#At least if i do end up failing i might be able to retake the class

[call-me-copycat]

i'm so sorry about what you're going through!! i know what it's like to be a "gifted" kid and suddenly not be able to pass everything so easily, it's a pretty terrible feeling (◞‸◟；)

i sincerely hope you get through this, i have no doubt it will all work out in the end, so please take care!! <2

Thank you for your support, definitely need it right now (⁠;⁠ŏ⁠﹏⁠ŏ⁠)

It's not technically the worst case scenario since I still have some time before the semester ends, but I still definitely need to learn how to cope with so much more to handle (and also how to deal with failure/rejection)

I'm going to try to discuss with a professor or advisor, but I can only go from there >⁠.⁠<

Thanks again for being here :⁠-⁠)

[lukeevangelista]

enemies to lovers with jj- like them being paired up together for a group assignment and it doesn’t go well until u or jj feels bad and apologizes and….

Enemies to Lovers - JJ McCarthy

*********************************************************

Mb

“He just- he just loves pissing me off!” You hissed as you tugged off your now wet shoes as you complained to your roommates, “He’s a terrible human being.”

“He’s not that bad.”

“He’s at least nice to you.” You grumbled, “We got pairs for this fucking assignment and it’s about to go to hell in a hand basket because we’re just going to argue the entire time.”

“Maybe it won’t be so bad.” Your friend offered as she softly smiled, “besides, he’s a cutie. Might be able to get him to like you.” She giggled, “Him and that girl ended things a while back so he is single.”

“One, gross.” You gagged, “I’d rather lick a dirty floor daily than date him.” You said causing her to roll her eyes, “Second of all, I’m pretty sure I saw them together a couple of days ago.” you shrugged.

“No, they broke up.” Your other friend joined in, “She was complaining about it in class like, a week ago.” She said, “She still hasn’t shut up about it unfortunately.” She grumbled.

You nodded, trying to drop the conversation as you were annoyed about talking about him.

You had tried to be civil time and time again to him and it never did you any good so you started playing his game, being down right dirty to him.

“He’s actually really sweet when you get to know him.”

“Look I don’t need to hear you talk all nice about him- it’s not going to change my opinion.”

*****

“Sup.” JJ said as he sat down next to you, your shooting a harsh glare to him, “So I was thinking-“

“Wow. I’m shocked you can do that pretty boy.”

“You think I’m pretty?” He chewed on his straw as he gave you a smirk.

You slacked your jaw, pressing your tongue to the back of your teeth, “No.”

He scoffed before rolling his eyes. “Anyways, I was thinking about the project-“

“No. What is going to happen is you’re going to leave me to do it while you go live your football athlete life.” You hissed, “I cant afford to fail this and lose my scholarship McCarthy.”

“ I don’t think so.” He sarcastically chuckled, “if i fail this, I’m practically done for the season.” He leaned closer, “I’m not letting you jeopardize my future.”

“Does it look like I give a fuck?” You laughed as you slammed your book shut, “I don’t care what you do, who you do, where you go. Any of it. I do not care about you.” You hissed as you picked up your book before walking away leaving him stunned and speechless.

*****

“Okay I don’t know what the fuck I did to you, but you need to let it go.” He said as he slammed his hand next to your head on the wall. You two had been standing there bickering for the last 10 minutes before he had enough.

You rolled your eyes, ignoring him as you continued to look at your phone, which just fueled the fire.

He grabbed your phone, shoving it in his pocket, “I’m- I’m trying here.” He gritted through his teeth, “You’re making it impossible.”

“Am I?”

“You are.” He lowly replied, “Now, be at my house at 4:30.”

You just rolled your eyes once more, him clenching his hands by his side before you finally walked away.

****

You sat down the street in your car, it being minutes away from 4:30, the time you were supposed to be meeting JJ to finally start this project. You weren’t sure if it was worth it.

At this point, you’d rather fail and have to retake the class than deal with him. You were over the arguing and the tension between you two.

You finally made the decision to not fail the class and put up with the blonde headed boy.

Letting out a heavy sigh, you shifted your car into drive.

It wasn’t long before you were pulling into his driveway, him standing outside smirking.

“Took you long enough.” He hollered as he shoved his hands in his pockets, “Thought your tiny pea brain couldn’t comprehend the directions.”

“Fuck off JJ.” You grumbled as you walked up the stairs, “Let’s just get this over with.”

You two started the project, you writing everything out that you needed. Every time you would look up, JJ would be grinning at his phone or letting out a loud laugh as you worked.

“I fucking offered to do this by myself and you said no. So either get the fuck off your phone or I’m leaving.”

He glared at you as he locked his phone, “Ya know, i don’t understand why you’re so pissy all the time.” He shrugged as he picked up a piece of the project that was supposed to go on the plaster board. He twirled it around in his fingers, “Maybe you should get laid. I’ve heard it helps uptight people like you.”

Your jaw dropped at his comments, “I’m done.” You whispered as you started to pack up your things, “Fail this. I really don’t give a shit anymore.”

“Cant handle the truth?” He asked as you both stood up, “cmon Y/N, just sit back down and let’s finish this.”

“Are you fixing kidding me? After what you said? That’s disrespectful and rude JJ.” You hissed.

“But it’s the truth. You’re uptight and bitchy.” He shrugged, “and ironically, it’s only to me you act like this towards.”

“Because I cant fucking stand you.” You whispered as tears welled up in your eyes, one falling before you could get to it, “You’re a prick. A douche. An asshole. Name it, you’re it.” You hissed, “You might have everyone else fooled, but not me.”

****

It had been days since you talked to JJ and you had almost finished the project on your own. You weren’t going to fail. You couldn’t allow yourself to do it, knowing it effected you more than him.

You heard a knock on your door, you shoving your computer off your lap as you trudged over to the front door.

You yanked the door open, seeing JJ standing there with a bouquet of flowers.

“How did you find my house?” You sneered.

“I’m sorry.” He said as he held the flowers out, “I shouldn’t have been a jerk when you were over and whatever I did to make you hate me, I’m sorry for that too Y/N.” He whispered.

“Take your apology and shove it.” You said, pushing his hand back towards him, “I don’t want your flowers or your apology. I want you to leave me alone.”

“But-“

“Let me do this on my own.” You stated, “you’ve done enough and i can’t handle it anymore.” you slammed the door shut.

**

You two got your grade back, you both getting an A because of all the work you put in.

“Thanks.” JJ muttered to you as he caught up to you.

You stared at him, watching his feature change as you didn’t speak, “Look Y/N.” He stopped as he grabbed your arm, turning you to face him, “I’m genuinely not sure what I did.” He admitted, “But if you would let me make it up to you, I’d be more than willing to do it. I want to show you I’m not this bad guy you think I am.”

You let out a sigh, “I know you’re not.” You tugged your bottom lip between your teeth, “I see how you interact with everyone and you’re not. I guess I got defensive and chose to be like this so I wouldn’t like you.” You whispered.

A grin spread across his face as he looked down at you, “Dinner on me?” He asked.

“Like a date?”

“Like a date.” He grinned.

[ecargmura]

Pokemon Horizons Episode 62 Review - A Soulful Rematch

Unlike the Basics tests where there are two chances, if you fail the Implementation Test, then that’s that. However, it seems that Ryme is a lenient person as she wanted Roy to come back to retake it once he got himself together. Since this was a special retake, she only had one condition: Fuecoco must defeat her Toxitricity on a 1 vs 1 and she’ll let him pass. It sucks that Kilowattrel is getting the short-end of the stick.

I didn’t expect Roy’s past to be shown and why he likes singing so much. It’s because his parents are sailors and that they always sing whenever they’re out on a voyage, which is what Roy picked up from them. He sings because it helps ease his loneliness from being away from his parents and eventually, brought him to Fuecoco. I was surprised to see Roy’s past brought up so suddenly because I’m sure many had assumed he had dead parents or something. That’s not the case. His are just absent from his life. Given that they’re out on a voyage, maybe he could meet them again in the future? I’d love to see a reunion between Roy and his parents! Also, I find it cute how Roy loves singing and it is able to attract wild Pokemon and flock towards him like if he’s some kind of Disney Princess.

For the battle, I’m divisive over it. I don’t like the fact that, like the previous episode, it mainly takes place in the second half and that it’s a 1 vs 1 match. Second, I don’t like that, while Roy and Fuecoco learned a new song to help overcome the predictability of their usual song, the whole thing was off-screened; this is just the usual Horizons’ usual habit of off-screening small, important details. I do admit that the new song is quite catchy. I also don’t like that there was huge teasing for Fuecoco evolving, but it was just bait. The croc did not evolve, but at least he accomplished one thing. I do feel like he might evolve in the finale of this arc given that Floragato did the same in the previous arc when she was a Sprigatito.

Though, I did like everything that transpired before the rematch. I liked learning about Roy’s past, learning that Nemona’s stamina is pretty bad, and that Liko will do anything to help Roy even if it means stalling for time. It was hilarious seeing Liko and Dot be introverts and not wanting to volunteer so Quaxwell had to do it. That was cute. 

Execution-wise, this was the weakest battle in this arc so far; this is my opinion, just to let you know. I don’t get why both this episode and last week’s episode had to make it so that Roy battles Ryme in the second half while he just does this and that in the first half. It makes the battle and the writing feel lazy. Though, I am happy that Roy managed to get wins in both his Basic and Implementation Test. Congrats, Roy! What are your thoughts on this episode?

[cosmicjoke]

Both Casca (and Guts)/Griffith as well as Levi/Erwin have this kind of connection that's more of a medieval Knight's loyalty to his liege-lord. A very strong connection that's easily interpreted as a romantic one by modern readers (Casca does see Griffith romantically, but I still think it's merely her delusions and hero-worship of him that made her see him that way). I think even Isayama meant it to be like that, as stated in his interviews. I don't think it's blind loyalty. Just that, and as I mentioned as in the example of the Late Night story, Levi did fail to see much of Erwin's truly personality, because he knew him when he was in power; as his liege-lord and the one who gave him hope. The infallible and strong leader. While the others saw him before that and in his vulnerabilities. It's interesting that Sasha herself managed to see much of Erwin and have a rather mundane conversation with him where he even opened up about his father? Not sure if you've read this Smartpass, but it's really interesting. So I do wonder if it's Levi's hero-worship that sort of prevents him from seeing much? As he says in the Late Night story, ""It's pointless to expect a human answer out of this guy. Don't you know that, Four-Eyes?" To which Hange responds, "Erwin's human, too. At least he looks that way to me. So he might just be forgetting!" The rest of the story does go to show the burden of being a commander, and the toll Erwin's dream took on him. He even reminisces on his Cadet days and smiles when he decides to do something normal with the rest. Idk, but it's interesting comparing the responses he gets to me. And again, I do wonder whether it has to do with the way Levi views him personally or his later addiction to the SC. After all, it's only 5 years, as far as I remember.

I don't know. I don't really see Levi's loyalty to Erwin in that way, as the liege/lord relationship. I think Levi believes in Erwin because of his commitment and his vision and his belief in achieving that vision, but I don't think Levi ever had an unhealthy view of or slavish mentality toward Erwin, the way Casca did Griffith. The Smart Pass stories are interesting, because they're supposedly approved by Isayama, but then, Isayama himself didn't write them, so how much we can take them as canon is questionable I suppose. I tend to just focus on what happened within actual canon to determine my view of these characters. I think Levi follows Erwin because he helped give him direction, helped show him a means by which he could use his immense strength, which he never really had before, and because he genuinely believed Erwin was humanities best hope for freedom. But as I said before, I still think Levi was able to question Erwin and judge him in a way which indicates he wasn't blind to Erwin's faults or shortcomings. You might say he was blindsided by Erwin's personal desires getting in the way of making the best choice, right before the battle to retake Wall Maria, because up to that point, Erwin had never displayed any such tendency. In fact, the opposite, putting aside any personal feelings in order to do the best job. But I wouldn't call that really a blindness to Erwin's "true personality". In the end, Erwin DID turn out to be the person Levi believed him to be. He gave up his own dream to do the right thing.

[dallasareaopinion]

Yea, I was wrong and be careful what you don’t ask for

So we survived the “mid term” election, it sucked or maybe it didn’t, but we survived. Mid term election is such a weird term since we have elections every two years so why don’t we just call it the biennial election? Just a question.

So the Republicans won the House, hence who wins in our country? I know some people are happy that we have a mixed government. And in some ways that can be good. Legislation gets drawn out, only laws that are  absolutely needed pass because partisan policy is denied. Crisis can be a problem, but if rational leaders on both sides of the aisle exist then they can also be addressed in a modified way.

Yet McCarthy has more than his hands full with his own party. And personally and I may be wrong, he won’t be able to handle his party. The extremes are already lining up to cause havoc on a daily basis. So what happens if the world turns sideways on them. How will they react? Do they just say no to everything in their maddening attempt to bring down those dangerous democrats? 

Do they actually think their delusional investigations will produce results? There might be some fire underneath Hunter Biden, but beyond that, what else is there? 

So here is the kicker for the Republican Party as a whole. If the Freedom Caucus does what it wants they can pretty much kiss the Republican chances good bye in 2024. You know, that next biennial election. 

If a catastrophe happens such as a large recession and the Republicans were out of power then they would retake the government, but since the government is split and both sides have slim majorities in either legislative body, then the body politic is going to blame whomever doesn’t act. And if the Freedom Caucus tries to shut down fixing any problems then they shoot the Republican party down.

And with no crisis and they just regurgitate investigation and accusation ad nauseum then the Republican party apparatus will look like a vomit laden pile of manure. 

People may hate government and complain all day, but in the end they do expect some lip service to solutions. And occasionally an actual result produced. 

So the Republicans won the House, McCarthy will be Speaker, he will fail but at least it is only two years until the next election which we started fretting about November 9th. Do we ever get a break?

And by the way the New York Post said some retired guy from Florida is running for President. It definitely won’t be a quiet and boring two years. 

And for fun maybe he will pick Lake to be his VP choice. They can drive democracy over a cliff together. Or just drive themselves into oblivion, we can only pray.

[somemydayy]

Relationship! w/ Stray Kids

Chan— for the last three years you were stuck with the same terribly boring ballet partner. so when the cutest, and get this actually talented guy decided to joined the class. you might have maybe begged Shin Ryujin to trade partners at the cost of setting her up on a date, with your older brother. sorry bro, but love trumpets all.

Minho— you and minho has been classmates since kindergarten and for that, he detested you like no other. you always knew the right words to say to get under his skin. one day he spotted on your way to school, with terrible dark circles and ridiculous bed hair. he couldn’t contain his curiosity, and so he approached. just as he made his way towards you, he saw you chase after a cat, who so happened to run down the street, and up a old tree near your school. it was almost impressive seeing you run after the little thing. you weren’t exactly a track-star, and as horrible as it seemed minho liked seeing you struggle just a bit. but nonetheless being the good samaritan he was, he went to safe the lost angel. he finally was able to save the poor thing. at first he was puzzled by the sincerity of your thanks he received from you. he was surprised to say the least, he’ll never admit it, but he can tolerate you a little bit more now. but let’s make thing clear he likes your cat, not you. that is for now, at least.

Changbin— is the local tattoo artist you admire and wants to get a tattoo from, but he always declines to schedule a appointment. claiming he’s super booked at the moment. to bad your kinda dense, and this excuse worked for the last three years. but truth be told changbin thinks your already a beautiful work of art. in short he always declines booking a session, as a excuse to keep seeing you. being the well known and respectable artist he is, in the industry. no one questioned why he put you on they’re blacklist just in case.

Hyunjin— he’s your enemy turned friend turned lover, need I say more? you were jealous of his long silky hair, but he recommended his shampoo-conditioner combo. and now your in love.

Han— he likes horror movies so when he over hears you, a well liked, and very pretty might he add, classmate saying you had an extra ticket to the newest exorcist movie his ears perked up; and he ultimately volunteered, tribute. but poor guy, ended up biting more then he could chew. he screamed, and yelled all throughout the movie, and eventually got you both kicked out of the theater. but it wasn’t all that bad, because he got to hold your hand. and even got to exchanged phone numbers with you. so as a apology he bought you cheesecake at this near by cafe he enjoys, and you both decided to do a retake of your failed movie date, but this time horror was off the table.

Felix— your childhood best friends with felix. and you love squishing his face in your palms, just so you can count his freckles. but it’s frustrating because you always lose count, and have to start all over, again. felix won’t admit it but he doesn’t mind the way you stare at him. or the way he thinks it’s adorable how your eyebrows scrunch. or how your rosy cheeks blush every time he moves closer, or how your rosy pink lips move. he likes it when you count, his freckles. but he likes it even more when you lose count, because he can get to look at you even longer.

Seungmin— you where his best friend since kindergarten so you knew him pretty well, or you hoped so. all his good and bad qualities. but for the life of you, couldn’t figure out why seungmin for as long as you have knew him never introduced you; or better yet why he never had a girlfriend? you wondered. one day after a study session with the said boy, you were cleaning up and noticed he forgot some textbooks. you decided to organize them and put them away for now. as you picked them up a notebook fell, and you swore you stopped breathing as you read from the now open pages. “she’s so beautiful, words can’t even begin to describe it. she’s my whole world and more. I truly believe, I’m in love.” at that moment you felt your stomach twist in a thousand knots. seungmin liked someone, but you weren’t happy about it. and somehow you found yourself putting away the journal on your shelf with the rest of the forgot books you never bother reading, twice.

Jeongin— you were one year his senior and just happened to tutor him, back in his first year of high school. like many he was a poor adolescent with bad acne and braces. he could never imagine himself talking, let alone being tutored by you. but here you were, the most intelligent, and beautiful girl he had ever set eyes on, lecturing him on the importance of quadratic equations. and he really thanked the higher beings he was failing algebra.

© Somemydayy 2022 | Please do not copy or alter this writing on Tumblr or any other platform.

[julemmaes]

The One Good Thing

Rowaelin Month, Day Two

A/N: again, I'm gonna fail all my exams because of this stupid app, I'm sure. Also, I miss the off campus boys so much I kinda made Fenrys one of them and I love the idea of the tog men as hockey players so yeah, enjoy;)

Word count: 2,581

Aelin would have killed for a second of silence.

She daydreamed of that almost noisy quiet that makes you feel every deepest thought hidden in your brain that exists only at 3 a.m., when every soul is resting and cars can't drive around the campus. And there are no children screaming at the top of their lungs or parties going on all night long.

That was what she had been promised, the flyers she'd been handed during the open days, when she had come to visit the college.

That was how it was supposed to be.

Aelin had tried so many times to ask her upstairs flatmate to hold his Twitch live streams strictly in the afternoons or mornings when she wouldn't be home, but when Fenrys Moonbeam had first opened the door to his place, the girl had known immediately that she wouldn't be able to change his mind even by paying him.

Especially since his live streams were followed by such a large audience that Aelin couldn't even begin to understand how he had managed to build an empire so big in just under a month. Surely it had something to do with the long blond hair, different from her own but just as beautiful, and the arms covered in tattoos so colourful they blind you. They had their own charm. Add to the pile the fact that he was the goalie on the hockey team, and he was the perfect mix for the guy to marry.

From what their common friends had told her, he was already earning enough to afford an off-campus home, but that he liked the comfort the college dorm gave.

A comfort that Aelin, after three years in those filthy rooms and shared bathrooms, had yet to find.

When yet another howl of celebration at yet another victory that everyone expected pierced through his floor and her ceiling, nearly drilling her eardrums, Aelin gritted her teeth so hard that for a moment she feared they might shatter.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and trying to whisper, "Shut," failed miserably to keep her tone under control and shrieked the second word, "up!"

A booming laugh rang out upstairs and a millisecond later a message lit up her phone screen.

From Lys: Girl, maybe you should take a chill pill, I heard you on the live stream. Are you still studying?

She tossed the phone to the side, pulling her hair up and pinning it back with a pencil.

"Fuck off." she muttered under her breath.

Lysandra was one of the few in their group of friends who never missed a Fenrys broadcast. Whether it was at eleven at night or five in the morning, she was always one of the first to join in.

Aelin often wondered if she was just doing it because Fenrys was helping her sponsor her YouTube channel, but then she remembered that Lysandra would do the same for all her friends.

She got out of bed, taking all her books and notes in her arms, pen in her mouth and holding her phone between her pinky and ring fingers. She threw open the door to her room and found herself facing a wall of muscle, slamming into her roommate's chest.

Rowan's hands snapped forward and kept her from falling backwards and when Aelin looked up at his face, she almost lost her balance again.

His face was sleepy, only one eye open as he suppressed a yawn. The imprint of the pillowcase on his cheek just another sign that he had already been sleeping.

"Are you okay?" he asked her in a hoarse voice, stepping back and letting her through, "I heard you screaming. I was coming to check on you."

Aelin grimaced, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

He shook his head, moving a hand in mid-air, "Don't worry about it." then his gaze snapped to the ceiling as another laugh from Fenrys cut through the thin material dividing their quarters. He frowned, lowering his gaze back to her, and it was at that moment that he noticed the books in her arms.

If possible, his frown deepened even more.

He closed his eyes, gently grabbing her wrist and leaning against the wall behind him, pulling her towards him.

Aelin let herself be tugged, arranging the books so that they didn't poke at either her or him in that uncomfortable hug, but she positioned her head against his chest, letting his fingers expertly massage the nape of her neck.

"Baby." he sighed into her hair. Her toes curled.

It had only been a few weeks since they had decided to start dating, a few weeks since Rowan had confessed to having feelings for her. They had exchanged a few kisses in secret from their friends, wanting to enjoy that first phase of their very fresh relationship in privacy. They hadn't done anything too steamy yet, and Aelin had more than agreed with his decision to take it slow, but one thing Rowan hadn't held back in the slightest from the first second she'd agreed to go out with him had been the pet names he'd given her whenever they were in the safety of their dorms.

Baby was definitely her favourite.

His hands slid lower, down her back, and she looked up, resting her chin on his chest and fixing her eyes in his. His gaze softened, still clouded with sleep. "You shouldn't be studying at this hour."

Aelin grunted, smacking her forehead against his chest, "But I have a test tomorrow."

Rowan sighed again, pushing her away and taking the books from her arms. "Precisely why you should be sleeping." He walked towards the common room, speaking softly and hoping Lorcan wouldn't hear them. They both knew their roommate suspected something, but he didn't have enough worries in the world for him to actually give a shit about their possible relationship, and they also knew he would never say anything to anyone. Maybe to Elide, but neither of them would bet on it. "I left you alone tonight because you needed to rest, not stay up until morning melting your brain."

She followed him like a lost dog, dragging her feet on the ground, finally feeling that visceral fatigue get the better of her.

"I can't leave the study half done."

Rowan dropped the books on the table, turning around just in time to block her before she bumped into him again and slipped the pencil out of her mass of hair, letting it fall around her shoulders.

"You're not leaving the study half done," he told her as he rubbed her arms to keep her warm, "you've spent the last five weeks studying this stuff and I'm sure you know it like the abc. You need a break." he told her.

Aelin looked up at him from under her lashes, a little annoyed that that was true, but completely distracted by the lines his fingers were drawing on her arms. She took a deep breath through her nose, puffing out her chest and thrusting out her breasts, catching the attentive gaze of her almost-boyfriend for a nanosecond.

He smiled wearily at her, "Are you sleeping in my bed tonight?"

Aelin just nodded and took both of his hands, pulling him down onto her. Rowan squinted his eyes and placed his lips on hers in a quick, chaste kiss. She hummed in satisfaction as his hands slid under her bottom and wrapped around her thighs, pulling her up. She tied her legs around his hips and rested her head on his shoulder as Rowan made his way into their tiny flat.

He lowered her onto the bed, pulling the blankets out from under her body and laying down beside her before covering them both. Aelin moved as close to him as she could, pressing her back against his chest and her butt against his crotch, tangling their legs together.

Rowan's arm wrapped around her waist as the other slipped under her head and his hand found hers under the pillow.

The second they were settled, every bit of their bodies touching, Rowan left a soft kiss on her shoulder, pulling her even tighter against him.

She smiled weakly, in a drawling tone, "Thank you."

He hummed against her skin, "That's what I'm here for."

"Don't let me die around finals time?" she asked in a teasing tone.

Rowan chuckled softly, making her back shake, "Exactly."

Aelin tried to turn towards him, wanting to trace the pale freckles that were starting to sprout on his nose now that the days were getting longer and the sun kissed his cheek every afternoon, but his arms blocked her.

"No, it's not fair for you to be the big spoon every night. I'm fucking sick of it, I want to hold you today." he muttered, the chains of sleep already dragging him towards that blissful unconsciousness.

She huffed, stopping struggling against his grip, relaxing and feeling her muscles scream with pleasure after being tense for hours on end while she studied.

She hadn't realised she'd stayed up so long, but she was terrified of failing this last exam. If she failed it she would have to wait months before she could retake it and the idea of it was getting her down more than perhaps it should have.

She started thinking about the various questions the professors might ask her the next day, repeating the answers in her mind, closing her eyes as she thought.

"Baby," Rowan grumbled, "you're talking out loud."

She hadn't realised she was biting the cuticles around her nails until his hand came to rest on her arm, pulling her hand away from her mouth. He took a deep breath, helping her turn to face him.

When she looked up at him from under her lashes, she saw the way he was fighting sleep. And she felt terribly guilty. If she was having trouble sleeping the day before an exam, that didn't mean he had to stay awake for her too.

She was about to speak, tell him to close his eyes again and let her go into the living room so she could finish going over the last few pages and then return to his room, but he put his hand on her cheek and in a soft voice asked, "What's bothering you?"

She bit the inside of her cheek, shaking her head, "Nothing."

He tried to hold back a yawn again, but couldn't this time and Aelin's guilt grew immensely inside her. "If you tell me right now what's wrong, I could help you fix it sooner. And we could get at least three hours of sleep before we have to go to class." he pointed out in an exhausted tone.

She blinked once, twice, searching for the right words.

"It's Fen. If he'd stop playing so late every night-"

Rowan quickly cut her off, closing his eyes, almost as if he could no longer physically stay awake. "Ace, Fenrys never really bothered you. You've always managed to study and ignore it. What is it that's bothering you?"

Aelin let go of a shaky breath, "It's nothing, really. We'll talk about it tomorrow."

He only opened one eye, watching her carefully as she hid her face against his chest and wrapped her thin arms around his torso.

His hand began to slowly massage her back, "If we don't talk about this now I'll be up all night worrying."

She huffed, knowing full well how true those words were. For the love of the other, she began to ramble on about the real reason she hadn't been able to focus on the textbooks.

"I don't want to tell anyone we're together yet," she confessed under her breath.

Rowan opened both eyes then, fixing them on her and giving a small nod with his chin to keep her going.

"It's not that I don't want to tell the others," she said, referring to their closest friends, "but the second they find out, the news will become public knowledge and there are some people I really don't want to let that information get to."

He nodded, understanding perfectly who she was talking about.

"We don't have to tell anyone," he kissed her forehead, continuing to talk in that position, his lips brushing against her skin with every word he spoke, "it'll be our little secret for some time more, until we figure out how to get all the puck bunnies off our backs."

Aelin smiled, lifting her chin and kissing him.

Being the captain of the hockey team, Rowan didn't exactly go unnoticed on campus. Not many people approached him during the day, especially when Lorcan was at his side, knowing full well that they would receive nothing but a rude invitation to leave, but their friend couldn't spend his life attached to Rowan's hip, and the few times the two of them had gone out alone it had happened that a horde of fans had overwhelmed them. After those afternoons, Aelin had found herself the victim of not so nice threats from unknown numbers, as had happened to Lysandra when she had first started dating Aedion.

With Manon's help they had managed to track down the senders and Rowan had been unpleasantly surprised to discover that it was one of the girls he always partied with after the games. A girl he'd always considered a friend.

Rowan had taken all the blame, feeling responsible for those attacks on Aelin and it had taken months to convince him that he had no part in the insanity of others.

They'd started limiting the dates they went on as a pair, even when they were just friends, to prevent similar things from happening again, but Aelin felt trapped.

And she knew it was the same for Rowan.

She wished she could get a place off campus, where she could retreat with him, away from the prying eyes of the world, but it didn't seem right to bring up the topic of 'let's move in together' after not even three months of dating.

Rowan rested a hand on her cheek, moving a strand of hair behind her ear, "It'll be fine. And if anyone finds out and the threats come back, we'll do something about it."

She nodded, not entirely convinced and not at all reassured.

He knew instantly, "Aelin, whatever happens, I don't care what others think. I've waited years to finally have you. I've been on the sidelines all this time, watching you go on date after date with everyone and never with me-"

"You never asked," she mumbled in annoyance.

Rowan continued as if she hadn't spoken, "I would have preferred not to be the talk of the town all the time, but I'm not going to let public opinion take away the one good thing in my life."

She opened her mouth wide, "What about hockey?"

He shrugged, looking at her, "Hockey is just a sport."

"If Lorcan could hear you right now..." she shook her head.

"But Lorcan's not here. And you won't tell him," he made her silently promise.

They exchanged another brief kiss, before they carried on talking about all the worries she had and every word that came out of his lips acted as a sedative for her fears, killing one at a time, until she fell asleep in his arms, lulled by his soft breathing on her neck.

tog tag list (if you wanna be added or removed just dm me or send me an ask)

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[collegecoward]

I'm failing my first class ever, and it's scary.. how could I go about asking about grade forgiveness? How does it even work?

I'm sorry you're going through this! Failure sucks and it's scary, but I am glad to hear you're in problem-solving mode.

What is grade forgiveness?

To be forgiven for a failing grade, you’ll need to take the class again, and you’ll need permission to take that class again.

If you pass that class the second time you take it, grade forgiveness means that your original failing grade won't count toward your GPA. Your new passing grade will count instead. Both attempts may still appear on your transcript, though, and you should look at your college's academic handbook for any other rules about how grades are forgiven.

Getting ahead of a bad grade

So, you've probably just finished midterms and maybe that gave you the clue you might fail. I'm guessing you are past the withdrawal period, but check your college's academic calendar first! (Withdrawal shows up as a W instead of an F on your transcript, and you should be able to retake. Talk to your advisor before you withdraw, and remember that technically withdrawing from a course changes the number of credit hours you're taking, which could potentially matter for you.)

Anyway, you have some time before the semester/quarter ends. Before you actually fail, go to your professor’s office hours to talk to them about what's going on and what you can do about it. Is there any way you can make up some points? How well do you have to do on assignments in the next six weeks in order to pass? (Is it mathematically possible for you to pass without making up points?) Is there anything you can do to perform better on your next assignments or exams? Or at least get some instruction you can take through the end of the course (and into a new semester if you have to take the class again)?

If you're struggling with your health (mental or physical) you can bring it up if you are comfortable doing so. You do not need to go into any details. Your professor may or may not be helpful, but you can't know until you try.

Also see this post on bouncing back from academic probation.

The forgiveness process

Make an appointment with your academic advisor ASAP. With them you want to talk about how you're doing in your classes, study habits, how a repeat class will fit into your schedule and degree plan, and the process of having your grade forgiven.

Whose permission do you need in order to retake the class?

Can you take it again right away? Can you do it over summer? What makes the most sense for you?

How do you get the grade forgiven? Do you need to fill out a form? When is that due?

What will your gpa look like in the meantime once you fail? Will there be any consequences for your gpa being lower? If you have merit scholarships, I would make sure your grade won't impact your financial aid.

To-do list:

Try to get ahead of your failing grade by talking to your professor and making the next 6 weeks count.

Look into your college's academic handbook for the rules on grade forgiveness so you know what questions to ask your advisor.

Talk to your academic advisor about the process of grade forgiveness and any adjustments you need to make to your plans.

Check on your financial aid to make sure you're meeting any academic requirements.

Address the reasons why you failed. Is it study skills? Readiness for this class? Health reasons? Reach out for help when you need it.

Forgive yourself before your college forgives you. Failure sucks, but it happens, and you will get through it!

[soliverse]

cinderella and the mystery of the red lipstick (sfw version) - d.sc

reader x roommate!winwin

genre: fluff, humor, (optional smut below)

warnings: a bunch of swearing, mean insults and a bit of gaslighting

word count: 2972

synopsis: this is another Cinderella fic, except for the fact that she left lipstick stains instead of glass slippers

tags:

@byutafy for the short notice beta reading. love you!

networks:

@nctcreations @kdiarynet @kpopscape @kwritersworld @culture-cafe @neowritingsnet @neoswitchnet @czennienet @nct-writers

prompt:

The song it was based on was Lips by NCT 127 (although it leaned towards the demo version more)

It was also a bit upbeat because the song Cinderella by CNBLUE (the Youth With You version) has been stuck on my head for ages now.

Enjoy reading!

Love, Ellie.

It was already two in the afternoon but Winwin still stayed lying in bed, clutching his blanket close to his body in an attempt to prevent the chill of the afternoon breeze from coming in contact with his bare skin.

The plan was to stay in bed until all remnants of the vodka and last night's shenanigans have washed away. Or until he dies from starvation. But his roommates have other things in mind.

"WINWIN HYUNG!"

He was jolted awake by the loud noise coming from his bedroom window. Half-awake, he peeked through the sheets to see what the commotion was about.

The first thing he saw was Lucas holding his now broken doorknob in one hand, happily waving it around like a lightstick. Hendery was happily mumbling some bullshit that he didn't care enough to comprehend. Xiaojun was holding a tube-like contraption that he assumed was confetti, Ten and Yangyang were on the side, dancing like the game show girls while holding up each side of a handmade banner stating "Congrats on getting laid!" badly written with a green crayon. Meanwhile, Kun at the end of the line, leaning back at the door frame with his arms crossed while watching all of the chaos unfold right before him.

"Fuck off..."

Winwin grunted and grabbed the pillow under his head, throwing it with full force so that it ended up hitting Xiaojun on his chest.

They seem to have taken the hint because they all scrambled outside, laughing their asses off as they try to get away and avoid getting their asses kicked by a martial artist.

Meanwhile, Winwin buried his face under the thick sheets, trying his best to block the light coming from outside from reaching his eyes, heightening his already throbbing headache. He was planning to stay in bed no matter how loud his stomach grumbled, but his resolve is weaker than he expected. Begrudgingly, he dragged his tired ass out of bed to take a cold shower, hoping that will shake his hangover out.

///

“Holy shit.”

This wasn’t the usual statement that he says to himself whenever he would look at himself in the morning. However, as soon as he lifted his head in the mirror to wash his face, he might as well be an extra for a horror movie.

All over his upper body, especially the neck and chest area, was filled with red smudges. He also found tiny hints of it at the corners of his lips. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was lipstick.

Whoever he made out with (or had sex with) last night must’ve gone wild and tried to mark every part of him that she could place her lips on.

Winwin felt his heart sink. He couldn’t, for the life of him, remember who he was last night. Just like his body, the memories of her red lips lingered on his mind. But that’s about it.

It took him a long time to squint his eyes and try to recall the moments leading up to him getting on the bed with someone, but it only made his headache worse. Defeated, he chose to let everything go and proceeded to hop in the shower just like he initially intended.

He opened the shower, letting it get to his desired temperature before he stepped in and let the water flow from his hair to the rest of his body. He didn’t move, instead of leaning one of his hands on the wall for support as he closed his eyes and tried to soothe himself with the water pressure from the showerhead. He took a deep breath, letting the air come out slowly of his lips, eyes still heavily shut.

That’s when the memories kicked in.

He finally remembered being in that same position, in a familiar corner of their dorm, as he leaned over to kiss the girl with the red lips. He also remembered the heat, the intensity of the kiss as his subconscious made him remember that he was gasping for air afterward. And so, he resorted to kissing her jaws instead. She willingly returned the favor, which is probably where he’d gotten the smudges that he found that morning, and how her red lips formed a proud smile as she kept on going, painting his fair skin with her rouge.

He sucked in another lungful of air before opening his eyes and hopping back into reality. He’s still clueless as to how the girl looked like, but he was determined to find out who’s the owner of those red luscious lips, and he would love it all over him again.

///

Sicheng came out of his room already dressed up, water still dripping from his hair to the towel that he placed on his neck. He made his way to the kitchen and he found the rest of his friends sitting around the table, smiling like idiots.

“What?”

He asked, already annoyed about how they’ve been acting all day, or at least, for the past two hours.

“Yangyang saw you enter your room last night. With a girl,” says Kun.

“Uhh, duh?” Ten replied, raising an eyebrow at the older as he grabbed the butter knife and spread peanut butter over a piece of bread.

“How sure is everyone that it was a girl?” Hendery squinted his eyes, trying to look intimidating as he interrogated his friend for further details about last night.

“Why is everyone so concerned if I fucked a girl or not? Or if I fucked at all?” Winwin replied in annoyance, coming out almost whiney, hoping that they would cut the questions out and leave him and his breakfast alone.

“You don’t know either, do you?” Xiaojun tried not to laugh as he stuffed a sunny-side-up egg in his mouth, failing at the last minute to the point that he almost spat some of it out.

Winwin sighed. He knows they will plague him with questions until next week and will do anything to squeeze it out of him at the best of their abilities. Him getting laid feels like some event to be celebrated because out of all the guys, he was the least interested in women. Not that he doesn’t like them, it’s that he just refused to do it unless he’s genuinely interested in the girl.

Or guy.

Was it a guy?

Winwin resorted to stuffing his mouth with as much food as he can because it would give him an excuse to not speak further and answer their questions. For how long he can keep it up is a question that he’ll have to face once his plate full of food is decimated.

///

By the time you get into your brother’s dorm, the whole place was so trashed that you even hesitated to proceed inside. However, your mother asked you that morning to come over to your brother’s dorm as he refuses to reply to her texts and respond to her calls that morning.

���Ssup, nerd.”

You always cringe whenever Hendery calls you that nickname. Not that it affects you or anything. It was just so… old-school. You’re a big fan of insults and you would certainly be happier if the nickname was a bit more creative.

“Ssup, failure.” You replied, sitting right beside him as you grabbed a plate and helped yourself with the food served at the table, courtesy of Kun. He’s the only one that’s competent enough to fry eggs that beautifully.

“Mom’s been calling non-stop since last night. I didn’t tell her I wasn’t with you. I couldn’t come up with an excuse so I just told her you slept early because of morning classes.”

Hendery snickered.

You and he have very different lifestyles. He was supposed to be two years ahead of you in college, but he’s always caught up in partying and having fun that he missed some subjects that he had to retake that year. One more fuck up and you’ll be joining him in classes next year. And as your parents’ only hope, you feel compelled to stay away from all the fun stuff until you graduate. That is also the reason why Hendery felt it was his moral obligation to shoo you away from last night’s party, despite sharing the same room as him.

At least that's what he told you. You have a reason to believe that he shooed you away last night just so he can do whatever he wanted without you around to snitch on him.

“Everything’s fine, kid. I already told her the same thing last night. You and I share the same brain.”

“Yes, except one of us has his brain fried by substance abuse and the other has a perfectly functioning human brain capable of making future science discoveries.”

Your eyes then diverted to the guy sitting right across you. He looked sickly and pale, his organs probably screaming inside asking to die.

“What’s up with him?” You asked your brother.

“He had done the deed with a guy last night.” Winwin, with an expressionless face, was quick to throw a flying spoon in Hendery’s direction. The milk splattered everywhere, but Hendery was able to evade it, laughing maniacally as he wiped the milk off of his arms.

“Hey, you’re good with this investigation stuff, right? Maybe you can help prince charming over here find his Cinderella?”

///

"Tell me what you can remember."

Winwin thought you looked ridiculous when you grabbed a pen and a notepad, looking like some low-budget investigator in the movie. He wasn't in the mood to play along, but he might as well humor you and find out what happened last night.

"This may not help at all, but I can't remember jack shit except for one thing," He paused. You raised both eyebrows expectantly, signaling him to answer faster. "Red lips. That's the one thing I haven't forgotten about."

You scribbled the word, red lips in your notepad.

You scribbled a few more words and nodded as if you understood its implication.

"Well, that doesn't narrow down the suspects at all."

You placed your notepad in your pocket and stood up from your seat.

"We shall now go and investigate the crime scene."

///

You decided that the crime scene was Winwin's bedroom since this is where he found himself last.

Winwin saw that you're very detail-oriented, looking at every nook at cranny to see traces of the mystery person around and aid in the investigation.

His room was cleaner than you'd expected, so finding things that stick out or are out of place will be a clear sign of the perpetrator.

You searched high and low, from the shelves to the bed, but you're only able to find two things that might help his case.

As soon as you lifted one of his pillowcases, you saw traces of red smeared across its white surface. Some of it even transferred in the bedsheets.

"Your story checks out. It is red lipstick." You lifted the pillow and walked towards Winwin, who's just sitting at one of his bean bags and mostly just observing you doing your stuff.

You pointed out the smudges to him and he nodded. You then proceeded to grab one of your magnifiers from your backpack and looked at the stains for closer inspection.

"Seeing its transferability, I can say that the lipstick in question has a satin finish. The shade, as far as I can see, is somewhere in between orange and bright red." You grabbed your notepad once again and listed down your observations.

"Know anyone who wears that often?" He proceeded to shake his head.

"Alright then. Now, we ask the witnesses."

You were about to leave the room when Winwin called you out to call your attention.

"Hmm?"

"I think there's something under the bed."

He stood up from his seat and proceeded to walk towards his bed, kneeling as he tried to reach for something below.

You were surprised to see what he found, though. In between his fingers is a piece of thin, lace material, glowing red just like the lipstick shade. It was someone's underwear.

"Yeah… I think we should keep that from the witnesses."

///

"Where were you at the time of the incident?"

As it turns out, the rest of the boys are no more helpful than Winwin. You just finished interviewing Kun, Ten, Yangyang, Xiaojun, and Lucas. The boys themselves barely remember what they did last night, let alone whatever their friend was doing. Meanwhile, the victim (aka Dong Sicheng) sat there right alongside you while you asked the questions. You asked them if they were helpful at all, but alas, nothing resonates to him.

"Hey, aren't you going to ask me about last night?"

Hendery popped out in the makeshift interrogation room (aka the living room) and sat down right beside you, peeking in at your notes.

"Nope. I only interview reliable sources. You can barely remember your stuff sober." You stuffed your notepad back again at your backpack, hugging it close to your body to keep it from your brother.

"I saw Winwin with someone though. He was making out with someone right just a few meters away from his bedroom."

"Go on…"

"I didn't see her well though. She was pinned across the wall and Sicheng hyung's body was blocking the view."

You sighed.

"See. It was pretty useless information."

He was about to say something else, but you cut him off.

"I'll keep them in mind, thank you very much."

///

You’ve finally sat down back again in the kitchen to give yourself a moment of peace to piece the things you found together. Winwin is just right beside you, just quietly observing just as usual.

Everything is laid out across the kitchen table, your notepad, the pillowcase, the underwear (which is kept in a ziplock bag for hygienic purposes).

“You still don’t remember anything?”

“I do remember seeing those before, but nothing is still coming out. I still can’t remember who she is.”

You can tell that Sicheng was getting a bit frustrated. He was trying his best to remember as he once again shut his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows, seeing if there is anything that he is missing.

As he did this, Hendery popped in again in the kitchen, this time holding a full laundry basket.

“I would just like to let you know that I am being a good brother and roommate by doing your laundry.”

“Yes, yes. Thank you Hendery. You did well." You smiled at your brother to acknowledge him, but you mostly did it just to shoo him away from the investigation room. He seems to have gotten the idea and left as soon as he showed the basket to you for one last time.

He shut the door and you were met with a deafening silence once again. This time though, you felt weird energy coming from the guy right in front of you. He stared at you for a long time, specifically your lips, and then he started to break down right in front of you.

"Shit."

"Hmm?"

You asked him what the problem was, but all that came out of his mouth are grunts and a string of curses.

"You alright?"

He was now going between laughing and frustration, rubbing his hands on his face as he lets out all emotions.

"It was you all along. You're red lips girl."

You smiled as you looked at your phone to check the time.

"Five hours. I'm impressed. If that was my brother, it would've taken him a week or two."

"Why didn't you just tell me? I feel stupid."

"And take the fun out of it? Nope."

You then watch him react, different kinds of emotions flooding in at the same time. You laughed as you stood from your seat and patted his back.

"What gave it away?"

He stopped reacting for a while, composing himself as he relayed his deductions to you.

"I had my suspicions when you opened your bag to get the magnifying glass. I saw a red lipstick tube scattered across but I dismissed it since any girl would have lipstick on her bag. I was also confused when you refused to acknowledge the underwear. I saw it from my point of view, but it's like you purposely didn't look under the bed just so you won't find it. You know it was there, didn't you?"

You finally grabbed a seat right beside him, interested to hear what he has to say next.

"And then there's Hendery's story. You didn't ask him to mess with him. It's because he did see us. I remember now, it's what got us in this mess in the first place…"

You nodded to acknowledge him. You've always known that he's a bit smarter than the other guys, but he was very observant as well. That's why he was quiet all the time.

"Lastly, when Hendery came in with your laundry, there was something sticking out," He picked up the ziplock and held it across your face. "The bra that came with this, it was sandwiched along with your other clothing, but the bright color stuck out to me."

"Mhm… " You nodded in approval. You didn't even notice that last one, but he was able to pick that as well.

"And then I stared at your lips for a while. That's when it hit me. It was the same lips that I claimed last night. The red lips that drove me crazy…"

You gave him a small round of applause as he finished his spiel.

"Honestly, you were on point on everything. I'm just sad that you can't remember anything."

His moment of clarity was shut down and he smiled apologetically.

"Want me to tell you what happened?"

He nodded profusely.

It was already two in the afternoon but Winwin still stayed lying in bed, clutching his blanket close to his body in an attempt to prevent the chill of the afternoon breeze from coming in contact with his bare skin.

The plan was to stay in bed until all remnants of the vodka and last night's shenanigans have washed away. Or until he dies from starvation. But his roommates have other things in mind.

"WINWIN HYUNG!"

He was jolted awake by the loud noise coming from his bedroom window. Half-awake, he peeked through the sheets to see what the commotion was about.

The first thing he saw was Lucas holding his now broken doorknob in one hand, happily waving it around like a lightstick. Hendery was happily mumbling some bullshit that he didn't care enough to comprehend. Xiaojun was holding a tube-like contraption that he assumed was confetti, Ten and Yangyang were on the side, dancing like the game show girls while holding up each side of a handmade banner stating "Congrats on getting laid!" badly written with a green crayon. Meanwhile, Kun at the end of the line, leaning back at the door frame with his arms crossed while watching all of the chaos unfold right before him.

"Fuck off..."

Winwin grunted and grabbed the pillow under his head, throwing it with full force so that it ended up hitting Xiaojun on his chest.

They seem to have taken the hint because they all scrambled outside, laughing their asses off as they try to get away and avoid getting their asses kicked by a martial artist.

Meanwhile, Winwin buried his face under the thick sheets, trying his best to block the light coming from outside from reaching his eyes, heightening his already throbbing headache. He was planning to stay in bed no matter how loud his stomach grumbled, but his resolve is weaker than he expected. Begrudgingly, he dragged his tired ass out of bed to take a cold shower, hoping that will shake his hangover out.

///

“Holy shit.”

This wasn’t the usual statement that he says to himself whenever he would look at himself in the morning. However, as soon as he lifted his head in the mirror to wash his face, he might as well be an extra for a horror movie.

All over his upper body, especially the neck and chest area, was filled with red smudges. He also found tiny hints of it at the corners of his lips. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was lipstick.

Whoever he made out with (or had sex with) last night must’ve gone wild and tried to mark every part of him that she could place her lips on.

Winwin felt his heart sink. He couldn’t, for the life of him, remember who he was last night. Just like his body, the memories of her red lips lingered on his mind. But that’s about it.

It took him a long time to squint his eyes and try to recall the moments leading up to him getting on the bed with someone, but it only made his headache worse. Defeated, he chose to let everything go and proceeded to hop in the shower just like he initially intended.

He opened the shower, letting it get to his desired temperature before he stepped in and let the water flow from his hair to the rest of his body. He didn’t move, instead of leaning one of his hands on the wall for support as he closed his eyes and tried to soothe himself with the water pressure from the showerhead. He took a deep breath, letting the air come out slowly of his lips, eyes still heavily shut.

That’s when the memories kicked in.

He finally remembered being in that same position, in a familiar corner of their dorm, as he leaned over to kiss the girl with the red lips. He also remembered the heat, the intensity of the kiss as his subconscious made him remember that he was gasping for air afterward. And so, he resorted to kissing her jaws instead. She willingly returned the favor, which is probably where he’d gotten the smudges that he found that morning, and how her red lips formed a proud smile as she kept on going, painting his fair skin with her rouge.

He sucked in another lungful of air before opening his eyes and hopping back into reality. He’s still clueless as to how the girl looked like, but he was determined to find out who’s the owner of those red luscious lips, and he would love it all over him again.

///

Sicheng came out of his room already dressed up, water still dripping from his hair to the towel that he placed on his neck. He made his way to the kitchen and he found the rest of his friends sitting around the table, smiling like idiots.

“What?”

He asked, already annoyed about how they’ve been acting all day, or at least, for the past two hours.

“Hendery saw you enter your room last night. With a girl,” says Kun.

“Uhh, duh?” Ten replied, raising an eyebrow at the older as he grabbed the butter knife and spread peanut butter over a piece of bread.

“How sure is everyone that it was a girl?” Yangyang squinted his eyes, trying to look intimidating as he interrogated his friend for further details about last night.

“Why is everyone so concerned if I fucked a girl or not? Or if I fucked someone at all?” Winwin replied in annoyance, coming out almost whiney, hoping that they would cut the questions out and leave him and his breakfast alone.

“You don’t know either, do you?” Xiaojun tried not to laugh as he stuffed a sunny-side-up egg in his mouth, failing at the last minute to the point that he almost spat some of it out.

Winwin sighed. He knows they will plague him with questions until next week and will do anything to squeeze it out of him at the best of their abilities. Him getting laid feels like some event to be celebrated because out of all the guys, he was the least interested in women. Not that he doesn’t like them, it’s that he just refused to do it unless he’s genuinely interested in the girl.

Or guy.

Was it a guy?

Winwin resorted to stuffing his mouth with as much food as he can because it would give him an excuse to not speak further and answer their questions. For how long he can keep it up is a question that he’ll have to face once his plate full of food is decimated.

///

By the time you get into your brother’s dorm, the whole place was so trashed that you even hesitated to proceed inside. However, your mother asked you that morning to come over to your brother’s dorm as he refuses to reply to her texts and respond to her calls that morning.

“Ssup, nerd.”

You always cringe whenever Hendery calls you that nickname. Not that it affects you or anything. It was just so… old-school. You’re a big fan of insults and you would certainly be happier if the nickname was a bit more creative.

“Ssup, failure.” You replied, sitting right beside him as you grabbed a plate and helped yourself with the food served at the table, courtesy of Kun. He’s the only one that’s competent enough to fry eggs that beautifully.

“Mom’s been calling non-stop since last night. I didn’t tell her I wasn’t with you. I couldn’t come up with an excuse so I just told her you slept early because of morning classes.”

Hendery snickered.

You and he have very different lifestyles. He was supposed to be two years ahead of you in college, but he’s always caught up in partying and having fun that he missed some subjects that he had to retake that year. One more fuck up and you’ll be joining him in classes next year. And as your parents’ only hope, you feel compelled to stay away from all the fun stuff until you graduate. That is also the reason why Hendery felt it was his moral obligation to shoo you away from last night’s party, despite sharing the same room as him.

At least that's what he told you. You have a reason to believe that he shooed you away last night just so he can do whatever he wanted without you around to snitch on him.

“Everything’s fine, kid. I already told her the same thing last night. You and I share the same brain.”

“Yes, except one of us has his brain fried by substance abuse and the other has a perfectly functioning human brain capable of making future science discoveries.”

Your eyes then diverted to the guy sitting right across you. He looked sickly and pale, his organs probably screaming inside asking to die.

“What’s up with him?” You asked your brother.

“He had done the deed with a guy last night.” Winwin, with an expressionless face, was quick to throw a flying spoon in Hendery’s direction. The milk splattered everywhere, but Hendery was able to evade it, laughing maniacally as he wiped the milk off of his arms.

“Hey, you’re good with this investigation stuff, right? Maybe you can help prince charming over here find his Cinderella?”

///

"Tell me what you can remember."

Winwin thought you looked ridiculous when you grabbed a pen and a notepad, looking like some low-budget investigator in the movie. He wasn't in the mood to play along, but he might as well humor you and find out what happened last night.

"This may not help at all, but I can't remember jack shit except for one thing," He paused. You raised both eyebrows expectantly, signaling him to answer faster. "Red lips. That's the one thing I haven't forgotten about."

You scribbled the word, red lips in your notepad.

You scribbled a few more words and nodded as if you understood its implication.

"Well, that doesn't narrow down the suspects at all."

You placed your notepad in your pocket and stood up from your seat.

"We shall now go and investigate the crime scene."

///

You decided that the crime scene was Winwin's bedroom since this is where he found himself last.

Winwin saw that you're very detail-oriented, looking at every nook at cranny to see traces of the mystery person around and aid in the investigation.

His room was cleaner than you'd expected, so finding things that stick out or are out of place will be a clear sign of the perpetrator.

You searched high and low, from the shelves to the bed, but you're only able to find two things that might help his case.

As soon as you lifted one of his pillowcases, you saw traces of red smeared across its white surface. Some of it even transferred in the bedsheets.

"Your story checks out. It is red lipstick." You lifted the pillow and walked towards Winwin, who's just sitting at one of his bean bags and mostly just observing you doing your stuff.

You pointed out the smudges to him and he nodded. You then proceeded to grab one of your magnifiers from your backpack and looked at the stains for closer inspection.

"Seeing its transferability, I can say that the lipstick in question has a satin finish. The shade, as far as I can see, is somewhere in between orange and bright red." You grabbed your notepad once again and listed down your observations.

"Know anyone who wears that often?" He proceeded to shake his head.

"Alright then. Now, we ask the witnesses."

You were about to leave the room when Winwin called you out to call your attention.

"Hmm?"

"I think there's something under the bed."

He stood up from his seat and proceeded to walk towards his bed, kneeling as he tried to reach for something below.

You were surprised to see what he found, though. In between his fingers is a piece of thin, lace material, glowing red just like the lipstick shade. It was someone's underwear.

"Yeah… I think we should keep that from the witnesses."

///

"Where were you at the time of the incident?"

As it turns out, the rest of the boys are no more helpful than Winwin. You just finished interviewing Kun, Ten, Yangyang, Xiaojun, and Lucas. The boys themselves barely remember what they did last night, let alone whatever their friend was doing. Meanwhile, the victim (aka Dong Sicheng) sat there right alongside you while you asked the questions. You asked them if they were helpful at all, but alas, nothing resonates to him.

"Hey, aren't you going to ask me about last night?"

Hendery popped out in the makeshift interrogation room (aka the living room) and sat down right beside you, peeking in at your notes.

"Nope. I only interview reliable sources. You can barely remember your stuff sober." You stuffed your notepad back again at your backpack, hugging it close to your body to keep it from your brother.

"I saw Winwin with someone though. He was making out with someone right just a few meters away from his bedroom."

"Go on…"

"I didn't see her well though. She was pinned across the wall and Sicheng hyung's body was blocking the view."

You sighed.

"See. It was pretty useless information."

He was about to say something else, but you cut him off.

"I'll keep them in mind, thank you very much."

///

You’ve finally sat down back again in the kitchen to give yourself a moment of peace to piece the things you found together. Winwin is just right beside you, just quietly observing just as usual.

Everything is laid out across the kitchen table, your notepad, the pillowcase, the underwear (which is kept in a ziplock bag for hygienic purposes).

“You still don’t remember anything?”

“I do remember seeing those before, but nothing is still coming out. I still can’t remember who she is.”

You can tell that Sicheng was getting a bit frustrated. He was trying his best to remember as he once again shut his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows, seeing if there is anything that he is missing.

As he did this, Hendery popped in again in the kitchen, this time holding a full laundry basket.

“I would just like to let you know that I am being a good brother and roommate by doing your laundry.”

“Yes, yes. Thank you Hendery. You did well." You smiled at your brother to acknowledge him, but you mostly did it just to shoo him away from the investigation room. He seems to have gotten the idea and left as soon as he showed the basket to you for one last time.

He shut the door and you were met with a deafening silence once again. This time though, you felt weird energy coming from the guy right in front of you. He stared at you for a long time, specifically your lips, and then he started to break down right in front of you.

"Shit."

"Hmm?"

You asked him what the problem was, but all that came out of his mouth are grunts and a string of curses.

"You alright?"

He was now going between laughing and frustration, rubbing his hands on his face as he lets out all emotions.

"It was you all along. You're red lips girl."

You smiled as you looked at your phone to check the time.

"Five hours. I'm impressed. If that was my brother, it would've taken him a week or two."

"Why didn't you just tell me? I feel stupid."

"And take the fun out of it? Nope."

You then watch him react, different kinds of emotions flooding in at the same time. You laughed as you stood from your seat and patted his back.

"What gave it away?"

He stopped reacting for a while, composing himself as he relayed his deductions to you.

"I had my suspicions when you opened your bag to get the magnifying glass. I saw a red lipstick tube scattered across but I dismissed it since any girl would have lipstick on her bag. I was also confused when you refused to acknowledge the underwear. I saw it from my point of view, but it's like you purposely didn't look under the bed just so you won't find it. You know it was there, didn't you?"

You finally grabbed a seat right beside him, interested to hear what he has to say next.

"And then there's Hendery's story. You didn't ask him to mess with him. It's because he did see us. I remember now, it's what got us in this mess in the first place…"

You nodded to acknowledge him. You've always known that he's a bit smarter than the other guys, but he was very observant as well. That's why he was quiet all the time.

"Lastly, when Hendery came in with your laundry, there was something sticking out," He picked up the ziplock and held it across your face. "The bra that came with this, it was sandwiched along with your other clothing, but the bright color stuck out to me."

"Mhm… " You nodded in approval. You didn't even notice that last one, but he was able to pick that as well.

"And then I stared at your lips for a while. That's when it hit me. It was the same lips that I claimed last night. The red lips that drove me crazy…"

You gave him a small round of applause as he finished his spiel.

"Honestly, you were on point on everything. I'm just sad that you can't remember anything."

His moment of clarity was shut down and he smiled apologetically.

"Want me to tell you what happened?"

He nodded profusely.

(link to the optional smut right here)

[ambertea]

fatherhood

Tentoo prepares himself for the birth of his child by trying to become the perfect dad.

It was strange, being a human.

It wasn't just that he had to watch his sugar intake now, or that his hair was receding at a worrying pace. It wasn't even the extraordinary amounts of drinking and eating he had to do, the peculiarity of human existence that forced him to constantly shovel things in his mouth.

(Read on AO3)

It was a culture shock, more than anything else. He had lived among humans for years, shared hundreds of years of his life living with their habits. But it was different, somehow. It was as though he was living abroad, rather than simply taking a holiday, and he often found himself struggling to untangle their bizarre social norms.

“Are you listening to me?”

He looked up, his eyes darting around the room. He had been engrossed in the newspaper, ticking off inaccuracies or improbabilities, and drawing tiny TARDISes in each white square of the crossword puzzle.

“Yes.”

Rose looked doubtful. “Really?”

“Oh, yeah. Of course.”

“So, what do you think?”

He hurriedly scanned the room, looking for something to have an opinion on. The walls were the same colour. The curtains, too. Even the windows looked just the same as yesterday.

“Good.” He nodded forcefully. “Good. Very good.”

“Great.” She grinned, and he relaxed.

She threw herself on the sofa next to him and stroked his shoulder.

“So, when should we start trying?”

He kissed her forehead, trying to gain some precious thinking seconds.

“Uh. Tomorrow?”

She held her head in his lap, gazing up at him with some strange human emotion.

“I can’t believe we’re going to be parents.”

Oh.

He wanted to have a child. He really did. He loved kids, enjoyed their brutal honesty and vivid imaginations. He had had children before, of course he had, and although he didn't spend an awful lot of time thinking about it, he still thought of himself as a Dad.

The responsibility of being the father of Rose’s child, though, was something else.

Everything about her was perfect. She had a beautiful face and an equally magnificent soul. Hell, she had literally been a Goddess at one point. What if his silly genes were more dominant than hers, and rather than the wonderful baby that she deserved, she ended up with a child just like him?

The only solution, really, was to just become the perfect dad. So far, Netflix had told him it included a lot of DIY, and sometimes crossing his arms.  He could do that. His last body had been a wonderful mechanic, and he was sure he’d folded his arms at some point in 900 years.

The drill looked a bit scary. He would have felt better using his sonic screwdriver, but it wouldn’t have looked nearly as cool. Rose was watching him, looking concerned.

“Do you have to hold it in your mouth?”

He tried to talk, and spat the drill out, exasperated.

“Yes! I need to be holding your hand too. The baby needs to feel how good of a dad I am.”

She squeezed his arm and leant into his body.

“I’m sure they’ll know either way.”

He doubted it. Probably, they would be watching perfect Simon next door, with his massive toolbox and fancy shed, wishing that their dad could be equally handy.

“What are you drilling, then?” She asked, and he looked around the garden in panic.

He hadn't thought about that bit yet. He'd been flabbergasted by the sheer amount of attachments, and then annoyed over the stupid power chord that needed at least 3 extension leads to go anywhere useful. He'd had a vague image of himself drilling a bit of wood, and Rose clapping at his brilliance. But there wasn't any wood out here, the garden empty but for a few gnomes.

One looked up at him judgmentally, and he made a mental note to kick it when Rose wasn’t around.

“Uh – I thought I would practise, for now.”

“What, like just…turn it on?”

“Yep,” he said frantically. “A test run. See how, um, spinny it is.”

Rose dropped his hand, and he turned to her, offended. She was clutching her stomach, her eyes lit with – was that fear? Happiness?

“Rose? Are you okay?”

She nodded slowly, a small, gentle smile growing. Retaking his hand, she pressed it against her stomach, and he felt his single heart jump when he felt it.

“They’re kicking,” he whispered, dropping to his knees and pressing his ear against her stomach. The baby kicked him straight in the head, and he stared in wonder.

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

Okay, so maybe the drilling thing had failed. It was no wonder, really, he was a highly intelligent part-time lord, who couldn’t be wasting his time standing around all day just pointing hand tools at walls. His baby was unlikely to be properly impressed with that, anyway, being of superior intellect themselves.

Perhaps he needed to talk to an expert. An actual parent, one that had managed to raise an impressive child.

He thought about Jackie for a second and instantly squashed the thought.

Pete wasn’t laughing at him, exactly, but he certainly had a strange little glint in his eye that the Doctor didn’t appreciate.

“You want me to teach you how to…parent?”

The Doctor groaned. This had been a stupid idea. He turned to go, but Pete quickly grabbed his shoulder.

“Sorry. I was a mess when Jacks was pregnant, so I guess this is no different.”

“It is different!” The Doctor said, offended. “It’s Rose.”

“So just be there for her. Help her with things. I’m sure the baby would…respect that.”

The Doctor stared, wide-eyed. Pete was right. The baby was going to love Rose, just like everyone else who met her, and if he could be seen helping her…

“Thanks, Pete, bye.” He yelled, legging it out of the room.

“What are you doing?”

He frowned, offended, and the wooden spoon rolled off his tongue and onto the floor. Rose eyed it, eyebrow raised.

“How are you doing today, my darling?”

“When did you start calling me that?”

“I can call you something else!” He offered desperately. “Sweetie? Sugar? Love? Babe?”

“Do not call me babe.”

“Honeybunny?”

She was looking at him as if she was slightly concerned for his health.

“I’m making dinner.” He said quickly, gesturing to the wok. She walked over, suddenly interested, and peered down with a look that he couldn't decipher.

“Malteasers?” She asked faintly. He nodded.

“And bananas. And tea, too, for the sauce. All your favourites!”

She kept her face down, shoulders shaking. Probably, he thought, stunned in the face of his great generosity.

“Thank you, Doctor.” She finally choked out between gasps, patting him fondly on the shoulder. He puffed out his chest and went to go sort out the crockery.

“I think we should start buying things.” Rose said one day. Her legs were draped over his lap, his hands massaging her feet.

He looked at her in shock. He hadn’t even thought about all the things the baby would need, being more focused on Rose and her ever-changing moods. They were going to need so much stuff, and it was all going to have to be perfect, as well, lest the baby grew unhappy with its drab surroundings.

He knocked her feet off his lap and set off into a run.

“Why,” Rose asked, her hands on her hips, her stomach peeking out under her bottom, “do we need five cribs?”

“The baby needs options!” He insisted, gesturing at the cradles circling the room. They were all in different shades of white, with tiny little mobiles hovering over them. He had made the mobiles himself, fashioning tiny little Earth, Gallifrey and TARDIS charms to hang over the crib.

He frowned, wondering if he’d done something wrong. Maybe he should have gotten some different colours—he knew humans' fixation on pinks and blues for their offspring. Perhaps he should have picked up a few more.

“You don't think the baby will like them?” He asked, feeling a bit crushed.

Rose smiled, and hugged him, her round bump pushing into his belly.

“They’ll love them.”

Rose was in labour, and he was having a heart attack.

He didn’t like only having one heart on a good day. As a Time Lord, he’d loved Rose, but he’d also loved space, and the TARDIS, and pretty much any fascinating person he met. Now having only one, it felt like his whole body was focused on just her – everything else seemed so less important, less crucial for his day-to-day survival.

What if one heart wasn't enough? What if he couldn’t love their baby properly? What if the child grew to be unloved and unloving, unable to feel the wonderfully wide spectrum of human emotion, all because he had one, stupid heart and it was already used up.

He couldn’t breathe.

“Doctor,” Rose moaned, and he hurried over to clutch at her hand.

Rose was holding her baby.

No—his baby. No, theirs.

She looked up at him, her face pink and drenched in sweat, a soft, beautiful smile stretched across her face.

“Do you want to hold her?” She whispered, rocking the pile of blankets gently, and he nodded, dumbstruck.

Carefully, the baby--his baby!-- was settled into his arms, and he gazed at her, tears trickling down his face.

“Hello,” he whispered.

She opened her eyes and blinked up at him. Her tiny, pudgy little arm stretched out to him, reaching out towards his face, and his singular heart stretched and grew.

"She's perfect." He told Rose, who nodded, looking at him with yet another expression he couldn't untangle.

He looked back down at his daughter and ran his finger over her cheek, marvelling over how soft, how precious she was.

"I'm going to look after you," he choked out. "I'm going to be the best dad on Earth. You'll see."

The baby looked up at him, eyes filled with trust, and he thought that maybe, if he tried really, really, hard, he might just be able to do it.

[fumiko-matsubara]

THE CLIMB - Storyline (Assassination Classroom x Tower of God AU)

Status: to be continuously edited and added until I'm out of ideas

Here it is, the finalized storyline. Just like the actual Tower of God series, this AU also has 3 parts. But I've only managed to roughly write out 3/4 of Act 1 (and I still have yet to add details). With Act 2, certain arcs have already been planned through but others have yet to be finalised (ToG Season 2 was mad as hell, I just CAN'T help but to pick out arcs I liked from the original and translate them to an AU with assclass characters). And finally, I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with Act 3 (but one thing's for sure was that Team DREAM as a whole gets their deserved spotlight - I grew a soft spot for them, you see hahaha).

Semi-annually, 1200 people are selected by Headon, the Caretaker of the Tower and the Guardian of the 1st Floor, to climb the Tower as Regulars.

Those Regulars will then be transported to 3 different testing grounds at the 2nd Floor.

So the 1st test at the 2nd Floor will begin with 400 Regulars present at each different testing ground.

The first 3 tests will all be elimination-types. The first elimination test will be: Narrow the number down from 400 to 200 by using any means.

Nagisa and Karma formed a truce then found Sugino while trying to stray away from the bloodied battlefield.

Chiba managed to prevent Nakamura and Maehara from killing each other when the test was about to be done.

The second elimination test will be: the remaining 200 Regulars must form a team of 3. Those who fail to be in a team will be eliminated.

Known teams in testing ground 1: 

Karma, Nagisa, and Sugino

Chiba, Nakamura, and Maehara

Terasaka, Kurahashi, and Mr. Talking Ostrich

Megu, Okajima, and Kazuma

Known teams in testing ground 2:

Isogai, Kanzaki, and Hayami

Yada, Hazama, and Okano

Yoshida, Muramatsu, and Hara

Known teams in testing ground 3:

Mimura, Kimura, and Takebayashi

Sugaya, Fuwa, and Sachiko

Shindou, Satomi, and Kokona

All the formed teams were transported to a new testing area – inside the gigantic mothership that was flying above the field they were all at before.

Chiba then gave a whole detailed rundown about the ruling class of the Tower to Nakamura, who lived somewhere in the Outer Tower (Residential Area) where many cultures normally have little to no awareness about the Royal Empire.

The Tower is currently ruled by King Daigou, who was the first to climb the Tower along with his 10 companions, who then became the Leaders/Heads of the Ten Great Families. They were Irregulars, meaning they were not chosen by Headon but instead had opened the gates to the Tower on their own. Irregulars are basically the Tower's rule-breakers, as they are unimaginably strong since they weren't restricted by the contract of a Guardian of each Floor, which is what Regulars form with them in order to be able to use the shinsu in the Floor they are in. Irregulars come in once every millennium. 

It had been several ten thousands of years since King Daigou and the Ten Family Leaders had ruled over the Tower.

The Ten Families are so powerful that they rule over multiple Floors and are either affiliated or founders of certain well-known organizations. Every single descendant of these Family Leaders is blessed with strength, no matter how weak some of them are by their family's standards. Direct Descendants are especially gifted.

Though there are exceptions, the talents of these children usually depend on what their great family is known for - Akatsuki Family for their swordsmanship, Asano Family for their Light Bearers, Seo Family for their Scouts, Shimada Family for their incredible physical strength, Chiba Family for their Wave Controllers, Terushima Family for their mastery of manipulating Shinsu, Tsuchiya Family for having the strongest defensive power, Harukawa Family for their Spear Bearers and Lightning Users, Park Family for their great intellectuality with all researches about the Tower, and Yamazaki Family for their Flame Users. 

Regulated by Test Administrator: Takokoro Takoro (Ranker – someone who had climbed the Tower and reached the top. They’re incredibly powerful). He brought his palm out and suddenly everyone was being pushed away by a strong current. Many have already flown towards the very back. While some managed to hold their ground for a couple seconds before the current became even stronger, thus ultimately pushing the rest of them back.

Now there's a thick water-like barrier before all of them, waiting to be crossed.

As the Tower is filled with concentrated shinsu since it's basically its source of life, Regulars should be able to withstand at least a certain amount of concentration in order to ascend the floors. And so, the third elimination test will be: All members in a team must be able to pass through a barrier of high concentrated shinsu made by Takoro. If a member fails, the whole team fails.

The fourth test will be a psychological type, regulated by Test Administrator Irina Jelavic (Ranker): There are 10 identical doors in a room. Open the correct one in under 10 minutes.

Karma: "All of them looked the same to me. There’s no way to tell them apart and figure out which is the right one. So might as well ignore the first rule and just open a door in less than 10 minutes!" (Irina: “I guess that works too…)

Nakamura: "There are no ‘more’ hints..? But you haven’t given us any though."

Maehara: "Wasn’t what she just said a hint..?"

Chiba: "Uhh, those are instructions."

Nakamura: "That would only mean that the hints were already given before we even entered this place… like those unnaturally loud screams after a long time of dead silence from the inside. It was as if you were purposely letting us hear those screams and deduct something from them."

Team Chiba, Nakamura, and Maehara passed the door test after figuring out the whole point of the entire test.

A short break between the continuous tests. Chiba and Kurahashi instantly clicked while getting drinks from the vending machine.

Kurahashi Hinano is a feline person – a humanoid species with feline features and abilities. They tend to be Animas. They populate all the floors that the Chiba Family rules over.

Chiba Ryuunosuke is from the family of Chiba, one of the Ten Great Families that ruled over the Tower. This great family produces the strongest Wave Controllers. They also have the highest number of members.

Because there were too many teams remaining that monitoring their abilities at the same time was becoming too difficult, a bonus test was announced to be taken before the Position Test will begin.

Bonus Test: The Crown Game. Regulated by Test Administrator Karasuma Tadaomi (Ranker). Participation is optional and losing this game doesn’t mean failing the whole floor test. However, whichever team wins are automatically cleared from the entire floor and wouldn’t have to take the remaining tests.

Every Regular from all three different testing grounds will be present in the same testing ground.

Fast forward. Chiba, Nakamura, and Maehara were the team that won the bonus test. It was pure gamble in Nakamura’s part that Chiba has enough tricks up in his sleeve to prevent anyone from taking the crown from him, even if it’s Karma. 

Chiba, Nakamura, and Maehara were all guaranteed automatic pass from all the remaining tests and leave the 2nd floor whenever they want.

However, Chiba insisted they stay for a bit to participate in the Position Test even if they won’t actually take the test. 

He predicted that Nakamura would either be sorted to the Light Bearer or Scout position and will likely received the basic lighthouse or observer for free if she at least participates in the classes. 

The same case for Maehara in the Fisherman position and thus might receive a basic needle for free if he joins the classes. 

There are five basic Positions in a battle: Fisherman (Frontline Combat), Light Bearer (Support and Strategy), Scout (Intel and Combat Assist), Spear Bearer (Long Range), and Wave Controller (changing tides of the battle).

Karasuma Tadaomi handles the Fisherman classes

Hanamura Hanayo handles the Light Bearer classes

Irina Jelavic handles the Scout classes

Red Eye handles the Spear Bearer classes

Tadokoro Takoro handles the Wave Controller classes

That friend list assignment that the Scouts would have to fill up in a week, which was what brought a lot of the Regulars to become friends.

Fast forward. About 20 Regulars were guaranteed to pass the Position Test with how high their results are.

Hide and Seek Test. A Ranker (but with high restrictions) will be participating along with the Regulars.

Chiba, Nakamura, and Maehara, who already cleared the entire floor, can only spectate through the screen along with the Test Admins.

Luckily the team that failed was the one where most of the members have high scores in the Position Test, so not too many actually failed the floor.

Final Results were out and plenty have actually failed because some were too injured and some just weren’t competent enough overall.

The Final 2nd Floor Test was a team test, where the remaining Regulars must form a team of their own and take a certain test. It’s either that team passes or not.

4 teams were formed and thus, there will be 4 different tests: a Scavenger Hunt Test, a Lost and Found Test, a Zombie Test, and a Heaven and Hell Test.

3 out of 4 formed teams cleared their respective tests.

An official registration of teams was announced. Line-up changes in teams were made. There is also the option of not choosing a team to join in yet, of course.

Chiba, Nakamura, and Maehara were now included. Team END was formed and registered.

2nd Floor cleared.

They met Okuda Manami on the 3rd Floor.

Yukimura Akari joined Team END at the 5th Floor.

Chiba Ryuunosuke failed to clear the 8th Floor and would have to retake it after 6 months. He insisted Team END not to waste time waiting for him when they could just continue climbing, since he can surely form his own team and easily catch up to them.

Team END arrived at the 10th Floor.

Karma heard about an informant who is supposedly very strong but for some reason chooses to stay at the 10th floor for centuries.

He had plans to recruit said informant into joining Team END but was also curious about why they chose to stay at the 10th floor for so long.

Being a Princess of Daigou is a very big deal, as they are granted a portion of the King’s power, making them even more powerful, and a great amount of authority in the Tower – be it a high position in the empire, access to even the most powerful weapons, or even granted the opportunity to rule a whole Floor to themselves.

Princesses are already extremely strong when in battle that even a single Regular Princess can possibly take down all the other 400 Regulars by herself in a death match. Meanwhile, Princess Candidates, especially the ones who had nearly won their title, are not that much weaker compared to the already selected Princesses.

Ranker and High Ranker Princesses would be unimaginably strong. Two High Ranker Princesses from the Terushima and Yamazaki Families were so strong that they even outranked the majority of the Ten Great Family Leaders in the Tower Rankings (tied at Rank 7th), even if the Princess from the Yamazaki Family had been missing for millennia.

A Princess is selected and born every 300-500 years. They usually come from the Ten Families, but in a rare case would a strong woman from a less noble family would overpower her competitors and win her place.

Tsuchiya Kaho (Position: Light Bearer-Defender hybrid) was the strongest candidate of the previous Princess Selection over 300 years ago, after Chiba Rena Daigou who then became the selected Princess of that time.

Karma attempted to recruit Kaho but was solidly declined.

Kaho remarked that she would’ve considered joining them if the rumoured remarkable Spear Bearer from the Chiba Family was still travelling with them.

Karma instead just requested information about the 10th floor test’s details, which Kaho happily scheduled a meeting with Team END in a couple of days.

Kaho came by the dorm that Team END was staying at. Nagisa opened the door and was about to greet her but remained frozen due to how incredibly powerful the shinsu Kaho was casually exerting.

Maehara stiffened at the sight of Kaho, or specifically, the emerald jewel that was on her hairband. Kaho of course noticed him, even if Maehara didn’t realize it.

Barely minutes after Kaho walked inside their shared apartment, she was already giving pointers to some of the Team END members: like how Hayami would need to have observers instead of a Defender, how the Light Bearers in their team would need to do more snooping to get all the information they need, or the fact that a Light Bearer’s lighthouse can actually amplify a Wave Controller’s baang to make them more powerful and lethal, and etc.

Kaho then specifically called out to Maehara, who flinched.

Kaho: “Even if you have shit control over your lightning shinsu, you can still be flexible enough with how you infuse it onto the weapons you use. Heck, you just have to be flexible with the very weapons that you use and then infuse your lightning onto them. The results may vary but it’ll be fruitful at least.”

Hara served her tea and brought her some sweets, which Kaho highly appreciated.

Kaho then got a sudden call and took it. Team END could only watch nervously as she blows into anger at the caller.

Kaho: “You failed to use your observer to collect such vital information mid battle, even though you claimed to be really good at multi-tasking..? Gosh you’re the most useless Scout I have ever encountered in the near 400 years of my life!” 

Kaho: “I’ve had high expectations of you since the Seo Family were known for their talented Scouts and yet you’ve only shown incompetence… I’m starting to believe that the unremarkable male descendants’ syndrome isn’t just limited to the Chiba Family…”

Kaho: “Since you’ve failed from giving me actual data in exchange for floor test Intel, your team is not allowed to leave this floor until I get my 20,000 points payment. Got it?”

After the phone call ended, Okajima asked Kaho about the data gathering assignment she gives to Scouts.

Kaho then explained that there’s a way to receive floor test info from her without having to pay her points for it, and it’s to take the 10th Floor test and retrieve important battle data that Kaho can use as more floor test intel.

Kaho: “You know? Info for info? But naturally, a mere floor test info isn’t just gonna pay up all the Intel you’re gonna get from me. This is just in case you don’t have enough points to pay.”

Not long after, Kaho began relaying information about the 10th Floor test to Team END, sending data to everyone’s pockets, lighthouses, and observers. The more detailed info they want, the higher Kaho will raise the price.

Team END wanted to know the vital weakness of the divine sea creature that they will deal with at the final 10th floor test, but Kaho said the price for that info is very expensive since it would guarantee a floor test clearing.

Naturally, the prize was really expensive that Team END was reconsidering.

But Kaho suggested that they won’t have to pay her points for that vital information if they instead give her as much information they can give about a certain remarkable Spear Bearer from the Chiba Family. Information such as his skills, abilities, background, and… personality.

And so they did, and they got the floor test info they need.

Okajima still insisted that he’ll attempt to look for more useful info about the 10th floor test to give to her. Kaho promised that she’ll return the appropriate amount of points to Team END if he managed to retrieve that data.

He got that data and Team END cleared the 10th Floor with flying colours. Soon after, they went to the 11th Floor, leaving Kaho behind.

The Tower’s Administration Office announced the names of the Regulars who had died while taking floor tests.

One of those names includes Harukawa Kiriya, one of the direct sons of the Harukawa Family Leader, who had died while taking the 10th Floor Test.

Kaho smirks while reading the announcement from her lighthouse.

Kaho: “I told him not to do it since it can get him killed but that arrogance never fails to leave their systems, huh? Now look where that got him. Such a distasteful family indeed.”

She then made a call to Tsuchiya Hibiki, a relative of hers, while going through the opened files on her lighthouse.

Kaho: “One of the few teams that recently cleared this floor just now is called Team END. They have a member named Maehara Hiroto and he’s clearly an illegitimate descendant from the Harukawa Family.”

She quickly sent a file to Hibiki, which is likely accessible information about Maehara, including his photo.

Kaho: “His lightning shinsu may be as strong as a direct Harukawa descendant’s but he lacks control over it and he’s not a Spear Bearer, so he likely isn’t affiliated with that family.”

Kaho: “But just in case, I want you to keep an eye on him until he’s out of our family’s territories. If he shows any suspicions that suggests his affiliation towards that family, let me know about it immediately. I’ll hunt him down myself.”

Surprised, Hibiki asked if Kaho is finally going to start climbing the Tower again.

Kaho: “The current missing princess’s remarkable younger brother is said to be finally arriving. I will be accompanying him from then on.”

Meanwhile, being a member of Julia’s team, Ryuunosuke had just arrived at the 10th Floor.

Chiba: “Ahh I hope I didn’t make her wait for too long…”

Kaho and Chiba had reunited ever since Kaho had been selected as a Regular over 300 years ago.

Kaho then officially joined Julia’s team. But since she had already climbed until the 20th Floor, she wasn’t allowed to take all the upcoming floor tests with the team until they’ve arrived at the 20th floor.

Privately, Kaho advised Chiba to tell Maehara to stop flinching or even just freeze at the sight of any Tsuchiya, since it’ll likely just get him in trouble more than anything. It’s already bad that he looks so much like a Harukawa, illegitimate descendant or not, so it’s advisable to stop flinching whenever he sees a Tsuchiya since it’ll make him look suspicious. Most especially since the Tsuchiya Family rules all over the 16th-29th Floors and thus, those floors are heavily populated by Tsuchiya descendants.

Kaho: “You said that his mother was a Regular who had stopped climbing, right? And that he lived at both the Inner Tower (Regular’s Area) and Middle Area (gate between the Inner and Outer Tower) of the 67th Floor? That suggests that he had nothing to do with the Harukawa Family so he should be safe enough… unless he actually met his father, that is.

Chiba: “He said he never met him. He wasn’t told of what exactly happened but from what he told me, his father supposedly left right before he was born.”

Kaho: “I don’t know what his mother warned him about us for him to freeze at the sight of me, but he’s completely safe if he’s got nothing to do with his father then. While we would still keep watch just in case, the Tsuchiya family don’t really bother with illegitimate Harukawa descendants, let alone kill them.”

Kaho: “Our goal was to not reduce the ever-growing Harukawa population, but rather strip them off their power. Specifically, those who become Rankers with the intention of sharing that power and influence to the Harukawa family as they bear their name.”

Kaho: “Ryuunosuke, your goal was to become a High Ranker, no?”

Chiba: “Yeah, and I feel like that’s also what my family expects from me.”

Kaho: “Naturally, because that would make you the first ever male descendant in your family to become a High Ranker. Since it’s such a big deal, everyone’s eyes are going to be on you if you were to achieve that and I wouldn’t be surprised if your family’s going to milk the hell out of the attention you’d be getting and benefit from it… just like what they did when Rena first became a Princess of Daigou.”

Chiba: “Ugh… that one lasted for years. It doesn’t help that both of our parents are Rankers, heck my mom’s a High Ranker, so even that was bragged about and made it into the headlines!”

Kaho: “Tell me about it… The Harukawa family’s no different for that matter. Shit, I think they’re even worse.”

Chiba: “Oh they’re definitely worse.”

Kaho: “With that thought in mind, if an illegitimate descendant has plans to join the Harukawa family when they’re becoming a Ranker or close to becoming one, that’s when we get rid of them. If your dear friend shows no such interest even after he had climbed so far high up, our family will definitely leave him alone. So don’t worry too much.”

The hatred between the Tsuchiya and Harukawa Families was so strong that killing and assassinating is even involved. Tsuchiya Kaho was promised to be fully forgiven by the entire Tsuchiya Family for failing to become a Daigou Princess if she managed to kill at least one member of the Harukawa Family on her own throughout her climb at the Tower. 

The Harukawa Family was infamous for the womanizing tendencies of their male descendants, a reminiscent of their Family Head, Harukawa Izaki, who had many wives. Thus, it’s no surprise that not only does the Harukawa Family has the highest number of existing Family Branches, they’ve also produced the highest number of illegitimate children.

The main reason why the Tsuchiya Family made it their life mission to kill any Harukawa who shows potential or even interest to climb the top of the Tower was to forcibly make the Harukawa Family lose their power and influence by reducing the number of Rankers they will have despite their large number of descendants.

The Harukawa Family also has the same goal but are less successful at achieving it. This is because although they have high attacking power and lethality rate, every single Tsuchiya descendant, direct or not, were all born with incredibly high defensive power that only the most talented Great Family children can break through.

The only reason why the Harukawa Family had never surpassed the Chiba Family in terms of having the greatest number of children was because descendants of their family were actively being killed by certain members of the Tsuchiya Family, which also regulates their population.

Bearing the Tsuchiya Family crest meant being strong and brave enough to carry the burden of the family’s both good and wrongdoings. The crest is immediately obtained when a Tsuchiya successfully killed at least one Harukawa descendant. The crest is an emerald jewel that was attached on any accessory according to the bearer’s personal choice (e.g. Kaho’s hairband). Very few people outside the Tsuchiya Family are aware that a crest-bearing Tsuchiya meant that they have killed a Harukawa.

Maehara was one of those very few people who knew, hence why he froze at the sight of Kaho and her hairband.

Sometime later, Chiba called Team END to give each other updates about their respective progresses. 

A little after that, Chiba privately called Maehara and told him what Kaho had warned and reassured him about.

Maehara: “Fuck, so she does know!”

Chiba: “Dude, you look like the typical Harukawa offspring. That yellow lightning isn’t helping either. So is being a playboy.”

The climb resumes.

Julia’s Team:

Nagasawa Julia

Okamoto Akeboshi

Kazukata Shindou

Akatsuki Seria Daigou

Ookuwa Sachiko

Tanaka Kazuma

Mori Mitsuki

Seo Hinagiku

Chiba Ryuunosuke

Tsuchiya Kaho

Kitazawa Ayaka

Park Jungyoon “Masato”

Fukiyose Eiji

Kanemoto Shiori

Tersuhima Daisuke

Shimada Miho

Julia’s team made it to the 20th floor. But because of how the 20th floor tests work, they have to be separated into much smaller teams.

Team DREAM was then formed.

Ryuunosuke, Kaho, Ayaka, Masato, Eiji, Shiori, Daisuke, and Miho

Realizing that a large-member team was just going to hinder them in the future with the way how some floor tests are done, it was decided that the split teams will begin travelling separately. 

There were no complaints that Team DREAM consists of 5 different descendants from the great families since Julia’s Team is travelling with a Daigou Princess.

There's the Regulars Ranking which is dependent on what Floor one is on.

F-Rank Regular – those who come into the Tower on the 2nd Floor

E-Rank Regular – those who cleared the 20th Floor

D-Rank Regular – those who cleared the 30th Floor

C-Rank Regular – those who cleared the 50th Floor

B-Rank Regular – those who cleared the 75th Floor

A-Rank Regular – those who cleared the 100th Floor

After clearing the 20th Floor, both Julia’s Team and Team DREAM have become E-Rank Regulars.

Yamazaki Miki officially joined Team DREAM after the 21st Floor Test.

Team END encountered Team ACE at the 16th Floor and was furious that they failed to clear the floor because of them.

Chiba: “O-oh... the 16th Floor you say?”

Nakamura: “What floor are you on now?”

Chiba: “…the 25th Floor.”

Nakamura: “…Ryuunosuke.”

Chiba: “Yeah?”

Nakamura: “The plan was for you to catch up to us… not the other way around.”

Chiba: “...So I’m figuring out a way to persuade my family into getting us a large enough place to house us all at the 30th Floor when we arrive there. If everything worked out, you know where to look for me ahaha…

Team DREAM rushed to the 30th Floor in order to compete at the 30F Workshop Battle, which is an item tournament held for E-Rank Regulars at the Middle Area in every 5 years, with exclusive items made by the Workshop as prizes.

Almost all items and weapons of the Tower are made in the Workshop. Although there's a location on the Middle Area of each Floor, there are only 7 main headquarters and one of them is on the 30th Floor.

The Chiba Family rules all over the floors with the 7 main Workshops, including the 30th Floor.

Chiba Ryuunosuke plans to win the quinquennial Workshop Battle as a way to convince his family into doing a favour for him rightfully.

Chiba: “I may be one of the rarest sons that the Chiba Family have ever produced, having similar privileges as all of my sisters and all, but that doesn’t mean I’d just get everything that I want on a silver platter. And so I thought… If I did something favourable for my family, they might abide by my requests no matter how absurd they can be.”

Kaho: “A favour for a favour..?”

Chiba: “Yep! A favour for a favour.”

Kaho: “Huh. Knowing more and more about your family is starting to make me think that we’re not all that different in the long run.”

Chiba: “Hah. All the Ten Great Families are all just the same from the very beginning… though ours are particularly messed up. Perhaps that’s why there’s a growing alliance going on between them.”

-- (To be added) --

[lothcatrobin]

Semi exhausted thought on Rebels:

S2 Ep 18 Shroud of Darkness

“Try to fight, and you will fail

The rebellion will be destroyed

You will die

Your apprentice will become a servant of evil”

-the temple guard to Kanan.

Wait a minute:

Hold on a second let’s break that down

“Try to fight and you will fail”

He looses the fight against Maul and looses his vision

He cannot fight Vader and win. We all know this, even Kanan

“The rebellion will be destroyed”

Gotta come back to this one, maybe it has something to do with the rebellion being his family, maybe it is there for emphasis

“You will die”

Spoiler alert: he does

He tries to fight wait a minute that last one came to me

“The rebellion will be destroyed”

So, of course your thinking- but the rebellion wasn’t destroyed they become the new republic and win

BUT THE REBELLION ON LOTHAL is a different story. In the end, the rebel alliance felt that lothal was lost and there was nothing more they could do, so they wouldn’t send aid for the retaking. The only people who fought to free lothal were people that had a strong connection to Ezra, lothal, or the crew of the ghost. So in a sense, the rebellion was destroyed, or at least their connection with the rebellion was, BECAUSE THEY CHOSE TO FIGHT

So anyways, back to:

“ you will die”

Spoiler Alert: he dies

He tries to fight Maul and almost dies

But yeah he dies fighting for both the love of his life (Hera) and for lothal (but mostly Hera)

And lastly:

“Your apprentice will become a servant of evil”

This is on the surface a threat that Ezra will be captured by the inquisitors or Vader and he will be turned into an inquisitor (this would make a great what if?)

Those of use who know how that season ends might take this one step deeper might immediately recall Maul reference Ezra as his apprentice

MY SEMI SPICY CONSPIRACY THEORY GOES AS FOLLOWS: (warning there will be some spoilers for the 1st thrawn series of books)

THRAWNS ALLEGIANCE TO THE EMPIRE REMAIN KINDA IFFY. they way he puts it to the emperor if memory serves correct is, by helping the Empire I’m helping the Chiss. But like this doesn’t clear things up and his priorities have become slightly more apparent when it comes to recruiting allies for the chiss, most notably sending Eli Vanto to the Gen Ar’alani and the Chiss. But more to the point here: thrawn approaches Nightswan and asks him to join the Chiss as well. Thrawn and the empire constantly pursued Nightswan to try to get rid of him because he was like a pain in their ass or something (idk the last time I was conscious during this part of the book was a while ago)

Now- we don’t know what thrawn’s reaction will be to his loss on lothal. I will say, there is a bit of a difference between Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn and Star Wars Rebels Thrawn, which makes sense considering one portrayal is more of a heroic take and in the other he is an absolutely ruthless bastard and they play him up to be a bit more evil. Guesstimating from what I know and what I have seen, and my hopes, they may portray the character in Ashoka just as ruthless as in Rebels, but maybe a bit more like the books. Granted we also don’t know what time has done to him and what other experiences we don’t know about has shaped him. And from the two seconds of thrawn knowledge gained in the Mandalorian I am going to put forth this theory: thrawn probably has a Very mixed reaction to being defeated by an actual teenager. I think he will be upset that his very good plan was defeated, but I think he will be equally impressed with Ezra’s skill and strategy. It takes a whole lot to outsmart Thrawn. Now unless they decide to get real spicy, I doubt thrawn is gonna recommend Ezra to join the Chiss. I also highly doubt Ezra would take that recommendation. I do think, however, that Thrawn may try to reason with him and recruit him as an ally. We may not know where thrawn and Ezra went, but we do know two things 1) we know the characters and 2) Ezra is seriously out numbered. They were not by far the only two on that ship. I think there is a chance that Ezra may yeet out of there, but there is also a chance that he might not be able to. He may end up needing to work with thrawn to survive. If that is the case, and they lean into book thrawn a bit, there is a chance that Ezra may end up respecting thrawn and maybe even considering him an ally, depending upon what they face. So I’m a very ROUNDABOUT WAY, Ezra would become “a servant of evil”

[autumn-writes]

Hiii! Can I get Shuichi comforting his S/O after they fail an important exam I'm 1000% sure I failed mine ( ╥ ﹏ ╥ )

hey hey hey! don't think that! you did great, i'm certain! if not, then just remember what my teacher told me before when i failed my test.

"your grades will not form you. in no way do they define you. failing once doesn't make you a failure. so hold your head up high and continue to walk. next time, you'll do even better. tell yourself that. believe in yourself!"

Shuichi with an S/O who failed an important test

You'd been studying for days on end. Shuichi has been cheering you on from the sidelines, taking care of you as you studied.

The day of importance came and you were anxious. Shuichi wished you good luck and continued on with his day.

In the afternoon, Shuichi waited for you. At the same time, he was anticipating your results.

Shuichi knew how important that test was, so when he saw you looking like you were about to burst into tears? He knew what happened off the bat.

Shuichi offers that he takes you home so you two can talk about what happened alone.

When you two arrive at your place, he lets you cry on him and just hold onto him.

He brings you to your room and seats both of you down on your bed as he gently strokes your hair and whispers words of comfort and affirmation in your ear.

"Let it out S/O... It's okay, it's okay. It'll all be alright, just cry as much as you want and need."

He'd get you anything that he thinks would help. So snacks, water, cozy blankets, ice cream, whatever. He'd get them for you to make you smile ♡

Shuichi would let you tell him about how disappointed you are that you failed and how you should've studied more so you would've passed. Though it breaks his heart, he'll let you say what you want to say first before he says anything.

After you've calmed down a bit, Shuichi would rub your back and tell you that failing an important test doesn't define you at all! You shouldn't be disappointed. Failing is completely natural. Everyone has gone through it at least once!

If you start down-talking your intelligence, he's quick to shut it down. Failing once doesn't mean you're not smart, y'know?

He'd give you praise and tell you how great it is that you even managed to get through the test!

He'd encourage you to take a second shot and ask your professor for a retake.

(^ Is this allowed in other countries? Cause where I live, if you fail you can retake a test but I'm not sure about other places ;^;)

If you tell him you're afraid to do so, he'll do his best to give you confidence! You've been believing in his abilities despite his doubts, so why shouldn't he believe in you?

"But Shuichi... What if I fail again...?" "S/O, believe in yourself. You've believed in me when I wasn't able to do so myself. This time, it's time for you to trust your capabilities. You can do it. I'll be here to support and help you."

Once he's completely calmed you down, he hands you some of your clothes to change in to while he changes in to the ones he left at your house whenever he visited.

Shuichi would let you eat ice cream until you felt completely better, though he's skeptical to do so cause you might get a stomach ache.

But, eh. That's a problem for another day. What's important for now is that you're happy!

Shuichi's not leaving until he sees that breathtaking smile of yours plastered onto your lips ♡

again with shuichi! i'm not even that big of a shuichi simp but these asks are slowly converting me 🥺 he's just so adorable!!

i hope you enjoyed this, anon! hopefully this provided you with some comfort. do tell me the results of your test! i'd love to provide praise or comfort depending on the outcome. have some faith in yourself. you're intelligent! i believe in you!!

stay safe and healthy, anon! i'm hoping for good results on your test! i'm feeling quite anxious despite not being the one anticipating! stay hydrated and don't overwork yourself love!

[the-girl-in-the-box]

Not Today I

A/N: Hello again! I’m so excited to share the first full chapter of this fic with you all! It’ll definitely be longer than the prologue, so the majority of the chapter (and the taglist) will be under the cut! If you want to be added to my taglist for this fic, please don’t hesitate to contact me through my askbox, DMs, or commenting/reblogging this post to ask, and I’ll be more than happy to add you! And if you don’t, thank you for reading anyway, and I hope you enjoy!

Summary:  When Ivar takes the throne of Kattegat, Lagertha flees to Wessex along with Björn, Ubbe, Torvi, and the Bishop Heahmund. There, they seek the aid of King Alfred. This aid comes in the form of his sister, Aethelind, who agrees to travel to Kattegat and try to reason Ivar, who she spent some time with during their youth, when her grandfather King Ecbert hosted Ragnar Lothbrok in their castle. Now, she is the only hope for Lagertha and her supporters to retake Kattegat from Ivar the Boneless.

Masterlist

—

820 A.D.

The day Lagertha arrived in Wessex with a few other Vikings, Aethelind had been focusing on her wedding arrangements. As the Princess didn’t want to get married in the slightest, the arrival of the Vikings was a very welcome distraction.

She had been called to her brother’s villa to greet their new… were they guests? Alfred certainly wasn’t seeing them as such, that much she could tell. Her eyes scanned each Viking’s face, looking for one in particular she could recall clearly from her childhood. Seeing that he wasn’t there was... disappointing, to say the least. But, Bishop Heahmund, who she recalled had disappeared with the Vikings for some time, caught her attention when he began to speak.

“Your Majesties, King Alfred and Princess Aethelind,” the dark-haired bishop began. “I would like to introduce my, er… companions, to you.” The twins shared a curious look at Heahmund’s choice of words, but Alfred still nodded.

“You may proceed,” he told Heahmund.

“Thank you, My Liege,” Heahmund replied, and then did exactly that. “First, I have the honor to introduce the Queen Lagertha, of Kattegat.” Both Aethelind and Alfred turned to look at the woman Heahmund had gestured to, and they nodded to her respectfully, only Aethelind wearing a polite smile.

Immediately, she decided Lagertha had to have been the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. Her long, white hair fell around her shoulders in thick curls, and whatever strands were not hanging loose, were held up in an elaborate braid. She had kind eyes, too, kinder than most Saxons would have imagined a Viking woman to have. But Aethelind still remembered another Viking with kind eyes, and so the fact Lagertha also had them was less surprising than it must have been for others.

Lagertha herself stepped up once she had been introduced by Heahmund, smiling kindly to both Aethelind and Alfred. “It is an honor to meet you both,” she said, and her smile seemed to grow somehow warmer. “Please, allow me to introduce the rest of my family.”

Before Alfred truly got a chance to respond, Aethelind was answering, “We would be delighted, Your Grace. By all means.”

Lagertha gave Aethelind a gracious nod, then turned to the taller of the two men in her company. He wore his blond hair in long, thick braids down his back, with a beard to match. “This is my first and only son, Björn Ironside,” she introduced, before turning to the other man. This one, Aethelind noticed, was almost the spitting image of Ragnar Lothbrok. If her suspicions were correct, then that would mean…

“This is Björn’s brother, Ubbe Ragnarsson.”

Aethelind was floored, and her eyes widened in shock at the revelation.

“Ragnarsson?” she repeated. She began to grin then. “You must be Ivar’s brother. Tell me, how is he? I haven’t seen him in years, now.”

The air in the room suddenly became thick, and filled with tension as Ubbe realized that this must have been the girl Ivar mentioned, back when their father had first died. He had never given very much detail about her, but Ubbe had gotten the feeling- more than once- that Ivar might have missed her- not that he would have admitted it. But looking at her now, Ubbe could understand easily why Ivar would have missed her.

Aethelind was a beautiful young woman, with dark waves that flowed freely down her back, contrasting with her fair skin and vibrant green eyes. This, with what he had been able to pull out of Ivar about her kindness and generally sweet disposition, had Ubbe convinced this was that same girl, now a woman, that Ivar had known, and that he was entirely right to miss her.

“How do you know Ivar?” Björn questioned, and she turned to answer him. However, before she could speak, Ubbe answered for her.

“This is the girl Ivar mentioned when he returned from Wessex,” he said. “He just failed to mention she was a princess.”

Aethelind smiled softly at Ubbe, and she asked, “He mentioned me?”

“As much as he’s likely to mention anything that’s important to him,” he answered, and Björn scoffed.

“In other words, he made us aware you existed, and the rest was up to us to figure out,” he said.

“I take it he doesn’t open up very easily, does he?” she commented. “How is he, though? Is he well?”

Aethelind didn’t receive an answer, however, as Björn turned to Ubbe and said, “We cannot trust her. She is too close to Ivar. She’ll take his side.”

Ubbe huffed a bit at Björn’s conclusion, and when he next spoke, it was in their native tongue. “She probably has no clue what Ivar has done,” he pointed out. “And at this point, she may be our best chance at reclaiming Kattegat. Without her help and her brother’s help, we’ll be too busy trying to survive here to make any plans about Kattegat. And even so, their support on the battlefield, if we could get it, would be a great asset.”

“Ubbe is right,” Lagertha agreed. “At the least, we should make her aware of the situation, and our request. Then, it is up to her if she chooses to help, or not.”

“And if she decides to help Ivar?” Torvi, the younger, blonder woman with a gentle face and large blue eyes, asked. “We could end up hurting our chances.”

The twins watched as Lagertha put a hand on the other woman’s shoulder, not understanding what she then said. “Torvi,” she began. “We must trust the gods. If it is their will that we receive aid here, then we will. But, we must trust them enough to trust them with the decision Princess Aethelind and her brother come to.”

At the mention of her name, Aethelind and Alfred share a look. What on earth was Lagertha talking about?

Torvi sighed but nodded, choosing to trust Lagertha on this, especially considering she knew Lagertha was right. She moved to stand beside Ubbe, and from the way he put his hand on her back, Aethelind realized he must have been her husband.

With this handled, Lagertha turned back to Aethelind and Alfred, giving them a small smile even as she sighed. “I imagine you have not recently communicated with Ivar, if you are asking how he’s been, yes?” she asked the twins- though, really the question was more for Aethelind. Lagertha didn’t get the feeling Alfred was half so interested in Ivar the Boneless as Aethelind was.

“Yes,” Aethelind confirmed, and smiled sadly. “I wish we could have kept in contact with each other, but… I did not speak his language, and he did not speak mine.” She paused to sigh, and bit her lip as she looked to Lagertha again. “And… I get the feeling you’re about to tell me this is a good thing, aren’t you? That I have not been in contact with him since I last saw him?”

“I am afraid so,” Lagertha answered. “It will make this… easier to hear, I think.” Aethelind regarded her curiously, wondering what she meant. “Ivar has taken Kattegat.” The Princess took this information in, nodding along as Lagertha spoke. “He led a civil war against myself and his brothers. Thousands died in his pursuit of the throne. He is now King, but-”

“My brother is a cruel man,” Ubbe interrupted. “I worry for the people of Kattegat under his leadership.”

“If you can call it that,” Björn scoffed. “He will enslave our people, and treat them like prisoners. We cannot allow this.”

“I don’t understand what you are asking of us,” Alfred said, and Aethelind sighed.

“I believe they are asking for aid, in whatever way we can give it,” she told her brother. Her attention turned to Lagertha, who she found had a rather calming presence. “Is this true?”

“Yes,” Lagertha answered. “Even if you can only offer shelter for one night, it is more than we have now.”

The way Lagertha spoke, Aethelind felt herself wanting desperately to help the displaced Vikings. They had asked for none of this, and though it hurt to hear of Ivar’s involvement in the situation, she knew that what was done was done. All they could do now was figure out where to go from there.

“We will have to think on this,” Alfred told the Vikings. “Until we have a decision, the guards will take you to-”

“My villa,” Aethelind interrupted. “You may be hesitant to help, brother, but I am not. Lagertha, Björn, Ubbe…” She paused, looking to the other woman whose name she had not gotten.

She seemed to understand why Aethelind had stopped, and supplied her name. “Torvi.”

Aethelind nodded sweetly, then continued, “And Torvi.” She took a breath. “You will all have my support. For now, that will be food and shelter. I hope to offer more in the future, but I am afraid this is all I can do at the moment.”

“This is more than we could have hoped for,” Ubbe said. “Thank you for your kindness and your generosity, Your Majesty.”

“I don’t like to see injustice, is all,” she confessed, and swallowed. “No matter who is perpetrating it.”

The Vikings all knew she meant Ivar, and they realized suddenly just how fortunate they had been that she wanted to help, and had wanted to help them, over Ivar. She had no history with them, but with Ivar, she did. Truly, it must have been the gods’ will that she be on their side.

“Still, you have our gratitude,” Ubbe insisted in light of this.

Aethelind smiled to him, and said, “You should rest before we feast tonight. Go. You will be shown to your chambers by our Head of House, and we will see you this evening.” She inclined her head to an older woman, who stepped forward and gestured for the Vikings to follow her, following the command given to her by Aethelind.

Once the Vikings had left the room, Alfred sighed and turned to Aethelind. “Does my authority mean nothing to you?” he questioned her.

The Princess stood firm, and answered with a strong voice, “Not when you were going to make a horrible mistake.”

A tense silence filled the room as the twins challenged each other, maintaining eye contact for far longer than was comfortable for either of them. Eventually, Alfred was the first to break it.

“I have important matters to attend to,” he said, as if that were why he had broken the eye contact. Aethelind’s smug expression proved she didn’t believe him, and so he added, “We will speak more about this later.”

“Of course,” Aethelind agreed, and Alfred huffed. But, he did seem to soften a bit toward her.

“In the meantime,” he began. “Please be careful.”

She smiled softly at him, and took her brother’s hand. “You know I will be,” she replied reassuringly.

Alfred chuckled a little, and confessed, “Sometimes, I think you are truly too good for your own good.”

Truthfully, Alfred had quite the soft spot for beloved twin sister. She was an incredible young woman, and Alfred thought she deserved the world. Of course, they were both close to their older half-brother Aethelred, but Alfred and Aethelind were twins. They had shared a father, one they’d never known, and now, they shared a bond with each other that neither would ever share with anyone else.

Aethelind gave Alfred’s hand an affectionate squeeze. “Get on to your ‘important matters’,” she said playfully. “I love you.”

Alfred chuckled softly and returned the squeeze, answering her, “I love you, too.” He finally left the room, leaving her alone. Aethelind looked to the door the Vikings had left through, and sighed. She had just told Alfred he’d been making the wrong decision, but in trusting Lagertha and her family… she hoped the one who was making the wrong decision wasn’t her.

—

Taglist: @youbloodymadgenius, @wilhelmyna, @katfett, @fangirl-nonsense, @zuzus-sun

[cosmojaem]

Jack of all Trades [l.mk]

Summary: After saving an unknown and injured man from dying. All of a sudden, you’re under the protection of one of Seoul’s notorious mafia.

Genre: mafia!au, strangers-to-lovers!au, angst, fluff

Warnings: mentions of violence, blood, smoking, language, implied sexual content 

Pairing: Mark Lee x f!reader

Word count: 7.4k

You have never been more relieved to go home after a long, gruelling day at your job. You’ve worked for a cafe for a while as a part time job, then became a full time thing after you’ve graduated to earn a little more cash to support yourself. After all, earning money is not easy. 

During one of your breaks, you instantly remembered that the results for the Nursing Licensure exams are bound to be released today. Without missing a beat, you immediately pulled out your phone, a notification popped up the moment you typed in your passcode.

LOCAL MAFIA WRECKS HAVOC, POLICE ADVICE CIVILIANS TO STAY INSIDE:

Kim Sohye | May 4, 2020 12:29 

You cleared the notification after and decided to read the article later. Crime is pretty high nowadays but you can confidently say that you live in a safe neighborhood because you've been walking home alone despite these happenings. 

Refreshing the site for the result, your fingers typing your exam number rapidly. How you wanted to cry at that very moment. Luckily, you can still do a retake, but you have to wait for 45 days for the next exam which gives you more time to prepare.

As you neared your apartment, you fished out your keys from your pocket. As soon as you approached the door, you got startled by a body of a man lying in front. The man wheezed, forcing his body to stand up. Your instincts were yelling at you, telling you that this might be a red flag and he’s going to murder you.

 But when you saw his badly injured body, you knew you had to help him.

“S-sir, I don’t think you should stand up. You’re badly injured.” You said, running towards his body and placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Leave me alone.” He commanded whilst removing your hand from his shoulder then let out a hiss.

“Don’t!” He replied immediately, shooting what seems to be like a sharp look but his pained expression betrayed him. “Just don’t take me to the hospital.”

You were confused,  but eventually agreed to his odd request, “Alright, at least let me patch you up. Can you stand by yourself?”

“I’ll be fine,” he waved you off, attempting to stand up with the little strength that he had but eventually hissed at the pain from his knee. Even with his groaning and hissing, he refused to tell you he needed help.

Rolling your eyes at his stubbornness, you helped him up while opening the door to your apartment then walked inside and laid him on your couch. You opened the lamp near your couch to see his injuries.

“I’ll be right back, don’t even think about getting up.” You told him sternly before turning your back to fetch your supplies.

You returned with all the things you need, setting them down on the floor and kneeling down after. Attempting to take his shirt off to have a better look at his injuries was more difficult than you thought as he was flinching when you touched his arms.

“How much do you like this shirt?” You asked, grabbing the scissor from your supplies in hopes of making things easy for the both of you by cutting his shirt. A pained hiss draws from his lips, “Not that much”

After doing what must be done, you grimaced once you had a better look at the bruises, cuts and blood that littered his body and took a cotton pad soaked in antiseptic to clean his wounds. After almost 30 minutes of cleaning and dressing his wounds, you also stitched the deep cut he had by his abdomen. 

When you finished up, you cleaned up all the blood soaked cotton pad and the things you used.

He whispered, “Thank you.”

“No problem, I never got your name. Can’t keep calling you ‘hey’ and ‘sir’ all time, can we? Mine’s (y/n).” You earned a low chuckles from your response. He seems fairly amused, “It’s Mark.”

“Well Mark, you’ve sustained a lot of injuries that needs healing so I suggest you stay here for the meantime since I’ll need to remove that stitch that I made.”

“What?!” He exclaimed loudly. You swear, your neighbors will be complaining the next morning by how loud he shouted. “Fuck, I can’t do that! I have to go, thanks for patching me up.”

Mark attempted to stand up from his state, only for him to let a pained groan which makes your statement correct. You shake your head at his stubbornness, “I told you. Now, stop being a stubborn ass and sit down or you’ll open up your stitches.”

Eventually, giving up all his attempts of moving, he decided to just lay down there. You turned back from him to return your things and heat some dinner because you were starving from all the work you did. As you returned your things and went to the kitchen, you heard a faint voice, specifically Mark’s voice talking through the phone in a hushed tone. You didn’t mean to eavesdrop at their conversation but all you heard was ‘base’, ‘Hyuck’ and another guy’s name you forgot. 

Once you heard him end the call, you immediately shuffled to the fridge as if nothing happened.

“Uh (y/n)?” He called from the living room. “Can I have a glass of water?”

“S-sure, just a sec!” You stuttered as you hurriedly grabbed the leftovers and the pitcher of water. You poured him water then went back to the living room with two plates in your arm.

“Here.” You placed his glass of water then set down the plates before running back to the kitchen to get the leftovers. “I’ll be right back.”

Mark reached for his glass before gulping down its contents, he surveyed your apartment. It was normal, a few frames here and there along with furniture and some decorations. Squinting his eyes, trying to take a closer look to the diploma hanging on your wall.

‘(l/n) (y/n), Bachelor Science in Nursing’

That explained a lot with the amount of medical supplies that you have. Normal civilians don’t have stitches for wounds, right? He fumbled in his pocket for his phone then sent a text to Renjun. Hearing light padding of footsteps, he put his phone back in his pocket then watched you place the food in front of you two.

“Sorry, it’s nothing much,” you said sheepishly then looked up to him. “Go ahead and eat.”

Placing his portion of the food on his plate then added rice, handing him his utensil also. After giving his share, you went ahead to get your shared portion and both of you ate in complete silence. Hearing only the sounds of clanks from the utensils and plate, Mark decided to break the ice with a cough.

“So...” he trailed, which earned him a quiet hum from you. “You’re a nurse, huh?”

He immediately noticed that you looked at him hesitantly before opening your mouth to speak, “Not really. I failed the licensure exam so technically, I’m not a ‘nurse’ yet.”

“Technically, you are one. Just not one in practice.” You flashed a small smile at him before going back to finish your meal.

“So what do you do for a living, Mark?” You asked then you saw him visibly flinched at your question. “Are your bruises hurting again?”

Uneasiness crossed his face which was weird since you only asked what he does for a job but you shrugged it off instead. You were a stranger to him after all.

“Um yeah, they kinda are.” He admitted which made you stand up to get an ice pack then let out a sigh of relief that he was able to avoid the question.

You went back with an ice pack in hand, giving it to him so he can ice his bruises. Mark mumbled out a small ‘thank you’ before applying the ice on his bruises, hissing at the cold temperature. Picking up the plates then head back to the kitchen to wash and clean up. Once you finished, you dried your hands and got a fresh batch of extra bedsheets and pillows and set it beside the couch.

“You will sleep on the bed since it’s much more comfortable there than here.” You said to Mark as you set up the books you’ll be reading.

“How about you?” Mark asked

“I’ll sleep on the couch, don’t worry about me! You take the bed.” Convincing him which earned a sigh from him, you helped him up to your room then gently had him sit up to your bed.

“I’ll leave the door open so holler if you need anything, Mark.”

“Thank you for this, you didn’t have to but thanks. I’ll pay you back sometime.” Mark said before tucking himself in.

You turned off the lights then went back to the living room to do your usual reading before going back to bed. It was around 3 am when you were awakened by a sound of screaming, immediately getting up and going inside the room to find Mark panting and sweating. 

“What happened?”

“Did I — I'm sorry, did I wake you up, (y/n)? Sorry about that, you can go back to sleep.” Mark said as you were about to turn your back, he let out a small whimper. Hesitation floods his eyes, “A-actually, can you stay?”

You were taken aback by his sudden request as he only ever showed that he was a tough and stubborn person altogether from your interactions from before. You contemplated for a bit then answered, “Sure, I’ll just grab the sheets and put my makeshift bedding here.”

You returned to the living room to get the bedsheets and pillow, setting them down on the floor beside the bed then tucked yourself in, drifting to deep sleep.

Mark woke up from the light blaring from the side of the curtain. He stretched his arms then felt that he was holding something, only to see your blanket in his hands. He looked down on the floor but you weren’t there. Gripping on the sides of your bed to support himself, pain jolting across his body then slowly got up to sit. You entered the room a few moments later, clad in your underwear.

Feeling someone was burning holes in your skin, you looked up to see Mark staring at you in shock before looking away quickly. Immediately realizing the situation, you hurriedly went to grab your clothes and ran out of the room without.

That was something. He thought, shaking his head to cool his warm cheek.

It took you a while to forget the incident that happened earlier, you cursed at yourself for forgetting that you’re not alone. Living alone has its perks and walking around in your underwear without anyone seeing is one of them but you can’t do that anymore since you have company now. You left earlier, telling him you had to go to work now and will be back in the evening.

“So you’re telling me, you’re stuck in there for days?” Hyuck said from the other line, trying his best not to laugh at Mark but failed miserably. The latter sighed, “I just said that, Hyuck. How’s everything there?”

“Chaotic as usual, here in the base. I had to stop Renjun from choking Jisung earlier. Report came in, there’s someone lurking in one of our territories, will need some taking care of though.”

“I’ll be out of here in a few days, just need to have this stitch removed. For the meantime, just continue reporting as usual to me and the hyungs. Also, tell Renjun to send me his findings.” Mark instructed the younger male, earning a hum on the other end before ending the call.

His phone vibrated, opening it to see the background check on you that he asked Renjun to send him a few days ago. Shaking his head when he saw the message before the attachment.

‘Interesting candidate for a girlfriend, hyung.’

You just finished an order, calling out your customer’s name to retrieve their order then went back to the register when you heard the bell chime.

“Welcome, what would-  Mark? What the hell are you doing here?” You whispered harshly at him as he let out a sly smile at your direction. 

“I’m hungry, (y/n). There’s no food at home so I decided to grab a meal, didn’t know you worked here.” He answered nonchalantly.

You argued with clenched fists against the counter, “You’re not supposed to be walking around, you ass! I told you that!”

“Please, I’m a grown adult. I can tolerate pain, dear.”

Your manager asked while giving you a sharp look, “Is there something wrong here, sir?”

“Nothing at all. Just having a chat with (y/n), that’s all.”

You tried not to roll your eyes but you weren’t up for a lecture about customer service from your manager so with a strained smile, you took Mark’s order while attempting to ignore the burning eyes from your manager.

The following days, whenever he had the chance to go out, he sometimes drops by the cafe to eat and then stays until your shift ends, despite your violent protests. Another reason is to meet up with one of the members, mostly Hyuck for reports on what’s happening. Today was no exception. 

“Hyung.” Mark turned at the sound of the voice to see a familiar figure wearing a face mask, hiding the lower part of his face. 

He pulled his cap lower and approached the figure who was seated not far from his line of sight. 

“What did you get, Hyuck?” He asked as he sat in front of him. 

“There’s disturbance in the shipment of our cartels, we’re still looking into it but Jisung says someone is doing it on purpose. Also, I found this too.” Hyuck handed him a thick folder with twine tied around it. “You might want to take a look at it while you’re at it.” 

Untying the tightly knotted twine around the folder, he opened the folder carefully with his eyes scanning across the contents inside. His fists visibly tightened at the folder he’s holding. 

“This bastard- I killed him off a long time ago!” 

Hyuck looked at him grimly, “That’s what we thought too. Apparently, from the information that I’ve garnered… You did kill his brother, Hyun, the former boss but he had a brother that we didn’t know of until now. He’s gathered men and out for blood, hyung.” 

“He’s after me.” Mark looked at him in realization. “What else?” 

A moment of silence engulfed between them before Hyuck gives him another file out of nowhere then throwing it in front of him. 

“We also found out about his name and whereabouts; his name is Lee Seung and he’s last seen along the ports of Busan last week.” The younger male said while pointing on the picture of a man dressed in black.

His face hardened at the new information. “I need to know who he is working with and all his activities. Call everyone, we’ll be having a meeting now.” Mark commanded while he pulled out his phone.

He stood up from his seat, creating a creaking sound while he picked up the folders and placed them in his arms. After a few rings, the other line answered. 

“Hyung, it’s me. We have a problem.” 

Hyuck stood up from his seat and followed suit while sending everyone an urgent text.

You unlocked the door to your apartment, expecting to see Mark lazing on the couch but strangely, he wasn’t in the living room.

He must be sleeping. You thought as you dropped your things on the ground and went to your room to check on him, only to find an empty room. 

“Mark?” You called before you closed the door and went to the kitchen.

No answer. 

You went to the bathroom and knocked on the door, “Mark?”

Again, no answer.

You called his name numerous times but there was no answer to your calls. The house was empty, but you remembered leaving with Mark still inside. 

Did he go somewhere? But where? He’s still injured. Numerous thoughts started to run inside your head which eventually led you to think of the worst possibilities that could happen to him. Now, you regret not asking for his contact number.

Hours passed by, it was already pitch black outside. You’ve drummed your fingers against the table as you looked at the clock across you. Mark still hasn’t arrived, you’ve already searched around the neighborhood and asked your neighbors if they saw anyone come out the house but none. 

It’s already 11 pm. Where the hell is he? Your worried thoughts still are not kept at bay. 

Upon hearing the creak of your door, your train of thoughts were interrupted then heard a light padding of footsteps. When you saw Mark, you felt relieved and annoyed at the same time. 

“Where the hell did you go? Do you even know what time it is?” You asked while your voice got louder to every question. 

“Errands.” Mark replied, he tried to make his way to your room. 

“I’m not done with you!” You exclaimed out of annoyance. 

He sighed as he rubbed his temples, “Look, can we just talk about this tomorrow? I’m tired.” 

“Oh so you’re telling me you’re tired? Did you know that I went around looking for you and sat here for hours, worrying about your whereabouts! Maybe the next time I see you, you’re already dead.” 

“Thanks for the concern, (y/n) but no one asked you to do those! Who are you even? You’re not my mother! Hell, you’re only a stranger.” He argued, visibly angered that you won’t leave him alone. 

Your jaw tightened as you shot him a glare. “Atleast I have the decency to tend your injuries and shelter you! What an ungrateful brat.” 

The argument became heated and it slowly became a screaming match, insult after insult being thrown in the mix. No one would back down and lower their pride, your screaming match only ended when your neighbor shouted from their window to shut up. 

“Whatever, don’t talk to me if you’re still going to be an asshole.” You whispered harshly in his direction. 

“Fine!” He slammed the door behind him as you plopped on your couch and curled into a ball, ignoring the cold nip of air against your skin. 

The next day, the two of you gave each other the cold shoulder treatment while occasionally grumbling  incoherent curses and mumbles under your breaths. Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Busan, a man took a long drag from his cigarette from his window sill.

“Boss!” The man turned his head to the direction of the voice. “We found him.”

A devilish smirk crept on his lips, eyes gleamed with nothing but intent. Taking his cigarette close to his lips again before puffing a cloud of smoke. “Is that so? What else do you have for me?”

A folder was thrown across, he flipped into it and picked up a picture pinned into it. 

“Interesting.” He said while examining the picture then turned back to his men. “Get her. I‘d like to settle unfinished business with the Jack of all Trades.” 

A loud yawn escaped your lips as you ran your hands through your hair. You casted a quick look to your room before clicking your tongue.

Tch. As if I’ll apologize. You thought as you laid down on the couch, using your arm as a pillow before falling into deep slumber. 

Mark can’t sleep, he’s been tossing and turning but to no avail, he just couldn’t close his eyes or feel sleepy. He woke up earlier from another recurring nightmare that he has been having recently. 

I’ll go out for a while, maybe it’ll help me. 

He tossed the blanket aside and grabbed his jacket before making his way out of the room. With light footsteps, he quietly prayed that you won’t hear him going out. You stirred in your sleep which caused him to flinch, hearing mumble in your sleep then later turned into snoring. 

What a weird girl you are. He thought as he watched you snore in your sleep. With slow steps, he went to your direction and put his jacket on your shivering body before making his way outside. 

You didn’t remember sleeping with a blanket on but when you woke up, you saw a jacket that was not yours on you. Scrunching your nose as you recognized who it belongs to. Of course, it had to be him. 

Stretching your legs before making your way to the kitchen to get yourself some water. The last thing you wanted was a bread being thrown at your face, the plastic made a crinkling sound when it hit the floor. 

“What the fuck?” You snarled whole picking up the bread on the floor. “What’s your problem?” 

Mark hummed in response before biting into his food, “Well, I don’t know. Maybe if you stop acting like you have a stick up your ass then maybe, I’ll apologize. Also, you were supposed to catch that.” 

“Do you expect me to catch that? Bitch, you must be fucking stupid.” 

He heaved a sigh before ignoring what you said. You pulled a chair just across him while rolling your eyes. 

“I’m sorry. There. Happy now?” You said with a strained smile before he lets out a triumphant smirk. “Men and their stupid ego.” 

“I’ll ignore what you said but I guess, we’re good now.” 

You two continued to eat breakfast, occasionally sending jabs before you continued on with your routine of leaving for work. Fortunately, you were let out early from your shift as your boss was going to celebrate anniversary with his girlfriend so you went home immediately. 

“Can you stay still and stop moving? I’m trying to remove your stitches here.” You barked as you slowly cut the stitches, pulling out the thread slowly until there’s none left. “There, good as new.”

Mark stood up, lifting his shirt and going to the full body mirror to see a scar. From the past few days, his injuries were healed and the aching was gone, thanks to you changing the dressing of his wounds and nursing him back to health. He almost felt like a new person with the newfound strength he regained.

“Thanks (y/n), I feel a lot better now.” Mark smiled which made you return his smile. “I have to go back now.”

“Ah right.” You said, not hiding the disappointment in your tone.

Reality dawning to you, almost feeling like you have been hit by a ton of bricks. He has to go now and you’ll probably won’t see him again. It saddens you because, you’ve warmed up to him in the past few days, silence will be your company again inside this house.

“Do you really have to go?” You looked up to him with hopeful eyes, almost pleading to him.

He sighed, “Sadly, I have to. My family needs me.”

He took a few strides to you then hesitatingly placed his hand on your cheek and looked at you with a soft expression. You eyed him, engraving every feature of his in your mind; his starry eyes, cheekbones, button-like nose and lastly, his lips. You wondered was he always this handsome and felt your heartbeat ringing in your ears.

“I’ll miss you, you know.” You mumbled but his ears perked up at what you said, letting out a sad smile on his lips.

“I will too.” Mark said then he leaned close, your noses almost touching. “Can I?”

You gave him a nod before he leaned closer to your face, feeling his breath fanning across your face as you leaned slowly and closed your eyes when you felt his lips touch yours. You placed your hands on his chest, your lips moving against his, slow and careful as if he was going to disappear.

The two of you pulled away, panting then he leaned on your forehead before opening his eyes to look at your flushed face.

He unclasped something from his neck, you felt a cold metal being clasped around your neck after then he looked at it then you. You looked down on your neck to see his silver cross necklace around your neck, gently cradling it in your hand.

“Just something that will remind you of me when you’re missing me.” Mark cheekily said before ruffling your hair.

Rolling your eyes then you hit his arm playfully, “As if, Mark.”

“Can you give me your phone?” He asked as you handed him your phone with visible confusion then typed in his number before handing it back to you. “Here’s my number so if you miss me or you get into trouble, you call this number.”

You both let out a joyous laugh before you two head out to the door, bumping each other’s shoulder. A comfortable silence engulfed you two as you made your way out.

“I guess, I’ll see you later then (y/n)?” He said before giving your forehead a soft peck which received a hit from a flustered (y/n).

“Yeah, see you when I see you.” He turned his back and started to walk away but stopped midway. “I’ll pay you back somehow, just you wait”

He continued to walk til his figure disappeared from your sight, you let out a loud sigh before closing the door behind you. You’re alone again, something you were used to before but not anymore. You clasped the cross on your neck, giving it a soft kiss. Days turned to weeks then months, your life returned to normal— it didn’t feel the same without Mark.

“So, where’s your boyfriend?” Yves pipped from the counter while you wipe the cups clean.

You blushed, “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“There’s no denying it, (y/n)~ Your face says it all.” She teased, nudging your shoulder with a knowing smile. “But have to admit, you two look cute together.”

You puffed your cheeks as you finished wiping the cups clean, shrugging off at her comment. Your eyes briefly glanced at the necklace he gave you. Looking at your wrist watch to see that your shift has ended. You went to the back to change out of your work clothes and fetch your stuff. You went out with your bag as Yves was busy typing her apron.

“I’ll be going now, Yves. I’ll leave the rest to you.” You announced as you made your way to the door.

“(Y/n)!” She called which made you stop in your tracks and turned around to look at her. “There’s a lot of criminal activity going on lately, you sure you can walk alone? Do you want me to call someone to accompany you?”

You waved off your hand at her, telling her you’re fine before you bid her goodbye again. She shot you a concerned look before slowly waving back at your direction.

Maybe you were starting to regret not listening to Yves’ warning because once you were walking towards your usual direction to your apartment, you felt heavy footsteps behind you. You didn’t think about it too much until you made a detour from your usual route which confirmed all of your suspicions of being followed. 

With your phone in your hand, you immediately tried to dial the number on your speed dial.

“Hello?” Mark answered on the other end, tears welling up from hearing his voice and also, out of fear. “Who’s this?”

“I-it’s (y/n), I need help.” You whispered through the phone. “Um… I-i think-”

Before you could even speak, your arm was immediately grabbed by someone which made you drop your phone. You tried to resist from his hold but it only got tighter as you did so. With your free arm, you pinched him with all your might on his side as he shrieked in pain, letting you go. You immediately scrambled on the pavement to retrieve your phone but both of your arms were pulled back, you cried for help which only made him let out a sinister grin.

“That’s right, sweetheart. Cry for help, no one will come and save you.” He replied as he tried to stop you from wriggling in his grasp.

You stopped resisting, already too tired as you let out a sob. Tears rolled down your cheek as you silently prayed for someone to help you. The man whistled, his cronies coming out from hiding as one immediately carried you on his shoulder like a sack of rice. You thrashed around, hitting his shoulder in an attempt for him to put you down.

“Stop moving around, little bitch.” The man growled as he tightened his grip on your thigh as you let out a pained scream.

They stopped in front of a van, opening the back and quickly tied your wrists and feet together. Caressing your cheek then when his hand neared your lips, you bit his hand. Only for you to get slapped across the cheek.

“Bitch, that fucking hurts!” He screamed before crouching to get a roll of duct tape then held your cheek on one hand as he stuck it to your mouth, muffling your cries. “That’s right, be quiet.”

He slammed the door in your face, you tried to move your wrists but the rope only tugged on your skin, making it even more painful. You surveyed around to look for a sharp object but to your luck, there was none in sight. You leaned back, crying as you thought about all the horrible things these men can do.

Your ears perked up when you heard someone from the other side talking, there was another voice talking to them, a voice that seemed much younger and familiar.

“Open the goddamn door or else.” The voice threatened then an eerie silence followed.

You heard a gunshot which made you shut your eyes with a squeal. Light met your face when the door was being opened. You squint your eyes, looking up to see Mark, concern written all over his face as he climbs on board in an attempt to free you.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry-” Mark puts a hand on your cheek but was interrupted when he was being thrown out of the vehicle, landing on the ground with a thud. 

Your eyes widened at what happened, your screams muffled by the stupid tape on your mouth.

After that, you heard gunshots and shouts from outside. Your heart pumped rapidly, scared of what is going to happen to Mark then next thing you saw is a younger male with sun kissed skin, breathing heavily.

“Hello (y/n), I don’t think we’ve met but let’s save the introductions for later.” The young stranger said with a small smirk. “But for now, I’ll need to get you out of here.”

He went inside of the van, pulling something from his boot then cutting you free from the ropes tied around your wrist and feet.

“This is going to hurt a lot.” He immediately removed the tape around your mouth.

You hissed at the painful sensation then shot him a narrowed look, “Goddamnit, could’ve you been more gentle? That was fucking painful.”

He rolled his eyes at your response, “Seriously? Not even a thank you? How ungrateful.”

“Thanks.”

Your ‘savior’ helped you out of the van, you saw a sea of red against the pavement with a few more men who were panting, sweat dripping down their cheeks. Your eyes met with Mark then he came running to you, pulling you into a tight hug.

“M-mark?”

“Shh.. It’s alright, (y/n). You don’t have to speak.” He coaxed, rubbing the small of your back as you sobbed on his shoulder, relieved that he was here.

“I-i was so scared-”

The last thing you saw was being placed behind Mark’s back in a protective stance. Peering from his shoulder, you saw a visibly older man in a suit with more companions.

“Stay behind me, (y/n).” He instructed sternly.

“If it isn’t the Jack of all Trades, I’ve been hunting you down for years and now. Finally, finally, I have finally found you!” Seung mocked then looked behind Mark. “Oh? What’s that I see behind you?”

The moment Seung mentioned you, Mark and the others immediately pointed their guns at the person talking in front of them without hesitation. He continues, “Let’s not be too hasty, gentlemen.”

Mark immediately turned to the younger man on his left who was standing beside you. They both nodded at each other, almost like a silent agreement between them, and the last thing you heard were someone pulling the trigger of a gun.

Everything was happening too fast, the young male broke into a sprint, pulling your arm as you also sprinted with him as he occasionally turned behind him to shoot.

“Mark!” You shrieked as you two continued sprinting away from the scene.

“Don’t just stand there, you idiots! Get them!” Heavy footsteps followed you two which made you two sprint faster.

Adrenaline rushing through your veins, your breath was ragged while you forced your legs to catch up with the younger boy.

“Just keep running and don’t look back, I’ll cover for you.” The younger male continued, looking behind you.

Haechan shoots with shaky hands as he tries his best not to loosen his grip on you even by a slightest. You two took shelter on a dark alley, immediately hiding behind the walls as the men chasing you two ran past you. He let out a sigh of relief then tucked his gun in the waistband of his pants.

“Name’s Haechan. You okay there, (y/n)?” He asked as you continued to wheeze, feeling a bit lightheaded from the sudden sprint.

You breathed out, obviously shaken up. “I-i’m scared, Haechan. But what’s happening, who are those men? Why are they running after us? W-what did he just call Mark? I-i’m so confused.”

He fiddled his fingers then sighed. “Those men are just cronies of a resident mafia. They’re after us, but they mostly want Mark hyung.”

“H-hold up, you’re what? How about those people from earlier?” You asked while rubbing your temples then you looked up to him in surprise. “Mark is your what again?”

Haechan’s face contorted into an amused look then he answered. “Take it easy with the questions, but yes, we’re a mafia group and Mark hyung is our leader.” 

You two sat on the floor, you hugged your knees as he leans against the wall while occasionally looking out. 

“But why was Mark called… what was that again?” You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, trying to take in all the information. 

“Jack of all trades. Oh, about that… From what I know, hyung got that alias from his enemies. I don’t blame them, his smartass is too sly and skilled.” He explained. “Don’t tell him I said that or I’ll never hear the end of it.” 

“Many admire him but many also fear him. Killing him would mean power and glory as he has a huge bounty on his head.” 

Your eyes widened in realization, putting everything together. The injuries, the frequent outing, the calls and the way he flinched when you asked him about what he does for a living. 

You croaked out a reply, “S-skilled in what? 

Haechan hesitated before whispering his answer which startled you more than ever. “Gambling but I think you know what he’s capable of.” 

You didn’t know how to feel; you felt scared, anxious and betrayed but you remembered his ‘rough around the edge’ thoughtfulness, stubbornness of not having you change the dressings, the kiss you shared before parting and the necklace. 

“The necklace.” You mumbled as your hands clutch on the silver necklace on your neck, the cross sitting just above your chest, glinting all its glory. 

Hearing a clicking sound, you crouched behind him while he cocked his gun in his hand while eyeing the wall warily. You heard footsteps then stopped but then the footsteps turned into rhythmic stomping before Haechan came out from the wall, gesturing you to stay put. 

Ten minutes have passed since he asked you to stay put and keep quiet. You crawled from your hiding place, “Haechan?” 

Peeking from behind the wall, you saw him being tackled on the ground who is obviously in pain then there’s a tackled Mark who kept a straight face but his eyes showed how furious he is. 

“Let him go.” Mark grunted while the man cackled at him while motioning his cronie to inflict pain on the boy on the ground. 

You covered your mouth in shock, tears threatening to fall down your cheeks then a small sound slipped past your lips. Pressing a hand on your mouth, in an attempt to prevent any sound from slipping again. Unfortunately, it seemed like someone heard your slip and now, you’re being thrown across the ground. 

“Look who we have here.” The man’s hand went to your chin, forcing you up and lifting your face for everyone to see as you struggled from his grip. “If it isn’t your precious brat.”

His eyes widened when he looked at you and whispered, “N-no.” 

 “Such a waste that I’d have to put a bullet in her pretty head.” 

Feeling a cold metal press against the side of your forehead, hearing a click which made you gulp from your position. 

“What’s all the crack about the Jack of all Trades? I thought you’re more powerful than that, huh? You’re making me laugh, kid! That’s all you got?” He said before letting out an ugly cackle. 

Mark looked at you before his lips quirked into a sly smile then returned his gaze to Seung with the same smile, irking the said man as he pressed the gun closer to your temple. 

“I’d watch what you’re saying if I were you, Lee Seung.” He said and soon, bullets rained down and Seung’s cronies fell down on the ground immediately. 

Seung looked startled when he realized what’s happening. Without missing a beat, he snapped out of his gaze and forced you to stand up with a gun behind your head.  “Up on your feet!”  

Mark and Haechan pushed the dead bodies, grunting at their weight before chasing after Seung and the captive. Mark pulled out his gun, aiming it at Seung’s direction before pulling the trigger. An ear piercing scream followed, Seung’s pace slowed down as he limped at the hit his leg took. He roughly grabbed the back of your shirt, pushing you forward in a rough manner. 

All of you stopped running when you reached a river, everyone was panting heavily while you trembled as felt the gun pressed against your temple while Seung toyed with the trigger which made you even more terrified and anxious at the sounds. 

“Come any closer or I won’t hesitate to shoot!” He threatened as he pulled you closer, closing your eyes at what will happen. 

Mark raised his gun. “This is between you and I, Seung. Leave her out of this!” 

“Or what?” 

“Or else, you won’t like what I’ll do next.”

The tension was heavy between the men, it was silent that you can hear their breathing and the sound of the river nearby. The last thing you heard was someone yelling your name and a menacing laughter as you struggled against the river’s current. Your breath gets ragged as you grapple around to get more air, slowly losing your consciousness.  

Meanwhile, Mark the man while Haechan immediately jumped into the river before it was too late. He was livid, not sparing mercy to his opponent while he landed blow after blow until he was sitting on top of him, beating him up senselessly. 

“I won’t rest until I avenge my brother. I won’t lose!” Seung said weakly at him, reaching out for his neck in an attempt to strangle him. 

He tried to pry it off but felt the grip getting tighter while his vision started to get hazy, his left hand snaked under his jacket before letting out a crooked smile. 

His fingers held onto four ace cards, mockingly showing it to his opponent whose face showed visible confusion and horror. “I-i won.” 

With a swift flick of a finger, the knife hidden underneath the cards came into a view. Without wavering, he made a deep incision on the left part of his neck. Blood started to seep from Seung’s mouth and neck, his hands falling unto his sides lifelessly. Mark stood up, satisfied with what he did and started to walk away from the body. 

He’d have to make sure to call Jisung to dispose of this later. 

Mark ran up to see Haechan kneeling beside your body. “How’s (y/n)?” 

“As you can see, she still hasn’t woken up.” He replied as he gently placed his palm on your forehead, still cold to the touch. 

A few moments later, you started coughing up all the water you’ve had before you slowly opened your eyes to look at Mark and Haechan looking back at you in relief. 

“D-did I die?” You wheezed which earned a low chuckled from both of them. 

“I like her already, can we keep her?” He shot Haechan a look before the said man raised his arm in surrender. 

Placing his hand on your cheek and leaning his forehead against yours, ignoring your drench and cold form while he looks at you directly in the eye. 

He mumbles as you feel his lips ghosting yours as he speaks. I’m glad you’re alive and safe.” 

“I should be the one saying that to you. You’ve saved my life now, Mark.” You responded which elicited a small smile on both of your lips. 

Your hands made their way on his jaw before you pulled him into a slow, gentle kiss. Almost forgetting what happened earlier due to the amount of overwhelming feeling of longing and affection you both felt for each other. 

“Hyung, I’d appreciate it if you turned your mic off. You do know I can still hear you.” Renjun spoke from the earpiece.

The both of you pulled away, Mark flushed in embarrassment before he argued and jabbed incoherent insults to the person he’s talking to before helping you up on your feet. 

Eight people crammed inside the van, it took a while for all of you to get inside as the others had important errands to do before hopping in. They were all interesting and rowdy individuals, even Mark got tired of telling them off. Your eyelids started to droop from fatigue. 

“You should sleep, (y/n). It’s a bit of a drive to get back to the base.” Mark said as he adjusted his position so you can lean on his shoulder. “You can lay down on my shoulder.” 

You moved a bit before placing your head on the slope of his shoulder. “Better?” He asked which earned a small nod from you. 

“I’m good now. Thanks.” You muttered before drifting to sleep as you felt him rub circles on the back of your palm. 

Mark tapped your shoulder when you all reached the base, everyone started to pile out while you two waited for your turn as you two sat by the back of the van. Courtesy of Chenle calling shotgun on the front seat where Mark usually sits during their missions. 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take you home?” He asked as he helped you get out of the van, closing the door behind. 

“With everything that just happened, I might get recurring nightmares.” You admitted, stretching your sore limbs. 

Mark lets out a sigh and takes your hand into his, “I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess.” 

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about it.” You intertwined your hands with his before giving him a reassuring smile.He looks you in concern before he looks from afar before you two went inside the base, hand in hand. 

It was a comforting, the feeling of his palm that radiated warmth despite knowing what it had done to unfortunate enemies that crossed his path and his fingers that slipped into yours. His shoulder occasionally bumps into yours, making you laugh. Maybe, you’ll get accustomed to this, being with him and entering his world. 

[cruelfeline]

I often think about the state of things for Hordak in the post-canon era, especially in terms of how his situation both differs from and is similar to the situation of his newly-freed brothers. A lot of these thoughts come the idea of him playing a mentorship role, which is something that I’ve seen throughout the fandom and something that I have somewhat mixed feelings about.

On the one hand, I think that Hordak will be absolutely instrumental in helping Etherians understand exactly what it’s like for a Horde clone to be suddenly separated from the hivemind. He dealt with it, after all. He went through the mental, emotional, and physical trials of separation; he knows what it will be like for his brothers, what they should expect, and can at least share how he weathered it during his stranding. In addition, the sort of basic physical needs and skills the clones will likely have to address (feeding, hygiene, rest, first aid) are things that I believe he can successfully instruct in. The practical basics of the immediate aftermath: this is where I think Hordak can comfortably help.

On the other... well, there are certain factors that make me feel that Hordak may not be the most successful mentor in the more long-term, emotional and social aspects of the clones’ transition.

I have always felt that, while Hordak has been physically free of Horde Prime for the thirty-odd years he’s spent on Etheria, he hasn’t been mentally or emotionally free of him. Not until the moment he decides to save Entrapta and reclaims his name. Up until that point, and certainly during his entire time on Etheria, Hordak’s ultimate objective has been entirely Prime-focused. He spends decades apart from Prime, yet continuously strives to reunite with him and regain his favor. It’s part of what makes him such a tragic character: freedom is within his grasp, yet he remains set on returning to his abuser. It is only upon bonding with Entrapta that he even considers pursuing a different sort of life, and that consideration only becomes reality at the end of season five.

Even though Hordak, theoretically, has all of this experience as a free-living clone, he... kind of doesn’t. His decades of freedom weren’t really spent building a successful, independent new life. They weren’t spent assimilating into Etherian society, as he and his brothers will now likely have to do. They were spent doing everything in his power to make his way back to Prime and prove himself worthy of retaking a place on his ship. 

Now that he has made the conscious decision to defy Prime, he is truly free, not just in body, but in mind and spirit... yet that somewhat puts him in the same sort of position as his brothers, doesn’t it? Perhaps not at the same level of “lost and confused,” but not much better, either. Hordak has never, after all, lived with any purpose other than serving Prime. He has never had any other sort of goal in life. He had an inkling of one, once, with Entrapta, but that ended up ruined by Catra before it could grow into anything more concrete. So, at this point, I can’t help but believe that he’s looking for a new purpose, just as his brothers are. He, too, is experiencing true freedom for the first time. He, too, is likely feeling lost.

(ah, I wish they had kept that line from the deleted Entrapdak scene, where Hordak starts to panic after killing Prime; I feel like that line really illustrates this concept of him feeling wildly uncertain, too, despite having just chosen freedom)

And while he has Entrapta, and he has experience living on his own that will definitely prove useful, I think that there are aspects of his situation that put him at a distinct disadvantage, when compared to his brothers.

He has lived on Etheria, yes, but in his continued devotion to Prime, he has severely damaged his standing on the planet. He has a terrible history here. He has done harm to this world and her people. He is feared and very likely hated by, I would imagine, most of the inhabitants. His brothers do not have this terrible baggage; even if they’ve done evil deeds on the planet during Prime’s recent invasion, they have not made any sort of names for themselves. They do not have personal reputations. Hordak, conversely, will likely be feared as “Lord Hordak of the Fright Zone” for some time.

To the Etherians’ hatred of him one might add the potential ire of his brothers themselves. It’s very possible that they will see him, at least initially, less as a source of guidance and more as a shameful, sinful thing to be viciously shunned. Hordak shot Prime, after all (which, actually, is a unique source of trauma that he doesn’t share with his brothers, isn’t it?). He is the one at least partially responsible for the grief and anger and insecurity and panicked fear that many of the clones will experience during their transition to independence. He is the defect who killed their beloved Brother and left them stranded on a backwater world, at the mercy of their enemies.

And to all of the hostility likely being thrown at him from external sources, I imagine one might add Hordak’s unresolved self-loathing. His defect, many assume (myself included), is still present and still a source of shame. His difficulties with self-worth and failure are still aspects of his personality that he has to contend with. Said aspects of his personality can easily superimpose from his standing with Prime onto his “progress” in adjusting to Etheria. They can easily be magnified by people’s anger at him. They might even worsen, should he see that his brothers, unburdened by his personal history on Etheria, by his defect, by his own unique challenges, are perhaps able to take to Etherian life with greater ease than he. Wrong Hordak might especially provide a source of jealousy and self-doubt, given how naturally he appears able to make friends and interact with new allies. 

Well. There’s not really a useful point to this post. It’s more... I worry about Hordak, after the war. I worry because, while he is Officially Free now, and gloriously by his own hand, I have the sense that so much of his development is incomplete. He never went through a full growth/redemption arc, y’know? He never went through that arc that would see him recovering and settling into a brand new life. The show ended with him right at the precipice, and given everything that has happened, I worry that it will be difficult for him. 

I worry that, rather than being a wise mentor to his brothers, he will have the same difficulties as any of them. I worry that some of those difficulties will be even worse, because he is not starting this new life from a blank slate, as the other clones are doing. He has a painful history. He has what he might consider an already failed attempt at said life, thirty-odd years of it that resulted in a terrible war. And while I don’t hold that against him, knowing the tragic reasons for that failure, I feel that he might hold it against himself. I know that various others certainly will.

I worry that he’ll be disappointed with and upset at his own progress. I worry that he will push himself too hard. I worry that people will demand a great deal of him while he is still very much healing from the horrific trauma he has endured.

Ah, I just worry. 

ah my word this got long and tedious and silly; i know this is just a dumb cartoon; i apologize, everyone, but i had feelings and needed to express them