#I DID SAY KINDA AHAHHAHA

[ran-orimoto]

Interesting. I'm interested in your stories about these underrated pair and characters. But don't let me months away without knowing what your headcanons about Junpei'parents are. Izumi's mother intrigued me but I need you to introduce the parents of Izumi too properly. Good job, Kurumizu

Hey, Anon! Thank you for having read the new chapter of MTTCI! I’m happy to hear you have liked it💕. I’ve FELT this chapter because it’s very close to my heart, experiences I’ve felt on my skin (which I’ve obviously adapted to them), so…It’s a double joy🥺💕.

I think I have already replied a similar ask, but let’s say now my headcanons are more fleshed out (even if I’ll be brief, I’ll try ahahah)

• Izumi’s mother has got no stable job, like I’ve said in the fic. She continuously changes her occupation and she will always go for part-time contracts. She has worked in disparate places such as supermarkets, clothing shops, malls, but her favourite activity is to take care of her family and their house. Maybe in Italy she managed to be hired by a grocery shop and she worked there for a longer while than usual.

• Izumi’s father is a diplomat working for the japanese embassy and being gifted of great eloquence and persuasiveness. He’s so skilled the embassy sent him to Rome for some years, provided him with a nice house, with documents and papers that could allow him to move there along with his whole family. Tw friends and me often joke about the fact the man likes eating as much as Izumi, - especially because his wife can cook very well- , but tends to gain weight very easily, for his wife’s utter irritation. So dude is not THAT thin, or at least he didn’t use to be 🤣.

• Junpei’s father is an engineer but is also the director of his family’s company, one dealing with trains and railways, assembling stuff, building them, selling them. He managed to climb the corporate ladder thanks to his skills but also thanks to favours…Certain kinds of maneuvers which helped him defeat his sibiling in the race to the top.

• Junpei’s mother is in the same field of her husband, 99%, of possibilities they work together in the same company, sharing the top in two. She might still be an engineer, but maybe a mechanical engineeing, whereas Shibayama-San is a electric one *cough* *cough*. A love among engines🤣. This is why Junpei knows how to use blueprints, “collects train models” and, most of all, “has got no parents around”.

Junpei lives with some uncle and aunt most months of the year and they let him live like he pleases, like he deserves…Except when Shibayama-San sends him disappointed letters about the bad grades he gets at school. He should focus on school instead of magician stuff🤣.

Thank you for the ask again💕!

[chaoticlaurel]

Random, self indulgent art because I've been having nightmares lately about the ~passage of time~ ooOooOOOo and just generally feeling touch starved ahahahahah

Oh to be 5, who held their care on their small, little shoulders, too big to carry, yet to them, it was too little to give out to the world. How can someone so full of love be so carefree. Where did I go TvT </333

[wikitpowers]

How do you think Kit and Anush’s relationship will play out in TWP? Like, do you think Kit will be a bit jealous of him? Anush might be protective of Ty? Maybe they’ll hit it off?

before i get into the kit/anush relationship i wanna first off say that i really hope ty and anush are really really good friends. like i hope they got super tight at the scholomance and can truly rely on each other, i just really need ty to have a bestie like anush (and seems super sweet <3). and if that is the case in twp, then i think kit would definitely be jealous of anush and how close they are. he might even assume they are in a relationship and that would make him even more heartbroken (and me absolutely shattered).

so i think at first, he would for sure be jealous of anush. and actually i think that like you say, anush totally would be protective of ty (that's something i need desperately)!!!!! bc i imagine at the start of twp, kit will be really cold and distant to ty in order to protect himself and anush might feel iffy towards him bc of it as he is ty's best friend. but after all the angst is over, i just know kit and anush are gonna be really great friends and have fun together🫶🏻

AND AHAHHAHA I NEVER THOUGHT THEY COULD HIT IT OFF! THAT'S A NEW IMAGE IN MY MIND :') but honestly, i don't think they would, kinda bc of what i said before. like even if anush found him attractive, he wouldn't act on it bc he wouldn't like kit's treatment of ty. but that's just a silly little theory i made up! f knows what will actually happen :') but what a turn of events it would be if they did hit it off :') but i would also hate that bc 1) NO MORE LOVE TRIANGLES I BEG U CASSIE! and 2) kitty are literally ~soulmates~ and are angsty enough on their own. shit i'm sorry naturally my reply got long :')

[yukipri]

Hello I've just finished up a lil re read of the prime override such a fun world that you've built however I have a question maybe I'm just being dumb with the timeline squigglyness but when jango tells obi that "We didn't remove the chips," the Mand'alor says. "After all, we're using them." in chapter 14 obviously after that we're in the early war period and now we're back in the present did anyone kinda explain it to obi or did he just go to bed and have to like parse that by himself, bc I'm pretty sure that no he doesn't know about the vode bond telepathic connection but he's getting force eldritch being vibes has anyone explained to him

Also no need to answer I just don't have anyone to freak out about this with bc none of my friends read starwars fic like I'm actually a big fan of not knowing things and having to wait for it to be revealed later but also I need to know if he's just spent the last couple night just like "they're using the murder chips but for what"

Hey there! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me, I'm always excited to read any thoughts anyone has of my work, so definitely feel free to come to me whenever!!!

And well, let's just say even though I know it's been a while for us, since I wrote the whole Early War arc, it's really only been like a day and a half for Obi-Wan! He has very few answers yet, and full disclosure, he's not going to get them for a while! The reason is, as you probably saw from the Early War arc, we're kinda figuring out how Jango got to the Override step by step from the ground up. I'm not going to give any answers to Obi-Wan that we the audience don't have yet! BUT I do promise that we will go back to the past, and you'll see it come together, and when the time does come for Obi-Wan to understand, you will already understand how it works! (or at least, that's the goal lmao)

Again, thank you so much for sharing with me, I don't really have anyone to talk to about my work either, so I really depend on kind folks like you and people who comment on AO3 to let me know that my story's actually interesting ahahhaha So TYSM!!

❀ ❀ Send YukiPri an Ask! ❀ ❀

[sukirichi]

Aaaaaaaa sukiiiiiii why you do this to meeeee 😭😭

Brain mush, im very exhausted so im sorry if ill rant dhdhajdjs

The whole rin diary part - sparked lots of joy 🥺🥺🥺

This part right after

This does not spark joy 😒 like really? really? After we kept admitting we still love rin even while being with omi we go ahead and say that? Especially after reading the damn diary... Really?

This update made my heart shatter for our dearly idiot rin even more.. He keeps thinking we just... Wont love him if we know who he really when (jokes on him we do know) and it just.. It really breaks me

The fact he truly looks that low on himself to the point he believes we are with him just cause hes a prince and if he never was we wouldnt even notice him... Bruh i just.. I want to hug him.. Royal life truly shattered him mentally to the point he has no self esteem uh..

This part tho caught my attention:

He keeps trying to push us away but perhaps cause he's noticeable tired, I mean its described at o e point that he has dark circles under his eyes, what i believe its because hes been sleeping on the couch or something because he refuses to sleep in the same bed as iris (since he did kinda hinted that she had the bed all to herself). And perhaps thanks to him being exhausted he just cant stop himself fron letting little truths come out, he didnt even seem to notice it while we truly did.

Im still disappointed? Bitter? Ahahahha that the baby is staying dhshshhdhoas he's our hubby man i dont want him to be having some other bitch's baby when neither he or she wanted it 🙃 like please just do something good for the story iris and go ahead and lose it 🤣🤣 at this point only the queen will be pissed and we love that royal bitch pissed 🤣🤣

Sorry i wanted to give a better review but damn my job has been killing me ahahahah thank you so much for another update tho, these even tho they kill me 🤡 in a way always cheer me up and make me having something to look forward for.

Also yes kuroooooo destroy the bitchhhhh ahahhaha

the rin diary part!! man I remember having to like sit down for a long time just so I could use the perfect words LIKE WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME ITS HARD TO BE POETIC LMFAO. not that it DID become poetic but it was the best I could pull out of my ass lmaoooo. omg okay I get that it doesn’t spark joy but hear me out!! at that point we’d already fallen for kiyoomi and yknow like… we already know that rintaro hasn’t been that good anyway, and we’re finally choosing what’s right, what’s BETTER (because dtd!yn has always been a character who will most likely end up doing what she thought was right and its really hard to change her mind lol but it’s just!! a matter of what feels right in that moment!!) and in that moment choosing kiyoomi and finally accepting that he has feelings for us felt like the right one! and the diary you know, it really is confusing cuz like – WE LITERALLY HAD JUST BEGUN OUR THING WITH KIYOOMI AND EVERYTHING IS GOING WELL then we see that our husband has always been secretly writing his feelings about us LIKE THE TIMING HONESTLY CAN’T GET ANY WORSE LOL

oh yeah… rin’s inferiority complex has just completely gotten worse because all his insecurities have gone from ten to a hundred. like he somehow always felt like he wasn’t good enough but to know that he was never a prince?! my boy needs therapy. and yes omg that part!! I know during the scene where he kicked us out our room was trying to imply that he wants to share the same bed as iris but naur!! my boy rin won’t even touch her within a ten foot pole in that moment, he just stays on the couch and can barely sleep because he sent us to belleview manor of all places. I just know he stayed up all night thinking about what we’re doing with kiyoomi and well… his imaginations are right because we’re making out with him lol. LMAOOOO I KEEP FORGETTING ABOUT THE BABY I think its bcos iris has been off-screen for such a while now that lowkey I forgot she and the queen existed (in other terms I’m just too excited to write about runaway rin and yn!! and I’m such a pea brain lol)

also no omg!! I hope you’re getting some rest and a well-deserved break though! and thank you so muchhh IM SO HAPPY YOU’RE ENJOYING DTD HEHEHEHE as always I appreciate you for showing so much love and I’m sending you more back!! <33

[david-box]

Kill list liveblog I wrote in my notes app time!!

His sunglasses are off kilter and he looks so wrong the way his suit is buttoned up, likes it too big for him. I don't think he feels as on top of the world as he theoretically is. Right back to ep.1. Good music. Good shit with them all stopping in place but bad choice Ken lol. Shall we maybe not do the bad version lol. He hasn't been there for a while goddamn. Ahahhaha Kendall thought Roman was kidding about Shiv yesterday apparently lol. I think he's ahead of you Ken.

Mattson wants a party. B roll list lol. Interesting how Kendall thinks about this - how does it look if we say no. Also I just noticed the Shiv is the only one really wearing clothes that fit in the intro. I wonder why she wasn't on the email list minus the obvious. I just realized we have a merger just like season ... 1... I should remember which season lol. Greg and Tom back in their OG type clothes too except ~~fancier~~ also weird lowbrow joke from Tom this season. Greg. Are you going. Tom is having fun telling Greg something so he'll embarrass himself in a moment lol wtf is a Guggenheim. Toms hair is wild. I fucking love the way Roman sits

What's with the socks. Roman is suspicious also literally do not understand what the fuck Shiv is talking about, also, Kendall, buddy, that is the worst way to cover yourself. The plane is remarkable dark. Why did Roman shut it down? Aw, how nice. We'll kill Tom for you. HES RIGHT THERE ahhhh. Incredibly meritocratic?? I don't think tech billionaires are soft Gerri.

SNAKES ON A PLANE. IM TIRES KD THESE MORHERFUCKING ANAKES ON A PLANE LOL. Roman badly hiding his anxiety. Kendall is worst. Why is Shiv calm? Wild. Hate to ask now that I paused for a second but a wtf kinda resort has long ass black turtlenecks and brown aprons like some kind of Scandinavian themed cult film/dystopian novel. I think class disparity is going to be a theme today - all the underlings are worried about their jobs en route to a Norwegian resort. These people are dressed much more casually than the Rocyos are. Roman dressed better. Nice cardigan looking thing. I love the sibling dynamic also bro it's Norway wear boots.

Up top is a MOUNTAIN. WHAT THE FUCK. Magic appearing clipboard he probably shouldn't have wrote on cus if we know Ken we know he can't read a room to save his life. "I just had to cancel out a room full of working class whites in Cleveland." Connor can't throw his weight around as the SON??? Why did he put two on bugos plate. Who even is this guy. I wonder if they were supposed to weight for their hosts. Katarina's counterpoint is off put. "Tom of Siobhan" lol yes. Love that. "I'm not really a part of this whole situation" bro wrong move. They are so offput quit talking businesses lolll. Nearly got a bronze. What the fuck. What the fuck. Hugo. Buddy. Hugo. Hugo. Hugo.

Where's Mattson's fun little accent? Aw. And he's a conservative <3 good for him. Shiv probably the best prepped for this one next to Roman. Shiv is right that was a bluff, he's scared lol. They feel very short. No sorrys for Lukas :-( lol. Both of y'all need to lean back. This is gorgeous. Anajhahhahahaha lolllll. 187 is fucking good Kendall... You Guys Don't Need ATN. Mattson is remarkably fucking nervous huh. Why do they want ATN? They can't be honest :-( ouch. It would be REALLY good for them to just chill with him. 187 is good. I don't think they realize hey hold on there's a spy lol. Anyhow I don't think they realize how not selling ATN will affect you know those other people that exist. Shiv is reasonable. Fuck Dad dude. Either you carve it out based on Dad keeping ATN OR you say it's impossible to know so you can't ingore it either Kendall, you dumb motherfucker. Y'all are talking shit right in front of the cook. Where are you getting this info Greg??? I think Greg is lying. I don't think Greg wants to be a pawn sacrifice dude. Dude, just relax. He is so tall. The Quad. Tom could say hi before sitting down. That is such a wild ass response Tom what the fuck. Bruh. Bro. Kendall has zero chill and Mattsons like eyo. Your ball motherfucker. Lol.

I'm looking up the roast real quick but I find it interesting Mattson knows Greg is out of place by sight meaning he has the whole group memorized. Inbred Hapsburg giant is funny. I wonder if Tom knows Swedish. If y'all just said "were sentimental" this would fix it so easy. The graph *is* horrible. Trusted brand lol. Kendall is delusional. At or no deal. Roman looking at Kendall when he says he'd hate to make it not work also FUck Yes a sauna hell yeahhhhh. Karl and Frank not even giving a shit.

Forgot her name already but interesting character . Also Interestinf he goes for Shiv. I thinkkkk heesas gonnnnnnaaa tallllkkk to his ppl I mean. Roman. Take the money and run. Kendall. What the fuck is wrong with you. Other people have their skin in the gun. You're not good at running the ship. Good. Destroy it. Background character. Dude. Uggggghh why. Kendall is looking for dopamine on a giant wonderful Norwegian mountain. Roman :-(. I can see how the family dynamic worked.

Is Mattson tryna fuck Shiv? Bro. What are you smoking. I don't think Mattson is mentally stable. I think he would take an honest conversation over sex any day of the week. 500 frozen blood? Bruh that's a whole blood unit. How is that funny???? That is just harassment. Bruh. That's a clusterfuck. Shiv being honest!!! Wow. Shiv is good at this. Stop sending people your blood. Good time. You guys talk loud as hell. Greg is the world's most gullible person. Three hour what?? I think she wants the deal. Oh my god he's making them watch the movie?? Kendall is a shit liar. Shiv isn't using Emma as bait. What the fuck is happening here domestic abuse 360 degree film what the fuck BADNACLE MEAT ahahaha. Why are they negging eachother. Why'd it work on Tom. "He's boring, but he's very conventionally attractive". Lol

Mattson is not gullible. I hope. More value and also this sucks don't buy it <3. You're dad was a prick Roman. Yep. Go around Mattson. He's just pissing. Good point that he needed it fast like WHY does he need it fast. That was brave as shit when Mattsons got his dick out on top of a mountain. What a wild move of bravery from Roman at the worst time in the world. Now you don't get to buy PM. I think he is going around them? Nope. Rip. Revised offer. 192? Jesus. Fuck. 192. That's like 48 billion. Now we sell right. Please. Like quit edging me here right. They literally don't even need the money. Kendall is reconsidering. Does Tom own stock. I'll fire Cyd for you <3 yesss TomShiv forever failwives for life. Karl's like hell yeah I get to leave. Shiv can fucking dance lol

[borathae]

OMGMGM MY GIRLLL I AM SO !!!!

Did I just spend 30 minutes trying to decide what to reblog for my review? Yes. No, no idea what you're talking about. F Tumblr for forcing you to separate the story in 2 parts 😤

IT STILL PISSES ME OFF SO FUCKING BAD YOU HAVE NO IDEA 😡

I was so happy to see Queendom! Tae again! I know he is not the focus of the story but I cannot not talk about him! You already know that the Queendom serie was my introduction to your blog and that JK's part was the first I read, well Tae's was the second! So it kind of throw me back to the time I discovered your blog and you had no idea I existed cause you know talking to new cool people is scary 🥺

aaah!!! it always makes me so excited to read about how people found my stories!! this is actually so great!! also listen. queendom!Tae is why this series even exists, I saw a random fanart which inspired me and now we are here <3 he will always be special to me <3

I was so happy to see that Tae has adjusted to his new living place so well! And his relationship with Hoseok is so cute! I love that when Hobi barged in his room Tae first looked at him to make sure he was okay and then he looked at the flyers.

THEY'RE BEST FRIENDS!! I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!

He did let his insecurities get to him for a moment but I think it's a very normal reaction since he is already far away from his home he doesn't want to loose more tie to his childhood and Hoseok is the biggest one he can loose at the moment.

yes gosh :(( poor boy, I probably would have been sad as well in his situation :( I also love that they talked about it <3 my healthy kings <3

To be honest, at that moment of the story I thought that the school was in another city all together but when later it was said that the school was in the same city, I was like "Guys .... that was a little bit a dramatic reaction you had there" 😂

BAHHAHAHAHHAH THIS IS SO TRUE THOUGH AHAHHAHA they're so dramatic and for what?? HAHHAHAHA

But I loved how supportive the royal family is! The Queen herself ended up involving the whole court in support and that was so heartwarming!

I feel like this Queendom is just filled with kind people (except the rude students) like I love the Queen, she is such a legend <3

I also noted that the magic they discuss about when going to the librairie is kinda futile, it's more aesthetic related than anything else and it show the place they have at the court at the moment. They don't seem really involved in the politics and diplomacy of the court

ooooh I love this take!! it's definitely true 👀 I feel like the magic rn is more needed to heal and grow food and help people with their problems rather than to use it for fighting. However I wanna say (because I love talking lore) I think if war should ever happen, magic would have to become more involved OR OMG IMAGINE THE COURTS WANT MAGIC TO BE INVOLVED BE THE WITCHES SAY NO WE'LL STAY NEUTRAL IN THESE WARS LIKE!!!

but the Princess reaction to Hoseok's dream show that she is involved in this world. She is supportive but she still make sure Hoseok knows it's going to be difficult. She is the realist and Tae is the dreamer in their relationship but by their interactions with each other you can see it works well for their couple!

100% I agree this is so them!! she definitely has a more "realistic" view of the world while he is a dreamer. I would wanna say it's becuase she was raised to be a leader one day while he was raised to be a good husband, so he was always more involved in mastering arts, languages etc. while she had to learn about politics GOSH I LOVE LORE

I like Mistress Qela, for some reason she reminds me of Professor McGonagall! I'm not sure why but I had to say it x)

oooh I love this <3 honestly Mistress Qela is such a slay I love her <3

Hobi and Tae's arrival at the tower was really funny, not because Hoseok was nervous but because you describe a beautiful place and Tae is just there commenting on the windows 😂 I'm glad he still find joy in such mundane thing, it's really endearing!

lmoaoaooa Tae has his priorities sorted the FUCK OUT HAHAHAH

You didn't trick me with the old woman scheme! The moment she appeared in the fic I was like "wait a minute 🤔" because I knew you said you took most name from elden ring but Selen is a variante of Selene the name of the first goddess of the Moon in Greek mythology before Artemis takes her place and if there is one trick the greek gods like to play it's the old person in need of help! So I was like, it's either Selen in disguise (very probable) or one of the other teachers! And I was right!! I cheered when she revealed the trick in front of the whole class!

I love when you involved history I AM SO HAPPY RN BECAUSE THIS IS SUCH A SECRET HINT I GAVE YOU AND YOU GOT IT!!!

Speaking of Selen, she gives me big teacher vibe! Like how a teacher is supposed to be, compassionate, caring and who inspire respect by their behaviour and actions. I don't know if you played Hogwart Legacy but she reminds me of Professor Weasley!

yes yes yes!! I love her so much!! she is so accepting!! istfg I love her. I never played Hogwarts Legacy though hehe

Also I expected some staffs, applicants and students to be rude but it still rub me the wrong way when it happened ... Leave my sunshine alone you nasty people!

FOR REAL LIKE HE IS JUST A LIL POOKIE >:(

I love OC though! It feel a bit weird to talk about her for the first time this late in a review but she is so nice and accepting! Even with only one interaction it's easy to say they will go well with each other!

yes gosh :( I love her too :( she is such a pookie too :(

I know I shouldn't have but the interview between Selen and Hoseok made me laugh and I felt a bit guilty because poor baby was in panic and sure he messed up but I mean, at least he made an impression? Also from Hoseok finding her words familiar, and her line "something important you say", you can guess she already know who he is and why he is sweaty during his interview! Poor baby though he was so sad and I was feeling so bad for him. I was so happy when he got his letter of acceptance! And everyone in that castle is so sweet, they all celebrated his achievement together!

hahaha he was so chaotic during the interview fdajfjs while Selen was all like "I already know that you're in, don't worry" ahahhaha

Selen's line "someone had to have the first hangover" made me laugh so hard! Just imagine that poor person, hurting and confused because the alcohol was really good but you wake up with the worst headache and now I wonder how alcohol became popular? Like why drink something that hurts you? But then I remembered that I drink and I had bad hangovers but I still drink so I probably answered my own question 😂

felt FASJDFJA this was me when I had my huge wine hangover. I swore to never drink again. yeah nah, I'm still drinking wine sometimes JFADSHAH

At first I thought Ciri and Cintra might be a reference to the witcher universe but Sorceress Ciri is mean to Hobi later on and I unilateraly decided it wasn't because my baby angel wouldn't be mean to Hobi just because he is a man who try his best to fullfill his dream. 😡

I must confess that I actually got the names from the witcher universe (I love you for getting it <3) BUT Ciri is definitely NOT inspired by our pookie because she could never 😡 she would definitely support him (and get in trouble with the teachers fjadjfj)

The relationship between OC and Hoseok at the end of part 1 is so cute but so frustrating! Hoseok saying to Taehyung that OC is not interested when she invited him to spend time with her already!

LIKE WAKE UP AND MAKE OUT!! (you get me? not wake up and break up but wake up and make out JFJADFJ)

Hoseok struggling with his magic is so sad but seeing how OC encourage and motivate him is really heart warming!!

she is such special and important to me :(

I'm stopping here and I'll review the part 2 in the part é reblog because I don't like not having the source material attached to my review! It will be shorter than this though but you'll have my global impression too! 💜💜💜

SERIOUSLY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS REVIEW!! AND FOR GOING INTO DETAIL ABOUT EVERYTHING AND WRITING IT AND GOSH :( I APPRECIATE IT SO MUCH!! 💜💜💜

“Being a sorcerer has always been Hoseok’s dream. So when a well-known and powerful sorceress sends out letters informing the young minds of the city of an upcoming position as her apprentice, Hoseok takes fate into his own hands and applies. The only problem is that learning the arts of magic is reserved for women. He is convinced however that hard work and effort can charm the sorceress’ heart and get him the position.”

Pairing: Magic Student!Hoseok x Magic Student!Reader

Genre:��Fantasy!AU, Magic School!AU, s2f2potential lovers!AU, Romance

Warnings: lots of plot, 90% of this is written from Hoseok’s POV, Queendom!Tae being the bestest friend, they’re both so adorable, the students are mean to him at first :(, except for reader heheh she is a sweetheart <3, also idk if this is important but i got inspired by Elden Ring as far as some names are concerned istfg best game <3, this will have a second part where reader’s pov plays a bigger part and the romance is gonna be bigger as well <3, for now this story is very magic & Hobi’s journey to magic centered, but also some romantic tension is present as well hngngn, istfg i love this universe

Wordcount: 17.8k of 24.3k

✴ Part One of Two ✴

Hoseok stumbles into Taehyung’s room without knocking. The young prince startles slightly, gasping in surprise.

“Tae! Tae, I have news!” Hoseok calls out and stumbles to his friend.

“What is it? Are you feeling alright?” Taehyung asks. 

He was in the midst of painting with some tea for sipping on the side, when Hoseok interrupted him. The latter lets himself fall down on the chair next to Taehyung, taking out a flyer from his chest pocket. He slams it on the table, looking at Taehyung excitedly.

Taehyung scans his eyes over his friend first. His long white hair is ruffled as if he ran quite some distance. His chest is heaving up and down quickly and his flushed face carries a thin layer of sweat. So he really must have been running.

Taehyung looks at the flyer next. It is of yellowish paper with purple ink soaking the fibres. The message is rather short. Short, but effective. 

New Apprentices Wanted. Come to Sorceress Selen’s tower if interested.

“Oh? The sorceress seeks an apprentice?” 

“Yes, indeed she does. Do you have an idea what that means?” 

Taehyung furrows his brows in thought.

“Perhaps that there will be a new sorceress soon?” 

“A new sorcerer you mean.”

Taehyung widens his eyes, gawking at Hoseok.

“Yes”, Hoseok says and nods his head excitedly, “I am going to become her apprentice.”

“Are you having a jest with me?” 

“I am not. I will go to her tower and prove to her that I am fitting for a magical student.”

“But…you are a boy. No boy ever learned magic before.”

“This isn’t true. There are sorcerers.”

“Yes, perhaps in faraway lands but not here.”

“Well, then I am going to be the first one from these lands”, Hoseok says and grins. 

Taehyung needs a few moments to regain his thoughts. Such news are of great surprise to him. He knew of Hoseok’s wishes to learn magic, but to truly have him act on them is shocking. No boy has ever tried what he wants to try. Oh, Taehyung is truly flabbergasted by his friend’s plan.

“But what about your life here? At court? As my lord-in-waiting?” Taehyung asks.

Hoseok falters.

“Do you not want to be my lord of court anymore?” Taehyung asks and pouts sadly. 

Hoseok lowers his eyes, “but my dreams”, he whispers.

“Is it your really dream to become a sorcerer?”

“It always has been. You know that it has.”

“You always talked about moving the stars one day. Even when we were just little.” 

“Exactly. Oh Tae”, Hoseok takes Taehyung’s hands, “I know I sound as if I have lost my mind, but I truly think that I could convince her to take me as her apprentice. I want to take this chance, perhaps there won’t ever be another like it.”

“And if you do and she agrees, you won’t forget me, will you?” Taehyung asks with great insecurity on his features.

“Of course I won’t. Oh Tae, why would you even worry about such things? You are my best friend. No, you are more than that. You are my brother and I won’t ever forget you.”

Taehyung smiles shyly, “that is so good to hear. I want you to accomplish your dreams. My dream has always been to paint and write poetry and sing songs and these days, I can do all these things and more. It would be unfair of me to stop you from achieving your dreams. Forgive me for my initial distaste.”

“No do not apologise, I understand your grievances. I will miss my life here. I love being your lord of court.”

“I love it as well. I love our conversations in the orange gardens and sharing chocolates after dinner”, Taehyung says and giggles.

Hoseok giggles as well, nodding his head in agreement.

“And swimming in the lagoons”, he says to which Taehyung agrees with a scrunch of his nose.

Their laughter dies down naturally. Hoseok lets out a loud sigh, sagging his shoulders.

“Maybe nothing will change in the end. Oh Tae, I am terribly nervous. What if the sorceress refuses to even hear me out?”

“I am sure that you will do great. We could practice your speech together.”

“You would really help me? I do not know where to start or what I need.”

“Yes, that is true. Me neither”, Taehyung says and tilts his head to the side. He scratches his chin. Suddenly his eyes light up.

“What did you think of?” Hoseok asks excitedly.

“Shall we look in the library? Perhaps we could ask Mistress Qela if she knows how to write applications”, Taehyung suggests.

“Yes, what a wonderful idea. We should go this instance.”

The two young men leave Taehyung’s recreation room, chatting about the endless possibilities once Hoseok mastered magic. They talk about making flowers with his fingers and giving oranges a sweeter taste. They dream about making pretty shells appear on shore and of Taehyung’s paints never running out again. All the great, revolutionary spells they do not speak for their minds never wandered there.

Mistress Qela is sitting by her desk, surrounded by scriptures and books and with her silver haired cat keeping her company.

“Mistress Qela?”

The elderly dwarf lifts her head upon being called. She fixes the reading glasses perched atop her nose and places her writing feather aside.

“Young prince Taehyung”, she says, standing up to bow at him.

“Please stay comfortable.”

Despite his words, she finishes her bow before sitting down again. She runs her eyes over the young prince first, then his young servant by his side.

“What brings you here, Sire?”

“Show him the letter, Hoseok.”

Hoseok takes out the flyer and places it on the table. Mistress Qela scoots to the edge of her seat and begins reading with a loud clear of her throat. She is running her fingers through her greying beard as she does, keeping her bushy brows furrowed.

“It seems that the sorceress Selen is seeking new apprentices”, she concludes.

“Yes indeed and Hoseok wants to fill the position, but we do not know how to write an application. Mistress Qela, could you help us?”

The dwarf runs her eyes over the two young men, carrying a stern expression on her face. Seconds pass like this where she stares and they allow her to do so nervously.

“Very well”, she says in the end and slides from her chair, “follow me, young ones. There are books in these halls which will help you”, she says and stomps away. She won’t comment on Hoseok’s dreams for it wasn’t her right to do so. She is aware how possible some impossible dreams are. She herself was called a foolish girl by her tribe for wanting to be become a librarian instead of a miner. She will always offer understanding for the dreams of young people even if others might call them foolish.

The books they seek are on the second floor in a high shelf where a window next to it allows sunlight to enter. Just a few shelves down, there is a desk with chairs and candles for light. It is currently empty.

Mistress Qela points at the shelves which are just out of reach for her.

“You will find what you are looking for here. Do not hesitate to ask me for help however. Have a good read, my young ones”, she says and turns to stomp back to her scriptures.

“Thank you, Mistress Qela!” Hoseok and Taehyung call after her.

Soon the dwarf disappears down the stairs.

“So, where shall we start? Shall we look for books each?” Taehyung suggests.

“Yes, that is a very good idea”, Hoseok agrees.

The young men spend the rest of their day in the library. They read books, scriptures and writings. They compose practice applications and note down new knowledge whenever they stumble upon it. They discuss the important parts and exchange possible phrases to use.

They are so lost in their research, that they do not hear the dinner bell, nor witness when Mistress Qela leaves for her bedchambers. They most definitely would have continued to be lost if Taehyung’s wife, the princess of the Sand Queendom, hadn’t looked for them.

“My darling one?”

Neither Taehyung nor Hoseok hear her and the princess has to try three more times before they finally lift their heads.

“Oh? My darling one”, Taehyung gasps, stumbling from his chair to hurry to her. He takes her hands, guiding them to his lips to kiss her knuckles.

Hoseok is standing as well, bowing his head deeply.

“What are you doing here?” Taehyung asks her.

“I could ask you the same thing. You were missed at dinner and it is way past our bedtime. I was worried.”

“Forgive me, my darling one but I am helping Hoseok with his application”, he says.

“Application?”

He guides her to the desk, showing her what they have been working on. The flyer of the sorceress is also on the desk.

“The sorceress is seeking a new apprentice and Hoseok wants to apply. We spent all day on perfecting his application”, Taehyung explains, “look. What do you think of it?”

The princess looks at Hoseok, ignoring the papers her husband is trying to show her.

“You want to leave your position as lord-in-waiting?” she asks.

“Yes, your highness”, he says, lowering his head in respect, “please forgive the sudden news. I planned on telling you and the Queen tomorrow. Please forgive me.”

“But men are forbidden from learning magic.”

“I know, your highness”, he lowers his head even more, “I thought that I could try. At least. Perhaps it could work.”

“I see”, she says and finally looks at the paper. She sits down where once Taehyung sat and picks up a writing feather, reading through the application. The two men watch her in silence. She nods her head sometimes and fixes mistakes, she also praises some parts whilst correcting others.

“It reads well”, she finishes the letter, “I shall ask mother to write you a letter of recommendation and I believe that with it and this application you will have good chances.”

“What?!” the two man exclaim at the same time.

“You have no problem with his plans?” Taehyung gets out.

“You aren’t angry at me?” Hoseok blurts out.

The princess chuckles, shaking her head.

“Why should I? I know that you dream of being a sorcerer and you are my friend as well. I want to support you”, she says.

“Oh my darling”, Taehyung says and pulls her up just to hug her tightly.

She laughs, accepting it with closed eyes.

“You are truly the most wonderful person”, he says and kisses her cheek.

“You are adorable”, she says.

“Thank you so much, your highness. You do not know how much this means to me”, Hoseok says, bowing so deeply he almost folds himself in half.

“Please do not thank me too soon. We will still have to get you through the part trickiest, which is getting her to even hear you out.”

“But with the Queen’s letter of recommendation it could work, couldn’t it? Oh! I could write one as well. So two people of power speak highly of him. You could write one as well, my darling one.”

“Fine, I shall write one as well. But first, you two need to have your dinner and then get your sleep. You have bodies to nourish besides your research”, she says and begins pushing them away from the desk gently.

The Queen agrees to the letter without hesitation. She is quite taken by the idea that the first sorcerer of these lands could be one of her servants. She tells the court on the same day and soon talk about Hoseok’s dream is heard in every corner of the castle. Excitement is grande. Young master Hoseok will be the first ever sorcerer and Castle Sandrock will be known as his once loving home. So the people talk. The Queen even lets her trusted dressmakers create a most elegant gown for him so he could look his best and offers one of her carriages for him to take to the tower so he didn’t have to sweat through his new dress. One week later, Hoseok has everything he needs for the most compelling application and the day of his attempt can no longer be postponed.

The courtyard is busy with life on his day of leaving – even if he will return by nightfall again, it is after all just a conversation – and the day has been good till now. There were celebrations in the servant wing during breakfast and good cheers in the court room during lunch. Hoseok accepted it with burning cheeks and constant confessions that he feels unworthy of such support. Nobody acknowledged him and the celebrations continued. The Queen and her husband are standing by the carriage. Taehyung and his wife are beside them.

“I shall pray for your success”, the Queen says.

“I believe that you will be successful”, her husband says.

“Thank you so much, your highness. I do not know how to be worthy of such support”, Hoseok says, bowing deeply.

“Just come home with good news.”

“I will, my Queen. At least, I hope I will.”

The Queen laughs fondly, “I am most certain that you will.”

The princess presses a piece of fresh cake into his hands. It is wrapped in a silken handkerchief and still warm from the stone ovens. The faint smell of butter and vanilla comes with it.

“Fresh pearl cake for you”, she says, “I find its sweet taste calms me down in nervous moments. Perhaps it can aid you as well.”

“Thank you, your highness”, Hoseok says, bowing in gratitude.

“May the goddesses be with you.”

“Thank you, your highness”, Hoseok says, bowing deeper.

Taehyung doesn’t say his goodbyes because he promised to come with Hoseok. The two friends get into the carriage together and accompanied by music and cheers, they leave the courtyard for the tower.

The drive through the city is calm. The day is still young, but life is already busy. The merchants are promoting their fresh goods with loud calls and chants, the seagulls fly high above the painted roofs in search of an easy snack and many people use the sunny morning to get their shopping done. Hoseok doesn’t feel his nerves in the city because he has something to look at and listen to.

The tower of the sorceress is in a calmer area of the city, passed the two inner most walls and at the end of a steep road. It is walled in, but its gates are always open, and consists of not only the high tower but two buildings as well, which are used as housing for magical students and work rooms, as well as a shop which sells magical goods made by the students. Behind the high walls, a luscious garden offers everything the eyes and nose desire. Fruit trees and vegetable beds are always rich with their bearings, offering nourishment to people who might struggle with hunger. Flowers are always in bloom, filling the air with their sweet scents. Old trees offer shade to anyone who might need it and the big fountains offer clear water, which never runs out.

The carriage comes to a stop. Big formations of purple crystal sticks out from the ground, glimmering in the light and on the shop porch cats are napping in the warmth. Glimmering clouds of purple magic traverse the air, giving everyone who might walk through such a cloud a sensation of clarity. 

“It seems that we have arrived”, Taehyung says, studying the tower with wondrous eyes. Magic keeps the garden healthy and rich despite the hot weather and rainless days. The roof and window frames are coated with golden paint, reflecting the light and in the high above chambers purple curtains sway in the breeze.

“This looks beautiful”, he says, “you have windows here as well. Oh and they are so big.”

Hoseok can barely hear his friend’s excited words for he is too occupied with gawking at the stream of excited girls and young women flooding the tower gates with dreams of a brighter future. So many people came today.

Hoseok closes the curtain and gulps.

Taehyung reaches over to pat his knee.

“Nervous?” he asks.

“Frightened. Have you seen all these people? How should I even stand a chance?”

“You stand a chance because you are you and you deserve it.”

“Shall we turn around again? Let us turn around again.”

“No”, Taehyung shakes his head vigorously, “no, you have worked so hard for this. At least try. If it fails, you can say that you tried your best, otherwise you will already have failed.”

Hoseok gives in with a sigh, “you are right. Oh Taehyung, I am so nervous.”

“Don’t be, you will do wonderful in there”, Taehyung assures him and stands up to hug his best friend, “if you get too scared, think of me. I will wait right here outside these walls and think positive things about you.”

Hoseok smiles, “thank you. This makes me feel better.”

“Now go in there and show everyone why you deserve to study magic”, Taehyung says and smiles.

Hoseok frowns in dedication, “I will show everyone, yes I will.”

“That is the spirit! I am cheering for you”, Taehyung says and stays by the carriage while Hoseok leaves for the gates. He waves his friend until the masses swallow him. He releases a sigh of contentment, turning to his guard, “what say you? I saw a small shop filled with art down this road. Do you believe that we have time to visit it?”

“I believe we do, my lord.”

“Very well, then I want to go there.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Hoseok clutches his bag with both hands, trying not the look left and right in fear of seeing the judgemental eyes of others. He can feel them surround him, shrinking him more and more the closer to the tower he gets. He is aware that he is wrong here, but it still hurts to feel it so obviously. Most of the people are too busy with their own nervousness to care however. 

“Leave me alone, you old hag!”

A loud voice calls Hoseok’s attention. An old, clearly weak woman tried to seek support on an arm of one of the women storming into the castle. The latter is slapping her hands away, calling her an “old hag” once again.

Hoseok stops in his steps. None else does. He watches for a few more moments to see if the situation resolves itself. The young woman storms off with her friends, leaving the old woman stranded by the wall. She looks helpless, trying so very hard to pick up herself up, but failing miserably as her own age betrays her. People pass her, but nobody helps.

Hoseok furrows his brows and runs to her.

“Forgive me, do you need help?” he asks, stretching out his hands to her.

The old woman lifts her head slowly, squinting her eyes to see better.

“Oh? Young boy, you come at my lowest times. I walked along these walls before I felt the sugar in my blood sink and now I have also dropped my bags. I cannot get up. Oh, these aren’t good times to see me, young boy.”

Hoseok squats down beside her

“Please, worry not”, he assures her, “may I place my hand on you to support you?”

“Yes, young boy.”

Hoseok does it gently and carefully, rubbing her arm slowly.

“Worry not, we will just sit here for a while until the drowsiness passes”, he says and offers her his waterskin, “please drink something. Clear water, collected just this morning.”

“Oh? Oh goddesses be pleased, thank you”, she accepts it.

Hoseok helps her drink from it. Next he offers her all his pearl cake.

“I couldn’t.”

“Pearl cake. It contains sugars. I wouldn’t want you to lose consciousness.”

“Are you certain, young boy? I have already robbed you of your water, I do not want to steal your food as well.”

“I wish to give this to you. You need it more than I do”, he says and smiles. When she still hesitates, he breaks off a small piece, offering it to her.

“Oh, young boy. You are too good to me”, she says and accepts it. She eats it, chewing it with the little amount of teeth she still has left, “oh it is wonderful. So sweet and very delicate on my teeth”, she says and smiles to show off her gums.

Hoseok laughs fondly, “you have a bright smile.”

“It was brighter in my youth”, she jokes, making him snicker.

“I am sure it was.”

“Thank you, young boy. You can go now if you wish to. I can manage on my own.”

Hoseok however dismisses her with a shake of his head, “I would feel terrible if I left you like this.”

“Oh, young boy you are too good to me.”

Hoseok and the old woman chat until she has finished the pearl cake and water. She tells him how she is on her way home from the market and that she bought all her food for the week. She looks ashamed when she tells him that she began to feel weak, but Hoseok assured her that there was no shame in it and that the days have been exhaustingly hot lately. She agreed with a nod of her head and a curse to the heavens for heating up the earth so much. Then she drifts off and begins telling stories from when she felt better and that she has a barely studied disease the doctors call diabetes. Hoseok asked for more information, but all she could tell him is that she can’t eat too many sweets as this could be dangerous, but also not too little as this would make her faint. He didn’t quite understand it, but she assured him that the doctors didn’t either yet. Then she asks if Hoseok had somewhere to be.

Hoseok looks over his shoulder. The roads are empty. His heart skips a panicked beat. How much time has passed? He looks back at the old woman and her innocent curiosity in her eyes.

“The sorceress’ tower”, he says and sighs in defeat, “I want to apply as her apprentice, but I do not know if this is even a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Because I am a boy.”

“Well, you should still try.”

“You believe so?”

“Yes I really do”, she says and begins standing up with grunts.

“Wait! Let me help”, Hoseok says, stumbling to his feet hastily so he could support her.

“Oh, thank you young boy, thank you. Oh, my old bones aren’t what they used to be. Oh, aging is a curse”, she says and then tries to reach for her bags.

“Please, allow me”, he says, picking them up instead, “where is your home?”

“No, no I couldn’t. You need to go to the tower, not help an old woman carry her food.”

“I couldn’t leave you alone like this. What if the sugar in your blood sinks again?”

“Would you truly do this for an old hag?”

“You aren’t a hag. I wish to help you. Life is easier this way”, he says and offers her his arm to hold on to.

She takes it gladly, pointing west.

“My house is this way. It isn’t big, but it keeps the heat out. I couldn’t ask for more.”

“Then we shall walk there together. If you need to take a break, please let me know.”

They leave the tower gate behind in slow steps. Time still passes, but Hoseok can’t think about it right now. He really wants to help this woman, he doesn’t care how long it will take.

“Do you live close by as well, young man?”

“I live in this city, but I’m not from here.”

“You aren’t?”

“No, I come from the Snow Isles.”

“The Snow Isles? Oh this is so far away. What brings you so, so far away from home?”

“My best friend married a woman from here and I followed him.”

“A woman you say?”

“Yes, he was promised to her and I…” Hoseok falters. He doesn’t like to tell people who he really is because most people begin to feel inferior once they do. He doesn’t want people to feel as if they were less than him and so he lies, “…I came with him because he was scared to leave home. He is one year younger than me and we have been best friends since he was only eight months of age.”

“Eight months of age you say? And how old are you now?”

“I am twenty and three of age. He is still twenty and two. We have been here for more than two years now.”

“Oh, then you have known each other for a long time.”

“Yes, we have. He feels like a brother to me. He is still a little naïve sometimes, but his heart is at the right place. He supports me in my dream even if it is foolish.”

“And why is it foolish?”

“Because no boy was ever allowed in this school. We aren��t meant to learn magic.”

“Well, times can change. Don’t you think?”

“Yes, I do agree, but it is also a foolish thing to think.”

“No it isn’t. I do not know you, but I believe in you.”

“Thank you, this means a very lot to me.”

The woman lives quite far from the school. Hoseok doesn’t complain, supporting her until she is sitting safely in her own home. She talks about dizziness again and so Hoseok offers to cook something for her which will raise the sugar in her blood again. She refuses more times than not, talking about how she already stole too much of his time. But he didn’t care. He helped her. He put the food she bought aside and cooked a healthy meal for her. He stayed with her until she ate and then helped her relax her swollen feet. He would have also helped her in setting up her bed, but she managed to send him away before that, stuffing money into his hands for all he did.

“I couldn’t”, he refuses, shaking his head vigorously.

“Take it, please I insist.”

“But, this is your money. I couldn’t take it.”

“I wish to give this to you. The only thing I need from you is your name so I can include you in my prayers from now on.”

“Hoseok. My name is Hoseok, but please keep your money.”

“Hoseok”, she smiles, “I shall remember your name, Hoseok”, she says and pulls her hands away so he can’t attempt to place the money back into them.

Hoseok gives up with a sigh, bowing deeply.

“Thank you, I will spend the money well”, he lies, “perhaps we will see each other again. I will pray for your health as well.”

“Yes, I believe that we will see each other again”, she says and looks at him with a knowing glint in her eyes. Perhaps the light deceived him, but they looked purple for just a second. He shakes away the funny feeling and bows one last time.

Then he leaves, letting her think that he took the money. He slips it and one of his rings back under the door once he closed it, leaving before she could notice. He feels good about helping her until the hall of prayer close by reminds him of the time with loud calls of bells. Two hours. He spent two hours with this woman. The applications only last another hour.

Hoseok jumps into a full sprint, running back to the school even if the distance is grande. He has to be punctual! He has to get there in time! If he loses his chance because he didn’t run fast enough, he will forever blame himself! Quick! Run! Quick, quick, quick!

He arrives, heaving and panting. His clothes are soaked in his sweat, his head is just a little dizzy. The sun has never felt more punishing than it does right now.

He comes to a stop in a stumble, supporting himself by leaning his hands on his knees.

“What brings you here?” the guards ask him.

“I…am…here…for…the…appli…cations”, he is heaving out his words, barely managing to breathe.

“The doors are closed.”

“What?” he gasps, “no”, he shakes his head, “no, please allow me to enter. Please.”

The guards exchange an annoyed look.

“The doors are closed.”

Hoseok feels like crying. He came too late.

“Please”, he begs, “please I promise to be quiet, please.”

“Leave, boy. The doors are closed.”

Is it because he is a boy? Is that the reason?

“Is it because I am a boy?”

She curls her lips in distaste. The glimmer in her eyes lets him know that it truly was because he was a boy.

“No. You simply came too late.”

“But-”

“Leave before we make you”, she warns, flashing her eyes purple.

Hoseok takes a cautious step back. Anger, frustration, sadness, helplessness. He feels all of it. He is going to fail not because he came too late or didn’t impress the sorceress enough, but because the guards are cruel sexists.

“Please.”

“No. You-”

“Wait! Please wait!”, a girl stumbles next to Hoseok, coming to a stop with a squeak. She must have been running as well because sweat pearls have collected on her forehead, “forgive me, oh forgive me I arrived too late. Are the doors still open?”

The guards grind their teeth in annoyance. Hoseok stifles his victorious smile.

“Yes”, they press out and step aside.

“Thank you, oh thank you”, she says and hurries inside.

Hoseok follows her, looking over his shoulder to send the guards the smile he was hiding. He did it. Now nothing can stand in his way anymore.

There aren’t many people left in the waiting room. They all look at him as he passes the threshold. Whispers begin instantly, but Hoseok doesn’t care. He is too busy with recovering from the intense run. So much for taking a carriage so he wouldn’t ruin his new clothes. He looks as if he took a dive in the ocean. He reaches for his waterskin. Empty. He grunts, dropping his head against the wall in exhaustion. He is going to die in these halls.

Three other girls enter and leave the hearing room until Hoseok finally somehow recovers from his run. He scoots up the seats with the remaining girls, finally feeling ready to look around. They are staring at him. The girl which also arrived too late is missing. She must have already left.

One of them scrunches her nose at him in distaste.

“Why are you here?” she asks.

“The same as you”, he answers her snappishly because he recognises her. She was the one who abandoned the old woman.

“You aren’t allowed to be here.”

“Yes, I am.”

“No you’re not. This place is for girls only.”

“No, it is not.”

She scoffs in distaste. Others are chuckling quietly. Hoseok stands his ground, staring her down. She curls her lips.

“You are sweating, it’s revolting”, she says.

“That is because I just ran quite the distance and it is hot outside.”

“Well, I don’t like it. You look ugly.”

“Not as ugly as you.”

She gasps. The others around her do as well.

“Excuse me?” she hisses.

“I watched you abandon the old woman outside the walls. Your ugly soul makes you the ugliest here”, he says and turns his head away.

“How dare you! You come in here and insult me? Who do you think you are?”

Hoseok ignores her.

“I’m talking to you”, she hisses and reaches over to slap his arm harshly, “I said, I’m talking to you.”

Hoseok sends her a deathly glare and stands up to walk closer to the door.

“What’s your problem, why are you ignoring me?” she spits and jumps up to attack him again.

The door opens. The girl, who was just inside, stares as the scene unfolding. The guard by the door does as well and far in the back the sorceress is watching it happen. The rude woman with the ugly soul stops her attack on Hoseok and presses herself past the girl coming outside.

“It was about time, I was wait…” the door falls closed and silences her.

Hoseok finally releases the nervous breath he was holding in, rubbing the spot the rude girl hit multiple times. It hurts.

“Are you hurt?”

Hoseok looks at the girl who just came out of the hearing room. She was the one who also running late.

“I am fine. How did it go inside?” he asks her.

“Oh, I do not know. I felt so nervous that I kept messing up my words.”

“I understand you so well. I feel so nervous as well.”

“So you are also here to learn?”

“I am.”

“But you are a boy. Are boys allowed here?”

“I want to be the first sorcerer in this school.”

“Oh? I see. You must be so nervous then.”

“I am. I really am.”

“I can see that. You look very hot. Are you sure that you are fine?”

“I am. I ran and have no water left to drink”, he says and chuckles nervously, “I hope that my throat doesn’t constrict inside.”

“Do you want some of my water? I already drank from it, but if you don’t mind.”

“Would you really? I hate to beg, but I ran so far.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t mind. Please”, she says and offers her waterskin.

Hoseok accepts it with a deep bow, drinking from it almost greedily. Oh it feels so good to drink. He felt so close to his end.

He tries not to drink all of it, handing it back to the girl.

“I bless you. This truly saved me.”

“I am just glad that I could help”, she says and smiles, “I wish you luck. Maybe if you succeed, my brother could too one day.”

Hoseok feels warm in his chest. He is already inspiring people. He nods his head vigorously.

“Yes, yes indeed. I believe that he will.”

She bows her head at him, “perhaps we will see each other again at school.”

He bows his head at her, “perhaps we will.”

She leaves then, looking over her shoulder one last time before she crosses the corner.

Hoseok takes a deep breath. Now that he finally had some water to drink, his head feels clearer. He needs to prepare. He takes out his application from his bag and begins reading.

He doesn’t notice when the rude girl comes back out, neither does he notice her poisonous glances until she talks to him.

“You are still here”, she spits, making herself big in front of him.

Hoseok lowers his papers, looking down at her.

“I wasn’t in the hearing room yet, so yes I am.”

“You should leave now. You won’t ever stand a chance.”

“We will see about that.”

She scoffs and slaps the papers out of his hands.

“Hey!”

She turns and stomps away.

Hoseok squats down, picking up his papers with shaking hands. This hurt him. He is already nervous beyond recovery and now he was treated like garbage. He is too emotionally vulnerable to be bullied this way. The papers are out of order. Oh no, oh no, oh no. Everything is going wrong. His application is a mess.

“You.”

Hoseok lifts his head.

“You’re next.”

“I, I haven’t sorted my papers yet.”

“You can do it inside. Time’s ticking”, the guard says.

Hoseok feels dizzy, scrambling to pick up his papers.

“Hurry up.”

“I am, please.”

The sorceress Selen lifts her head at the noises by the door. Her guard is talking to one of the potential students. Like always, she has a harsh tone going on. Whoever she is rushing, seems to be quite upset about it. Second later he stumbles into the room. The sorceress Selen widens her eyes in surprise. A boy? This is new.

Said boy is busy with sorting papers. So busy in fact that he doesn’t even notice her presence until she greets him.

He lifts his head, “oh? Oh, heavens. Please fo-forgive me”, he bows deeply, dropping his papers again, “no! Oh no, my application! Not again!” he exclaims and falls to his knees to sort it out.

She stands up so she could see past her desk. His hands are trembling uncontrollably as he is picking up the papers.

“Are you alright?”

“Pl-please forgive me. I, I am sorry. I d-dropped my application. I- please forgive me, please”, he stutters, working hastily to fix it, “foolish Hoseok. You are foolish.”

He seems to be talking to himself. Poor boy.

With pity in her heart, she rounds the table to help him.

“No please you, you do not have to help I, I- oh god.”

“Don’t worry. I wish to help you. Life is easier this way.”

Hoseok falters. The words seem familiar to him, but he cannot remember where and if he heard them before. He lowers his head after meeting the sorceress’ purple eyes.

“Thank you. I-I am not usually that clumsy.”

“Worry not”, she assures him and hands him the finished papers, “there you go.”

“I thank you. My deepest gratitude, truly.”

She stands back up and rounds the table. She sits down, waiting until the young man sat down as well. He sits as straight as possible, holding his head high even if he can barely keep up eye contact. He looks very obviously hot. As if he ran quite the distance. She studies the papers he is clutching, then looks back into his eyes.

“Are you feeling alright? You look quite hot.”

“I had to run quite far.”

“Overslept?”

He shakes his head vigorously, “no, my lady sorceress, I have been awake with the first ray of sunlight, preparing for today.”

“Indeed?”

He nods his head.

“So why were you running?”

“I…” Hoseok could tell her about what he did, but he doesn’t want to come off as if he was boasting. He didn’t help this old woman because he wanted to boast, he helped her because he wanted to be kind. He decides against telling her, “…I had something important to do, which took me quite far from this school. So I had to run back again in order not to miss the hearing.”

“Mhm, something important you say. Very well then. Now, your name is Hoseok?”

“Yes, indeed. I am Hoseok.”

“And why are you here, Hoseok?”

“I want to become one of your students”, he says and slides over the papers, “I know I am not your usual candidate, but I am a hard worker and a diligent learner. I wrote an application and, and there are also letters of recommendation.”

“You wrote an application?” she asks, lifting up the papers with the help of magic.

“I did yes. I, I had no idea how to, so I spent all day reading books about it and practicing until it was as perfect as it could be.”

“You researched how to write applications?”

Hoseok’s cheeks light up, “I, I meant- I didn’t- I mean I did, but I- I wanted it to be perfect.”

“I see”, she says and looks into the papers. She skims her eyes over them, but does not begin reading them yet, “I shall read through them later”, she says and fixes the heap into one neat stack.

Hoseok gulps nervously, ogling the papers. He does not know what this means meant. Oh, his heart might give up in his chest.

“I thank you for coming here. You will hear from me soon.”

“You have no questions for me?” he gasps.

“I have everything I need to know.”

“But”, Hoseok stops his lower lip from trembling, “I truly want this position.”

“I am certain that you do. So do many other young women however.”

“I, I dreamt of being a sorcerer ever since I could think and, and I know that I-I am a man and that it, it isn’t tradition in these lands for boys to learn magic, but I know that I could do it. I, I want it and I will work so very hard for it. I will work so, so hard until my fingers are sore and my mind foggy. Please. You could count on me, my lady sorceress. I work hard and well and I do not break under pressure. I am also very cleanly and punctual and I fulfill each task to perfection. I, I can also read and write and I enjoy studying. Please my lady sorceress Selen, give me a chance. Please, I wouldn’t disappoint you.”

The sorceress Selen listened to his nervous babbling with a tinge of fondness in her heart. The passion burned in his eyes and the love for his dream was obvious in his voice.

“Thank you young master Hoseok, for your passionate words. I shall consider them.”

Hoseok panics. He said too much, came off as rude and obtrusive. He stands up quickly to apologise with a bow. He bows so vigorously that he hits his head on the desk. It is loud, forcing a squeak out of Hoseok as well. He stumbles back, touching his aching forehead.

“Oh! By Razula!” the sorceress exclaims, jumping up in shock, “are you hurt?” she gasps, reaching for him to hold him by his shoulders in case he loses his consciousness.

Yes, it hurts. He feels dizzy and his skull is pulsing, but nothing hurts more than the shame Hoseok feels. He made a fool of himself. Now the sorceress won’t ever consider him.

“I, I am not hurt”, he stutters, bowing again because the shame sits too deep, “please forgive me. I, I took too much of your time. Please forgive me.”

His face literally feels as if flames were melting off his skin. He is so ashamed that he wishes for the gates of Helva to swallow him whole. He feels tears in his eyes.

“Please forgive me, please”, he pleads and turns to run away.

“You-”, the sorceress does not get to finish her sentence because Hoseok left the room before that, slamming the door accidentally.

She allows the situation to sink in with her mouth open in shock and her body stiff in surprise. This was the most peculiar situation which has happened to her in a long time.

Hoseok almost throws himself into the carriage, falling around Taehyung’s neck before the young prince could even say his first word. He drops his sweet ice cream from the impact, grunting.

“Oh? Did it go so well?” he asks, hugging his best friend back.

Hoseok sobs heartbreakingly just as the carriage begins to move.

“Hoseok”, Taehyung gasps, tightening the hug, “what happened?”

“I made a fool of myself”, Hoseok chokes out and wails painfully.

“Why? What happened?”

Hoseok tells Taehyung how the sorceress didn’t even read his applications nor ask him questions and how he acted obtrusive only to completely embarrass himself by hitting his head on her table. He barely gets the words out as he cries as if he just lost every person dear to him. And Taehyung listens to him, trying to comfort him without any sign of success.

The castle welcomes him back with music and cheers, but that soon dies down when Hoseok leaves the carriage and runs straight to his chambers. Taehyung tells everyone what happened and no one truly knows how to behave once they know. A deep grieving is shared however.

Hoseok doesn’t leave his chambers for days. Taehyung is the one to make sure that he eats and drinks, but Hoseok never allows him to enter. The young prince has to put the tray of food in front of his door and come collect the empty one, hours later. He tries to talk to him, but the only thing he gets are mumbled “leave me alone”s or “go away”s. Hoseok is grieving, there is no denying that.

Taehyung huffs out air in frustration. He was painting in the orange gardens when he thought of his best friend again. He looks at his window. The curtains are drawn closed. Another huff of air shows how helpless Taehyung feels. He doesn’t know what to do to make Hoseok feel better again. His heart got shattered and Taehyung has no idea how he could glue it back together.

“Young prince Taehyung?”

Taehyung looks at his servant.

“Yes?”

“The letters of today.”

“Letters?” Taehyung stands up to get the heap of letters from the silver platter. The servant bows his head at him, watching the young prince sort through them.

Most are of royal duty, some are from his family back home and some are merchants attempting to advertise their expensive goods. Taehyung will read through them later. He reaches the end of the heap, widening his eyes.

A purple envelope with golden lettering spelling Hoseok’s name. The sorceress’ wax sigil keeps the letter closed. It is a dark purple colour.

“Is this…” his servant asks.

“It is”, Taehyung confirms, exchanging a shocked look with him.

“Your highness, did he do it?”

“Perhaps? Come, we have to give it to him.”

The young prince and his servant leave the orange garden, running to Hoseok’s chambers.

Taehyung doesn’t bother to knock, entering Hoseok’s room by calling his name.

The latter is lying in bed, lifting his tired head. He is squinting his eyes. His silver hair is messy. The air smells old.

“Hoseok! Hoseok, I have news!”

“I am not interested, just leave me alone”, Hoseok grumbles and buries his face in the pillow.

“You will want to know these news”, Taehyung says and jumps onto Hoseok’s bed, “Namgil, please open the curtains.”

“Yes, your highness.”

“No. No light. Just leave me alone”, Hoseok whines and pulls the blanket over his head.

Taehyung drags the blanket away. Hoseok fights him weakly, whining his name.

“Look. Hoseok, look”, Taehyung insists, waving the purple envelope in front of Hoseok’s face.

The heartbroken man peels his eyes open groggily.

“What?”

“Look.”

“Huh?”

Hoseok shoots up instantly, ripping the letter out of Taehyung’s hand. He moves it closer to his face, squinting his eyes to make sure that they aren’t deceiving him.

“What?” he presses out.

“It arrived earlier. Look, this is the sorceress’ sigil and, and this is your name”, Taehyung says, bouncing on the mattress as he points at them. He is so excited that he can barely contain himself.

“This can’t be”, Hoseok whispers and rips the sigil to unfold the latter.

Namgil sits down next to him, trying to steal a glance. He is just as excited as Taehyung.

“And? What does it say?” Taehyung stresses, “tell us please. We are dying in curiosity. What does it say?”

Hoseok lowers the letter, staring at Taehyung.

“What is it? Did you get the position?”

“I did”

“You did?!”

Hoseok nods his head.

“Yes! You did! Hoseok, you did!” Taehyung screams in excitement and falls around his best friend’s neck.

Hoseok is stiff and silent at first. The shock sits too deep. But as Taehyung’s laughs and sobs and cheers continue, the realisation of his situation begins to seep in. It isn’t long until Hoseok is sobbing and laughing as well, hugging Taehyung as if his life depended on it.

“I did it!”

“You did it! Hoseok, you did it!” Taehyung says and pulls Hoseok to his feet so they could jump on the bed together. Namgil joins as well. The three men hold hands and cheer loudly, so loudly in fact that soon guards peek inside the room asking if everything was fine.

“Tell everyone that Hoseok managed to get into the school”, Taehyung tells her with sparkling eyes.

“Oh! By the goddesses! Congratulation, Hoseok! I will tell everyone!” she exclaims and hurries away to spread the news in the castle.

The celebrations about Hoseok’s success last until the early morning hours. Dance is plenty, food delicious and wine most intoxicating. Hoseok, Lord of Court of Sandrock Castle will be the first sorcerer of these lands! Oh the news couldn’t be any sweeter.

But where sweetness lies, bitterness follows and only two days later, the moment of his goodbye has come. The court is excited for his future and yet terribly sad to part ways. His fellow servants already said their goodbyes to him with tears and a basket of fruits they saved up for together. The Queen and her husband said goodbye with white dresses he could wear at school and the promise that he will always be welcome at the castle. The princess is holding her husband, who has been sad ever since the morning.

The carriage is packed. There is no reason for Hoseok to stay any longer.

“So, I believe it is time for me to go”, Hoseok says.

“We wish you luck”, the Queen says.

“Thank you, your highness. Not only for your kind words, but also for your support. I am but a mere servant and you didn’t have to be so kind to me. So thank you”, Hoseok says, bowing until his chest touched his own thighs.

“We are all equal. You may have served my son in law, but you are also his dearest friend and his lord-in-waiting. Do not thank me for my kindness, I am happy to give it to you.”

“Thank you, your highness”, Hoseok says and straightens up. He looks at the princess, “you will have to take care of him for me.”

She laughs, “I will gladly do so. Good blessings, dear Hoseok.”

“Thank you, your highness”, Hoseok bows his head, then looks at Taehyung.

The latter pouts sadly, throwing himself around his neck in a tight hug.

“Please promise to write as often as you can”, he murmurs into him.

“I will. I hope that you write as well.”

Taehyung steps back, nodding his head vigorously.

“I will. Oh, you will get tired of me. I will write so many letters.”

The two men giggle, holding hands.

“And you have to visit on the weekends. Please, we need to talk in the orange gardens and swim in the blue lagoons.”

Hoseok nods his head vigorously, “I will visit whenever I can. I promise.”

“Good”, Taehyung says and falls around his neck, “I will miss you so much.”

“I will miss you too”, Hoseok says, closing his eyes as he enjoys his best friend’s hug before he can’t feel it for quite some time.

“Please be happy and successful. I will think of you each night.”

“Me too. Be happy as well and never stop painting.”

Taehyung laughs, but it sounds just a little like a sob. The two men hug each other tighter, laughing eventhough they are secretly crying.

“I won’t.”

“Good. That is good.”

The goodbye is bittersweet. The life they once knew and grew up with ends and a new one begins. It hurts. But they will each follow their dreams and will only be apart an hour by foot. It lessens the pain and gives both of them happiness. They will be apart, but still close. They won’t live their old lives anymore, but will finally follow their dreams. The goodbye is bittersweet. It truly is.

The streets in front of the school are calm today, which allows the carriage to drive all the way to the front steps of the student housing.

Hoseok steps out of the carriage, thanking the royal guard for helping him. He is conversing with her, blind to the shocked looks the magical guards send him. They are aware what the sigil on their armour meant and the realisation of who they were rude to just weeks ago sits heavy in their stomachs. And while Hoseok is talking to the guard, the servants he once commanded, carry his luggage to the student housing. They ask the guards where they must go and the latter tell them with nervousness in their voices.

“I wish you good blessings”, the guard says.

“Thank you Nepheli, I wish you good blessings as well”, Hoseok says, looking over his shoulder, “did Namgil disappear with the cases already?”

“It appears so.”

“Oh, well I see”, Hoseok gives Nepheli a smile, “we will see each other again.”

She bows her head, “most definitely we will.”

Once Namgil and two other servants return from Hoseok’s new chambers, it is time for the carriage to return to the castle. Hoseok waves to them until they disappear outside the walls. He lowers his arms and takes a deep breath. His heart is racing, but it isn’t for an uncomfortable reason.

He is excited.

His new life lies behind these doors.

He will finally study the arts of magic.

Hoseok contains the dance of happiness he wants to do and turns around. His eyes meet those of the guards. The judgment of once is gone. Nervousness replaced it.

They bow their heads at him, “my lord, I see that you were successful.”

Hoseok blinks his eyes in confusion. Why are they bowing their heads?

“May we help you with anything?”

“No, uh”, he clears his throat, “well, uh, where do I have to go?”

“Please, follow me, my lord.”

“Very well?” Hoseok follows her confusedly.

They have walked quite some time when he finally talks.

“Excuse me?”

“Yes, my lord?”

“Why are you calling me this way?”

“Well, are you not from the royal court?”

“Oh”, now he understands. They must have seen the royal crest and thought that he was of royal blood. Hoseok touches the side of his neck, flustering slightly, “some could say that I am.”

“My lord”, she bows her head, “I hope that our behaviour last time carries no consequences. You must know, we only followed our duties.”

Hoseok doesn’t like to feel superior. Again, he never tells people what his profession once was. But he also likes the sense of victory their apology gives him. They weren’t following duties last time, they were being sexist. Hoseok decides to let them boil in their misunderstanding a while longer.

“I understand. I had already feared that this school was guarded by a bunch of sexists.”

She laughs awkwardly, “no, my lord. Of course not. Everyone is welcome here.”

“Good. I hope it stays this way.”

“Yes, my lord”, she bows, then points at an open door, “the first lecture is here, my lord.”

“Thank you”, Hoseok says and walks off without bowing. His heart might actually fall out of his ribcage. He never felt more nervous before than he did right now. This was the first time he left a conversation without having to bow. Oh he is such a liar. This will have consequences for sure.

And while Hoseok thinks of his own actions, he scans his eyes over the classroom. It is high up in the tower with windows on six of the eight walls. Only the wall with the teaching board and the door have no windows. Two of the windows are facing into the hallways while the other four show the outside world. It is a sunny day, so the class room is flooded with natural light. Big chunks of purple crystal reflect the rays and on most wooden desks, young women were sitting. Small groups of chatting women have already formed. Their conversations die down when Hoseok enters the classroom. Whispers, which aren’t very secret, run through the room. Questions if “this” was a boy, wonders why he was here and rude comments about how he is wrong here all meet Hoseok’s ears.

He swallows down his nerves and lifts his hand to wave at the group of judging women.

“Good day, I am Hoseok. How are you all doing?”

All their heads turn away in sync and Hoseok is left without getting an answer. It stings, as much as it embarrasses him. He probably would have felt like crying when a sweet voice hadn’t called his name. He turns his head.

It is her. The girl, who also came too late and who saved his future back then. She is sitting with two other girls, waving her hand at him.

Hoseok jogs to her with a smile on his lips.

“You made it”, she says.

“You made it as well”, he says.

“I did. Oh, I am so happy to see you. Not only because I know nobody here, but because you made it.”

“I know nobody either. My name is Hoseok”, he says.

“I know, I heard. My name is ___.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, ___.”

“The pleasure is all mine”, you say and continues with a shy gleam in your eyes, “do you want to sit together?”

“Yes, I would like that”, Hoseok says and sits down by the desk next to yours. His heart is fluttering. He is making friends. He doesn’t have to spend his entire academic career as an outsider. He turns his knees to you and gives you a smile.

You retort it.

“How are you doing?”

“Excited. I couldn’t sleep at all because I knew what today would bring. You?”

“Excited as well. And nervous”, Hoseok confesses, “I don’t think that I am very welcome here.”

You scan your eyes over the room. The conversations have become significantly quieter ever since Hoseok is in the room. Confused and judgemental looks meet his direction every now and then.

“It is the first time that a boy is learning magic. I believe that they are all just very confused.”

“I want to believe this as well”, Hoseok agrees and shifts his eyes to the two girls behind you, “nice to meet you.”

One of them has hair as red as fire, while the other has silver hair just like Hoseok. They both looked surprised to be addressed.

“Oh? Oh, uhm. Nice to meet you”, the silver haired girl says, “I’m Becca.”

“I’m Ash, nice to meet you”, the fire-haired girl says.

“Are you three friends?” Hoseok asks.

“No, we have only met today”, you say.

“I see, so we are all in the same boat.”

“We are”, Becca says, “are you really a boy?”

Hoseok nods his head.

“Are you actually allowed here?”

Hoseok shrugs his shoulders, “I managed to get in, so I must be”, he grins, “I am going to become the first sorcerer of these lands.”

“Woah”, Ash gasps, exchanging a look with Becca, “are you allowed to do that?” she is whispering the question as if it was a forbidden secret.

“I decided to rather ask for forgiveness than permission”, Hoseok whispers as well, making the girl snicker and hide their mouths behind their hands. A sense of excited glee washes over their faces. As if they are now part of a secret plan to change the world.

Hoseok smiles proudly, relaxing back into his seat. He feels relieved to know that he won’t be such an outsider here. That was truly his greatest fear.

Hoseok would have continued to chat with his new friends, hadn’t sorceress Selen entered the room, announcing herself with a clear of her throat. The classroom grows silent instantly.

A plethora of sorceresses enter the room behind her, lining up along the front of the classroom.

“Good morning, class”, sorceress Selen says loudly.

“Good morning, sorceress Selen”, the class answers back.

“As you all may know, you are the very few lucky ones who have impressed me. Some more than others”, she says, meeting Hoseok’s eyes long enough that the rest of the class notices. The jealous looks are instant. Hoseok feels hot under them, sinking deeper into his chair in hopes of hiding away.

Sorceress Selen breaks eye contact, scanning her eyes over the class as she talks.

“Remember that there has been a first for anything on earth. Someone had to take the first swim, the first run, someone had to taste sugar for the first time and someone had to have the first hangover. There will never stop being firsts and I ask of you to show the respect I see in every single one of you. Understood?”

It is obvious to all that she meant Hoseok’s presence in these halls. This is a first. Never before was there a boy studying magic in this school. 

“Yes, Sorceress Selen”, the class answers hesitantly.

“Very good. Now, my name is, as you all know, Sorceress Selen. I am the headmistress of this school and I will also be your teacher of glintstone magic”, she says and steps back to allow another sorceress the spotlight.

“My name is Sorceress Zenith. I will be your teacher of magical potions.”

The next sorceress calls herself Ceva, introducing herself as the class’ teacher of magical literature.

Sorceress Ciri will be the teacher of magical history and Sorceress Cintra will teach the ways of magical transformation. The first year will only have five courses, but they promise that the students will have a lot of work to do and that five are very much enough.

“Now that we introduced ourselves, we would like you to do the same. Go on, stand up and introduce yourselves to the class. Be kind, you will spend a lot of time with each other.”

One by one the students stand up and introduce themselves. Hoseok listens intently to all of them, trying his hardest to memorise their names. The class is a good mixture of all social stands, races and nationalities. Hoseok is surprised at how many girls from other queendoms come to this school to learn. He likes it however. It makes his Snow Isles heart feel less alone in being so far from home. He feels his pulse increase the closer to his turn the introductions come and by the time it is finally his turn, his cheeks have started to heat up.

He stands up, looking around the room. All eyes are on him.

“My name is Hoseok, I come from the Snow Isles and I am here to learn magic just like all of you are, I believe, hah”, he says and laughs.

Nobody else laughs. Some even look at him angrily.

He clears his throat nervously, straightening his back.

“I know that you all must be very confused why I am here. A boy here in the school of magic, I know you must want to curse me and call me wrong. I do not blame you, but I want to say that if you need help, I am always willing to help”, he says and smiles, “I want all your very bests”, he says and bows, “thank you”, he says and sits back down.

The eyes linger on him just a little longer before you steal the attention by standing up loudly.

“I am ___. I was born and raised here and I live by the docks with my family. I am here to learn magic just like Hoseok already said”, you say, sending him a playful look, “that is all. Thank you.”

You sit back down, leaning closer to Hoseok to whisper. He leans in as well so he could listen better.

“You stole my joke”, you say and snicker.

“Forgive me, I panicked.”

“It’s alright. It was a good joke.”

Hoseok grins, agreeing with a nod of his head.

The students have free time for the rest of the day. Most use it to move into their chambers. Hoseok does as well. The chambers consist of one small shared room and two connecting bed chambers with a small washing chamber connecting as well. Hoseok arrives last at his shared room.

“Oh, it is you.”

Hoseok is greeted by you, Ash and Becca.

“Are you my new chamber mates?”

“Indeed we are. We were already wondering who might be our fourth chamber mate. Are all of these things yours?”

Hoseok looks at the heap of packages in the middle of the room. He wasn’t even aware of how much he packed.

Hoseok blushes shyly, “yes, they might be mine.”

“Forgive me for asking, but are you a prince?”

“A prince? Me?” Hoseok laughs, shaking his head, “oh goddesses no, I am no prince. I…” he stops himself. He almost exposed that he served Taehyung, prince of the Snow Isles and future queen consort of the Sand Queendom.

“But these are golden hinges. Only those of royalty can afford golden hinges on their travel cases.”

“Well”, Hoseok touches the side of his neck shyly, “I might have served a prince before coming here.”

“A prince?!” his chamber mates all gasp in unison, inching closer as excitement overtakes them.

“Who did you serve?”

“Do we know him?”

“Where is he now?”

“Who is it?”

“We can keep secrets.”

They bombard him with questions. Ash even grasps his lower arm to shake it in excitement.

Hoseok takes a careful step back, lifting his hands in defeat.

“Very well, very well I will tell you”, he gives in.

“Oh this is exciting.”

“I want to know everything.”

“Tell us, please.”

They babble and chat, sitting down on the shared seating to listen to Hoseok. He sits down as well, blushing heavily when they all gather around him with minimal space between their bodies. Their excited eyes are glued to his face.

He clears his throat, “I left the Snow Isles as a servant. The prince I served was promised to a princess and as his lord in waiting it was my duty to follow him and serve him in his new home.”

“But…when you served a prince and he was promised to a princess from these lands, that means…” Becca’s eyes widen as realisation sets in, “that means you are serving prince Taehyung! You were a servant at Queen Ranni’s court!”

They gasp loudly, throwing their hands over their mouths.

“Is it true?”

“Did you truly?”

Hoseok nods his head hesitantly, lowering his eyes shyly.

“By Frenya!”

“This can’t be!”

“Oh this is mindruining!”

You take his lower arm and shake it excitedly, “how is it living at court? Is the Queen as kind as it says she is? Is the princess truly beautiful beyond compare? And prince Taehyung, is he truly such a wonderful soul as everyone says?”

“Yes. Yes, I would say that all of these things are true. The Queen and her daughter supported me in my dream of becoming a sorcerer. They didn’t have to do so and yet they did. And Taehyung”, Hoseok smiles fondly, “Taehyung is my best friend. He didn’t have to support my silly dreams, but he was the first to dream with me. He is the kindest soul you will meet. He truly is.”

“So the sayings are true. The royal family is kind hearted.”

“Yes, they are. They are kind people”, Hoseok says and smiles, “that brings me to something to give me”, he says and stands up, “the princess insisted that I bring presents for my new chamber mates. She must have feared that I would be hated here, so she gave me something to bribe your hearts”, Hoseok explains, making his chamber mates laugh.

He feels good about it. People only laugh at jokes when they like the person telling it. The princess’ worries were useless. He still wants to give them their presents however.

“It isn’t much, but I hope that you will enjoy it nonetheless”, Hoseok says and hands each of his chamber mates a hand woven basket filled with oranges from the castle garden, chocolate from the castle’s kitchen and sweet wine from the royal vineyards.

“These are expensive things. I couldn’t take them”, you refuse, shaking your head.

“No please, the princess insisted that you each get something. It will rot otherwise, so please enjoy it.”

They each accept the gift with shy gleams in their eyes.

“And what about you? What have you done before coming here?” Hoseok asks.

“I worked in the mountains”, Ash says, “I never thought of coming here, but then I discovered my magic by accidentally lifting a stone and my mother encouraged me to seek education so that perhaps one day I can return to the village as a sorceress.”

“I also discovered my magic by sheer luck”, Becca says, “I live by the sea not far from here. One day I helped a fish come to life again. That is when I knew I had to seek help from sorceress Selen and now I am here.”

“Oh your stories are both wonderful, I discovered my magic through stubbornness”, you say with a chuckle on your lips, “each day after waking up, I tried to move my candle until one day I finally did. I told my family and days later sorceress Selen’s letter arrived. I knew I had to take the chance and here I am.”

The girls giggle, but Hoseok can’t find it in himself to laugh. They all know how to do magic already? He believed that all of them are like him, that this school is supposed to awake the magical powers within them.

“What about you? How did you discover your magic?” you ask him.

Hoseok gulps nervously, “I…uh….”

“You have discovered it, haven’t you?”

“Uh..I..uh..”

“You haven’t”, you gasp, exchanging a shocked look with Becca and Ash.

“But how do you know if you even have powers inside you?” Becca asks.

Hoseok touches the side of his neck in soothing. He never thought of that.

“What if you aren’t meant for magic? Not everyone is”, Ash gasps.

Hoseok feels his stomach twist. He never thought of that either. He believed that everyone can learn magic through hard work. He believed that magic slumbers in every person and that through hard work and proper education, they will awake.

“I thought that”, he begins, gulping down the nervous lump in his throat, “I thought that…that it would awake once I am at this school.”

“But how did you get through the application process?”

“What do you speak?”

“How did you manage to perform the spell without magic?”

“What spell?”

“The spell we had to perform to prove that we have magical abilities.”

“I, I didn’t have to perform a spell”, Hoseok stutters.

“So how did you get in?”

“M-maybe she saw something in me?” Hoseok says shyly.

“Alright”, Becca says and scrunches her nose.

Hoseok can see it in her eyes, her once friendly nature is gone. She looks at Ash and you. Ash’s face is cold as well.

“Shall we see if we can meet other people?” Becca asks.

“Yes we shall”, Ash says and stands up.

“That sounds like a good idea”, Hoseok says and stands up as well.

“Not you”, Becca says and drags Ash away from him.

“Oh”, Hoseok stops, feeling his chest sting.

They leave the room without looking back.

Hoseok lowers his head sadly, feeling a deep, deep pain in his heart.

“Well, that was just mean.”

Hoseok turns, studying you. You are frowning at the closed door.

“Are you feeling fine?” you ask him.

Hoseok shrugs his shoulders, pouting sadly.

“I am sorry they treated you this way. I’ve also only met them today, so this surprised me quite a lot.”

“You don’t have to be friendly with me if you don’t want to. I know I’m wrong here and that it seems as if sorceress Selen made a mistake.”

You furrow your brows, “but I want to be kind to you.”

“Oh.”

You pat the spot next to you. Hoseok hesitates at first, but takes it in the end. You turn your knees to him, giving him a sweet smile.

“The trick with magic is that you have to visualise it”, you say and lift one of the oranges Hoseok gifted you, “take this orange for example. Visualise how it floats from my palm”, you explain and demonstrate.

Hoseok gasps, staring at the floating orange in awe.

“It is floating”, he says, meeting your eyes. They changed to a purple colour, “your eyes”, he gasps.

“That means that I am using my magic”, you explain and drop the orange again. The purple glow fades away, revealing your natural eye colour.

“The glow stopped”, Hoseok says, “how did you do this?”

“I practiced a lot. I didn’t always have my magic either, so don’t beat yourself up too much. Not everyone discovers their magic as easily.”

“But how did you manage to discover it? You made an orange float, that is beyond impressive.”

You laugh softly, “it is barely a proper spell.”

“Well, it is more than I can do”, Hoseok says and huffs out air in impatience.

“Try it. Visualise how the orange floats.”

“Alright, alright I will try”, Hoseok says and focuses on the orange in your hand. He tries so very hard. He really, really does but the orange stays unmoving. He gives up after a few tries, sagging his shoulders in defeat, “I cannot do it.”

“Don’t give up already, practice each morning until it finally works”, you encourage him and peel the orange, “come, let us eat oranges for now. I have always wondered how royal oranges taste.”

You break it in the middle as best as possible, handing him the second half. You bite into your own half as if it was an apple, spilling juice down your hands. You slurp it up, humming loudly at the sweet taste.

“So sweet”, you exclaim, giving him a smile, “I love oranges so much. My mother grows an orange tree in our garden. I would like to argue that our oranges taste just as sweet.”

Hoseok feels good in his chest upon receiving your smile. It feels genuine.

“Do you like oranges?”

“Yes”, he says and finally bites into his orange as well, “I love them as well. We don’t have them on the Snow Isles.”

“I can imagine. Your home must be so cold.”

“It is, but I must confess that I miss it a lot.”

“Oh, I can imagine that as well. It must be hard to leave your home and your family.”

“Taehyung is my family, so it wasn’t that hard”, Hoseok says and sighs sadly, “I did leave him now however. I hope he is fine.”

“I am sure that he is. He is the prince, he must have everything that he wishes.”

“Yes, I do believe you are right”, Hoseok says and smiles, “thank you for being so kind to me.”

“Please, don’t thank me for that. Here, do you want to share the chocolate as well?”

The next day starts early, but Hoseok doesn’t mind. He is used to waking up earlier than other people. Work at the castle was always endless and it is the servants’ duties to prepare breakfast before the royal family wakes. Hoseok is used to early mornings, enjoying the calm morning hours. He washes himself in the washing chambers, then uses the hours before class to practice on an orange. Becca and Ash come out of their rooms as he practices.

“Why are you here?” Becca asks.

“Because this is my room as much as it is yours, so we can either make this comfortable for all of us by being grown-up enough to attempt to get along or make it uncomfortable by being childishly hostile. I know what I want to choose”, Hoseok throws back.

She doesn’t know what to say to that and so she drags Ash away to the washing chamber. Hoseok concentrates back on his orange. Visualise it. Visualise it. Come now Hoseok, visualise it.

Becca and Ash leave for breakfast soon, paying Hoseok no mind. Good. Complete neutrality to each other’s existence works for him as well.

“Good morrow.”

Hoseok looks over his shoulder, bowing his head at you.

“Good morrow.”

“You are practicing already? Oh, it is too early”, you grumble and drag your sleepy feet to the washing chambers.

Hoseok concentrates on his orange again, but with no results. You come out of the washing chambers before he could make it float.

“And?”

“I have been practicing for so long, but nothing”, Hoseok says, sighing defeated, “I think it won’t work today.”

“Then you will try again tomorrow”, you say and point at the door, “shall we leave for class?”

“Ah yes, the class”, Hoseok’s eyes light up, “can you believe that we will be taught magic?”

“No, it sounds surreal.”

“It truly does.”

Hoseok and you take the seats you took yesterday. Becca and Ash aren’t by their seats, spreading gossip with some girls in the front. Their chatter dies down when Hoseok enters the classroom and soon one of them walks up to him.

Hoseok lifts his head to look at her.

“I heard that you haven’t found your magic yet”, she says.

Hoseok sends a glare to Becca and Ash. They don’t dare to meet it, seeming oh so innocently shy all of a sudden. Gossiping wenches, Hoseok thinks and looks back at the girl in front of him. It is her. The rude girl from the application day.

“And if I haven’t?” he challenges her.

“Then you are wrong here.”

“Settle down, will you?” you warn, but the girl doesn’t listen.

“This is a school for women who know how to do magic, not spoiled boys who had the queen buy his way into it.”

Hoseok is a peaceful person and a slightly nervous person who doesn’t enjoy confrontation. Which is why it is quite surprising that he also cannot stand to be disrespected. He gets up from his chair, stepping closer to the rude girl until he towers over her.

“How about you tell me your name first before you go around insulting me for no reason whatsoever”, he hisses.

“Caria”, she says with confidence in her eyes.

“Caria”, Hoseok repeats calmly, “thank you, I will make sure to include it in my next letter to the Queen.”

Caria falters, “w-wait.”

“I jest”, Hoseok says and shows her an icy smile, “go back to your seat. Caria.”

Caria scurries off with panic in her eyes. Hoseok sends Becca and Ash a glare until they understand what he is implying, then sits back down again.

This is starting to properly anger him. He knows that he is the first boy attempting to learn magic, but these jealous girls are going too far.

“Don’t let them bring you down”, you whisper to him.

“I am not”, Hoseok says and shifts his eyes to the movement by the door.

He straightens up in shock, gawking at her with widened eyes. It is her. The old woman he helped outside the tower walls.

“Good morrow, class”, she says, dragging her old feet to the middle of the room, “go to your seats now, hop hop.”

Confused chatter goes through the room. Some seem to recognise the woman, while others are asking themselves who she could be. Hoseok is confused as well. Why is the old woman here? Why is she acting as if she was the one to teach?

She scans her eyes over the class, lingering on Hoseok just a little longer. She gives him a nod of her head and a knowing smile. It speaks to him, “I told you that we would see each other again.”

Hoseok feels himself bowing his head at her.

“Now very well, you are all seated”, she says, “how have you accommodated in your chambers? Is all well?”

Hesitant nods let her know the answer.

“That is good to hear. Ah yes, that is good”, she says and touches her lower back, “oh my old bones. Can one of you be so kind and get me a chair?”

Hoseok stands up instantly and hurries to get an empty chair. He carries it to her, helping her sit down by holding her hand gently.

“Oh thank you, dear Hoseok. Thank you.”

More whispering. He knows her? How does she know his name? She notices the whispers as well.

“I see that there is great confusion present in this room”, she says, “some may wonder where they have seen me before, some may wonder why I am here and some may wonder why I have addressed one of our worthy students by their name.”

She straightens her back. She seems healthier by the second.

“The secret is dear students, not all is always as the eyes tell us.”

Her spindly fingers age backwards, her once grey hair gains dark colour again.

“Not every person is simply a person one meets.”

Her once wrinkled face smoothes out. Her clothes, once of poor condition, change into that of obvious wealth.

“And not every test of worth is always based on skill.”

The once old, weak woman has morphed into sorceress Selen. Strong, healthy and with magical youth surrounding her. The girls, who noticed the old woman outside the castle walls gasp in horrid realisation that the old woman had been a test they all failed to pass. The girls, who didn’t notice her, gasp at the wonder of transformation unfolding in front of him. Hoseok doesn’t gasp. Hoseok gawks with widened eyes, unable to accept that this truly happened. This is why sorceress Selen’s words were familiar to him. It is because she said the words back to him he told her mere hours before as he helped her in her disguise. That is why the old woman’s eyes gleamed purple for but a moment. That is why he is here and why she didn’t ask him any questions. He had already passed the test without knowing that there was a test to pass.

“Now that the truth is out there, I assume that it is obvious to all why I kept you waiting for so long during the applications”, she chuckles mischievously, “I must apologise dear students, but I had to wait for the person worthy to pass my test and that person, my dear students, was Hoseok”, she says, pointing at him.

Hoseok gulps under the attention, feeling his cheeks heat up. 

“Congratulations, Hoseok”, she says and gives him a nod of her head.

He bows his head shyly, keeping his eyes lowered because otherwise his cheeks would have been red as cherries.

“And as I have gathered from some of your shocked whispers”, she continues, “some have not passed my test. Caria, Becca, Heva and Toph I ask of you to go back to your chambers and pack your belongings.”

“What?!”

“Yes you have heard me. This was but a lesson for you. A lesson in kindness for I do not accept cruelty in my school.”

“But…what does this mean?”

“It means that you are not worthy of this school.”

“So why did we get in? Why did you send us this joke of a letter?”

“Why I told you. This was but a lesson for you”, sorceress Selene says, “take from it that you need to grow and work on yourselves. As for the rest of my students, take from it that your position in this school is not set in stone. Many have the potential to harbour magic, but not many are worthy of having it. And that this worth is not solely based on skill. Remember this, my young apprentices.”

“So why is Hoseok here? He doesn’t even know if he has magic inside”, Caria spits, making his heart race in panic.

Sorceress Selen’s features darken.

“Have you no functioning ears to listen? I just told you that worth is not only based on skill. Oh you disappoint me, child.”

Caria closes her mouth.

Sorceress Selen clears her throat and continues, “I get the feeling that Hoseok isn’t the only one who still needs to discover his magic. A barking dog often intimidates those more timid to silence”, she says and she looks at a few girls who seem incredibly shy all of a sudden. Almost as if they were scared to be found out that they neither know how to access their magic. Sorceress Selene looks at Caria and Becca, “wouldn’t you agree?”

“Sorceress Selene, I would like to apologise”, Becca says.

“Oh there is no need. Come back again once you are worthy”, Sorceress Selene says and with a snap of her fingers, makes the four girls she called out disappear.

Loud uproar goes through the room.

“Have no fear, they are just fine. I merely helped them with returning to their rooms. They will have all the time in the world to pack their belongings”, she says and stands up from the chair, “now let us truly begin the lesson. Who of you hasn’t mastered their access to magic yet?”

Hoseok lifts his hand, looking around the room. He is the only one. A deep pit of despair begins to open in his stomach until suddenly, very timidly a girl lifts her hand as well. Ash. She lied in fear of being found out. Another soon lifts her hand after her. Then a third and a fourth until six people including Hoseok and Ash have their hands raised.

“As I have figured”, Sorceress Selene says, “well done, my dear students. Honesty will bring you further than deception. Now, can any of you tell me what gives us our magical abilities?”

“The planets?”

“That is a good answer. Any other ideas?”

“The ocean?”

“Oh most definitely. The ocean can be a powerful source.”

“So many things can be used as a source?”

“Now you are asking the right questions. Indeed they can. However there is one thing which combines them all, which infuses them with magic so we could harbour it”, she says and lifts a purple crystal.

Whispering again.

“Yes, yes indeed. You recognise these crystals, they grow all over these grounds and are often found on our beaches. Glintstone. It is found all over this continent and has been here long before we came.”

You lift your hand.

“Yes dear ___?”

“Where does it come from? Did time form it?”

“Oh no. No, time merely preserved it and allowed the magic in it to become more potent. Long before the age of life, there were the dragons. Not dragons as we know these days, but dragons as big as entire continents. They were beings outside time and created the lands we walk on today. One of these dragons, Razula, was sick. While other dragons breathed ice, fire and molten earth, she breathed glintstone. With each breath she passed, new crystals formed and allowed her magical essence to crystallise. Her illness killed her in the end as the glintstone solidified her flesh. She died where, these days, our Glass Mountains range.”

Ash raises her hand.

“Yes, dear Ash?”

“Does this mean that the Glass Mountains are made out of her corpse?”

“Yes, indeed it does.”

Shared gasps of wonder go through the room.

“She must have been so big.”

“Indeed she was. Our very own mountain, the one catching the ocean and holding this very city secure is part of Razula. The very end of her tail to be more exact.”

Another round of shared gasps.

Hoseok lifts his hand.

“Yes, dear Hoseok?”

“Does that mean that the glintstone she breathed soaked our continent with magic, so we could harbour different elements for magic these days?”

“Very good, indeed it does.”

“So why can we harbour the planets?”

“That is a very good question. You see, our planet isn’t the only one formed by the dragons. Many more are children of them, which is why we have access to their powers.”

“So there were more dragons like Razula?”

“Why would you wonder this?”

“Because glintstone is what gives a source its magic. There must have been more dragons like Razula, otherwise we couldn’t harbour the planets.”

Sorceress Selen smiles proudly. She nods her head.

“It is not with certain proof, but yes it is said that there were more dragons like Razula, who infused the planets with their glintstone and who made it possible so that we can harbour them these days.”

You ask the next question, “why is it not with certain proof?”

“Because travelling between planets or even universes has not been achieved yet.”

Agreeable nods go through the room. This answer sounds logical to all. Sorceress Ciri, the teacher for magical history, enters the room then. She carries a flat wooden box.

“Oh, Ciri! The perfect time! Now dear students, I have a small present for each of you”, sorceress Selen says as sorceress Ciri begins handing out small glintstones, “your very own glintstone. Take great care of it, practice with it and feel its magical properties. That is my task for you.”

Ash lifts her hand.

“Yes, dear Ash?”

“How do we feel its magical property?”

“Oh that is a complicated question. How does one feel anything? Feelings must be felt, they cannot be conceptualised. But very well, to make it easier for you, my young students, magic gives the very tips of your fingers a warm tingle to it. Try to find this tingle and you will have taken yet another step into the right direction.”

A warm tingle. Hoseok looks down at the purple glintstone in his palm. He closes his finger around it. A warm tingle. That is what he needs to look out for. A warm tingle and then he will finally feel worthy of being here.

The weeks are spent practicing with the glintstone sorceress Selen gave each student. During the early hours, the students learn about magic, its history and what can be achieved with it and during the later hours, the students are meant to practice and study in the grande library. Hoseok enjoys his time. He wakes up excited each day, he pays utter attention in the lessons and practices until late into the night. The other students stopped avoiding him now that Caria and Becca weren’t present anymore. Ash and two other students even practice with him each day, exchanging frustrations when the warm tingle never comes.

Hoseok lifts his head upon hearing yet another cheerful exclaim of one his fellow students.

“Sorceress Selen! It is floating!”

“Very good, dear Ainar. Continue this connection”, the sorceress praises and continues her rounds through the classroom.

Hoseok looks at his fellow students. Ainar was one of the people who always practiced with him. Three other people also already learned how to connect to their inner magic. Only he and Ash are still struggling.

“Sorceress Selen! I am doing it!”

Hoseok looks at Ash and the floating glintstone before her.

“Very good, dear Ash. Keep practicing.”

“Good job Ash, you’re finally doing it”, Ainar encourages her with excitement in her eyes.

“You’re doing so well”, Hoseok tells her, earning himself a proud grin.

“Thank you, oh look at me.”

“You are like a proper sorceress now.”

“Yes, yes I am”, Ash giggles.

Hoseok breaks his eyes away from her, trying to hide his disappointment. He is happy for his fellow students for finally finding their powers, but he also can’t deny that he feels like an utter failure himself.

“Hoseok?”

He lifts his head upon being called, meeting sorceress Selen’s eyes.

“Yes?”

“Why are you not practicing?”

“Forgive me, I just took a quick break”, he says and looks at the stone.

“Don’t give up. Yes?”

Hoseok nods his head and takes a deep breath, lifting his hands to continue practicing. He will not be able to lift the stone during the lesson.

They have the weekend free this week and most students use it to finally visit their homes again. Hoseok does as well. He leaves in the early hours of the morning, cradling the glintstone in his pocket and with an orange from the tower gardens to give him energy. He feels happy at the thought of finally seeing Taehyung again, but also a sense of tread because he won’t return as a sorcerer already. He feels like a failure. Why is it so easy for anyone but him to find their magic? Was Caria right? Is he truly not meant to be a sorcerer?

“Hoseok!”

He stops in front the tower walls upon being called, looking over his shoulder. You are running to him, waving your hands.

“Wait up!”

He does. He waits until you reach his side.

“Are you visiting prince Taehyung?”

“I am. Are you visiting your family?”

“Indeed I am”, you say and point at the road, “do you have to walk this way as well?”

“I do.”

“Do you want to walk together?”

“Yes, I would like that”, he says and gives you a smile.

One you retort.

So you and he wander down the road side by side. You pull out two oranges from your pocket.

“I have oranges. Do you want one?”

“Oh?” Hoseok pulls out his own orange, “me too.”

“Oh? Look at us”, you say, having to laugh.

Hoseok laughs as well.

“These oranges are just too delicious.”

“Indeed they are.”

“Ah”, you sigh happily, lifting your head to look at the golden roofs above your head. The sun reflects off the colourful houses and paints the streets in lively colours. It will be a very hot day today, the air smells of it.

“I think I might swim in the ocean later”, you say.

“Yes, that sounds like a good time”, Hoseok says.

“And you? Are you going to practice even during your free time?”

“I am.”

“Oh, Hoseok you work too hard.”

“I am not. You have it easy, you even found your worth in magic already. I still haven’t found my connection to it. I am two steps behind”, Hoseok says and sighs in defeat.

“It will come one day. I promise.”

“Maybe”, he says and sighs again, “can we talk about something else?”

“Of course. What are your favourite beaches to go to?”

“The blue lagoons by the castle.”

“I should have figured. They must very beautiful.”

“They indeed are.”

“You know my brother really likes to swim.”

“Yes?”

“Yes, I am most certain that he will ask me the moment I come home. We always go swimming together.”

“That sounds like a special time for you and your brother.” 

“Oh yes it is. He is already ten and three of age, but knows how to swim since only three of age.

“Truly?”

“Yes, I was the one who taught him. I was the age he is now when I taught him. I think that is why it is such a special time for us these days.”

“It sounds very special. I am glad that you have such a deep connection with your brother. I could never form such a deep bond with my sister.”

“You have a sister?” 

“Yes, she is older than me by ten years. Just like you and your brother”, Hoseok says with a grin.

You retort it.

“We played a lot when we were younger but when she grew of marriage age, she wanted to spend her time socialising, instead of playing with her childish brother. She is already married and has children these days and I am happy for her. We write a lot of letters to each other, but I never had such special moments with my sister when I was in adolescence. Thank you for being such an older sister to your brother, he might not show it all the time, but those moments mean the world to him.” 

“Thank you for saying this”, you say, feeling incredibly warm in your chest, “I truly love my brother. You know, he dreams of being a sorcerer.”

“I know.” 

“How do you know?” 

“You told me.” 

“I did?” 

Hoseok nods his head, “the day of the applications. You witnessed Caria slap my arm and then asked if I was hurt. You offered me your water skin and told me about your brother and his dreams.” 

“I did, now I remember again. You remembered all this time?” 

“I did. If I may be blunt, I remember you quite vividly from this day. You ran late as well and were sweating just as much as I did.”

You laugh. 

“It is because of you that the guards even allowed me entrance.” 

“Truly?”

“Yes, they refused at first because I am a boy.” 

“No. Truly?” 

“Yes, sadly.”

"Oh, how rude. This wasn’t their right to do.” 

“Worry not, I already paid them back.” 

“You did?” 

“I pretended to be royalty on the first day because they saw the royal carriage I came in.” 

“And they believed you?.” 

“They even apologised.”

“Oh”, you let out and laugh loudly. 

Hoseok laughs with you. 

“Serves them right. Nobody should be refused access just because they are a boy.”

“Yes, I agree.” 

You and Hoseok converse until the conjuncture where you have to go your separate ways.

“I have to go this way”, you tell him.

“I have to go this way”, Hoseok says and points in the opposite direction.

“So I believe that this is where we have to say our goodbyes.”

“Yes, I believe so.”

“Do you want to come with me for a bit? I would love to introduce you to my family.”

“I feel beyond honoured, but I truly have to go. Knowing Taehyung, he is already waiting impatiently.”

“I see”, you sag your shoulders in defeat but shake it off quickly, giving him a smile, “there will be a next time.” 

“I believe so. I will bring chocolates then.”

“Oh, they would love them so much”, you say with sparkling eyes. 

“Very well then. I will see you again next week”, Hoseok bows his head at you, “have a good weekend.”

“You too. See you soon”, you say and leave with a wave of your hand.

Hoseok watches you skip down the street. You turn when some distance is between you and him, searching for him. Your face lights up when you see him. You lift your arm to wave at him one last time, doing so until Hoseok finally waves back. You turn with a big smile on your face, skipping happily until the crowd swallows you and Hoseok cannot see you anymore. He smiles to himself and turns to take on the road to the castle. It isn’t far anymore.

Taehyung is waiting by the gates, jumping into a sprint the moment he notices Hoseok. He calls his best friend’s name, falling around his neck with such vigour that Hoseok stumbles from the impact. He even wraps his legs around his waist, knocking a belting laugh out of Hoseok, who is destined to carry his weight.

“You are such a rascal”, he laughs.

“I missed you. I missed you terribly!” Taehyung tells him in excited yelps.

“I missed you as well”, Hoseok says and drops him gently. He hugs him back as tightly as he can, “I was so excited for today.”

“Me too, oh me too.”

They hug for some time, breaking apart only because hugging for an entire day is rather frowned upon by the public for a prince and his servant to do. 

“How have you been?”

“Good. You?”

“Good, just so incredibly bored without you. I keep rereading the letters you sent me and everything you describe sounds so interesting”, Taehyung babbles as the two men walk to Taehyung’s leisure room. 

“The school is wonderful. I keep finding myself pinching my own skin because I cannot believe that it is real.”

“I can imagine. Is it really true that there is glintstone everywhere?” 

“Yes, it is everywhere. Look”, Hoseok says and shows Taehyung the small glintstone. 

Taehyung gasps, widening his eyes in curiosity. 

“Sorceress Selen gave each of us a glintstone to practice magic on. It grows everywhere.”

“Is it true that it makes the faintest sound when you brush your hand against it?”

“It does. Even air makes it sing.”

“How wonderful”, Taehyung gasps, “can I touch it? Please?” 

“Yes, once we are sitting down. I do not want to lose it.”

“I understand. It must be very precious, mustn’t it?” 

“Yes. It is supposed to help me find my connection to magic.” 

Taehyung and Hoseok have reached his room, sitting down by Taehyung’s painting table.

“Are still having troubles with it?”

“Sadly I do”, Hoseok says, “I do not know why it is so terribly hard for me, but it is.”

“Do not lose hope yet. I am certain that it will come to you very soon.”

Hoseok gives him a smile before lifting the stone into his vision.

“Do you want to hold the stone now?”

“Yes. May I truly?” 

“Yes. Open your palm.”

Taehyung rests his hand palm side up on the table, watching with curious eyes as Hoseok places the stone into his palm carefully.

“It is cold.”

“It is. I have been carrying it in my pocket all day.”

“How is that possible? You should have warmed it.”

“Indeed, but glintstone never warms up unless its magic is channeled. Isn’t it wonderful? It stays cold no matter how much you warm it.” 

“This is remarkable”, Taehyung whispers, caressing it gently, “and it is truly a dragon’s breath?” 

“Yes. Razula. She existed long before our time with the other dragons.”

“I know. Her body makes up the Glass Mountains these days. Oh Hoseok, you have no idea how often I reread your letters. I learn so much about this continent because of you. It is so fascinating. We are walking on the creation of dragons. Dragons so big they form entire mountain ranges and countries. I cannot believe it, yet it is true.”

“It is beyond fascinating, isn’t it?” 

“Yes. I feel so excited each time a new letter arrives. Your chamber mates sound so wonderful as well.”

“They are. We didn’t get along at first because they were weary of me because I am a boy, but we talk a lot these days.”

“That is so wonderful to hear. The girl you share a chamber with sounds very kind.”

“Yes ___, she is the kindest person. She paid me company when nobody else did. She is very kind”, Hoseok says and blinks his eyes dreamily.

“Beautiful as well?”

“Oh yes, quite beautiful actually”, Hoseok says. He sees no weirdness in Taehyung’s question as the young prince calls many people beautiful. He is an artist after all and sees beauty in all shapes and forms.

“Do I sense a hint of affection in your voice?” Taehyung asks, sending sudden nervousness to Hoseok’s chest. The mischief in Taehyung’s eyes only strengthen Hoseok’s coyness.

“What? No, not like this. Oh, I would never disrespect her in such ways”, Hoseok insists with flushed cheeks.

“You keep mentioning her in your letters.”

“Yes, well. Well, that is because…Taehyung no, I would never. She shows no signs of interest. How disrespectful would it be of me to see her in such a light? She is merely a very good friend.”

Taehyung grins knowingly, “very well, if you say so.”

Hoseok clears his throat loudly, wishing for his pulse to slow down again. 

Taehyung places the glintstone on the table and scoots closer to Hoseok.

“Do you have more stories to tell? I want to know everything you learn and experience”, he ask.

“Mhm”, Hoseok thinks for a moment, “I do”, he exclaims.

“Tell me. I want to know”, Taehyung is practically sitting on the edge of his seat in utter curiosity.

“Long ago there was a sorcerer at this school.”

“A sorcerer? So boys can learn magic?”

“Yes, well”, Hoseok hesitates for a moment, “forget it. I just remembered that this is a rather sad story to tell.”

“No please. Now you must tell me. What happened to the sorcerer?”

“Well”, Hoseok begins with a saddened sigh, “we have entrance to a system of caves. The caves are filled with glintstone, their songs always fill the air.”

“Oh how wonderful.”

“The sorcerer always practiced his spells in these caves and because he was surrounded by their potent magic, his powers grew more and more each day.”

“Oh no, this doesn’t sound good. Did he hurt someone?”

Hoseok shakes his head, “do you know that the glintstone breath was Razula’s curse?”

Taehyung nods his head, “yes, it was a sickness which killed her in the end. She turned to glintstone and died this way.”

“The sorcerer suffered the same fate.”

Taehyung gasps.

“One day, the magic grew too powerful for him and turned him into glintstone. His crystallised body is still in the caves until this day.”

“Oh this terrible. I feel so sad for him”, Taehyung gasps, “what a gruesome way to die.”

“Indeed”, Hoseok agrees.

They share a moment of silence in respect of the cursed sorcerer.

“He is the reason why there aren’t boys allowed at school.”

“What say you?!”

“Yes”, Hoseok nods his head, “Sorceress Ciri, she teaches magical history, told us that because of him, the school decided not to take boys as students. She said that his greed for power would show in other boys as well and they did not want to risk it.”

“This is terribly unjust. This sorcerer was greedy, but it wasn’t because he was a boy.”

“Indeed. Some of my fellow students said the same thing. I felt very welcome when they said it.”

Taehyung smiles, “I think it is very good that they spoke up”, he caresses his friend’s arm, “and that you managed to get in.”

“Yes, me too. Now all I have to do is find my connection to magic. Oh Taehyung, I feel so helpless. Everyone in my class has already found their connection. Some even found their worth already, while still I haven’t found my connection yet.”

“Their worth?” Taehyung asks, tilting his head to the side in question.

“There is magic all around us and everyone can find a connection to it. However, only a few are worthy to truly wield magic. The worthy people are marked by the magic. Some grow purple markings on their skin, for some their eyes change into a purple shade and for others, their hair turns purple. It is a visual sign that the magic deemed this person worthy. It isn’t just enough to connect to it, the magic must accept the person.”

“So it isn’t truly the person’s decision to learn magic, but that of magic itself?”

“Yes”, Hoseok says and sighs in defeat, “and I even struggle to connect to it. How should it ever see me worthy?”

“Well”, Taehyung begins, “Sorceress Selen thinks you worthy and I believe that this must mean something.”

“What if she was wrong about me?”

“I truly do not think that she was. I also think that you are worthy.”

“I know. Thank you. At least one of us needs to believe.”

“Yes, I will continue to believe. I will believe with such passion that it will be enough for both of us.”

Hoseok smiles fondly at his best friend.

“You are truly such a light, Tae”, he says and reaches out to caress his hand, “I am grateful to have you as my best friend.”

[jhoudiey]

Did something cute for Floyd's first father's day with Mido! 🥺🥺🥺 Chaos fam owns my whole frickin life. No warnings 1700 words

Floyds hands searched the cold sheets where he’d normally find his wife and daughter sleeping and let out a groan. It was father’s day and they’d left without even waking him up to say good morning. He rolled in bed pouting hoping they would come back, but after half an hour decided to go look for them himself. He didn’t want to spend the day alone, that wouldn’t be any fun at all. He picked a tshirt off the floor and smelled it, he’d only worn it a few times so it was perfectly fine to wear again, the stains on the front barely visible. 

The door creaked loudly as he opened it, startling one of the castle staff as he cleaned.

“Good morning Leech-san” he nodded, continuing to dust the ornate frames that adorned the walls. 

“Do you know where Yoru and Mido went?” 

The man shook his head with an apology, bowing slightly before moving along down the corridor. A grin crept across Floyd’s face, maybe they’d disappeared to set up a game of hide and seek. He had always liked to chase them. Floyd laughed and took off running down the hall towards the library. Yoru was fond of books, back at NRC he’d found her hidey hole on top of the shelves and crashed her study sessions often. She was probably teaching Mido the best way to hide amongst the stacks. When he arrived it was silent, as a library normally was. He spied the boring bunny girl from Yoru’s old school at one of the tables and ignored her. Mido wasn’t capable of staying quiet this long, they weren’t here. He tore off down the hallway again, the library door closing quietly on it’s hushed frame. 

“Aha!” He shouted, throwing open the door to the aviary, frightened birds flying from their perches indignantly. No Yoru or Mido here either, if they were surely Mido would have cheered at the flight of so many birds at once. He stopped for a moment in the doorway as the birds slowly returned to their places, grinning once more. He knew where they’d be. 

Floyd heard them before he saw them as he crept quietly down the hallway to the kitchen. 

“Hey Mido-chan, do you think your papa will want some of these?” a dry shake of some sort of ingredient rattled in it’s container.

“YAAAAAAA!!!!” a wet slapping sound and a giggle. 

Yoru was facing away from him as he tiptoed into the kitchen behind her, Midori sitting on the counter, the bowl of what he assumed was breakfast in front of her as she slapped her tiny hands into it, laughing when it oozed over her tiny webbed fingers. Her eyes lit up when she saw him, and though he pressed his finger to his lips to ask her to keep his presence a secret she threw her hands in the air and shouted

“PAPA!!!!” before he could get into scaring range. Yoru turned to him with a smile, spatula in hand. She was wearing the tacky ‘kiss the cook’ apron Lilia had gotten her for Christmas and he was happy to oblige. He wrapped his arms around his wife and leaned on her, resting his chin on the top of her head. 

“Ne Yoru, I thought you went somewhere without me” he pouted, watching Midori slap the batter as hard as she could manage before plunging her arms in as deep as they would go. Yoru shook her head

“We wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed, but these are harder to make than I thought”

Floyd looked at the counter top in front of them. Yoru had a recipe book open, the words “Pyroxene’s Pancake Perfection!” blazing across the top of the page. He scanned the ingredients list… nothing weird here that would be difficult… then looked at the counter. The regular ingredients were present, however Yoru, for whatever reason had decided to add to the recipe, despite never having successfully cooked anything without instruction. She was nearly as bad as Lilia without supervision. 

“...Yoru...did you put the whole egg in?” he asked, noticing the white flakes floating around Midori’s fingers

“Hmmm? Yea. Mido liked the crunch and how the yolk came out so I put a few in there”

“...A few?” He dropped his head beside hers to stare into her face as he teased her. “How many is a few?”

Yoru stuck her tongue out at him and placed another in the bowl in front of Midori, now screeching at the top of her lungs in excitement.

“CRUMSH! CRUMSH! CRUMSH!” Midori shouted as she crushed the egg into runny batter.

“Ahahhaha these are going to be reaaaally~ gross” Floyd chuckled, dipping a finger into the bowl. “Here, try it!” He smeared his hand across Yoru’s face with a laugh as she laughed and struggled to get free of his embrace. 

“Ooops sorry, missed your mouth, lemme try again” Floyd reached his whole hand into the bowl as Midori cheered and tried to feed Yoru a handful of the eggy batter. To his delight, some of it actually made it into her mouth, but she bit his hand so most of it slopped down her apron. 

“Oh hey! We made this for you…” Yoru struggled against Floyd, he gripped her wrists as she struggled to get handfuls of the batter to pay back the favour “You should eat it too!”

“Nah I don’t wanna, I told you they look like they’ll be gross”

“PAPA! YUMMY!” Midori laughed, pancake batter dripping from her mouth as she patted his hands with hers. She tried to stand but was unsteady on her little bird feet, the edge of the bowl wobbling as she tried to use it for balance. 

“Mido-chan~ don’t eat that kay?!” He let go of Yoru’s struggling hands and reached for her as she toppled face first into the bowl. “Hey Mido-chan, you okay?!” He pulled Midori out of the mixture, the smile on her face nearly reaching her ears. 

“WET! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!” She reached for Floyd and he hugged her against the side of his face, Midori finally dealing the pancake mixture deathblow Yoru hadn’t been able to manage. She was drenched in it. It dripped off of her all over his face and hair, dripping down passed them both and landing on Yoru. The kitchen staff found the three of them laughing hysterically locked in an embrace, scooping whatever they could from the nearly empty bowl onto each other's heads. 

“Leech-san. Crowley-san. Midori-chan. We need to prepare for lunch now… would you please relocate your…” They looked in horror at the mess they had made of the kitchen “...whatever this is somewhere else. We’ll handle the cleaning, please just leave us to it” 

“WADDEBER! WADDEBER!” Midori shouted, squeezing Floyds cheeks to have him make faces at the staff

“Aha! ...You know.. Waddeber kinda sounds like water…. LET'S GO SWIMMING! COME ON!” He pulled away from Yoru and grabbed her wrist, cradling Midori to his chest as he ran out of the kitchen, dragging Yoru behind them cackling like a madman. He ran them to the lake, only letting go of Yoru’s hand when he ran to the edge of the dock and jumped, Midori still safely wrapped in his arms. Their laughter was cut off when they sunk below the surface of the water. Yoru sighed and carefully climbed down the ladder at the dock, she didn’t want to get her wings too wet otherwise they’d be damp for hours. She was one rung away from the surface when Floyd rose from the depths below her and pulled her in completely. 

“WADDER WADDER!” Midori shouted as she swam in circles around them. She’d been swimming ever since she was born and loved it. Floyd reached his hand out and caught her to wipe the remnants of their breakfast out of her hair. Yoru did the same for Floyd as he looked after their daughter. When Midori was finally pancake-batter-that-was-mostly-egg free, Floyd turned to Yoru and helped her wash the sludge out of her hair. 

“Wow Yoru, you’re really bad at eating, you got it everywhere!” She glared at him but had to suppress her grin as he scrubbed at the stubborn egg. 

“MAMAAAAAAAAAAAA” Midori shouted as she zoomed towards the pair of them, hands full of seaweed. “LOOK BREADFIST!” She placed the tendrils gently into Yoru and Floyds hands as they offered them and dived back into the lake to get more. 

“Oh. I guess we didn’t actually eat did we?” 

“Nope, oh! There’s that restaurant on main street that said they had special waffles today! We should go! I’ll get Mido!” Floyd dived under the water, surfacing seconds later with his laughing daughter on his shoulders. She had somehow dug up a clam and was trying to pry it open on his head. 

“Come on Mido-chan! Let’s go get waffles! Hold on tight!” She cheered and threw the clam back into the water with a splash, tightly wrapping her arms around his forehead to secure herself. He waited for Yoru to climb up the ladder before following behind to begin the walk to the village. They arrived at the restaurant shortly after it opened before a line had managed to form. The staff stared wide-eyed at the three of them, laughing and sopping wet, dripping water all over the ornate carpet. 

“Table for three, please” 

***

Later that evening Floyd found himself laying in bed, Midori fast asleep sprawled out across his chest. 

“Hey Yoru?” He hummed quietly as she joined them in bed. 

“Hmmm?” She cuddled against him with her head on his shoulder, her hand draped across his chest to hold onto Midori’s tiny hand. 

“Today was really fun” Yoru looked up at him and smiled 

“It was. I love you, Floyd. Happy Fathers Day” She kissed him softly and settled back into the crook of his arm. He sighed happily and wrapped his hand around her waist, the other hooked around Midori’s other hand. He gazed down at his family affectionately, knowing he held the entire world in his arms. 

[simpingforsoftboys]

The Odds of Us All

Special CH1: A Glance At The Past (the one where Sakusa meets Y/n)

Okay so this chapter takes place right before Y/n’s first year of high school! I wanted to write more Sakusa within the “The Odds of Us All” AU but it’s not my dudes time to shine yet :( So here we are, I’m going to write about the time Y/n met Kiyo ahahhaha. Enjoy my fellow Sakusa simps ;)

*technically this can be read as a stand alone one shot but why would you only settle for that when you can read the series?

“Y/n, I know you want to stick by Tetsuro and Kenma... but you seriously need to consider your future. Eventually you’ll have to separate from them, don’t let your history hold you back in the past.” M/n Ushijima, Y/n’s competent and straight forward mother advised, gazing at her daughter with a knowing stare. At the moment the h/c girl was looking through a long lists of high schools she had the options of attending. Her top four options were Fukurodani Academy, Shiratorizawa Academy, Itachiyama Institute, and Nekoma High. 

Fukurodani was a good option, they had a focus on subjects like Japanese and English literature, as well as history and art. While Nekoma High’s more favored subjects were the STEM courses, and they even had a bonus of being the chosen high school of her childhood friends, Kuroo and Kenma. These two were the cheapest options- neither of them being a private academy like the other two. 

Itachiyama Institute was probably the place her mother wanted her to attend, they were renowned for their excellent college prep classes, exceptional sports teams, and high rate of graduating students getting into Imperial Universities (Japan’s Ivy League basically). Shiratorizawa Academy was all the way in Miyagi- but they had a dorm that she could stay in. There was also the fact that she was guaranteed an invitation from the headmaster himself, due to the Ushijima family’s children studying there as per tradition. Her cousin Wakatoshi also attended the school, as expected of him, if she chose to follow his lead she was guaranteed friends and a good time also.

Choosing a high school was hard- especially when her mother was pushing her in one direction, only to backtrack and say that she would support her no matter what school she wanted to attend. Y/n briefly wondered what it’d be like when deciding on a university in the future- however those thoughts were far from pleasant so she shook them off. 

“I... don’t know mom.” M/n looked at her daughter long and hard, releasing a soft sigh before pulling out her phone and tapping away.

“How about you take Itachiyama’s entrance exams and see if you at least qualify? Any other school on this list will accept you as a student in a heartbeat. At least this way you’ll know if Itachiyama is even an option for you.”

You blinked, considering her words, they made sense so you agreed.

“Great, the entrance exams are this Sunday, I’ll drop you off then.”

~Time skip to Sunday, location: Itachiyama Institute~

You had finally finished the god awful tests. It had taken an excruciating three hours of your time to complete and your brain felt like literal mush. Stomach rumbling, you made your way to one of the vending machines you remembered passing by earlier. One thing you were glad for was the location of the exams- right in the administration wing of the school- naturally, the heads of the place had access to the best snacks. You walked silently, eyes gazing at the ceiling, not paying attention to anything but the fluorescent lights. Rounding the hallway corner, your eyes fell to the end of the hall- where the vending machine was located. Humming a small tune you continued your leisure stroll, fishing through your pocket for your credit card. After retrieving it you purchased a mini chocolate cake (that looked more like a brownie than anything), white chocolate matcha cookie, and a tiny cup sized bottle of milk tea. As the transaction was going through, you picked up on approaching footsteps and people’s voices. 

“Apologies *indistinguishable*-san I simply must take this phone call. There’s a vending machine around the corner, would you please wait for me there?” An adult said, heavy footsteps receding, a door opened, then shut. You turned back to the task of collecting your snacks. 

“Is this what I think it is?” A noticeably younger sounding male’s voice asked, barely audible. You vaguely wondered what was going on over there, before promptly setting your food on a nearby chair, pulling out your hand sanitizer and applying it swiftly. As you contemplated what snack to indulge yourself with first, you were deaf to the incoming footsteps and soft gasp from behind you.

“But if I ate the cake I might accidentally spill crumbs in the hallway... maybe the cookie’s a better idea?” You wondered, pocketing your sanitizer, still oblivious to the boy behind you. “Hmm...”

“Uhh... excuse me?” That voice from earlier called out, startling you. You whipped around, only to make eye contact with pretty onyx eyes, the color of warm coal and cooled lava rock. His entire being was outlined in a highlighter yellow- it was kind of fitting, having matched the schools signature colors. 

‘Woah my soulmate’s actually kinda hot,’ you thought to yourself, taking in the boys appearance. Wavy black hair, two moles above his right eye, you couldn’t see the rest of his face- since it was obscured by a white face mask. He was perhaps 5′11- but something told you he was on the cusp of a growth spurt. So caught up in your musings you hadn’t noticed that you had accidentally voiced your thoughts out loud. “Thank god he’s not an old man.”

“...Is that supposed to be a compliment?” Mr. Highlighter questioned, staring at you incredulously. 

“Oh no did I say that out loud? I am so sorry- I swear I didn’t mean too!” You exclaimed before bowing in apology, cheeks hot with embarrassment. Sometimes you spoke whatever was on your mind- a bad habit you were currently working hard on breaking.

“...” He didn’t say anything, still looking at you judgingly. Internally he was wondering why he was destined to be with someone like you. “Sakusa.”

“Huh?” You straightened back up, wide eyed. 

“My name’s Sakusa Kiyoomi... this is the part where you’re supposed to introduce yourself.” Uh oh ‘Sakusa’ sounded a tad bit irritated with you now. His name sounded familiar somehow... but you didn’t quite know why.

“R-right! My name’s Ushijima Y/n!” You smiled nervously, awaiting his reaction. He looked pleasantly surprised at that.

“Ushijima? Like Ushijima Wakatoshi?” Your smile dwindled slightly at his choice of words. Of course he was excited- not because he met you- but because he was able to use you to meet Toshi. 

“Yeah... he’s actually my first cousin.” Attempting to keep the conversation flowing you asked “are you a volleyball fan?” 

Unbeknownst to you, Kiyoomi noticed how you reacted when he asked about Wakatoshi, so he decided to avoid that topic for now. 

“Mm... I’m actually a player. That’s what I’m here for... I was scouted for the volleyball team.” He says it so nonchalantly, as if he wasn’t sought out to join the best high school boys team in the entire country. 

You’re just as impressed as he hoped thought you’d be, all starry eyed and mouth open in awe. “Scouted? That’s amazing Sakusa!” He’s pleasantly surprised that you forgoed the honorifics, but a tad bit disappointed at your use of his surname. “You must be very skilled- I’m only here because I had to take the entrance exams.” 

“How were they?” He finds himself blurting out softly, it’s uncharacteristic of him- not that you could know that- but he finds that he doesn’t mind being a bit forward when it comes to you. Despite not usually being one for conversation, he doesn’t want this chat to end. 

“Mm they were okay I guess... but the math portion was pretty difficult.” Speaking about the hard exams remind you about how hungry they made you and your stomach gurgles in response. Behind his mask, Kiyoomi’s lips quirk at the abashed expression you make- which disappears once you wave it off with a laugh and a brief apology. “Want a cookie? Or a cake?” You question, nodding over to your waiting snacks. He shakes his head. It feels almost invasive as he watches you unwrap your cookie- noticing the care you take in making sure your fingers only touch the wrapper, not wanting to touch the cookie itself, lest you get crumbs on your hands. But you don’t look uncomfortable at his weird interest, so he continues to stare. “I can buy you a snack? What do you like to eat?”

“It’s fine, I have money.” The dark haired male pats his pocket, “I like umeboshi... anything with umeboshi.” Those enchanting e/c orbs flit over to him once more and he discovers that you’re probably the only person that could stare at him endlessly without making him uncomfortable. This thought scares him- he doesn’t even know you- he shouldn’t be thinking such things. You’re tapping away at the vending machines, cookie having been finished and trash tossed in a bin nearby. He assumes you’re just buying another snack for yourself.

“Here... is ume daifuku good?” You question, holding it out to him with one hand, while your other one reaches back into the dispenser part of the machine and retrieves a can of matcha tea. “Delivery for one!” The smile adorning your lips sends a pleasant feeling throughout his body, normal tendencies forgotten, he accepts your offer. 

“Thank you... can I pay you back? I don’t have cash on me at the moment, but maybe another time?” He pockets the canned tea and holds the daifuku in one hand, allowing you to spurt some hand sanitizer on his empty one. You shake your head, h/c hair swinging, his heart sinks in his chest- rejection overcoming him. 

“Don’t even think about paying me back Sakusa... but we can meet up again... maybe off of school grounds?” A shy look overtakes your features and he can feel his heart picking itself up off the floor and taking flight at how cute you are. 

“I... wouldn’t be opposed.” 

“Great, let’s keep in touch then! What’s your number? I’ll text you!” He tells you his number, watching as you type it into your phone quickly. 

“Say cheese!” You twirl around holding the camera up so that it focuses on Kiyoomi’s tall figure, your head poking in at the corner of the screen. He doesn’t do much- the only noticeable change in his demeanor is the *very* slightly shocked look on his face (you can tell by the wide stretch of his eyes). He licks his lips behind his mask and looks as if he wants to say something, but he doesn’t get the chance. 

“Sorry about that Sakusa let’s continue the tour- hm am I interrupting something?” The headmasters voice says from the end of the hallway, he’s pleased to see the two of you together. Both being the children of very influential people- it bode well for the school if you kids got along. 

“No, we’re good thank you... I’ll talk to you later Ushijima.” 

“Call me Y/n, Sakusa! I’ll text you okay?” 

The headmaster walks off, expecting Sakusa to follow. As he passes you he says one last thing. 

“You can call me Kiyoomi then.”

Series Masterlist

Taglist: CLOSED @kac-chowsballs​ @kotwd​ @ems1des​ @normalisthenewnorm @micheleinumaki @gomchan @empress-simps @mer-der-mi @honeyswhiskers @sakusas-number1-stan @astronomyturtle @akirahyoshi @afire24  @its-the-aerieljeane @carla-1217​ @fucktheworlddude @baes-x @shadoweepingscream @sirachano0dles @katamint @420-uwu @xstormiii​ @youtuboo​ @chibiitakoyaki

[shishinoya]

these requests are old and im trying to answer them LOL: a-z alphabet CLOSED

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆ — REQUEST || “Hey can I request the whole of the nsfw alphabet for tsukishima please 😊💓” — anon — PAIRING || Tsukishima Kei X Reader — TYPE || Headcanons — WARNING || NSFW — WORD COUNT || NA — AUTHOR’S NOTE || ASUCBAOSNCOA the whole list... like they don't take long but ubcoansca AHAHHAHA nad I'm so sorry this is so late aucbaosnca ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

[ a — aftercare (how would they be after sex?) ]

》 Tsukki may be a walking salt shaker but mans knows how to treat a woman

》 After sexc time, he may look very indifferent, but he’s not

》 What a tsundere.

》 He strokes your hair and moves it out of your face

》 Ngl, he’s kinda a tease too kuroo taught him well

》 Will pull your head into his chest and make 1 or 2 comments about how well you did or even friendly banter will be exchanged

》 He knows how to treat you and if you request something, he’ll stare at you at first, but like of course, he is going to meet your needs

》 Cuddles and just wraps his arms around you, placing his chin on top of your head

》 He’ll talk to you until you fall asleep and then he will allow the exhaustion to take over, will never allow himself to fall asleep first

[ b — body part (what’s their favourite body part of you and what body part of theirs would you like?) ]

》 You love his fingers man

》 Just look at them!!!!

》 Long slender fingers that have you wrapped around them any day babeyyy

》 Whether it be him using his fingers to scratch your head or fucking you till you literally cannot think of anything but them, but you love them :D

》 Honestly, I don’t even think he really cares for a specific body part

》 If anything he would really like the top of his head cuz that's all he can see

》 No, it’s cuz he can place his hand on top of it, nO NO, use it as an armrest

》 That’s his reasoning

[ c — cum (anything to do with cum) ]

》 Loves playing with your cum on his fingers

》 After he makes you come explosively :D, he likes to watch the way it drips down his wrist and the way it forms strings between each finger

》 Kinda a salty kinky bastard and might even make you lick it off too

[ d — dirty secret (learn a dirty secret they have) ]

》 He doesn’t admit to staring at you, but he does

》 And when he does, most of the times, he likes to imagine stripping you with his eyes

》 He’ll never tell anyone of course

》 Kinda embarrassed about that

[ e — erogenous (what’s their sensitive spot that makes him putty in your hands?) ]

》 Did this here!

[ f — favourite position ]

》 Did this here!

[ g — goofy (are they more serious in bed or more likely to laugh?) ]

》 He a serious babeyyyy

》 Tbh he won’t really be into fucking and if he does, he wants it to be more lovemaking than actually just fooling around

》 He’ll only really laugh when he finds it amusing how much you are begging and shaking for him

》 Ah, a little shit

[ h — hair (how well are they groomed? do they like it when you pull their hair?) ]

》 He’ll be pretty clean dude

》 Doesn’t like it when they get too long so he maintains it

》 And no

》 He doesn’t like it when you touch his head, let alone pull no his hair so please don’t

[ i — intimacy (how intimate are they? how long into the relationship does it take for them to want to get intimate?) ]

》 Nah he kinda salty all the time

》 He likes the affection but won’t get really into it sexually

》 He kinda awkward...

》 So it takes him some time before he gets intimate

[ j — jerk off (when would they masturbate?) ]

》 Not often

》 Tsukki is a busy boy with his studies and watching land before time

》 I think he would be listening to music more often than he is thinking about fucking you

》 It’s only on those rare occasions where his horny teen hormones get a hold over him

[ k — kinks (do they have any kinks?) ]

》 Praise kink

》 He likes it when you compliment him and it just gets him off

》 Like, shit if you say how full his dick makes you feel, he feels like the biggest man there is

[ l — location (where do they like to fuck? favourite place? how open are they to the public?) ]

》 Somewhere he can keep you to himself

》 He doesn’t like really showing you to others

》 So it would be somewhere in your place or at his place when it is completely empty

[ m — motivation (what drives them in sex?) ]

》 Praise.

》 That’s it.

》 Praise.

[ n — NOs (what are their turnoffs?) ]

》 A lot of things

》 Like I don’t think he’s into BDSM cuz he either thinks its a hassle or it just hurts too much

》 He vanilla babeyyy

》 So nothing too kinky or else he’ll be overwhelmed

[ o — oral (do they like giving it? do they like receiving it?) ]

》 He likes giving that’s for sure

》 I don’t think he’s really into receiving it but he won’t turn it down if you offer

》 Loves to just use that salty tongue of his and those long ass fingers and make you bend to his will

[ p — pace (how fast are they? how rough are they? how considerate are they of their partner?) ]

》 Slow and sensual!

》 Can be fucking rough though

》 Tsukki gives me sadistic vibes

》 So he’ll most deff fuck you so hard if he really wanted to

[ q — quickies (do they enjoy them? where is their favourite place to have a quickie?) ]

》 With his hands, hell yeah

》 Will always like to tease you if he’s into the mood

》 Most times it ain’t though

》 He shy shy

[ r — risk (are they open to new experiences?) ]

》 Nah vanilla all the wayyyy

》 He won’t really want to try anything new

》 If you try and pull a fast one on him, he’ll know

》 Bad

[ s — stamina (how many rounds can they go? how long can they last?) ]

》 Eh... He kinda can last kinda not

》 Like only for 2 rounds max

》 He’s pretty decent

[ t — toys (do they use them? do they enjoy using them? what is their favourite toy?) ]

》 HE’S VANILLAAAAAAA

》 Plus his fingers are all you need heh

[ u — unfair (how much do they tease you?) ]

》 A lot

》 A LOT

》 Not as much as Kuroo but he’s still a tease

》 Those fingers are a sin

[ v — volume (how loud are they?) ]

》 Nah babeys doesn’t want to be really loud

》 He kinda tsundere too

》 So he’ll try to conceal his moans and grunts so that only you can hear them

》 They are really quiet and strained

[ w — wild card (know something about them? ]

》 Music?

》 Music.

》 Will might want to try fucking with some music in the background

》 Just a thought

[ x — x-ray (how would they look like without their clothes on?) ]

》 Ah he’s quite skinny and very long

》 He’s got a decent length but the girth ain't there

》 He’s got a skinny dick just like his skinny legs

[ y — yearning (how high is their sex drive? how often do they think about sex?) ]

》 Not often

》 He ain't a horndog like Kuroo so

》 He has other things that are more important than thinking about fucking

[ z — zzz (how quick are they to fall asleep afterwards?) ]

》 He’ll make sure that you are comfy before he dozes off

》 Like before, he will never fall asleep before you do

》 He makes it his goal but doesn’t tell anyone bc the boy is shyyy

[kafkaoftherubble]

WHO ELSE SPEAKS LIKE LU LANG AH? You guess lah!

I AM FROM THE POLYCULE COUNTRY THAT LU EH COUNTRY DIVORCED FROM LORH, MANA LAGI TEMPAT AHAHAHA

I only been to Singapore when I sibei small that time, so I don't remember much beyond little bit. My memory is that the whole place very bling-bling (of course tourist area bling-bling lah), and then I think got this exhibition where every part of the world is turned into this mini houses and mini planes and all that. I think it was a world's fair thing apa benda like that? My lao bu lao peh explain bo ho, their explanation luan luan lai, so take this with a grain of salt ahahhaha

Also my lao peh kept saying "walao the money here valued so high I buy this coca-cola also my teeth hurt"

Kinda cun that my first Singaporean friend (from Tumblr!) was made because she did this amazing ass Geto art and then I was like WAAAAH JIE JIE LIHAI SIBEI LIHAI YENG SAI BLUE LOTUSES YESH, and playground kids like that, we became friends sia. Now you and I become friends because GOJO pulak ahahahhaha

SATOSUGU FRIENDSHIP EFFECT SO STRONG, WALAO EH

Next Singaporean confirm Ichiji fan I PREDICT I BUY NUMBER FOR THIS I WILL TIOK TAO PIO FOR THIS

I should ask if you have ever been to my country. It's just a bridge away... but I don't stay in JB (Johor Bahru). I stay a bit more northern than that, but also not that north. Okay fine it's basically KL. Got relatives here bo?

OH MY GOD YOU SINGAPOREAN LANG SI BO?!

That makes you my second Singaporan friend walao eh

YAH IM SINGAPOREAN

WALAO NO WAY SIA WHERE RU FROM‼️‼️‼️ HAVE YOU GONE TO SINGAPORE BEFORE

[accusedoffeminism]

okay but nurseydex musician au

Nursey is an indie boy through and through. Think like phoebe bridgers where the music is indie but people call them industry plant because they come from money/know people on the on in the industry and that’s how they get started

He writes great songs with amazing lyrics that are poetic and take more than more listen to really appreciate.

BUT his manager tells him to write a song that’s more appealing to the radio so he does and it blows up. So Nursey becomes know for a few poppy hits and all of his deeper works are kinda just left for his die hard fans he’s not known for the parts of music that he loves.

Think taylor swift here. Loves writing songs like afterglow but is known for love story

Dex grew up playing guitar in his dad’s rock band with a bunch of his friends. He started playing guitar at 8 and at 11, they needed a bassist so he started to learn that. Then they needed a drummer and a someone on keyboard so Dex really just started learning how to play it all.

Throughout high school he floats from band to band just kind of filling spots that people need. In college in forms a band with a few friends and they find some success (Probably like a rock band thing). The college band blows up and they actually are able to go on a small tour they have a cult following of loyal fans

One day his band is asked to do an interview and ofc they say yes they’re young and wanna feel the attention. But the interviewer is playing one of Nursey’s popular songs and before the interview even starts, dexs is really shitting on it (dex ofc doesnt really know nursey and has has only heard his pop hits on the radio)

“I’m really tired on this type of shit. When I started playing music it was all about the instruments and the emotion before it. What even is this crap? Ya’ know I grew up playing...” and just really gets into how it’s not real music and how he’s a real musican.

Nursey sees the interview and is honestly really taken aback cause he had never heard of this band and why the fuck are they trying to start something. He ends up going on twitter and tweeting and dex saying that his songs have more meaning and depth than Dex could ever understand.

They get in a HUUUUGe twitter fight and everyone is talking about it. Fans are taking sides. Memes are being made. It’s like you can’t be a fan of both you have to pick a side.

During concerts they’ll reference each other and complain about each other. 

They end up meeting each other at some sort of festival/party/concert that they didn’t know the other one would be at. They bicker the whole time and dex leaves a fight angrier than ever before going on stage and honestly preforming the best he’s ever preformed. And Nursey hadn’t actually listened to any of their songs/watched them before but holy shit he’s so taken aback at the artistry and emotion before what they do and did Dex look this good when they were fighting??

And ofc Nurs is on after them and he has to try and compose himself. So he laughs it off and cracks a few jokes with the audience about the last band and before playing the pop song (acoustic style alone with his guitar) that dex shat on, he dedicates it to him as and everyone laughs

Dex rolls his eyes because how immature, but now that dex is listening to the song for what feels like the first time it feels different. And by the time nursey is playing the stuff that doesn’t get played on the radio and has the most poetic lyrics he’s ever heard dex is just kind of sitting there in awe of how publicly wrong about nursey.

But they have such a public feud and tbh it was good for both of their music bc it fulled fans and songs. The answer? Secret dating. Of course.

Nursey is trying his best to be chill around dex “haha yeah no strings attached this is just physical ahahhaha” but is having a hard time with it and is low key manic (think cruel summer by taylor swift). Like yeah I like you but I’m not about to get too attached to you cause you’re gonna break my heart

Dex is also anxious about in the “i’m already attached to you pls don’t break my heart” way. (think cornelia street by taylor swift)

Fans speculate how they’re both writing songs about a new fragile relationship but like there’s no way right??? no way. and neither of them are read to come forward and talk about it. They don’t even talk about it with their friends. They keep up the bicker online but see each other in private as often as they can.

Eventually they begin writing songs together (lots of cute moments together of “hey I wrote you this uh..” as they sit on the couch with their guitars”) and their styles begin to mature and change with each other. Like there is such a clean influence on each others work

Fans notice them tagging the same location more frequently and notice they have very similar looking living rooms... how odd. And then after telling their friends, they start to stop hiding. They don’t announce anything, but they’ll post their photos together with captions like “weekends away with the best” and lyrics from the others songs. when they get married they don’t tell their fans either. The fans friend out from their friends instagrams and they loose their shit bc they had no idea they were even dating????? they had just gotten their heads around the fact that they were friends?????? and now they’re married.

they find it really funny and like a bunch of posts reacting to the wedding

[fearfulkittenwrites]

Safe - “Don’t. Don’t ask.”

Summary:  Jason is great at getting into awful situations. He's really bad at getting out of them. Dick is a little tired of his impulsive little brother, but comes to the rescue all the same.

Word count: 2613

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26435032

Notes: Hello! Thank you for clicking this, I hope you enjoy this work! This has been beta'd by @3ambird​, they are an amazing person and I don't know what would be of me without them making my works this much better with their sharp eyes. Thank you so much!

Also, I’d like to say that I may be a little absent because my classes are going to start up again this monday, but I’ll try my best to post at least every ten-twelve days. Don’t let that stop you from requesting stuff though! I love them, because they give me a clear direction and keep my mind from wandering away into places I don’t want to go to, ahahhaha

TW: Blood, Killing, Deaths.

Dick’s cell rang in the middle of patrol. Jason was calling. He frowns at the phone, but picks up anyway.

“Hey.” He says, sitting down on a rooftop, looking up at the stars “What’s up?”

“Hey.” Jason answers, and Dick can tell he’s struggling to breathe, as if he had run a marathon. He immediately straightens up, more alert “Are you... Can you get to my place?”

“Yes.” Dick stands up, already planning the best route to his brother’s apartment “What happened? Why didn’t you use the usual way?”

“I... I don’t want him to know.” Jason admits “It’s bad Dick. Really bad. I just need... A little help. Please.”

Dick sighs, and turns off his comm.

“I’m on my way.” He hangs up, shoving the phone back into its designated pocket.

Dick sees this kind of situation way too often with Jason. His impulsive brother would launch himself into situations he couldn’t always handle alone. Dick tried to remember that it was not his place to judge; he was just as impulsive as his little brother, but a part of him would always get irrationally mad over his actions. A small part of him, a part that he carefully buried deep inside his chest before he’d talk to his brother wanted to yell, tell him to stop behaving like a selfish child.

Swallowing these thoughts, Nightwing tapped on his brother’s window before opening it.

“Jason?” He called as he stepped into the dark apartment.

“I’m here.” Jason answered, sitting in the corner of the living room.

“I’m gonna turn on the lights, okay? I can’t see anything in here.” Dick warned as he placed a hand on the lightswitch.

“No, wait!” Jason tried to stop him, but it was just too late. Once the living room was illuminated, Dick gasped at the scene ahead of him, feeling sick.

Two corpses were laying on the ground, each in one end of the room, and Jason crouched against the wall, covered in blood. There were puddles of it under both of the bodies, and there were splashes on the walls and couch, indicating that the murders had happened inside. The stains were still a deep red. The stench of it burned into Dick’s nostrils, making him gag on the metallic smell.

“Jason, what did you do?” Dick asks as he shoves his hands inside his hair, pulling a little at the sides.

“Don’t.” Jason starts “Don’t ask.”

“Fuck man, why would you do this?” Dick kneels next to one of the bodies; a bullet wound in the middle of his forehead indicated the cause of death “Jason, what the fuck?”

“Dick, please.” Jason gets up, holding his brother’s hands with his bloodied, trembling ones “Please, man. You have to believe me. I didn’t mean to do this. I just... Shit, man. I need help.”

Their eyes met, and Dick’s anger and resentment dissipated for a second, noticing how deeply desperate his little brother was. How lost his little wing felt, covered in the blood of two strangers, face riddled with bruises and eyes so, so scared.

Slowly, he nodded at the younger man, finally understanding what this was about.

Because it wasn’t about the killings. Jason was far too used to it by now.

It was about the place. It was about it being here, where he should feel safe. And now, he didn’t feel safe anymore.

“Alright. I’ll help. But we’ll need to talk about this eventually.” Jason opened his mouth to protest, but Dick interrupted him “I don’t need it to happen tonight. I just need it to happen, and it’s going to happen, Jason.” His brother swallowed and nodded, backing off and looking at the ground “Okay. Now pull yourself back together, because we’ll need to get rid of these bodies quickly. Do you know who they were?”

“I don’t know their names... I just know that they were Roman’s hitmen.” Jason rubbed his face in distress, smearing blood all over it “Fuck, Dick, what am I gonna do now?”

“Breathe.” Dick said “Breathe, and get control over this. You can freak out once we’re done.But right  now, I really need you to cooperate with me.”

“Okay.” Jason nodded “Okay. What do you need me to do?”

“Get me trash bags and rope. We’ll tie these bodies together.”

Jason goes into his kitchen and Dick crouches down to roll up his brother’s carpet and drag the two corpses closer. Once his brother comes back, both of them cover the bodies with black trash bags and tie them up with the rope, in a nauseating dead man burrito.

“Listen, Jason, I’m gonna need to call someone else.” Jason’s eyes widen “We need to get these bodies out of here so we can dispose of them, but I’m on foot. It’s either Tim or Babs.”

“I...” He takes a deep breath “Call Tim.”

“Alright.” Dick says “Start getting cleaning supplies. And some strong ass scissors or whatever, so we can cut up and burn this carpet.”

“What? Why?”

“It’s drenched in blood and I don’t feel like spending hours cleaning it. Do you?”

“Yeah, okay, we’ll… we’ll burn it.”

Jason leaves the room again and Dick calls Tim.

“Hey. It’s me.” Jason can overhear the conversation, even if he doesn’t want to “Listen, I need help. I’m at Jason’s. Two bodies that need to be gone. Can you handle it? Thank you, Tim.” Dick turns to Jason, who had just walked back into the room “He’ll be here in ten. Let’s get started on the cleaning.”

Dick removed the stains from the couch quickly before cleaning the walls as Jason moped the floor to the best of his skills. When Tim arrived on the Batplane, Dick went to the roof to greet him, bringing the two bodies.

“Fuck, man.” Tim says “What did he do this time?”

“He doesn’t wanna talk about it.” Dick shoves the bodies in the small plane, grunting from the effort “Can you find out who they were and maybe make them disappear?”

“Pfft. Of course I can.” Tim answers “This is all kinda dark, but it’s not like I’m not me.”

“Yeah, right.” Dick smirks “Thank you Red Robin. Really. And, oh, maybe don’t mention this to Batman?”

“Nightwing, do you have me confused with Robin? Because I do have brains.”

Dick snorts. If anyone would be able to make him laugh in a situation like this, that would have to be Tim.

“Whatever. Thank you for the help. I’m gonna go back to cleaning.”

“Go on. Good luck.” Tim gets on the plane and flies away.

Dick quickly hops back into the apartment, and Jason had already started cutting the carpet into strips. He shoved the pieces his brother had cut inside another trash bag.

“We’ll burn those in a proper place.” Dick explains.

Once they are done with the living room, Dick directs his brother to the bathroom.

“Okay. We’re done now Jay. If you need to let it out, to... break down, go ahead, it’s okay. I’m here.”

Jason shoved his hands in his hair, overwhelmed, and he leaned on Dick and cried on his shoulder until his body went limp.

“What the fuck is wrong with me, man?” Jason cries, face buried on Dick’s neck and shoulder “Why do I... Why can’t I just be like you? Why does this keep happening?”

“Shh...” Dick ran a hand through his brother’s hair “It’ll be alright Jay. We’ll handle this.”

“How?” He steps back, searching his brother’s eyes, but Dick still has his mask on “How can we handle this? I... ‘s my apartment, Dick! They figured out where I live! I’m a failure, and a danger! To others and myself.” Jason’s eyes fall, fixated on a crack in his bathroom’s tiles “Y’know,” He starts again, whispering “When a dog kills someone... they put it down.”

“Hey, look at me.” Dick says, grabbing Jason’s shoulder “You’re not a dog, Jason. And we’re not putting you down. We’re family, okay? Not by blood, but by something stronger: choice. And I’m not giving up on you.” He squeezes his brother’s shoulder a little “So don’t you dare give up now, do you hear me?”

Jason nods, trying to regain some of his confidence.

“I just...” He sighs, rubbing his eye with the back of his hand “I don’t even know where to start.”

Dick’s expression softened, and so did his grasp on Jason’s shoulder.

“Let’s start with a shower, yeah?” He suggests.

“Yeah. That- that’s a good idea.” Jason answers, pulling off his jacket and staring at a blood stain on it “What... What about my clothes?”

“Let me worry about them.” Dick takes the jacket from his brother, waiting for the next items patiently, back turned to his brother.

Dick left with the clothes, going for Jason’s small laundry. He ran some cold water through the fabrics, getting rid of most of the stains, and used some hydrogen peroxide on the most stubborn, already dried ones. He hung the clothes up so they wouldn’t stench up the whole area, hoping that Jason wouldn’t take them as clean clothes. After that, Dick opens his communicator’s channel again, clicking on it to call for Batman.

“Batman,” He starts “I’m off for the night.”

“Nightwing, you’re not done with your patrol time yet.” Batman replies.

“I know.” Dick sighs and presses the middle of his forehead with his middle finger, stressed “Something came up.”

“What came up?”

“What usually does.”

“And what would that be?” the Bat growls.

“What do you think?” Dick rolls his eyes, trying his hardest not to say I’m stuck playing dad again because you’re too busy punching criminals in a bat suit.

The line goes silent for a while.

“Is he... Okay?” Bruce asks. And this is definitely Bruce’s voice, not Batman’s growl.

“Physically? Yeah, just a couple of bruises. Mentally? Getting there. Or at least trying to.”

Dick hears the man breathing on the other end of the line.

“And I don’t suppose you’re telling me what happened?”

“You know I won’t.” Dick answers “It’s none of your business. He’s a grown man, he’ll share it if he feels like it. Don’t go demanding answers he isn’t ready to give.”

“Nightwing...” Batman’s voice sounds almost sad through the device “If you can... Bring him home. Please.”

“I will. If he wants to.” Dick takes a deep breath, closing his eyes, tired. “I’m signing out for the night. Be safe.”

As he pulls the device from his ears, Dick wants to throw it against the wall, step on it when it falls, take one of Jason’s pistols and shoot it three times in a row. Instead, he places it on top of the washing machine, bringing his right hand to the back of his head to take a fistfull of his own hair, the strands closest to his neck, and tugging at it. Barbara’s words came to mind. “You have to stop doing that,” She had said to him once “You might just end up going prematurely bald”.

Dick had argued that that is not how balding works, plus, his biological father kept his hair for as long as he lived, so he most likely was all good on that one. He hoped.

Walking to Jason’s closet, Dick opened the last drawer on the left corner, picking up the sweatpants and t-shirt his little brother kept for him, if he ever needed to change from his Nightwing outfit to regular clothes. As he stripped, he noticed a sharp pain on the right side of his torso. There was a big, dark bruise covering that side of his ribcage. Rolling his eyes, he pulled on the comfortable clothes, annoyed at the pain as he rubbed the area harshly, not sure if that made it better or worse.

In the living room, Dick shot the kitchen door a look, trying to decide on whether or not he should try to make Jason a warm meal. He wanted to, but his tiredness and sore muscles got the best of him, deciding to settle on the couch to wait for Jason, hoping that the man wouldn’t be hungry.

It doesn’t take long for Jason to come out of the shower, hair dripping wet.

“Hey.” Dick turns his head to look at him “Do you need some ice for those bruises?”

“No.” Jason replies, groaning as he sits down next to Dick “Are you... Can you stay? Just for tonight?”

“Of course I can.” Dick answers, offering a weak smile to his brother “But... Maybe this isn’t the best idea.”

“What? Why not?”

“I don’t think that you’ll be able to sleep here, Jay.” Dick says, leaning forward a little.

“Are you... Trying to drag me back to the manor?” Jason squints as he speaks.

“No.” Dick sighs “I just... I had to offer. But it’s your choice.”

Jason stops for a moment.

“I... I would. But... I don’t think that... Bruce really wants me there.” He rubs at his eyes for a moment.

“Hey, c’mon, that’s not true at all.” Dick hugs him, resting his chin on Jason’s shoulder “Bruce wants you there. He’d be thrilled with having you back, Jay. You’re his little boy, no matter how much you grow.”

“Are you sure?” Jason whispers.

“Yes.”

“What if he... what if he finds out about... This?” He gestures towards the room “He’ll throw me out... for good.”

“He won’t.” Dick answers softly, the vibrations his voice sent through his chest helping calm Jason down as he spoke “He loves you too much.”

Jason cried again, sobbing violently until he was out of breath, gasping for air between tears. Dick hummed softly, the tune of an old lullaby he knew calmed his brother down, a hand brushing through Jason’s hair.

“C’mon, Little Wing,” Dick whispered “Let me take you home, hm? You’ll sleep better there.”

“Okay.” Jason whispered back “But... we don’t have to tell Bruce why, do we?”

“Of course we don’t Jay.” Dick rubbed his arm.

Jason sniffled, and they sat quietly for a while before the younger man got up. Dick helped him pack some clothes and other personal items, enough for a week. If Jason decided he’d stay any longer, they could always drive back to get more things. When they reached the manor, both of them went straight to Jason’s room, and Dick sat on the ground, by Jason’s side, humming lullabies he had learned from his father, mother, Alfred, Bruce, and even Jason until his brother fell asleep.

Dick went down to the cave, wanting to work more. He wouldn’t be able to go back to the streets now, as much as he wanted to. Everyone would scold him for leaving Jason alone, and he didn’t really have the heart to do so anyway, but he also knows he won’t be able to sleep yet. However, in the cave he is still useless. If they needed information or help of any sort, they’d all contact Oracle, not Nightwing.

So he settled for practicing, using the bars on the cave to let off some steam, performing difficult and elaborate flips, practicing different grips, using his core muscles as much as he could, strengthening them. He wanted to be sore when he went to bed, and he was. The extra exercise helped him fall asleep faster, and the next morning, when he felt his entire body ache, he might’ve regretted his decision, but Jason was at the breakfast table, sliding him a cream for bruises and winking at him, so he didn’t, because at the very least his little brother was safe at home.

[sugarlove12]

MY OBSESSION WITH MXTX CONTINUES PART: SCUM VILLAIN

As engrossed as I am and will always be with mdzs, I said hummmmm let’s read mxtx’s first novel, coz it peaked my attention when she mentioned it on the author’s note in mdzs.

So since day 1 I knew that Scum Villain wasn’t gonna be like MDZS (something that many many people seem to 4get) for some kind of reason I think Scum Villain is more funny but oh honeyyyyy is this novel angstyyy or what, if u thought mdzs was a slowburn, this is the EPITOME of slowburn, was I mad about that? No, ofc not; at some point I was kinda afraid I wasn’t gonna get my emm you know... scenes😏 BUT I DID AHAHHAHA.

Something that threw me off is that people in the comment section always said LBH isnt like Lan Zhan, He is just manipulative and obsessive, well HONEY HE AINT LAN ZHAN FOR SOME REASON HE IS CALLED LUO BINGHE COZ HE IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERSON and also saying this aint like mdzs, I wanted a love like mdzs WELL IT’S NOT MDZS IF U WANT MDZS U CAN READ IT AS MUCH AS U LIKE, WANGXIAN WILL ALWAYS BE WANGXIAN AND NO OTHER COUPLE WILL BE THEM, so just fucking appreciate the other couples for who they are yeesh💆🏻‍♀️

Regardless I do think it was a very good story, it was filled with comedy, angst, heartwarming moments then angst again🤣🤣 so if u think of reading it PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THIS IS MXTX FIRST NOVEL, THIS ISNT MDZS, THIS LOVE IS A LITTLE MORE COMPLICATED THAN WANGXIAN, and if u do get ready for a wonderful journey 🥰

I still haven’t finished the entire novel but I did finish the main story, knowing me I’ll probably postpone finishing it for a week.

So when I do I’ll make my respective post about the characters, I just wanted to get this out of my chest.

[letbenfuck2021]

vanya!!

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff (now...I think ppl might have some push back on that but I think she’s like....the neville variety of gryff. given the chance, I think she can be very brave, for example when she tries to help during hazel and chacha’s attack. was it smart? no but I think vanya is stubborn, reckless, and brave in her own way)

best quality: being observant and pretty empathetic. I think the greatest disservice the show did to vanya was make her seem stupid by having leonard seem......obviously evil and weird. vanya is actually pretty observant and she takes note of things. we’ve seen this in her book and in comments she’s made about her siblings or to them, but also in how she knows about her neighbors and their common habits. she’s also a teacher and that takes a least a bit of observation skills.

worst quality: being observant and pretty empathetic. ahahhaha! I think empathy is very much a double-edged sword. you can be empathetic and be inaccurate. while I think vanya does a good job of knowing SOME of what her siblings felt towards her, she failed to realize that that wasn’t the whole picture and that’s really her downfall.

ship them with: Five, Allison, Ben

brotp them with: Five, Luther, and Ben

needs to stay away from: fast-moving romantic entanglements

misc. thoughts: vanya, vanya, vanya.....what can I say? I really loved vanya in s1. I think she was the character I related to the most because her trauma and the way she responded to it looked a lot like mine (well...her and Allison and Luther but the show in s1 did not give them nearly as much character development as vanya). I think that as a character, she had a lot of potential and a lot of growing and growing up to do after s1. She just learned something new about herself that effectively changes every significant relationship in her life including the one she has with herself. On top of that, she had the guilt and the weight of a literal world of death on her shoulders, not to mention that she most likely was the cause of Five’s suffering the apocalypse and the death of all her siblings in another timeline. unfortunately, none of that was explored in s2. she had one sequence where she....kinda??? faced her guilt but then ben automatically absolved her of it before she....essentially “kills” him too. It was.....incredibly shallow. I really wanted vanya to get the chance to come to terms with what she’d done, with what was done to her. but....well I guess that’s what fanfic is for right???? ahahah.

thank you liv!!!!

[sunflowers-and-snowdrops]

ramble about your favourite fic?

oh! that’s a wild ride i have so many. im reading like 2 long form fics atm, 1 is currently being updates and one is already finished. they are so well written and just wow!! but if i have to say my ultimate favourite fic at the moment then it would be The Serving Of Servants by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle on AO3 and its sequel which is just INCREDIBLY GOOD. like??? ahhhh!!! the writing is great, the description is amazing, the characterization is done so well and the OCs are awesome characters, and ITS A SLOW BURN. The plot is super interesting and its brilliant. so if i had to choose then that would be my current absolute favourite fic. (Okay so this is a really long post so... well this a warning i guess)

There’s a bunch of other ones that are great so i’ll talk about those as well. did i mention CaffeinatedFlumadiddle??? their fics are just SO GOOD. like??? Salt of the Forsaken?? that was hilarious!! Exceptionally Exceptional??? that was a brilliant fic and i love that they focused on hunith because we didnt really see her that much on the show and this fic just makes up for that perfectly. Hunting For Dignity?? Cheers and Spirits??? YES. OH i cant forget Fool Me Once which is actually a really cool concept to explore imo. basically Uther isn’t a huge asshole in this one?? i mean he still kinda is but like its just chaotic and the relationship between uther and merlin is kinda odd because he keeps trying to find out ways to kill him and merlin is just done because he cant die and is immortal. i guess they sort of bond over that and wanting to keep arthur safe and like its a strange relationship but im living for it.

Usually uther is awful in practically all the fics ive read but there are some which sort of like make him kinda good?? like?? i mean hes still an asshole just less of it. like in About Merlin... (by LadyAuroraPendragon on AO3) Uther is still an asshole and hes against magic but like??? he ships them??? ahahhaha and everyone does too. its such a great fic. we got a wingman uther in there. A WINGMAN UTHER. uthers all like “why are so bad at flirting/courting? just tell him that you love him already JEEZ” and the funniest thing is that he thinks they’re together because of that scene in the black knight episode where merlin says that they have a bond and then he assumes that they are together and LITERALLY nothing can convince him that they are not together and its great lmao. 

Okay so ive been rambling for a veryyyy long time so I’ll just say two last things and finish off ahahha. On AO3 there’s another fic writer that I absolutely ADORE. their name is AeonTheDimensionalGirl and my goddd their fics are BEAUTFUL. LIKE??? THE WAY THEY USE THE WORD CARIAD?? OH MY GOD ITS JUST PERFECT. Their whumptober series is excellent and they use the word “cariad” which means love in welsh and its just SO amazing and heartfelt and ahhhhh. Some of my favourites include Watch you breathe in, watch you breathe out which is a fic based on the ep “servant of two masters” and how it would have switched, like instead of merlin being possessed or bewitched by the nathair, it was arthur who was trying to kill him and its just so good. super angsty but it has a happy ending that makes my heart melt.

The fic?? Off the record??? is just??? PERFECT? i absolutely love that it was from Leon’s pov that was a really interesting way of viewing it and i LOVED the hc that arthur sorta has some kind of magic (bc he was born out of magic) but it ONLY appears when merlin is fatally injured/dying and hsajdbjsbhudhbedb i thought it was great omg. Another fic written by them called Looking After You had such a good enemies to friends to lovers arc like *chefs kiss*. I also really enjoyed To Worship the Powerful (and destroy the weak), Uther’s Bane, and Et Tu, Merlin? because they were such good whumptober fics. 

did i say two last things??? okay i lied, it was three. anyways, last but not least (because i gotta stop rambling or this post will extremely long) the fics Chains Of Secrets and I suppose that I look different (without the robes or crown) are some of favourites because in chains of secrets its what would have happened if uther said that merlin had magic (if he wasnt cut off or IF ARTHUR ACTUALLY HEARD WHAT HE SAID AND DEDUCED IT FROM THAT) anyways i think its a great magic reveal fic, set in one of my favourite episodes “the death song of uther pendragon” so i think its just neat. 

hilariously, the fic  I suppose that I look different (without the robes or crown) is also based on that episode. i have a fondness for it okay? Its basically where Arthur blows the horn of cathbdhah again but gets transported to another world where Ygraine never died and ITS JUST SO BEAUTIFUL. LIKE THE DESCRIPTIONS??? THE CHARACTERS?? its amazing and i reread it alot. anyways arthur goes into that world and he has to find a way back to his own. in the fic balinor lives, lancelot and gwen had a KID. oh and merlin was a ROYAL which was just awesome. all in all its a great fic :D

So that is the end, or i will literally go on forever. sorry this is such a long answer ahaha, i really tried to make it shorter but just gave up in the end. I hope you enjoyed that?? i did and i thank you anon, for letting me ramble! If anyone wants to read the fics ive mentioned, then you can find the links below! enjoy :D

The Serving Of Servants by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle

Salt Of The Forsaken by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle

Exceptionally Exceptional by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle

Hunting For Dignity by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle

Cheers and Spirits by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle

Fool Me Once by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle

About Merlin... by LadyAuroraPendragon

Watch You Breathe In, Watch You Breathe Out by AeonTheDimensionalGirl

Off the Record by AeonTheDimensionalGirl

Looking After You by AeonTheDimensionalGirl

To Worship the Powerful (And Destroy the Weak) by AeonTheDimensionalGirl

Uther’s Bane by AeonTheDimensionalGirl

Et Tu, Merlin? by AeonTheDimensionalGirl

Merlin’s Knight by AeonTheDimensionalGirl

Chains Of Secrets by magicdoses

I suppose that I look different (without the robes or crown) by WingedWolf121

For Want Of A Nail by ohHeyThereBigBadWolf                      

(I didn’t manage to talk about For Want Of A Nail or Merlin’s Knight but i think that they are both amazingly well written fics so im recommending it anyways.)