to look at what happened. 

The signal soon gets drowned out by the sound of your screams.

you never get to learn what Juyeon wanted to say to you, or why he wanted you to stay.

you still wonder what would’ve happened if you stayed.

three years later

“Yn, I need you to go to the coffee shop down the street and buy four iced americanos.” You glance up from your desk, shooting a glare at Joshua, who simply gives you a bright smile in return.

“Why would I do that?” You ask your peach haired coworker. At first glance he seems like an absolute angel, and could never do anything wrong. After working with him for a year though… you learned he’s the exact opposite. However, you have a lot of love for the guy. Even if he makes you do all his small jobs.

“Cause you love me.” Joshua says in a singsong voice, and you let out a sigh. You look back towards your computer, showing no means of getting up from your desk, and Joshua pouts. “Okay, I’ll treat you to pork belly at that new high-end restaurant when it opens next month if you do this for me.” 

You smirk, turning off your PC and standing up from your desk at the mention of meat. Joshua lets out a sigh, knowing that paying you back in food always works. It’s a win/lose situation for the man. The pro, he doesn’t need to walk down the street to buy the coffee. The con, his wallet pays the price whenever he treats you to food for doing his job for him every time.

“Four iced americanos, correct?” You ask, and Joshua nods his head. You grin, reaching your hand out for him to give you the credit card. To which he carefully places into the palm your hand. 

“I’ll be back in a few.” Joshua gives you a thumbs up, letting out a sigh as he watches you leave the office.

“Maybe I should just buy the coffee from now on.” He mumbles to himself, turning around and walking back over to his own office. 

You step out of the hospital, walking down the sidewalk with your hands in your pocket. The weather is a bit breezy, with the slight winds tousling up your hair. You glance up when you reach the coffee shop, stepping inside as a warm burst of air hits you. 

Letting out a breath, you walk up to the register and order the four americanos. The whole interaction takes less than a minute, and the preparation of the drinks is rather quick as well considering that there’s not many customers at this time. Within fifteen minutes you’re back outside, the wind hitting you as you walk back towards the hospital. 

You’re close to the building when you hear the sound of tires screech, the sound of cars crashing following soon afterwards, and you fall to the ground immediately, the iced americanos spilling around you. You glance up towards the road, seeing a car crash right in the middle of the intersection. Those around you all begin to hurry over towards the site, pulling out their phones to call for emergency services, while you sit there, the memories flashing past your eyes. 

You reach up and cover your ears when the sound of those talking worriedly fills your senses, reminding you of the horrid night. You close your eyes, hoping that it’ll calm you down, but all you can hear is the sound of the crosswalk signal telling you to walk, walk, walk. 

You feel tears fall past your eyes when the sight of Juyeon floods your brain, and you rock back and forth as you try to calm down. Those passing by begin to look at you strangely, all except one. He walks over and kneels down in front of you. He reaches up and rests his hands over yours, startling you into looking up to see who is helping you cover your ears. 

His hair is pitch black, parted down the middle but you can still tell that it’s rather long. His eyes bore into yours, and you get distracted from the noise for a short moment. He mouths the words, it’ll be okay, and for some reason, you feel that he spoke the truth. 

The two of you stay like that for a moment, just staring into each other’s eyes until you feel your heartbeat slowly go back to normal. You close your eyes, lowering your head as you take deep breaths. Suddenly, the feeling of his hands over yours disappear, and you look up to see Joshua staring at you with concern written over his features. 

“Yn, let’s go inside.” He tells you, but you can’t hear him. Joshua lets out a sad smile, mouthing that he’s going to pick you up and that you should just close your eyes. One arm goes under your knees, and the other around your back as he lifts you up from the sidewalk, quickly taking you into the hospital, away from the chaos of outside.

You slowly remove your hands from your ears when the two of you are farther away from the entrance of the hospital, and you wipe away the tears on your cheeks. He steps into the elevator, pressing the button for the sixth floor. You pat his shoulder, signaling that it’s okay for him to let you down, but he just shakes his head. Once the elevator doors open, he brings you over to your office where you counsel your patients.

“I shouldn’t have let you go alone, I’m sorry.” Joshua says sadly, as he sets you down onto the small couch in your office. You shake your head, giving him a small, reassuring smile. 

“It’s not your fault Joshua. I’m sorry for the coffee.” You respond, and he scoffs, muttering how you guys will just order coffee for delivery from now on. Joshua sits down beside you on the couch, turning his head to glance at you, “Besides, that’s not what’s important, yn. What matters most is your mental health.” 

Your breath hitches and you turn away, staring at the childish painting on your wall that was painted as a joke by Juyeon. It’s the two of you as dinosaurs, him holding out a pink flower in your direction. You were never able to tell what the type of flower was, and Juyeon refused to tell you. You ended up keeping the painting though, and you don’t plan on ever taking it down. 

“Can I just be alone for now, Joshua? I’ll talk to you when I feel better.” Joshua lets out a breath, feeling slightly disappointed at the fact that you’re avoiding the topic once again. He hardly knows the story, no one really does. All he knows is that you’re terrified of car crashes, and the sound of the crosswalk signal is a trigger for you. However, he won’t force you to open up.

“Of course, yn. I promise to get you the best pork belly when that new place opens next month.” Joshua tells you, and you give him a soft grin, nodding your head. He gets up and steps out of your office after your response, and you immediately rest your head into your hands, feeling mentally exhausted.

The memory of the handsome stranger who helped you a few minutes prior lingers in your head, and you find yourself wondering who he is, and why he helped you. 

You look through your notes on your last patient, pausing when you hear a knock on your door. Without looking up from your journal you say, “Come in!” 

You hear the door open, and you glance up to see Joshua standing there with a small smile, holding a matcha latte in his hand. He steps over to your desk, placing it beside your journal, settling down in the seat across from you. 

“This for me?” You ask with a smile, and Joshua rolls his eyes at you, knowing that you already know the answer. You mutter a quiet thank you, and he nods his head.

“How was your last patient?” Joshua asks, smiling at your reaction of you pursing your lips. You let out a sigh, taking the latte and taking a sip. You lean back into your seat, giving Joshua a tired look. 

“He told me about his sex life in great detail when I asked how his day was, so that was rather interesting.” Joshua frowns, before breaking out into a laugh that sounds like music to your ears. You find yourself giggling as well, the common effect of Joshua’s contagious laugh. 

“That sounds lovely.” Joshua jokes once the two of you finish laughing, and you stick your tongue out at him. You close your eyes for a moment, feeling tired from a long day, and Joshua lets out a small smile at the sight. 

“You want me to drive you home?” Joshua asks after a moment of the two of you just basking in each other’s company, and you open an eye to glance at him. He chuckles at the sight, and you grin, shaking your head at him.

“It’s okay Joshua, I need to stay a bit later tonight anyways.” You answer, and Joshua nods his head slowly. He stands up from the chair, running a hand through his wavy peach colored hair. You find yourself staring a bit longer than usual, and Joshua takes notice of this. He smiles, “Want me to stay with you?” 

Your breath hitches at the question, and you look down at your desk. Joshua bites the inside of his cheek, wondering if he asked the wrong thing based on your reaction. You let out a shaky breath, before glancing back up and shaking your head at him. “Nah, I know you’re tired too. I’ll see you tomorrow Joshua.” 

He nods his head, reaching out and giving you a soft pat on the head. You smile at the gesture, and he puts his hands in his pockets once he’s done. “Don’t stay too late working. I’ll see you tomorrow, yn.” 

“Night Joshua.” You call when he places his hand on your doorknob. His heart warms at your soft voice, and he opens the door, stepping out of your office. Once the door closes, you’re left alone once again. You let out a tired groan, leaning back into your seat and closing your eyes. 

The incident from last week still recurs in your head. You’ve done a decent job at suppressing the memory of Juyeon over the past three years, but ever since last week you’ve been having nightmares again. The sound of the crosswalk signal plays in your head once you wake up, reminding you of what you dreamt moments before. 

“When are you going to forgive-”

“WHAT THE FUCK!” You scream, standing up from your chair and staring directly at the black haired beauty standing in front of you. You notice that his black hair is a bit wavy this time, a bit curled around the back of his neck. His apparel is all black, and your breath hitches when you realize his black turtleneck is cropped, revealing his toned stomach. 

“You’re the guy from last week.” You mutter, and he nods his head. He glances around your office, hands stuffed into his pockets as he awkwardly stands there.

“How did you get in without making a sound? The door was closed. Wait. How did you disappear last time-”

“If you sit down then I can explain everything.” He states, and you frown slightly. The man lets out a sigh when he sees how apprehensive you look, and he does a quick spin for you. 

“I don’t have any weapons on me if you think I’m going to murder you.” The man tells you, and you purse your lips. He lets out a sigh, showing you his hands, and you take notice of his slender fingers.

“My hands are too pretty to try and choke someone to death as well.” He adds, and you finally sit down in your leather seat after a second of thinking. He sits down in the chair across from you, resting his chin on his hand as he tries to make you out. 

“Are you going to explain?” 

“In a second.”

You raise an eyebrow, and he gives you a small smile. He leans back into the seat and runs a hand through his hair. 

“Well yn, this is going to sound ridiculous, but I’m not human.” He begins, and you frown at him. 

“Yeah, and I’m a furry.” The pretty man pauses, glancing at you to see if you were serious. 

You squint, “I was joking.” 

He nods his head, muttering a quiet, thank god, before continuing. To which you glare, not appreciating the fact that he thought you were serious. 

“Anyways… you know the seven deadly sins I’m assuming, correct?” You nod your head at the pretty man. “How about the seven virtues?” You nod your head again, and he lets out a relieved smile.

“Okay great. That makes this easier. Well, I’m the virtue of forgiveness, Xu Minghao.” You stare at him in silence, and he stares back at you. You close your eyes, resting your head in your hands, and he tilts his head at you.

“Are you… okay?” You look up at him, seeing how he may not really be human even though he looks like it. There’s no way a man can be this pretty and be human at the same time. We humans are not worthy of living alongside a man who is as ethereal as Xu Minghao. 

“No.” You answer after a moment, and he purses his lips. 

“How do I know you’re not lying?” You ask, and he shrugs. 

“I could disappear for you or something.”

“Damn, deadass?”

“Yeah, I’ll do it right now if it’ll make you believe me.”

“Okay, bet.”

You watch as Minghao literally disappears from the seat for a moment, and you stare with a blank face when he appears back in the chair. He raises an eyebrow at how unimpressed you seem to be, opening his mouth to ask what you think, only for you to fall out of your seat.

“YN?!” 

You blink your eyes open, only to shut them with a loud groan as you roll over in bed. You quietly thank God that it was just a weird dream as your hand roams around the sheets, only to pause when you realize you’re not in your bed at all. You sharply inhale when you recognize the leather surface you’re laying on, and you open your eyes when you realize you’re on the couch in your office. You turn your head to see Minghao sitting in the seat across from you. He tilts his head and gives you a soft smile, “Morning.” 

“It’s morning?!”

“Nah, it’s only been about fifteen minutes. I ordered us chicken since you haven’t had dinner yet, and I assumed we’d be here for a while.” Minghao explains as he opens up the cardboard boxes holding the fried chicken. You find yourself unable to argue with the grumble of your stomach, so you sit up on the couch and reach out to grab the small paper plate Minghao set out for you. You place two pieces of chicken onto your plate and begin eating. 

The two of you eat your food in silence, but it’s not uncomfortable. It’s more of you slowly taking in the fact that Minghao is not at all human, while Minghao wonders whether or not he regrets not ordering soda with the food. 

As he takes another bite of chicken, he decides that he does regret it.

Once the two of you finish, you help clean up, placing the cleaned up chicken bones into the box that once held them. Minghao swipes the crumbs off the table and into the plastic bag. You hand him the box holding the bones, and he places it into the bag too. He ties it up, and leaves it by the door, telling you he’ll take it out later. 

Once you settle back down onto the couch, the silence soon becomes awkward. With Minghao staring at you, and you looking at anything but him. He lets out a breath, leaning back into the seat, “Do you know why I’m here?” 

You glance at him, shaking your head. He gives you a look that basically says, now i know you’re fucking lying. While you give him an expression that says, I’m absolutely lying. 

“Why do you blame yourself for Juyeon’s death?” Minghao asks, reaching forward and grabbing the water bottle you offered him. You freeze at the mention of his name, and Minghao takes a sip of water, gauging your reaction. 

“I don’t.” You mumble, looking down at the floor. Minghao shakes his head, “But you do.” 

“I don’t wanna talk about him.” You say, reaching forward and drinking from your water bottle. Minghao purses his lips, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. “If you don’t talk about him now, then when will you?” 

You don’t respond, instead standing up from your couch and walking over to your desk. Minghao spins the chair so that it faces your direction, continuing to stare directly at you as you begin packing up your stuff to head home. 

“Yn-”

“Can you just leave me alone? Please?” You plead, and Minghao lets out a sigh after a moment. He stands up from your chair, brushing off some crumbs on his black jeans with his hands. He runs a hand through his black hair, watching as you zip up your bag.

“Sometimes forgiveness doesn’t just mean forgiving another person.” Minghao begins, and you glance up at him from your bag. “It’s forgiving yourself too.”

You bite the inside of your cheek, looking away from the man. He walks over to your door, picking up the trash bag holding the food the two of you ate. He turns back towards you, giving you a small smile. 

“I’ll always be there when you need me yn, I’m sorry it took me so long to get to you in the first place.” Minghao says, before opening the door and stepping out. You fall into your seat, feeling tears fill your eyes from all the weight on your shoulders. You shake your head, resting it onto the cold surface of your desk as you close your eyes. 

“Why would he use the door when he can teleport.” You mutter quietly as tears fall down onto the carpeted floor, all alone in your office once again.

“Yn, you wanna get lunch with me?” You glance up from your pc, seeing Joshua standing at your door frame with a smile on his face. You look at the time, seeing that your next patient won’t be coming in for about half an hour. Turning back towards Joshua, you see him waiting expectantly for you to come with him. 

but you won’t.

“I’m sorry Joshua, I have to sort out of notes for my next patient.” You tell him, and you almost regret turning him down when you see his smile drop slightly. He gives you a nod, “That’s okay. Next time.” 

You smile, but don’t agree that there will be a next time. Joshua closes the door behind him, and you turn back towards your computer, letting out a sad sigh.

“Why didn’t you go with him?” You’re not shocked at the fact that Minghao is in your office again, considering that this is the fifth time you’ve seen him today. He has made it his mission to randomly appear at your workplace whenever you’re alone for the past week. The two of you have built a relationship of sorts, and you’ve grown rather fond of Minghao, as he feels the same towards you. While he may have made his appearance present whenever you’re at work, he hasn’t made any means of showing up at your apartment yet. 

You glance up at him, finding that he’s wearing an oversized maroon and cream colored cardigan, paired with a white turtleneck and cream colored pants to match. You wonder why he’s so stylish, but you hold back on asking the question as you remember what he just brought up.

“Cause I’m busy.” You mutter, reaching into your drawer to grab a granola bar to chew on. Minghao frowns, placing his hands on your desk and leaning close to your face. You look up into his eyes, and your breath hitches at the close proximity between the two of you. 

“Is it that? Or is it because you’re afraid?” Minghao asks, and the quick flutter of your heart soon disappears due to the question. You frown at him, reaching up and pushing his face away with your pointer finger. 

“No.”

“You need to be a bit more descriptive.” 

“Fuck you.”

“Rude, I’m the virtue of forgiveness you know. I could report you.” You give the black haired beauty a bored look, and he purses his lips. He quietly curses to himself at the fact that you’re now seemingly unaffected by his otherworldly status. 

You try to work again, but let out a sigh when you feel Minghao’s eyes still on you. You glance up at him, seeing that he’s giving you one of his looks that basically he means he’s seeing right through you. You lean back into your seat, taking a bite of the granola bar before beginning. 

“I just. I’m scared.” You mutter quietly, swallowing the chewed up granola. Minghao nods his head, feeling a bit happy that you’re finally beginning to open up. “Why?” 

You think back on Juyeon for a moment, remembering how beautiful your friendship was. You glance back down at your pc, letting out a sad smile at what could’ve been. You begin typing away on your computer again, promptly ending the conversation before it got anywhere. Minghao runs a hand through his hair, before reaching out and patting the top of your head softly.

“We’ll talk when you’re ready.” Minghao says, before disappearing from your office once again, leaving you alone.

“YN!” You hear Juyeon scream, and you turn around at the desperation in his voice. You watch him sprint towards you, and you see bright lights flash at you out of the corner of your eye. You glance to your left to see a truck heading straight towards you, and your heart practically stops. 

“Juyeo-” You’re shoved out of the way, landing hard on your side. You hear the loud screech of the tires and the slam of the car, and you stare down at the road with wide eyes. The sound of the crosswalk signal goes off, telling you to walk, walk, walk. The blood drains from your face, and you turn your head to see Juyeon laying on the ground, motionless.

You quickly stand up and stumble over. Your heart practically stops when you make it to him, and you fail to notice the tears falling from your eyes. You fall to your knees, and with shaky hands you reach out and touch his wrist, seeing if there’s a pulse. 

It’s incredibly faint, and you almost let out a breath of relief. You turn your head to see the driver standing in front of his truck in shock, and you hold back from screaming at him. Glancing around, you find people stopping around you, phones held close to their ears as they call emergency services. 

“Yn…” You turn your head immediately, seeing Juyeon giving you a tired smile. Your heart drops at the amount of blood beginning to surround the two of you. You try to rip off some of the fabric from your shirt to try and soak up the blood from his wounds, but Juyeon tiredly rests his hand over yours. 

“I’m sorry.” Juyeon mutters, and you shake your head, tears falling from your eyes as you give him a smile to try and reassure him that you’re okay. 

“No, it’s my fault. I’m sorry, it’ll be okay.” You ramble, sobs slowly building up in your chest as you do. Juyeon tries to raise his hand up towards your face, but he grimaces in pain, and you shake your head at him. “The ambulance will be here soon.” 

Juyeon doesn’t listen, instead attempting to reach up to cup your face again. His hand makes it to your cheek this time, and he slowly wipes away the tears with his thumb. He opens his mouth to say something, and your eyes widen in horror when his arm falls back to his side, eyes closing.

“Juyeon. Juyeon, please. No, no, no.” You try to feel his pulse, and your heart sinks when you don’t feel anything. You get pushed away by a fellow witness, and they begin to perform emergency CPR on Juyeon as you stare at his lifeless body in shock. 

The sound of the crosswalk signal goes off behind you, telling you to walk, walk, walk. The tears fall from your eyes at a rapid pace, and the sob builds up in your chest as more people begin to surround you and Juyeon. You shake your head, trying to reach out and hold him, but get held back by another witness who tries to calm you down. 

“Juyeon! JUYEON!” You scream, voice cracking as you continue to scream his name in agony. 

“Yn!” You ignore the call of your name, screaming loudly as tears fall from your eyes and onto the road. Your throat is hoarse as you sob, continuing to try and reach Juyeon but being held back by the arms of one of the witnesses.

“JUYEON!”

“Yn!!”

“YN!” You gasp awake, sitting up in bed and locking eyes with a worried Minghao. He reaches out and cups your face, attempting to wipe away the tears falling from your eyes as you stare at him in fear. He watches as your lip quivers, taking notice of the tight grip you have on his shirt.

“Leave.” You mumble after a moment of silence, dropping your hands and looking away from him. Minghao raises an eyebrow.

“What?”

“Leave, Minghao.” You repeat, the tears falling silently past your eyes as you stare blankly at your bed. Minghao shakes his head, resting his hand on your wrist. He opens his mouth to tell you that he’s not going to leave, but you snap.

“I said leave! Go!” You shout, looking up into his eyes and hitting his chest with your hands. The saltiness of your tears is all you can taste as you yell. Minghao stares at you with a pained expression, just standing there and letting you punch him. 

“Did you hear me? LEAVE! GO! GET OUT!” You scream, voice cracking as you cry out in pain.

“GO BEFORE YOU DIE TOO! LEAVE!” Minghao glances down at your hands now tightly clutching his shirt, and he lets out a shaky breath. You open your mouth to scream again, but get cut off when Minghao wraps his arms around you, pulling your head into his chest as you begin to sob. He rubs your back to try and calm you down as you wail into his shirt, and he bites his lip at how your sobs are filled with nothing but pain.

“I’ll stay. I’m not going anywhere.” Minghao mumbles, cradling your head softly in his hand as you cry loudly into his chest. He blinks when he realizes his vision is blurry, and he takes notice of the tears falling from his own eyes. Minghao’s crying. Something he’s never done for a human. 

Minghao bites his lip as an attempt to stop from hiccupping or showing any indications that he’s crying, and he rests his cheek on the top of your head. Closing his eyes, he holds you close until your sobs slow down. 

“I’m not going anywhere, yn.” Minghao whispers, and your eyelids flutter shut, the last of your tears falling past your eyes and landing over Minghao’s heart. 

“It was my fault.” You state as you and Minghao stare up at your ceiling, laying on your bed side by side. It’s long after you finally calmed down, and you’re left with swollen eyes and the inability to breathe through your nostrils. Minghao almost left when you calmed down, but you pulled him into bed with you, and now here the two of you are. At three in the morning. Staring at your off-white ceiling. 

Minghao turns his head to glance at you, seeing that you’re finally ready to open up. He rolls over onto his side, resting his head on his arm as you take in a deep breath. He chooses to be quiet now to let you express everything you’ve been suppressing for three years.

“Juyeon is- was. He was my best friend. We've known each other since we were kids.” You begin, letting out a small smile at the memory of a small Juyeon first introducing himself to a tiny you back in kindergarten. “We grew up together. We went to the same school all the way up to university.” 

Minghao watches as a tear escapes your eye, and you quickly raise your hand up to wipe it away. Letting out a wet laugh, the pain strikes your chest again. “They always said I’d fall for him, and I never believed it. Until he told me he met someone for the first time, and I felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest.” 

You suck in a shaky breath, and Minghao reaches his hand out towards yours, to which you gratefully intertwine your fingers with his. You bite the inside of your cheek before continuing. “After things didn’t work out with that person, I ran to his apartment as fast as I could. That’s how the cycle began. After every newfound relationship didn’t work, I’d run to him no matter what I was doing. But he could never see that it was hurting me in the process.” 

Minghao squeezes your hand, and you close your eyes. You take in deep breaths to try and control your breathing so that you can be able to finish. Minghao watches with sad eyes, but he knows that you opening up about what happened is important in the steps on finally letting you forgive yourself. 

“I loved him. He was everything I wanted my forever to be, but I wasn’t his. I knew that from the start, but I still had hope, you know? But it became too much for me. The day Juyeon died, I ran out of his apartment after telling him I couldn’t do it anymore.” More tears fall from your eyes, blurring the sight of your ceiling. Minghao props himself up in bed to get a good look at you. And you shake your head at him, motioning for him to lay back down, to which he slowly does.

“I was so fucking stupid, Minghao. I didn’t look at the road before going onto the crosswalk, so I couldn’t even see the truck coming my way.” Your voice cracks, and you let go of Minghao’s hand to cover your face with your hands. Minghao feels his own heart shatter at how much pain you’ve been harboring to yourself, wanting nothing more than to take it away from you. “Juyeon saved my life. If I would’ve just stayed then he wouldn’t have die-”

“Yn, it’s not your fault.” Minghao interrupts, and you shake your head as more tears spill from your eyes. “It was my fault.” Minghao rests his hand on your wrist, rubbing circles on the bone with his thumb as he shakes his head.

“Sometimes we can’t control our actions when we’re going through a lot emotionally, let alone think properly. You’re not the cause of Juyeon’s death, he saved you on his own accord. He knows you would’ve done the same for him.” Minghao explains softly, and your shoulders shake by how hard you’re crying. Minghao pulls you close to him again, nuzzling your head into his chest as he rubs your back. 

“Juyeon wouldn’t want you to blame yourself either, yn. He would want you to live.” Minghao whispers, and you quietly sob into Minghao’s chest at his words. His hand trails up and cradles your head, resting his cheek on the top of it. 

“I don’t know what to do anymore.” You say, and Minghao bites the inside of his cheek. He rubs your back, quietly muttering that it’ll be okay. 

“We can’t change the past, but we can take charge of our future. You just have to forgive yourself for any change to happen.” Minghao responds in a soft voice, and you let out a shaky breath, closing your eyes. 

“I miss him so much.” You mumble tiredly, the sobbing having taken a lot of energy out of you. His breath hitches when your arm wraps around his middle, having not expected you to hold him. He rubs your back slowly, trying to regulate his heartbeat so that you can’t hear it. Through the last tears falling from your eyes you add, “I don’t care if he didn’t love me back, I just wish he was here.” 

“He’s always here.” Minghao mutters after a moment, fatigue taking over as you find it hard to keep your eyes open. However, you fight your exhaustion to hear Minghao’s words.

“So live for him.” Is the last thing you hear before you succumb to sleep. Minghao follows soon after, hand stilling on your back as the stars shine brightly in the sky. 

You type away on your computer, quite a bit of weight lifted off your shoulders since the heart-to-heart you had with Minghao a week ago. Your heart is warm, and you feel a bit airy as you turn to glance out the window of your office, seeing the birds flying high in the blue sky. 

While you may still be fearful of crosswalks and trucks in general, you’ve felt better since you let out all the pain you’ve been feeling. As well as remembering Minghao’s words to you, because deep down, you know that Juyeon wouldn’t want you blaming yourself. So you’ve taken the steps into looking into therapists, even though you’re one yourself. Minghao’s helping as well, knowing that this will be good for you in the long run. 

There are still moments where you feel the weight back on your shoulders, and you want to hide from the world. However, it’s understandable. You can’t forget the trauma and internal self-conflict you’ve dealt with for years based on one heart-to-heart talk. It’s helped push you into taking the proper steps to fully heal though.

Hearing a knock on your door, you glance up to see Joshua poking his head in with a big smile on his face. You find yourself smiling back, as both his laughter and the sight of his smile are contagious to you. 

“Hi Joshua.” You greet, and he steps into your office, two bobas in hand, causing you to clap your hands excitedly. He places it before you, sitting down in the seat in front of your desk. You smile, glancing up into his eyes. “You spoil me.” 

“It was a two for one deal, couldn’t resist getting one for you. It was basically a sign from the heavens telling me to get you boba.” Joshua jokes, and you roll your eyes, shoving your straw through the plastic seal after shaking up the drink. You take a sip, letting out a content sigh at the sweet taste of milk tea. 

“How was your last patient?” You ask, and Joshua grins. “He’s opening up a bit more each time, it makes me feel happy to know that he’s slowly trusting me.” 

You nod your head with a smile, understanding the feeling. The two of you converse for a moment, occasionally taking a sip of boba mid-speech as the drink just seems to be too addictive. You glance down at your keyboard when Joshua clears his throat, causing you to look up at him. 

“So you know how I said I’d treat you to pork belly once that new place opens?” You nod your head, taking another sip of boba and chewing on the tapioca pearls. Joshua lets out a shy smile, running a hand through his peach hair. 

“Well, it opened, and I was wondering if you wanted to go next Friday?” You pause for a moment. Something in Joshua’s invitation seems different this time around, from the slight blush rising to his cheeks, as well as the nervous smile he has on right now. Your heart pounds against your chest when you realize, and you bite the inside of your cheek.

After a second you nod your head, and Joshua visibly relaxes. “Yes, I’d love to go with you.” 

“Nice! I’ll text you the details, okay?” Joshua says as he stands up from his seat, and you glance at your watch, seeing that his next patient will be coming soon. You give him a thumbs up, and he lets out a breath, sending you another smile. 

“It’s a date!” Joshua calls, and you nod your head, giggling when he shoots you finger guns before closing the door behind him. You let out a sigh, glancing down at your keyboard when you feel a presence right in front of your computer. 

You look up to find Minghao leaning against your desk, a peaceful look on his face as he stares down at you. His hair is straight this time around, still parted down the middle. He’s wearing a burberry plaid shirt with ripped black jeans, showing off a bit of his thighs. 

“Hi.” 

“Hey.” 

The two of you stare at each other in silence for a moment. Minghao takes in the slight glow to your aura, showing that you’re healing. While you stare into his eyes that hold so much depth to them, but you never know what he’s truly thinking. 

“Going on a date, huh?” Minghao teases, and you glare at the virtue. He chuckles at the furrow to your brow, reaching over and smoothing it out with the pad of his thumb. Your heart leaps in your chest at the contact, but you stay unimpressed until he places his hand back on the table. 

“It’s not a date.”

“You sure?” 

“... no.” 

Minghao giggles at your response, causing you to softly laugh as well. He rolls his eyes, standing up from your desk and raising his arms above his head. You lean back into your seat, taking a long sip of boba as you wait for him to speak. 

“Well, I hope you have fun.” Minghao tells you, and you let out a small smile. Nodding your head, you give him a thumbs up. “I’ll make sure to tell you all the details after it happens. However, I have to pee so I’ll be right back.” 

Minghao watches with a fond smile as you get up from your leather seat and scurry out of your office. It slowly drops from his face once the door closes, and he bites the inside of his cheek. He lets out a sad laugh, resting a hand over his heart, clutching the fabric of his shirt with a tight fist. 

“I’m so happy, but why am I so sad too?” Minghao mutters to himself after a moment, only to quickly switch back to his happy persona once he hears your door open again. You give him a smile, walking to your desk and sitting back down in your seat.

“Wanna play among us?” You ask, and Minghao smirks. He sits down into the seat in front of your desk, wiggling his pretty fingers towards you. “I hope you know that I’ll win, sweetheart.” 

You begin cursing at the man, and Minghao just laughs at your reaction. He lets you ramble, promptly ignoring the dull pain in his heart as he chooses to instead watch the way your eyes sparkle at him. 

Minghao finds you beautiful when you’re happy.

and that’s all that matters.

“I’ll see you next week Doc.” You nod your head with a smile, glancing down at your notes, only to pause when you realize your door hasn’t shut yet. You look up to see Jacob staring at the dinosaur painting Juyeon created years ago. 

“Is there something else you wanted to speak about, Jacob?” You ask, effectively startling the boy out of his thoughts. He turns and gives you a smile, shaking his head. 

“It’s just that I noticed the flower. I don’t see it painted that much.” Jacob answers, and you raise an eyebrow. You walk over and stand beside your patient, staring at the familiar pink flower that Juyeon refused to tell you the name of. “Oh yeah? My best friend never told me the name of it for whatever reason. Guess he just wanted to be more knowledgeable than me.” 

Jacob chuckles, turning to glance at you. You look back at him, and he gives you a knowing smile, causing you to raise an eyebrow. “What?”

He points at the flower dinosaur Juyeon is holding towards dinosaur you, “That’s an arbutus flower.” 

You purse your lips at the unfamiliar name, turning and glancing back towards the painting. You tilt your head to the side, wondering where Juyeon learned of such a flower. Jacob giggles, resting his hand on the doorknob of your door to open it, before turning back to you. 

“It means that you’re the only one he loves. It’s basically a promise that the love he has for you is not only warm, but will last a lifetime.” Jacob says, before stepping out of your office, the door closing behind him. You stare at the painting in pure shock, your heart already dropped into your stomach as you stare at the pink flower dinosaur Juyeon is holding out to you. 

“He. He loved me?” You mutter to yourself, resting your hand over your heart as you stare at the painting. The tears fall from your eyes before you know it, and you slowly fall to your knees, laughing quietly at the ridiculous way Juyeon confessed his love for you. 

Minghao appears beside you in an instant, and you immediately turn to him, resting your head in his chest as he wraps his arms around you. After a moment of the two of you staying like this as you silently cry, you mutter, “He loved me, Minghao.” 

Minghao nods his head, running a hand through your hair he softly whispers, “I don’t see how anyone couldn’t fall in love with you, yn.” 

You close your eyes, wrapping your arms around his middle as you quietly cry into his chest. Minghao rubs your back, letting out a soft smile when he recognizes this as being the last stage of closure you needed. He hopes in another life that you and Juyeon ended up together, but he’s grateful that he was given the opportunity to see you forgive yourself and open up to someone you liked again.

“I can’t believe he’d confess through painting us as dinosaurs.” You mutter, letting out a laugh and Minghao chuckles in response. 

“I expect nothing less from him though.” You whisper, closing your eyes with a soft smile gracing your features. Minghao glances down at you, and he grins, “Has he done something like this before?” 

“Are you kidding me? Of course he has.”

Minghao watches as you slowly light up, explaining the different things Juyeon has done, as well as the weird quirks he had. A stark contrast to the pain and sadness that would be etched across your features when anyone would so much as mention his name. Minghao lets out a soft smile, feeling his heart warm knowing that his mission is done. 

“You ready for your date?” Minghao asks, and you let out a nervous breath at the thought of Joshua about to pop up in front of your apartment building any second now. Minghao’s waiting with you outside of your building as you wait for Joshua, considering the fact that you didn’t want to wait alone. 

A small squabble ensued where Minghao was like what if he sees me doofus?! To which you replied, just disappear before he can tinkerbell!

“I think I’m gonna shit myself.” 

“Well, don’t do that.” Minghao states, and you shoot him a glare. He rolls his eyes at you, reaching out and patting your head. “It was a joke.” 

“I know what jokes are.” You bite back, and Minghao purses his lips at your reaction. He lets out a sigh, wrapping his arm over your shoulders. You glance up at him and see him staring down at you with a small smile on his face. Raising an eyebrow you ask, “What?”

Minghao just shakes his head, and you watch in a slight state of awe when you take notice of the fact that he holds the whole galaxy in his gaze as he stares down at you. “I’m proud of you.” 

You purse your lips at his sweetness, feeling a blush rise to your cheeks as you push him away. Minghao lets out a giggle at your reaction, finding it rather endearing. He turns his head to see if he can spot the head of peach hair, and his eyes widen when he does. 

“It’s time for me to disappear. Have fun on your date, okay?” You tilt your head to the side when Minghao shuffles from one foot to another as he debates on something. You open your mouth to ask what, only for Minghao to lean down and press a soft kiss to your forehead, before disappearing. 

You raise a hand to your forehead, feeling warmth flood through you at the sweet action. You silently curse Minghao for being such a sweetheart, knowing that as the virtue of forgiveness, he should be rather nice. 

“Yn!” You turn your head to see Joshua smiling at you, and you wave your hand at him, quickly walking over so that the two of you can meet in the middle. “Ready for pork belly? I heard their meat is really good quality.” 

You smile, nodding your head excitedly. “Of course I am! What kind of whack ass question-”

“Are you trying to fight me? On our first date?” Joshua teases, and you roll your eyes, nudging him with your shoulder as you try to hide the blush rising to your cheeks. The two of you begin walking in the direction of the kbbq restaurant, playful banter between you both as you do. 

At some point Joshua intertwines his fingers with yours, and the two of you can’t hide each other’s blushes from each other, but promptly choose to ignore them as you continue to converse. You feel your heartbeat a bit faster when you realize you have to cross the street, and Joshua pauses. He glances down at you, “We can go the other way?” 

You stare at the crosswalk for a moment, before shaking your head at Joshua. You turn your head and look up at him with a bright smile, “No, I’ll be okay.” 

Joshua mentions that if you change your mind the two of you can just go the other way a few more times until you make it to the edge of the sidewalk. You reassure him that it’s okay, even reaching out to press the button which signals that you want to cross the street. You squeeze Joshua’s hand, biting the inside of your cheek as you stare at the white lines on the crosswalk. 

You watch as the crosswalk signal turns green, hearing it say, walk. Glancing back down at the white lines, you suck in a deep breath, before taking your first step. You hold Joshua’s hand tightly as the two of you cross the street, and he gives you reassuring words until you make it all the way across. 

You look up at the peach-haired man with a happy smile, and he smiles back down at you, eyes full of endearment as he does so. You’re about to open up your mouth to make a joke, only to pause when you smell the lingering scent of grilled meat coming from your right. You and Joshua turn your heads to see the new kbbq place, and let out excited grins. 

“To the grilling of meats!” You shout, and Joshua laughs at your antics. 

All while Minghao watches from the other side of the street, a proud smile gracing his features at the happiness radiating off of you. He lets out a breath, before turning around and walking the other way, hands shoved into his pockets. 

mission: help yn forgive herself and open her heart again [COMPLETED]

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[narunaru-chan]

I'm craving for pineapple juice... (-_-;)・・・

Wonder if i should make them homemade or via delivery? ミ●﹏☉ミ

[kanjioftheday05]

Goroawase (Numbers) / 語呂合せ （数字）

Anyone learning Japanese knows that kanji can have several possible readings. Numbers in particular have a lot of readings and are one of the most complicated parts of Japanese. I decided to summarize the readings of Japanese numbers that are often used in wordplay. Note that some people might choose to tweak the readings a bit (such as including the small tsu つ and the long vowel ー, and making abbreviations), and any big number can theoretically be converted into an actual sentence.

Reminder on Japanese vowel pronunciation: ‘a’ like in ‘ah’ and ‘ha’ ‘i’ like in ‘Wii’ and ‘be’ ‘u’ like in ‘June’ and ‘food’ ‘e’ like in ‘hey’ and ‘neigh’ ‘o’ like in ‘row’ and ‘doe’ Some vowels become silent in normal or quick speech

Zero [0] Common Form: 〇 Formal Kanji: 零 Hiragana: れい、れ、まる、ま、わ、ない、なし、ぜろ、お、おう、ぜ Katakana: レイ、レ、マル、マ、ワ、ナイ、ナシ、ゼロ、オ、オー、ゼ Romaji: rei, re, maru, ma, wa, nai, nashi, zero, o, ou, ze

One [1] Common Kanji: 一 Formal Kanji: 壱壹 Hiragana: いち、い、いつ、ひとつ、ひと、ひ、わん Katakana: イチ、イ、イツ、ヒトツ、ヒト、ヒ、ワン Romaji: ichi, i, itsu, hitotsu, hito, hi, wan

Two [2] Common Kanji: 二 Formal Kanji: 弐貳 Hiragana: に、じ、ふたつ、ふた、ふ、は、ふつ、つー、つ Katakana: ニ、ジ、フタツ、フタ、フ、ハ、フツ、ツー、ツ Romaji: ni, ji, futatsu, futa, fu, ha, futsu, tsuu, tsu

Three [3] Common Kanji: 三 Formal Kanji: 参參 Hiragana: さん、さ、ざ、みつ、みっつ、み、すりー、す Katakana: サン、サ、ザ、ミツ、ミッツ、ミ、スリー、ス Romaji: san, sa, za, mitsu, mittsu, mi, surii, su

Four [4] Common Kanji: 四 Formal Kanji: 肆 Hiragana: し、よん、よつ、よっつ、よ、ふぉあ Katakana: シ、ヨン、ヨツ、ヨッツ、ヨ、フォー Romaji: shi, yon, yotsu, yottsu, yo, foa

Five [5] Common Kanji: 五 Formal Kanji: 伍 Hiragana: ご、こ、こう、いつつ、いつ、い、ふぁいぶ Katakana: ゴ、コ、コウ、イツツ、イツ、イ、ファイブ Romaji: go, ko, kou, itsutsu, itsu, i, faibu

Six [6] Common Kanji: 六 Formal Kanji: 陸 Hiragana: ろく、ろ、る、むつ、むっつ、む、しっくす Katakana: ロク、ロ、ル、ムツ、ムッツ、ム、シックス Romaji: roku, ro, ru, mutsu, muttsu, mu, shikkusu

Seven [7] Common Kanji: 七 Formal Kanji: 柒 Hiragana: しち、なな、ななつ、な、なの、せぶん Katakana: シチ、ナナ、ナナツ、ナ、ナノ、セブン Romaji: shichi, nana, nanatsu, na, nano, sebun

Eight [8] Common Kanji: 八 Formal Kanji: 捌 Hiragana: はち、は、ば、やつ、やっつ、や、よう、えいと Katakana: ハチ、ハ、バ、ヤツ、ヤッツ、ヤ、ヨウ、エイト Romaji: hachi, ha, ba, yatsu, yattsu, ya, you, eito

Nine [9] Common Kanji: 九 Formal Kanji: 玖 Hiragana: きゅう、きゅ、く、ここのつ、ここの、こ、ないん Katakana: キュウ、キュ、ク、ココノツ、ココノ、コ、ナイン Romaji: kyuu, kyu, ku, kokonotsu, kokono, ko, nain

Ten [10] Common Kanji: 十 Formal Kanji: 拾 Hiragana: じゅう、じゅ、じ、とお、と、そ、た、てん、て Katakana: ジュウ、ジュ、ジ、トオ、ト、ソ、タ、テン、テ Romaji: juu, ju, ji, too, to, so, ta, ten, te

Decimal [.] Kanji: 点 Hiragana: てん Katakana: テン Romaji: ten

Examples:

39 = Thank you, or Miku 4649 = Yoroshiku 084 = おはよ (ohayo) = good morning 724106 = 何してる (nani shiteru) = what are you doing? 758 = Nagoya 88888888... = パチパチパチパチパチパチパチパチ.... (pachipachipachi...) = applause

3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197 (pi to 39 decimal places) 産医師異国に向こう産後厄無く産婦御社に虫散々闇に鳴くご礼には早よ行くな さんいしいこくにむこうさんごやくなくさんぷみやしろにむしさんざんやみになくごれいにははよいくな An obstetrician went to a foreign country. After a safe delivery, the woman's shrine had bugs shrieking terribly loudly in the dark. It's too early for gratitude.

Related Links: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/goroawase-japanese-numbers-wordplay/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_wordplay https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%AA%9E%E5%91%82%E5%90%88%E3%82%8F%E3%81%9B

[kadoishi-mimiminnonikki]

Ishida Chiho Mail (171103)

1 hour surprise！！

Those who watched showroom from 12PM、 Thank you very much (*^◯^*)

It was the most surprising delivery so far、笑

I love the autumn and winter Avatar、 so I tried my luck for the 1st one with my 23 tickets！ I got the 1st one with my last ticket☆ミ Today's luck is now exhausted～、笑

Today was my 200th Mainichi Idol delivery！ Thank you very much (*´ω｀*)

[k1rabunny-edits]

(ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟassorted icons !!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ like + reblog if saved, and credit if used!

[epiphanywitches-blog]

Hello witches! Its Megan here °☆ Im gonna tell you a bit about myself! So my name is Megan, im 13 years old, and I'm Canadian! I have a little YouTube channel where i love to post just about anything! .:* Me and Kim have partnered together to share with all the other witches out there some aesthetic photos! ☆ :*:。☆彡  If you want a special delivery please send us a message here on our blog, or over at one of our twitters! Have a magical day and see you witches soon! ~ Megan

Hello lil witches!! Hehe ~ I'm Kim or Nekolanie!! ～☆ I'm 12 years old and American! *・°☆ I love art, writing, reading, science, cute things, anime, dark rainy days, quiet places, and CATS ☆彡=^・ｪ・^=  Megan and I decided to partner up to make a positive and aesthetic blog!  I take most of the photos on our blog while Megan does writing and other stuff! ミ☆ If you want you can have your magic raven deliver a message spell to me @Nekolanie on twitter! ☆。.:* I must get back to my calderon to finish my love potion now dears! ~  ☆.。.:*・

°☆ :*:  rights of the photos go to Kim! Her Twitter is @Nekolanie , and Megans twitter is @officialfox007 °☆ :*: