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mymindhesmine · 4 months ago

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His Favroite Star, The Sun

💌 pairing: Zayne X Reader X Sylus (Love Triangle)

💌author's note:

Hello! Thank you for taking the time to read this, this is my first post here on tumblr! Before starting the post please read this! This is a fanfic in an AU from the Love and Deep Space storyline. Details such as back stories, present events and others will differ from the games story. Please keep that in mind that this fic is not going to follow the plot of the game exactly. Some events will live up and others won't.

Also this js my fic and my writing, if you don’t like how the characters are written or the plot, feel free to exit.

And in this fic, it is a love triangle and reader is not MC from the game. in this fic, reader is a famous idol, as well as Sylus (Sylus is still the leader of Onychinus but in this fic the leader is faceless and unknown and goes by an alias), Zayne however is still a world renowned and highly recognizable cardiac surgeon/ doctor.

As well as this fic will have a music element where I will state the song of the chapter/section. Feel free to listen if you want to. Lyrics will be in italics.

🎼song: 'I Wanna Be Yours' by Arctic Monkeys

🍒tags: mention of previous relationship (Sylus X Reader), F! Reader

Thank you for reading this! I hope you enjoy!

🎀 synopsis: It has been your dream since you were a little girl that you would be a star, an idol, to let the whole world know who you were. But if the world knows who you are, they know everything about you from your work, to what you do personally and your relationships including past and present. The past of being with another famous solo artist Sylus, who is now your ex with the public knowing of the messy relationship and breakup from it. The present of being with a world-renowned cardiac surgeon Zayne. The limelight seems to shine too bright sometimes, and along with it following you, so does your past. Will it catch up to the present?

"Y/N! Please face this way! Smile!"

"Y/N! Do you have a moment for a quick interview?"

"Y/N, say hello to all your fans watching at home!”

Between all the yelling and bright lights flashing in your face, all you could do was smile.

Smile and pose, hands placed on your hips, turning slightly when you deaned it appropriate. Standing for a bit before walking down the carpet further and repeating the steps.

Smile, turn, walk, repeat.

That was until a large camera was pushed in front of you, a woman wearing a long floor length champagne colored gown with a slicked back bun approached with a microphone in her hand and a wide smile on her lips.

"Y/N! It is so lovely to see you tonight at the Golden Star Music Awards! How are you this evening?" The woman said, pointing the large microphone towards you.

"Hi! Good evening! I'm doing amazing, I’m so excited." You greeted to the woman, smiling brightly.

"You look absolutely gorgeous tonight, so beautiful as always." She complimented.

"Thank you, you look so beautiful as well." You complimented.

"What a sweetheart you are! I heard you were nominated for an award at tonight's show, do you think the odds are in your favor?"

"I have no idea, if I did win that would be so amazing but even it I didn't I applaud whoever does. Everyone deserves recognition on a night like this."

"Are you excited for any of the guest performances?"

"I am! I can't wait to see what is in store. I wish them all good luck, I know everyone will do amazing!"

"How sweet! And I see you came alone tonight, are you attending with friends or a plus one?"

"Actually my-"

Before you could finish your answer you felt a hand gently place itself on the small of your back, pulling you closer to a figure slowly. Making you tense up and then look up to see who it was.

"You made it, I didn't even know you were already here." You said smiling, as soon as you saw those familiar and warm green eyes you felt yourself relax.

"I wrapped things up earlier than expected, I just decided to find you instead of waiting inside." A soft voice said, as you felt the hand move from the small of your back to your waist.

"Oh my! Is this your famous doctor boyfriend I've been hearing so much about? two make such a cute couple!" The woman complimented, chuckling as you smile and nodded.

"Yes, he's-“

"Seriously, I think you two are perfect for one another. Obviously better than the last one right?" The woman said, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she chuckled and shoved the microphone closer to you.

"I-I um, I don’t-" You stutter to say, your hand gripping tightly at the skirt of your dress.

"I heard he's also attending tonight's show, do you think he'll…"

'It's one of those gossip reporters wanting to get more details in my life to sell an article or something.' You thought to yourself as you drowned out the rest of her conversation, you could feel you face growing hot and your hands becoming clammy with embarrassment.

"We should be heading inside and finding our seats soon, the show will be starting soon." You heard his voice respond rather strictly and coldly, making you look to him.

"I understand totally, I just wanted to ask since so many people have been curious.it was nice to meet you-"

"Let’s go before the show starts without us, it was nice meeting you as well." He said, taking your free hand in his own and walking off with you.

"Bye Y/N! Enjoy the show, hope to catch you after-" The woman said, but you had already drowned her out as your attention was faced to his broad back as he guided you down the carpet and to the entrance of the venue.

"Are you all right?" He questioned, his voice ringing with concern and worry as he watered your features.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." You managed to stutter out, not wanting to cause commotion with so many people around still.

"Some people just don't know how to respect others, regardless of status or attention. She shouldn't have asked such inappropriate questions." He stated, as you nodded in agreement and exhaling a long breath.

"Look at me." You heard him say softly, making you look up to meet his warm green eyes.

"If you don't want to stay longer or don't feel comfortable, we can leave. You tell me."He said softy, as you shook you head.

"I think I’m okay, thank you." You said, as he eyed you a bit.

"Even if you feel fine now, you tell me if anything changes. All right?" He said, and you nodded.

"I will. Thank you Zayne.”

You got inside the venue with no issues and were guided to your table by a staff member. Zayne had pulled out your chair, and you sat down as you thanked him. He sat down next to you as the staff around served water glasses to the both of you.

"Are you looking forward to the show?" He asked, as you sipped at your glass.

"I'm excited to see the performances, but I'm more nervous for the awards." You admitted.

"You were nominated for a few of the categories, no?" Zayne asked, as you nodded.

"Mhm, that's why I'm a bit nervous. I didn't really prepare before hand. It’s just a little nerve wrecking not knowing." You admitted, and he nodded understanding.

"But maybe I won't win, and that's okay too! I just hope if they do that they're more prepared than me." You chuckled.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. As the show is about to start." A loud voice boomed through the venue and the other guests started bustling to their tables.

As the noise died down, and the lights on the stage shone brightly on the host you and Zayne made small banter.

"Welcome to this years Golden Star Music Award Show, I will your honest for the evening. Who is ready to win some awards and watch some amazing performances?!" The host announced, making the other guests cheer in response.

The show went on as typical from what you expect, guest artists performing their latest and most popular hits with dancers and over the top visuals, awards being handed out with heart filled speeches and tears, all with you and Zayne bantering and basking in each others presence without a care in the world.

"Our next performance is from an artist who we all love for his sultry sound and unforgettable voice. Appealing to the masses with his dark image so far that his latest album sold tens of thousands of copies within the first week, made it number one on the charts and is nominated for awards in multiple categories at tonight's show. Please give a warm and inviting welcome to Sylus!"

The audience cheered loudly as the spotlight shifted to the center of the stage, you could see Zayne shift from your side slightly and you turned to him and smiled before looking back to the stage.

The lights surrounding the venue darkened, as solem tempo music started playing. You recognized the song all too well, it was on the radio on repeat so much and you did like it.

You saw the figure on stage, a band behind him as the spotlight shone bright and cameras panning across and showing his face on large screens to the audience who weren’t close enough to the stage. You had to admit he did have a nice voice, you’ve heard his previous work in the past and you did like it.

I wanna be your vacuum cleaner

Breathing in your dust

I wanna be your Ford Cortina

I will never rust

You could see people slowly swaying in their seats, mouthing to the lyrics. You felt a soft brush against your hand as you looked to see Zayne interlacing his fingers with yours. It made you blush slightly at the small physical contact, and you quickly looked back to the performance.

If you like your coffee hot

Let me be your coffee pot

You call the shots babe

I just wanna be yours

A spotlight that was hung over the audience shown, carefully dancing across the guests until it slowed and rested its attention on you and your seat. You flinched slightly at the brightness, making you look away and resting your sight on one of the large screens. Maybe it was the camera angle on the stage but with how it was positioned, it was like he was staring straight at you.

Secrets I have held in my heart

Are harder to hide than I thought

Maybe I just wanna be yours

I wanna be yours

Wanna be yours

You looked back at Zayne and although he was looking disinterested you could see how white his knuckles in his free hand look, balled into a fist. You carefully ran your thumb over his knuckles in your hand, seeing his tightened fist relax and his stance less tense. He looked to you and you gave him a soft reassuring smile.

You both knew what was going on.

He was playing games.

The show went on like clockwork, awards and performances continued and you waited with bated breath for the next awards announced.

"Now for the award for 'Best New Rising Star, with several amazing nominees. The winner for last years award will be announcing the winner." The host said, as the audience clapped.

"Please welcome back Sylus to the stage!" The host exclaimed, as more cheering and clapping ensued.

You could see the familiar figure nod to the host, taking the microphone they held along with the award. Once done they turned to face the audience at the stage.

"It is my honor to be able to give this award to the nominee who most certainly deserves it. "The winner of this year’s Best New Rising Star Award is…" He started, you bit your lip with anticipation.

The silence was slowly killing you, you just wanted this done and over with. You could feel your grasp in Zayne"s hand tighten and you tried to not chew your lip off.

"Y/N L/N." He said slowly, as the audience started clapping and cheering.

You face froze in shock for a moment, as you looked to Zayne who stood up from his seat and guided you to stand. You smiled and hugged him tightly, feeling tears threatening to spill as he whispered in your embrace.

“Congratulations." He said, as you let go of him reluctantly.

You wanted him to come to the stage with you but you knew it wasn’t the best option for now, instead one of the guests would help you up to the steps as you made your way up before getting on the stage alone.

As on cue, one or the guests who was often seen accompanying winners onto the stage held their arm out for you to take and you did so. Hearing cheers and whistling as you smiled and waved to the crowd, the cameras panning and following you as you made your way to the steps of the stage.

You thanked the kind guest before adjusting your dress and walking across the stage, hugging the host before they walked off to the far side of the stage.

Leaving you alone with all eyes on you, with Sylus.

"When I met Y/N, it was as if it was never meant to happen. Just a coincidental meeting that sooner became the start of a beautiful connection, as if faith knew it was destiny for us to meet. Only for years later I would be the one on this stage presenting her this award for the world to see." He started the speech, the crowd cheering and clapping as you did as well.

"From the first moment we met I knew I was in the presence the most talented person I would get the pleasure to know. When it comes to music, she has dominated the industry with hit pieces without failure. When it comes to personality she has always demonstrated kindness from the bottom of her heart. And when it comes to determination and work ethic, her work is never underestimated or undermined."

"Even with all these awards, music, recognition and status of being an artist, what counts is the person who put their heart into what they value. She succeeds it by not changing or letting herself be pressured into doing so. She has been able to accomplish so much while not letting the pressure change her into something she isn’t. Even if the times has changed along with many others things, she is still the same girl I met all those years ago."

"She is someone I respected highly, whom I hold so much pride and admiration to. Who I’m proud to say I know, proud to say I’ve looked up to and proud to say I love with my chest and won’t ever stop loving."

You felt your chest tighten, your hands become clammy as the crowd only got louder at the statement.

"I’m proud to present this award to her as she deserves it more than anyone in this world, ladies and gentlemen the winner of the Best Rising Star Award, Y/N." Sylus finished, turning to you as the crowd continued to cheer and all you could do was stand in shock.

Standing there as if caught in the act, surprise and fear etched into your face as everyone was looking at you. You could see the edge of a smirk resting on his lips from your peripheral vision, as you slowly got over the anger and nerves. Approaching him with your hands out, a tight smile on your face as you accepted the trophy from him.

His hand lingered as you grasped the award, before letting it go slowly and you approached the microphone on the stand.

"I want to thank everyone here tonight for the opportunity of receiving this award, this is such an honor to be nominated and win this so thank you again." You started, as the crowd cheered and you could see him sits, smirking from your side.

"Thank you to everyone who has even given me the chance to make this dream come true. From my team to my family, writers, producers, friends, colleagues, and the people closest to me that I love and hold dear to me thank you for all the support and love you have shown me. I hope to keep amazing everyone with all my work and hope you can see me continue to grow not only as an artist but as a person too. Thank you again, I love you all." You finished, waving as you held the award up again before quickly rushing to the stairs you came from.

You could hear footsteps follow you and already knowing who it was, holding onto the railing to make sure you didn’t fall. You looked to see Zayne at the bottom of the staircase waiting for you and you smiled in relief.

"Here, let me-"

"I’ve got it, thank you." You responded quickly, holding onto the railing and going down a few steps before reaching out to the outstretched hand before you.

Taking Zayne's hand once in reach and having him help you down to the ground level, clutching the award. Once you were stable, you looked at him and with the look that he gave you in return you could tell he wasn’t happy but more concerned than anything.

"I wanna go home."

💌 author's note:

Hello! Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed, if you liked it please let me know! I hope to be posting soon!

#l&ds zayne #lnds zayne #love and deep space zayne #love and deepspace #zayne love and deepspace #zayne-snowman #doctor zayne #dr zayne #love and deepspace sylus #zayne x reader #lads sylus #sylus qin #sylus #l&ds sylus #sylus x reader #love and deep space #lads

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scrollf0x · 1 year ago

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(Spoiler Free)

Resident Lover Routes Ranked

As tradition when good things end, we overfixate on it! After 48 hours of completing all routes in Resident Lover, here's my spoiler free ranking of the good and bad endings in the game brought to us by Team AVIA 🙇🖤

Top Romantic Endings (Good ending)

#1 Miranda

As recommended by Team AVIA this route should be played last after completing all the other routes, and istg this was the best approach to the game, there's so much stuff going on (in a great way), it ties up all stories together, it explains the biggest mystery in the game and the end was SO SATISFYING. Mother Miranda was MOTHERING so good and I'm definitely obsessed with MM now. There's so much I want to talk about but won't for now to keep this spoiler free.Best route ever hope you enjoy it! 🐦‍⬛🧎

(UPDATED REVIEW: As MCs we can't escape her fr fr. You should see all cult endings in all routes before going to her cult ending. She's unbelievable but it's so hard to hate her once you get into her route and I can't explain why I still love her but holy fuck, Miranda. You make Joe Goldberg and Love Quinn look like novices for the things they do for love. Miranda literally took Yandere to a whole new level...and I love it 👀)

#2 Donna's Route (UPDATED)

We get our Flourist AU with our resident spicy sweetheart (you'd understand the spicy part later) Donna! Everything from her route was so mysterious and selecting her route before getting to Miranda's route was such a good build up before getting the answers to the numerous mysteries you'll uncover in the other routes. Donna and Miranda's route has SOOOO MUCH to bring into the table about the main mystery in the game. Plus the rivalry between Donna and Miranda for MC??? IM DEAD 😭💖

(UPDATED REVIEW: Holy shit y'all I just recently uncovered the actual cult ending for Donna's route, and as sweet and passionate her love is for us - the neutral ending was really sad, but holy fuck the double tragic endings in the cult version was just..I can't even react properly after finishing it I'm forever traumatized - see cult ending ranking)

#3 Alcina's Route

If you're into student-teacher relationship with much more murder mystery from the game and of course our Mother Alcina herself, this is for you! For all Alcina fans, buckle up for a ride because this route does not pussy-foot around romance between Alcina and player and my god THE SEXUAL TENSION. ILLICIT ROMANCE. SHEESH. Y'all are going to love it so much istg. Even the counterpart ending ate up (see tragic ending below)

TOP Tragic Ending (Cult endings)

#1 Angie and Donna's Route

Angie

Y'all would not expect the darkest ending for the sweetest character with the most lighthearted romance development of all routes. It starts off really innocent and sweet before it all goes downhill so fast, and Donna was so terrifying in this route 😭 Both bad endings were absolutely devastating and I really want to find out how Angie will react once she finds out - or if she will.

Donna (Updated review)

How was it even possible that Donna was so loveable and so terrifying at the same time? Everything from her good to bad route was just *chefs kiss*. Follow Team AVIAs guide to routes, and reach the cult ending (with additional 2 tragedy scenarios) I guarantee you both tragic scenarios will leave you terrified and heartbroken.

#2 Alcina

As amazing as the romance is with Alcina the bad ending route was downright nightmare-ish! We all love our hot psychopath mother but y'all would be baffled at just how CRAZYYYYY she is when you find out in her tragic ending route ☠️

#3 Dimitrescu Sisters

The Dimitrescu siblings SERVED in all routes Bela most of all but gaddamn as amazing and complex our relationship with them are, the tragic endings are INSANEEE. Bella's outfits were AMAZING and her storyline even more so. Cassandra is such a cassanova and a diva (so much teenage drama here btw you'll love it). And our precious Dani bby girl with our fake dating thing, she deserves so much love I wanna give her a hug. Their tragic endings are so so so sad, all I can say is Miranda did them so dirty 😭😭😭

Overall the game was AMAZING in every way, Team AVIA really put there heart and soul to this and it really shows, so please take the time to drop by at their page @resident-lover , give them your love and appreciation, and enjoy the game!

Let me know what you guys think ☺️

#resident lover #re8 village #resident evil 8 #resident evil #mother miranda #alcina demitriscu #donna beneviento #angie griffin #bela dimitrescu #cassandra dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu

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takitafulily · 1 year ago

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Any headcanons for the Obey Me brothers you'd like to share?

Hmmmm, I don't know if there's anything I can share that isn't out there already... let's see...

Asmo has definitely tried a skincare product before only it caused him horrible acne for weeks and during that time he came out of his room less times than Levi

Levi skipping storylines in games to do battles and telling himself he'll read it later. He never did.

Satan tried to read an anger-management book whilst he's in a temper, only for it to intense his anger instead and hunt down every copy of the book he can find to rip them all into shreds

Mammon does the ADHD walk around furnitures

Lucifer associates the full moon with Lilith because he never forgot how the moon lit up the dark night whilst Lilith bled in his arms

Levi is silently proud of himself every time he manages to wear a cosplay to a formal event. No one would notice because it just looks like he's wearing normal formal wear

Mammon has went dumpster diving before to find stuff he can sell as ripoffs, sometimes he'd find something that's actually neat and keep it for himself

Belphie sometimes go into sleep comas so he can dream of Lilith just a little while longer

Beel was the family therapist before MC came along

When he was little, Beel would follow his brothers around and imitate them

Extra:

After a comment from Mammon on how scared he was of Solomon's cooking, Luke reluctantly joined Solomon in the kitchen with Simeon helping. Several sabotages and one fire later, the food came out and it was… edible??????? (Luke you absolute saviour)

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me fandom #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me mc #obey me belphegor #obey me brothers #obey me beel #obey me belphie #obey me simeon #obey me luke #obey me solomon #obey me headcanons

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still-a-morosexual-help · 2 years ago

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Asmo is the personification of "I'm a delicate beautiful flower uvu" and then throws hands when someone disagrees, MC is just there to hold his stuff when he beats the stuffing out of some poor demon. Afterwards he pretends like he didn't lose his shit and threw hands because someone said that x wasn't his colour

HE CANONICALLY KNOWS AND USES WRESTLING MOVES!!!!

I see this as him starting to watch wrestling because of all the hot muscular people in it (remember that chat when Beel gets tickets to either a body building competition or a wrestling match and asks MC to come along but when MC suggests Asmo, because he'd like it, Beel says that's precisely why he can't take Asmo) but then he really got into it because of the actual wrestling & violence (whether or not it's fake isn't the point)

Okay but, I love Asmo so much???? He gives off this ditzy yet sweet air most of the time which contrasts greatly with how vicious he actually is? ;

He's the most vicious, out of the lot, to Mammon when he's pissed off - with his lines being brutally cutting

His entire Desire speech to MC in S1 which sounded like a villain monologue

When he finds out MC was lying about Belphie and why they wanted to make a pact with Asmo in the first place and he threatens to rip their heart out if they lie to him again and this is after they're technically friends!

How condescending he sounds during his solo in the group song with Levi & Beel

Princess Asmo going evil in that one anime episode was hilarious but honestly what did you expect would happen

The whole thing with Helene and how not only was he unapologetic he didn't even seem to realise he did anything wrong

Or the hints at the Sarah storyline which if they follow the irl story is very dark

The fact that (assuming that Levi's animal is a giant sea serpent rather than a snake) he's the only one with a venomous animal and I'm 100% convinced his demon form is venomous

His demon form consists of a bleeding heart as his marking, plus a scorpion which is obviously venomous and roses which would definitely have thorns

The fact that like I said in this post Asmo equates his place in the family to his beauty and then suddenly he fell and changed (and didn't the devs say that in the version where they have more demonic forms that Asmo hated his?) and that would have seriously messed him up

Like I really wanna know what it was like for him right after the fall becaue look at this and tell me he wasn't absolutely deranged

I haven't given Asmo any long scenes in my fics but I love writing him;

Asmo side eyes him, gaze sharp and calculating before his mouth thins into a parody of a smile. "Don't worry about it, Belphie," he says with an almost condescending pat to his cheek before he practically saunters away.

Belphie watches him feeling mildly irritated but as equally amused and fond. He has always respected Asmo, found familiarity in the wicked sharpness he hid under bubbly giggles and hypersexual ditziness.

tldr:

There's a reason why it's called blood lust

edit:

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my-pjo-stuff · 3 months ago

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For the Great PJO Ask Analysis event: (ask no. 3)

You've got a topic in PJO you'd like for me to analyze?

The way demigods inherit their godly parents powers. Percy has a long list of abilities compared to Annabeth/Clarisse/Beckendorf, etc.

Want to share YOUR analysis of stuff with me and my followers?

Grover Underwood is an incredibly complex character who tends to get forgotten both by the fandom and the author. As satyr, he's got different aging to demigods and while Annabeth and Percy know him well, they don't seem to completely know. He doesn't talk about his family, his relationship with Juniper and is generally used as comic relief. His status as Pan's legacy holder seems underdeveloped as well. Thoughts?

Want to hear my take or shares yours of different characters and aspects of the PJO universe?

The exploration into the realms of Greek mythology is interesting. The Underworld is relatively easy for the trio to get into and for them to escape which seems to contradict the Underworld being a terrifying place with Tartarus, etc.

Nico and Bianca Di Angelo's storyline seems rather complicated and doesn't really explore them as characters. Opinion?

The way demigods inherit their godly parents powers. Percy has a long list of abilities compared to Annabeth/Clarisse/Beckendorf, etc.

Now I'm going to be honest and say that in my opinion there isn't much to analyze? Like, at the start of the series it seemed pretty obvious to me that powers are rather rare to be inherited from godly parents. Instead, it was more like talents that were passed down (Apollo kids being good at archery, Athena kids being smart etc.) For Percy's powers I honestly just assumed it was because he was the MC, and thus obviously had special or cool stuff to make the story interesting. In universe I chalked it up to just being a genetic lottery like irl in which actual powers were like a super recessive gene.

There's always a chance you'll inherit it and it'll show, it's just VERY small. Then as the book went on and more and bigger threats got introduced, as well as more characters being thrown into the mix a classic case of power creep set in. 'Cause you need the new characters to be interesting for the reader to get invested, while also needing to up the stakes from time to time to keep it interesting. Yet at the same time the characters also need to be able to reasonably defeat the enemies. So the most logical way to solve all that is to introduce new powers.

And I honestly there's not much more you can really analyze or explain. It's not really a coincidence that most characters introduced in the first five books didn't have any powers or only relatively weak ones, while those later introduced tend to have them or have them more powerfully.

Grover Underwood is an incredibly complex character who tends to get forgotten both by the fandom and the author (....) Thoughts?

I think Grover is one of the many wasted characters in the PJO books, he specifically having suffered from being treated like a side character despite having the setup of a main one. You already pointed out that Grover is very interesting as a character and has a lot going on- which, in my opinion, would have been better explored for a character if they had been a demigod.

Grover is in this sort of weird position where while yes, his themes are very cool and even relatable, they are not relatable enough. Because who do you think would children (aka, the books target audience) rather read about? The cool human demigods their age who look pretty and do cool stuff? Or the satyr guy who doesn't fit conventional beauty standards and isn't human? Fact is that Grover just isn't really as "attractive" as a character compared to others- he always seemed to take more of a background role supporting other characters. Which yeah, is most definitely a HUGE waste (which I honestly don't think I need to elaborate on further). And I honestly blame the fact that he just isn't pretty enough. Is he ugly? No, but he certainly isn't pretty or very fandomizable. He doesn't really have popular ship options and already gets pushed into the background of the books to make room for Percy and Annabeth. The fact that thus the fandom largely ignores him and he seems to lose importance as the story goes on doesn't seem suprising to me.

Again I'll just have to go meta and say, I think it's just the fact that they are in a children's book. It would get pretty boring to just always stay in America/the "human" world with a setting that could offer locations such as the Underworld, Tartarus, Olympus etc. so logically Rick searched for ways and reasons to get characters down there to use them. PJO and HOO being a kids' book series of course meant that he couldn't truly portray places like that as horrifying and dark as they should be, so he had to tone it down to keep it child-friendly. Same goes for the escapes from Tartarus and the Underworld- Rick can't just have his characters die, so he has them come out relatively unscathed. That's personally one of the reasons why I think that PJO would have been much more interesting had it been a young adult or teen series, since it would have allowed darker themes to be explored more thoroughly than they were. 8Some examples being locations like the Underworld, the true dystopia that a world would be where demigods just straight up have no human rights, the systematic issues with CHB ect.) Nico and Bianca Di Angelo's storyline seems rather complicated and doesn't really explore them as characters. Opinion?

I mean Bianca's only major character trait was just "Nico's sister". She was as flat as a piece of paper, died a few chapters after her introduction and really just served as a plot device for Nico's storyline. So I honestly don't think I have to say and go over the exact same talking points as everyone has gone over with her before. Nico on the other hand had some very cool set up where we could explore HIM growing angry with the gods. I mean, Zeus was the one who killed his mother, no? His father (even with good intentions) just straight up erased his and Bianca's memory completely. Bianca ended up dying not only for a god (Artemis) but also indirectly because of the gods (the scrapyard they have and the robot thingy). And Hades just also straight up attempted to semi-kidnap him and train him up to be the Child of Prophecy for what I can only assume to be his own gain. Not to mention the disrespect children of Hades got at camp. Nico is, as much as I see it, one of the characters with the most reasons to be hostile towards the gods. Right up there with Luke and Ethan for what I see. Unfortunately though that was never explored, purely because Rick either A) didn't have the time or B) couldn't have the antagonist look too good. I'm not yet finished with all the books, so there is a chance that the part about the story being overcomplicated could refer to something else- but as of now I gotta assume it's the "he's from ww2, actually!" thing. Which, honestly? To me, it is much less overcomplicated and more underdeveloped. Nico's "time travel" is, when it boils down to it, just a loose excuse for Rick to have another kid of the Big Three there without anyone breaking their vow. We could have had a cool exploration of how demigod life changed over the decades or an interesting arc of feeling displaced in time. Instead, we got none of it because, frankly said- for Nico as a character right now that backstory just frankly isn't important. Nothing would really change for him as a character if we just push away that time travel thing. All we'd need to say is that he and Bianca got their amnesia in an accident and then BOOM. Nothing would change for their characters at all really. We could easily say that Maria was killed by Zeus together with her unborn child to get Hades to curse the oracle and keep the time line in check. So yeah, to me their backstory is more of an excuse to have them here and is severely underutilized and unexplored- and Bianca is just a dumpster fire overall.

#pjo #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #bianca di angelo #nico di angelo #grover underwood #rr crit

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hopelessromantic1352 · 5 months ago

Text

Lockdown

This is based on OH 2. After I replayed it, I realized how I would’ve actually liked to see the book progress through the maitotoxin attack between Ethan and MC. I’m thinking I’ll try to post one or two more that follow the same storyline. Maybe a mini series? We’ll see. Also, hello Tumblr 😆 it’s been a minute.

Warnings: mentions death, poisoning, sickness

Word count: 2,068

Tags: @perriewinklenerdie @shelivesinthewoods @miss-indecisive-says @alj4890 @naffeesaa @hija-del-universo @confessionsofabrokegirl @usuallyamazinglyaverage @radlovedreamland-blog @lilyoffandoms @cordoniaqueensworld @carreraleigh @ethanplaysfavorites @amillionmoonsred @princess-geek @lapisreviewsstuff @aworldoffandoms @paisleylovergirl @llamasgrl @flyawayboo @timmagicktoad-blog @isabella-choices @ihclipse @sparklinglilac @whenyourheartskipsabeat @desmaranj

The drizzle out the window beats slower than her heart. Her breaths come in ragged gasps, the plastic rustles against the air vent it covers, and the only other faint sound is the steady beep of machines outside the quarantined room where she paces.

Beeps that remind her, Raf is still there.

The nausea has increased tenfold, but Casey refuses to sit down. The numb sensation in her feet and hands tingle with every second, but her stubbornness keeps her upright.

“Case, why don’t you rest for a second?”

The usual bravado in Bryce’s voice is gone, replaced with something she hasn’t heard before.

Fear.

Still wearing the mask around his neck, and bloody scrubs, her eyes try to focus on his expression.

Was the fear because of Kyra or herself?

“You’re here. Does that mean..” The raspy whisper that leaves her mouth is unrecognizable.

The young surgeon looks at her with pure anguish. “She made it, everything went good and she’s resting now. Which is what you need to be doing. You can hardly stand, let alone pace around your room.”

As if on cue, her whole body sways and she grabs the foot of the bed, holding still for a moment before her head and eyes clear again.

Only seconds later, the rest of her friends and the diagnostics team arrive. Faces full of fear, pity, and some anger. She knew why they were angry, she was angry too.

“I can’t sit still, I feel like that’s giving up.” Casey tries to keep her voice as even as possible.

“Dr. Ramsey and I found Travis, he gave us a few more symptoms to go off of before he…” Sienna trails off, biting her lower lip as her eyes shine through the glass.

“He died.” Ethan walks in first, leading Baz and June behind him. “But thanks to Danny, we know what was in the canister and we’ve got people working on an antidote as we speak.”

Casey looks to Sienna, seeing her lips purse and eyes begin to water at the mention of the young nurse’s name. The red head’s heart clenches at her friend’s pain, pain she hoped she and Raf wouldn’t be adding to.

Swaying slightly without realizing it, Casey reaches out to Ethan. His arms encircle her, steadying her as June takes her vitals. The ocean blues behind the hazmat mask seem more dull than usual, or maybe it’s her eyesight, but they don’t break eye contact. Somehow, feeling his covered hands and arms around her soothes her. Just being near him calms her and seems to take away the pain for just a moment.

“Her blood pressure has dropped in the last hour, heart rate is elevated.” The no nonsense tone of June’s voice cuts into Casey’s welcomed distraction.

“Why wouldn’t my heart rate be elevated? I’m having the time of my life in here.” At the attempt of a laugh, coughs take over, wracking her frail body and causing Ethan to tighten his grip on her.

“I can’t stand here and watch this. Are we going to go find a cure for this?” Jackie’s fist rests against the window, her face contorted with anger as she watches her friend writhe in Ethan’s arms.

“Hell yes we are.”

Tobias Carrick’s voice carries down the hall as a group of footsteps echo behind him. With Aurora next to him, the Edenbrook doctors look upon the Mass Kenmore group cautiously.

When Casey’s coughing fit finally dies down, the silence doesn’t stretch long.

“Carrick, why are you—“ Ethan can’t hide the surprise in his tone, or on his face, but Tobias waves him off.

“This is bigger than our competition. No one is letting Valentine die.” Ethan’s old friend eyes Casey with sympathy, internally noting the way Ethan holds her gently and protectively.

“We brought all our best doctors with us, they’re at Edenbrook’s disposal.” Aurora walks to the glass, softly placing her palm on it and worrying over her friend and roommate.

“I can’t thank you all enough.” Shaking, Casey tries to stand on her own, but the arms holding her don’t budge.

Her group of friends all start talking at once, saying their goodbyes and words of encouragement. June and Baz excuse themselves as well, telling Casey to hang in there. But the one steady thing in her world at that moment stays put.

“Casey, I—”

At the despair written on her face, his words die on his lips.

“I’m scared, Ethan. I don’t know— I’m not—”

All the tears she held back since the attack, since Bobby, Danny, and Raf, they rush to the surface and flood down her pale, sunken cheeks.

“Shhh,” the suit crinkles loudly as Ethan pulls the frail woman into his arms. “I am beyond terrified too. The one person I care about more than anything in the world…”

Her sniffling pauses at the meaning hanging in the air, but he begins to move them towards the bed, momentarily distracting her.

“Ethan, please if I lay down I don’t know if I’ll get up.”

He grunts a response as he lays down first before gently guiding her down next to him. “You will get up. Some of the best doctors in the world are fighting for you and Rafael, Casey.”

She weakly nestles into his embrace, silence stretching between them as he stares pensively at the ceiling.

“What were you going to say?” Her quiet question makes his muscles tense next to her, and she worries. “If it’s something you're not telling me about this maitotoxin, it’s not easing my mind.”

“No, no, the reason I cut myself off is the fact of the matter is,” he repositions himself so he can look into her glistening brown eyes. His gloved hand reaches up to cup her cheek softly, urging her eyes to close. “Casey, please look at me.”

The yearning and warmth in his voice pulls at her heart, and with no hesitation, she does as he says.

“When I say you are the most important thing in this world to me, and I care for no one more than I care for you, I mean it.” Fresh warm tears pool in her eyes and her bottom lip trembles. “I love you and looking back at how I’ve treated you… us, it has made me realize how much of a fool I was for pushing you away. I have never been able to deny my feelings for you and I believe I fell for you a long time ago. I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to acknowledge what has been in my heart.”

Tears falling, she closes her eyes but her lips spread into a warm smile, dimming the paleness on her frail body for just a moment.

“I’ve waited so long to hear you say that and now I can’t even kiss you to make you feel how much I feel the same. I’ve loved you for a really long time, Ethan. I wasn’t sure you’d ever feel the same.”

With the hazmat suit between them, Ethan embraces her as tightly as he can without hurting her. Wanting to feel her body and wishing this was taking place in his bed, after a perfect evening together instead of a quarantined room after the harrowing events of the day.

“As soon as you’re healthy, I’m taking you in my arms and never letting go.” The finality to his voice, mixed with the adoration and warmth, it causes Casey to shiver at the intensity.

“I can’t wait to kiss you.” She nestles back into his arms, exhaustion beginning to take over as he simply smiles softly and holds her tight.

As she falls into a deep slumber, Ethan can’t help the mist in his eyes or the deep hope that she’ll wake up to a cure.

The next morning, Ethan is startled out of thought as Casey lurches awake and rolls on her side, crying out in agony.

“What is it? What’s wrong, Casey?” He’s on his feet, pushing his chair back, and takes a strong hold of her hand.

The bed shakes under her violent writhing, one of her arms wraps around her stomach as she cries tears of pure pain. “It hurts so bad.”

After what seems like eternity, the pain subsides and Casey is left panting and sweaty, still gripping Ethan’s hand.

“That was new.” Her voice is weaker and her body shakes from exerting so much energy.

She slowly takes her hand away and sits up, still shaking, but watches as Ethan paces away angrily.

“I absolutely hate not having any control over this. There’s nothing I can do to help you and seeing you suffer, it makes me—” He groans and runs his hand through his hair in frustration.

She isn’t looking at him, her eyes are shut and her fingers dig into the bed. “Ethan, I’m not sure how long I can do this.”

That sentence, just a whisper, is enough to break him out of his rant. Enough for him to realize how selfish he is. Enough for him to realize if they don’t find an antidote, he could lose her.

“No, no, no.” He hurries back to her side, holding both her hands in his, engulfing the coldness. “You need to keep fighting. Please.”

His forehead settles on the edge of her bed as he sits back down, his hands holding hers still as he closes his eyes and begins to pray silently. Desperation coursing through his veins.

“We’ve got it!” Tobias is sprinting down the hall with June and Baz, the rest of Casey’s friends following behind quickly. The sounds urge Ethan to stand.

“But Raf, he needs it more—” her whisper is cut off by a violent cough.

Within minutes, the other two members of the diagnostics team are in Casey’s room, donning hazmat suits and carrying a small syringe.

“Don’t worry, we’ve already given him his dose. So save your energy, you’re going to need it.” June grins triumphantly at her sick colleague and then looks to Ethan who’s red rimmed eyes show their utter surprise. “Would you like to do the honors?” She holds the syringe out towards him.

“Absolutely.” As soon as he has the antidote, he steps over to Casey’s bedside and holds her hand for a moment, gazing at her lovingly. “Are you ready?”

A simple nod is enough answer for him. Gently, he finds her vein and injects the liquid, removing the needle when the syringe is empty.

12 HOURS LATER

“Get up.”

Ethan strides into the quarantined room without a hazmat suit and leaves the door wide open behind him. He grins, and despite the exhaustion in his eyes, he looks happy and at ease.

“You mean…?” Carefully standing, but feeling near normal for the first time in the past 32 hours, Casey looks at him, her eyes trailing over every inch of him.

“Your last few blood tests have shown a slow decrease in the maitotoxin and the very last results showed nothing. It’s gone, so—”

His scientific rambling is cut off by Casey’s small body ramming into his. Her arms wrap around him tightly and she buries her face into his chest, breathing him in deeply. “So I can do this finally?”

A simple nod is his only answer, and when she pulls back to look at him, she understands why. His eyes are full and glisten with unshed tears. His large hand gently cups her cheek, his thumb traces her cheekbone.

“And this.” Before she can question what he means, his lips softly press to hers, his free hand slipping down to rest on her hip.

The silent embrace lasts for just a few seconds before he forces himself to pull away. His other hand slips up and cups her cheek so he’s holding her face. The piercing eyes roam over her face, as if he’s memorizing her.

“I didn’t know if I’d ever feel your lips again.” Her voice quivers and her bottom lip trembles when she sees his eyes glisten in the light.

In answer, he leans forward, pressing a firm kiss to her forehead before pulling her against his chest once again. “I love you.”

His voice is so quiet, she nearly misses the sweet phrase. Her voice is muffled, but she responds as her arms tighten around his waist. “I love you too, Ethan.”

#choices #playchoices #open heart 2 #open heart fanfics #choices open heart #open heart choices #dr ethan ramsey x mc #choices ethan ramsey #ethan ramsey x mc #oh ethan ramsey #ethan x mc #dr. ethan ramsey #ethan ramsey

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oneknightstand-if · 6 months ago

Note

Wait. So let’s say if Adrian see Merlin as short, and MC sees Merlin as tall. There’s a door that is only tall enough for a short person to enter. Would Merlin need to lower their body to enter or no? Or is Merlin’s actual physical dimension depending on Merlin’s view of themselves? So if Merlin view themselves as short, in Merlin’s view, they can enter the door without lowering their body. Thus MC (who view Merlin as tall) would literally see Merlin’s top body just overlap with the door frame and wall when they enter the door, like a bug in a 3D game?

I was gonna ask if Adrian punch Merlin on the head would he hit or miss given the mysterious height, and then I realize MC couldn’t land a single hit. So…… hmm?

It seems that we need something that is unbiased (doesn’t have an appearance preference) to determine Merlin’s actual physical dimensions… what is Merlin’s shadow shape? What about when they gets into water? Maybe when he fell into a mud or make a snow angel? Sunlight, water, mud, and snow are unbiased right? So they should reflect their true physical dimension!

…Also what about animals? Would a male turtle find Merlin the most beautiful cute small female turtle that is the same size as them?! I have so many questions 🤨

All I'll say is Merlin squeezed through a crack too small for water to pass through in order to escape the Veil. Merlin's existence isn't following the laws of Earth physics at all.

You'll eventually be able to talk about this with Merlin & get a demonstration during Free Time (probably not the one in this chapter since there needs to be more "...wait, what?" moments with Merlin in the main storyline), but this has already been hinted at during Merlin's big lore dump section in Chapter 1 where they kept replying "Is that what it looked like to you?" to the MC.

Otherwise, if the MC thinks the door is too small for Merlin then they'll see Merlin stoop to enter and Merlin's shadow will be the shape that MC thinks it should be and Merlin would make the most gorgeous Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel type of snow angel.

Also, if Merlin wants to be attractive to that turtle... for some reason*... then they'd appear to be the girliest most fabulous most breedable turtle that'd ever been seen.

*Animal & such souls aren't really a viable nutrition sort however

#oks-asks #oks-Merlin

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quinnyundertow · 21 days ago

Note

QUINNY HELLO!! Its me aleks @yuutito

I have been following both the time travel fic (when I catch you gege) and the asylum one since day one! But I’ve been really shy to make new moots so I haven’t made the effort to come and say hi >.<

But I want to pick your brain about the time travel fic hehe so here I am !!

- since JJK has ended, has your plans for the story changed at all? Like have any plot lines or your planned story been altered by the ending gege gave us?

- since we haven’t met yuuji or megumi or Nobara yet, I’m wondering.. will our MC stop Yuuji from eating the finger? You don’t have to answer but I’m so curious if you will loosely follow JJK storyline or if you will make sweeping changes… vague/nonspoiler answer is ok ^^

- I really like what you did with suguru’s character. I was actually shocked when we met him in the ryokan and he was like “why would I take Rika from Yuta?” I was like OH like we are ACTUALLY making a difference I was so happy 😭 but now I’m here wondering what will kenjaku do if the night parade never happens… I wonder if he’s still in kaoru’s body.. aaaa I have so many questions I’m so very excited you see..

- loosely speaking, I know it’s a reverse harem so MC will have lots of romantic interests, but does MC have romantic feelings for one person or all of them? Or is it more that she’s being swept away in the moment by all these guys? I want to root for an endgame couple (not naming any names, definitely not biased 😌) but I’m also having lots of fun watching MC romance them all!!

- I also really like what you did with Junpei. The eren jaeger hair is a LOOK I’m living for it truly… he looks so handsome in my mind…

Sorry if you’ve answered any of these before but I reread your whole fic last night and my mind is buzzing..

🥰 Ahhhh don’t feel shy about saying Hi I’m just a humble trash gremlin. I’m so glad you’ve continued to like the fics from so early on. 🥺 Thank you for the kind words and support!

These are some interesting questions! Let me see if I can give answers to them 🤭 Potential manga/anime spoilers below. I definitely got carried away responding.These are simply my opinions from watching/reading interviews and the source material.

- since JJK has ended, has your plans for the story changed at all? Like have any plot lines or your planned story been altered by the ending gege gave us?

For a little while I was pretty concerned about how the ending would affect the fic but to be honest almost all the tragedy we are focused around stopping is in the anime (Junpei, Haibara, Nanami, Suguru, Toji, Yuji’s Trauma, Childhood trauma for Gumi, Mechamaru, Tsumiki etc etc.). So no changes to the story line based off of the manga ending. That actually goes for all my fics. Phew.😅

There will be sweeping changes while loosely following the storyline. 😅 MC will be doing her damndest to avoid Yuji chowing on the finger. That’s all I’ll say on that.

I feel like I need to explain how I see Suguru’s character to respond to this. Suguru is such a fascinating character. Even if you think early intervention could have stopped his whole “Monkey” era. He has to have something innately inside him that is broken for him to be able to flip that hard (Nurture vs Nature argument). Yes he goes through extreme trauma but lots of people go through extreme trauma and don’t become racially charged serial killers.

In the show he goes from (arguably) Lawful Good to Chaotic Evil. In WICYG I want to explore Geto as a Chaotic Neutral.

Why didn’t Suguru even THINK of taking Rika from Yuta in WICYG? This stems from my analysis in his canon choices. Some of the decisions Geto makes in JJK 0 frankly don’t make sense if he wanted to achieve his goals of a non-sorcerer free world. Suguru is very intelligent and capable of understanding others deeply and in canon manipulating them.

I think in JJK 0 Geto was fucking exhausted by having to bare the weight of the world on his shoulders but felt totally pigeonholed into his choices and was past the point of no return. Geto knew what would goad Gojo into killing him. Targeting young children, attacking Gojo’s students, declaring a public war so Gojo couldn’t back out. Geto gave Gojo no choice but to kill him. Maybe he wasn’t fully cognizant of making that decision but I think he did. Geto could have easily killed Yuta and Stolen Rika when Toge and Yuta encounter Geto at the abandoned mall. He didn’t do it because he didn’t want to.

The WICYG Geto can’t even fathom murdering a young sorcerer with potential just to become more powerful himself. We will get more into these choices as Suguru’s story progresses!

Reader x all is the ending. I’ve thought about it a lot. This was the first thing I needed to establish before starting the story. How to have a believable happy harem ending. Trust in me 🙏

- I also really like what you did with Junpei. The eren jaeger hair is a LOOK I’m living for it truly… he looks so handsome in my mind…

I needed him to have a hairdo with his forehead exposed because it’s a visible sign of readers success in Jupei’s story so far. He was never bullied to the point of cigarettes being put out on his face. Go reader! Also Man buns 🙌 Now I need to pay someone to draw him like that hehe I’m glad you approve.

Thank you for all the questions and kind words and sorry for the rambling. I enjoyed responding ❤️

#jjk fanfic #wicyg #Quinny speaks #asks

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perhaps-in-anotherdream · 1 year ago

Text

[CN] Victor’s Luolan Date (Eng Translation)

“It appears I’ve already found the rose from the legend, one that will never wither.”

⌚Warning⌚ This post contains detailed spoilers for a date, 楼兰之约, that is yet to be released on the global server! ♡

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

【Subbed Video】

[Anika's Notes]: tbh ig the VAs were told to soften their voice 10x than usual for this event LOL. The amount of nonverbal sounds—— 😩 also, since Tumblr wants to reduce my workload LOL and won’t allow more than 30 pics, PLS DO WATCH the video for the god-tier voice acting, new bgs, the bgms and sprite alterations too~💕

youtube

───────

【Transcript Version】

【Chapter 1】

Victor: If you keep crying for any longer, your eyes might become swollen.

MC: [sobbing] The ending was simply too unfair. Who can resist crying…

Through the hazy veil of tears, I see the lights in the living room flicker on.

The time-traveling drama I’ve been following all summer aired its series finale tonight. Victor even joined me in watching the web series together after getting off work.

We were chatting about the storyline just fine, until the final scene when my tears began streaming down uncontrollably––

Upon returning to the present day, the heroine enters Luolan once again, only to discover that the once prosperous city has eroded into the long river of time.

But the rose that the Prince of Luolan had carved outside the palace walls still blossoms on the crumbling ruins, quietly awaiting her for a thousand years.

Victor places a towel, radiating warm steam, over my eyes, gradually soothing my emotions.

MC: Don’t you find it beautiful?

Victor: Carving a rose into a stone is quite romantic. I can understand why you like it.

MC: I see absolutely no hint of being moved on your face…

He slightly furrows his brows in response to what sounded like an odd statement to him.

Victor: You’re not expecting us both to cuddle up and cry our eyes off, are you?

A rather peculiar image flashes through my mind, and I can’t help but burst into laughter.

Victor: Crying one moment and laughing the next. Your emotions are truly fickle.

MC: Precisely. Compared with my vivid and overt emotional display, this audience member’s emotions are too composed.

Victor: The selling point of all time-travel dramas mostly revolves around the theme that love can transcend time and space, with endings that can either be joyful or sorrowful.

Victor: This ending was predictable.

MC: But this series is adapted from the legend of the last prince of Loulan!

MC: Additionally, in the last century, a foreign explorer claimed to have seen flower-shaped carved patterns on the stone tiles at the Luolan ruins.

Victor listens quietly, then turns his gaze to me after a brief pause.

Victor: So, is this why you want to visit the Loulan ruins?

MC: Well, it’s not the sole reason. The legend of Luolan’s overnight disappearance has been widely known as a mystical tale. I was originally–– hang on, how did you know I wanted to go there?

The answer to my question is a document he hands to me. Upon closer look, I realize it’s actually the official permit granting access to enter the Luolan ruins.

MC: Why do you have this document too?

Victor: …dummy, it’s yours. Could they have sent it to the wrong person?

I flip through a few pages, and sure enough, find my full name written in the applicant’s box.

MC: I had just woken up when I filled in the address… I guess I subconsciously thought it would be safer to have it sent to you?

Victor: Sweet talker.

He raps my head.

Victor: But I heard that it’s no longer open for public visits.

MC: Yes, indeed~ Currently, only teams on scientific expeditions or those with permits are allowed in.

MC: The conditions for obtaining the permit are so incredibly stringent. I even tried leveraging all my connections, but still couldn’t succeed!

Hearing my words, he gives me a sidelong glance but doesn’t interrupt my unceasing torrent of complacent monologue.

MC: Luckily, I was able to negotiate a documentary collaboration with the local government and received an invitation for sightseeing~ I even signed multiple agreements to protect cultural relics.

Victor: No wonder a certain dummy’s tail is raised high into the sky; it indeed was no easy feat. However––

Victor: [sulking] You just said you had leveraged all your connections. How come I don’t remember myself being among those connections you leveraged?

MC: Because this was meant to be my Qixi Festival surprise for you…

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

【Chapter 2】

Victor: Is this abrupt emergency break also a part of the surprise?

He pinches up the coffee-spattered shirt clinging to his body and stares at me sitting in the driver’s seat, lost for words.

MC: That pit just now was really too tricky…!

Just a few short hours ago, we landed at Luolan Airport. However, upon arrival, we were informed by the airline that our checked luggage had been delayed in the transit city and wouldn’t be delivered until two days later.

To avoid delaying our itinerary, we agreed to deal with the matter of collecting them on our way back. With that settled, I confidently got into the driver’s seat of the RV, and alongside Victor, embarked on a self-driven journey into the desert.

Yet, as expected, things aren’t as uncomplicated as I initially thought.

Looking at his shirt– practically soaked through and with coffee still dripping from it– I promptly grab some tissues and wipe it off for him.

The next second, my gaze suddenly falls upon the carry-on suitcase on the luggage rack. My eyes light up, leading me to pause in my actions.

MC: Why not take it off and wash it immediately? Although, while waiting for the clothes to dry, it seems like you’ll have to either be completely naked––

Unsurprisingly, as I deliberately prolong the final note, his reaction of furrowing his brows is true to my expectations.

MC: Or you could wear the couple’s outfit I packed inside the carry-on luggage for taking photos~

Victor: It seems like occasionally; one can still count on––

However, as soon as I take out two sets of lavish Western Region attire, his voice ceases to be heard.

The gold-plated ornaments chime with a delicate tinkling sound, aggravating the crease between his brows.

Victor: What are these?

MC: Compared to my dancer’s attire, yours is actually a collaboration with the museum, an exact 1:1 replica of the half-sleeved garment worn by the Prince of Loulan back in the day~

Victor: So?

Seeing that he is unmoved, I extend my hand and point to the sign denoting the “uninhabited area” by the roadside.

MC: There’s no place to purchase clothes around here. If you don’t change soon, that coffee stain won’t come off. And then, regardless of what outfit you wear on the return trip, it’ll end up on the news––

MC: 《The CEO of LFG’s Grand Cosplay Elevates Airport Fashion》 or 《The CEO of LFG Spotted in Stained Shirt - Speculations of Bankruptcy》. Your choice?

After quite a while, he compromises with a sigh, taking the clothes from me and walking towards the bathroom at the back of the RV.

Not long after, the sound of water seems to quiet down. In anticipation, I turn my head––

The soft crimson robe barely conceals the glimpses of sculpted and muscular contours underneath, complemented by intricate gold ornaments that adorn him with an air of regal nobility and grace.

Faced with my unblinking gaze fixated on him, he displays a somewhat unnatural expression, which is rarely seen on his face.

Victor: Why aren’t you changing?

MC: [still busy gaping] What?

Victor: Why am I the only one wearing the couple’s outfit?

MC: Okay, okay, I’ll “accompany” you.

Watching the awkward expression on his face, I can’t contain my laughter and let out a chuckle. Just before his gaze can shoot my way, I hurriedly grab my attire and head to the bathroom.

The desert weather is always fluctuating and unpredictable. Right after I finish changing my clothes, I notice a sudden sandstorm brewing outside the window.

Seemingly catching a sound, his gaze lingers on me for a brief moment, and an almost imperceptible tenderness crests on the arches of his brows.

With the scope visibility diminished, Victor assumes control of the steering wheel, deftly maintaining a steady distance from the swirling sand and wind.

After who knows how long, we finally spot a single-story house coming into view at the end of the yellow sand. Brimming with excitement, I tap the navigation icon to zoom in and get a closer look.

MC: It’s the cultural relics preservation station!

—

Initially, our intention was only to charge the RV. But with the yellow sand swirling around, we find ourselves invited by the stationed personnel, Maizi, to come inside and rest for a bit.

Just as we step inside, a dense mass of sand and stones outside the window surges forward, closing in rapidly.

The sandstorm has begun.

Thoughts of how an entire kingdom was once buried under this very sand spring to mind, and an instinctive fear begins to loom large within me.

The delicate brick house trembles subtly amidst the raging wind, and at this moment, a crisp sound resounds in my ears.

Several pairs of shimmering gold-plated earrings illuminate my dusky field of view. Taking note of my reaction, Maizi places them in front of me.

Maizi: Don’t be scared. Here, we’ve been wearing these kinds of earrings since childhood. They’re like protective charms for children in the desert.

As Maizi speaks, she turns slightly and shows me her earrings. The luster has dimmed a touch, suggesting she’s been wearing them for a long time.

Maizi: These are the ones I made for my kids. If you don’t mind, would you guys like to choose two pairs?

MC: Thank you, but it’s alright.

With a hint of bashfulness, I gesture with my hand and point at Victor’s ears.

MC: Besides, my boyfriend doesn’t have ear piercings.

Maizi: It’s no problem. My eldest son doesn’t have ear piercings either.

With a smile, Maizi offers me a pair of clip-on earrings.

Maizi: Consider them as a wish for your safety and well-being. Take them.

—

As the sandstorm eases up, not wanting to impose any longer, we say our goodbyes and ultimately accept the two pairs of earrings before returning to the RV.

Perhaps due to how terrifyingly unnerving the sandstorm was, Victor doesn’t refuse when I offer to help him wear the clip-on earrings after he’s put the earrings on me.

I take up the clip-on earring and carefully trace my finger over his earlobe to figure out its placement. However, after spending a good amount of time, I still don’t find the ideal position I’m entirely satisfied with.

Victor: Still not done?

MC: Have a little patience. I don’t seem to recall rushing you when you gifted me earrings for the first time~

–

[Tidbits]: AHHH YESSS the call back to their first “kiss” kiss date– “Dazzling Date” 🥺

–

At long last, I find the right spot and fasten the clip. Following this, I can’t help myself and imitate the past actions in my memories, gently cradling his face and leaning in to take a closer look.

The glistening golden pieces dance softly. However, in the next second, a subtle blush at the corner of his eyes captures my attention.

Seeing this, I mischievously continue leaning closer and closer to him. As I catch a momentary hitch in his steady breathing, I deliberately reach out to stroke his earlobe.

MC: Oh gosh, could you be allergic to metal? The corners of your eyes have turned red. Maybe I should take them off…

Before the words fully leave my mouth, I find myself abruptly pulled into his arms.

Victor: They’re on just fine, don’t mess with them.

His arms tighten around me a little more, and I obediently nestle into his embrace, letting the cocoon of safety enfold me.

The swirling underlying tension caused by the dreadful weather finally dissipates, akin to feathers drifting in the air. As drowsiness slowly sweeps over me, I register the sound of my last question being put into words.

MC: Victor, what if we can’t find the remains? What should we do then?

Victor: If we don’t find them this time, we will come back next time.

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

【Chapter 3】

[Anika’s Notes]: While I’ll talk about this later, just wanted to say— that the way we get a mere glimpse into how extreme level of PTSD this man has given MC from the main story like— I’m counting fingers for the number of times she got nightmares when he isn’t next to her— (⁠〒⁠﹏⁠〒⁠)

—

A man sits in solitude beneath the palace walls, gazing towards the east for a long, long time.

He has probably repeated the act of carving a million times before. It seems as if the carving knife in his hand has a soul of its own now, each stroke finding its mark with precision, etching deep scars.

Fresh blood trickles down along the blade’s edge, staining the rose with a blood-red hue. Yet, he appears unresponsive to the pain, persistently carving stroke after stroke.

Only when the red headscarf is lifted by the wind does a familiar face emerge before my eyes.

MC: Victor!

I reach out in a panic to touch him, but a sudden onslaught of sand and wind surges forth, engulfing him in the blink of an eye.

–

Startled awake from the nightmare, I instinctively reach my hand to my side, only to find nothing but an empty space.

Victor is not in the car.

Amidst the boundless silence, a distant chime of camel bells suddenly reaches me. Compelled by the sound, I push open the car door––

The sandstorm has ceased at some point, revealing a sky that’s now crystal clear and brilliantly bright.

The curtain of dusk hangs low, but the luminous moon has already ascended in the vault of the heavens, radiating its brilliance alongside the sun.

Among the endless sand dunes, Victor, attired in exquisite garments, guides a pure white camel through the terrain, advancing his way through the light.

Stretching behind him, across the infinite expanse of Lop Desert, stands several silent, solitary, and enigmatic remnants of ancient civilizations.

The breeze dances by, causing his knuckles to gently clasp the upper garment brushing against his grave and stern visage, setting the accessories on his splendid attire to chime with delicate, tinkling sounds.

Perhaps dazzled by the light, he squints his slender eyes and immediately spots my presence. He appears slightly taken aback, but then quickens his stride as he approaches my direction.

In the boundless landscape, with each step he takes toward me, I feel as if he is crossing through a thousand years to reach me.

The scene from the dream resurfaces in my mind once again, and before I can even fully comprehend it, I’m already sprinting toward him with large strides.

I practically crash into his arms.

Victor: [breathes sharply] Running so fast––

Seeing that I’m breathless and staring fixedly at him without even blinking my eyes, he freezes for a moment. Then, as if realizing something, he envelops me in his arms.

Victor: The Luolan ruins we are heading to are in that direction. We can’t drive there, so I borrowed a camel from Maizi for transportation.

Victor: It was released to wander in the desert, and I needed to go and guide it back myself. You seemed to be sleeping so soundly, so I didn’t wake you up.

His words are extremely slowed, spoken one at a time. Listening to him, rather than an explanation, it sounds more like he is comforting me.

MC: You weren’t here just now and… I had this strange dream.

With his questioning eyes upon me, I feel compelled to respond honestly.

MC: I dreamt that you turned into the Prince of Loulan and were swept away by the sand...

Victor: [sighs with infinite indulgence and helplessness] …

MC: You find this amusing?

Hearing my grumbling, he finally can’t hold back a muffled chuckle, drawing his arms around me a little tighter.

Victor: Have you confirmed it now? – that I haven’t been swept away by the sand?

MC: Who knows, maybe you had gotten swept away! And it was this camel that rescued you and brought you back.

I huff angrily and bicker with him, effectively dispelling the uneasiness that the nightmare had triggered.

However, the camel seems to have caught on something, suddenly swaying its head and coming closer to me.

Momentarily taken aback, I then laugh in spite of myself and reach out to pat it. This gesture seems to act as a signal of some sort, prompting it to obediently lower itself to the ground.

MC: Huh, could it be that I have a natural talent for taming camels?

Victor: It’s more likely a stroke of luck.

As he speaks, he nimbly mounts the camel’s saddle and reaches out to hug me, lifting me up onto it alongside him.

The camel stands up in due course and suddenly leaps into the air, prompting me to let out a subconscious cry of exclamation.

MC: Whoa!

Victor: Hold onto me firmly and sit tight.

After he tugs on the reins, the camel pivots to change its direction and heads toward the ruins.

Probably due to Victor’s presence, I swiftly adapt to the bumpy ride. I even begin swaying my ornaments to create a pleasant sound, echoing in harmony with the camel’s bells.

MC: I feel like I’m a dancer being offered to the Prince of Luolan~

Victor: How come I’m not aware of any dynasty where a prince would rush out of the palace to welcome a dancer?

His teasing leaves me momentarily dumbfounded. It takes me quite a while before I open my mouth to speak, unwilling to resign myself.

MC: I never said the Prince of Luolan is you.

For an instant, Victor seems to stiffen up. When he speaks again, his tone takes on a slight rigidity.

Victor: [sulking] Who is he, then?

MC: …that’s not the important point!

MC: The important point is that you’re the Mr. Husband of my dreams– whom I’ve long set my heart on, and now you’re stealing me away to elope.

Victor: Childish.

A gentle tap lands on my head, and as I tilt my head up, I find myself ensnared by the light of his tender eyes.

MC: You clearly look really happy~

He doesn’t banter any further and only gives a tug on the reins, prompting the camel’s steps to become a bit brisker.

Receding into the distance amid the boundless expanse swept by the northern breeze, the glory and decline, the prosperity and withering of ancient Luolan have long frozen into eternal slumber.

MC: How wonderful!

Victor: What’s got you so moved again?

MC: The weather has cleared, which is wonderful. We’re heading to the ruins without any hiccups, which is also wonderful. But the most wonderful thing is having you by my side, chatting about all sorts of nonsense.

MC: No matter what, everything is wonderful as long as Victor is around.

The jingling tinkle of camel bells accompanies his gentle laughter close to my ears.

Victor: It’s only possible with a certain dummy around.

As the outlines of the ruins become distinct, I turn my head back in exhilaration.

MC: Even if I have to turn this place upside down, I’ll find that stone-carved rose!

His gaze lingers briefly on my arms waving around in excitement, and then he arches an eyebrow.

Victor: It appears crucial for me to remind you that you signed agreements for the preservation of cultural relics. If you do turn this place upside down––

Victor: I won’t be able to save you, even if I were to sell LFG.

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

【Chapter 4】

MC: …it’s all completely weathered away.

As I look at the historical ruins of the ancient kingdom before my eyes, which have gradually been devoured into nothingness by the endless expanse of yellow sand, I can’t resist pouting my lips.

MC: Locating the ruins of the imperial palace itself is akin to a far-fetched tale, let alone finding the stone-carved rose.

Victor: Why are you so hung up on that legend?

MC: Just a bit of anticipation, you know. After all, you see, If I were in that position, I’d surely leave behind some traces for you.

MC: The speculation is that the woman in the tales possessed an Evol similar to yours, which led her to go there. But, due to certain factors, she had no choice but to leave.

Victor: It won’t be the same.

He softly counters my statement, his gaze filled with seriousness.

MC: Hm?

Victor: With me, those factors you mentioned won’t come into existence.

A warm and fuzzy feeling suddenly envelopes my heart. I grin, drawing closer to him.

MC: Guess there’s no way around it. It seems I have no choice but to concede that the legend is, indeed, bogus.

He pauses for a moment, and his lips twitch. But in the end, he doesn’t say anything. Soon, a glimmer of a smile sparkles in his eyes, and immediately after, he tightly clasps my hand.

—

While I’m still in the midst of my puzzlement, a sudden glaring sunlight makes me reflexively squint my eyes. And then, a hot and humid breeze, carrying an exotic fragrance, hits me in the next moment.

After struggling to open my eyes, I curiously peer in the direction of the light, only to find myself frozen right where I’m standing––

Before my eyes lay a quaint-style courtyard adorned with fragrant blossoms. A flowing river winds its way through, its glistening waves reflecting in the sunlight with water that is clear and pristine, hosting schools of fish swimming within.

Compared to me who is filled with utter incredulity, Victor’s expression remains unchanged as if the current sight before us holds no element of astonishment for him.

Could this be a mirage? Puzzled, I gingerly brush the river’s water with the tips of my toes. The cool sensation of the flowing stream leaves me bewildered, prompting me to lift my gaze to the person next to me.

MC: Victor, am I dreaming again?

Victor: Just earlier, didn’t a certain someone say that she wanted me to take her away to elope?

He smiles as he looks at me, and in his eyes, the magnificent beauty and grand scenery of an ancient landscape are reflected.

The lofty dome of the circular palace hall is embellished with ceramic glazed tiles on its overhanging eaves, each detail unmistakably declaring the opulent and prestigious nature of this place.

Atop the roof stands a wooden pagoda reminiscent of those unique to ancient Luolan, and a lush canopy of greenery veils the gray-red palace walls I’ve seen in the drama.

A somewhat daring conjecture surfaces in my mind.

MC: This wouldn’t be the Imperial Palace of Luolan, is it?

Seeing the originator of all this noncommittally raise an eyebrow, I feel my heart tighten and rush to examine him thoroughly, circling around him.

MC: [anxiously, PTSD x2] A-are you feeling any discomfort?

Victor: [?? laughs helplessly. *screams* DO YOU SEE HOW BADLY YOU GAVE HER AND US MAIN STORY PTSD––] Dummy. I’m not that fragile.

Victor: As long as we manage to sidestep the butterfly effect and avoid impacting the course of history––

Probably noticing that I’m tensely staring into his eyes again, he slips my restless hand into his palm and gives it a gentle squeeze.

Victor: Don’t be so anxious. There won’t be anyone else here for the time being.

Hearing him say this, I poke my head out and gaze at the rare and magnificent view that lay before me.

MC: So, can we take photos?

Victor: Ask your phone.

But I soon realize that my phone is entirely frozen on the lock screen interface and is refusing to respond whatsoever, leaving me with no choice but to resentfully lower my hand.

MC: The phone says it’s not possible…

Victor: That being the case, simply keep your eyes wide open and commit it to your memory.

I let him lead me toward the depths of the courtyard, and along the way, we see the flowers bloom all the more luxuriantly. Unwittingly, I find myself mesmerized by the vista.

It’s not until a glazed table adorned with delicacies and fine wines appears amidst the blossoms that I stop in my tracks in astonishment.

–– Everything unfolding before my eyes is gradually starting to align with the scenes from the time-travel drama in my memories.

MC: It turns out that the drama is actually so detailed. It seems that I, who diligently watched every episode without exception, am about to become a walking encyclopedia of Luolan––

From the garden on the other side of the wall, there suddenly comes voices of conversation. I hastily hush and excitedly prick up my ears to listen to their dispute.

However, all that reaches my ears are unfamiliar and garbled sounds, and soon I start feeling my head beginning to spin a little. Once the women have walked farther away, I find I’m already frowning without even realizing it.

Victor: Looks like a certain encyclopedia trained through time-travel dramas is really just a half-filled bucket of water sloshing around.

MC: Says who!

–

[Anika’s tidbits]: HAHA as you guys know, I’ve long stopped explaining the thousands of idioms and intricate phrases Li Zeyan writers use unless they’re absolutely necessary/ crucial– or else my translation notes would be bigger than the content itself LOL– and this is one of those and it’s one of my favs 😂 the full idiom phrase is “一桶水不响，半桶水晃荡” – it literally means while a full bucket of water doesn’t make noise as it is heavy and stable, a half-filled bucket sloshes around– i.e. those wisest among us prefer being quiet and are self-confident, while those who are in the less wise/ smarter group often try to compensate their lack of knowledge/ understanding by asserting that they do~ 💀

–

Displeased with his jest, I swiftly focus my gaze on a copper utensil.

MC: Believe it or not, this was designed for storing spices, and it’s a very rare and expensive item.

I open the lid as I speak, and sure enough, a strong and fragrant aroma assails my nostrils. I can’t help but lift my chin complacently.

Victor: [laughs indulgently] Alright, I underestimated a certain dummy.

I vaguely feel that the aroma is somewhat familiar, so I lean in to take a whiff, and a powerful fragrance of mugwort instantly invades the tip of my nose.

MC: [sneezes] Ah-choo!

I rub my nose and look up, only to find that I have blown most of the scented powder onto Victor’s body, causing his figure to be coated with a drizzle of white.

The next second, he narrows his eyes and swiftly scoops me behind him. The smell of bone-chilling danger subtly spreads through the air.

MC: You’re not angry––?

Victor: Hush.

Looking in the direction of his gaze, I instantly become dumbstruck where I’m standing.

A massive leopard is peering at us from beneath the poplar tree, its face obscured by the shade of the tree, its pupils gleaming with an eerie and chilly light.

MC: L-Leopard…

Victor: [smiling] I’m familiar with it.

Despite being faced with a ferocious beast, this man actually still has the mood to crack jokes!

MC: But according to historical accounts, this should be one of those leopards raised in captivity by the royals and aristocrats. It’s probably quite docile… it wouldn’t eat us, right?

Victor: [still smiling] Being raised in captivity doesn’t mean it has lost its ability to hunt.

Seeing the leopard arch its back, fear grips me so hard that I cling tightly to his arm.

MC: Do we still have a chance to slip away secretly?

Victor: [still smiling] We’ve already made direct eye contact within its territory. Stay calm for now.

Pressing my hand against my wildly thudding heart, I raise my gaze to see it take a whiff of the air and then proceed to saunter leisurely in our direction.

After a while, it approaches Victor and sniffs gently. My heart leaps to my throat, but leaving me stupefied, it actually lays down, its shape reminiscent of a fluffy cushion. It even nuzzles him affectionately with its head.

What follows is a fuzzy ticklish sensation, and I stare in startled shock as the leopard’s tail merrily swishes against my lower leg.

MC: …didn’t we just make eye contact with it? Yet you’ve actually managed to tame it?

I cast an incredulous glance at Victor, while he is staring at the incense burner with furrowed brows.

Victor: This scented powder probably isn’t intended for human application.

The enormous creature rolls over, laying bare its soft belly, exceedingly similar to the way Pudding behaves coquettishly after sucking on catnip.

Victor: It might not necessarily be us who drew it here. This fragrance is not just on me.

It’s only now that I realize a subtle aroma of mugwort is also lingering in the air. Following the fragrance, my eyes land on one side of the path lined with densely grown nepeta herbs. I immediately heave a sigh of relief.

At this moment, the leopard flexes its limbs in an inviting gesture, signaling for Victor to pet it. As I watch his rare expression of being at a loss for what to do, I can’t help but break into laughter.

Victor: [laughs helplessly] …look at what good deed you’ve done!

MC: Being approached by an imperial leopard is a rare blessing that can never be obtained even if one beseeched it.

–

[Anika’s tidbits]: ANOTHER ONE OF MY MOST FAV PHRASES EVER! The term MC uses here is 求都求不来 (qiu dui qui bu lai), which is a play on this phrase: 可遇不可求 (ke yu bu ke qui), which means “can only be obtained (serendipitously) but not be sought after” – which paints the perfect imagery for “destiny, sth/sb being destined for someone”~ and a very important thing to note, which I’ll come back to later. 🥺

–

Likely attributed to my overly bright gloating, Victor curls his fingers as he pinches up a small amount of the scented powder, which he then dabs on my face.

Sure enough, the leopard turns around and nuzzles against me. Seeing that I’m not putting up any resistance, it then straightens itself up and buries me completely in its soft fur.

MC: …ngh, Victor! Save me!

Victor: Nope. This ��rare blessing that can never be obtained even if one beseeched it” is now being given to you.

Nudged by the leopard, I’m prompted to draw a few steps back, and as I let out a startled cry and tumble backward, I find myself landing in a soft embrace.

Amused, Victor pats the leopard on the head, and it obediently sits back down on the ground, reminiscent of a docile house kitten.

–

Even as he enfolds me in his arms and sits us both down on the grassy lawn, I remain a bit indignant.

MC: Why does it only listen to you! We both clearly have the same scent.

At this moment, I happen to glimpse at the golden silk embroidery on his clothes shimmering in the sunlight. I then contemplatively look at my own dress, which is somewhat plain.

Victor: You don’t think it’s because of the clothes, do you?

MC: …who can say, perhaps its owner has clothes identical to yours.

Victor: Well, a certain someone must be thinking to herself, “Had I known earlier, I would’ve chosen a fancy princess gown for myself.”

Seeing me choked silly by his spot-on guess of my thoughts, he studies me with even more and more interest.

Victor: [IN THE MOST DOTING AND ADORABLE VOICE EVER] But however you slice it, a certain dummy still looks like a certain dummy.

Disgruntled, I lean closer to the water’s surface to check my reflection. A pouty face suddenly jumps out at me, which indeed is in disharmony with the dancer’s attire.

However, when I turn around and notice the wine cups on the table, an idea immediately strikes me.

I pick up a cup and lean in to bring it to his lips, working hard to make my voice sound soft and enticing as I speak.

MC: Your Highness~

He pauses for a brief moment, almost imperceptibly, before swiftly locking eyes with me.

Victor: There’s no wine in the cup.

MC: …you spoilsport!

Huffing, I sit up straight from his arms and shoot him a glare.

MC: Isn’t it because I’m afraid that if I spill the wine just like I sneezed earlier, it could result in altering the details of the history!

Victor, however, lightly quirks the corners of his lips, pours the glass to the brim with wine, and once again draws me closer to his side.

Victor: What did you want to do to me? Go on.

MC: You…

Before I can fully comprehend why he is being so cooperative at this moment, I feel a gentle force gripping my chin up.

I find myself falling into those serenely deep and unceasingly approaching pupils, and my breathing becomes rapid, beyond my control.

Victor: Weren’t you quite bold just a moment ago?

Victor: Seeing how you’re being so tentative like this, do you want me to teach you how one should drink this wine?

My slightly trembling hand is gently lifted by him with an irresistible force, and the small wine cup is soon raised to the level of my eyebrows and then even higher.

His fingers trace a slow path from my wrist to the palm of my hand, making the wine in the cup ripple, mirroring the swaying of my heart in tandem.

Just as his waywardly mischievous fingers are about to enter between the crevices of mine, he applies a slight pressure. The teetering fine liquid finally spills out, and the cool sensation quietly trickles down my forearm.

Along with the soft sensation, a rush of warmth suddenly washes over me. I stare wide-eyed, completely unguarded, and am rooted to the spot.

That pair of deep eyes, which has been fixed on me all along, makes it clear that he has no intention whatsoever of letting me go.

The scorching tip of his tongue gently licks and sucks on the continuously dripping nectar-like fine liquid, sending a wave of tingling shivers coursing throughout my entire body.

The incessantly rising, delicate sensation of itchiness makes me a bit restless. I have the urge to escape, yet simultaneously, I can’t help myself from pandering to it.

He looks at me with slightly half-lidded eyes, his lips curling up into a triumphant arc of someone getting their way.

Victor: Have you learned it now, dummy?

MC: !

I suddenly snap back to my senses and hastily pull my hand back, tossing the ceramic glazed cup back onto the table as if I were holding a hot potato.

MC: W-What am I learning this for…

Victor: Clearly, it was a certain someone who started it first––

Before the words even leave his mouth, I notice a skylark swooping down. Seeing this, he swiftly pulls me to the side to dodge.

While I’m still amidst my puzzlement, a black shadow suddenly flashes before my eyes. Much to my astonishment, the leopard has scampered into the air to catch the bird.

“Clang” –– the table is abruptly turned upside down by it, sending fruits and vegetables tumbling and leaving the cups and dishes in a complete disarray.

When I see him calmly looking at the spilled wine, as if he’d already foreseen it, I realize where his confidence in pouring the wine earlier came from.

And also, the uniqueness of this “trip.”

Looking up at this world that doesn’t belong to me, I can’t bear to tear my eyes away from the courtyard blooming with vibrant and luxuriant flowers––

The abounding blossoms of crimson pomegranate adorn the trees, while the light purple clovers form dense clusters, and the red lotus stretches wantonly by the riverbank…

MC: I’m still finding it hard to believe that I’m able to see the ancient Luolan with my own eyes…

Victor: So, have you found what you were searching for?

At his reminder, I belatedly recall the original purpose that I had cast to the back of my mind.

After casting a surveying glance all around, I don’t find that rosy color I was expecting to see and can only gaze at him with a sense of bitterness.

Victor: During this period, roses hadn’t been cultivated yet.

As if he can sense what I’m thinking, he explains in a calm tone.

MC: So that means, the stone-carved rose doesn’t exist either… Since you knew this all along, why did you go through such great pains to bring me here?

Victor: Compared to simply answering you whether the legend is true or false, bringing you here to see for yourself is more just.

Victor: In this boundless universe, there will always be a kind of beauty worthy of a certain dummy’s pure yearning.

Only at this moment do I realize that this voyage across time and space is precisely his answer.

MC: You… don’t you think it was quite naïve of me?

Victor: I do. But it’s also a precious trait of a certain dummy, and I think I can help you maintain it in moderation.

My heart suddenly turns into a mush. I settle my gaze on the edge of his lips before lifting my head and kissing him.

The aroma of wine and fragrance of flowers gradually fade away, and I find myself drenched only in his pleasant scent. Amidst our closely interwoven breaths, time seems to slow to a crawl, stretching ever so slowly.

It’s not until the familiar dryness lingers around the tip of my nose that I slowly open my eyes, slightly gasping for breath. What greets my eyes is the view of the endless sand dunes.

Apt to the occasion, my phone starts vibrating and powers up automatically. Only ten minutes have passed.

I feel as if I have just woken up from a dream. I gaze at Victor in a trance, and the rose-colored kiss mark on his lips enters my field of view, making me unable to help the smile spreading across my face.

MC: It appears I’ve already found the rose from the legend, one that will never wither.

In those eyes, brimming with unending tenderness, I see him lowering himself——

Victor: Then, allow it to bloom for a little while longer.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

[Anika’s Analysis & Ramblings]

twitter thread link: ♡

—

#DUMB. I CALL DUMB. THE SHOCK AND CONSTANT PAINED FEELINGS THIS BROUGHT BACK—#DO NOT EVER FREAKIN' DARE CALL ME A DUMMY WHEN YOU'RE THE BIGGEST DUMMY AND LOVE-BRAIN IN THE UNIVERSE #HE IS JUST UGGHHHH i empathize with MC so much like if i were her i too would keep this silly man under 24 hour surveillance like!!!!#mlqc victor #mlqc li zeyan #mlqc #mr love victor #mr love queen's choice #李泽言 #恋与制作人 #love and producer #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc translations

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scyllamoonlight · 23 days ago

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Mass Effect: Andromeda

Okay so, I just finished replaying through the mass effect trilogy and begun playing Andromeda something I was somewhat scared to do due to all the negative opinions regarding it.

So far there's a fair bit I've been considering in regards to the actual development and writing process for Andromeda as an expansion of the mass effect world building.

The ending of mass effect 3 would be extremely hard to build upon given that there were three possible end scenarios not including all the possible world altering choices throughout the game (e.g. curing the genophage or taking the Salarian deal, Siding with the Quarians or Geth or both) in all it's a lot of variables to consider when building a story and almost makes it unviable to continue a storyline in the milkyway or with Shepard as the MC. A lot of the critique towards Andromeda, from what I've seen stems from the story not following Shepard or the Impact of Shepard's actions, or all in all not comparing to the storyline of Mass effect 3. Regardless if we want more mass effect content I think Bioware has done their best to expand on the universe without having to either take on a massive workload regarding 3 different endings or pissing everyone off by retconning decisions or the end of mass effect 3.

The combat is good (as someone who doesn't play a lot of FPS games) and while it does fall short of ME3 combat it does have some things I enjoy more (like actually being able to run) the airborne combat also feels very fun and authentic to the game, as well as the scanning and exploration features.

So far I'm enjoying the storyline and the only thing that bugs me is the character rendering and how smooth PeeBee looks. Also I miss the Mako (I want to shoot people from the safety of my truck).

Overall I feel like asking the studio to continue Shepards story is an astronomical ask and comes more so from a place of nostalgia rather than critical thinking of how a continuation could actually be developed. I haven't entirely finished the game yet so maybe my opinion will change as I play but looking at it as an expansion of the ME universe rather than an extension of Shepard's story definitely helps.

#Mass effect #mass effect 3 #mass effect 2 #mass effect andromeda #Choice games

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clairedaring · 9 months ago

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The Storyboard: Interview with the Dee Hup House director Tee Bundit - On IFYLITA's budget and his passion for IFYLITA

So P'Tum has invited director Tee Bundit for the second episode of The Storyboard where they talked in length about a variety of Tee Bundit's works. There were a lot of interesting tidbits about I Feel You Linger In The Air so I've compiled them here for all the IFYLITA enthusiasts.

All translations below done by my dear friend saltymarbles on Twitter, please give her a follow if you're interested in IFYLITA and Bright Rapheephong-related content.

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On his filming schedule in 2023

Last year, P’Tee was working everyday up till about the ending second half of the year. There was Hidden Agenda, Step by Step & IFYLITA. If he wasn’t on set, he’d be working on post-production. So he had little rest & sleep. To him, although just letting go of the matter doesn’t always improve the situation, sometimes he has to lower his expectations to move on. So last year (2023) he was in quite a bit of a ‘screw it’ kind of era. Regarding his series for 2024 (I Saw You in My Dream, Jack & Joker), he feels really anxious because they (YinWar) already have many fans. Honestly, for him, it’s always hard when it comes to expectations. When working on projects based on novels with many fans, it’s more stressful and tiring than usual because there’s people already awaiting the series and keeping an eye on it.

I had compiled the filming queues of Dee Hup House last year in this table and as you can see Tee was working at full speed and filming multiple series at the same time..

On the differences of being on set for IFYLITA vs Hidden Agenda

P’Tee said that he had to adjust himself while on set for these two series because JoongDunk are very playful kids. On set for IFYLITA, it’s very work centric and go-go-go which works for the actors. But for Hidden Agenda, he needed to adjust himself to play along with the actors to make them feel less stressed so they can work better.

On Bright-Nonkul & IFYLITA

Tee: They’re a pair that I’ve wanted to work with, with each person, for a year. For Bright, when he knew that he needed to act with Non and needed to act in a period drama, he did his homework very seriously. Because this was his first time playing a main character and he also felt a lot of passion for portraying this role. Both of them actually, this pair felt that they wanted to act in something like this and I too felt that this was good so I got them to come for casting because both of them needed to cast together, in the sense that we needed to see their chemistry together. They’re already really talented. One person is talented and the other is too. Even though Bright has never had a project in which he was the lead actor before, he has already learnt acting. Yeah and he did his own homework too. Meaning that they both read the novel properly and they actually also discussed with us about numerous things too with regards to whether we were on the same page about the characters.

On BrightNon & Boardgames

Tee: When Bright-Non are together, at first they were a little shy. They started to click after the first half was over. Both of them like playing games. We were like why didn’t you say this at the start so that we could let them play games from the first day. Because at first they were just there to work and work and work. At first, it was really tense until we started playing games together. When we were done playing, we were really enjoying it a lot. It almost became like immediately after finishing acting in scene, they continued playing immediately because Non also brought cards to play. MC: Brought boardgames and whatsoever Tee: They continued playing games. Non also has his own ‘band’ when it comes to boardgames like ‘Come on! It’s noon already let’s play together’ MC: But it still looks balanced because the storyline is quite serious, meaning that it’s quite stressful so (it’s good) to enjoy a little. Tee: It came in the period of the later half of filming. It went to the extent of meeting after finishing filming to play games together. It’s like ‘Is there a games party today? But there’s filming tomorrow’ MC: But it was like ‘let’s just do it first, it’s alright’ Tee: We would finish filming at 11pm, 12am. MC: But they would still play right? Tee: Yes it was like ‘let’s go play. who’s room tonight?’ Because that day, we were filming in another province. We played until 2-3am and woke up at 5am because everyone liked playing games so much. When we woke up in the morning, everyone had bloodshot eyes. We didn’t sleep enough but in the end, everyone fights till the death because it’s still a matter of work and our jobs. I really like the moments where everyone is enjoying together as opposed to being tense. When we’re tense, we’ll be overly stressed because the series is already a stressful one like filming taking longer than expected because IFYLITA took nearly 40 queues.

On what made director Tee choose to do IFYLITA

Tee: There were some people which had reviewed this novel on social media which I follow. And I went to read about 2-3 lines to use as an example. Sh*t… the way they speak, the language used, was so sweet. It was a dialogue like 2470 in an era then, it made me feel shy again. It made me feel it was so cute from the courting stage. In the present day, it had another kind of cuteness too. But when I went to look at that era, the cuteness arose again. And I had never seen any BL series which were period dramas. I felt like ‘I need to do it’. It was a project that if I talked about it, people would likely want to watch. So I thought about it but didn’t speak about it yet because if I spoke about it but didn’t follow through, it would be like…(no words)… So I contacted Khun Violet Rain first, to reserve it first, not to sell it to anyone else, let me find money to invest first. It was until a year passed.

On director Tee's passion for IFYLITA

MC: Omg! So your passion back then was like ‘whatever it is, it must happen’. Tee: I had maximum passion like ‘whatever I need to do, I’ll do it’ it was like, I’ll fork out first. In my heart, I was thinking ‘It must become popular’ and thinking that ‘there will probably be someone to sponsor me’. It was to the point I didn’t think of the problems in the future that it’s possible that it might not become popular in the future. At that time I was just thinking ‘let’s do it let’s do it let’s do it’ and that we could sell merchandise, do fan meetings. At that time everything was surely possible and get the invested amount back. It was like I was hypnotised.

On the budget of IFYLITA

Tee: At first I thought that it would be fast (to get the budget for IFYLITA), that I would be able to do it, it was already a year but in the end, I still couldn’t. There were some problems preventing things from happening. With regards to budget and other things so it changed production company. This was something that stressed the people working on this series. It felt like a loss and it was like ‘shit what should we do’. This project is so freaking expensive. MC: It can be seen from the setting, from the period genre Tee: There’s no more capital. We bought it, we bought it for ourselves first and kept it first. We wanted to do it and still wanted to do it then. We needed to find investors who wanted to do this with us and could support us. I couldn’t come up with 100% (of the capital). Then, I had thoughts of just loaning, salvaging what I could.

On the objective of the Special EP of IFYLITA

!!! SPOILERS AHEAD !!! SKIP THIS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED Tee: Following the title of the series, the problem that we encountered was that we knew we would have to make the Special Episode in a way that says “thank you” for the people who still miss IFYLITA so that gave rise to the special EP. I thought with the writing team that it cannot clash with the original story in a way that would cause problems. We thought about numerous ways to do it but we felt that those ways clashed and created problems with the original story. Being unable to go back (to 1927) is also not possible because we’ve already made it such that Jom has returned to the present time. To save the feelings of the people who read or watched IFYLITA, we let Khun Yai come back in a special way, like what if Khun Yai were to have to live in present day, how would he live his life? What would he be excited about? What fun things would happen? And thus, it became the special EP. In the end, there’s still a need to insert the feelings of the novel a little bit, in the sense of not allowing him (Khun Yai) to be here forever. He experiences happiness but we felt that in the end, we wanted it to follow the plot in which is still a little sad. In the way that there isn’t a happy ending. We wanted everyone to have some feelings of happiness but in the end, needing for these feelings to come to an end. MC: that the truth is indeed the truth Tee: Yes, something to that extent — following the feelings of the story. This is so that if there’s a future or something like that, it would be possible to continue the story. A future in which we would be able to see the real ending of the novel. But regarding that, we don’t have any plans yet. MC: Okay, so to viewers, Tee has said that there isn’t plans yet. Let’s see what the future holds. Tee: Let’s wait like Jom. Many of the fans have asked and to that I’d say, please wait like Jom. MC: Ohhh that’s too much. When watching the special EP, at the end, I’d ask for something to heal my heart at least like for example, that there was the doll that Khun Yai left behind. But there was nothing at all. Not a hint. So I felt really sad.

On IFYLITA: Expected Results vs Reality

Tee: If you had asked me then, if I had came up with 100% of the capital and currently experience a business loss, it would be a great loss. If there wasn’t any investors to support then, we would definitely need to close down Deehup. MC: It would definitely hurt. Tee: We would’ve needed to work and used this to the max. MC: Because you devoted yourself to it. Tee: Because it did get reception. I feel that it was good but in the end, it didn’t follow according to what I had expected in numerous ways. It’s not just about the series having a lot of viewers or it becoming popular or becoming no.1 trending on X every Friday. I don’t mean it as in it 100% or having increasing viewership or other countries buying the rights. There’s no guarantee. Tee: There are many ways to look at it. It is the entire after-sale process in this period of two years that could happen. About this, if you ask me now it has been a year but actually if you ask me about getting back the money, it takes about two years. Tee: We need to find more money in a year after the series has aired. (t/n: Tee most likely alluding to the fact that they have another year after the series end to make a return on the investment, and to gauge whether it's worth it doing SS2) MC: It’s about maintaining and whether after this, it can be developed further or added to. Tee: This is the feeling of someone who does not have the support of a very big company to invest. There’s always a sense of riskiness whenever we have to come up with money or investment. At that time, I was feeling bold, I was a kid with the strength and passion. So I invested money to make the pilot to see how it��d be before we had the opportunity to talk with YYDS, our partner which worked with us.

Some people may not know that IFYLITA has been in the works around the time Dee Hup made Lovely Writer so when Tee said he had reserved this work he was referring to his ambitious self of a few years ago. This might be more well known fact to KaoUp or Lovely Writer fans because Tee hinted about KaoUp playing in a BL period series, specifically this one a while after LW ended but it never came to fruition. And as we now know from Tee's sharing, IFYLITA was definitely in pre-production limbo for a while due to a lack of investors and budget, with Tee spending out of his own pocket to make the pilot.

I really appreciated Director Tee Bundit sharing his insights into the pre-production of IFYLITA. I think IFYLITA is a very underrated series due to this niche genre and I completely understand Tee being traumatized from his being too ambitious and overconfident to take on such a challenging project without actual financial backing. This does kind of mean that IFYLITA S2 is nowhere near soon but I still have hope that eventually more folks will discover this hidden gem of a series because there's just so much dedication and love being put into this series and you will feel it as you watch the series.

#my writing #i feel you linger in the air #ifylita #tee bundit #bright rapheephong #nonkul chanon #mine #thai bl #bl series

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longbobmckenzie · 2 months ago

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THTH Season 3 Thoughts

It's been awhile since I've done a thoughts post, but we're over halfway now, and I definitely have some thoughts.

Overall, I'm enjoying the season - I adore Taz, and I look forward to playing it every week. However... I also have a lot of criticisms.

The Love Interests

The love interests are carrying this season!! Taz is the only one I'm really in love with, but I think they're all really good and well-rounded, and there's something for everyone. They have a lot of depth, their loyal routes develop at a really nice pace, and I love that they can be customized! They're the best part of the season and imo they're what make it as enjoyable as it is. Unlike...

The OG "Friends"

I hate them all, and I have since the very first week. Sean is a self-centred annoying asshole (I know some people like him and think he just needs to mature, but he's a big fat no from me). Victoria is an ugly bitch who just uses others to get off. Julian has annoyed me from day 1 with his dramatics, and I didn't like Giselle either but she's only gotten worse and worse. Like girl, if you don't even like Sean that much, maybe don't have sex with him? She's being treated as a sympathetic character, but she wasn't being manipulated or emotionally abused, and she could have spoken her mind. Asshole.

I honestly have had no desire to take the options that give friendship points, so my meters are barely filled for any of them and as a result I lost money when they didn't agree with me when I wanted to forfeit $10k when Poppy and Julian were in the suite. Oops.

The FTL Routes

I really like Avi, and while Poppy was annoying at first, I know people who are doing her route are really loving it. I love the slow burn friends-to-lovers thing so I really love this element - however I would have much preferred it if they were OGs. For Avi especially, it didn't really make sense that he kissed us on the date only to immediately friendzone us. I think it would have made so much more sense if he were there from the beginning and we started out purely as friends.

The "Spy" Storyline

Not a fan of this. Bad Lana is one thing (we'll get to that) but I think this just... doesn't make that much sense? idk. I don't have a fully fleshed out opinion on this or how I'd do it differently, but I think it would've been better in a season without Bad Lana.

Bad Lana

I watched the new season of the show where Bad Lana made her appearance, and I do think it's really neat that they were given that info ahead of time to add it to the game. However, I wish they'd followed how it was done in the show, where the Bad Lana ruling period was at the beginning (they did mention that they had this as well and had lots of fun with it), and then the two people who took advantage of it the most were sent into banishment. Having another Bad Lana ruling period (and then adding the banishment which is coming up in the next episode) right in the middle of the show just doesn't work quite as well to me?

Also, what is the point of getting green lights during Bad Lana's ruling period? We could kiss without them anyway!

MC as the Bombshell

I have mixed feelings on this - I loved being the bombshell and getting the free pass, however... there's just no impact. You pick an LI, you automatically connect, and other than Carmen, none of the partners really care? I would've preferred coming into a situation where the couple was actually a couple and I had to work a bit to turn their head (or maybe even switch to the other person, that'd be fun).

Tying this into the Bad Lana point above, I think it would've made a lot more sense if MC were an OG in this season to experience the Bad Lana period at the beginning. Kiss a couple people, get sent to banishment. To me, that would've been a lot more interesting.

Branching

The branching has been fine (although there have been some continuity errors if you stick with the same LI each time), but I think it was better in S2. I remember always being blown away by how much branching there was in S2, and this season just hasn't had that. It's still good and nothing to complain about, but I'd like to see improvements each season, or at least keeping the same level, rather than taking a slight step back.

Especially now that there are some people who are being banished despite not breaking any rules? How does that make sense? At least in S2, you could be eliminated or not depending on your choices.

The Spicy Scenes

These have been great so far, and I love that they're personalized to each LI and stay consistent with their character. No criticisms here!

The Confessionals

I love, love, love that we don't have a whole episode dedicated to confessionals anymore. And no more dumb quizzes

Cliffhangers

Please, for the love of donuts, not every chapter needs to end on some dramatic soap opera cliffhanger. This week alone, the chapters end as follows:

MC is shocked to walk in on Jirayu and Carmen in the sauna

MC is shocked that someone is having sex (despite the fact she literally just had sex in my route)

Lana's announcement

It's just kinda cheesy at this point, especially the 2nd chapter ending. It's Bad Lana's ruling period, people are having sex, what is there to be surprised about? And the fact that sooo many chapters end like this? Walking in on other people, jumping to conclusions, etc. It's getting old. It's one thing if the whole episode has a cliffhanger of some sort (still not really necessary), but each chapter? c'mon. Let's stop with the dramatics.

Edited to add:

Background Characters

It's kind of disappointing that if you're not romancing one of the LIs, you just... never see them. The storyline is dominated by the "friends" and your own LI (and Carmen/Jirayu with a minor plotline), and then there's always that one other couple that breaks rules, but otherwise, they all fade into the background. It's a lot like S1 again, whereas one of the things I appreciated about S2 was that the LIs you weren't romancing were still a big part of the story. In S3, if you don't choose their scenes, you just never see them. I hardly know anything about Beatriz, Carmen, or Isla, because I don't take their scenes and barely interact with them. On my Taz route, I've barely spoken to Jirayu or Matthias.

Now that we're pretty much locked in, maybe those characters will start being included more (like in today's episode where we had the chance for a threesome with the couple we've interacted with the least), but I would have really appreciated them being included more up to this point. It's a noticeable change from S2 and since I hate the OG "friend" characters, it's a real negative.

I feel like I had more things to touch on but I've forgotten them, so I'll stop here! Would love to know if you agree, disagree, or have anything else to add!

#longbob has thoughts #thth #thth game #thth3 #thth season 3 #thth the game #too hot to handle game

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akiranzee · 1 year ago

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😇 • ° ` — “ANGEL IN DISGUISE”

-> PAIRINGS: Mammon x f!MC -> SUMMARY: It has been 6 months since you've arrived in the Devildom. You have always believed devils are evil, and now that you're here, in their world, you've gotten far too close to this certain devil, and start to doubt yourself. -> WORD COUNT: 4.3k+ -> CONTAINS: Only fluff, Mammon is being soft, slight Mammon & reader angst, mean brothers, this story may not follow the og story's plot well, reader is a roman catholic, talks of traumas, & Mammon is 5,000 while reader is 23. -> A/N: helloo!! i’m gonna change the storyline a little, like belphie not hating on humans, not getting locked up in the attic, and certainly NOT killing you. this was kinda rushed btw sry lxmao. if any of you are wondering who mammon is, he is a character from the game called "Obey Me!" i recommend that game sm👍.

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------------Complete!------------

You woke up, feeling numb pain on your back, and seeing a quite confusing sight in front of you.

A black-haired man and red-haired man with weirdly greyish skin smiled at you, while the black haired man held out his right hand to you, realizing that you're now currently laying down on a rough floor.

You hesitantly take his hand, assuming that they kidnapped you, but who would ever dare kidnap someone and bring them to this fancy looking place?

You looked around frantically, looking for your friends as they were the last people you were with before you got into this weird looking place.

You heard a man laugh behind you, so you twist your head directly behind you, seeing the red-haired man laugh, while the black-haired one just plainly smiled.

You gave him a confused look, or more of a look that says ‘I need an explanation’ and he easily catched up on it, clearing his throat and started to explain.

“Welcome to the Devildom, Y/N L/N. It is a pleasure to meet you, and before anything else, I'd like to introduce myself. I am Diavolo, ruler of all demons, and I will be crowned as the future king of the Devildom.” Your eyes were full of emotions, mainly, confusion, doubt, and anger.

“This here, is my right hand man, Lucifer. The eldest of the seven demon brothers. He will also be the one to take care of you in your 1-year stay here in the Devildom, and you'll be living with him and his brothers in the House of Lamentation.” Your eyes still wide, as you looked at the black haired man who was still smiling and who was introduced as Lucifer.

“Lucifer, what if you tell her about everything for a change, yes?” Diavolo looked at Lucifer, while this Lucifer man stalked his way towards you, and greeted you with a sort of heartwarming smile.

“Hello. As Diavolo said, I am Lucifer, the one who will take care of you in your whole stay here in the Devildom, and you will be living with me and my brothers in the House of Lamentation. They might cause you a bit of a ruckus and problem, but I'll try my best to handle the situation. Speaking of which, you are chosen to be one of the participants in this exchange student program. You have not need to worry though, as we chose 2 human participants from your world, which means a human will be joining and keeping you company during your stay.” Lucifer explained to you, and you actually were left dumbfounded, understanding literally nothing of what he said and of what was going on. You were about to say something, but someone barged into the door, making you look at them.

“I'm hereeee!” A cheery voice yelled out as soon as they stepped in the room, exposing a white-haired man with tan skin, and in a uniform just the same as what Lucifer is wearing.

“Mammon.” Lucifer, who was smiling so oh nicely to you, turned his sight to this guy who he called Mammon, sending the poor guy death glares.

“Eek. Did I come in the wrong time?” Mammon asked Lucifer, perhaps you could see him tremble, ready to step out the door and maybe run away.

“No. I'm assigning you to take good care of Y/N L/N here,” he stalked towards Mammon, “and if I ever hear a complaint coming from her, I will lock you up in the dungeons. Is that clear?” Lucifer said, threatening Mammon that's still managing to aggressively nod.

Lucifer turned his head towards you, smiling heartwarmingly yet again as if nothing just happened.

“H-Hey, human! C'mere and I'll give ya a tour!” The white haired guy managed to call you out, trying to maintain his posture.

Without any questions asked or words said, you started walking towards him not knowing why your body just moved on its own.

And with that, the both of you left the room. Both of you were quiet at first, but then you started to ask him questions.

“...What's your name?” You asked, breaking the silence.

“I'm the great Mammon!” Mammon answered cheerfully, smiling so brightly at you. You looked at him with visible confusion, thinking that he must be one of those overconfident men that you really hate. You tried to put no thought into it though, and continued asking your questions.

“...Why do you have a name of a demon...?” You question, looking deeply into his eyes.

“...Because I am...?” He answered, looking back at you confusedly.

“W-What do you mean you are?” You stuttered out, starting to feel scared over the fact that this man just called himself a demon.

Mammon was about to reply back, when you heard a voice calling his name.

“Oi Mammon! Give me back my money now will you!? Just die!” The voice yelled out at Mammon, spurting harsh words to him.

You always hated it when people say these kinds of things to other people, as if telling them they shouldn't have been born. Because that's what you were told to. To just die.

“Hey! That's kinda rude don't you think!?” You stepped in front of Mammon while yelling at the indigo-haired guy right in front of you.

You felt rage flow in your veins as you remembered just how horribly your so called parents treated you.

“What the heck!? Get out of my way you human normie!” The indigo-haired guy yelled back at you, also feeling rage flow in his veins.

“H-Hey! Why don’t we just calm down everyone, huh? A-And Levi! I’m givin' them back to you next week!” Mammon stuttered out, trying to break the tension that was going on between you two.

“Next week!? You always say that! And it has been 200 years for your information! I can’t even buy the new limited Ruri-chan figurine because of you! Ugh!” The Levi guy walked off, stomping away and probably going back to his room.

“Well that’s just rude. And 200 years? He put in too much exaggeration when it was probably just 2 months or something. Right?” You turn your head to Mammon, crossing your arms.

“Exaggeration? I admit that I didn’t pay him for literally 200 years plus, but ‘ey, it ain’t my fault I’m too busy.” Mammon replied, but his tone a little bit sad. He still continued to walk off anyway so you followed.

“I don’t get anything at all. I’m in a dream, aren’t I?” You asked, trying to break out from this cursed dream you're in, as this man you're talking to right now is certainly not evil.

“You're kidding, right? I know us demons have more IQ than you humans, but I didn't expect ya to be this dumb.” He says, turning his head slowly towards you.

Ok now that's insulting.

“What? Why do you keep calling yourself a demon? Demons are literally evil creatures. Stop that.” You say to him, feeling uncomfortable.

“Wha- oh my god you dumb human! Din't Lucifer tell ya about all of this exchange student thing!?” Now his head is facing you, face looking visibly annoyed.

“That black-haired man? Like hell I'd believe him. Demons don't even exist, they are just evil myths to us.” You say, facepalming with one hand.

You didn't give this white-haired man any choice, so he did what he could think of doing.

“See? Now I'm a demon!” He says cheerfully, all the while spinning slowly for you to see a better view.

The white haired man that was once in front of you was now gone, replaced by another one that looks just like him, but with wings and horns, like a demon.

“W-What-” You couldn't speak. And if you could, what would you even say? That it's just a prank? A dream? A dream can't feel this real, no. Your knees are even trembling that they have given up and now you're on the floor, looking like a terrified baby.

“W-Wai- Hey! Just chill out!” Mammon said, all while your vision getting blurry, last thing remembering is your head falling into tan skin colored arms.

~~~~~

It was hazy, but you soon adjust to the lighting and open your eyes. And yet, the first thing you see is the white-haired man, or should I say, the great Mammon.

“Phew! You're awake! I swear to diavolo never to do that again or Lucifer's gonna c'mere and kill me!” Mammon said dramatically, while you were still in shock.

"Hey, look. I know this ain't good to hear, but yeah you are in the devildom, world of demons." He said, trying to ease you up a bit. But that definitely did not work.

"Stop telling me all about this demon thing demon thing would you!? Stop making me believe false lies and informations about them! Don't even think that you'd be one of those devilish creatures! Do you even know what you're saying!? I seriously don't know where I am, how I got here, who brought me here, and you just keep telling me all these fake stories of you, and everyone else here being a demon!" You rage out, head whipping, tears threatening to escape your eyes.

Mammon was shocked, he didn't expect that from you, after all, you’re just the curious little thing who's supposed to follow everything by order.

"Ugh.. You just can't understand, can you? Well, whatever. Not my problem anymore, Mammon's headin' out for the casino, make sure ya don't touch anythin’ here in my room. And oh, just stay here would ya? My brothers might see ya and eat ya. Can't have Lucifer feed me to his three headed dog monster or somethin'." And with that, Mammon is now out of the door.

You couldn’t believe it, you never could. How can you even believe it? They’re just myths, evil myths on top of that. And yet this man right in front of you claims that he is? This nice, loud, and kind man?

~~~~~

It was 15 years ago, lightning continuously spreading around your home, the room so dark.

“Dad...?” You called out, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes as you went down the stairs.

“Run... Y/N run...” Someone cried out, voice so familiar to you, but it’s tone so unfamiliar to you.

You peeked on your living room, horror start to consume you.

Blood. So many blood. It stinks. All red, everything is so red. And then there comes a man lying down on the floor, helpless, looking so dead.

“D-Dad...?” Your eyes widen, realizing, that the man you were looking at, was your dad, the man that raised you, cared you, and loved you.

Run he says. But you never did. You don’t know what to do, what to reply, what to say.

All you could ever think of is, your father is about to die.

The other man, or should I say killer, was about to stab your father with the knife he held on.

Instead of doing something, you just stared there, as blood splashed through your house walls, your father’s breath was cut off.

“Live.” Was his last word, not I love you or any other things a father in his dying breath would say.

But you know damn well that he said that word because he cared for you, loved you, wanted you to live, to survive within the grasp of this killer right in front of you.

Luckily though, the killer didn’t mind you and left the house, but you saw him. He was no close to a human, but a demon.

It was a traumatizing experience for you after all, a child like you could never do anything at that moment, and you regretted not doing anything at that moment. What can you even do at that moment? Because the memories from that night still haunt you, blaming you for your father's death, blaming you for not doing anything at all.

You just wished you'd go back in time and at least try to do something, not just stare at the dying man right in front of you.

One of the reasons for your undying wish to go back in that night was to escape from your mother's harsh grasp.

Sure, she is your mother. But can you even call someone that if they told you, 'you never should have been born'?

The trauma welcomes itself again to you, the feeling you always felt when it welcomes itself to you, hatred, fear, anger, and sadness.

Your hands were shaking, whole body trembling, and you feel your vision getting blurry. Then out of nowhere, Mammon comes back, barging into his very own room, expecting you ran away already, but instead, you were weeping on his shiny floor, hands covering your face.

This was the expression he expected you to show the least, since the very first time he saw you, he already knew you were this strong and brave type of woman, but just like he sees in every movie, they shed tears when they're alone, with nobody to stand on by their side.

So here he goes, trying to rewrite the original story, sitting beside you now.

"Hey... What's wrong? 'M sorry if I was too harsh on ya, it's just that I'm offended 'cause ya don't think 'm telling the truth or somethin' sorry." Mammon tried to ease your crying, his tone slowly comforting you.

Minutes later, your weeping finally stopped, and you looked up at him, saying,

"You don't look like a devil." With that confused eyes of yours.

"Eh? Seriously? I literally have horns and wings. What are ya, blind?" He answers back confusedly too, causing a laughter come out of you.

You never thought a conversation with a demon like this could be... fun.

And then a small 'meow' interrupts the fun session you guys had.

You looked under the bed and found a white furred kitty, and picked it up.

"Wait... is that Satan's pet?" Mammon looked at the kitty, pointing it.

"Who's Satan?" You asked, and just then, Mammon's bedroom door bursted open, revealing a blond haired man with green eyes.

You, of course, got shocked, which accidentally made you loosen your grip on the kitty, making it fall.

"Hey! Mammon! Why did you hide sir cat in your bedroom!?" He said as he picked up the white furred cat who was running towards him after it fell.

"Wha- Hey! I didn't hide it, Y/N here literally found it under my bed! Also, who the hell names their cat 'sir cat'!?" Mammon yelled back, strolling towards the blond haired man.

"I do! And you have a problem!?" Now they're on the verge of starting a fight. You were about to step in, until someone did the job.

"Hey! Why are you guys so noisy!? Ugh! I can't get my beauty sleep because of you guys!" Someone yelled, with both their hands on their hips.

“Ugh! What are y’all doing here!? Get outta my room now!” Mammon yelled pointing his index finger literally to the two people.

“Then stop being so noisy! I can hear your ugly voices from my room!” The person with a sleeping mask answer back, yelling.

It was so noisy, that the bickering already annoyed you, forcing you to yell back,

"Stop it!" And everyone turned their heads to you.

"Oh? What is this, Mammon? Why do you have a pretty looking woman in your room? Hmm, who is she?" The champagne haired man asked, slowly going near you, while also slowly putting his right hand under your chin.

You smacked his hand away though, earning a shocked expression from the three.

"Well well well, you're a feisty one, aren't you? I'm Asmodeus, the avatar of lust, 5th of the 7 brothers." He said smiling, slowly backing away from you.

Asmodeus then elbowed the blonde haired man, who later introduced himself as Satan, avatar of wrath.

All ended well anyway, leaving you and Mammon alone again in his room.

"So..." Mammon spoke up, but was cut off by you.

"I'm hungry." You said, holding your stomach.

"You remind me of Beel, but anyway, let's take you to the kitchen." Mammon said, opening his bedroom door, and you followed him.

"We can dine with my other brothers in the dining hall, if you want." Mammon said, taking a cola from the fridge.

"No thanks, I don't wanna be around people right now." You said, taking a muffin, and chewing on it.

"Well ok then, so what'dya wanna do after this?" He asked, sitting on the kitchen counter.

"Well, I don't know. Maybe hang out in your room again?" You took a huge bite from your muffin.

You never knew you'd enjoy a demon's company this much, let alone know that one of Mammon's kind was the one that killed your father. But you know damn well this guy can't bring himself to kill someone.

Just then, you guys heard munching too, but it sounded crispy, so of course it isn't a muffin or a cola. You looked to your right to see an orange-haired man, chomping down some lays chips.

"Eh? Beel?" Mammon called out, raising his right brow at the man.

The man didn't even bother to look at Mammon and just continued to chomp his food down.

"Seriously, what are ya doing here? Aren't y'all eating dinner right now?"

"The plates were empty already." The man said with his mouth full of food.

"Well, that's 100% possible.."

"Hey Beel! There you are! I've been looking all over for you." A new voice intervenes, coming from a man with dark indigo-grey colored hair.

"Oh, Belphie. I was getting some food." Beel answered calmly, now swallowing the food he was gobbling up a while ago.

"Let's go then Beel, I'm feeling sleepy." Belphie said, his 3 last words was said with a yawn.

The orange-haired man nodded, taking a whole lot ton of foods, and then both of them went upstairs.

Leaving you and Mammon to stare weirdly and awkwardly at each other.

“Um-”

“The orange-haired one was Beelzebub, and the other one is Belphegor, his twin.”

“Oh.”

And then you don’t have anything to say.

~~~~~

A month has passed, and everything went well. Although, you still can’t get used to the noisy quarrels the 7 brothers have. And it was almost everyday.

2 months has passed, and well, you just found yourself a rival. You didn’t even do anything, but she just keeps picking on you.

And yeah, that pissed you off. So, when she blabbered mean things about you, you had no choice but to knock out her tooth to keep her to shut up.

So, for atleast maybe a week, she stopped going near you.

Although, Lucifer isn't happy to hear the news and lectured you for like 3 hours straight.

3 months has passed, and yeah, you and Mammon have gotten close that the both of you would even hangout in each other's bedrooms. Of course, without getting caught with Lucifer's nightly curfew.

4 months has passed, and guess what, it's Mammon's birthday the next day so you decided to get him something. Although, you don't even know what to get him. So you went to his brothers and asked what he likes, and all their answers were "grimms".

You flopped down to your bed thinking what else to give him aside from grimms, but your mind was occupied by something else.

You never thought a day would come where you would miss your annoying friends and boring family, but I guess this is the day.

It has been 4 months, you know? And you miss the nostalgic feeling where you guys would play video games, drink milkteas, play truth or dare, and many more.

Sure, the seven brothers are fun, especially Mammon, but of course you'd miss the people who were with you the longest.

Thinking about the times of you and your friends, you eventually drifted off to sleep.

The next day, you wake up to realize how dumb you were. It's Mammon's birthday and you got him NOTHING.

Oh well, better prepare some grimms there then.

You knocked on Mammon's door, thinking he is still asleep, and guess what, you're right.

He's currently asleep in his bed, and he looks tired as hell.

"Guess Lucifer made you do a lot of things again huh." You thought, slowly sitting on the edge of the bed as to not wake him up.

But as soon as you sat down, Mammon groaned and opened his eyes. Oh well, guess that plan of slowly sitting down failed.

"Hey.. happy birthday!" You said, raising both your arms up in the air, smiling widely.

He just chuckled and sat up while rubbing his eyes, letting out a low raspy "thank you".

You can't help but smile at his sleepy form, as this kind of quiet side of him is something you don't see everyday.

"So, what do you want for your birthday?" You asked, cursing yourself inside that he'd answer grimms, obviously.

"Hmm... I was planning to go to the casino today, but I guess spending time with you won't be so bad either." He smiles at you, but you’re completely shocked and flustered.

So in the end, for the whole day, you guys went to places where you’ve never been, and you gotta say, it felt more like a date than a birthday.

~~~~~

“Today was awesome!” You said while entering his room, flopping down on his bed.

“Of course it is! The great Mammon came with you, after all!” He replied, and oh well, there goes his usual reply.

You say nothing, but just chuckled. And with that, the night continued on.

~~~~~

5 months passed and hell, things got busier and busier. You and Mammon barely even spend time together. But you can only blame Lucifer the culprit here, making the both of you do a lot more errands.

You seriously want to lay down on your bed and talk nonsense with Mammon, but you can’t, just by obviously looking at the stack of books right in front of you.

“Um... can’t I get an assistance with this or something?” You asked Lucifer, looking at him with a ‘fuck you’ look.

“No. Don’t be lazy, Y/n. Now go put them back.” He answered, not even looking at your miserable way.

You sighed and start putting those books back to the bookshelves.

Seriously, how dare he call you ‘lazy’ when looking at him, he’s seriously just relaxing and reading a book while drinking a fucking juice.

You really hate Lucifer. Especially that big ass pride of his. But you can’t really do anything about it, can you?

~~~~~

6 months finally passed and it’s time to celebrate.

This was actually the chillest month of all, and you had a lot of free time. So you and Mammon get to go back with hanging out almost everyday.

But within those months, you’ve come to realize how the other 6 brothers poorly treated Mammon. It’s as if he was not their brother at all.

Saturday night, and you come home to hear yet another quarrel from the brothers.

“Ugh, just die Mammon!”

“The next time you do this, I will hang you upside down for a day.”

“Seriously!? You’re annoying!”

“You’re very greedy.”

You heard those, and those were the last straw.

“Hey! What the hell!?” You barged and interrupted on their quarrel.

“Don’t involve yourself in this, Y/n.” Lucifer sighed, holding his forehead in his palm.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do, Lucifer, and Mammon’s my friend, and he’s your brother, so why are you treating him this way!?” You yelled at Lucifer, everyone shocked to see your outburst for the 1st time.

“Brother? Ha! I hope he isn’t!” Leviathan said, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.

“What the fuck? I know all for you are demons, but seriously, you treat your brother this way? He may not be the best of all, he may not be the smartest, but that doesn’t mean you can treat him like this. It’s as if you’re talking more to a wall than to a brother. I heard all of you were once angels, but guess what, to me, all of you are evil, and Mammon is the only one who isn’t. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was an angel in disguise and all of you were the real demons from the start. So what if he’s greedy? He’s called avatar of greed for a reason! And yes, he is greedy! All he ever cares about is grimms, grimms, grimms, grimms, grimms, all grimms! But he’s the only one that’s been kind to me ever since I got here. And what about all of you? You’ve been using your stupid ass demon forms to scare the shit out of me, while Mammon here only used it to protect me. I’d understand it more if all of you became demons from angels. It’s Mammon who deserves better than all of you. Let's go Mammon.” You finished your rant, and pulled Mammon towards his room, leaving the brothers stunned.

Once the both of you entered Mammon’s room, you locked the door and turned to Mammon.

“Hey, are you oka-” You were cut off by the sight in front of you.

Mammon was looking down to you, tears coming out of his eyes. You can’t help but hug him, knowing for 5,000 years, he’s probably went through this a lot of times that he’s used to it, but with someone comforting and standing up for him, he’s not used to it.

Yes, Mammon’s a demon, but he too, has feelings.

“This guy is what they call a demon?” You questioned your thoughts, when all you could see was that this guy was no demon at all. It was as if he was just an angel in disguise.

For the rest of the night, you guys stayed there, enjoying each other’s comfort in each other’s arms.

#obey me!#om! shall we date #om! mammon #mammon x reader #obey me #shall we date mammon #obey me mammon #mammon x mc #mammon x you #mammon x y/n #mammon fluff #mammon avatar of greed #📂 — ` akira’s works!

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