#GUYS THEY’RE IN THE UNDERWORLD TOGETHER AND THEY’RE HAPPY!!!!!

[spineless-lobster]

Whenever I’m sad I think about that scene in the odyssey where odysseus sees achilles, patroclus and antilochus frolicking in the asphodel fields together and then I am reminded that love and joy is real

[dreaminrainbows]

Happy 28th appreciation day loves! Hope y'all are taking care of yourselves, that this winter treats you well and you have amazing holidays! Here are all the amazing fics that got me through this month! Don't shy away from leaving comments and kudos!!

cut your teeth on my heart by turnyourankle/@turnyourankle | [94.6k]

Louis has worked as a security officer for years, but he's handed his first opportunity to be team lead. The assignment is nothing like what he expected. Harry has spent years trying to distance himself from the pressure of the Twist name and legacy. But it's going to be hard to avoid when his mum hires him a bodyguard.

Porcupine by sweetkalachuchi/@neverforpickles | [82.2k]

Louis, a broke omega librarian, finds his quiet life in Vienna turned upside down when he meets a charming four-year-old boy named Venus, who insists that Louis is his "Mama." When Venus's father, Harry—a powerful and dangerous mafia leader—offers Louis a lucrative job as the boy's full-time nanny, Louis steps into a world where love and danger are deeply intertwined. As Louis grows closer to Harry and Venus, he discovers the perilous secrets of Harry's underworld life. Their unexpected connection sparks a passionate romance, but with Harry's enemies closing in, Louis must navigate a treacherous path where his heart and life are at risk. This is a thrilling tale of love, danger, and the irresistible pull of two souls drawn together against all odds.

Don't Want Shelter by kingsofeverything/@kingsofeverything | [76.6k]

Louis and Harry have known each other all their lives. Friends as children, they danced around each other as teenagers, and have spent the last twenty-five years either screaming at each other or not speaking at all. Except for that one time ten years ago… When Hurricane Nicole threatens the coast, they end up stuck together in their families' old vacation home that they begrudgingly co-own. During the storm, and in the months after, they’re both forced to reevaluate their history and what they mean to each other.

if we were butterflies by blueskiesrry/ @blueskiesrry | [52.6k]

“Is this how I used to look at you?” His hand hovers just over the collarbone of the sculpture, like he’s caught between wanting to touch and wanting to pull away, wanting to leave and wanting to stay. Eyes stuck on Harry, unaware of anything else in the room, Louis whispers, “Something like that,” wondering now if he ever quite did it justice. or: after recruiting harry to model for his sculptures and coming to know all his edges, louis loses him to a life more prosperous than he can provide. he finds harry again four years later.

Tied to Fate  by littlelouishiccups/ @littlelouishiccups | [52.3k]

After his estranged father’s death, Harry inherits a castle in England that has belonged to his family for generations and he knows nothing about. When he breaks up with his boyfriend, Harry decides England is the perfect place for a small vacation. He isn’t prepared to meet Louis Tomlinson, a ghost who once lived in the castle and has haunted it for over five hundred years. He’s even more unprepared to fall in love with him.

Something in the way by momentofclarity/@gaycousinlarry | [40.4k]

Then he looks up and is met by the greenest eyes on this side of the state border. Harry Styles grins wildly at him, dimple deep in his cheek as his eyes sparkle. Hope Floats 90’s AU. When Louis Tomlinson finds out his wife is cheating on him with his best friend, he packs up his life and takes his daughter back to his childhood hometown to start anew. The problem is—he’s not so sure he’s moving forwards rather than backwards. What he finds in the small Texas town is a whole lot of memories, people who think they still know him and a man who’s spent the past decade waiting for his return.

MARRIED FOR A WEEK?!  by gravitycentered/ @zaptains | [20.4k]

Hi guys :) You might recognize Harry from one or two of my old videos .. I was tagged in the Married for a week challenge so I asked him to be my husband ! We had to live together for a week and take each other out on a couple romantic dates and that, check out the video to see how it went :) Give it a like if you enjoyed and maybe subscribe if you haven't already. Love you all - Louis x

There's No Mate Better Than Womb-Mates  by jaerie/@jaerie | [13k]

On the last day of school, Louis decides losing his virginity to one of his high school crushes. The next day, he sleeps with his crush's twin brother. When Louis learns he's pregnant and loses his scholarship, he finds himself shamed and completely alone in the world. He turns to OnlyFans to pay the bills.

Sex Drunk Suckerpunch by thinlines/@thinlinez | [7k]

“Damn, Tommo, hit the jackpot this time? Which old bird or geezer gifted you that? Is it that mad bloke Cowell? Fuck! Did you give him a good dicking?” Louis’ face twisted in disgust as he shoved Niall off. “Don’t say shit like that. Fucking gross.” He shook his head, shuddering at the thought. “Well? Who is it? Who’s willing to spend that much on you?” Louis had to hightail into his room and lock the door to avoid Niall’s insistent questions. He sank down on his bed, carefully putting the Rolex back onto its cushion before noticing a folded note underneath the padding. Hello Louis, I’ve heard from Helene about you. Please contact me when you get this. All the love, H. “H?” Louis pushed back his long fringe. OR Sugar Baby Louis did what any sugar baby should avoid doing but (clichely) end up doing anyways, that is, failing for his sugar mama.

'Sup by MediaWhore/@mediawhorefics | [6k]

Gemma really wants her little brother to sign up for a dating app and get back in the game after a messy divorce. Harry thinks he’s way too old to swipe. They compromise to devastatingly embarrassing results. Meanwhile, all Louis wants is to finish the play he’s been commissioned to write, but one of the regulars at his local coffee shop keeps distracting him. ft. older larry, pushy gemma, harry being a disaster gay and silver fox louis.

Necessities of Nesting  by haztobegood/@haztobegood | [5k]

“I know this is a sensitive topic and you probably don’t want to talk about your nest with me. But I have a friend that teaches nesting classes. Maybe they could help.” “So you agree: my nest sucks and I’m a shit omega.”

That thunder in the distance (I know you're getting close) by Anonymous | [4k]

The grip on his hair tightens once more, Harry’s head now being lifted backwards. With thunder crackling loudly around them, Louis clenches his jaw, not stopping his rhythm, “Try again,” He barks out, “Who am I to you?” “My God!” Harry cries out, tears now threatening to spill. “You're my God. You, fuckkkk, you own me and I serve you. I’m just your–” A whine slips out of Harry, his head growing fussier as he gets closer to his climax, “I’m just a hole for you Sir.” “That’s right,” Louis breaths, sounding smug. “This hole belongs to me. It’s mine to fuck. It’s mine to eat. It’s mine to impregnate. You want that? You want me to fuck a baby into you?” He leans down and licks Harry’s earlobe. Whispering he adds, “Want me to make you a mommy?” OR, God of Thunder Louis pays Harry a visit on Halloween.

Do Not Falter (There's a Star Ahead) by LadyLondonderry/@londonfoginacup | [2k]

It's Christmas Eve, and every single one of Louis' family members are crowded inside his little flat. Really, what more could he ask for on his birthday? The present he never knew he wanted - in the form of an omega from his past - might just make this his most memorable Christmas.

Look what you made me do(when you look the way you do)  by Dreaminrainbows/ @dreaminrainbows | [2k]

“Lou,” he practically whines, knees knocking together, looking at him with those beautiful big doe eyes under his lashes, an innocent seductress,” Wh-what are you doing here?” he pulls at the hem of his pink tee, big black letters reading TOP sprawled across his chest, he looks like he wants to simultaneously cross his hands over his chest and hide but also show it off. Louis knows he wanted to show it off, otherwise he wouldn't have gone outside so boldly with it.

"The Demon you’re trying to summon is currently unavailable." by red_panda28/@red-pandaaa | [666]

“We’re sorry, the Demon you’re trying to summon is currently unavailable. Your ritual is important to us. Please hold--” Harry sighed and hung up, glowering at his phone. “Go with the time they said. It will make things easier they said. They didn’t mention they’d still be putting me on fucking hold,” he muttered. OR Witch Harry tries to summon a Demon on Halloween

A Haunting in Doncaster  by disgruntledkittenface/@disgruntledkittenface | [666]

Harry has been haunting Louis for awhile, waiting for her to watch her episode of Forensic Files. She can't believe it when Louis skips it.

Be kind, leave comments and kudos ALWAYS!

Have yourselves a very happy holidays!

[deadbaguette]

Crack AU treated seriously: Diomdes goes to Ithaca with a twist

So this would generally be your typical Diomedes going to Ithaca AU. Presumably after getting exiled (? Is there a better word for it?), instead of going to modern day Italy he goes to Ithaca under the impression that he’ll see Odysseus there. But, of course he doesn’t because The Odyssey is happening. The twist that makes NO SENSE and is just purely my want to see my platonic rarepair happen (Telemachus and Neoptolemus/Pyrrhus), and the twist is: for whatever reason, Neo is there with Diomedes. Don’t ask why because I could not explain to you a good reason to make this happen lmfao

Story elaborated below but it’s a little long be warned

I like the dynamic of Neoptolemus and Diomedes, mostly because in so many ways as soldiers Diomedes foils/contrasts Achilles but in so many ways parallels his son. Diomedes gets on begrudgingly with Neo, and I could go on a whole other rant on a different post about some fake dynamics/scenarios for just them, but the main point in this post is that Neo somehow SOMEHOW tags along with Diomedes. They reach Ithaca together and meet Penelope and Telemachus.

They greet Diomedes and Pyrrhus with good courtesy, but the elephant in the room of “hold on where tf is your husband??? he was so eager to go back to you guys???” is very present. One way or another Penelope explains the situation, that being Odysseus is absent/mia (much to his own dismay) and the suitors all trying to wed Penelope. Diomedes is sad obv (I’m not gonna go super big into the angst right now) but he tries to brainstorm with Penelope on solutions for her predicament. Since Odysseus was his closest friend (more than friend for me personally but u can interpret it as platonic if u want) and he knows that Odysseus would want what’s best for his wife and son, they think of a solution that can the guarantee of their safety as of now until they hear news of Odysseus. That solution is fake marriage bcs I am a bit of a sucker for that troupe.

But back to Neoptolemus because he’s here too, I want him to bond with Telemachus what with their dads not being here (one’s dead one’s absent). Neo is like way stronger than Telemachus so at first he thinks he’s a bit of a wimp (keep in mind they’re like both teenagers, Neo’s life was just kinda fucked up), but over time they get along better. Pyrrhus’ relationship with Odysseus is a little complicated, so while Penelope and Diomedes might share all the good stories/parts of Odysseus with, Pyrrhus got off to a slightly rocky start with him lol. What with Odysseus taking him away from his mom and basically all the war shenanigans (war crimes), Telemachus for the first time has a whole and humanized version of his dad. It’s more than what the suitors have said out of malice and jealousy, the things Neo has told him have opened up the trickery/cunning side of Odysseus more than he’d known before. He’s jealous that it seems like everyone knows more about his dad than him, but he’s grateful to have someone his age who would view Odysseus more like he would: an annoying dad/uncle??? (Neo vehemently objects to this, and Odysseus would too. “You’re not my fucking dad!!!” “Holy shit thank the GODS for that!!!”)

All in all, happy family. Odysseus returns home to Penelope and Telemachus, and now two surprise guests too. Telemachus has like 3 kinda parents now (Diomedes might be more like an uncle) and a kinda brother/friend/??? I love my little delusional found family. Odysseus is more than a little surprised, considering this IS Neoptolemus. Kid did a 180° in terms of personality in Troy and then ANOTHER 180° somewhere on Ithaca at some point. Or maybe more like a 90° turn in terms of personality, I imagine Telemachus is the most sane of the family and it is much to his dismay.

And when they all eventually die (Diomedes won’t ascend to godhood here I want him to be in the underworld with the rest of the fam) they’ll live happily in the underworld and Pyrrhus can catch up with his dad and mom.

[ancientboyfriends]

It’s always nice to see a new blog! Would it be possible to request headcanons of Hypnos with a reader (fem or GN if you don’t write fem) who is like his Pasithea, except maybe a human or even a shade rather than a Grace? If this request is too vague or needs changing, please do tell. I just dearly love Hypnos.

If you allow anons signing off, then

-🪽Anon

A/N: I’m so happy this was my first request, I love Hypnos 🥹 he’s the whole reason I downloaded the game in the first place

Hypnos x Shade!Wife!Reader

This man is the definition of malewife and no one can convince me otherwise

I have a headcanon that Hypnos is actually a good cook, but he gets too distracted or tired to keep track of the time and ends up burning it

Each time he does, he offers it to you with a sheepish smile and a, “Tada!” (you have shared many a burnt meal together, but you don’t care)

When he does manage to make dinner without cremating it, it’s the warmest, most comforting food that no one in the Underworld can rival

Loves it when you visit and sit with him at work, finds himself actually putting effort in to impress you (he loves receiving words of affirmation, please give him all the praises)

On his break, he’ll just slump against your shoulder (I read a headcanon somewhere that his cloak/blanket thing is sentient, so imagine it wrapping around you both to induce sleepy-time snuggles)

He loves the fact that you listen to all his rambles with an attentive and lovestruck smile on your face instead of getting annoyed like everyone else

He’ll return the favour by making the effort to stay awake to spend time with you and listen to everything you say, hanging off your every word even when he’s tired (that’s when you know Hypnos is in deep)

If they serve milkshakes in the lounge (probably don’t, but let’s imagine), he’d definitely want to get one glass two straws to share (same with spaghetti, he wants to Lady and the Tramp it - sharing is another of his love languages)

You can’t cuddle with him if you’re busy, his sleepy aura will rub off on you and you’ll both be dozing like sleepy kittens - get all your work done before

Speaking of cuddles, he’s the little spoon, I won’t hear anything else - likes to be curled up in the fetal position as you try and find a comfortable way to wrap your arms around him somehow (you manage eventually)

The cutest and most romantic dreamscape dates - I think he’d be a picnic under the stars kind of guy

Whenever Zag gives him nectar, he shares it with you

Might be a bit of a love-bomber without realising it; if it bothers you and you tell him it does, he’ll make an effort to tone it down

He’ll ramble about you to whoever remotely looks like they’re paying attention, twirling his hair and kicking his feet while talking about how sweet and wonderful and amazing and perfect you are, and how good your hair smells, and how good you look in your favourite outfit, and-

That’s all I can think of right now :) Hope I did your ask and our favourite sleepy boi justice!

[intimidating-fettuccine]

Headcanon, since it’s Mother’s Day, that Mother’s Day is a huge event in the mansion.

Slender’s brothers always come over and help out, as do the rest of the creeps. Slender’s mother and Toby’s mother will both come over, and everyone else always tries to make the day special for them.

Both of those moms do a lot of cooking for everyone, so in return everyone does a bunch of cooking for them, and it’s all of their favorite foods. The girls take them out to go to the spa and get manicures and pedicures, and they go out for lunch while the guys are back at the mansion cooking and decorating. When they return, they’re presented with the gifts that everyone has gotten for them, and then they have a nice Mother’s Day dinner.

Toby is practically glued to his mom’s side whenever he can be, trying to do whatever he can for her because she’s all he has left and she wants today to be as special for her as it can be. The Slender brothers are extra attentive with their mom as well, especially considering they don’t often get to see her because of their conflicting schedules.

I think it makes both of the moms incredibly happy that everyone in the mansion does their best for them because of the fact that to everyone in the mansion they are their mother figures.

They all sit around the table talking and laughing while they eat, with the moms sharing a few stories about their children growing up, some of which are embarrassing much to the chagrin of said children. By the end of the night Slender’s mom takes her leave so she can go celebrate Mother’s Day with their father, but I think Toby’s mom probably spends the night before heading back to Earth from the Underworld the following day.

However, as night sets in, a few of the creeps also sneak out of the mansion to pay some visits. BEN/Jane/Nina always goes to visit their respective mom’s gravestones on Mother’s Day, staying there for hours at a time, because it’s days like today that they miss their moms the most.

The other creeps that had good, loving parents that are still living also sneak out, enviously looking through windows, checking on them to make sure they’re doing okay. Creeps like Tim/Brian/Kate/Puppeteer that (in my canon) had loving parents and loving homes long so strongly to be able to just pay them a visit, tell them that they’re okay, they’re still here after all these years, but they can’t. Despite their longing, they settle for watching from a distance, and leaving anonymous gifts like flowers on doorsteps.

Creeps that didn’t have good mothers spend the night together, having done their best to make the day special for the two invited moms. Jeff/Liu/Natalie/Helen comfort each other, bittersweet about the fact that they wish they had a mom of their own to celebrate, a mom that was much kinder than the ones they were born to. However, they can’t do anything about that fact, so they turn to each other and the incredible mother figures they now have to fill that void.

Mother’s Day is always a big event, and it’s also one of the more emotional days of the year for the creeps. However, all of them are in agreement that no matter what they’ll always appreciate the two women that now care for all of them and do their best to support them.

[incorrect-riordanverse]

finally reading tsats here are my live thoughts (spoilers, obviously):

i’m so excited because some pages are darkly decorated and its so cool. still don’t vibe with the title though (the sun IS a star and its peeving me)

why are we talking about dating darth vader 😟 where are we rn (anakin is a yes, but DARTH VADER???)

maybe i’m too old but the jokes are not funny 😭

“this whole place feels like my soul. empty and dark. dark as the pit of the underworld.” <- i don’t care if he’s joking nico would never say thissss 🙏😭 we’re only 10 pages in but please stop butchering my fav character he’s not himselffff i am cringing so bad

i know i’m being dramatic but if they do nico dirty in this book i’m going to end it all

oh my god i don’t think i’ve thought about the words “significant annoyance” in so long. bringing back good memories for sure.

i can tell which parts were written by riordan and which parts were written by oshiro. i don’t think their voices are blending very well together…

also, maybe it’s because it’s the start of the book and they’re trying to familiarise new readers quickly with the characters but it feels like they’re making nico the caricature of ‘emo and shadow and ebony darkness dementia raven way 🥀⛓️🖤’ and will the caricature of ‘happy and sunshine and blonde and flower gleam and glow ☀️🌈🫧’ and i usually like this dynamic when it’s not blatantly pointed out every other page. i have faith they’ll show more complexity than this later on though. future yan will let me know by the end. (future yan here, im not at the end but the characterisation def does get more complex thank gods)

oh ok so it is bob the titan

since when was nico’s actual name niccolo??? how did i forget this detail??

“you have to listen if not you’ll share my fate.” “ominous much?” <- ok he’s finally himself again guys it’s all good

the one-sided beef nico has with percy will never not be funny

“cookie monster appeared over the mouth of the jar, reached inside and gobbled up nico like the chocolate-chip cookie he was.” <- nevermind i’ve gone back to hating this book again

“what was one straight boy when you spent your whole life longing for the impossible?” <- i’m reminded of that time a few years back where everyone made ‘having an unrequited crush on percy’ nico’s whole fanon personality, so i’m glad they addressed this somewhat. this boy has been through so much and people really thought crushing on percy was the biggest thing to focus on about ‘nico angst.’

“we made a mistake. you have to fix it.” <- call me a red flag but if i was nico i would do anything and everything to not go. i would medicate myself so highly on sleeping pills that i can’t dream (doctor bf can go kick rocks). i would track percy and annabeth down and haul their asses into tartarus instead to do it. and if i had to go i would only go in to kill bob myself for sending me those traumatic ass nightmares. no thx. bro willingly jumped in himself and now wants me to save him. nuh uh.

not cupid being will 😭 its like his aphrodite 😭 i am not well.

they always have a really good and emotionally moving scene and they ruin it with a dumb joke. let it be heavy 👏👏

something’s really fishy and i have a feeling that it might not be bob calling for him

if this whole “grumpy ball of darkness” thing continues i will actually lose it

you can’t tell me the percabeth pep talk was actually needed. i will forgive it because i miss them though

im sensing tension in the gap between nico’s connection to the underworld and his relationship with will and i’m here for ittttt. give me the dramaaa

who is the gorgyra girl and why is she in their business sm?

oh shit a will solace pov??? christmas came early 🙏

nevermind that whole nightmare sequence was so fucked up 😭😭

somebody HELP HIM i never thought we would get will angst (nico angst fs, but will???)

DONT JUMP IN THE STYX PLEASE

SOMEBODY TELL HIM HE’S HELPFUL OMG

nico strangling epiales in his sleep is so fucking cool he’s literally HIM he’s literally THAT GUY

[taestefully-in-luv]

Our Time | JJK (Six)

Summary: After an accident and being in a coma for three months, you finally wake. But the last nine years of your life have been completely erased. You rely on none other than your best friend, Jungkook, to help regain your memories and yourself. But what happens when the truth of your missing time starts unraveling and it isn’t all it’s made out to be?

Pairing: Jungkook x Fem Reader (Detective!Jk x Graphic Designer!OC) side pairing: Seokjin x Reader

Genre: crime au, fluff, heavy angst, smut, romance, darker themes, amnesia au. Best friends to ???

Word Count: 10.4k

Warnings: ANGSTY chapter ahead. swearing, frustrations of amnesia, detailed descriptions of anxiety and panic attacks, mentions of blood, mentions of child abduction, lots of crying, confrontation, allusions to infidelity within marriage, feelings of betrayal, mention of suicide/death, obvious alcoholism, umm I think that’s it.

a/n: happy valentines day💕 (I haven’t slept yet so its still vday for me hehe) this is not a romantic chapter at all but I hope you still enjoy it. Thanks for those who have been patiently waiting for this chapter since ive been dealing with a lot lately. Well, I hope you guys enjoy and  please let me know what you think! Send an ask if you want to be added to the taglist or just want to chat :]

© taestefully-in-luv

Previous --- Next

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Generally speaking, light can serve as a symbol of life.

When there is light, it touches and beautifully blinds with bright, shimmering hope. But for you, your eyes have cast any ray of shining light away. And your entire view has been enveloped in the arms of darkness.

If light is a symbol of life but you and your soul are being carried on a ferry across the river of Styx towards the underworld…then is it safe to assume you are no longer living?

Have you truly died on the inside?

And this is your stygian reality?

Because now, in your world, light no longer exists.

You’re thankful for those people who know how to naturally calm others down. Those people who remain collected during a crisis. Those people who can snap someone out of there demise even when they’re rattled as well. Those people who remind you to breathe even when they’ve forgotten.

Well, Subin is not one of those people.

“He knows we’re coming, right?” Subin aggressively tries to exit the parking lot of the market, her eyes going everywhere yet you aren’t so sure she’s even seeing properly. 

“I—I talked to the nurse, s-she said to come now. The doctor should be free…fuck, I hope.” You look out the window, your head spinning while your chest grows tighter and tighter. 

Breathing with calm, even breaths is hard. 

It’s even harder because Subin is tense, her fingers wrapped tightly around the steering wheel as she tries to catch her own breath.

She’s always been the type to cry when others cry. Panic when other’s panic. So on and so forth.

You try your hardest to take a breath before speaking, “Can you drive?” You rest the side of your head against the window, your vision looking blurrier and darker. “J-Just pull ov—”

“—Shit, I’m so sorry, y/n.” Subin’s voice shakes, her eyes trying so hard to stay focused on the road. “I’m okay. I’m okay. You’re okay?” She quickly glances at you, “You’re okay, right?”

You rest your palm against your rapid heart, eyes squeezing shut at the pain and discomfort your chest is feeling. You need to breathe. Relax. 

“I-I’m fine.” You say as composed as you possibly can. “Water? Water? Do you…do you have water in here…?” You tiredly lean your head back, chest rising and falling quickly. “I feel sick.”

“Sick?” Subin clears her throat, though she’s panicking herself, she tries to get her shit together. “Like how?” She glances at you again, “I think there’s a bag behind your seat. Throw up in it if you need to….”

“Water, Subin.” You feel your throat closing in on you, “Do you have—”

“—Um,” Subin keeps one hand on the steering wheel while the other frantically feels the sides and below her car seat. “I think there’s a bottle…” She continues to search, the car slightly swerving but you hardly notice. “Here!”

You manage to open your eyes, sudden relief filling your veins when you see a half empty bottle of water. Subin pushes it towards you before she’s urging you to have some.

“Drink slowly.” She keeps a worried eye on you while driving as quickly as she can to the hospital. 

The moment water begins trickling down your throat, you feel the dizziness that’s consumed you start to subside.

With half of that bottle of water in your system, your vision is less blurry and less dark.

Literally speaking, darkness doesn’t have a veil over your eyes any longer.

But figuratively speaking, not even an ounce of light shines in your world at all.

You still can’t breathe. Because how could you?

How could you with the knowledge you currently have?

You’re convinced you’re having a heart attack…Doctor Lee, however, isn’t convinced about that.

“You’re just panicking.” He tells you softly, his eyes trained on your expressions. “It’s okay. This is completely normal, y/n.”

You quickly shake your head, refusing to accept that it’s only your emotions here that are the problem.

“This is normal…” He reminds you again, a gentle hand patting your back. “Once you accept that this is normal, it’ll get easier to control it. You’re overwhelmed and that’s okay.”

“I-I can’t breathe.” You manage to tell him, fingers tugging at the collar of your shirt. You wish you could tear off your clothes, your skin, all the feelings that bombard you.

“You can breathe.” Doctor Lee brings his hand towards his own body, he motions upward now with both hands as he urges you to inhale deeply. “You’re breathing right now. You’ve been breathing this whole time…even when it was hard, you’re still breathing, y/n.”

He’s…right. Since the market, since the car, since waiting for Doctor Lee to show up in this tiny room—you’ve been breathing the entire time.

You try to nod, swallowing hard but it hurts. 

Actually, it seems the physical pain is disappearing while emotional pain begins to sink it’s teeth into you. Pain is pain, you realize. 

“Good,” Doctor Lee keeps his focus on you, “Can you give me a deep breath?”

You nod, trying your hardest to inhale a breath but it’s sharp and poisoned.

Your eyes slam shut, your entire body closing in on itself. 

“Try to let go of a long breath for me,” Doctor Lee’s voice is soothing, “Feel everything. Gather all of it…and let it go with a long, long breath. Can you do that?”

Feel everything and let it go? How could you do that?

“I can’t.” You shake your head, eyes still slammed shut. “I just can’t.”

“You can.” He tells you, voice still calm. “I’m not asking you to sort through all your emotions right now and just let them go. No,” Doctor Lee sighs out for a moment before he’s pulling his chair out right in front of you and taking a seat. “I’m just asking you to recognize you have them and release them for a moment. That way you can gain more strength for when you eventually have to grab them again. You can’t get stronger if the panic you feel burdens you, y/n. Let’s breathe…” 

You open your teary eyes, teeth digging into your bottom lip as harsh breaths make your entire body grow weaker. Doctor Lee looks pleased just at the fact you’ve opened your eyes. He nods his head with a tender smile before he starts breathing with you. In and out. Slow and rest assuring. 

You aren’t sure how long it takes for you to have calm breaths again.

Doctor Lee doesn’t rush you. He gives you time and space to collect yourself. He’s aware that you are here because some memories have flooded your brain. And he’s aware that it had you drowning. He has told you countless times to reach out to him the moment something like this begins. You guess he anticipated this kind of reaction. 

“Just in case, I still want to run some tests. I’ll get nurse Choi to do labs.” Doctor Lee is scribbling onto his clipboard, but his eyes are still on you. “I know today has been scary for you but I’m sure your results will be fine. It’s always better to be a little more precautious, don’t you think?”

Your limbs are weak, draped over this uncomfortable chair as you give Doctor Lee a noncommittal nod. All of your energy has been drained from your body. Leaving you weak and helpless.

Doctor Lee’s pen comes to a slow stop, his lips turning down as he eyes you. “Hey,” He calls out slowly, your eyes barely lifting to him. “I’m afraid it’s going to be like this…overwhelming. Scary. Emotionally, physically draining.”

You stare at him with empty eyes.

“But this is a good sign, y/n….” He says and you can tell he isn’t necessarily happy to say it. “Your memories are in there and they’re going to start leaking out…and it won’t always be easy.”

You muster what little energy you have to scoff to yourself, “No kidding.”

“It just…it means that the chances of all your memory returning is a lot greater. They can all return to you.” He says much softer. You don’t respond though, making Doctor Lee sigh out in defeat before he’s placing the clipboard down. “This first time will probably be the hardest. It’s the first time you’re receiving new information.”

Your eyes meet his when he says that. Your brows slowly pull together as you think about it. “Well, kind of.” You admit to him. “I remembered a cat…” the space between your eyebrows creases further as you try to make things make sense in your head. “Actually…I have a question.”

Doctor Lee nods immediately, his attentive eyes on you. “What is it?”

“Is it possible to remember some things but not others?” You ask, but shake your head as soon as you ask it. “I mean…for example, I remember a cat that I shouldn’t remember. I only remember the cat though. I don’t remember anything else about the timeline of this cats life. You know, the things happening around this cat.”

Doctor Lee furrow his own brows, trying his best to make sense of what you’re asking.

You try to explain further, “I remember this cat. But I don’t remember that at the same time as this cat, I was also married.”

It seems it finally clicks, his mouth falling a little open as he nods. “I understand.”

“It’s just…the thing I remembered today…I remember certain details but there’s so much still missing.” You pause, the gloomy pressure once again in your chest but you take a deep breath. “Is it��” You meet Doctors Lee’s gaze again. “Is it possible that my brain blocked out an entire person in my memory? But I…” You can feel the tightness returning. “I….I have memory of this person existing within things but I don’t have actualrecollection of this per—person.” 

You shouldn’t feel ashamed the moment you see Doctor Lee’s eyes fill with pity.

“You know,” He clears his throat, blinking away the pity he feels for you. “The brain is truly such a complex thing. Your memories might come to you with no warning and things might not always make sense. Eventually, you might be able to piece some together. And yeah, I’d say it’s entirely possible not to have all the knowing details when you remember an event.”

“Then—”

“—But don’t be discouraged that things will always stay that way. Like you’re going to live your life solving some puzzle.”

Your eyes sting the moment he says that. You’re realizing how true that feels for you…like you’re just a player apart of some game. But you aren’t even sure you have all the puzzle pieces to even play. 

“As overwhelming as it is, this is a good sign. Your memories will most likely return. And maybe even soon.”

You realize he’s saying this as if it’s a positive. 

But you aren’t so sure that you even want them to return anymore.

“It might take Nurse Choi a little while to get your labs started…she’s doing some rounds right now.” Doctor Lee takes a look at his watch, “But I can grab your friend from the waiting room if you’d like me to? You’d be less bored waiting in here.” He smiles.

Though you cannot return his smile, you agree.

~

You know Subin is in this tiny room with you. You watched when one of the nurses brought her in. But even still, you jump in your chair when she calls out for you. Her worried eyes glued to you but you’ve barely noticed. Too busy sorting through the things you’ve seen in your head.

“Are you…” Subin’s voice is delicate over the harsh and rough thumping of your heartbeat. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

You are okay. Because you weren’t experiencing a heart attack.

But are you okay? No, not at all.

You keep staring at nothing and Subin can do nothing but worry in the chair next to you. Her eyes anxiously darting around while you tap your foot against the floor impatiently. 

“y/n…” Subin says your name softly, her concern overflowing. “You—”

“—Exactly.” You give a curt nod, “They must be real.”

Subin frowns when she realizes you aren’t listening to her.

“They have to be real because…” You tear your gaze away from the abyss and bore your eyes into Subin’s. “She said my name, Subin.”

Subin tilts her head, gears working in her head but her confusion only grows. “What?”

“I just…” You drop your eyes back to the floor, focusing on nothing again. “I keep thinking that maybe my brain is making up the things I saw in my head.” You say quietly, your words feeling heavy on your tongue. “It wouldn’t be a first time…” You try to reason, more to yourself. You recall the boat, the lake, the scream, the shadow…what was real and what wasn’t? “I keep trying to think that my brain is just throwing out theories again.”

Subin shifts in the uncomfortable chair, “What…what do you mean?”

You sigh, a hand rubbing at your face tiredly. “I’m thinking of reasons.”

“Reasons?”

You drop your hand to your lap, an uneasy expression falling over your face as you glance at your friend. “A reason not to hate Jungkook.” 

Subin’s eyebrows immediately pinch together, “W-Why?”

You close your eyes for a moment, trying your best to take a deep breath. You hate that your heart feels miserable in your body right now. It’s screaming and it’s crying. Your heart’s loud, pathetic sobs are bouncing off the walls of your ribcage and you don’t know what to do to put it to rest. 

“I have nothing.” You whisper. A heavy feeling begins clinging to you like a cloak you cannot shrug off. “I have no excuses for him.” Your voice cracks, eyes still closed. “I know why I blame him for Haru and I know why we divorced.”

“What? Why?” Subin is suddenly more alert. You hear the way her chair screeches across the tile as she brings herself closer to you. “Are you sure? What…what is it?”

You finally open your eyes, head tilted back as you stare up at the ceiling now. “Nabi.”

It’s silent for a moment. You wonder if Subin heard you or not so you finally turn your head to face her but she looks even more confused.

“Nabi?” She finally gets the name out in question. She tries to think about it but after a moment she gives up. “Who’s that?”

“The girl from that café you like.” You tell her, “She was our server the first time we went together.” 

Subin sits back in her chair, her brain trying to understand what you’re saying. “Okay…a girl from the café is why—”

“—I knew I knew her.” You cut her off, eyes going back to nothing as you focus on Nabi. “She was so familiar and I had no clue why. But she said we didn’t know each other. And I am almost so certain she never heard my name.”

Subin shakes her head, leaning towards you. “And then what?”

“Then I ran into her at the store and I saw so many things.” You get the words out quickly and stop just as fast. You saw a lot of things. Too many things. “I…” You try to speak again but your throat is burning and you heart is crying again.

“You think she had something to do with Haru?” Subin asks you, concern clear in her voice. 

“I…” You pause again. Your chest is feeling tight all over again but you can’t risk losing your ability to breathe now. “She also has to do with my failing marriage.” You keep your eyes low.

“Your marr…” Subin’s words get quieter before her hand goes to your shoulder, “Are you saying that Jungkook knows her?”

You scoff, trying your best to remain calm. But your voice betrays you, “Considering he was cheating on me with her then yeah, I-I would say so.” 

You’re startled when Subin is standing from her chair, concerned eyes forcing themselves to you, “Woah, woah. You don’t really think…” She shakes her head, rejecting the entire idea. “No, you are not saying Jungkook—”

“—I don’t want to be saying that, Subin.” You snap at her, your eyes growing watery as your voice shakes. “But that’s what I’ve—I’ve seen. M-my brain showed me so much and that’s why I…why I keep thinking maybe they aren’t actual memories. That I don’t actually know her.” You feel you are starting to lose control again, your breaths coming out faster. “But Subin,” Your face twists and your heartache is seen. “She said my name. She knows my name. She knows who I am.” 

Subin takes a seat again, unsure of what to say.

“If we know each other…then it means maybe what I saw was…” You swallow hard but not choking on your words is fucking hard. “It was m-maybe real then.”

“But I mean…are you really sure though?” Subin rests a hand over your shoulder. “I’m sorry but…is what you’re seeing…you know, reliable?”

You feel yourself grow weak and small in this chair. Your body slumping over and slightly sliding down as you try to think of a proper response.

“I mean,” Subin’s fingers give you a comforting squeeze, “I’m not saying we shouldn’t trust what you’ve seen…but it’s a tricky situation.”

You know you are dying inside. Truly, even if a flickering light that might have been keeping you alive until this moment has shut off. Because you wish you could agree with her and let that thought alone comfort you. But again, you aren’t ignorant. And you won’t start now.

“No, they’re memories.” You tell her, eyes on the ground. “I know they are. I feel them.”

Subin’s hand drops from your shoulder, a sad and soft ‘oh’ spills quietly from her mouth. 

You try to straighten up in the chair, letting a deep sigh roll off your body. “But until I talk to Jungkook…I can’t really confirm it. Even though I know. I need to talk to him.”

“Can I…” Subin scoots her chair closer to you again, the legs pushed against the legs of your chair. “Can I ask what you saw? Why you think that…that Jungkook was having an affair? And what does it…” She softly trails off, her voice clearly unsure.

“And what it has to do with Haru?” You finally face your friend with sad, blood shot eyes. “He was with herwhen Haru was supposed to get p-picked up.” You continue to stare at Subin, her heart breaking when she sees how you try to hold back tears. “Isn’t it crazy that I know that? That I know about Haru? But I don’t fucking…” You stop when your throat burns too much, words refusing to leave your mouth. You fight through it regardless and finish what you are saying with broken words and a broken heart. “B-But I don’t f-fucking know him?”  

Subin eyes you with pity and you’re sure you’ve received this all before.

“I remember seeing them together. Multiple o-occasions.” You admit to your friend, voice shaky. “It’s hard to tell though…from my memory if it was in person or pictures, videos, I don’t know. I know I confronted him and he just…” Your expression twists miserably. “He could n-never prove to me that my assumptions weren’t—weren’t right.”

“But that doesn’t me—”

“—M-Motel rooms…so many f-fucking secrets, Subin.” You finally properly choke on your words because of a quiet sob in your throat. “A pregnancy test?”

“A what?” Subin’s face falls, “A preg—no, maybe you—”

“As much as I want to believe Jungkook w-wouldn’t…” You slam your eyes shut and finally, several warm tears manage to fall from your closed lids. “But there is so much evidence against him and he could n-never fucking prove...”

“Okay, okay.” Subin’s sweet voice turns even more soothing, her hand returning to your shoulder. “I’m so sorry, y/n.” She whispers, “Seriously…I wish this wasn’t…”

“No,” You straighten up again, your hands desperately wiping at your face. “I won’t mourn y-yet when I haven’t talked to Jungkook.” 

Because somehow…even with your bones screaming the truth at you.

You still want to believe in him.

At least until you are forced not to.

~~~

Subin parks right in front of your house, her worried eyes going between you and Jungkook’s car that is also parked here. 

“We left for the grocery store and came back emptyhanded…” Subin nibbles her lips, her concern growing. “What if he’s like ‘why don’t you have my chips?’ or something…” 

You slowly turn your head to eye Subin, eyes narrowing at her before you deadpan, “Then I’ll just ask him why he cheated on me.” 

Subin’s mouth immediately falls open.

“Or something.” You say before unbuckling your seatbelt. “Anyway, thanks for taking me to the hospital…might end up there again,” You glance out the window towards your home. “Depending how this conversation goes…” 

“y/n…” Subin’s hand lands on your shoulder, stopping you from opening the passenger door to get out, “I just…want to say again how sorry I feel…” Her hand slowly drops when she notices your distant gaze and then she quietly clears her throat. “I hope it’s not what you think but regardless…I’m here for you.”

You finally meet her eye and you can see her sincerity but the best you can do for her right now is give her a small nod of appreciation before you’re opening the door. 

And even though the car door feels heavier than you recall, you still get it open. But your body almost refuses to move. Once again, your brain is sending signals. Telling your body not to go in there. Because you won’t like it. Your brain, mocking you again. Keeping secrets from you because it’s playing some kind of sick and twisted game. 

You’d think your brain was helping you, because of all the signals, but you know that isn’t the case. You know it’s just trying to get a scare out of you because why else would it keep your memories away if not to play with you?

“Hey,” Subin calls out softly, “You can do this…”

And she’s right. You can.

~

Walking through your front door, you have to keep reminding yourself silently over and over to stay strong. Though the urge to break down, falling to the floor while misery consumes you wholly is strong but you don’t. Because you can’t. It would be a bit premature to have the full on meltdown your body is begging for because you still need to face Jungkook.

The moment you close the front door and begin slipping your shoes off, your nose is suddenly invaded with a savory aroma. You glance up, eyes in the direction of the kitchen when you finally realize Jungkook must be cooking. It smells good, you guess. But no matter what is cooking in the kitchen, it’s not good enough to take away any of the pain you are currently feeling.

“y/n?” You hear your name being called. Jungkook’s voice is one you’re used to, one you find comfort in, one you love—so why did you flinch? Why is your body warning you? Signals from your brain again? That fucking dickhead brain of yours. You stand up straight again, eyes still in the direction of the kitchen when you try to take one long, deep breath. 

“y/n!” You flinch again. Frozen in your spot, unable to make your feet mood forward. You stare at the wall ahead and anticipate Jungkook turning the corner and seeing you. You anticipate seeing his face and you anticipate the instant dread you will feel upon seeing him. 

“y/n!” He sings your name cutely this time. 

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

You finally let out an incredibly shallow breath because Jungkook finally appears from the kitchen, his face lit up in excitement when he meets your eye. 

“Hey!” He walks towards you, his hand sliding across the top of the sofa as he gets closer, his eyes glancing around. “Subin in the bathroom or something?”

You need to breathe.

“—Well, since you’re making me my favorite homemade cookies,” He continues chatting with a grin, excited glint so obvious in his eyes. “Which are a dessert. I figured I could make dinner.” He turns to look towards the kitchen, sheepish expression on his face. “I’ve made this dish a hundred times but…” He turns to meet your eye again, his hand lifting to scratch the back of his neck, “Only after we were married. So it will be new for you. But um,” He looks down, sheepish smile still on his face. “It’s actually Haru’s favorite.” 

You haven’t moved a single muscle. 

You haven’t said a word.

You have barely had an audible breath.

Still, Jungkook looks happy in his own world when he brings up your son.

Your son that you can’t even remember. 

“I figure I could share some more stories tonight…about us, Haru…” Jungkook keep his eyes on his feet, still scratching the back of his neck. Almost looking shy. “Well, of course if you think you c…could…” Jungkook trails off when he finally lifts his eyes towards you but he isn’t met with same you that left for the store a few hours ago. He’s met with a you that he almost recognizes. Like he’s seen this expression before. On the you, that only he really knows.

“y/n?” His brows slightly pinch together, confusion draping over his features. “Are you…” He glances around again, “Where’s Subin? And where’s the things from the store?” 

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

You didn’t realize you were capable of being a coward.

You want to move your feet. You want to open your mouth to speak. Hell, you want to blink. But you aren’t capable of anything. Except being a fucking coward. 

Because you are afraid. You’re terrified. For more reasons than you can count. 

You’re imprisoned, once again.

“Hey,” Jungkook studies your face, his concern evident. “What’s going on?” 

Feeling a bit hesitant, Jungkook still walks closer to you. His concern only growing because you still don’t move, you still don’t make a sound, you still stare at him with wide eyes. 

You stare at him and you only have one repeated thought that wanders around in your head. How easy would it be? How easy would it be to live ignorantly? The thing you have always refused to do. How easy would it be? How easy would it be to pretend your ‘memories’ are just theories that you brain is throwing out for fun? How easy to only trust Jungkook. And not yourself. 

“y/n…” Jungkook’s eyes fill with worry. “Are you…” He lifts a hand towards you and you watch as it rises towards your face but your entire body jolts when you hear a loud slapping sound. Your dry lips finally part and you’re blinking repeatedly. You shoot your eyes to Jungkook’s face, only to see his expression completely twisted. 

He stands frozen in front of you, hand still hangs in the air as his eyebrows pull together and his jaw hangs slack. 

Your eyes go from his face to his hand when you lower your eyes to stare at your own hand.

You slapped his hand away. 

Your brain sent signals to your body and that was the result.

So, no. To answer your question—it wouldn’t be fucking easy.

You both stand here, shocked by your own action. 

Jungkook’s confusion only grows deeper, his hand slowly lowering to his side again when he takes a small step back. “Oh.” He says softly, the hurt is in his voice and it makes you wince. Or cringe. You aren’t sure which. 

You try to open your mouth so words can force their way out but instead you notice the feeling of pins and needles start to poke at your skin. Your fingers, your toes, your lips. Confused, you bring your fingers to your mouth, fingers barely grazing over your bottom lip where it tingles uncomfortably. You drop your hand, curling your fingers in and out as you try to make sense of what’s happening. 

You stare down at yourself, your chest rising and falling quickly.

When did you start breathing again?

And when did you start breathing this rapidly?

You glance around, feeling trapped because you’re sure this room is closing in on you. Everything is beginning to feel close and suffocating, like the walls are inching closer and closer, caging you in so you can suffer. Harsh, heavy breaths are pushing past your lips now. Panicked eyes going everywhere but Jungkook. Your throat…it’s closing in on you. Just like your walls. Your throat is growing smaller and smaller, your hands quickly flying to your neck and chest, as you touch yourself desperately. 

“y/n.” Jungkook is in front of you again, his eyes totally focused on you and his worried eyes grow antsier. “Hey, what is happening?” His voice sounds rushed, panicked even. “Talk to me.”

You can’t talk though. You can’t swallow your own spit. You can’t even breathe. 

“y/n.” Jungkook reaches for you again, both his hands on your arms but you flinch immediately, your blown out eyes landing on him when you shove him off.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” You scream out, voice shrill and uneven. “D-Don’t fucking touch me, Jungkook.” You take several wobbly steps back, your breaths still rough and rapid. 

Jungkook’s hands hang in the air, holding nothing but the ghost of your body he once knew. 

His eyes are boring into the empty space and you see how utterly hurt he looks. 

But you don’t have it in yourself to feel compassion for his confusion. Because right now, you only see Nabi’s face in your mind, along with Jungkook’s right next to her. 

You wish you could control how your mind and body are feeling right now because if it were up to you, you would be calm and confronting Jungkook with ease because you are supposed to trust him. But you can’t control your anxiety, your panic or your dread.

Slowly lowering his arms, Jungkook tries to find your eyes with his and you notice the fear plaguing them. “y/n…” He tries your name, the word falling soft and cautious from his lips. “What’s going on?”

You squeeze your eyes shut for a moment, tingly lips and fingers making you feel even more strange as quick breaths force their way out of you. You need to relax. Fucking relax. You need to get it together so you can dismiss the images in your brain and fall into the arms of the man in front of you because you love him and you trust him. That’s right. Get this conversation over with so you can move on. Because surely, your brain is wrong.

“Um,” You pry your eyes open but your vision is a bit blurry from unfallen tears. “Okay…” You take several deep breaths, trying your hardest so you’ll be able to speak.

“Take your time.” Jungkook says in a whisper. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

You will be okay. You hope.

“Jungkook.” Your chest still rises and falls with each deep breath. “I-I have to…” You pause, tongue darting out to lick your dry lips. “I…I ran into Nabi at the store.”

Your words aren’t rushed as you say them, in fact, everything feels slow. Even Jungkook’s eyes widening and the fear inside them only grow fiercer seems to happen slowly. Like, the world around you is in slow motion until suddenly it’s not. Jungkook’s eyes quickly shoot down to the wooden floors as you see his mind working in overdrive.

“I know who she is.” You find the courage to say, “I ran into her before…she s-seemed familiar. But today, I suddenly got mem—”

“—What did you see?” Jungkook quickly looks at you again, panic written all over his face. “You probably didn’t—”

“—Did you cheat on��did you ch…” You stop, the words too painful as they sit on your tongue like a knife slicing it apart. “J-Jungkook were you having an—”

“—No!” Jungkook suddenly walks closer to you, his hands desperate to reach for you but he doesn’t. Perhaps, he’s afraid you’ll slap them away again. “Fuck, y/n, I—”

You see his anxiety clear as day and somehow it only makes you feel worse. Your breaths grow slower and something close to despair throws its arms around you and holds you close. “Jungkook,” You don’t want to ask it. You don’t want the answer. “Were…were you with her when Haru was taken?”

Jungkook’s rolls his lips until they’re set in a firm line across his face, his eyes closing for a brief moment and you notice regret sticking to him. 

“Were you?” You repeat.

He opens his eyes again and with a quiet voice, he finally responds. “Yes.”

You suck in a sharp breath, but you try to remain as calm as possible. “Okay.” You give a curt nod, “And…have you gone to motels with her?”

He glances up briefly,  jaw clenching, “Yes.”

A stab to your chest, “Okay. B-Before Haru was taken…were…” Your throat burns like acid sticks to the walls, “Were we having problems in our m-marriage?”

Jungkook’s expression twists, scrunching in panic, perhaps. “Yes.” He admits with a shaky voice. 

You give a small nod before asking the question that makes or breaks this. “Were you seeing her because of a case?”

Jungkook immediately looks at you, wide, panicked eyes and you see how they fill with tears. His mouth drops open but only a shallow breath comes out. You wait for his answer. Need his answer. He quickly shuts his mouth, head turning to the side as you see him struggle to even look at you now, “No.” He finally says, the word pushed out as if he was in agony. And maybe he is. 

He said no. 

And just like that, you have your answer. Just like the past, he offers nothing more to ease your mind. No proof that there isn’t an affair happening. You stare at him. Lips parted and eyes blinking slowly. 

Your breaths are calm. But you feel weak. Like his simple answer drained every bit of life out of your body. You almost wish you could scream, cry or even through something from the rage that must be inside you. 

But it feels like there is nothing inside you. 

This betrayal only has you feeling empty.

“You…” Your voice cracks, thick tears bubbling over and falling from your eyes. “You were…”

“y/n.” Jungkook finally looks at you again and he sounds terrified. “Please, please, I am begging you, to please trust—”

“—Trust you? Fine.” You cry out, “Tell me exactly what was going on then. Tell—Tell me everything!” You take a step forward, your voice clearly begging. “Explain the fuck-fucking situation, Jungkook. So I can fucking believe you.” 

Jungkook stares at you, confliction in his eyes like how you’ve gotten used to. 

“You can’t, right?” You scoff, tears wetting your warm cheeks. “You couldn’t then either. Y-You just can’t fucking tell me the truth, right?”

Jungkook finally breaks. His lips twisting, eyes shutting in frustration and you see his own tears. “y/n please…” He begs too, his hands going to his face, rubbing his tired eyes. “Fuck, please…you need to just….y/n…please just,” He chokes on his words, a quiet sob in his throat. “I can’t d-do this again, please…I can’t do this y/n.” He cries into his hands. “I fucking can’t. I can’t. Fuck fucking everything.” 

You watch as he cries for himself. Feeling bad for himself. Pity for himself. Instead of being honest with you, he does this. 

“Please trust me. Don’t trust what you’re see—”

“—You’re asking me to trust you but not myself?” You ask in almost disbelief. You might not remember everything but it seems your feelings from that time are still so alive inside you. And that’s what you’re going to trust. “You want me to believe you but not believe prior accident me? That d-doesn’t sit right with me.” You tell him. 

“y/n…” He wipes at his eyes and his nose before trying to look at you, eyes afraid and pathetic, “Please don’t do this again…I can’t do this without you again,” He shakes his head, bottom lip quivering. “Please, my love.” 

You take a step back, feeling overwhelmed. “D-Don’t call me that.”

It feels strange to be called that by him. Strange yet familiar. And you thought the oddness that accompanied the term of endearment is because you just aren’t used to it yet. But really it’s because he isn’t supposed to be calling you that. Not anymore.

Your teeth dig into your bottom lip, not an ounce of pain felt. “You know,” You cry out in a whisper, “I don’t remember everything. But,” You try to speak through your tears. “But this heartache feels all too familiar. You need to leave…”

And somehow the despair in Jungkook’s eyes and the terror and look of defeat on his face also feel all too familiar. 

Because you have both been through this before already.

~~~

It’s been a week since running into Nabi and confronting Jungkook. A week since you’ve cried. A week since you’ve felt anything rumbling inside your body. A week since you’ve left your house. A week since you’ve ate a proper meal. A week since you’ve felt anything beyond an empty despair. 

Lying in bed at dawn, you lazily poke at Haru’s robot, the cold plastic on your fingertips. You poke it in the chest, over and over, soft yet determined.

“Do you have a heart in there?” You quietly ask it, somehow disappointed when it doesn’t answer you. “You…” You softly grip the toy, bringing it closer to your chest when you sigh out. “You don’t sleep either, right?”

And in the last week, the only one you’ve really talked to is this robot. Haru’s robot. You believe the comfort you feel from talking and holding this toy is because deep down you feel its familiarity with it being your sons. But also, you find yourself relating to this robot. Both empty, skin cold like plastic and neither of you having the ability to sleep. Only the option to ‘shut down’. 

You glance towards the window, the sun rising again like it always does. And you wish it didn’t. You don’t want to see the sun, you don’t want to see any light. How could the world keep on going when for you, personally, it’s ended. 

Your phone has been going off all week, your friends and parents expressing their concern for your quiet mood. Your parents don’t necessarily know what’s going on but Misuk and Subin have a better idea, considering Subin was there for the first half. You have asked for space and you’ve manage to let them know every night that you’re still here. Even when you kind of don’t want to be.

Jungkook hasn’t reached out even once. 

You don’t want to talk to him but the fact that he’s quiet…it feels even more solidifying that he’s guilty. 

And the fact your heart is broken beyond repair and it is so completely familiar to you…tells you he’s been guilty since then.

It hurts. It hurts more than you ever thought possible. Because even with missing memories, you feel how badly this hurts. Even though you don’t fully recall your actual relationship, you feel it. How real it was. How beautiful it was. How tragic it was. 

You can feel the pain as if you actually never forgot it.

And that’s why you’re choosing to trust yourself.

You barely react when your phone goes off, eyes lazily sliding over to the device that lays abandoned on the other side of the bed. You debate checking it. But for whatever reason, you reach for it and see it’s only a text from Misuk asking if you’re free today. 

You aren’t necessarily ready to face anyone quite yet but still, you tell her yes. You have received a few more memories that you’re piecing together like a jumbled up story and you’d like to talk about them.

~

“Are you…” Misuk eyes you over, pity all over her face as she leans back into the sofa, “You know, eating?”

“Sometimes.” You shrug, “I made an iced coffee today if that counts.”

“It doesn’t.” Misuk sighs out, “Why don’t I order us something? Subin should be here any second so I don’t want to ask her to pick something up when she’s this close by.”

“If you’re hungry, sure.” You shrug again. You keep your eyes lowered, fingers picking at your cuticles. 

It’s only a few minutes later when Subin has joined you and Misuk on the couch. Her antsy hands running up and down her thighs as she waits for you to answer her question.

“So?” She softly urges you to respond.

“Yeah,” You reply quietly, eyes on your lap as you look completely detached from the conversation. “My memories were right, I guess.”

You hear Subin release a long breath before she curses, “Shit…”

You shrug, “I guess my miserable life before the accident continues, huh?” You chuckle bitterly, eyes losing focus on anything.

“At first you were.” Misuk whispers, “But lately you had gotten…I don’t know, maybe—”

“—Well, I’m actually probably more miserable than before. Because I have to rediscover everything and feel each little thing…one,” You start picking at your cuticles again, “By one.”

“y/n…” You can hear the pity in Subin’s voice.

“And this time, instead of feeling upset about my probably dead child, I can just feel guilty for not even remembering him. Mother of the year.” You rip back a piece of skin from the corner of your pinky, blood immediately pooling but you don’t care. You move to the next finger. 

“y/n.” Misuk says your name in shock, “You don’t believe that for one second.”

You snap your head up, “Believe what?”

“That Haru is—”

“—I don’t even fucking know him.” You spit out. “And maybe it’s best that I never—”

“—You don’t mean that!” Subin cuts in, a soft disappointment in her voice. “I know this is hard and…” She stops talking when you narrow your eyes at her.

“You know how hard this is? Oh, do you?” Your lips turn up at the corner before you nod your head, “This happened to you before? You know what I’m going through?”

“Hey,” Misuk’s voice is scolding, “You know what Subin means.”

“Do I?” You scoff. “Let’s be honest guys,” You look between the two of them. “Do either of you even know me anymore? Do I even know you anymore? You said it yourself,” You look back down to your hands, “We barely speak anymore.”

“We barely speak because of you.” Misuk points out coldly, “You shut us out. And you’re trying to do it again! Like, wow here we go again.”

Your brow arches, almost looking amused. “Again?” You spit the word out. “Well, sorry Misuk, sorry that things fucking suck and I’m not here smiling for you. Again. I barely recall the first time this all happened and you’re mad I’m fucking reacting. Mad that I’m mad. I’m sad. I’m fucking heartbroken!” You cry out the last line. “I love you but maybe let’s not act like a bitch when neither of you know what the fuck I’m going through, hm?” You raise your brows at her with icy eyes. 

Misuk’s brows furrow but you see something flash across her face. It’s not anger. You don’t even think she’s offended. Instead you see understanding. She slowly nods her head, glancing at Subin before she clears her throat. “Okay, I’m sorry.” She says quietly, “You’re right…you’re totally right and I’m sorry. I guess…” She pauses.

“We just miss you, y/n.” Subin continues for Misuk, “We’re afraid to lose you again. That’s all. But you’re right, you shouldn’t have to act like everything is okay when it’s not.”

Misuk nods, eyes searching for yours, “And it’s not.” She says softly, “I really am sorry.”

You continue to stare down at your lap, lips pressed into one another. 

“If you’re able…why don’t you tell us what you do remember?” Misuk tries to get you to open up again instead of shutting down. You know this. You want to answer…it’s why you let them come over in the first place.

You nod, eyes still lowered. “Okay.”

Subin reaches over and gives your shoulder a squeeze, “Whatever feels manageable. Don’t push yourself too much.”

Finally lifting your eyes towards your friends, you decide to fill them in. “I’ve been remembering a few things.” You admit. “Not actual memories? I don’t know how to explain it. Not…you know, movie scenes in my head but I remember certain things because it’s like…I just know.  Does…does that make sense? No, it probably doesn’t, right?” 

“Like you’re remembering facts rather than images?” Misuk asks and you immediately nod your head quickly.

“Yes!” You say with a bit of enthusiasm. “That’s exactly it. So, basically…just things I know about our—Jungkook and I’s—marriage.”

“Oh.” Subin’s eyes are eager to know more.

“Misuk was right. It was rocky.”

“I knew it.” Misuk curses, “You never really outright said it but…I kind of figured. You never were the type to admit something like that since you’re the type to solve things by yourself.” 

“I guess I didn’t really solve anything.” You feel your body grow heavier. “I asked Jungkook if things were rough before and he admitted that it was. Since then, it’s like little facts are showing up in my brain out of nowhere…like his admission unlocked some part of my memories or something…”

“Were you two just fighting a lot?” Subin asks.

You try to think about it. It’s not like you remember a specific argument but you know the answer is yes. “Yeah.”

“But you think he was having an affair with…” Misuk glances at Subin, “What was her name again?”

“Nabi.” You say. “But our problems were starting before that, I think. I know we were fighting all the time. I just know. I also know he was keeping things from me. He was barely home anymore and I felt…” You chew on your lips, unsure of what exactly it was since you don’t know everything. But one word keeps popping up in your mind. “Unfulfilled.” You say, the word somehow resonating with you like you’ve said it before.

“Yeah.” Misuk agrees quietly, “You mentioned something like that in the past…way before Haru’s kidnapping.”

“Misuk,” You suddenly find her eyes, “Why did I lead you to believe Jungkook was wronging me somehow?”

“You mentioned someone else.” She tells you, “But you didn’t give me any detail. But you were so…sureabout something and I believed you. Your expression.” Misuk frowns, “I knew something serious must have had occurred because I had never seen you like that.”

You glance back down at your lap, your focus on your hands again. “I see.” Then you lift your eyes again, “I remember that at that time I was suspicious of Jungkook. Of the affair. I know I dug deeper and found things that I wish I never had…” You recall the memories that hit you at the market. “Eventually I confronted him and just like now, he was unable to give me an explanation. And I was right.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry.” Misuk huffs out, eyes going to the ceiling. “That’s terr—”

“—And he was with her. When Haru was taken. I don’t know how I know, but he was supposed to be picking Haru up from daycare. I don’t know why I wasn’t able to but I know that it was something I needed from him…something for him to do to make me feel like he was a part of this family. But he failed.” Your words grow quieter with each syllable. “And I know that for the first time in my life,” You stare at nothing, eyes growing watery. “That I hated someone. With my entire being.” 

It's quiet. Neither of your friends having the courage to say anything to your words. 

You try to clear your throat and blink back any tears in your eyes before looking at them again, “But still, so much doesn’t make sense and there’s so much still missing.” You feel your heart grow weaker as you chuckle humorlessly, “And Jungkook hasn’t tried to reach out to me even once…which just feels like more proof.” 

“I can’t imagine Jungkook even looking at someone who isn’t you…” Subin whispers, “He…well, I guess we don’t ever really know what goes on. I find it hard to hate him but seeing what he’s done to—"

“—I know I truly hated him then.” You cut her off with a shaky voice. “And I think I hate him now, too. But,” You search both of your friends eyes with desperation so depressing, “If I hate him this much it’s because I also,” You choke, “Love him this much too, right?” You ask the question so innocently and delicately as your voice cracks.

 You let yourself feel your own question and for the first time since a week ago—you cry. You let tears fall and you let your body break. “Because—Because I do. I love him so much that its hurting me. I…I can’t even b-breathe because I love him. I can’t—can’t sleep because I love him.” You shoulders shake as you sob loudly. Almost like a child. “I can’t remember my own child be—because I love him.” You slam your eyes shut, mouth hung open as you choke on your sobs. “My brain c-can’t show my memories because I love him. He’s—he’s the only thing my b-brain wants to think about.” 

At a loss for words, Misuk and Subin feel their hearts breaking in their chests. This is more devastating than the first time. They realize, you were right, this is more miserable.

~~~

It’s been three weeks since Jungkook has seen you. Since he’s seen you, his light. The only thing in this entire world that could possibly make him feel alive. The only thing in the entire universe that could make his heart beat again. You’re the only one keeping him from going insane or ending his own life. He had always held onto the hope that one day this will be behind you guys. 

And then he can touch you again, hold you again, openly love you again.

But mostly, for you to love him again. 

His apartment is how it always is, TV blaring with the news on. The blueish light illuminates his entire living room and lately it has been his only source of light. You, his true source, no longer rising in his sky. 

It’s around four in the afternoon when Jungkook’s phone starts going off, the vibrating making his coffee table buzz. He rubs his eyes with a fist before setting his nearly empty beer bottle down to the table and reaching for the device.

Jimin.

Jungkook rolls his eyes before answering, “I told you to leave me alone.” He slurs into the phone.

“Are you fucking drunk again?” Jimin doesn’t hide his disapproval. “Going to pull this shit again, Jungkook?”

“Fuck off, Jimin.” Jungkook brings the phone away from his face and ends the call. 

Not even ten seconds pass before his phone is buzzing again in his hands. He groans loudly as he answers it again, “What the fuck do you—”

“—Just fucking listen, you moron.” Jimin cuts in, “I’m already risking everything by being in contact with you. And now you’re back to your old ways.” He scoffs, “If you fuck this up, I swear I’ll come to your shit apartment and kick your ass myself.”

Jungkook drunkenly chuckles into the phone, “You don’t have to help—”

“—Help you?” Jimin scoffs again, “I’m not doing this for you and you know it.”

“Whatever,” Jungkook grumbles while reaching for his beer again and taking a swig, “What do you want?”

“Lee Jaesung.” Jimin says.

Immediately Jungkook leans forward on his couch, something more serious falling over his face before he asks, “What about him?”

“Well, he was the only thing getting us closer to this shit.”

“Yeah?” Jungkook sets the beer down again, “Does he have new information?”

“He’s dead.” Jimin informs with a bite to his tone, “Guy was found in his apartment. Apparent suicide.”

Jungkook grits his teeth, “Fucking bullshit.” 

“I know.” Jimin sighs, “You’ve been MIA and I need you to get your shit together if we’re going to—”

“—Count me out.” Jungkook slurs into the phone, “I’m done.”

Jimin is quiet for a moment before he’s chuckling into the phone, “You’re really back to this, huh? You’re sad, Jungkook. I told you years ago you were going to ruin your marriage. Didn’t I?”

Jungkook grips the edge of the couch cushion, eyes growing darker as he watches the bright TV screen. “Shut up.” He seethes, “Don’t bring up—”

“—You ruined your entire life you fucking drunk.” Jimin spits at him, “Fix your shit then call me.”

Jungkook keeps the phone to his ear despite the fact that Jimin has hung up. It slides down his cheek and eventually falls to the floor as he continues to stare at the bright screen of his TV. He is here again. And it’s not like he can’t not believe that he’s back to this because it never feels like he ever wasn’t like this. This is just who he is now. It’s the him that he knows. And when you woke up knowing the him he used to know…it almost felt like he could be that person again.

Having to tell you about Haru again…heartbreaking.

But having to see you experience that same betrayal and heartache…pure utter torture.

Jungkook drunkenly reaches for the TV remote and shuts it off, the room going completely dark. His closed blinds and heavy drapes block out the sun that isn’t you. He is in darkness because in his life there is no light.

Because you aren’t here anymore.

~

“Yes, well, believe it or not…” You sigh into your phone, small smile on your lips. “I’m actually getting out of the house today.” 

“To eat a real meal?” Misuk asks knowingly.

“Kind of?” You laugh. “I’m in the mood for coffee but like, not from my coffee pot.” 

Misuk tsks, “Fine. But at least buy a cookie or something too.”

“Yeah, yeah.” You tell her, “I found a cute café not too far away. Not a full menu place with servers like the one Subin likes—not that she even wants to go there anymore—but this place is like a little hole in the wall. Good reviews too.”

“I wish I could ditch work and join you.” She whines, “But I’ll have to stick to break room coffee.”

“Sounds horrible.”

“Oh, it is.” She laughs, “But okay. I hope you enjoy the café.”

“Me too,” At this point you hope you enjoy anything.

But the world is still dark.

And you’re hoping a nice outing with a good caffeinated drink could offer a little shining light in this complete darkness that consumes you. Even if it’s temporary. 

“I’ll talk to you later, Misuk.” You say before you’re both hanging up.

You look ahead, eyes on the building in front of you. You didn’t tell Misuk you’re actually already here but too afraid to get out of your car and walk inside. You aren’t sure why you’re afraid. Maybe it’s because it’s your first real outing since memories started coming to you. Maybe you’re afraid the more places and people you see, it will trigger more to unlock.

And you’re afraid of more truths that you wish would stay hidden would reveal themselves.

It’s hard but you finally manage to get out of your car and force your legs to take you inside. But the moment you step inside and you’re greeted with the smell of coffee and baked good, you immediately relax. 

It’s not a busy place at all. It’s small maybe the size of your living room and kitchen combined. Just a long counter with cookies, cakes and breads that smell delicious and an artsy menu board hanging on the back wall with a long list of drinks. And along one of the walls and all the windows is small, round tables with chairs. 

You take a breath before walking to the counter and a girl with bright eyes greets you with a heartwarming grin. When you tell her you’ve never been, she happily gestures to the menu and begins telling you all her favorite drinks. And she claims you must try their chocolate cookies.

“Hm,” You weigh all your options, feeling tempted by the lavender tea she mentioned. “Okay yeah, I’ll get that.”

“And a cookie too?” She smiles.

You can’t help but chuckle, it’s as if Misuk told this girl to ask you that. “Sure, a cookie too.”

“Okay!”

After you pay, the girl motions towards a wall with a bookshelf, “Feel free to browse. I’ll have you order up soon and I’ll call for you.” 

“Thanks.” You smile.

You decide to take her up on it, eyes browsing this bookshelf while your fingers brush against the spines. There’s some books you recognize and a ton that you don’t. You can tell which books are popular and which aren’t—the dust giving it away.

After several minutes of looking over book titles, the girl calls you over since your drink and cookie are ready. You excitedly go to the counter, hands reaching for the items and your nose is being blessed. You can tell this cookie is about to change your world.

“Thanks!” You say before excitedly and quickly turning around to find a table when you literally run into someone. This needs to stop happening to you. It wouldn’t be such a big deal if—

“Ah, Hot! Hot!” An unexpected voice yelps, “Hooooooooly shit, that’s hot!”

“Oh my god, I am so sorry.” You stare at a broad chest, a button up shirt completely soaked as you begin to panic. “Are you—Are you okay?”

The man in front of you starts airing his shirt out, trying his best for the hot liquid to not burn his chest, you’re sure. “Ooooooh,” He whistles out, “That hurts.”

“Oh my god…I’m…I am so so—”

“—No worries,” He starts laughing, still airing the shirt. “It kind of feels like that first moment when you get under a hot shower.” 

You stare at his chest, completely panicked…he’s not going to press charges, right? Is that a thing? You could have seriously burned him! “Are you okay? Seriously—” You finally rip your eyes from his shirt to get a look at him. 

“Seriously,” He laughs more, “I’m okay.”

You gaze at him, his smile is spread across his face while he looks down at his shirt now.

“Good thing I keep extra shirts at work.” He says before glancing back up and locking eyes with you. “No harm here.”

You feel guilt sink it. “Oh my god, I hope I didn’t ruin your shirt…will it stain?” 

“You’re worried about this shirt?” He laughs loudly while his eyes crinkle cutely. “Wow, my mom would be so happy that at least someone cares about this thing. It was a Christmas present…and I’m pretty sure it was actually meant for my brother.”

You can’t help but snort, “Oh.”

“Literally only wearing it because I’m hoping something will happen to it and I can finally have a reason to throw it away.” He smiles, “And finally,” He looks up at the ceiling and pumps the air with his fists, “I can get rid of it!” 

You watch him, unsure if he’s serious or just trying to make you feel better. But either way…it does make you feel better.

“Is it still hot?” You find yourself asking, eyes back on his wet chest.

“Nah,” He waves you off with a goofy grin, “Now it’s sort of just sticking to me uncomfortably and it’s cold now.”

“Oh.” You suddenly feel bad again.

“Which is great because the sun is unforgiving today, don’t you think? So hot.” He begins fanning himself, grin still on his face before he glances down to the package in one of your hands. “Is that a chocolate chip cookie? Those are the best here!”

You look down, “Oh…oh yeah. Um, it is.”

“You should probably eat it, maybe you’ll finally smile. They’re that good.” He winks at you, “Or if you drowning in guilt over here, you could always let me have a piece too and we can call this whole,” He motions between you both, “thing even.” 

You stare at him for a moment, completely taken aback by his energy. He’s still smiling and it feels infectious, like you want to smile too.

And you do.

Though it is small and timid. You do.

In all this overwhelming darkness that has wrapped its arms around you, suffocating you in an unwanted embrace…all you really need right now in your life is some sort of light getting shed so you can finally see something besides your own despair. 

You just need some light. 

And little do you know that a bright, bright light is coming into your life.

And that light has a name.

And he goes by Kim Seokjin.

~

Next

[alabasterpickles]

😭 omg you’re Hades x Persephone artwork is so amazing! I can’t get enough of the comic strips! If you turned this into a comic series I’d totally read it!

I did have a question if you didn’t mind. What would you say your version would be of Hades ‘kidnapping’ Persephone like in the original story?

Can’t wait to see more of your work! Take care!

Strap in cause this is going to be a long(ish) explanation! 😂

Disney obviously took many liberties with the Hercules film, especially with Hades, so I’m kinda putting a twist on the abduction story —

Disney’s Hades is clever and a bit of a snake oil peddler so when it comes to the whole “throwing her over his shoulder and disappearing into the night” narrative, I just don’t see him doing that?

He’s never that direct. He’s got a back-door solution to all his problems.

Here’s how I think he’d do it —

I have the story mapped out like this: Persephone makes her annual appearance on spring and Hades is topside for some reason (possibly plotting the downfall of his brothers, semantics I’m still developing!) when he notices her for the first time.

Based on the show’s logic, I’m gonna assume he doesn’t volunteer to spend a lot of time on the surface during spring, considering how much he despises it.

Anyway, Hermes is making his rounds and notices Hades getting ready to make a move so he intervenes initially. But then, lightbulb! He figures it’s probably best that Hades find himself a wife so he’s too distracted to cause chaos for the rest of the pantheon. From here, he and several other gods start to engineer circumstances to bring Hades and Persephone together.

I’m going for a very Star-crossed lovers vibe on this one, kind of Romeo and Juliet, since historically speaking Demeter and Hades aren’t on good terms. Demeter has already arranged for her daughter to marry another Olympian (in this case, Ares. I’m using him because he’s pig-headed and bullish enough in character to rival Hades as a villain!), this is naturally a bone of contention between the two of them because Persephone can’t stand the guys.

I like the idea of Hades and Persephone meeting up secretly, going on “pseudo-dates” to get away from their Godly duties and the pressures of being them. They begin to discover they have a lot more in common than they expected. Eventually they fall in love and Persephone has to make a decision — break off the engagement with Ares or follow through on the marriage and be miserable.

Of course this is also an issue for Hades so as the conflict comes to a head, he offers Demeter an ultimatum, either she allows her daughter to stay with him or he unleashes the Underworld’s entire soul content on the surface to wreak havoc on the mortal and godly realms respectively (he’s bluffing).

Zeus and Hera both know this but want to see him happy and out of their hair. They decide to play along.

Zeus uses his divine influence to make a deal with his brother in Demeter’s stead, so Hades draws up a contract (as he is wont to do) and the pair of them agree that Persephone is to spend six months in the underworld and six months on the surface working with her mother. Fair enough, right?

Since the whole scheme wasn’t strictly consensual, Persephone is hurt and angry that Hades would be so cavalier with signing away her freedom. Hades tries to explain to her that he was only trying to protect her from marrying someone she didn’t love and by extension not lose her to Ares for eternity in the process.

Although it was “technically” against her will, it definitely wasn’t forced, because I truly believe Disney’s Hades would want her to be happy with him in the Underworld like any other version would. 😂

There’s a lot of build up in my mind before they get to that point, by the time any of this takes place they’re already in a well established relationship, but that’s the gist of it.

She eventually forgives him and they live happily ever after! ❤️

[fruit-sauce]

My swag and totally normal q!BBH headcanons

I need to talk about my thoughts and headcanons about q!BBH, ESPECIALLY after the lore drops of him being like. a manifestation of c!bbh as well as the fact he “arrived” in 9600 BCE??? I need to say my thoughts- NOW. (also for the fact i wanna draw these out, some of them feel kinda specific and/or complicated)

warning, its a lot:

First and foremost, he’s the Grim Reaper. That’s just a canon fact, but! I still like to remember the name “The Saints of Games” and input that into his lore. 

Basically, he started off as angel, just like q!Philza, but (after some deals and not so good things) he turned into a demon. Design wise, he can go between looking like an angel, demon, or just a guy, but that’s mostly for funsies for me lol

As a demon, he quickly became high ranking, eventually working under the goddess of death herself as “the grim reaper.” this is where he meets phil, since now they’re technically co-workers.

He used to only care for guiding spirits and souls in the underworld, but soon discovered that something was wrong. Souls were going missing, sometimes going past him multiple times. This caused him to venture to the overworld (And cause whatever he did in 9600 BCE???)

The cause of his problems was Foolish! :D Seeing as foolish is a literal totem, I like the idea of him being some type of god/demi god that causes rebirth/keep people from dying/etc. This starts their rivalry that we still see now.

As a general, not every iteration of BBH, Phil, Forever, etc. is the same, they all come from different universes and timelines, but can come together and retain the memories as they move forward. This idea came from the fact qBBH wants “a skeppy” not even his skeppy, just A skeppy. Skeppy is not a deity, so, in every universe, he has to meet bbh over and over again, there are infinite skeppys, but only 1 bbh, and bbh knows that. There is a Skeppy in the QSMP universe that’s been with bbh for years now and has some remembrance of other timelines, the “main” skeppy, if you will (mostly eggpire stuff cause i love the eggpire (something i’ll, idk, make a comic about or something one day))

On the island itself, there’s something up with it that, when they woke up on the trains, BBH, Foolish, and Phil were simply drained of their abilities and magic. They still had some, but no where near enough to leave the island or contact anyone. That being said, BBH gets his energy from souls, something he doesn’t like to do with living beings. He also just naturally takes energy from people, so he plays the bit of the grim reaper that wants people to stay hydrated and takes care of all the eggs because if everyone is happy and healthy, he doesn’t have to worry about accidentally killing them!

There are some that resist him tho: Foolish and Phil, obviously, but also Dapper, Cheyenne, and Leo! The eggs seem to take in the dna of their parents somewhat so these 3 also get that pass... Also Missa, Slime, and Rubius..

Speaking of Rubius, BBH and him I feel like HAVE to have some backstory, they’ve totally met before, both are literally angels/demons. 

Back to Foolish, as much as they poke at one another, they do trust each other a lot, when they were in that dungeon where Foolish almost died, in my head, BBH was basically pulling Foolish out of the way of the Vindicators, digging his claws into Foolish, who then used his totem body to keep BBH from dying (when BBH spent 2 totems trying to pick him up) the third totem was a normal totem tho, him saying “You’re making me eat totems” was literal, he held it in his mouth and broke thru it to use it....

that’s not how they’re supposed to be use i just think it’d look cool...

... I need to make an animatic about that...

[toweroftickles]

REIMAGINED TICKLING #4: The Shmorgasbord

A lot of times when I see a tickling scene in a movie or TV show, I imagine how fun it would be to see other characters in those same situations. You know, like "Oh I wanna see X character get tickled like that." So I thought I'd try writing a few drabbles where I'll take a famous tickle scene and reinterpret it with new characters in new settings.

This is Part 4 of an ongoing series…I had a bunch of ideas for shorter crossover scenes, so they’re all smashed together!

Rescuers Down Under/Kid Icarus

"WAHOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

The warm spring wind whipped through Pit's locks. His foot carved a canyon slice into the top of a low-hanging downy cloud as he soared through the sky with the speed of a rollercoaster. But the Power of Flight wasn't giving lift to his own feeble wings. This time, Pit was instead dangling in the breeze, carried aloft by the arms of the newly-reborn Phoenix.

In its adult form, the flaming bird had once been much more gargantuan...just one of its mighty talons was bigger than Pit himself...but Pit liked this younger reincarnated version better. For one thing, it didn't try to eat or step on him. It was the perfect size to grasp the angel boy's biceps and airlift him across the sprawling human continent below.

What a rush!

"And unlike some of us, HE doesn't have a five-minute time limit." Viridi's snarky voice reverberated in between Pit's ears, descended from on high as if she were speaking right next to him. "Just imagine, if you came to work for the Forces of Nature instead..."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Palutena, Goddess of Light, uncharacteristically smarmy, butted in. "I'm sure my Captain would rather have five minutes of flight and MY wisdom at his disposal, than that overgrown turkey and YOURS."

"What?!"

"I-I'm perfectly happy with everything you both can do for me, Lady Palutena....Viridi..." Pit insisted, desperate to break the tension.

Unseen by either, Viridi rolled her eyes…and her giant new pet followed suit.

Suddenly, Pit gasped. A sharp claw stabbed at his belly, but it wasn't trying to tear him open. The Phoenix's digit was scratching his ribcage, in between and underneath the bones, pressing into him like he was a squeeze toy.

"HAA-Ha!! Heehee-Heehee-Hee!!! Pff! HngHng-HNG!!" Pit's voice cracked as he burst into loud, uncontrolled spasms. He flailed his desperate limbs around, kicking in all directions, and the Phoenix could barely maintain its grip on the squirmy centurion. He looked like a jumping bean having a seizure.

“Sheesh, what’s wrong with you?” Viridi scoffed.

“Oh, don’t mind him,” Palutena giggled, a knowing twinkle in her voice. “Pit’s very ticklish. Aren’t you, Pit?”

“AHH! *gasp* Hmhm-Hng!! Hee; n-hohohoheh! *heave* Ha-Huh…AH! You’re poking; you’re pohokihing!!” the hysterical angel boy squeaked. Tears were welling up in the corners of his eyes.

No! No no no stop! I'm gonna fall!!!

The Phoenix wouldn’t quit; its talon was jabbing into a soft spot above Pit’s liver, clawing up and down along his side, tracing circles around his belly button…the goddesses were laughing as they watched him gleefully wiggle…

It was only a few more moments before the tickling stopped, but to Pit, it felt like ages. He slumped over in the bird’s arms, struggling to catch his breath in the harsh wind. His tummy was sore.

“WHEW……whoooo….Ha….Ha-ha…”

"Heehee...awww, are you ok, little guy?"

Pit blushed. He'd gotten used to Palutena teasing him over the years, but it was always worse when someone like Viridi was around.

"Heh-Heh...whew...yeah; I don't want him to do that again though!"

"Well don't wiggle too much, or you'll end up flat as a pancake!" Viridi giggled smugly.

"Mmmm...pancakes...."

Few things could pull down Pit's chipper mood. Barrel rolls and aerial somersaults carried him on the wind and toward the sun, no longer besieged by Underworld forces...toward home, where breakfast awaited him.

It always felt good to fly.

Samurai Pizza Cats/Street Fighter

The noonday spring sun blazed proudly overhead. Sporting her green-and-orange summer vacation duds, Makoto looked like a lost Mario Brother (er, Sister). But she felt like a change. After all, this wasn't the usual Shadaloo-funded recruitment tourney with a massive prize pool and worldwide media coverage. This was a proper, no-holds barred, pure-cut street brawl...the only rules this time were "no biting" and "no dismemberment." Tons of combatants were trying out all new weapons, all new fighting styles...anything they could imagine. But Makoto? She was still determined to be just as great as Ryu in her own ways. Only her honor mattered.

Defiantly twisting her hat, she stamped her sneaker into the dusty marketplace street. A chalk ring was drawn around as the innumerable food stalls were pushed apart. A crowd of hundreds gathered to watch, and out of the teeming mass stepped a slightly more solidified mass...one named Rufus.

(“Waddled” may be more accurate than “stepped.”)

“Hey, Rufus! Whatcha hiding behind your back?” Makoto asked him, genuinely friendly as usual. “Don’t be shy; I’m sure you’ve got something awesome!” Her question, though, was met with something truly bizarre.

On the ends of Rufus’ hands were rubbery fake thumbs, easily longer than his other fingers, and so round they were almost teardrop-shaped.

“Rufus is fighting with an apparently all-new and ‘totally awesome’ style that he did not feel like disclosing to our governing body…I don’t know what the hell he’s doing, but I don’t think any of you will mind if I nap through this one, folks.” The fight’s announcer wasn’t even pretending to take that walrus-in-a-unitard seriously.

"Just you wait! Yeah! You’re cool, man, but I’m the best! That's right!"

Makoto stared awkwardly at the burly biker’s new prosthetics. Thumb-wrestling? Is he gonna try to squeeze my head like a tick?

Rufus was a doofus…(Huh; I should remember that one, she mentally noted), but he was also powerful. No time to drop her guard. She flexed her muscles in a vicious chop and readied a kokutsu dachi stance, tensed like a spring about to pop.

"Well whatever kinda new gimmicks you've picked up, my Rindo-kan karate is gonna tackle the challenge head-on!"

DING! The starting bell! The match was on!

Makoto immediately swung her leg out into a chest-high kick, but instead of guarding or leaping away (as she expected), Rufus grabbed her ankles and slammed her against the ground like she was a rag doll. It was too quick for her to retaliate…with an uncomfortable belching grunt, the bubble of muscly lard that was Rufus pounded Makoto into the dirt. His gut rolled over her thighs, trapping her face-down and immobile.

"Gahhhh, get off me! Fight fair!" Makoto yelped, clawing at the dirt.

"HA HA HA!" Rufus bellowed in triumph. "You are the first, and like, only, to fall victim to..." he whipped out his enormous rubber thumbs..."RUFUS' TWO-FINGER EXPLODING HEART MASSAGE PARLOR TECHNIQUE!"

The nodulose bulbs pressed down intensely into the backs of Makoto's sides, right around the firm, muscular lumbar tissue, and rubbed in tight semicircles. Her nerves buzzed to life, and even she couldn’t stop what happened next.

"Pp-HHAA, HAHA-HAHA HAHA!! AH-Ha Ha-Ha Ha-Ha Haaa!!!"

It tickled! It tickled like crazy! Makoto lost all carefully-meditated control of her body and just exploded into wild, hysterical laughter. Her gravelly voice scraped at the inside of her throat, blasting out desperate shrieks from deep in her lungs.

"You think I got no skills to bring up against Ken Masters, dude? Now all I gotta do is get you punks in my way to loosen up first!" Those giant thumbs kneaded hard into Makoto's lower back with brutal strength. They just kept rubbing and squeezing every inch of her quivery sides.

"NOOO; HAHA-Haha!! Stop it, that tickles!! HA-HA HA-HA HA!!! No more, no mohohore!" she screamed furiously. Jetstreams of angry tears sprayed from her tightly-clenched eyes. She kicked and slapped the earth and thrashed like a bronco, but the poor girl couldn't wrench herself free of Rufus' massive weight. Her face was red from laughing. She didn't even notice it when Rufus’ thighs lifted off of her and allowed her to roll around on the floor...nor did she notice when she tumbled outside of the chalk circle that marked the arena’s edge, curled into a helpless fetal ball.

DING!!

"Ring out! Rufus is the winner!"

There was no applause. (Well, apart from Rufus' girlfriend Candy, who whooped enthusiastically in her annoying dollar-store Harley Quinn accent.) Only gasps. Mostly, everyone was just confused.

"What?! No, th-that's not fair! What kind of cheap tactics are those?!" Makoto shouted, her voice wavering from embarrassment and fury as she stood back up on wobbly legs. Her sides and her lower back were tingling as if numb, still reeling from the intense "massage" they'd just received. Her cheeks were scarlet, her breathing raspy and hard. She'd never felt so humiliated in front of the other combatants.

"Sorry, Miss Makoto, but thumb-tickling isn't against the rules in this tournament. We unfortunately have to disqualify you." The announcer's voice was firm, but sympathetic over the loudspeaker. And everyone had heard it. There was a murmur snaking throughout the crowd, as well as her fellow Street Fighters.

Makoto's stomach sank. Her lip quivering and her brows furrowed, she turned on her heel and slowly walked off. The brim of her cap shielded her eyes.

An instant one-punch KO would have been better.

Tarzan/Luca

It all happened so fast. Hot, blinding light washed over Luca, drying him instantly. For the first time in his life, there was no liquid cooling him. His face fell against a bed of rough pebbles. He whipped around like...well...a fish out of water. But he wasn't just a fish anymore.

His scales were gone.

In their place was an eerie, pinkish-white smooth surface. His blue cranial scales had retracted, replaced by a messy mop of something brown and seaweed-like. He screamed. He covered his eyes. He didn't even have time to process what was happening, so consumed was he by paranoia. But the kid nearby, who had pulled him out, just sat on a nearby rock, smirking and completely placid.

“AHHHH!! Help meeeee!” Luca wailed.

“First time?”

“Of course it is!!! I’m a good kid!!” His parents were gonna kill him!

“Hey, relax. Breathe.”

But Luca wasn’t paying attention. In the throes of his panic attack, his strange new body lurched forward and fell onto the once-purple human boy.

"Yah!"

“And what are THESE?!” Luca squeaked in terror, his voice cracking.

“Uhh, yeah, yeah, I know; no scales. See, they’re…yep, that’s it.” Luca’s new friend (?) was clearly a bit weirded out.

The tan-skinned boy accidentally yanked his wrist away from Luca with too much force…with little warning, his momentum sent him flying backwards off the rock he was sitting on, and he landed on his back in the beach pebbles. Luca shuffled forward on his elbows, still in a blind frenzy, until he was halted in his tracks by the strange kid’s right foot pressing against his shoulder.

“Hey, hey, whoa, kid; calm down,” the other stammered.

“WE HAVE FIVE FINGERS AND TOES?! How do we control that many at once?! Where are our webs?!” Luca grabbed the other boy’s foot and began to pull on & inspect the digits, and suddenly, the kid fell backwards in a fit of crazy, high-pitched giggling.

“PFFF, Heehee-Heehee-Heehee! *gasp* DAHH! No no no, dohohon’t! That tick-hlhl-hlhl-hles! *gasp* Heheh-Haha-Hahuh! No g-het ohoff, get off my tohoes, gehet off my toes, G-HET OFF MY TOES!”

Out of nowhere, the boy threw his foot out and smacked Luca right in the chin. Luca sailed back through the air until he crashed flat on his back in the shallow incoming wave, and the wet sea formed a perfect halo of green scales around his newly-human face. He was dazed. But as he laid there, attempting to come out of his stunned state, the world slowed down, and Luca finally looked at the surface for the first time.

Moving air brushed through the plants, making them wave back at him. Some kind of strange fish squawked and flapped their fins miles above his head. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before.

“Well…isn’t it great?”

“No! I-I-it’s bad, and…I’m not supposed to be up here! Good day!" Not saying another word, Luca disappeared back beneath the waves.

It took him a few moments to realize that he left his staff behind.

James & The Giant Peach/The Bad Guys

The Bad Guys had a bit of a tradition going. On each member’s birthday, no matter what, that intrepid burglar was granted once-a-year permission to take over from Mr. Wolf and plan a heist herself. (A tradition NOT observed by a certain serpent.) And Miss Tarantula had not-very-subtly been dropping hints about the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s fortuitous reopening for about three weeks.

Wolf swallowed nervously as the whole group, dressed in black bandit jumpsuits, crawled through chilly steel ductwork beneath the building’s entrance. (All of them except Shark…he was driving the getaway van, and also disguised as a nun driving a bookmobile.)

Mr. Snake grumbled. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Webs, but she wasn’t very transparent about what exactly her plan was, and this was a brand new museum. They’d robbed the old one plenty of times, but the thing had been totally redesigned from the inside out. Just as he had the thought “We’re clueless,” he bonked into the end of the trail. Light streaked in from a grate above.

“Alright, sweetheart, I guess it’s all you,” Wolf said. Neither Snake or Tarantula was sure which one he was talking to, but they both proceeded regardless.

Quietly, Mr. Snake lifted the grate with his head, and it slid to the ground with a metal clunk. He was in the dead center of a blue moonlight patch shining down from a rose window. The polished, disinfected scent of marble and ancient vases enveloped him. They were in the cavernous white atrium. Just ahead was the grand staircase leading up into the various gallery wings. A quiet little security drone, about the size and shape of a black thumb drive, cast its blinking red light out onto the floor, humming to itself. There was nowhere that the reptilian safecracker could move without tripping an alarm.

“Ok, Webs, so what’s your brilliant plan now?” Mr. Snake hissed down in his signature sarcastic drawl.

“Glad you asked, big guy!” she told him through his earpiece. “Are ya ready? …you’re gonna be the bait!”

“WHHHHAAAT?!?” Snake’s furious outburst echoed all around the museum.

“Shhhh!!!” hissed Mr. Wolf.

“Who do you think you are?!”

“Snake, you have to trigger the motion alarms!” their master planner snapped.

"Why me?!"

"Hey; you guys said I was in charge! Me! Now trust me on this!!"

“Ohmygod I’m gonna fart,” Piranha muttered under his panicked breath.

“Are you nuts?! Absolutely not! I’m not doin that! And you can’t make me!”

“Oh yeah?!” Miss Tarantula laughed wickedly and jumped up onto Snake’s midsection. Chuckling to herself, she started tapping her extremely fuzzy legs at sonic speeds, the same way she used her “beast mode” keyboard to hack a vault, along the dead center of her companion's elongated body…and suddenly, Mr. Snake began to wiggle.

“Kkheh! Heh…Ha-Ha Ha-Ha! Heh…Hey! G-het off me!” he yelled down at her. He was trying to maintain his snarky demeanor and keep still, but Webs had found his ticklish spot. He was writhing angrily in all directions, involuntarily bashing his head into the museum floor. “HHHEHeh Ha-Ha! Hn-Hn Hn! St-hop it!”

Right on cue. The red lights snapped on and the blaring museum siren roared to life.

“Alright, guys, get ready; they’re coming!” Wolf commanded his team with a hint of nervousness. This wasn’t what he’d planned at all.

“Cootchiecootchiecoo……….ahcootchiecootchiecoo…” Tarantula teased Snake in her low, raspy voice, giggling as she danced and watched him squirm.

A dozen truncheon-brandishing security guards burst through he doors and thundered down the marble stairs with a terrible roar.

"Halt! Stay where you are!!"

Every second they grew closer to the helpless constrictor that lured them in a puddle of light.

“GKHNNN!! K-Heh, Ha-Ha Ha-Ha! You…you stupid jerks!! Hnuh…This isn’t fair; Ha-Ha Ha-Ha HA!!”

All of a sudden and with a violent, involuntary contortion, Mr. Snake twisted himself out of Tarantula's grip and leapt high into the air until he cast a shadow down on the charging cops, and they could only stare, bewildered, at the crooked and cackling-faced snakeskin he left behind.

The mob were barreling down far too fast to alter their course now. They all stumbled over one another as they rammed full-throttle through Mr. Snake’s abandoned skin….and straight into the almost-invisible web of patented tarantula-silk nanothread that stretched across the entire atrium behind it. They were already trapped in the net by the time Snake returned to the floor with a splat.

Bingo.

“Alright, guys, let’s get moving! We’ve only got a couple minutes!” Tarantula called triumphantly as she hopped out of the hole in the floor.

“Webs, you’re a genius.” Mr. Wolf climbed up too, followed by Piranha, and the group charged into the museum proper.

“Gah! I am going to EAT you!” Mr. Snake roared angrily at Tarantula.

“Ooo, yeah, scary; I’ll just make sure to tickle you from the inside on my way down!” she laughed at him.

Her plan had gone off without a hitch. By the time the local police were finally dispatched to the source of the alarm, every silkskreen print and multi-limbed Hindu statue in the museum was already gone. Millions in art, down the drain.

And in a bookmobile across town, there were four gleeful partygoers, popping corks and celebrating a night of revelry...

....along with one very sour snake.

[tsukikoayanosuke]

Behind the Fic: TW:OPT - Chapter 157-162

The second part of Proposal of Destiny Arc is here! First and last triple update!

WARNING: This will contain a bit of spoiler for the newest chapters of my fan fiction Twisted-Wonderland: Our Precious Treasure.

Let's start by talking about why I chose to adapt Ghost Marriage. Looking back to the post where I decided to make everything into one year, Ghost Marriage was supposed to be a companion arc with Welcome to the Villains’ World. Timeline wise back in that very early post, Ghost Marriage was the only one so far that we don't have a clear cut when it happened. All we know is that it happened after Heartslabyul Arc just looking at Ace and Riddle's civil interactions. Because of this unclearness, I feel comfortable adapting it this early.

Chapter 157: And All of Her Friends will Work Together

The title for this and the next chapter is taken from the lyrics of The Wedding Song from Corpse Bride

Welcome to the point where I yell at Azul "I know you're simping at Jonah but please don't be redundant".

Look, I love Azul simping on Jonah as much as the next guy, but there will be the point where I'll ask "Is this too much"

I'm actually worried about how I will write Azul in the future. Unlike Riddle, who still has a lot to grow (as seen in the next few chapters), I feel like Azul's main emotional conflict is done. My biggest worry is I'll be accidentally reducing Azul into the love interest who has nothing to do outside of Jonah. I'll try to figure it out in the future but right now, his main mission is to save Jonah.

Speaking of saving the groom, I think by this point everyone knows that we're going to have a major divergence in the second half of this arc. I feel like if Yuu/MC is in trouble, more people will be onboard in saving them, since they're more involved with more characters, unlike Idia.

Honestly, I really like writing the tiny things, like for a second Kalim is the one being level-headed and Jamil understands Azul's position. And the many chaos attempts, obviously.

At this point, Riddle was the only one who hadn't let go of what Azul did in Octavinelle Arc. This will be addressed in a future chapter. But for now, we're stirring up an ancient drama once again. What is this? YouTube commentary channels drama?

The main inspiration for the plan is, as it's said, the short Goddess of Spring, the short that became a practice animation before Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Back when Ghost Marriage was very first run in the JP server in 2020, there were guesses on what is it based on (in a similar fashion as Fun and Fancy Free for Happy Beans Day). Some people suggested it might be the Goddess of Spring, which to an extent, was inspired by Hades and Persephone. Or Wikipedia said Proserpina and Pluto.

The three things Azul suggested as the groom's gift is based loosely on some scene from the short.

The "cake of an early spring" is inspired by Proserpina coming out from the Underworld and turning the world from winter to spring. The "crystal valued by the king" is inspired by the diamond Pluto given to Proserpina. The "waltz at the height of the wedding" is inspired by the song and dance Pluto's imps are doing after Proserpina is taken to the Underworld.

At this point, I realized I had an issue with the timeline in this arc. This arc technically only lasted one day in canon, but I think I had a problem with how long the plan would take.

Chapter 158: To Make It the Perfect Day She's Always Dreamed

This episode is in a similar manner to some of my filler arcs which is a collection of short with very vague connections. This time, it was the view of love from different characters' views. For Ruggie and Deuce, this is more familial love, while for Azul and Jamil, this is more romantic love.

How they were partner-ups was based on some of the cards. Ruggie paired up with Malleus is a reference to the Masterchef event. Deuce with Silver is from his Starsending Robes story. The light music club is pretty obvious. And Jamil being a singer is a call for his future NRC-Tribe main singer position.

Okay, to clarify. At the point of writing this, I decided to follow my headcanon of the family of other characters, in this case, Ruggie and Deuce. And those headcanons were made a long time ago, way before the birthday cards were ever launched. In his Birthday Boy card, it was said that his mom died during childbirth while his dad went to buy milk went to work, and never return so he was taken care of by his grandma. In my fic, Ruggie was a child his abusive mother didn't want while his dad died from overworking. Deuce's backstory was more simple to build on: his mother and father were in an arranged marriage but then got divorced from household abuse.

The reason why Ruggie and Deuce were talking about family love is because I just feel like there isn't that much talk about it. Deuce and his love for his mother is one of his greatest strengths, so we need to mention it at least once in the fic. For Ruggie, I mostly just because I feel like it because I like to explore my own headcanon.

More headcanon, Valley of Thorn is an old-timey kingdom. Guillotine still exists there. Malleus, while might understand technology, might also not understand that much of human custom because he's a sheltered prince. Just not that innocent. He's just a bit confused.

Malleus vs cake. The battle of the century.

Oh, the Chantilly cake recipe I based it on here.

Return to the Dwarfs' Mine. This can be a call back to the Prologue or a reference to Camp Vargas.

Now, let's talk about Kalim and Jamil. I ship them. I still do. However, at this point in the fic, I feel like I'm not ready to pair them up again, especially fresh from Kalim Disappearance Arc. Yes, they've forgiven each other however that doesn't mean they're healing just yet. Both of them still has a broken heart, they still need to change.

I think Jamil's POV of this chapter is the most different. I think this is the first thing I wrote for this chapter. So I think that's why it more focuses on Jamil's view of changes rather than love.

But you can count Kalim's changing love as well. Mind you, Kalim is still in love with Jamil. He accepted that Jamil won't return his feeling so this is a one-sided crush. Whether or not Kalim or Jamil will fully mend their bond, Kalim is still in his breakup era. So, until then, I can't pair them up just yet.

A Shrek reference here. Remember, this will be important.

Oh, and Lilia's power to make a space for them to practice, is built in similarly to what Malleus did in the Endless Halloween event. I'm actually gonna use this more, especially in Jonah's rewritten backstory.

We see more of Chubby being protective of Eliza here.

At this point, I do hold on to Chubby and Eliza being childhood friends to lovers, especially after I changed a lot about Eliza's backstory.

Originally, this was supposed to be Chubby's POV with his own flashback. However, it didn't flow well so I changed it to Azul's POV. His flashback will appear in a future chapter.

The whole idea of the Surprise Proposal, while also taken from the actual Ghost Marriage event, is actually more in line with the Project Sekai event called A Song Of Vows For You, Dressed In White! There the bride planned to have a fake objection scene as proof that the groom is the most loyal to her, almost similar to the Ghost Marriage event.

Also, we still keep Idia bitching about the failed rescue attempt because it's just too funny to be left out.

Chapter 159: The Courtship Tactics

This chapter is an adaptation of the Ghost Marriage event story and the Suitor Suit story of Riddle with some mentions of Rook (in the first half with the poem) and Epel (in the second half with the borrowing horse).

I'm actually pretty torn when adapting Riddle's story. The thing is I really Riddle and Malleus' interaction in that card, but in the fic, Malleus was nowhere near Riddle because he was baking cake with Ruggie. That was when I decided to have Crowley interact with Riddle instead. Because I need more Bird Dad agenda.

This is where I started to play around with Riddle. And I realized "man, Azul had it rough" XD. Here's the thing. In the fic, everyone made an attempt to do something to make up post-overblot. This includes Riddle and Azul. However, how come Azul getting more backlash compared to Riddle?

This is where I started to get worried as well. Because, in the center, there was Jonah. Back in Heartslabyul Arc, Jonah was not the center of attention, Ace was. Jonah was the side character. However, in Octavinelle Arc, he was the main player, but this time he had more friends, thus Azul getting a heavier judgment.

I guess because Heartslabyul Arc was more about Riddle and Ace that they can solve their issue quickly, and you can say that for Octavinelle Arc as well. But maybe the time spent with them and all of them getting closer can also be a factor. Well, the one that held the biggest grudge were Ace, Deuce, and Grim, with Riddle added post-Heartslabyul Arc.

Honestly, my biggest worry is making Jonah the center of the problem, which unfortunately I'll continue because of Ramshackle Arc. But hopefully, I can maneuver it better.

At this point of writing, Crowley had his own canon-diverged backstory, and his motivation maybe different from canon, thus this might seem OOC of him, I can admit that.

Now, let's talk about Crowley and Riddle's talk. I'm sure not all of you have the same view of forgiveness and second chances. Because I wrote this based on my beliefs as well. My biggest worry is making this sound like preaching and doesn't sound like I'm guilt-tripping Riddle.

I do really like writing Riddle's growth here.

Chapter 160: I Need a Hero

The title is obviously taken from I Need a Hero. This chapter specifically is based on the Shrek 2 climax.

I remember back then people would often joke about how the Ghost Marriage finale should be like Shrek 2. Well, I'm riding the trend and made it like that.

The first part didn't change much. It only started in the second part with the rescue.

I was trying to think what else should I do with the rest of the rescue squad, so I decided to give them a role in the dance, especially Ruggie and his unique magic.

Originally I wanted to have Epel using his unique magic in this chapter, however, I looked up again and found out that Rook helped a lot in Epel awakening it, so I decided not to write it.

There’s also a brief Epel’s Suitor Suit story moment.

The chapter ending with Ace screaming is reminiscent of the end of chapter 130 in which Ace saved Jonah from falling in the Scarabia overblot battle.

Chapter 161: So Say the World's Being Turned Against You

The title of this chapter and the next is the English lyrics of Ai no Scenario sung by JubyPhonic

This chapter, believe it or not, went through some changes.

Firstly, originally this chapter was going to be a battle between the Chubby and the Suitor Suit team similar to canon. This includes rolling everyone away like a log.

(Actually, sometimes I forgot there are other people here XD)

But, for some reason, I didn't write that. I think it was because of both Chubby and Eliza's backstory changes, the rest of the comedic nature of the finale was erased. Leaving us with a more somber finale.

The next was the dialogue. While most followed canon, I kinda tone down Ace's rudeness. Because, again, thanks to the changed backstory, Eliza's position is now as a victim of an unhappy marriage. Thus, Ace screaming that Eliza should just move on sounded way too cruel even to Ace's standard.

With that, Rook and Riddle had extra dialogue. Hammering own on Rook because, you know, he's the love expert, so, of course, he's allowed to give his words.

Now... *deep breath* Chubby's confession. Whoo-boy... It is actually based on the (inappropriate) confession scene from Mo Dao Zu Shi. I can't give the manhua because of the Everyday means Everyday chapter, but I can lead to the audiobook version. Listen. I had that danmei stuck in my head. It changed my life. I will make a reference whenever I can.

This is followed by the flashback scene. Now this flashback scene was kinda iffy because I think this is the only flashback that I can technically count as 'tell not show' (as in usually just narration) that has dialogues. Usually, my flashback is in italics with the exception of Eliza's retelling. Chubby's flashback counted more like flashes. So, I'm explaining in a weird way: my usual flashback is colored scenes with faded borders, Eliza's flashback is just a full-on OVA, while Chubby's flashback ran behind him like a grainy movie. Does this make sense...?

The flashback itself has a bit of inspiration from Daughter of White by mothy. Originally this was going to be a full Ai no Scenario, but I was like “Tsuki. You did Ai no Scenario before. Be creative.” So, Daughter of White was chosen. But also, the main reason why this flashback exists is really just to show Chubby’s puppy love crush. Knowing they are leagues away, I kinda want a scene that will establish their dynamic along with a reason why Chubby would be very devoted to Eliza. Thus, the tree scene is written.

Originally the flashback scene was supposed to be longer, perhaps retelling Eliza’s flashback from Chubby's point of view. But, perhaps from tiredness or I just didn’t know what else to add or I thought it would be way too long, this is the end result instead.

And because of this heavy change in pace, the battle with giant Chubby is cut completely for a fluffier ending because Eliza and Chubby deserve it!

Chapter 162: You'll Always Be by My Side

Despite being the last chapter of the arc, this is actually the first chapter I've ever written during this triple update.

More specifically, the funny process in writing this was I was writing backward. I started with the JonAzul scene before going back to Idia's best-man speech. And then to RiZul dance before finally finishing the flower boy talk.

The JonAzul talk was actually written way before I started this triple update.

The scenes in this chapter are mostly around Ace and Jonah's Suitor Suit card.

Like the previous chapter, there are some changes in the scene.

Originally, there was supposed to be more talk about Ace's past girlfriend between Ace and Deuce during their dance and maybe a slight hint of their crushes. However, I feel like it would be redundant, so ADeuce talk was cut off.

Riddle was supposed to talk about his fiance when Ace or Epel mentioned being betrothed. But that scene was also cut.

Rook's talk meanwhile was an addition. It was also a Mo Dao Zu Shi reference to two couples. Rook's parents were inspired by the relationship between Lang Wangji and Wei Wuxain, while Rook's grandparents were inspired by Qingheng-Jun and Madam Lan.

Rook also said that his family only love once. This is also a well-known Mo Dao Zu Shi fanon term of "Lans only fall in love once". But I feel like someone as romantic as Rook would believe in a soulmate.

Originally, during the walking down the aisle scene, Chubby was supposed to have his flashback sequence. But I ended up moving it to the previous chapter.

So with the flashback moved, we left with an empty sequence. But I was like "Hey, remember that wedding scene from Crazy Rich Asian? what if Jamil sings again?" And thus, another musical number.

The vow said by Chubby and Eliza was actually from Happy Sugar Life. Though I'm warning you about the maybe uncomfortable scene because this is the only scene I can find so far that had the full vow.

More Idia shitting on others during his best man speech. But we love him for that.

The second half of this chapter is fully in Azul's POV despite shifting slightly to Jonah/Jade's POV in the middle.

Originally, during Riddle and Azul's dance, it was supposed to be in Riddle's POV. However, I thought it would flow better if everything happened in a single take in Azul's POV.

However, it didn't lessen Riddle's arc of closure. The path to growth starts with admitting one's mistakes.

(Can you tell I really like writing about Riddle's growth?)

This leads us to our last JonAzul moment of the fic. Riddle joining Jonah and Azul's hand doesn't mean he would stop crushing on Jonah, it's just he trusts Azul again to take care of Jonah along with him.

Well, if Azul got a lot of shovel-talk, Jonah deserves one as well from Jade.

Jonah and Azul's talk was pretty straightforward, mostly around the reincarnation stuff.

And the last part... Woo-boy... I was very gushy when writing it. I was like squealing to my brother whether I want a full-on kiss or not. Because while Azul had admitted multiple times, and this is Azul's POV, it feels like this is not the time for a full kiss mainly because Jonah hasn't made clear his feeling. So we ended up with two kisses instead; on the hand and on the forehead.

The kiss on the forehead is a call back to the ending of Azul's memory maze.

[mikkeneko]

Guys, I’m getting so sick of people complaining about the US theatrical cut ending of Katya’s arc in Goncharov. Yes, in the European version we get the extended sequence that shows that Katya survived and left the boat, but did everyone completely miss the shot where Sofia pockets the book of names instead of throwing it into the river?! The clear implication is that Sofia plans to use the information in the book to increase her standing in the underworld, continuing the cycle of vengeance and violence and completely negating all Katya worked and sacrificed for! This isn’t a GOOD ending! The fact that two women run off together does not mean they’re going to be in love and happy forever, it is obvious that Sofia is still going to betray Katya someday!!

Neither the US cut or the European cut are happy endings, and neither one is better or worse than the other. Either Katya dies, and ends the cycle of violence with her, or else she survives but fails to get vengeance for her father and betrays the goal that she’s built her entire life and identity for the last twenty years around, which is just another kind of death. It’s about unbecoming, which is all that Goncharov is about. I know y’all want to see a happy fluffy sapphic love story, but you’re not going to get that from Goncharov either way. Just let a tragedy be a tragedy.

[spookydrreid]

The Return to the Underworld

Paring: Hades!Spencer x Persephone!Reader

Summary: There's nothing sweeter than her return to him.

Content warnings: typical canon mythology stuff, the Underworld, talks of death, unprotected sex, penetrative sex, kissing, lots of praise, interruptions, sad boi Hades because that’s really what he is. (if I missed anything let me know)

Word Count: 2.6

A/N: So, this is an AU where Spencer is God of the Dead (aka Hades), and Reader is his queen (aka Persephone). I used y/n so it could truly be reader insert! Just a quick little note. You’ll notice she calls him a mix of ‘Spencer’ and ‘Hades’. There is a reason for that, and it does get explained. This is heavily based off the “A Touch of Darkness Series” in the way Persephone came to be. I’m not into the whole ‘he’s her uncle’ deal. Yeah… I hope you guys enjoy! Xoxo

…

“Sweetheart?” her voice flitters through the underworld, sweet as the flowers she left me to create. I sit up, spine tingling at the knowledge that she was finally home with me. Home where I could keep her safe from the upperworld.

She opens the doors to the throne room, and I’m instantly hit with the smell of her magic, vanilla, wildflowers, and lavender. Her smile widens when our eyes meet. She was ethereal, literal perfection if I’d ever seen it. I thanked the fates every single day for weaving her into my life.

Her body relaxes slightly as a smile pulls on her lips, “Hades” she calls. Before I know it, I’m striding towards her till she’s in my arms. I hold her close, gripping her as if she was sand in an hourglass.

I pull back to look at her for a moment; to admire my beautiful bride. If it were up to me, she’d stay down here forever, never going to the upperworld for anything. It was dangerous up there, filled with mortals who had no regard for their own lives. There were some who hated the Gods, forming groups to try and overthrow us. It never works, of course, and they’re put right back into their place by my little brother.

“I’ve missed you so much,” I whisper as I study her. I had every line and wrinkle of her body committed to memory, but it never hurt to look just a little longer.

She grins up at me, her big eye shinning like the summer sun. Gods, she was stunning. “I’ve missed you too. The mortals were happy to see spring come, though!” Her eyes shin brighter. My little goddess of spring took her job very seriously, just as I took mine. It was a reason we were so good together.

“And your mother? Was she impressed?” Demeter and I didn’t get along, for lack of better terms. She’d begged the fates for a daughter, and when she’d learned that her precious Kore, would be queen of the underworld, she did all she could to keep her from me.

But y/n was restless in captivity and eventually broke free for college. That was how we met. We’d bumped into each other one night and it was love at first sight.

I’d always thought I was incapable of love. That, that particular part of me died during the Titanomachy. But she showed me what it meant to love and be loved. She made me see I was deserving of kindness and respect. I was a God, after all. But because I was here and not on Olympus, the respect was harder to get. I wasn’t too worried though, eventually everyone ends up in my realm.

Y/N grins up at me and nods, “very! She said my roses were the most beautiful I have ever created!”

It’s then that I finally kiss her, swallowing a groan when our lips finally meet. She was free to come and go as she pleased, but a deal with her mother took her from me whenever she was needed. And during spring time, Demeter was keen on keeping her daughter extra busy with preparation for the harvest. Gods forbid her sweet flower ever be with someone as dark as me. To me, her leaving was the worst punishment my soul could take. And that was barely.

A throat clearing is what makes us separate, our breathing heavy, lips swollen. I look over my wifes shoulder and see Hermes standing there with a smirk on his face. “Welcome back! I truly figured I’d walk into you two fucking … again.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes at the God. He did have a nasty habit of not knocking. I can’t even count how many times he’s intruded on us. “If you learned how to fucking knock, or use manners, you’d have never caught us.”

Y/n giggles in my arms, pulling away from me slightly to face him, “hello Hermes. I’ve missed you, as well.” Her smile is big and filled with warmth.

“Damn right you did. Demeter isn’t too fond of me coming to visit.” He waves his hand and rolls his eyes. “Something about me supporting you being the Queen of the Underworld.”

“Trust me, we all know how she feels about that title.” I murmur. “Did you come for anything important or to spy? I’d like to spend time with my wife.”

Hermes’ smile only grows at that, “I came to see my best friend. But, I see someone is in a mood so, I’ll leave you be! Come find me after?” He asks her.

She nods, “definitely. I want to see Hecate as well!” And as quick as he came, he disappears just as fast.

“Thank fuck. Now, let’s get you out of these… upperworld clothes and into something more comfortable. Hmm?”

She nods, “yes please! I love my mother, but her nymphs have become lazy in their clothing making.” She giggles, knowing that the nymphs just try to appease her mother. But my Queen was rebellious, living in the shadows with me for all eternity.

I carried her to my bed chamber, wanting her close to me for as long as possible. Years ago, she would’ve fought me, claiming she was more than capable of walking. But she’s sense realized that it’s more for me. In the upperworld she’s harder to track. I have people watching, of course, to make sure she stays safe. But it didn’t mean I stopped worrying about her simply because she was with her mother. In fact, her being with her mother only worried me more. I couldn’t help but be frightened that she wouldn’t let y/n return to me when she was supposed to.

“What are you thinking about?” Her sweet, soft voice pulls me back to her.

I grin a little, “just how happy I am to have you back in my kingdom. It’s dull without you here. The souls miss you terribly.”

She hums, “and I them. But I missed you the most. I hate leaving. But Zeus insist I help mother. And who am I to defy him?”

As we enter my bed chamber I answer her, sitting us on the edge of my bed with her straddling me. “Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Dead.” I answer simply. But I know she’d still never go against my little brothers’ orders. None of us would simply because we don’t want to deal with his temper tantrums. It’s why Poseidon stays in the ocean unless were all called for meetings.

She claps her fingers at the nape of my neck, fingers playing with the strands of hair there. She looked beautiful in the dulled light of the Underworld. But then again, she looked beautiful always.

“Your brother is quite the asshole. I’d rather not.” She kisses me then; desperation dripping from her lips. She hated this arrangement as much, if not more, than I.

My hands fall to her hips, squeezing gently. She smirks into the kiss, her hips starting to move, making me grow harder under her. She was taking every ounce of control she knew I’d let her have while I let her have it.

I kiss over her jaw and down her neck, nipping and sucking marks as I go. My hands drift up her sides and around her back, fingers barely touching her as I work to find the zipper of her dress. “Most beautiful goddess. You put Aphrodite to shame, do you know that?” I didn’t give a fuck if Aphrodite hears me, that bitch needs to be knocked off her throne. Something I’ll happily do any day of the week.

“You’re lying.” I can hear the way her breath hitches in her throat when I start to tug down the zipper.

“You know I don’t lie. Not to you anyway.” I smirk against her and pull the dress over her head, being mindful of her hair. My eyes scanning down her body, in nothing but pretty black lingerie I know she bought just for me. My cock grows impossibly harder at the sight of her. She was perfection. And she was mine.

I’m careful as I lay her down, her hair fanning out around her like the prettiest halo. No matter how many times we’ve done this, which is a lot, I am still just as taken by her beauty as I was the first time, I saw her. I was one lucky bastard.

“Look at you, little goddess. Is this new?” I ask, plucking a strap and letting it lightly snap against her skin.

She gasps and nods, “mhm. I bought it secretly.”

The thought makes me grin, “my little rebel.” I start to kiss down her body, hands reaching around to unclasp her bra. Her tits were the most perfect I’ve ever seen. And they fit nicely in my hands.

“All yours, Spencer.” The sound of my name on her tongue makes me groan. It was something only she was allowed to use and only when we were alone. It was my way of being vulnerable with her. Something I couldn’t do with anyone else.

I take one of her pebbled peaks into my mouth, fingers brushing over the other. My little goddess moans softly; her back arching so I can be closer to her. A soft wine leaves her when I swap breasts. Her skin is supple and soft, and I can’t get enough of her.

“Spencer, please. It’s been months. Trust me, I don’t need foreplay.” She grins at me before pulling me down for a needy kiss. My fingers slither down her stomach, slipping into her panties. I wanted to see for myself just how wet she really was. The answer? Fucking soaked.

I pull back, sitting on my knees and pulling off her panties. She’s bare to me and so fucking beautiful. “Look at you. So wet and needy for me.” I’m pulling off my clothes as fast as possible. My cock is straining against my pants and I’m painfully hard for her.

Once the last piece of clothing comes off, her eyes are on me; studying me just as I did to her. “Gods. You’re so fucking beautiful. Has anyone ever told you that?” Her eyes meet mine as she finishes speaking. I know better than to tell her plenty of women have, considering I lived a millennia before she came into my life.

So, I shake my head, “just you. And honestly, you’re the only one I want to hear it from.” I climb over her, my hands resting beside her head to hold me up.

“You mean me, Hecate, and Hermes are the only ones you want to hear it from?” She giggles, the sweet sound causing ivy to grow around my heart.

“Mmmm… maybe just you and Hecate. Hermes can fuck off for all the times he’s interrupted.” I don’t give her time to argue with me. I push in slowly, being mindful that, as she said, it’s been months.

Her moans are breathy and filled with desire. I knew this wouldn’t be the last time we do this before the sun sets over my kingdom. I wanted to stay like this forever, tangled up in her mess of vines. I wanted to keep her here with me for all eternity, never letting her return to Demeter. She didn’t appreciate her like I did. She didn’t love her like I did. No one could.

Once she’s adjusted, I start moving. “Fuck. I’ve missed you.” I know I’m a broken record, but it was more than the truth. “Feel so fucking good sweetheart.” I drop to my elbows, dying to be closer to her.

She moans my name, her nails digging into my back, while her legs are locked around my waist. Her voice is breathy and her eyes half open, filled to the brim with lust and love. And it’s all for me. She is all for me.

I move faster, working with the limited amount of space she’s giving me. “Spencer… please!”

Her begging makes me grin, “please what, little goddess? Tell me what you want.”

“Y-you. All of you…and to cum.” Her smiles a little lopsided, mind filled with pleasure. But still, it makes me laugh.

“You have me. You have all of me, little goddess, for eternity and then some.” I kiss her nose, keeping my pace as I do so. “Let go for me baby. I’ve got you. I’ll always have you.”

We cum together in a mix of gasps, curses, and each other’s names. I collapse on top her, kissing her sweaty skin. There’s nothing I loved more than seeing her in my bed. Without my Queen, the bed was too big, and too cold. Not even the dogs could keep me as warm as she does.

I breathe her in, listening to the beating of her heart, a reminder she’s real. Her fingers rub my scalp, pushing my hair out of my face. “I love you, Spencer.” She says, quiet enough as to not break the moment.

“I love you, too, little goddess.” And just as I’m about to kiss her the scent of sage, Earth and fine wine fill the room and I instantly know who has disturbed us. “We really need to have a meeting on knocking, you two.”

I sit up and meet the eyes of my right hand woman, Hecate, and fucking Hermes.

“Hades, please, all of the Underworld knew you were… with your Queen. You’re lucky we waited.” She glares lovingly at me. We’ve been friends since she sided with us during the Titanomachy. And she’s taken quite a liking to the goddess in my bed.

“Come on. Up! Up! Cerberus, Typhon, and Orthrus have been whining since they caught your scent. They are driving me insane.” She smiles warmly at the woman in my bed, who is in nothing except the silk sheet wrapped around her.

“Come on! You guys can fuck later! The souls are dying to see you!” Hermes eyes are full of mischief, and I remind myself to throw him in Tartarus to have his liver plucked out for a day or two. That’ll teach him to knock.

My little goddess smiles wide, “if you two leave then I can get dressed and visit. You’re wasting time standing here.”

That makes them turn on their heels and close the doors behind them, leaving me and my Queen alone once again. “Let’s get you dressed like a Queen hm? No more dressing like a flower nymph.”

I place her crown on her head once she’s dressed. She took my breath away every time she wore it. Hell, she took my breath away always. But there was just something about this crown, and the way she looks beside me, that make heat bloom in my chest. But I’m quick to put out the fire, knowing she’s excited to see our people.

“Are you coming?” She asks me, eyes meeting my reflection.

I grin, “always. Let’s go greet some souls, little goddess. And” I pull her into me, “welcome back sweet girl.”

For the first time in months, my soul is whole again.

...

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[sunshinereddie]

an au where, after you die, if you would like to come back as a ghost, you can choose what kind of ghost you want to be. there are lots of different ghost careers to choose from, but the two most popular ones are protector ghosts, and of course, haunting ghosts. protector ghosts act like a sort of guardian angel, helping out folks whose lives aren’t too good and helping them get back on track from behind the veil. and then there are the haunting ghosts, which are pretty self explanatory: their only job is to scare people shitless. 

there’s been a millenia-old rivalry between haunting ghosts and protector ghosts, it’s never pleasant whenever they cross paths down in the underworld or while on duty on earth. but, generally, they keep out of each others hair and try to limit their bickering.

that is, until there’s some sort of mix up in the system, and one human gets assigned both a haunting ghost and protector ghost. 

eddie kaspbrak has been dead for quite a while, and he’s spent most of that time with people who remind him too much of himself, trying to help them before they die the same as he did: living a life he hated. he’s got an impressive success rate as a protector: 100% of his assignments go on to live happily ever after, until they join him down in the underworld. 

richie tozier is a haunting ghost. he loves the job, more than he liked the job he had when he was alive, and he’s really, really, good at it. he can have a family running screaming out of their new house in less than a week after he’s done with them. there’s about five different popular ghost stories told around the country that were all started with little ol’ him. death and the afterlife is a long, long, ride, so richie thought he might as well make it fun. 

protector ghosts get assigned to people, while haunting ghosts usually get assigned to places, though being assigned to haunt a specific person isn’t out of the ordinary (you know, show up at the foot of their bed, follow them to work, peek out at them from down the street, the whole shabang). and through some kind of mixup, eddie gets assigned to a man struggling his way through life, and richie gets assigned to the man’s house. 

so. an enemies to lovers au where richie and eddie start off fighting against each other, as eddie tries to put a stop to richie’s hauntings and richie tries to break through eddie’s strong bubble of protection to get at least one good scare in, but honestly, they spend more time bickering with each other than focusing on the person they’re supposed to be protecting/haunting. but the longer they spend together, the more they realize, hey, this guy isn’t too bad, and they come to... an agreement. eddie lets richie get 2 scares a day, but they can’t be traumatizing. a glass knocked off the table or a shadowy figure down the hall or making the floorboards creak at night, but that’s it- just enough for richie to hit his scare quota and not get fired. and richie promises to put a hold on the hauntings whenever eddie is working to get this guy’s life flipped around. 

it’s only when the man has finally had enough of his suddenly-haunted house, moves out and subsequently quits the job that was taking all the joy of his life and finally starts to be happy, that richie and eddie realize, hey, maybe we are a good team after all. and it’s definitely just because they got the job done and it was a success.... definitely not because eddie’s starting to have feelings for richie, feelings he never felt when he was alive, and definitely not because spending his days hanging out with eddie is more fun than any day of haunting that richie’s had. 

definitely not. 

[destieltropecollection]

Destiel Trope Collection 2022 | Day 16 | Miscommunication & Misunderstandings

Lectures in Grace | RogueTranslator (AO3)

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 6,735 Main Tags/Warnings: Angelic Grace Kink, Background Case, Canon Universe, Established Relationship, Happy Ending, Outdoor Sex, Post-Canon, Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester Summary: There’s nothing Dean enjoys more in bed than Castiel’s grace coming out to play. Lately, though, Castiel’s been holding back, lecturing Dean on the nature of his angelic grace instead of pleasuring him with it. It’s getting to the point where it’s affecting their sex life, and Dean finally bites the bullet and forces him to use his words. Tomorrow, Castiel says. They’ll talk about it tomorrow. Unfortunately, the “semi-” in their semi-retirement rears its head the next day, and they end up on the road to Oklahoma, following the trail of a rogue angel. When they catch up to their quarry, he says something that gives Dean an inkling of what might be bothering Castiel. Now, he just has to find a way to talk to him about it, the motel room they’re sharing with Sam and Eileen be damned.

How to Woo a Guy in Six Days | @ersatzangel

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 11,427 Main Tags/Warnings: pining, getting together, miscommunication, fluff Summary: Released from the Empty deal with no repercussions, Castiel has time to think about happiness. Specifically, his own. He’s thought about it before, about what could have triggered the deal when the one thing he wants is something that could never be his. Because it’s Dean, of course it is. Dean is his happiness. Castiel could never believe Dean would love him back and yet the small chance he might was enough to still his tongue. And so he loved secretly, quietly. But now, there is time. There’s little evil left to fight, the world is as at peace as it will ever be, and Castiel wonders if, maybe, he might have his happiness after all.

Innuendo | @AlleiraDayne

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 15,009 Main Tags/Warnings: Fluff, angst, smut, innuendos, euphamisms, mutual pining, mutual masturbation, temporary minor character death, psychological horror, Lovecraftian monsters, angel castiel, human castiel, anal sex, frottage Summary: If you asked Castiel, something was definitely wrong with Dean. Of that, he had no doubt. Whatever bothered him, Castiel also knew that if he were to get to the bottom of it, he must tread lightly. Press too hard on Dean Winchester and he'd bottle up tighter than the lid on a pickle jar. But when the possibility of a hunt distracts them, Castiel is forced to put his concerns aside and focus on the task at hand. Unfortunately for them both, the case reveals far more about themselves than they ever anticipated.

Tag, you're it! (WIP) | @kitmistry

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 23,334 Main Tags/Warnings: FBI AU, Friends with Benefits, Miscommunication, PTSD Summary: Five months after the case that almost claimed their lives, what started as blowing off some steam during a high-pressure situation and continued as a mutually-beneficial arrangement is getting out of Special Agent Castiel Novak’s control. Falling in love with his partner is doomed to end in disaster, especially when said partner is Special Agent Dean Winchester—cocky, infuriating, and the biggest playboy Castiel has ever met. Still on medical leave, Dean is bored out of his mind, and worst of all - once Castiel gets sucked into the investigation of a new case - without enough distractions from his inner demons. When he stumbles upon a small, seemingly risk-free case, Dean jumps at the chance to get involved, but the lies he has to tell could be catastrophic for the already shaky foundations of his relationship with Castiel. With a new threat trying to take over the underworld of DC, Castiel and Dean have to find a way to work past their problems or risk losing each other forever.

Picture Perfect | @perlukafarinn

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 24,757 Main Tags/Warnings: Modern AU, Bar Owner Dean, Professor Castiel, Gay Bar, Queer History, Masturbation, Mutual Pining, Misunderstandings Summary: While collecting research material for his dissertation on queer aesthetics and desire in the pre-Stonewall era - in a word, old nudes - Castiel comes across a set of photographs irrelevant to his research but very relevant to his own desires. The last thing he expects is to run into the model in those photographs or to find him even more captivating in real life.

The Waltz of Shilly-Shallying | @thefandomsinhalor

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 36,395 Main Tags/Warnings: Veterinarian and Pet Groomer AU, Miscommunications, Mutual Pining, Fluff, Single Dad Castiel, Belphegor is Jack Kline's Imaginary Friend, Christmas Summary: Crushing on each other for quite some time, Dean and Castiel both hesitate to make a move. One thinks the feeling isn’t mutual while the other figures it’s best to focus on his familial duties and remain friends. That is until they find themselves under the mistletoe.

Mr. Fix It | @mittensmorgul

Rating: Mature Word Count: 54,383 Main Tags/Warnings: Busybody Minimall AU, Repair Shop Owner Dean Winchester, Bartender Castiel (Supernatural), Castiel in Witness Protection, Fluff, POV Alternating, Gabriel's healing cookies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Strangers to Lovers Summary: When Dean opened up shop as Mr. Fix It, he never expected his biggest, slowest, and possibly most important project would be the quietly beguiling owner of the bar at the other end of the strip mall. Getting Steve to open up to him would prove tougher than hacking into the NSA. Five years after fleeing his corrupt family and starting life over as an unassuming bartender named Steve, Cas still regretfully maintained his policy of keeping everyone at arm's length-- most regretfully of all, Dean. It seems like a sound strategy for survival until his old life comes crashing through his front door. Are there any problems too big for Mr. Fix It to solve?

The Evil that Men do (WIP) | @MalicMalic

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 67,518 Main Tags/Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, Rape/Non con, Kidnaping, Hurt, Guilt, Child Death, Homophobia, Abuse - Sexual, physical and verbal, Extremely dubious consent Summary: When Dean learns his girlfriend found the man that raped her all those years ago, he is ready to make him feel the exact formation of Dean's knuckles, but Bela had some other ideas in mind. Dean is not what you might call a good guy, but even some things are too much for him. And then the worst thing happens - Dean learns they made a mistake. The guilt will consume him, making him change his foul path, but nothing will ever seem enough, even when he gets a chance for redemption.

The Birds and the Ts | @doctorprofessorsong & you-can't-spell-subtext-without

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 130,425 Main Tags/Warnings: AU our world without COVID, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crack Treated Seriously, References to Drugs, Alcohol, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Eating Disorder not otherwise Specified, Anxiety, Destiel is canon, Metafiction, post finale fan reaction, ex sex, Team Switch, Exhibitionism Summary: Dean Smith is a workaholic, buried alive in his career as a high-ranking corporate executive at Twitter. Cas Novak largely avoids his obligations at tumblr, preferring instead to focus on his own carnal and chemical pursuits. When Destiel goes canon and throws both sites into disarray, Dean’s intern, Reese, and Cas's assistant, Harper, find themselves fed up trying to balance the chaos with their two bosses' inconvenient lifestyles. But a conversation with Cas's bestie, Meg, gives them an idea. What if they set their bosses up? Maybe their opposing worldviews will balance out and there will finally be peace. What they don't know is that the men are such a mess because they are both mourning a break-up. With each other. Will these two dumbasses use their words and realize they are the perfect endgame? And what of the budding relationship between Harper and Reese? Two love stories in one, all signed, sealed, and delivered as a love letter to the fans riding out this unparalleled media experience.

[sandbees]

A few about the Great Seven interacting with Twisted Wonderland characters VIA Yuu. 👀 I only have one word summary; Chaos.

Who would meet the Great Seven first? Obviously the first years (along with Ortho and Grim). They’re Yuu’s best friends after all.

Actually, it was Friday, the last day of the week. And coincidentally, that night would be a special night at the House of Mouse. Ariel and her sisters would be performing that night.

Mickey told Yuu that that they could invite anyone to watch the performance. So Yuu went to get special permission to take their friends along with them.

After kidnapping Ortho After Yuu gathers everyone, they explain that they’re going out to see a special performance at their workplace.

Keep in mind that no one knows exactly what Yuu’s new job was except Grim and Crowley. So naturally everyone was in on it and curious. (Only Grim knows about Yuu meeting the Great Seven though)

Ace: So where do you work at?

Yuu: I work at a club.

Epel: ...As in a strip club or a book club?

Yuu: Wtf Epel? It’s like a club but no alcohol. It’s technically a restaurant but they have live shows and put on a lot of performances so-

Deuce: Oh! That’s cool, we get to see it together!

Yuu: Actually I’m not going to be with you guys. I’m on duty that day so I’ll be waiting tables. But I’ll join during break.

Ace: Really? Bummer.

Ortho: Aw, I wanted to hang out with you too! But it will be fun nonetheless. :D

Yuu tells them to wait downstairs as they go upstairs to get everything ready.

They are low-key nervous, because the House of Mouse isn’t...exactly normal by Twisted Wonderland standards.

Meanwhile, Grim was telling the first years about Yuu’s experiences there.

Grim: You know, the House of Mouse is really popular, I’ve heard about a lot of customers Yuu has met.

Deuce: This job must have been hard...I’m glad Yuu got it though!

Grim: Yeah, they pay them 5,000 madol! Isn’t that great?!

Sebek: 5,000 madol?! That’s a lot more than being a waiter.

Ace: In a week? I mean having a salary of 5,000 is pretty impressive.

Grim: Hehe, it’s actually 5,000 a day.

First Years: WHAT?!

Jack: To be able to pay that much...the owner must be wealthy.

Epel: Yuu lucked out!

When Yuu comes down, the first years are asking a billion questions.

How did you find a job with such a high pay??? Is the work good?? Is your boss nice to you?? Explain everything-

Yuu assured them that their job is just waiting a bunch of tables, and that they’re payed well because the place is very popular.

Anyways, Yuu tells them that they’re going now and leads them upstairs.

“Shouldn’t we be going to the hall of mirrors-?” “It won’t work.”

The group kind of loses their mind as Yuu casually pushes Ace into their mirror, Grim follows behind.

“Come on, or do I have to push you through the mirror like I did with Ace?”

Safe to say is that they go through the mirror and are greeted with a very lavish dressing room.

“Wait woah this isn’t Mickey’s dressing room.”

Yuu finds a note and read it out loud. Apparently Mickey moved the mirror to a new room so they could have privacy. Anything in the room is for their use.

“I’m going to cry. He’s so nICE I DON’T DESERVE THIS-“

Yuu is pretty happy with this arrangement, actually. They also begin to explain the club’s shtick to their friends.

“So this is basically a club for entertainment with live shows and also cartoons on the screen. Oh, and sometimes a cat named Pete tries to sabotage the show so he can kick everyone out and make this his club.” “Isn’t that illegal-“ “Not if there’s no police.”

So anyways Yuu leads them outside and they run into Goofy.

Sebek: Is that-?

Yuu: Hi Goofy, I’m bringing my friends to a table for the show-

Goofy: Yuu! There you are! You’re needed at table 14.

Yuu: What? But my shift hasn’t started-

Goofy: Reservations from Hades himself.

Yuu: Oh shit, ok yeah I’ll be there as soon as possible-

Ortho: Hades? As in the God of the Underworld?

Yuu: Yes, I’ll explain later, more importantly let’s go find you a table.

Ace: I think not telling us you actually met one of the GREAT SEVEN!

Yuu: I did tell you; and you didn’t believe me.

Everyone is vibrating in nervousness and excitement. Especially Ortho. I mean, this is the GREAT SEVEN we’re talking about!

Yuu decides to introduce them to Hades. But surprise surprise, it’s all of the Great Seven!

Yuu’s first year friends are going to pass out from shock. Oof.

With some inquiry, Yuu explains to the Great Seven that the friends they brought were from Twisted Wonderland.

Let’s just say that the First Years got invited to sit at their table. (Sebek is quaking at the idea of sitting with the Witch of Thorns)

So while Yuu leaves to start work (not after taking all of their orders first, of course), the Great Seven begin asking the first years + Grim questions.

The first years are expectantly tense, but they loosen up.

Ursula and Jafar are a little disappointed that no one from their dorm is present, but they seem to easily forget that after Yuu tells them that they know people from their respective dorms anyways.

Yuu also gives them a little more information they found about their respective dorms, so that they don’t feel...left out? (Satisfied is a better word for it)

Ursula pets Grim and Jafar feeds him crackers. Grim does not complain, he’s fine. He becomes more compliant as his tuna arrives.

And some of the other’s thoughts? Well...

The Queen of Hearts almost blew up in anger at Ace and Deuce. They are idiots that do nOT KNOW THE PROPER WAY TO SPEAK TO THEIR SUPERIORS AND THEY HAVE BROKEN AT LEAST 359 RULES ALREADY-

But somehow, the Queen of Hearts warms up to the idiotic duo. She sees them as...annoying children she has to babysit but they’re also really adorable that she can’t stay mad at them forever. Plus, Deuce is trying and Ace has these wonderful card tricks that would make her Jester cry.

So at first, she does not approve, but as the night progresses she does. 8/10 would meet the ADeuce combo again.

Scar and Jack...hm. Well, I don’t think they’d get along of Scar’s sense of morality and justice of the past was brought up. However, the villains all agreed to not bring up their villainous past because they didn’t want to scare away Yuu/make them wary and distrustful of them. Same goes for the first years.

Anyways, Scar is impressed at how buff Jack is. He isn’t surprised though - he expected residents of his dorm to be powerful. Scar lays down some well deserved praise and Jack eats it up with a tail wag. Jack also talks about his dorm and what the dorm represents. Scar’s ego rises 100x and Scar becomes somewhat...egotistical. Well, maybe not like in a “I’m shoving my ego in your face” type of ego but in a “This pleases me and I will treat you kinder” ego.

Basically, Scar opens up a little more to Jack as the night progresses. Like a mentor/student bond.

The Evil Queen and Epel...well, the Evil Queen was quite picky with how Epel was acting. Yes, he had the proper posture but really, he was using the wrong forks to eat that particular kind of food. She expected better from someone who came from her dorm. So she ended up chastising him and scolding him for being “improper”. Like Vil.

She was shocked to say when Epel accidentally snapped back at her, before returning to his more “princely” persona. Ah, so the child had more than meets the eye. She tried a different approach, as in trying to ease Epel into talking to her. Certainly, Epel was much more headstrong and willful than that naive Snow White.

So, the Evil Queen and Epel have a rocky start, but by the end of the show.

Hades and Ortho...well, that’s a combo you never see everyday. But I think Hades would basically adopt Ortho. As in suddenly he gets father vibes from the kid. He’s also particularly interested in his own dorm, and asks Ortho about it. Ortho’s pretty chatty with Hades, and is happy to tell Hades about his dorm! He also asks a few questions himself; which Hades happily obliged to.

...and then it turns into Ortho talking about Idia and how wonderful he is. And Hades is like, “damn, this kid has a wonderful big brother. How come my younger siblings act like shit to me-“

So Hades silently swore to the River of Styx to keep this child safe, and Ortho had a fun time interacting with Hades!

Sebek and Maleficent...well, it could have been worse.

Poor Sebek was tense and tight lipped for most of the night. He really wanted to make a good impression on Malleus’ grandmother. (I don’t think Sebek has met Maleficent yet so-)

Maleficent was patient, however. She knew Fae kind were raised to think of Maleficent as a high authority figure that should be treated with upmost respect. Unlike the other kingdoms; the Valley of Thorns praised Maleficent like a goddess. She didn’t blame Sebek for acting like he was.

So she started with baby steps. Talking about how wonderful it was to meet her grandson’s bodyguard, how Malleus must have grown to be a strong magician, how she wished she had stayed to know more about her grandson.

Actually, the breaking point between the tense atmosphere between the two was Malleus. Sebek opens up a little more as he continues to talk to Maleficent.

At the end of the night, they’ve only talked about Malleus, but Maleficent was content with that. After all, keeping up with what her grandson was doing was more than enough.

By the end of the night, the First Years enjoyed the special performance and their time with the Great Seven. Things went well especially when Yuu came to join during their break.

So when it was time to go, everyone had happily said their goodbyes as they were ready to return.

“Oh, before I forget...Yuu, I have almost completed the portals for the others so do expect one of us to pop in soon.” “Oh, ok!” “...THEY MIGHT VISIT US?!”

Everyone is low key excited to meet again though.

So, the first years go through the mirror and stay at Ramshackle, chatting away at their time at the House of Mouse.

_=_

Yeah, this was a looonngg write, I’m actually going to do the rest of the TW cast in another post. I hope you enjoyed this one! :)