#Used those rules to their advantage. It was like a fantasy au where light was a prince who ran away from his marriage and he went to live

[crimmsonflower]

shoutout to the writer of my favourite lawlight fic to ever exist

killing my self because I forgot to save it and they deleted the fic

[a-blue-secret]

PROLOGUE

BACK TO MASTERLIST

Teaser | Prologue | Chapter I

GENRES: royal au; fantasy au; magic au; friends-to-enemies-to-lovers; king!beomgyu, vizier!taehyun

PAIRING: taegyu

WARNINGS: mild swearing

WORD COUNT: 2.1k+

AN: finally (finally!) I get to give you guys the prologue!! Hope you enjoy and please feel free to drop me an ask if there's something in the story you'd like to have clarified.

SUMMARY: Best friends turned enemies, Kang Taehyun has managed to trick Choi Beomgyu into his service, and to rule for three years and four months and nineteen days, until his youngest brother would be old enough to take the throne. Choi Beomgyu has no intention of being obedient however, and tries to thwart Taehyun’s orders at every turn. With a growing amount of distrust and lies within the court, will Taehyun manage to keep the kingdom of Gojongja from falling apart?

“Choi Beomgyu?” a lord said. “Is that really you?”

Beomgyu gritted his teeth, before plastering a fake smile on his face and turning around to greet the man. “Hello, Jeongin.”

“Wow! You’re back, huh? I can’t believe it! It’s been, what, five years since you left court? What brings you back?”

Taehyun suddenly appeared at his elbow, smiling an even faker smile. “He’s here with me,” he said, putting his hand inside the crook of Beomgyu’s elbow. He smiled up at Beomgyu. “I was so nervous about the crown handing today, that I just had to have my best friend with me.”

Jeongin frowned. “But I thought you guys hated each other?”

Taehyun had been prepared for this question, but on actually hearing the words he halted; the phrases he’d planned in response suddenly disappeared from his memory. “I- I… no we-”

Beomgyu let out a casual laugh. “You’re mistaken, Jeongin! We never hated each other.” He leaned over and bopped a confused Taehyun’s nose. “In fact, quite the opposite, isn’t it?” When Taehyun didn’t reply, he looked back up at Jeongin and bowed his head slightly. “Well, it was very nice to speak to you again, Lord Jeongin. But if you’d excuse us, I’m sure Taehyun would like to get away from all this bustle.” Beomgyu bowed his head again before sweeping away, Taehyun still clinging to his arm.

Thoughts were swirling around in Taehyun’s brain as Beomgyu expertly guided them through the crowd. This was why Beomgyu was the perfect person. Not only was he of royal descent, making him have more of a chance of the crown accepting him, but he was an expert sweet-talker and knew how to use his silver tongue to his advantage to navigate around awkward situations. Also it didn’t hurt that he was incredibly handsome. He fit right in within the court.

Taehyun came out of his thoughts to find Beomgyu had taken him to a hidden alcove between two pillars, out of sight and hearing range.

“Taehyun,” Beomgyu said in a low voice. “Kang!”

“Wh-why? What?” Taehyun huffed in irritation. “What are we even doing here? The Crown Handing is soon. We need to get back.”

“Are you sure it’ll let me?”

“Yes,” Taehyun responded impatiently. “Just do what I tell you and it’ll be fine.”

“I have no choice but to do what you tell me,” Beomgyu retorted, rolling his eyes. “I’m in your service for a year and a day, aren’t I?” He glowered at Taehyun. “Why did you need that extra day anyway? What are you going to do with it?”

Taehyun didn’t want to admit it was more of poetic choice on his part instead of a logical one, so instead he just sniffed haughtily at Beomgyu. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” he said. “Now come on. The Crown Handing is going to start any moment and you need to get there before one of those stupid Lords claim they have any trace of royalty in their royal-less lineage.”

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　

“Tonight is a momentous occasion,” the King announced. “For it is today that I will name my heir.”

Taehyun grimaced. He knew who it would be. With his elder brother definitely not being the favourite of his father, and his sisters seen as too whimsical to take the throne properly, and himself… not able to rule for reasons even Taehyun didn’t want to admit to himself, the outcome, to him, was completely obvious.

“My sons, come here.”

Taehyun, Jiwon, and Junghoon stepped forward, with Junghoon wobbling slightly on his young feet.

“Kang Jiwon.” Jiwon bowed his head mockingly as his father spoke his name. “As my eldest, you are no doubt the one with most experience within this world. You have grown more than anyone else.” The court snickered a little. Everyone knew he meant that he’d done things which no self-respecting royal would ever do.

“Kang Taehyun.” Taehyun lifted his head and stared proudly back at the king. “Your wisdom and knowledge is to be greatly feared and respected. Considering how youthful you are compared to my children, this is something that should never be overlooked, if you acquire any position of power.” The wording of this seemed to suggest that Taehyun would be named the successor, but Taehyun knew better, choosing to stay silent and bow his head in respect.

“And Kang Junghoon.” The youngest Kang blinked at the elderly man with his innocent eyes. “You are at the tender age of eight, and yet you still qualify, don’t you?” Junghoon just beamed back at his father. “Well, I have no doubt that you will make a fine ruler. It is in your blood, after all.”

The King raised his eyes to look at his court.

“The time has come for me to choose my successor.” King Seohu said regally.“I, Kang Seohu, name Kang…. Junghoon as my successor.”

There was silence in the court. Then, quiet murmuring broke out within the crowd. The ladies all wondered, why would the king name his youngest son to be his successor? Why not Kang Taehyun, or even Kang Jiwon? The lords and generals however, began to scheme. A young boy on the throne… he could easily be corrupted, couldn’t he? And then, they could technically rule themselves. It was all a matter of timing- volunteering to perform the Crown Handing before anyone else.

King Seohu cleared his throat, causing the chittering to die down. “Who would like to have the honour of performing the Crown Handing?”

Taehyun held his breath. Beomgyu, please.

“I will!”

Beomgyu’s voice rang out loud and fast, cutting in before anyone could object. King Seohu raised his eyebrows.

“Lord Choi Beomgyu, of the Gyeongju Choi clan?”

“Yes sir.”

The King smiled. “Of course. After my family, yours is the one with the most royal blood. Step forward.”

Beomgyu bowed his head in acknowledgement of the King’s words, before he came forward and stepped up onto the dais. King Seohu knelt down and leaned forwards to give Beomgyu access to the crown. Beomgyu took a deep breath, and clasped the heavy gold object. Where his hands touched the enchanted metal, they glowed: a sign that it recognised Beomgyu as having royal blood, therefore allowing him to de-crown the King. His hands stilled, unsure of what to do.

“Repeat after me,” King Seohu instructed.

“Rest now, our King, for your time with us is over,” Beomgyu recited. “May your successor bring even more glory to the Gojongja Kingdom.”

As the crown was finally removed from Kang Seohu’s brow, the elderly king glowed, then seemed to shrivel away. Vines which had swathed the pillars of the court swarmed forward and wrapped the King in a wooden chrysalis, which transformed into a cloud of golden mist. The whole court bowed their heads and closed their eyes, as a sign of respect for their former King who had passed away.

Then, Beomgyu approached Kang Junghoon. The younger boy looked up at Taehyun, then at Beomgyu, then looked back to Taehyun again. Taehyun ever-so-subtly nodded. Junghoon widened his eyes as Beomgyu approached. Beomgyu clicked his tongue in irritation when Junghoon didn’t kneel.

“Show him what to do,” Taehyun suggested. Beomgyu gestured to the heavy gold crown in his hands.

“I can’t kneel with this in my hands,” Beomgyu hissed. Taehyun huffed and took the crown out of Beomgyu’s hands, before hastily shoving it into Junghoon’s. He didn’t want the crown to melt in his grip.

Beomgyu sighed, and kneeled down on one leg, head bowed. Quickly, Taehyun spoke.

“I command you to stay still for a full minute.”

Beomgyu’s whole body stilled. Though he didn’t raise his head, Taehyun could still see his eyes glitter with fury.

He nudged Junghoon forward. “Go on, just like we practiced.”

Junghoon hesitantly stepped forward, and placed the crown lopsidedly on Beomgyu’s head. “Rise now, Choi Beomgyu,” he spoke haltingly, “King. King of Gojongja Kingdom. May you bring glory to our land.” The crown shone a brilliant white atop Beomgyu’s head, and morphed into a more delicate, silver circlet with sapphire crystals embedded in the rim. Blue and silver. The colours of the Gyeongju Choi family crest.

Nobody in the court uttered a word. When his minute was over, Beomgyu rose steadily. His eyes sparkled. From a distance, they seemed to sparkle with delight, but up close, Taehyun could see the cold rage within them. Beomgyu surveyed the shocked crowd before him.

Junghoon rushed over and hugged Taehyun’s leg.

“Did I do it wrong?” he whispered.

“No, no. It was perfect.” Taehyun gently shoved the boy. “But you need to go now. It’s not going to be safe for you anymore.” He pushed Junghoon in the direction of his elder brother and sisters. Since their family were no longer royal, they would have to escape the palace before guards found them. Taehyun grimaced. He longed to go with them- he’d grown up with them after all- but he stayed. He needed to be here to keep Beomgyu in line. And so, he stepped back into the shadows, to stay out of Beomgyu’s rage for as long as he could.

The newly crowned king stared back at all the gaping faces within the crowd. It soon dawned on him that no one would move until he did, so they could gauge the emotions of the situation.

Finally, Beomgyu’s lips curled into a grin. “Well!” he laughed. “I’d imagined many things happening tonight, but this was not one of them.” His light-hearted tone and charming smile seemed to ease some of the hostility and suspicion which had settled over the crowd. Some even smiled at his joke. “I, uh, I really have nothing to say as of now. It was never my intention to become king, but I vow to bring glory to our Kingdom throughout my reign. I will do my best to uphold our honour, and to have wonderful things come to us. Hm, is there anything else I need to say? I’m sure there is...” Beomgyu had been popular among the court for his cheerful nature and obvious good looks, so it didn’t take long for the majority of the lords and ladies to start smiling and laughing at his light-hearted ways.

Beomgyu looked around before spotting Taehyun, who was trying to stay in the shadows.

“Ah! Kang Taehyun!” Beomgyu beckoned Taehyun to step forward, the younger rather reluctantly shuffling over. “Seeing as you helped me acquire this position, it seems only right I do something for you. How would you like to be my vizier, my trusted advisor? Your wisdom is far greater than anyone else’s, is it not? Then what a more fitting position than a vizier?”

Beomgyu’s tone posed it as a question, but Taehyun could feel that ‘no’ was not an option right now. And so, he plastered a grateful smile onto his face and accepted Beomgyu’s request.

“I would be delighted, Your Greatness,” he said. Beomgyu beamed.

“Wonderful! Band, strike up your happiest tune! This is a time of celebration!”

As the rest of the court whisked away to dance to the music, Beomgyu kept an iron grip around Taehyun’s wrist.

“What the hell?” he hissed, once most of the court seemed too preoccupied to worry about the new King. Beomgyu grabbed Taehyun’s collar and brought his face close to the younger’s. “What the fuck was that?”

“I should be asking you,” Taehyun spat back. They both glared at each other for several moments.

“Fine, my dear vizier,” Beomgyu finally conceded in an almost pleasant tone. Taehyun gaped at the sudden change in his demeanor. Beomgyu smirked, before drawing back and releasing Taehyun’s collar. He pushed the younger towards the throne, which had changed into a shining silver to match the circlet on Beomgyu’s head. Taehyun looked at Beomgyu, suddenly feeling his mouth turn dry with dread. Beomgyu’s eyes glittered.

“Go on,” Beomgyu prompted, voice soft and laden with menace. “It’s all yours. It’s the least you deserve, isn’t it? For all the effort you’ve gone to have me on the throne.”

Taehyun stared back at Beomgyu, helpless.

Beomgyu’s lips curved into a malicious smile. “You rule. You look after the kingdom’s finances; you take care of the people’s needs. Since you love to control others so much, why not control our whole kingdom?” He grinned. “I shall be King in name only.”

At Taehyun’s fearful gaze, Beomgyu only smiled wider. “This court is full of lies,” Beomgyu whispered. “Me as king? This will be just another lie added on to a list a mile long. Let us see how much you enjoy ruling, my dear little Kang Taehyun.”

[chronicparagon]

FFXIV AU: To Save Her People

Avatar made by FFXIV

Name: Harmony Halcyon (formerly F’Uru Maahes)

Age: 20

Birthdate: 8th Sun of the Third Astral Moon (Llymlaen) Wind  (May 8th)

Race: Miqo’te (Sun Seeker) 

Tribe: Bear (hence the F in her name)

Gender: Female

Sexual orientation: Pansexual 

Parents: F’Maahes nunh (father, deceased) F’Raja Abashi (mother, formerly L’Raja Abashi, deceased)

Jobs: Healer (conjurer, later becomes white mage and astrologian)

Note: When I last played, I think you could switch between jobs or classes on one character. Last time, I played as scholar and weaver. Unless I find out this changed, I’ll stick with conjurer/white mage and astrologian as Harmony’s jobs/classes. 

Background story is based on the hierarchy among the Sun Seekers from FFXIV. Although there is not much information on their lore and culture, this story was created based on assumptions from given information. 

In the Sun Seeker’s society, males were called either tia or nunh. A nunh is the leader with only a few tias in the tribe that were composed of mostly females. While a nunh may be the only one allowed to breed with the females, there are a few other breeding males that are tias. Typically, every 1 male had between 10-50 females. Female Sun Seekers had a last name that was their father’s name. This differs from Keepers of the Moon Miqo’te which are primarily matriarchal. 

History: Uru’s has a troubled past. Her tribe used to be no different from other Seeker tribes. She was raised by her father’s favorite consort, Raja and seen her father when he came to visit. Maahes loved his daughter dearly. She was the youngest of the children born to the tribe sired by him and the smallest. He gave her the name Uru, meaning Diamond. Her nickname was Maahes’s diamond in her early years. The girl was a fairly happy child who was surrounded by love.

 But this would not last long. 

She was only a small kit when an outsider came to Uru’s father. A strange Miqo’te demanded Maahes’s position as the tribe’s nunh, which led to a bloody challenge between the two. It ended when Maahes died at the hands of the stranger who was called Zhil tia. He was cast away from his own tribe because of his violent nature and sense of entitlement. After killing Maahes, he became F’Zhil nunh. He began his reign by forcing the other males in the tribe to pledge loyalty to him or face banishment or execution. Only the very few survived and became Zhil’s confidants, though with had very limited privileges. 

The women of the tribe had even fewer rights and privileges under Zhil who led the tribe with an iron fist. He forced the tribe’s women to live in closer proximity to him. Though Zhil’s confidants could have access to the women, Zhil had priority in access to them. Those who challenged that would suffer a painful death. 

Raja denied Zhil, loyal to her lost love. The rules of their society meant nothing to her. Angered by her frequent refusal, Zhil executed Raja, leaving Uru without her parents. He thought about killing her as well, but went against it. This child will be a woman before long. Maybe she will be more compliant than her mother was. With that, he took Uru in, but most of her care was left in his favored consorts’ hands. 

Growing up, Uru would run try to leave the house to run with the hunters. They often forced her back, receiving harsh scolding for disobedience. She also took an interest in learning magic, specifically healing. But Zhil forbids her and other girls to study anything he didn’t approve of. Uru dreamt of being far from the tribe and see the vast world. A life of adventure and freedom. By the time Uru was eighteen, she began to have dreams.  Dreams of the Calamity, chaos, and light. Something calls to her and whenever she spoke about the dreams, the other just laughed at her, believing they are just silly fantasies. This fueled Uru’s rage, hating how her people faced abuse and living in fear like her mother did. She just can’t stand it! 

By the time she became twenty years old, she knew she must act before things get much worse. She did what no other Miqo’te woman has done before: She challenged Zhil. Everyone thought she was crazy and at first Zhil, laughed at the idea. That ended quickly when she landed the first attack then and there. Angered, he lashed out at Uru, starting a long battle. She was determined to liberate her tribe from Zhil. If only she was strong enough to kill him. If only.

The young woman did all she could, but Zhil proved to be the stronger fighter. At first, he mused on whether to kill her for insubordination, but decided on another more sinister plan. He subjected her to torture with fire and blades. He did this to teach the rest of the tribe a lesson: Never challenge him. Uru survived, but was made an outcast for going against the laws of their society and carries the burns that became scars. Uru would never be accepted in her people, but Zhil gave her an ultimatum that could reverse that. Despite everything, she proved to be a strong woman. That could be in his advantage for stronger children, meaning stronger warriors to do his bidding. Zhil as the leader of one tribe was never enough. He wanted more than that.

Zhil forced Uru to be under house arrest with his best men on guard to prevent her from escaping. Uru wasn't having any of it. She couldn't bear the thought of living as a prisoner, living in fear much like her mother did. This is not the life she wanted. She wanted peace and harmony for her people, and these dreams, she knows she couldn't ignore them.  That night, she took a dare. Uru packed up, stole from Zhil's chest for some money, and tricked the guards. She barely made it out in one piece, but survived the escape.  Zhil did not send anyone after her. He believed Uru would not survive in the outside world and would have to come back. Once she does, he will be waiting. 

As much as it hurts, Uru knew she had to abandon her people and search for the truth of her dreams and learn to become stronger. Not just for herself, but for unity, tranquillity, and happiness for her tribe. From there, Uru left her name behind and took a new one. She named herself Harmony Halcyon with her sight set on Including results for Gridania. That is where her journey would begin.

One day, Harmony will return to her tribe, strong enough to end Zhil’s tyranny. 

[devourer--of--books]

tagatha dating simulator au

- It’s sunday night and local college student, Agatha, hasn’t sleep in two days, practically glued to her chair at the library, trying to absorb the maximum of information she possibly could before finals on monday morning.

- Sitting across from her is her roommate and best friend, Sophie, who doesn’t seem nearly as concerned, playing a game on her phone. Mostly because she already failed half of her courses and is considering dropping out of college to pursue a modeling career, why try at this point-

- Agatha appreciates that Sophie is keeping her company, she really does, but even if her friend was using headphones, Agatha can still hear the background music and the voice actors very clearly. That on its own was distracting enough, but it was always the same lines, with the background music looping as Sophie restarted the game prologue over and over again.

- Around the fifth time she hears the app-staring-exclamation ‘milady!’ her eye starts twitching.

- By the twelfth she slams her book shut, earning herself a glare from all the remaining students in the library.

- “How terrible do you have to be at a game to not be able to get through the prologue?” she whisper-shouts, taking the sit beside Sophie, looking at the screen.

- “That’s not the problem,” her friend defends, proceeding to explain the game.

- Trial by Tale is a recently released dating simulator that has managed to gather a cult-like following. The game was praised for its diverse range of LIs, well-written routes, stellar voice acting, high-quality art style and a beautiful soundtrack. It was apparently highly addicting as well, as Agatha had never seen Sophie be that invested in... any game... like, ever.

- Basically, the main character was transported inside a fairytale-fantasy-like world, where they were introduced as a ‘reader’ to compete in the ‘trial by tale’, a inter-worldly tournament, set up by a mysterious entity (a magical pen known as ‘the storian’), in which the winner would be granted an unconditional wish.

- “Original,” Agatha snorts.

- “Can you just shut up and listen?”

- During the prologue, the main character meets most of the main LIs and according to the player’s decisions, the game would put them into a specific route, based on affection levels with each datatable character.

- There were about thirty bad endings for the casual route (where the player either made stupid choices or didn’t gather enough affection with any LI), ranging from mildly sad to terribly gory. Then, each route had five early bad endings, that could happen during the trial, resulting in the main character’s death. 

- If the player managed to win the tournament with the LI, bargaining with the storian for the survival of two competitors, then two new endings would be unlocked: a normal ending, in which the reader would wish to go home and a happy ending, in which the reader wished to remain forever in the fairytale world living happily ever after with their partner.

- “And that’s where it gets weird,” Sophie pauses, opening up the Trial By Tale wiki page. “Every single LI has a walkthrough and seven possible endings.”

- She shows Agatha a bunch of characters, offering some commentary on their personalities and backstories. Then, she pauses at the last. "All but one." The character is the prettiest, if not a bit too perfect. ‘Tedros of Camelot’, it says on the top of his page, his basic info and biography listed to the side, but it’s full of gaps, blanks and ‘???’s. It was mentioned that he was a dateable character, yet no  walkthrough was provided.

- “Why doesn’t it say anything? Has he not been released?”

- “No one has managed to get his route so far, but according to the game developers, it’s possible. We don’t even know what his voice sounds like.”

- “And you think you will because…?”

- “I’m me. I’m getting Tedros’ route even if it’s the last thing I’ll do.”

- Agatha decides to leave her be, going back to the books, while asking for her to at least lower the volume.

- An hour or so goes by until Sophie grows hungry and decides to leave the library, going back to the dorm. After that, Agatha finally manages to concentrate, and time goes by in a flash.

- In fact, it passes so quickly that she’s not even sure what time it was. When did everyone leave?

- Her phone is dead and the clock on the wall is frozen at midnight. Probably broken, Agatha decides. It couldn’t be midnight, the lights were still on, the library closed at 10:30pm sharp and no one came to kick her out. She was tired, but she wasn’t deaf. She calls for the librarian.

- All the lights turn off at once. She’d be lying if she said it didn’t freak her out a bit.

- Then, she notices a blue glow from under the table. Please don’t let it be a demon.

- It’s a smartphone, with a bedazzled case, a loading blue screen emitting the light. Trial By Tale’s soundtrack starts to play and soon enough the words appear. Touch anywhere to start. That was Sophie’s phone. Which would be fine and normal and okay if Agatha wasn’t pretty sure Sophie left with it. 

- The music starts to loop, and Agatha uses the light to guide her to the entrance, only to find it locked. Every other exit was blocked as well. Ha. Funny.

- Eventually, she surrenders, clicking on the screen, trying to close the app. The last thing she hears is ‘milady!’ and everything turns black as she feels the floor disappear from under her feet, her consciousness fading as she fell into an abyss of darkness.

- She wakes up lying on grass, near a gate, the words Trial By Tale engraved on top of it.

- She pinches herself, feeling it sting as she stared at the gate, pinching harder and harder to the point she nearly screamed in pain. The gate was still there. Agatha focus on her senses. She’s never able to smell things on her dreams.

- This place smells like dirt, pines, dried blood and iron. 

- It’s a dream, she tries to convince herself. Very vivid dream, but it’s a dream.

- A bunch of floating text appears in front of her: Welcome, competitors!

- The storian tells Agatha everything Sophie already told her: it’s a tournament, in which 40 teens from different fairytale kingdoms, including the reader world, must compete amongst themselves for survival during 24 hours. You could pair up with someone, forming an alliance, but there could only be one winner. Then, the world froze, turning black and white, three options appearing in thin air:

A: I’m a boy 

B: I’m a girl 

C: I’m neither/both/something else.

- Agatha experiments. The text didn’t respond to her voice or gestures; she had to touch it. B. They disappeared up in smoke, being replaced by a new choice:

A: climb over the gate early 

B: go in as soon as the gong goes off

C: run into the woods

- All of those sound horrible, she’ll hang around here, thank you very much.

- Agatha decides to pick B, because it sounded the least likely to get her killed. Tapping the option, color returns and more texts appears, telling her the rest of the rules. Apparently, all forms of magic and weapons were allowed, as it was a tournament to the death.

- Well, she had neither a weapon nor any magic, geez, things were certainly looking up.

- A gong can be heard and Agatha waits for her legs to magically move according to her choice. 

- They don’t.

- She debates on staying put for a few minutes, maybe way too many, but then she remembers: casual route endings vary from mildly sad to terribly gory. Agatha doesn’t wanna find out which one she’d get by sticking around.

- Her future now depends on her romancing one of these pieces of code. Thankfully, it was just a dream, right?

- Inside the arena (?), she gets some other choices, which Agatha uses to her advantage, trying to figure out which LI she was going for and how to win them over.

- Hort, according to her friend, was the easiest to please and the most boring of them all. Nicola was efficient and Sophie had managed to unlock her happy ending without a walkthrough. Aric was a psycho, and so was Japeth. Don’t pick Rhian, her friend had warned. Anadil was a hard one to guess without the walkthough, Hester was super hot and Agatha’s type but that could go very wrong (clearly her type wasn’t working out, as she was painfully single) and-

- Is that Japeth or Rhian? She can’t tell, but he’s coming her way.

A: introduce yourself

B: try to kill him

C: hide behind the rock

- She chooses C, but climbs a tree instead, because he surely would be able to see her behind the rock, was he blind or something?

- “You sure are taking your time choosing,” a voice whispers from the branch above her, nearly giving her a heart attack, “...first time player maybe? Or just dumb?”

- Tedros, the mysterious character, was looking down at her, resting on a higher branch. 

- Agatha glares at him before blurting: “You’re shorter than you look on your CG.”

- He chokes. “You can hear me?” 

- “Why are you british?” she notices the accent, given how different it sounded from all the other voice actors. 

- “I’m bi,” he frowns at her in offended confusion.

- (The himbo energy in this bus is astronomical.)

- They bicker a bit and Japeth grows suspicious of the hushed conversation, nearing the tree. Tedros asks for her help taking him down. Agatha is like, sure, whatever at this point, just trying to forget that Tedros broke the fourth wall. It’s a dream, don’t overthink too much.

- She distracts Japeth, and Tedros tries to ambush him, but it backfires horribly, resulting in Tedros now being a few seconds away from dying a very very painful death.

A: run away

B: ally yourself with Japeth

- Agatha hesitates over option A, convincing herself that Tedros wasn’t a real person. He was a just a character in a game. But while the entire world is black and white waiting for her answer, she swears his eyes remain icy blue. 

- Trick of the light?

- She presses A but throws herself towards Japeth, colliding with him. Agatha ends up being stabbed in the arm, but otherwise fine, which is more than Japeth can say, as he fell into a conveniently located black hole. That hurt like a bitch, how is this a dream?

- Tedros is shook.

- “What did you do? How did you even-” he eyes the blood in her arm. “You’re bleeding!” Tedros rips his shirt to wrap it around the wound, and Agatha does her best not to stare at him while he tends to the wound.

- A blue ribbon in the sky tells Agatha she is now on Tedros’ route. A ribbon they can both read.

- “That’s… troublesome.”

- “What, is your route cursed or something?”

- “...”

- “It’s totally cursed, isn’t it?”

- They argue a bunch and Agatha tries to ditch him but ends up almost dying twice. Tedros saves her, and insists that since he accidentally gave her his route, he’ll help her stay alive for as long as he can. 

- Together they figure out that Agatha’s ability to disobey the game choices might be able to uncurse his route, hopefully sending her home by the end and resetting the game as it was meant to be, allowing people play his route.

- Agatha is pretty sure Tedros is not telling her something, but she kinda does owns him her life now (“2x1, sucks to suck, reader.”) and he offered to share some of his food and hiding spot with her. Doesn’t hurt that he clearly knew how to fight and had a big sword, while Agatha had.... free will and nothing else apparently???

- They end up talking over fruits and water (we love a healthy king) in a cave and Agatha finds out basically every other character’s backstory, learning a ton about the context of these trials as well as what the game felt like for the characters.

- According to Tedros, every other character was doomed to repeat the same route and actions following the reader’s choices, only to lose all memories by the end, as the game reseted. They were all blissfully ignorant of the fact that this was, in fact, a dating simulator. All of them but Tedros. When Agatha asks him why, he closes off:

- “Every single character has a core wish they want fulfilled. It can be the same wish every time, or it can change once your route resets. My original wish contradicted the memory reset, so no one has been able to play my route at all. And if no one plays, I can’t reset. If you go home and the game resets, I’ll make a different wish and my route should be fixed for good.”

- Agatha doesn’t ask what he wished for and he doesn’t tell her either; it feels like way too personal of a question for strangers eating berries in a cave.

- She does ask him what his new wish will be, though.

 - “I’ll restore my kingdom back to its former glory,” he starts, a certain sadness in his eyes. “They deserve a prince who doesn’t waste time wishing for-” Tedros interrupts himself, telling her about his kingdom instead.

- Agatha knows he’s related to King Arthur due to his name on the Trial By Tale wiki, but she’s surprised that he actually gives her that info willingly. He is indeed the prince of Camelot, but his mother abandoned the palace when he was nine and then his father died a few years later, sending the kingdom into despair and disgrace. 

- (“That’s rough, buddy.”)

- To lighten the mood, she decides to tell him about ‘the reader world’. 

- “To exist in your world might be something then,” he smiles, “I mean, beats hanging around here. You said you have a machine that can play music anytime you want?”

 - Tedros is fascinated with everything and asks her about all sorts of stuff, like about politics, lgbtqa+ rights, tik tok, food, the economy, school and fashion trends. Also, memes, lots of memes.

- They spend like 8 hours straight hidden in a cave, just talking, bickering and actually having a lot of fun. The lack of choices even makes her forget she was still in a game.

- Tedros notices how tired she looks and offers to keep watch while she sleeps.

A: say no as a joke

B: outright refuse

- Agatha taps A.

- “Sure, do you mind if I lean on you though?”

- Is this like a date or are we like doing my route and you’re sleeping on my arm platonically? Tedros is shook, part 2.

- Agatha tries not to fall asleep, but she does take a nap, leaning on his shoulder. Surprisingly enough, an hour later she’s still alive, but her head was now on his lap and he was petting her hair.

- “Hi.”

- “Hi.”

A: get up

B: kiss him

- She doesn’t wanna get up, but she doesn’t really feel like kissing him would be appropriate for the moment. She presses B, yet remains still for next few minutes. Tedros looks a bit disappointed, as if he was waiting for her.

- “Aren’t you going to kiss me?”

- “Do you want me to?”

- He doesn’t reply immediately, running his fingers through her hair. “Everyone wants to kiss me. I’m hot, I’m a prince and I’m rich.”

- “You’re gonna need to do better than that to get me to kiss you,” Agatha tells him. “If we survive this I’ll kiss you once, just before we unlock your normal ending and I go home. For a CG.”

- “But then I won’t remember it at all.”

- The comment makes her nervous. Once this is over and Tedros gets his route unlocked, he’s gonna be just another character. He’ll say things like that to everyone. Agatha has to chastise herself for growing attached to a video game character. He’s not real. He wasn’t yours to begin with, you’ve known him for less than a day. Get a grip.

- They stay in silence until another gong goes off, the storian’s text showing up in the air: “12 hours left. Only 10 competitors remain.”

A: stay in the cave

B: leave

- Agatha chooses B and they head out of the cave to see who else was alive, just in time to not be crushed under heavy rocks. Strangely they don’t bump into anyone. What they do run into, though, is a bunch of traps and creatures meant to randomly eliminate competitors. Great.

- Somehow, Agatha always chooses the right option and alters her actions just enough to save them at the last minute. Is she a pro-gamer? One can only marvel at how lucky she’s been getting in this game. No, but like, really, is she? Tedros is impressed.

- At the 6 hour mark, there’s 4 people left, including the two of them. He’s been eyeing Agatha weirdly and she doesn’t know what to think of it because she liked hanging out with him, but at the same time, he is a piece of code.

- There’s like, a dramatic confrontation with the other two competitors, which turn out to be Aric and Hester, not as a pair, but as individuals, and it ends up working out in Tedros and Agatha’s favor, as those two end up murdering each othe while Tedros and Agatha have the advantage of teamwork. It’s a great action sequence, but if you’ve read this far, I’m pretty sure you’re not here for the action.

- Anyway, the storian appears, but unlike the other routes, instead of giving Agatha the opportunity to bargain for them both to survive, her options are:

A: kill Tedros

B: kill Tedros

- Agatha doesn’t tap either. She stays still, glaring at the pen while the world remained black and white.

- Then, the entire arena starts to shake, the game glitching as Tedros moves, his colors fading in and out, his expression tortured, as if just smiling at her was painful, his eyes glowing unnaturally blue. “Let’s get you home,” he mouths, before stabbing himself with his own sword, falling to the floor as the colors returned for good.

- Agatha couldn’t breathe, kneeling beside him.

- “To meet someone who’d love me for me,” he admits, bleeding out into the ground, a single tear running down his face. “That was my original wish. And then I met you.”

- She kisses him on the lips, and as you know, true love’s kiss breaks every spell, heals every wound and transcends the limits of storytelling.

- Tedros’ chest is slowly healing, but just as he gets stronger, Agatha grows weaker, starting to disappear through his fingers in rays of lights, back to the reader’s world, leaving a lonely prince by himself in a bloody arena with a magical pen.

- “Unconditional wish for the winner, hm?”

- Back at the library, Agatha wakes up with a snap, falling off her chair.

- The clock on the wall reads 10pm and the few students left at the library glare at her. She hurries to gather her things in her arms, going back to her dorm trying to make sense of what just happened. It was all a dream. It had to be because her arm is intact. She has been running on too much caffeine, finals start the next morning, she was stressed, that’s all.

- Sophie is still playing the game once Agatha arrives at the dorm, and as soon as she walks in, her friend tells her the news:

- “See, darling, I told you I’d get Chaddick’s route eventually!”

- Chaddick’s route?

- Agatha doesn’t even reply, going straight to bed, still haunted. That night, she has no dreams of handsome boys in caves, neither does she dream of blue-eyed princes bleeding out.

- Monday afternoon, though, a distracted Agatha is walking back to her dorm after taking her exams, when she bumps into someone, nearly knocking her over. She is about to yell at the stranger when her voice gets caught on her throat.

- “To exist in your world might be something,” the familiar stranger smiles at her, “I mean, I’m Tedros Pendragon, nice to meet you.”

[crystaljins]

A long journey home| 01

Characters: Taehyung x Reader

Word count: 9.1K

Synopsis:  All you wanted was to confront your flaky coworker, Taehyung, not get dragged across a magical fantasy realm trying to deliver a baby dragon safely back to its home kingdom.

Fantasy!au

Notes: I’m not really sure what this is, if I’m being honest. Just a fic so big I split it into two. I basically just wrote whatever I thought was fun and so there’s not a huge amount of plot or anything, really. Just me having fun. Hopefully its fun for you too, at least.

1 | 2 

The second they wrench off the blindfold, you know you aren’t on earth anymore. You don’t know how you know- the dark green leaves that paint the backdrop of your surroundings could be native to any forest, anywhere in the world. But instinctively you can feel it- a magical thickness to the air that tells you that you are very, very far from home.

Two men pin your arms in place with tight grips on your upper arms- if they can even be called men. Their hands are hidden beneath thick leather gloves but you don’t think the leather hides flesh and bone. No, each uncomfortable shift feels like there are knife blades sliding along your skin, sheathed by the leather. Their faces are wrapped in thick black shawls so that only glittery eyes peek through thin slits in the material and there’s something inhuman about their eyes. Both men glare straight ahead and you allow your gaze to shift until it settles on Kim Taehyung, the very man who got you into this mess.

In his defence, you don’t think he did it intentionally. No, you doubt he was even aware that you’d been dragged into this realm while your captors pursued him until this very moment if the way his eyes widen just the slightest bit is anything to go by. But you wouldn’t have been captured and held hostage for the past 48 hours if you hadn’t gone to his house two days prior, that’s for sure. A mere 48 hours ago, when the world had been simple and easy and Taehyung had just been an annoying colleague who never pulled his weight.

You had been constantly making up for his slack- staying late, coming in early, working through your lunchbreak, all to make up for the fact that Taehyung is about as reliable as an umbrella in a hurricane. When he does bother to show up to work, he works diligently and thoroughly and is the kind of worker that is friendly and warm and popular and always getting invited to office parties (which is probably how he’s escaped getting fired thus far). But when he doesn’t show up, it is usually at the worst possible time, like right before a meeting that he was supposed to present at (although that burden then falls to you when the boss realises that Taehyung isn’t coming, 5 minutes into the meeting), or in the busy season where you need all hands on deck. And when Taehyung had not shown up two days earlier, you had been forced to pull an all-nighter and missed your niece’s 1st birthday party. That had been the straw that broke the camel’s back. You had tolerated his behaviour and even covered for him when he requested it of you because you felt bad for him and weren’t really the type to turn down someone who needed your help. But enough is enough and you could cover for Taehyung no longer. Especially when your ailing father rang you and asked why you hadn’t shown up to what might possibly be the last family gathering that all of you are together for.

You had stormed over to Taehyung’s apartment and banged on the door until he answered. Only it hadn’t been Taehyung that answered but three creatures that were most definitely not human, fresh from trashing his apartment while searching for him. They had seen you, assumed you were close with Taehyung, and deemed you of appropriate worth to take along in their pursuit.

Now you kneel helplessly, still in your work uniform from two days ago though it is now soiled and partly torn from mistreatment. You must look quite the sight, dirty and kneeling on the floor of some mythical forest in a pencil skirt and a formerly-white button down.

“(Y/N)?” He asks. Taehyung is a fairly unflappable kind of guy. There are jokes at the office that the building could be burning around him and he’d stop to take a selfie with the flower arrangement in the lobby before evacuating. But he looks genuinely gobsmacked in that moment and if you hadn’t been afraid when you’d first been abducted 2 days ago, then you are now. If Taehyung is scared, then things are serious. You shouldn’t have listened to Jimin’s encouragements to confront Taehyung and you shouldn’t have gone to his apartment. If you hadn’t, you’d probably be sitting at home, watching Netflix and enjoying a blissful day off. You would be completely ignorant to the presence of the supernatural beings you had previously thought only existed in storybooks. But no, now the proof of creatures that even humans could not have managed is not just limited to three beings surrounding you, two of whom are restraining you, but the small, frightened little creature in front of you which may or may not be a baby dragon. It burrows into Taehyung’s arms like a frightened kitten. The sight would be endearing if that little creature wasn’t currently a bargaining chip for your life. “What are you doing here? How did you get here?”

“I don’t know.” You say, and though you try to sound normal, terror has your voice wobbling with unshed tears. A glare from one of the captors still restraining you has you clamping your jaw shut.

“Do not speak,” It hisses, and if you had to describe the odd quality of their voices, it would be reptilian. Great. You had been kidnapped by lizard men.

The leader, the one not holding you down, pulls off his shawl and the beastly scaled face that lies beneath has you feeling light-headed. Not two days ago you were a simple office worker, a bit plain, maybe a little bit too much of a pushover, prone to crying a little too much, but human. Ordinary, plain, boring human. Magic, mythology… those were fictional things. But no. Unless this is some sort of weird fever dream (which you haven’t entirely ruled out as a possibility yet), you are currently a supporting character in a fantasy thriller that is unfortunately not fictional.

“Choose, Guardian. Your mate’s life or the dragonling’s.” The leader snarls. “We don’t have all day- our Queen wants her prize delivered.”

“Don’t count your dragons before they hatch,” Taehung protests, his hand resting on what you recognise as the hilt to a sword. Why does he have a sword and not a gun? Why not make use of the very lethal technology humans are unfortunately good at creating? “I’m not handing this little one over. You’ll have to kill her.”

Your eyes go wide, but he doesn’t spare you a glance. He shifts his posture, hoisting the little dragon higher against him in his arms and all traces of shock and distress are wiped clean from his face. A trill of fear runs through you at the clinical, detached way he regards you. Surely he wouldn’t allow these creatures to kill you? Yes, you weren’t particularly close, but you were still coworkers and he certainly owed you at least some sort of attempt to save you in exchange for all the favours you’ve done him!

“Taehyung,” You plead, and the tears you had managed to hold in throughout this whole ordeal suddenly spill further but he pointedly ignores you. “Taehyung,” You say again, trying to gather the words that will convince him to save you. He finally looks your way at this, but he merely looks at you like you are a jewel he finds intriguing but not worth the purchase.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” He says, and while he’s always been fond of using pet names for you, this one feels like a punch in the gut. “I do hate to have casualties when I work, but you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. You aren’t worth the price.”

Your jaw drops in offence.

He offers a disinterested look to your captors and turns away.

“Kill her.” He offers over his shoulder, already walking away.

“You… you have to be kidding me,” You gasp incredulously. “After everything I’ve… you’re just going to… No! No way!” You cry.

Though you are largely a timid and obedient worker and Jimin is constantly berating you for being a pushover, there is the odd occasion that you get angry. Those occasions are few and far between, but you feel it now, frustration, pain, anguish and fear building in your chest like the crest of a wave about to burst into frothy foam. He’d… he’d just leave you to die?

“You idiot lizardmen!” You screech. Your anger bursts forth in the form of your enraged screech. No longer is the fear of them enough to hold you in place. And clearly you can’t rely on Taehyung to help you out. You flail in their hold and ignore the way their gloves claws dig painfully into your skin. The little dragon in Taehyung’s arms whines in fright at your outburst. “Why the heck did you drag me into this you douchebags! If you’re going to threaten him at least use someone who actually knows him or check your facts or something! Plus if I’m going to die at least let it be for someone better than him! He didn’t even try you assholes!” You yell kicking out with your legs and they had managed to subdue you thus far with your fear of their sharp claws but that is no longer sufficient now that you have reached the current stage of hysteria. “You’re honestly going to kill me because you weren’t clever enough to find one of Taehyung’s genuine friends? Granted that’s a difficult ask because he probably doesn’t have any cause he just leaves the ones he has to die!”

You thrash wildly in their grasps and their claws slice into the skin of your biceps. But they did not restrain your legs and so you kick out. One of your wild strikes collides with the back of what you think may be the lizard man’s knee. He crumples with a grunt and releases you.

Taehyung must not have gone that far- suddenly he has taken advantage of the lizardmen losing control of you and their lapse of attention on him.

“Shouldn’t have let your guard down.” Taehyung announced with a chilling smirk and the next thing you know it that all three guards are disabled and unconscious across the forest floor. Taehyung grabs urgently at your hand and drags you to your feet- he does not flinch at the way your fingernails are bloodied and dirty.

“We have to go.” He tells you urgently, attempting to flee with the baby dragon cradled by one arm and you hand grasped tightly in his. Your shoes were lost long ago- you aren’t sure at what point, having been blindfolded for the better part of the last two days and you are in no condition to flee with him.

Nor do you want to- the man just offered your life in exchange for keeping a dog-sized lizard!

“Let me go!” You cry, wrenching your hand free. You wince when you step on a tree branch and Taehyung’s gaze drops to your bare feet. “I don’t want to go with you, you psycho I almost died because of you!”

“We don’t have time for this!” He snaps, going to drag you again, but you flinch away from his swiping hand.

“You don’t have time for this! Just leave me to the lizardmen at least they’re loyal-“ He cuts off whatever rubbish is bursting forth from your lips by throwing you over his other should like you weigh little more than a bag of feathers.

“Sorry, darling, but we have to get out of here.” He exclaims and then he’s running with you bouncing on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, screaming and protesting the whole way.

++

When Taehyung finally sets you down in small clearing a long way away from your former captors, you do not hesitate. He immediately turns his attention to the dragon in his arms, setting it down and examining it for any signs of harm. You make a break for it, aiming to sprint past Taehyung, barefooted and still wearing your ruined office attire. With lightening fast reflexes, however, he snags your arm with one hand- beside him the little dragon coos curiously.

“And where do you think you’re going?” He asks, tugging you backwards until you stand before him once more.

“Away.” You cry. “You were just about to have me killed for a lizard!”

“He’s a dragon,” Is Taehyung’s icy response. He folds his arms across his chest and tilts his head. “And darling, I’d think you’d know me well enough to tell when I’m lying through my teeth. I was never going to allow them to kill you. I just needed them to let their guard down enough to gain the upper hand. Although you freaking out was a very nice touch.”

That gives you pause. You dig your teeth into your bottom lip, contemplating your next move, before finally relaxing your posture. Taehyung relaxes too, sensing that you are no longer on the verge of taking flight.

“That’s what was happening?” You finally ask. You don’t mean for your voice to catch in the way that it does. It’s just that you’re scared and confused and you nearly died. Taehyung’s expression softens and he sinks onto the forest ground, patting the space beside him to indicate you should do the same. Reluctantly, you sink to the ground- your legs give out half way though and Taehyung reaches out to steady you.

“Are you ok?” He asks, taking the opportunity to examine you. Your skin is caked with a thin layer of dirt. Your hands and knees are grazed and scabbed over. There are some bruises on your cheek and arms from the initial struggle of when you were taken captive and the sleeves of your dirty white button up are sliced into ribbons and slowly turning red from where the lizardmen claws had cut into you. Taehyung grimaces at the state you’re in and reaches for a satchel he’s been carrying since you first laid eyes on him. He pulls out what you recognise to be a first aid kit and sets it beside him. He draws near and begins to produce various ointments and salves that you don’t think can be purchased over the counter at your local chemist.

“I have a lot to explain, I suppose,” He says slowly, tending to your wounds as he speaks. “But first, I need to know something- how did you get here? This is not a place any human can get to. And how did you end up with those men?”

You fidget with the hem of your skirt. The air is cool but not cold and so you are coping in the outfit you are wearing, but you will need new clothes and shoes if you are to get out of this wretched forest any time soon.

“I… I went to your apartment.” You confess. Your desire to confront Taehyung over his work ethic has long fizzled out over the traumatic events of the past few days. Now it all seems like a distant memory, like a dream you had a long time ago and can’t quit recall the details of. “Because I wanted to talk to you.”

Interest sparks in Taehyung’s eyes and a slight smile crosses his face.

“Oh?” He says, and you grimace at the way he’s misinterpreted your words. “Do tell, sweetheart.”

“Not like that! I wanted to talk to you about what a terrible worker you are!” You snap, and the smile slides off his face like you’ve slapped him. “And I was going to tell you that I couldn’t keep covering for you at work anymore, but those lizardmen were there, trashing your apartment and they thought I was close to you. They dragged me with them through this weird doorway thing and we ended up in this forest and have been travelling through it for the past two days.”

Taehyung’s gaze darkens.

“I’m sorry for that. They were looking for this little one.” Taehyung says, reaching out to gently stroke the head of the little dragon. It purrs like a kitten and watches you through narrowed eyes. “This is Taithrwyn. I call him Tata though because that’s a bit of mouthful. He’s the last dragon prince and I swore an oath to his former guardians before they died on my front doorstep that I would return him safely to his kingdom before the full moon. Which means I have approximately one week to cross this entire continent.”

Taithrwyn takes hesitant steps towards you, his eyes cautious and regarding. His nostrils flare as he extends his neck, taking in your scent. As he turns his face towards you, the meagre light shining through the forest canopy catches his scales- they gleam a metallic red. Each scale has a gradient, however- they begin a brilliant scarlet and then gradually fade into a warm yellow that shimmers gold in the soft forest light. His eyes are cat-like- he watches you through slit-like pupils and earthy green irises. Hesitantly, you extend an open palm towards him, like he is a stray cat you’re trying to entice close enough to pet. He watches the gesture closely before leaning forward to press the tip of his snout into your open palm, closing his eyes. A warm feeling fills you at the action. You do not know much about dragons and did not know they existed prior to today, but something tells you that Tata’s tiny little gesture means a lot in his language.

Taehyung watches the exchange carefully, a small smile on his face.

“He likes you.” Taehyung offers, and Tata punctuates his statement by clambering into your lap. “Watch your claws, Tata.” He scolds and you wince as his tiny claws leave little scratch marks on your exposed thighs.

“Is the oath why you were going to let me die? You said you wouldn’t let them kill me… but what if your plan had failed? Would you have left me?” You ask softly. Taehyung does not answer for a moment, but he goes still and his teeth dig into his bottom lip contemplatively.

“Yes.” He finally answers. His answer shouldn’t hurt or surprise you- what are you to Taehyung, that he’d choose you over a baby dragon prince? Especially if he had promised someone else to prioritise it. So why do your eyes water and why do you find yourself blinking back tears? He’s not done rubbing salt in your wounds, however- he continues on. “The life of the last dragon prince is more important than a human’s, no matter who that human may be. And I swore an oath- amongst my kind that is something we take very seriously.”

“Right.” You answer, though your voice is strained with the effort to keep it even and unaffected. “Well, I’ll just let you get back to that, then- if you could just tell me how to get home, I’d really appreciate it.”

“Wait!” Taehyung calls, halting you in the process of getting to your feet. “Where are you going?”

“Home.” You say, and the word is loaded with more desperation and anguish than you had anticipated. But the past two days have been hell. In the worst sense of the word. You had been terrified for your life, trapped with strange creature, wondering through a forest, far from home without knowing if you’d ever get out. If you’d ever get to go home. If you’d be alive for your niece’s second birthday. And Taehyung had been willing to let your life end there. To let it fizzle out after being dragged from everything you knew for a mistake. You want to go home, to your family and friends and coworkers. And to your job. You’d worked so hard to get to where you were but you had allowed your work to become a curse, to become something you hated just to stop the man in front of you from getting fired. When your life apparently meant nothing to him. “I’m going home, Taehyung.”

“You can’t.” Taehyung blurts, and when you don’t answer, he rubs uncomfortably at the back of his neck. “I don’t know how to tell you this, love, but this isn’t the kind of forest a mere human can get out of alive. We aren’t in the human realm anymore. All the rules you know about nature… everything you know to be true… out here they aren’t true anymore. If you go off on your own, the best possible outcome is that you get eaten.” He confesses to you. “Because it’s the quickest and most painless way to go.”

A shiver runs down your spine and the darkening light of the forest around you suddenly seems more menacing than before. You feel a creeping sensation along your skin and flinch. He’s right- you’re barefooted, bleeding and lost. You have nothing on you but the ruined clothes on your back and you probably aren’t even on the same planet any more.

“So then what do I do?” You ask, your voice trembling and uncertain. Taehyung shrugs.

“You come with me. I’ll keep you safe.” He says, as if it’s the most obvious and simple solution. You stare incredulously.

“You? We only just escaped from lizardmen that you were going to let slit my throat with their weird claws in exchange for your pet dragon and you want me to believe you’re the safest option in this place?” You demand furiously. Taehyung grins, and something dark and decidedly inhuman glitters behind his eyes, something you’d never seen before. In that moment, it clicks into place- Taehyung is not a human being. He is not the flaky office worker you thought he was- he is something more ferocious and terrifying and you feel a chill to your skin.

“Oh, darling.” He says. “I never said I was the safest option. Just that I’m your best bet of getting out of here alive. You’ll get to go home once I have successfully returned Tata to his kingdom.”

A strange kind of resignation fills you because Taehyung is right. You sink back onto the ground beside him and Tata climbs back into your lap, curling up like a little lap dog. He’s about the size of a small dog but he’s warmer than one- you didn’t realise how chilled your skin was until you felt the warmth of his scales against you. Involuntarily, you curl your body into wards him more and he lets out a pleased little trill.

“Who are you, Taehyung? Where am I? Why did you promise to take a baby dragon home?” You ask, tracing figures into the soil beneath you as you speak. Taehyung sighs and leans backwards, making himself comfortable before a long explanation.

“In this realm they actually know me as V. Taehyung is my birth name, but I think “V” has a much more dramatic ring to it.” He admits. “And as you may have guessed… I am not a human. I was raised in this realm but I came to yours when I started highschool. My kind was driven from this realm following an awful war and my family were amongst the victims. I’ve been hiding my identity ever since, but due to what I am, non-human creatures in need of help often seek me out. I can travel between realms freely and so they want me to help them. And I can’t in good conscious turn them away. It’s why I’m always flaking at work.” He tells you. You do not respond- so his flakiness was because he was helping people? You aren’t sure how that makes you feel and so you allow him to continue without interruption. “A few days ago, the day before that I was meant to do that presentation, I really wanted to prove I wouldn’t flake as much anymore. But then two of my people, ones who had also come to the human realm following the war, turned up on my doorstep. They were in poor state, and they had little Tata here in tow.” Taehyung’s gaze darkens and his eyes pool with unshed tears. “I did not know them personally but you can’t help but feel a sense of kinship with your people when you come across them in a foreign realm. They had given their lives trying to deliver him home before his coronation after rescuing him from some poachers. And on their deathbeds they asked that I finish their journey for them. I came here to bury them. And I had promised them,” His voice catches, but he clears his throat and soldiers on. “I promised them I would get him home safely and so I will.”

“I… I missed my niece’s first birthday filling in for you. You didn’t even have the decency to text that you wouldn’t make the presentation. I got in trouble and was given one day to redo it and give the presentation, without any of the information you had.” You confess because while his reason for skipping work was to help people, you still want him to know why it hurt you.

“And for that, I am sorry. I know I’m always relying on you… but it wasn’t supposed to take this long. Time passes differently in the human realm, and I was supposed to be back within the hour. But I miscalculated a few… risk factors- I hadn’t realised those men were in pursuit and a lot of people would give an arm and a leg to be in possession of a baby dragon. I’ve been here two weeks trying to avoid getting caught. And I know it’s been stressful for you and I will always be grateful for you covering my back like you have. I promise you that I will get you home safely. Just because Tata takes priority does not mean I will allow any harm to come to you.” He tells you sincerely. You watch him carefully, but you feel a tension you didn’t know you were holding in yourself give way at his sincerity. He watches you with large, remorseful eyes and his promise hovers in the air between you. You inhale deeply.

“O-ok.” You say. “Fine. You… you have my trust. Just… please. Get me home, Taehyung.” You tell him, and your desperation must be shining in your gaze but he just looks taken aback at your admission of trust. He offers you a wide smile, the one that reminds you how handsome he is and why he has so many of your coworkers’ adoration.

“I will, sweetheart, I promise.”

++

And just like that, you end up travelling with Taehyung. There’s still so much information you don’t have and you are still scared and confused. But there’s only so much Taehyung can tell you in hushed whispers on the forest floor with the risk of your pursuers turning up once more. After some interrogation, Taehyung reveals he is skilled enough in combat that as long as it doesn’t turn into a hostage situation then he should be able to adequately protect you and Tata. Still, when the three of you set off quickly, you proceed with caution and are constantly on the lookout for any sign of your former captors.

Taehyung keeps a spare pair of boots in his satchel (which is magically charmed to hold far more than it should). They are far too large, and your feet keep slipping in them but the alternative is exposing yourself to the numerous sharp objects littering the forest floor that can cut into the exposed soles of your feet. He offers you a large cotton tunic which is better than the pencil skirt and ruined office shirt and there’s no hope for his spare pair of pants fitting you for Taehyung is long and large. This would normally not bother you- the cut is similar to a sleeveless dress, albeit a bit more formless, but for some reason you feel exposed. Perhaps it is to do with the devious smile Taehyung offers you when you are done changing.

“This is good motivation to buy you proper clothes when we get into town.” He comments. You are instantly on guard from the way his tone drips with mischievous intent.

“Why?” You demand, a little defensive and on edge.

“Because,” and his gaze turns from a fox-like glee to something decidedly serpentine as he slides it over your body. You feel as though he had just trailed his fingers over your skin. “I would hate for anyone else to see you looking so cute.”

Flirtatious comments such as those are to be the norm for the rest of the journey, something that you eventually begin to expect from him, but you don’t realise that yet and are caught off guard in that moment. You hope that he misses the way your ears are probably hot enough to fry eggs.

You don’t take a hurried pace, but it is rather relentless. Taehyung refuses to allow his stress to affect you but there is a looming deadline for this adventure. Apparently Tata’s coronation is meant to be in a week. Upon rescuing him from his poachers, his former guardians had been in contact with the ailing dragon king and promised to get Tata home before the planned date for his coronation as Dragon Prince. He is not old enough to rule yet, but apparently young dragons undergo a ceremony to declare their royalty and the best translation for the word Taehyung could think of was “coronation”. Getting there in time means travelling across treacherous lands that a fragile and terrified human like you would struggle with. But there isn’t time for Taehyung to take you to the portal that would take you home, in the opposite direction. Instead, you are stuck along for the ride. You must proceed carefully- apparently there are a lot of people who would benefit from selling Tata. Even just his claws have incredibly useful abilities. Fortunately, Tata has the ability to turn invisible which saves you the hassle and difficulty of having to avoid towns completely and pick up supplies through alternate means.

At least the journey is pleasant. It’s like being dropped into a Lord of the Rings novel. You admire the scenery around you in wonder- you have left that awful forest before and now wonder through what you think may be a field of barley. Wheat shimmers like gold in the bright sunlight and there is a dry but pleasant scent to the air. Overhead, the sky is a smooth, uninterrupted blanket of azure blue. Taehyung hums beside you, answering all your questions without a hint of irritation or impatience while Tata stalks what you think may be a cricket.

“So if you aren’t human, what are you?” You inquire. Taehyung shrugs.

“There isn’t really a word for it in your language.” He admits. “I suppose the best word for it is a “guardian” or maybe a “protector”? They say the gods bestowed us with enhanced abilities to protect others. Every creature born in this realm knows that they can seek us out when they need help. Still, they also fear us greatly for our strength which is perhaps why we were driven out.”

“And you still return here to help? After they drove you from your home?” You ask, feeling a mixture of compassion and sadness on his behalf at his admission. He simply smiles thoughtfully.

“It’s my legacy and my honour to do so.” He points out. “To ignore a cry for help would be to spit on everything that I am and on every sacrifice my parents made to raise me in the culture they loved in a foreign realm where the rules of reality differed. And I already make every effort to hide what I am- this is the one thing I cannot and will not pretend does not exist.”

You are silent. Any further questions are thwarted by an intense glow of admiration towards your co-worker. You lick your lips and swallow a few times before you finally find your voice.

“I had no idea.” You admit. He chuckles and shakes his head.

“No need for remorse, lovely. I’m sure you understand better than everyone- not a lot of people would go to the lengths you have to cover for their flaky co-worker.” He reassures you with a wink and a warm smile. Tata coos his agreement, but the conversation ends there because Tata has successfully caught his cricket and you are deathly afraid of bugs.

++

Apparently the next town, where you will be able to buy horses and supplies and halve the daunting journey ahead of you by doing so, is a 6 hour walk away, skirting around the edge of a mountain. But Taehyung proudly presents what he reckons is a shortcut through the mountain, allowing you to reach town in a mere hour. 

You stare dubiously at the decrepit entrance to the tunnel. As daunting and painful as a 6 hour walk in shoes that don’t quite fit an a tunic that barely qualifies as a dress seems, an hour in a cramped, confined and dodgy tunnel seems infinitely worse.

“Are... are you sure about this, Taehyung?” You ask hesitantly. He grins.

“Sure I am! Admittedly it’s been about six months in the human realm since I came here which probably translates to about 60 years in this realm? But how much can change in 60 years?” Is his dismissive answer. He doesn’t hear your answering “A lot!” Because he has already set off, with Tata ambling along in tow. You do not wish to be left behind and are faced with no choice but to follow. 

Inside the air is musty and there is an unpleasant moisture to the air. It is also pitch black which Taehyung quickly rectifies by sliding something onto his finger. It lights up the area around you and it seems to be some sort of ring. There is no direct light source coming from it, yet you can see as well as if Taehyung were holding a torch. Tata’s scales glint in the light and intensify the brightness. The interior is not impressive- rocks, uneven ground, and a slick mossy quality to the walls that has you grimacing.

“You look pale.” Taehyung comments, from closer than you expected. You jump slightly and grasp your chest.

“I… I don’t like enclosed spaces.” You confess. “But… if you’re sure it’s safe, then I’ll manage. It’s better than a six hour walk across the mountainside, I suppose.”

“That’s the spirit, sweetheart!” Taehyung crows cheerfully. He sets the lead, walking maybe a metre in front of you. You follow timidly, cautious of the way your feet slip in the boots and the way the uneven ground promises a sprained ankle if you are not careful. That will surely make the next few days difficult.

You make it maybe 15 minutes into the tunnel when it happens. An ominous sort of whisper, so soft you almost miss it, sounds from somewhere behind you.

“Did you hear that?” You ask, wrapping your arms protectively around yourself. Taehyung had given you his coat upon realising the cave was a little too cool for your attire, but you still felt cold. There was a chill to the air you couldn’t quite shake off. Beside you, Tata pauses at your legs, looking around with wide eyes. Taehyung pauses, tilting his head slightly as he listens carefully for any unusual sounds. Upon hearing nothing, he shrugs.

“We probably aren’t the only ones using this tunnel.” He points out. “I can’t hear anything that you wouldn’t normally hear in a tunnel like this and my hearing is far better than yours.” He continues walking, expecting you to follow.

“Ok…” You say hesitantly, but you aren’t convinced. Perhaps the darkness is just getting to you though, so you quiet and obediently follow his lead. He’s set off at a slightly faster pace than expected, though Tata sits obediently by your side. Perhaps he senses your unease, or even shares it. Allowing Taehyung to get so far ahead is your mistake though because the ominous whispering sounds again and is suddenly replaced with a deafening roar and the next thing you know, the floor is collapsing beneath you. “Taehyung!” You cry and the last thing you see before you and Tata plummet is his expression. Wide, shocked, and horrified. He has an arm extended towards you and his mouth is open in a soundless shout but then everything goes black.

You could wake up immediately or a few hours later but you wouldn’t really know. You have no way of knowing, but you must have lost consciousness during the fall. You know because you snap awake when Tata nuzzles into you with a sad clicking noise. When you run your fingers through your hair they come away sticky and warm. It is too dark to tell but you hope it isn’t blood. You sit up and are overcome with a ferocious wave of dizziness. It takes a few moments of deep breathing before you are able to sit up and hold yourself upwards. Tata nudges his nose into you, clearly trying to help. You wish you had a torch or your phone on you but that had been lost in the chaos of being kidnapped. Instead you are stuck in a dark space. The air is dusty- Tata sneezes. You don’t know how far you’ve fallen or if you’ll be able to get out. You swallow, trying to stave off the wave of hysteria that threatens to pull you under.

“Taehyung?” You call. There is no response. Tata lets out a little roar too, the one you recognise is his way of addressing Taehyung. You don’t know how injured you are and you have no light to see- you can only limp forward, using the wall to prop you up. “Anyone?”

At that last call you hear it again- that ominous whisper from before. You swallow and blink back tears, feeling your heart rate pick up with adrenaline. The sound of a rock bouncing echoes in the space. It could be a big space or a large space, you don’t know. You can’t see anything. Beside you, Tata growls, a low warning sound that you haven’t heard from him before.

“Who’s there?” You cry. As if on cue, the cave around you lights up with a cold glow. Tata’s scales glow blindingly in the sudden light and you are reassured at his presence. It’s cold down here, almost freezing and even with Taehyung’s large coat you still find your teeth chattering. It looks the same as the tunnel you fell from although the ground is littered with large rocks, probably from the ground collapsing.

“No human has come here for 60 years.” A deep voice rumbles- with the same eerie edge as the whisper that has been almost chasing you throughout your journey through this tunnel. The scream dies in your throat- your terror is so great that you cannot even produce the sound.

“Who are you?” You demand, though the attempt at sounding firm and brave is ruined by the sob that chokes your question halfway through.

“Who are you?” The voice asks. A shadow moves in the distance, large and ominous and breathing. The white light seems to be coming from that direction, so you move towards it.

“Just… just a traveller. I got lost and the floor collapsed.” You confess. A deep rumbling sound comes as an answer- the disembodied voice is laughing at you.

“The floor did not collapse, little one.” It answers you. “I crushed it.” You tense.

“Why?” You ask. It continues laughing and the shadow begins moving towards you. Whatever it is, it is large and intimidating and most definitely not a fellow human being.

“To retrieve you, of course!” It tells you. “Such a tasty morsel… and the young dragonling will make a nice entrée. I will certainly gain sustenance. I just needed to separate you first, for your guardian is quite the threat.” The voice sounds almost impressed as it mentions Taehyung.

“He’ll come for you, if you try anything.” You snarl, stepping protectively in front of Tata though you tremble with fear and your nose is dripping with tears.

“The strength gained by consuming the dragon prince will allow me to easily take him down. Though with the state I’m currently in, even this meagre amount of magic will drain me.” It confess and it finally steps into view. Tata lets out a shrieking yowl in fright, scrambling to hide behind you while you swallow a scream. It’s the most horrific beast you’ve ever laid eyes one. Gnarled, peeling skin, which is an awful frost white colour, like its been frozen. Its figure resembles a human, but curled and decrepit, walking towards you with a lurching, tilted gait. It looks like a zombie from a move but more inhuman. Before you can ask what magic it is referring to, your eyes widen as you feel your limbs lock in place and a painful chill wash through your body. Like you’ve suddenly been encased in ice.

“I like a little bit of warmth in my dinner, so I won’t freeze you completely.” The monster tells you. “But I can’t have you interfering. I’ll have the dragon first.”

You struggle but your limbs don’t obey, like you’ve been plunged into an ice lake.

“No!” You cry, but you can’t even struggle. You do manage to lurch forward in an uncoordinated collapse, diving over Tata and curling your sluggish, frozen body to cover him. Your tears cut warm trails across your frozen cheeks. You are so deathly afraid. There is no way you can get out of this alive.

“That’s quite impressive.” The monster says, watching as you glare at him. Beneath you Tata squirms and whimpers in fear. “Not many can move under the influence of my ice magic. I suppose I will have to dispose of you first.”

It raises a frozen, decaying arm- they end in large, disproportionate talons, also glowing white. You wince and prepare yourself for the pain of its strike.

You never thought you’d die like this. You haven’t gotten to say goodbye to your family, to have one last coffee with Jimin. You won’t get that promotion you’ve been angling for. Yet with all that, all those unfinished thoughts and regrets, for some reason it is Taehyung’s face that pops into your mind as the monster prepares its final blow. His anguished, fearful expression as the ground collapsed. The image is burnt into your memory. You’re… you’re sorry to be the reason for that face. You hate the idea that you caused that distress. You shut your eyes, ready for the last thought of your life to be an apology to Taehyung, but the blow you are bracing yourself for never comes.

The being chokes, and bright blue liquid spurts from its mouth like blood in the same moment that the end of a sword, glimmering in the unforgiving white light and drenched in the same blue substance, erupts from the centre of its chest. The monster screeches in pain, an unholy, awful sound.

It collapses and Taehyung wrenches his sword from where he had pierced its torso.

“I hate frost demons.” He complains, stepping over the demon’s lifeless form and crouching down beside you. Tata squeezes himself out from beneath you and clambers up Taehyung’s body so he can wind himself around Taehyung’s neck, his favourite position. “Are you hurt, gorgeous?” He says. He helps you sit up though your body is still mostly frozen and unresponsive. You stare at him with your eyes watering, and for some reason, the sight of him makes you feel like something inside you erupts. You burst into tears, sobbing hysterically.

Taehyung sighs and pulls you into him, cradling you like you are the most precious thing in the world.

“I was so scared!” You sob. He gently pats your back as he embraces you like he’s comforting a small child.

“I know.” He coos. “You did so well, button. Thank you for protecting Tata.” He praises. He catches your chin with his fingers and the light is so much warmer since it is now his magical ring that illuminates the cavern and not the magic of the frost demon. He lifts your face until he can peer directly into your red-rimmed eyes. He takes in the bruises that still haven’t healed from your kidnapping, and the congealed blood along your hairline from your fall and his expression tightens. “Let’s get you warmed up, yeah?”

He helps you to your feet and leads you away from the immobile corpse of the frost demon. Tata follows.

++

You end up having to camp the night in a forest on the other side of the tunnel. Apparently you’d only been unconscious for a mere moment before the Frost demon came. But with your injuries it takes you another two hours to get out of the cave and Taehyung makes the executive decision to have you rest and recover your strength instead of forcing you to power through to the next town. Once you have horses it will be easier, he promises. He’ll buy a carriage if he has to.

The chill of the spell cast on you by the frost demon refuses to leave. Taehyung informs you that he didn’t freeze you- otherwise you’d have frost bite and all sorts of other nasty complications. He simply sucked all the warmth out of your body, hence your sluggishness and difficulty moving. A night by the fire that Tata sleeps in and Taehyung’s warm sleeping bag would have you good as new in the morning.  Unfortunately, your body cannot seem to generate the heat that it needs and even Tae’s sleeping bag isn’t enough to keep you warm. You can hear his soft breathing where he leans against a tree, keeping watch like he doesn’t need sleep. He will have to sleep at some point though. A blaze of heat as Tata shifts from where he is curled of in the flames has you sighing contently.

“Are you still cold?” Taehyung asks, sliding into your bedding before even waiting for an answer. You nearly screech in surprise, frightened by the sudden intrusion into your personal space, but upon feeling the immense warmth his body exudes your body betrays you and you find yourself curling snugly around him. “I can hear you shivering.” He observes.

“Wouldn’t it be better and more appropriate to let Tata be the one to warm me up, considering he’s a dragon?” You ask with a yawn. 

“And miss a chance like this one?” Taehyung asks playfully, curling an arm over your waist and pulling you in close. “I think not. Tata can sleep in his fire nest. Besides, don’t you think you’d have the opposite problem if you cuddled with a creature who has literally spent the past hour curled up in a fire?” The movement of wrapping his body around you is oddly intimate and domestic and you feel perhaps you and Taehyung do not have the close kind of friendship that warrants such proximity. You also don’t care. He’s warm and secure and this is the safest you have felt in what feels like a very long time. The two of you are silent for a long while and you think he may have nodded off. 

“Taehyung,” you call softly, testing for wakefulness.

“Tae.” He answers in an equally soft tone.

“What?” You question. He blinks his eyes open sleepily and regards you in a way that makes your throat feel tight and your heart beat faster.

“It’s what my... it’s what my friends call me. Tae. And while I should have considered you a friend long before now, perhaps I can fix it by calling you a friend now. If you are willing... it would be a true honour if you called me that.” Is his sincere request. Without realising it, a pleased smile crosses your face. 

“I’d love to... Tae.” You say warmly, sweetly. The look in your eyes as you gaze up at him, caged in his embrace, is so preciously endearing that Taehyung wishes he could take a picture and save it with him. He’d carry it always, in his breast pocket. Close to his heart.

Taehyung chuckles. 

“You’re a dangerous little thing, aren’t you?” He mutters cryptically. You cannot read the odd tone to his voice but it seems reluctantly warm. “What were you saying before I interrupted?” He asks you, changing the subject.

“Oh,” you answer, feeling your face heat. “I wanted to thank you, for saving me. And for keeping your promise. I was...” your voice catches and you clear your throat awkwardly. “I was really scared and I’m glad you came.”

He offers you a soft smile, his eyes crinkling in the light offered by the fire that Tata sleeps in. It makes you short of breath- he never stops being ethereally beautiful. It is unfair to your poor, vulnerable heart. 

“I promised you I would keep you safe, didn’t I?” He whispers. You nod and your eyes begin to sink closed when he speaks again. 

“Can I ask you a question?” Taehyung asks and with the firelight lending warm highlights to his pensive expression, he looks like an artful painting. 

“I guess.” You answer sleepily, uncomfortable with the way the vision of his profile is burnt into the back of your eyelids like you’ve been staring at the sun too long. 

“Why did you do it?” He finally says. His voice is a mere whisper, barely audible above the crackling fire. His tone is desperate, like the question has baffled him for a long time. “At work. All those times, where you could have just let them fire me but you stayed back and covered for me... why?”

For once, all his guarded playfulness, the mask he wears to keep people at a distance is stripped back and all that’s left is someone who is genuinely baffled by kindness from another living being. Your heart aches for him.

Why though? Why do you care enough for your heart to ache on his behalf? Why do you care enough to constantly go out of your way? You’ve never had an answer before. Jimin always asks you why you keep helping him and you shrug off the question like a duck might shake rain loose of its feathers. But suddenly the answer, the one that has continued to evade you and the one that you’ve suppressed up until this moment comes forward in the form of a memory.

The job you currently hold is a job that had been your dream for a very long time. Not that you’d ever had a strong affinity for working in an office. It was just that you wanted a stable, well-paying career that your family would find respectable. You wanted to make your parents proud and to help support them with the mounting medical expenses for your father. It had taken you many tries to finally land a job. The amount of rejections had reached the point you thought maybe you’d forever be unemployed and would be stuck working at the convenience store for the rest of your life. The day you’d gotten the call that your application had been successful would be a day that you would never forget, purely because you had finally had your goal achieved.

Tae had been there too, by some odd twist of fate. You had been on the bus, fresh off the phone from being informed you got the job and the first thing you had done was ring your father. You were dripping wet, soaked from the bucketing rain but you didn’t care. There hadn’t been any seats available but that didn��t matter- you announced the news excitedly to your dad, barely restraining yourself from jumping up and down in the middle of the aisle. The bus had lurched then and you had tumbled into the arms of none other than Taehyung, who caught you with one arm without losing his grip on the large black umbrella hooked onto his forearm.

“Sorry!” You had explained, quickly hanging up with your dad. Taehyung had smiled widely.

“It’s no worry- you’ve gotten some good news, then?” He had asked you. You beamed and nodded.

“Yeah… I just got my dream job.” You had confessed. He had smiled, oddly forlorn and gazed ahead.

“I remember that feeling. I got my dream job earlier this year.” He admitted. “But I’m probably going to lose it.” He scrubbed his hand across his face, stressed. Concerned for this random stranger, for some reason, you had probed forward.

“Why?” You asked. Taehyung had shaken his head.

“I guess I’m just not cut out for it.” He had confessed to you, ashamed. “Don’t worry about it. All the best with your dream job, Miss Stranger.”

And with that he had gotten off the bus. It was still bucketing outside and for some reason you had watched him as he alighted from the bus. An old homeless lady had been shivering alone at the bus stop and you had just enough time to watch him hand over his umbrella and sprint off into the pouring rain before the bus pulled off the kerb. It would only take a few seconds to soak him completely through and if he caught a cold that would not help the potentially-unemployed situation.

Someone who would give up their umbrella for a random person like that, you had thought, shouldn’t lose their job.

And when you encountered him the next week, seemingly with no memory of your encounter but fresh from a scolding from his superiors, you had timidly offered to help him out. Simply because you’d seen him be kind. Not because of a workplace crush or because he was good-looking (although he is very, very good-looking). Just because you thought kindness should be rewarded with kindness.

You tell Taehyung as much and he goes silent, watching you with unreadable eyes for a long moment. You begin to feel the sweet, cotton-y pull of sleep tug at your eyelids as he continues to remain speechless.

“But I guess I went overboard,” You confess with a yawn, struggling to keep your eyes open. “And I overloaded myself and forgot why I was helping you in the first place… but that was why I started.”

You don’t notice the way Taehyung’s eyes go slightly misty at your words. Because it is custom, amongst his people, to always go out of their way to help others. At the cost of yourself, you must protect others. But never has he met another being not from his kind willing to do the same. And never has he been repaid for the numerous favours that have been requested of him. But all this time, he was being rewarded for his kindness by you. Not because he asked for it or because you owed it to him… but because you wanted to. Because you thought it was the right thing to do.

An oddly warm and pleasant feeling spreads through his chest and he finds himself smiling to himself.

Your eyes droop shut and flutter in a valiant effort to stay awake. Taehyung watches this fondly.

“Go to sleep, sweetness.” He whispers and almost on cue you subconsciously nuzzle into his warmth and fall silent.

He pulls you in close and soon find himself lulled to sleep by the steady rise and fall of your breathing.

-to be continued-

[residentlion]

Fantasy AU Part 7. This is a selection of scenes rather than a continuous thing since I just like the idea of them having side adventures on their journey. When I put this on Ao3 I might expand on these too.

They were walking for a while to rest their horses when a thought occurred to Chris. ‘Albert, do you know how to use a sword?’

‘Of course.’ Albert gave him an annoyed glare.

Chris gave him one back. ‘I’m asking because you were only carrying a knife when the Order captured you.’

‘Ah.’ The annoyance faded into a grimace of regret. ‘I left my sword behind when I ran. I wasn’t thinking clearly, I just knew I needed to get away, and I couldn’t wield it in the condition I was in anyway.’ His words were deceptively mild for how tense his shoulders were, his knuckles white as he gripped his horse’s reins too tightly.

Chris reached out to take Albert’s hand in his own, squeezing in reassurance.

Albert gave their interlaced fingers a bemused look, but Chris could tell that he was getting used to, and maybe even liked, the casual gestures of affection.

‘It’s important to you.’

‘It was mine.’ He hissed, the pain in his eyes telling Chris that the sword was more than a mere possession.

‘We’ll get it back for you.’ Chris promised, it seemed like an easy enough task, and it obviously meant a great deal to Albert.

‘If the Demon King hasn’t destroyed everything I owned.’ Albert laughed bitterly, his hand clutching at Chris’ so he couldn’t let go. ‘But thank you, Chris. For caring.’

They shared a quick kiss and continued holding hands as they walked.

When they reached the next town, Chris made sure to get Albert a sword as well as picking up supplies.

‘You trust me with a weapon?’ Albert asked in amusement as he tested a few out, sliding through stances with practiced fluidity.

The question was completely unnecessary considering their relationship, but Chris was never quite sure if Albert was genuinely uncertain or if he was just fishing for a compliment. ‘You’re dangerous even without one.’ Chris pointed out and Albert smirked widely at the praise. ‘But I don’t want you unarmed when we venture into hostile territory.’

‘We’re delaying our quest for this?’ Albert asked in disgust as he delicately stepped around something on the ground.

‘This morning was a delay too.’ Chris said reasonably.

Sharp teeth nipped his ear before Albert whispered throatily. ‘An extremely pleasurable delay.’

‘Stop trying to distract me.’ With effort Chris ignored how tight his trousers were getting, walking through the forest was tricky enough already.

Albert licked his neck with a hot tongue before he leaned back to glare at Chris. ‘Why? This is tedious.’

‘I’m a knight. We help people.’

A blond eyebrow raised mockingly. ‘I was under the impression that the noble order of knights defended people from demons. Not found their lost livestock for them.’

‘They need my help.’ Chris insisted.

Albert muttered something under his breath in demonic that Chris was positive was uncomplimentary towards him, the peasants, or both. He ignored it and kept walking, and surprisingly Albert kept following him.

Albert stared up at the clear sky from where they were camped at the edge of the forest. ‘The stars aren’t usually visible from Arklay.’

The thought made Chris sad. Stargazing with his parents was a good memory from his childhood, he could still hear their voices as they’d patiently told him the legends every single time he’d asked. ‘What do you call them?’

‘Stars?’ Albert hissed something short and raspy.

Chris frowned, then realised it was merely a direct translation of the word. ‘No, I mean what are their names? Their stories? You must have your own.’

It was Albert’s turn to frown. ‘I don’t understand. They’re just lights in the sky.’

He felt another wave of sorrow, and a fierce desire to share the wonder of the stars with his lover. ‘No, they’re not. Let me tell you about them.’ Chris tugged Albert over closer to lie half on top of him, their cheeks pressed together. ‘See those three there?’ He pointed, feeling Albert nod. ‘And the other one a little further out? That’s the Warrior’s Bow. He threw it into the sky after he slew the last of the giants, and if they ever return, a hero will pull it down from its resting place to be put to use again.’ It sounded silly when he said it out loud and he flushed, expecting Albert to dismiss the legend as mere human superstition, but when he glanced at his lover the orange eyes were wide in childish wonder.

‘Oh.’ Albert seemed entranced by the little story, his fingers unconsciously tracing the paths between the stars to make the shape. ‘Do they all have stories?’

‘Yeah, of course.’

‘Tell me. Please.’ He turned his head to meet Chris’ gaze with pleading eyes.

Chris kissed him and then raised his hand again, showing him another group, and another.

The sky was lightening before Chris finished all his stories, the sudden glow of the sun making them both blink in surprise. Instead of travelling when they were tired from staying up all night, they spent some of the day sleeping.

When hunger forced them to wake up, Albert hunted for their meal. He was very good at both catching animals for food and cooking them, but Chris supposed that came with an affinity for fire.

After eating, they simply sat on the hill for a while longer.

‘Your lands are so different from mine.’ Albert mused as he looked out over the field below them. ‘The colours, the sunlight, even the air. Everything is gentler here. Kinder. Have you ever been to Arklay?’ He glanced at Chris, his eyes unreadable.

‘A few times, when we broke a demon garrison and reclaimed some of the land.’ Chris remembered the horrible place, the heavy, hot air that stank like it was constantly burning and dimmed the light of the sun, the black rock formations that cut as cleanly and deeply as a dagger that surrounded pits of molten flames. It was hell, and the land would remain tainted for decades even without demons living on it.

‘The outskirts.’ Albert studied him as if reading his thoughts. ‘It gets worse the closer you get to the king’s fortress.’

‘You lived there?’ Chris asked, his hand finding Albert’s as he shuddered.

‘My entire life. It was more of a prison than that cell your Order put me in.’

‘I’m sorry, Albert.’ He brought his hand up to kiss Albert’s fingers reassuringly, the pale skin still marred by scars.

Albert watched almost curiously, then lightly brushed his claws across Chris’ cheek. ‘The king believes that the human ability to feel compassion is a weakness.’

‘And what do you think?’ Chris prompted him to continue, sensing that there was more to his thought.

‘He’s misjudged you.’ The claws slid down to his throat, but the gesture was more a caress than a threat. ‘He believes that power comes only from fear, from demanding obedience. But there are other kinds of power. And you are anything but weak.’ Orange eyes met his and Chris was astonished at the open affection in them.

‘I love you.’ He mumbled as he pulled Albert into a rough kiss.

Albert hissed something soft and gentle back at him, but Chris only had a moment to wonder what he’d said before they were lost in each other.

‘Hold it right there.’ The man raised his sword and gestured to his companions to surround them.

Albert ignored them to turn to Chris with an eerie detached calm. ‘I assume your rule about killing innocents doesn’t apply to bandits?’

Chris nodded grimly as he drew his sword.

A cruel smile curved Albert’s thin lips as his orange eyes blazed red and his glamour shattered. The three men nearest him screamed horribly as they suddenly burst into flames.

Wheeling his horse about, Chris took advantage of the confusion to ran towards two more, slashing them to the ground viciously and making sure they stayed down. The last one tried to flee, but Chris raised his hand and struck him dead with a bolt of holy magic.

Albert gave him an interested look as they rolled the bodies off the road. ‘I’m glad to see that you can be ruthless when necessary.’

‘I hate scum like this. Preying on innocent people.’ Chris snarled as he kicked one of the bandits into the ditch, the old wound feeling raw again. He flinched when the warm hand landed on his arm, vaguely realising that Albert was trying to reassure him.

‘Chris?’

‘My parents…’ The words choked him.

Albert pulled him into a hug, the sudden embrace so shocking that Chris didn’t resist. ‘I don’t understand.’ He whispered, his fingers combing through Chris’ hair as he shuddered in Albert’s arms. ‘But I’m here for you.’

Chris hugged him back tightly, grateful for the sympathy and support, and fell in love with Albert a little more.

‘I’m afraid I don’t have any rooms left. And it’s against the law to charge travellers to sleep in the common areas.’ The innkeeper said apologetically.

Chris groaned inwardly, just their luck to find the only honest innkeeper in the outskirts. As he tried to think of something else he could use to bargain with he caught sight of the lute sitting behind the bar, the bard conspicuously absent. ‘How about in exchange for some music?’

The man glanced where Chris was looking, his expression becoming delighted. ‘I’ll make you that deal. It’s been too long since we’ve had any entertainment here. You sing too?’

Chris shook his head, but another voice interjected.

‘I do.’ Albert gave him a smug smile at his startled look.

‘Then you’ve got yourself a deal.’ The innkeeper passed Chris the lute.

Settling himself by the fire, Chris plucked at the lute strings to check the tuning. ‘Do you know any human drinking songs?’ He asked Albert sceptically.

‘Yes.’ The smug smile was still firmly in place on Albert’s thin lips.

‘Ok, do you know ‘The Maid’s Two Jugs’?’

‘Yes.’

Chris shrugged and started playing, he’d find out soon enough if Albert was telling the truth.

Albert hummed the opening quietly to find his rhythm and then started singing. He had a lovely voice, his unusual accent adding an undeservedly exotic lilt to the ribald tune. It almost made Chris want to stop playing and just listen, but he hastily refocussed after a minor error made Albert glare daggers at him.

After several songs it seemed like the right time to switch to something slower and more melancholy, the other patrons starting to tire or leave for the night. Chris strummed the opening of a song before realising with regret which one he’d unconsciously chosen. A sad tale of two lovers torn apart by the war between their people. But it was too late to stop now, especially once Albert started to sing.

He wasn’t singing in Common, or even demonic, but something else, a language that sounded like nothing Chris had ever heard. The eerie longing wailing made the already sorrowful melody even more haunting and Chris’ vision blurred with tears as it continued. He struggled to keep playing, glancing up to see that Albert was staring directly at him. Their eyes met and it felt like there was no one else in the room, the song meant for them alone.

When it ended Albert looked away and the spell was broken. The innkeeper interrupted them to tell them they’d played enough, and gave them food and drink as compensation.

Chris desperately wanted to ask about the last song, but it seemed too sacred and so he chose the safer question instead. ‘Where did you learn bawdy human tavern songs?’

Albert gave him a haughty, mysterious smile and didn’t reply.

‘Ok, keep your secrets then.’ He laughed to take the edge off the words and Albert’s smile softened.

His eyes flicked between Chris’ and the night sky as Chris took him. As much as he liked to make eye contact, he knew that Albert was fascinated by the stars. And there was something reverent in the way he was staring upwards, every breathy moan like a prayer as Chris rolled his hips into him in long, slow thrusts. Everything seemed soft and dream-like, even the claws digging into his shoulders did so gently and without drawing blood. Albert arched his back with a quiet cry, more pre-come slicking their stomachs. Chris kissed him but didn’t stop moving, steadily working him towards another orgasm.

‘They’re so beautiful.’ Albert murmured, meeting Chris’ gaze. His blond hair spread out around his head like a halo, making him look more angelic than demonic and the stars were reflected in his eyes as they kissed again.

‘You’re beautiful.’

[illkickyourbass]

henlo. have an expanded Shining Quest AU.

to release some steam from my kettle of stress, have some noodling about a Shining Quest AU that’s less April Fool’s, more high-stakes high-fantasy, but still every bit as tropey, stuffed with otome trappings, and Yay Music as we’ve come to expect from Utapri 

As with the last venture into this AU: not explicitly romantic, non-gendered MC, SFW, and mild CW for arranged marriages. I don’t know HEAVENS (plus they didn’t get canon classes for Shining Quest), so we’ll just be covering STARISH and Quartet Night! 

It’s a fairly typical setup -- there’s a fantasy kingdom, there’s a useless king, there’s a princess (Haruka) known for her talent for music composition, there’s a court of nobles and royals, all that usual hey. Magic is cast by mastery of the arts, whether that be visual, performing, musical, written, you name it. 

There’s a looming threat of some sort of demon king or similar fantasy anime bullshit that the royals and nobles of the kingdom are tasked with keeping at bay. We’re also gonna shamelessly borrow a detail from the pinnacle of wasted potential, the movie Rock and Rule -- there’s a plot point about how a demon can only be forced back with “the magic of one voice, one heart, one song....but there is no one.” Here in this ‘verse, that’s a longstanding prophecy the status quo has taken to mean there’s no-one who’ll ever be able to defeat the demon king. 

The solution that’s been in place for as long as anyone can remember is a royal or noble family offers one of their heirs as a sacrifice to be married off and sate the demon king for that generation-- the “devil’s bride” or “devil’s groom” or “devil’s betrothed.” This goes pretty badly for the heirs, of course, but it offers great prestige to the house that does it. 

You, the player, would get to pick what RPG class you fill (which would affect some dialogue trees and the expertise you demonstrate) and what art you use to cast magic. You are a member of the royal guard tasked with Haruka’s protection, but you’ve stumbled into the knowledge before it goes public: she’s the next devil’s bride! You go to Tomochika, a hired hand to the royals who’s been dating Haru in secret, and you begin to hatch a plan to bust Haruka out of the arrangement. 

Your route’s then determined by which of the boys you seek out as your other co-conspirator. 

Otoya is a fellow member the Royal Guard on Haruka protection detail. He’s equally resented and well-liked for his dauntless optimism and natural talent with swordsmanship, but it’s no secret that he’s not someone you’ll be trusting for expert strategy. He’s had the chance to become friendly with Haruka, and he’s ready to fight tooth and nail for her freedom! He’s classed as a warrior, who casts light-element attacks and healing spells with his music. 

Masato was raised from birth to become an ideal Devil’s Groom, since the Hijirikawa nobles are falling out of favor in the courts (spurred in part from their takedown of the Kurosakis backfiring on them). But Masato has rejected that he (or Mai) will ever go along with that plan, instead intently training in swordsmanship and fusing music and fiber arts to make enchanted fabrics that work like armor. Quietly, he has kept a very ambitious goal in mind: outright defeat the demon king and end the legacy of the devil’s betrothed. 

Natsuki is a natural genius at using both his voice and viola to communicate with creatures and summoning the cutest ones to absolutely wreck house. Though a humble farmboy who’s kind of out-of-touch with the political goings-on of his land, his talent was too great to go unnoticed forever, and he was invited to live among the high court as an entertainer and summoner. He got to make so many new friends (like the princess and you!) and better provide for his family, so he’s thankful every day for the change, even if he misses his animal friends at home! 

Tokiya came from a humble family that wanted to lead a quiet life, but Tokiya himself had ambitions that far outpace that. Though not a natural talent, he put unimaginable sweat into a field that creates potent spells and tools by the power of song. Eventually becoming estranged from his whole family, Tokiya finds it all worthwhile after struggling his way into being hired by the royals. Much of the court thinks of him as a weird mad scientist who sings to his books, but he’s found fast friends he’d go to the ends of the earth for, like Masato, the princess, and you! 

Ren is the inverse of Masato in his circumstance. Like the Hijirikawa noble family, the Jinguujis helped orchestrate the fall of the Kurosaki nobles, but the blowback had them falling out of favor instead of rising in power. Ren was planned to be offered as a Devil’s Groom to restore some clout, but instead of being intently groomed, he was left to do whatever he wanted since he’s got such a foregone future. So Ren becomes a carefree playboy, eventually taking his talent for alchemy and becoming a for-hire adventurer to sate his boredom. He tells everyone his saxophone is his secret to brewing his one-of-a-kind love potions, but he’s actually devised some uniquely remarkable revival and buffing potions.

Syo comes from the same backwoods as Natsuki, but took less interest in working for the courts and instead trying to find a career emulating his childhood hero that kept his body’s limits in mind. But his twin left to pursue medical schooling, and eventually, between loneliness, worry, and the promise that the musical magic and medicine in the courts could help him safely push his limits, he follows Natsuki into the belly of the royals and nobles. His small stature and commitment to the movement arts made him a natural rogue, and he’s technically part of the Royal Guard’s special ops. But Syo’s brashness and burning spirit tends to best serve motivating the people around him -- what few spells he prefers to cast with his violin-playing are all buffs that lift the spirit and energize the body.  

Cecil came to this land on essentially a study abroad program and came to love the friends he made so much he stuck around! A wildly talented sorcerer able to cast even without playing his flute, Cecil is held in high esteem by the whole kingdom for the knowledge and skill he has to offer. Prone to disappearing, however, since a curse has him transforming into a cat as an occasional side effect of casting magic. He’s found this useful, though -- something injust he won’t stand for is afoot in this kingdom, and nobody suspects a little black cat of eavesdropping! 

Reiji is a court jester who loves, loves, loves nothing more than to make you smile! Much of the court takes his good cheer for granted, and even more underestimate his prowess in tough/delicate situations, but the most powerful folks know he’s just as sharp as he is goofy. When he’s not doing his job making people smile, he’s often helping or promoting his family’s pub or bugging his friends from outside the royal court. His flashy performances and maraca-shaking have been shaped into a great conduit for spells of transmutation, though he tends to use them to put on a great show more than beat ass.

Ranmaru is the eldest son of the disgraced Kurosaki nobles (whose power and legacy were ruined by the Jinguujis and Hijirikawas as per usual) but he decided to bear the brunt of the damage in wake of his father’s passing to spare the rest of his family. Shouldering massive debt, Ranmaru disappeared and re-emerged as the gambler prince of the underground, now incredibly powerful in his own right. Not-so-secretly a big softie, he’ll swindle and ruin the lives of those who take advantage of the helpless, even operating out of a pub owned by an old couple that needed some protecting from loan sharks. Ranmaru wears special runed gloves that store mana when he plays his bass, letting him cast a set number of fire evocation spells before his next recharge. 

Ai lives in woods on the outskirts of the city. Most regard him as a hermit, but a couple know that Ai is actually a homunculus that has been refining his understanding and performance of humanity and needs frequent breaks to “recharge.” Nominally a ranger, Ai’s skills lie in his powerful patience and observation moreso than his bow and arrow, though he and Reiji have an arrangement where he helps hunt and forage ingredients for the Kotobuki pub. Ai is beginning to grasp his own unique sense of humanity and is ready to take grander action to realize it. He fights with arrows of a special alloy that react to an instrument at home; they are tempered by the sound and blessed by the wind to never miss their target should the wielder be skilled enough. 

Camus is an assassin that lives in shadow. Nobody’s quite sure of his intentions or allegiances, but the few times someone does see him in the open, he’s as haughty and demanding as ever. Rumor has it that he lives in the royal castle -- certainly, their enormously increased sweets output would imply such, and it’s well-known in the castle that unexplained cello music is usually his doing -- but he’s such an evanescent and terrifying presence nobody’s quite sure (and is too scared to ask). His assassinations are almost impossible to track, as his blades of ice melt, disappear, and leave no trail to follow. 

Typical route stuff goes as you’d expect -- you progress the plot, you get closer to your chosen boy, some political intrigue things probably happen, some heart-racing events etc. etc., and before you know it the two of you are very close and realize that your arts cast wildly powerful magic when put together. Slowly, you gather more friends (a selection of the other boys + Haru and Tomo) and find that together, your work amplifies in power to unprecedented degrees. It’ll vary from route to route how you get there, but eventually, you all come to the same conclusion: it’s time to kick some demon king ass. And you do! 

The ends vary from angsty (like the player or the chosen boy is mortally wounded or dies) or fairytale fluffy (go off and spend a happy life together) or something more power fantasy-feeling (like you and chosen boy revolutionize the whole kingdom for the better in wake of the demon king’s defeat), etc. -- but no matter what you know that your art + your boy + the power of friendship kicked more ass than anything Shining Kingdom has ever seen! 

[xmagicxshopx]

Moon Monsters - Chapter 2

Genre: Fantasy Adventure, Romance (possible smut later), Comedy Rating: PG-13 Warnings: none at this time Pairing: Jungkook x reader, Jackson x reader Notes: werewolf!bts au. Not idol!bts. Same goes for GOT7. Single quote marks ‘ ‘ are for thoughts and double “ “ are for talking. Additional Notes: I take zero credit for any of the photos used in these chapters. They are just for visual enhancement for the both of us. Also I did not proofread so good luck. XD

Tagging: @och-ako @kfictionstories @trcvias @justbangtanandjams @lizardsocial @breadcaaat

Summary: You’re the CEO’s new personal assistant. But there’s something strange about him and the company you work for.

SERIES MASTERLIST

Flushed cheeks, half-lidded bedroom eyes, hips swaying to the music. You looked absolutely delectable to Jungkook as he watched you from afar. You.....

His mate.

His inner wolf had been nagging at him ever since Jungkook bumped into you that very first day of your new job. It was like the stars aligned and everything made sense. That’s usually how normal humans described finding their one true love. But for Jungkook......It worked a little differently.

Like any other werewolf, Jungkook is at the mercy of the Moon Goddess. It used to be a myth that she controlled the wolves like her puppets. But the alpha of his back, which happened to be Namjoon, explained that it was just that. A myth. The Moon Goddess helps her pups and guides them down the right path. But she also decides when it is time for her pups to mate.

And that was when Jungkook bumped into you. God you were absolutely stunning that day. Well.....in his eyes, you’re stunning every day. No matter what you’re wearing. You could be wearing sweats and a t-shirt and you’d still look like a goddess yourself. Just thinking about that image caused his inner wolf to perk up.

‘Think about it. How beautiful she would look in your t-shirt and sweats; her belly round and swollen with pups. Your pups.’

“God shut up. It’s all I can do to think straight right now.”

He was enjoying the fantasy of you carrying his offspring.......till trouble showed up.

“Hands off her, Wang.”

The alcohol you had consumed earlier was definitely starting to effect you. Hearing a voice that felt like coming home, you immediately turned around and noticed Jungkook standing there looking furious. In your drunken state, you feared he might be mad at you, but you also wanted to get away from Jackson. With whimpers that were drowned out by the thumping club music, you launched yourself out of one man’s arms and into another.

To anyone else, they wouldn’t have heard you. But Jungkook did and your whimpers broke his heart. His inner wolf reared it’s head and practically begged to be let out so he could rip Jackson a new one. But this was a public place. A very public place. There was no way letting out the wolf was an option right now. So he settled for cradling you to his chest and smoothing down your hair.

“Hey, Miss Korea. Why don’t we go find Small Fry, okay?”

Moving your face just a little from where you were hiding in Kook’s firm chest, you saw a very warm looking Taehyung with that boxy grin that never failed to make you smile. Suddenly letting out girly, drunken giggles, it was as if all was well again as you replied happily,

“Okay!”

Jungkook flashed the male a grateful smile while Taehyung just gave a curt nod as he took your hand and started to dramatically and comically search for their little friend as he was now being labeled. It only made you giggle more. Dear God Jungkook wished he could join you right now. But he had business to take care of.

Jackson was surprisingly still standing there; his erection still very noticeable. All the disgusting possibilities ran through the younger’s mind and he jabbed the inside of his cheek with his tongue; a habit whenever he was thoroughly ticked and fuming.

“She’s off limits, Wang. Leave her alone.”

“Why? She yours or something? I don’t see you imprinting on her. As far as I’m concerned, she’s free real estate.”

That was when all hell broke loose.

One second Jackson was standing and the next, decked clean off his feet. A nice bruise was already starting to form on his cheek as he attempted to pick his half drunken self off the floor. Breathing heavily, Jungkook gritted and bared his teeth as he hissed out in anger,

“You should be ashamed of yourself. The Moon Goddess teaches us to love and respect females. They are beautiful beings who deserve more respect than that. They go through so much pain and yet still put on beautiful smiles that light up the world. They work just as hard as we men do; all the while bearing our pups.”

It really was a lovely speech. But all Jackson did was respond with a roll of his eyes; clearly bored and sporting deaf ears.

“Yeah yeah. Whatever. It’s not like she’s your mate or anything. I can still have her if I want.”

When Jungkook was about to throw another punch, a swift hand quickly came up to stop him and another arm wove around his waist. Looking over with pure rage, the youngest saw that it was none other than Taehyung and immediately simmered down. Gently shaking his head, the older male spoke calmly,

“He’s not worth it, Kook. Come on. I found Jimin. He’s with her now. But she’s getting antsy and asking about you.”

‘You hear that? Your mate is worried and asking for you. We can deal with dirt bag here later. Right now your mate needs you. Go.’

“Right. Let’s go.”

After the whole Jackson fiasco, it was hard for anyone to stay in a bright mood. When a very drunk Jimin found out, he threatened to go punch the male’s lights out but all that got him was another Small Fry jab in the ribs. Jungkook was relieved to see that made you giggle a little behind your hand. God you were so cute when you giggled. Especially when you were drunk. When those giggles started turning into a yawn, the youngest male spoke up casually but loud enough over the music,

“Okay, you love birds. I’m going to take her home. I think someone’s getting sleepy.”

“No I’m nnooooooottt. I’m wide awake. See!”

Kook watched as you clambered off the bar stool to which he had to catch you before you could fall and the next thing he knew, you were staring right into his eyes with wide ones of your own. The look on your face was priceless and he wished he had his phone handy but sadly it was stuck in his back pocket.

“Sure sure. Well you can be wide awake on the drive home, okay?”

“Okay! Let’s go for a ride! Choo Choo! All aboard the Kookie Train!”

“Oh my god I wish I had my phone out.”

“Got you covered, babe.”

Jungkook looked up to see Taehyung recording the whole thing. Wanting to milk this moment for all it was worth, he gently turned you around in his arms and pointed to the male holding his phone up and said as if like a father to his daughter,

“Lookie. Say hi to Taehyung.”

“Hi, Taetae!”

“Oh wait! I wanna say hi too!”

“This is gold. I’m never deleting this. I’ll put it on an external hard drive if I have to.”

Both Taehyung and Jungkook snickered as a very drunken Jimin was hugging a very drunken you. In this moment, the youngest male of the group found his heart thumping but growing soft all at the same time. This was his pack. His family. And one day soon, he’d introduce you to his world. His pack. Because the Moon Goddess wills it so.

Once Taehyung was finished recording his blackmail material, it was time to pry Jimin away from you so that everyone could get home safely and in one piece. But surprisingly enough, getting the two drunks away from each other was quite difficult.

“But she’s so cozy. I don’t wannaaaaaa.”

“You can cuddle up with your girl back home. And if she’s sleeping, I’ll throw you in the cage with the birds. You’re small enough, you’ll fit.”

“Why I oughta!!!”

With the drunken male now completely absorbed in defending his small size, you were left giggling and falling into a very strong pair of arms. Looking up with that same drunken and dreamy smile, you saw a warm and amused looking Jungkook staring down at you.

“Did you have fun tonight?”

“Yep! I drank lots and lots!”

“Yes I can tell. When we get home, we can drink lots and lots of coffee.”

“Ooouuu! Are we gonna have a slumber party at your place???”

“Slumber party at Kookie’s?!?! I wanna go too!”

“You are going home to your mama bird, Small Fry.”

Jungkook was currently trying to get certain thoughts out of his head when Taehyung came up to him and whispered in his ear,

“Let’s get them out of here before I’m tempted to drop Jimin off at the closest dog shelter instead.”

Snickering and now able to think much clearer, the youngest nodded and instead of trying to help you walk through the crowds, he simply hoisted you up into his arms and carried you out bridal style. It wasn’t till outside in the fresh crisp night air that they all realized how stuffy it had been inside the club.

After lots and lots of whining from a certain Small Fry, Taehyung was finally able to maneuver a very wiggly Jimin into the passenger seat of his car. Meanwhile, Jungkook had it much easier for you had fallen asleep within minutes of being carried and cradled in his arms. He handled you like glass as he carefully pulled the seat belt across your body and clicked it in place. Oh how he wanted to......well.....no. That would be taking advantage of you while you were extremely vulnerable. No. He would kiss you on the cheek with your consent. And that was that.

He took his Moon Goddess’s rules very seriously. Unlike someone he knew....

The drive home was uneventful. Truth be told, Jungkook had full intentions of dropping you off at your apartment building and staying with you till he was certain you were going to be okay with only a mild hangover instead of a killer one. But as he slowly pulled up to your building.......something didn’t settle well with him.

‘Is this her den? Tisk tisk. She can’t stay here. I can smell the mold from miles away. It’s not safe or healthy here. You must take her back to our den where we can protect her and keep her safe and healthy.’

Honestly, the young male didn’t need to be told twice. He didn’t have a good feeling about the place when he first picked you up. Hell, he had that same uneasy feeling when he first followed you home. Truth be told, he’d been looking for an excuse to get you out of here. So naturally he’d use this as the perfect excuse to take you home with him.

Putting the car into gear again, he started the drive to his own home. Looking over for just a second, he could see where you were still sleeping peacefully. His inner wolf was wagging his tail happily as he too took in the sight of their beautiful and precious mate.

‘The Goddess has blessed us, little one. We must not take her gift for granted.’

Being the youngest of the pack, Jungkook never dreamed that he would find his mate so soon. But here he was driving in his car with some of the most precious cargo he’d ever transport. All he wanted to do was scent you and love all over you. But his inner wolf seemed to have other ideas as images of you waddling around his apartment with a swollen belly and swollen ankles to match popped into his head. Lounging on the couch and bawling over cheesy k-dramas because the hormones were killing you.

“God. Will you stop with the pups. You’re killing me. We haven’t even set her down for the talk yet.”

‘You can’t blame me, little one. Our special week of the month is coming up and you know what that means. She’ll be ovulating and if you think this is hell......you haven’t seen anything yet.’

Groaning out loud, the young male let his head fall back against the head rest of his seat. His heat cycle. With everything going on, he had completely forgotten about that. Good lord his heats were already painful to begin with. Now that he knew about his mate......there was actually an inkling of fear crawling up his spine. What if he became feral and tried to hunt you down and force you to mate with him? What if the separation from you made him sick? He’d have to talk to Namjoon about all of this on Monday. Maybe sooner because time was running out for Jungkook.

Once parked in his designated spot in the parking garage, he got out and carefully closed the driver side door so that he wouldn’t wake you. Lightly jogging around to the other side, he opened the passenger door with just as much caution and worked on getting your seat belt undone. Just then, your head lulled over to where your nose was just lightly brushing his collarbone and the poor boy thought he might die right there. It took all his self control to get you out of the car without throwing you in the back seat and having his way with you.

After moving and wiggling you till you were finally out of the car and back into his arms, he was able to ease the passenger side door closed and locked his car before carrying you towards the entrance of the apartment building. Already he was feeling more at ease with the knowledge that you would be staying with him for the night where he could protect you. He wouldn’t put it past Jackson to try and sniff you out and take you away from your very own home. This way, Jackson wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near you.

Once inside the building, the trip in the elevator was fairly short before he was exiting and walking down the hall. Being careful not to drop you, he fished around for his keys and unlocked the door to his own little cozy den. As his inner wolf liked to call it. Walking through and easing the door closed behind him, the first thing he noticed was how beautiful the city looked all lit up with different colored lights. Sure it was probably a hazard having an entire wall made of nothing but glass but he couldn’t help it. Jungkook was a free spirit and he always wanted to be able to see the city from above. Especially at night time.

But he could admire the night scene later. Right now he needed to get you into bed and resting because you were going to have a killer hangover in the morning. Carrying you down the hallway with ease, he stepped in through his bedroom doorway and carefully set you down on the bed. Good god you looked so perfect. Drunk or not, you looked like you belonged in his bed. Because you did. It was fate. Mother Nature and the Moon Goddess willed this to happen.

However, as delicious as you looked there laying on his bed with your hair fanned out everywhere, he was going to be the gentleman and take care of you in the most innocent way possible. After slipping his own shoes off, he carefully eased your heels off your feet so as not to wake you. It was then that his inner wolf decided to be a snot nosed brat....as usual.

‘You know.....those clothes probably aren’t comfortable to sleep in either....’

“I hate you.”

‘No you don’t.’

With another groan out loud and wiping a hand down his face, Jungkook stood there trying to figure out the best way to get you out of those club clothes without, one, driving himself crazy. And, two, not to wake you and cause an extremely awkward situation. After chewing on his bottom lip till it was flaking, he finally decided it was best just to jump in. Being extremely cautious, he took your clothing off one piece at a time. And soon enough, you were left with only your bra and panties.

“Dear god, shoot me. Put me out of my misery. Please. Someone. Anyone.”

‘Oh stop being dramatic. Just slip one of your t-shirts on her and she’ll be good to go.’

“You just want to see me die, don’t you?”

There was a small pause and the young boy wasn’t sure his inner wolf was going to answer till he suddenly said,

‘Okay so I might be getting a tiny bit of satisfaction out of watching you squirm.’

Glaring out into space, Jungkook huffed through his nose like a typical wolf and walked over to his dresser drawer where he kept his extra large t-shirts. Of course any of them would work but he was being extremely picky and making sure he got one for you that was the most comfortable and least worn out. Just when he had deemed one good enough, he turned around only to see you had....well....moved.

You were now laying on your stomach with your perky bum slightly raised in the air while resting your head on one of his pillows; a small peaceful smile on your face. But no matter how hard he tried to stay focus on that beautiful and innocent smile, his eyes slid down your body to stop at your bum every time. You were nearly in the perfect mating position. Half naked with your tush on full display.

Before he could stop himself, a small but quiet howl of pain filled the room followed by what could only be described as puppy whimpering. If Jungkook’s neighbors didn’t know any better, they would have thought he had recently gotten a puppy from the shelter.

‘Oh stop being a baby and just put the shirt on her.’

With another huff and a childlike pout, the young wolf did as he was told and approached you with caution. If he thought clubbing had exhausted him, exercising all of this self control was what really wore him out. But fortunately he still had some luck on his side for he was able to get the over sized shirt on you and eased you back into the position you were in previously. Before he could be tempted any further, he walked to his closet, grabbed some pillows and a set of pajama pants and t-shirt for himself and was out of the room in a flash.

When it was finally time for you to come back around to the world of the conscious, the first thing you realized was that you’d very much like to remain unconscious. Head pounding, eyes aching, body sore and throbbing, feet feeling like they were swollen. Yeah. Definitely prefer unconscious right now. However, cracking your eyes open, you realized real quick that........this wasn’t your bedroom. This wasn’t your apartment.

So there you laid with a horrible hangover and trying to understand why you weren’t in your apartment. Your recollection of last night was fussy at best. You remembered arriving and having some drinks, obviously. Then there was......Jackson! Fear crawled up your spine as you wondered if this was his place. Had you seriously left with him? Or maybe he kidnapped you? He was awfully persistent. That was when you looked over to the bedside table as your world swayed in front of you. There laid a piece of paper along with two pain pills and a glass of water.

After slowly easing yourself up into a sitting position, you took the two pain pills and downed them with the glass of water and attempted to read what was on the piece of paper. Turns out you were in fact not at Jackson’s, thank goodness, and you were actually at Jungkook’s. That was when you finally started taking everything in. Looking down at yourself, you realized you were no longer in your own clothing aside from your undergarments. Oh lord. That meant.......oh god. Groaning, you let your head fall and the blush was overwhelmingly warm on your face.

Pulling yourself together, you also realized that said male wasn’t in the room. Was this his bedroom or a spare bedroom? Looking around, you quickly confirmed this was in fact the young man’s room. It had Jungkook written all over it. So of course that made you wonder if he had been sleeping in the bed beside you. Looking over, you could tell there was no way he had been in the same bed with you. The wheels in your head started turning and you quickly decided that you wanted to find the living room.

But first, bathroom.

After managing to find the bathroom without any help and taking care of your business, you splashed some water on your face and realized that your makeup had turned into a mess at some point through the night. With no makeup removing materials, it proved to be quite the task to get that crap off without making a complete and total mess of your coworker’s bathroom.

Looking as presentable as you could be with all things considered, you padded out of the bathroom and down the hall which you assumed would lead you out into a very bright living room. Very bright. Like ouch that freaking hurts bright. Squinting and trying to hood your eyes with your hand, you noticed standing by the window or rather a glass wall was none other than Jungkook himself.

Aside from the slight bed head, he looked just as handsome as ever. Standing there leaning against the glass and admiring the early morning sun shining over the city. He was sporting a t-shirt just like you were only he had these simple red and white checkered pajama pants on and dang did he look comfortable. Oh how you’d love to just cuddle up with him on the couch and------wait what????

Maybe you were still drunk?

“Oh! There you are. How are you feeling? Did you find the meds I left for you?”

Face turning flushed pink once more, you smiled sheepishly and nodded timidly. Tucking some of your own somewhat tamed bed head behind your ears, you cleared your throat and spoke up softly,

“I’m pretty embarrassed. Never before have I gotten that drunk. I can’t even remember some things. I didn’t puke all over you or anything, did I?”

Laughing softly while shaking his head, the young male replied while motioning for the couch,

“Ani ani. You held your liquor quite well. Way better than Jimin hyung. In fact, he’s already texted us in our group chat saying the next time we go out, it’s going to be at a dog cafe. Here. Take a seat and rest.”

Giggling as you could totally picture Jimin saying that, you gave a small and slow nod before timidly taking a seat on the couch. It was then that you were quickly reminded of your current attire. Blushing heavily, you glanced over to see Jungkook shyly staring at you too. Swapping bashful smiles, the male cleared his throat and said as casually as he could,

“Speaking of Jimin, he also mentioned something about grabbing lunch with the guys today and having you officially meet his girlfriend along with Tae’s. Would you like that? A girls day out? You know, where you girls can go out and do whatever it is you females do for fun.”

You couldn’t help but snort followed by giggles as you listened to him talk. Such a typical guy. A male who will never understand the female species. Then again. Would females ever understand males? Probably not. Smiling widely and already feeling much better than earlier, you nodded and replied with a joyous tone in your voice,

“Yeah! I’d like that. I don’t have any female friends, really.”

“Well now you do. Come on. I’ll drop you off at your place to wash and change and then we can meet up with them at the mall.”

And with that, the two of you started your day. You waited out in the living room patiently while Jungkook hopped in the shower and made himself presentable. Of course you had simply changed back into your clubbing clothes but knew that it wouldn’t last long since the drive to your apartment was pretty short. Upon seeing the male step back out into the living room, you couldn’t help but smile wider. He always looked so good no matter what he was wearing.

“Ready?”

“Ready!”

Walking out to the parking garage where his car was, you both noticed the sounds of what seemed to be fire trucks. You glanced over at him and noticed he was staring back at you too. Those trucks sounded awfully close. However, it could have been anything but it was never a good thing for a fire truck to be blaring so close to home. Climbing in, you both buckled up and were off onto the streets.

Within five minutes, your heart sunk and you felt like you were going to puke.

The fire trucks were all parked outside the front of your building as it started to collapse on itself with the help of the flames that were trying to engulf it. Fire. It was everywhere. The entire building was up in flames. Fight or flight instincts kicked in and you quickly unbuckled yourself and was flinging yourself out of the car before Jungkook could even put it to a full stop; shouting after you.

“Wait! Stop!”

Fortunately the male was part wolf and could use his speed and strength to his advantage. Within seconds, he had his arms wrapped around your waist and stopping you from going any closer to the burning building. You screamed and thrashed in his arms; exclaiming that you had belongings in there. Belongings that were important and precious to you. Once you had stopped screaming at him, he softly shushed you and held you to his chest as he whispered sweet nothings in your ear.

“I know. I know. I’m so sorry, beautiful. I’m so sorry. It’s going to be okay. We’ll fix this. It’s going to be okay.”

His inner wolf howled in pain and it rang in his ears. Dear god this was pure torture seeing you like this. It had tears stinging his own eyes as he held onto you for dear life. You had since then lost all your will to stand and so he had to hold you up as best he could. You just wouldn’t stop sobbing and honestly he couldn’t blame you. He could only imagine what precious items you must have been referring to.

Managing to get you back in his car, the two of you sat there in silence. You were silently crying and he was sitting there trying to figure out how to clean this mess up. It was killing him. So much so that it was hard to think straight. All he wanted to do was hold you in his arms and make all this go away so that you’d smile again. Swallowing hard, he suddenly remembered their previous plans and that’s what an idea struck him. Pulling out his phone, he found the contact he was looking for and pressed the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Jiminnie hyung. Have you guys left yet?”

“Nope. Cutie here insists I’m not sober enough yet. I think she just wants to see me choke back black coffee.”

“Look. I’m coming over now. I’ll explain when we get there.”

“W---Okay. Sure. The door will be unlocked. Kook is everything o----”

But the male didn’t give his older brother a chance to finish as his car was already back out on the street and zooming towards their destination; Jimin’s girlfriend’s house. You took one last look at the place you had called home for the last three years before closing your eyes and bawling all the harder as you slumped further into the passenger seat.

“Shhh. It’s okay, beautiful. We’ll fix this. We’ll make everything okay.”

Once arriving, Jungkook looked over to see that you had finally stopped crying but the alternative wasn’t much better. If anything, it was worse. You just sat there staring out into space; thinking only God knows what. Turning the car off, he got out and helped you out and you let him; not having the spirit in you to do it yourself.

However, once Jimin opened the door and saw you standing there, you burst into tears all over again and flung yourself at the small man; clinging to him and sobbing into his shoulder. Meanwhile said man was staring at the younger male with question marks all over his face mouthing ‘What happened?’

But instead of answering the older male out loud, Jungkook simply gave him a look that said he’d explain everything in a minute. It was then that he turned to the cute, petite female standing a few feet away in the living room and he asked softly,

“Mama Bird, could she use your shower and......perhaps borrow a fresh set of clothing?”

Nodding eagerly, the female spoke in a soft, sweet, and motherly tone as she replied,

“Of course, of course. Come on, sweet pea. Let’s get you washed up. You’ll love my shampoo I use. And we’ll pick out a really pretty outfit that will have you feeling good as new.”

With soft whimpers falling from your quivering lips, you allowed the other female to guide you deeper into her cozy home where the bathroom could be found. Lucky for you, the female was quite the literal mama bird. You would be in good hands for the moment.

Once the two females were out of sight, Jungkook sighed heavily and closed the front door behind him before leaning against it and rubbing his face tiredly. Jimin stood there shifting his weight from one foot to the other before he finally cracked under the suspense and asked once more,

“Jungkook, what happened? Did someone die?”

“No......but something tells me they might as well have.”

Just as Jimin was about to nag about the younger beating around the bush and speaking in riddles, the dark haired boy spoke up once more.

“Her apartment was on fire this morning, hyung. The whole building is completely destroyed. I have no idea if anyone was in the building but thank the Moon Goddess she wasn’t.”

When the blonde male gave him a look, he added in brief explanation,

“I took her to my place after last night. I just......my inner wolf told me to. And I can’t really say I wanted to argue. I want her home with me so bad, Jimin. Is this what it feels like for you and Taehyung?”

“Oh yeah. Trust me. That’s why I’ve been staying here at her place. Thankfully she doesn’t mind it. And honestly I could see myself moving in here if we get that far.”

Suddenly one of the colorful birds in the living room spoke up but what came out of his mouth was not what Jungkook was expecting.

“Heehee heehee you’re such an idiot, Jiminnie. But I still love you.”

“Stupid parrot.”

[tough-girl9]

I decided to compile a list of all the Strange Magic fics I want to write in one place...

Afterwards

Post-movie two-shot. After their confession, Bog and Marianne have to decide where to go from here. Featuring Bog and Marianne navigating a very awkward, cute, shy first date, discussing Marianne’s dreams of uniting the kingdoms, and wanting very badly to hold hands but not being sure how to go about it.

Alone

Short one-shot. On one side of the border, a goblin king’s loneliness and hidden hunger to be loved eat away at his heart. On the other side of the border, a fairy princess sobs herself to sleep on what would have been her wedding night. A feel-good little character study type of thing comparing Bog and Marianne before they meet and after.

Beauty and the Beast

One-shot. Bog is in bed with a fever, so Marianne decides to share one of her favorite stories from her childhood with him. ButterflyBog fluff with a fairy version of the Beauty and the Beast tale, and Marianne and Bog bantering about how their own story fits.

Blue Eyes and Purple Wings

Multi-chapter AU. A fairy child and a goblin boy happen to meet on the border of two kingdoms and an unexpected friendship blossoms between light and dark. I know it’s been done before, but it’s too cute an idea not to try my hand at a version of it.

Boggy Woggy

Short one-shot. Marianne knew that the Bog King utterly despises Roland. What she never expected was to one day walk in on her current fiance attempting to strangle her ex. Inspired by a conversation with a friend who wanted to know how Bog would react to someone other than Dawn calling him “Boggy.”

Concerning Children

One-shot. With their wedding in the near future, Bog and Marianne have a serious discussion about what will happen to their kingdoms once they are married and the conversation turns to children. Marianne thinks they are discussing possibilities in case a goblin and a fairy are not able to have a child together. Bog thinks they are discussing the topic for a very different reason. Bog being his usual insecure self that can’t imagine Marianne desiring him, and Marianne reassuring him that that’s definitely not the case.

The Dark Side of the Moon

Multi-chapter fic. Not in the same continuity as most of my post-movie fics. Two kingdoms united, a fairy queen wedded to a goblin king, and dreams come true. But Roland has not yet given up on the throne and puts a new plan in action that could ruin everything. Dark and angsty, involving Roland attempting to have Bog assassinated, stealing the throne, and coercing Marianne into being his queen, Marianne striking a terrible deal with Roland to allow her unborn child and the rightful heir to live, and Sunny and Dawn leading an uprising against Roland.

Dates and Questions

One-shot. About a month into their relationship, Marianne and Bog are out for a date and find the courage to start asking each other some of the questions they’ve been wondering about, to learn a bit more about each other and put some of the myths surrounding their respective cultures to rest. Total fluff and humor with some exploration of fairy and goblin cultures.

Different Is What I Like

One-shot. When Bog finds his eldest daughter in tears, he finds himself giving her the same comfort that he had once given the woman who would become his wife. Bog as a father and teenage Princess Rosalind struggling with her biracial identity.

Double Date

One-shot. About a month after the events of the movie, Dawn and Sunny are planning an outing together, but when Dawn invites Marianne and Bog for a double date, things get a little awkward for a certain elf who is still a bit wary of his future brother-in-law. ButterflyBog, Potionless, and Bog & Sunny bonding.

An Eye For Beauty

Character study type of one-shot. Bog has a knack for seeing beauty in the most diverse and unexpected places, Marianne notices. There seems to be only one place where Bog can only find ugliness.

Fairy Princess, Goblin King

Human AU one-shot? That could possibly turn into more? Bogdan Kingsley is well aware that he has no life. The only thing he really enjoys are his weekly LARP group where he can immerse himself in his fantasy alter-ego of the dreaded goblin king. But when a newcomer joins the group, Bog finds his life turned upside-down.

Fairy Wings and Ferris Wheels

One-shot (or possibly two or three-shot with fairly short chapters) Human AU. Marianne, Dawn, Bog, and Sunny participate in a scavenger hunt challenge at their favorite theme park. Bog and Marianne being aggressively competitive dorks, Dawn and Sunny being cute together and pretending like they don’t know those two animals who are taking bumper car competition waaaay too seriously, and sisterly bonding.

Handsome

Three or Four Shot. Bog is happier than he’s ever been with his beautiful, fiery fairy girlfriend. But a chance reminder of his own hideousness sends him spiraling into worry and doubt over whether he is good enough for Marianne. So he goes to Sugar Plum Fairy for a different sort of potion, but Bog’s plans don’t go quite as he expected. Angst with lots of hurt/comfort fluff.

I Could Have Lost You

One-shot. During a tender moment, Bog becomes deeply distraught. As Marianne seeks to comfort her husband, she learns that he is still haunted by a moment from their past. My take on Bog’s guilt over coming so close to killing Marianne on the night they met.

I Think I Love You

One-shot. Marianne still caught her cheating fiance, but feeling emboldened by her freed self that has emerged, she decides to go to the Dark Forest to prove her dream of peace is possible. She finds the last thing she expected: a friend who understands heartbreak just as well as she does. But then, when everything is perfect, she has to go and mess it all up. I know it’s been done before multiple times, but I want to try my hand at it. Friends to lovers (when everyone but the two of them are well aware of what is transpiring and bets are being placed on who ends up kissing the other one first).

I Wish I Had Boys

Two-shot. In which the Fairy King gets his wish, and makes the effort to get to know his future sons-in-law a little better. Dagda & Sunny and Dadga & Bog bonding time.

Kidnapped!

One-shot. When Bog went to sleep that night, the last thing he expected was to be kidnapped. In which Marianne gives Bog a taste of his own kidnapping medicine and takes advantage of having a sexy goblin king in her power.

A King’s Wrath

One-shot. Marianne makes the mistake of confronting Bog in front of his servants when he’s chewing them out. Bog responds with seeming aggression and anger, damaging Marianne’s trust in him, but afterwards he comes to her privately to apologize and explain to her that goblins rule in a very different way than fairies.

A Lesson in Love

One-shot. Marianne couldn’t love her goblin boyfriend more, except for one thing. Every time he disparages himself or suggests that he is not enough, it is like a dagger in her heart. And so she decides to break her insecure boyfriend of the habit once and for all by giving him a taste of his own medicine.

Lovestruck

Multi-chapter AU. My take on the “what if it was Bog who got a face-full of love potion” scenario, because it’s just too delicious not to explore.

Meat

One-shot. Early in their relationship, Marianne stays for a meal in the Dark Forest with Bog and is confronted by a reality that she knows she should have realized beforehand but still can’t help but be deeply disturbed by, and she realizes she’s going to have to make a decision about whether she can truly accept Bog for who he is and everything that entails. Based on my headcanon that fairies do not eat meat.

Monster

One-shot. Bog overhears a group of fairies gossiping about their princess and her monstrous paramour. When Bog doesn’t show up for their date, Marianne goes looking for her lover.

Nothing Goes As Planned

One-shot. Both Bog and Marianne long to be parents, but they are beginning to think it might not be possible for them. Bittersweet Bog/Marianne bonding and comfort and discussions about alternatives to having biological children.

Oh You Scaly-Backed Cockroach

One-shot. Bog overhears (OK eavesdrops on) Marianne talking to Dawn about him. What he learns about how Marianne sees him is startling to him, but he decides to put this new piece of knowledge to the test, even if it takes him decidedly outside of his comfort zone.

One Fateful Day

Two or Three Shot most likely. Fifteen years ago, Bog almost ruined the life of the girl he loved and he’s lived with the guilt of his deed ever since. Now, he decides he finally needs to do what he should have done all those years ago and finally put the ghosts of That Fateful Day to rest. Bog-centric, but also deals with Marianne’s trust issues. I haven’t run across many fics that really deal with Bog’s guilt and shame for attempting to use the potion or him trying to make amends for what he did, so this is my attempt to explore that.

Only Fools Rush In

Multi-chapter fic. An alternate ending to Strange Magic where the “Tell Him/Her” confessions never took place and Marianne is not quite so sure she’s ready to give her heart to another man, even one like Bog. Basically, my attempt to explore what I felt would have been a more satisfying ending, where Marianne and Bog are not rushed into confessing their feelings and both of them have more time to wrestle with their hang-ups surrounding romance and finally come together on their own terms when they feel ready.

The Prisoner

Multi-chapter AU. When she marries the love of her life and the handsomest fairy in the kingdom, Marianne expects Happily Ever After. When King Roland declares war on the Dark Forest and takes the goblin ruler as a prisoner, Marianne gets something else entirely. On the dark and angsty side.

See You At the Dark Forest

Multi-chapter Human AU. Marianne and Dawn decide to check out the Dark Forest Café, and Dawn becomes quite smitten with the tall, dour owner. Marianne, on the other hand, is decidedly less smitten.

Stormy Evening

One-shot. An unexpected storm keeps Marianne a prisoner in the Dark Castle. She and Bog find plenty of ways to pass the time however. Fluff, make-out sessions, and Marianne and Bog having a conversation about Bog’s Obliviousness to the fact that he totally a goblin stud.

Unclad

Short one-shot. Bog finds himself worrying over whether his state of…undress is embarrassing to Marianne.

Unmarked

Multi-chapter Soulmate mark AU. Marianne has always had a strange dream about a place where light and dark meet, where blue eyes meet hers from the darkness, and a clawed hand with a mark that matches hers reaches out to seize her wrist. But the dream is pushed aside when she meets a dashing blond fairy with a matching mark and knows she’s met her soulmate. But nothing is quite what it seems, on either side of the border. Unabashed cliché, I know, but I don’t think I’ve run across a Strange Magic soulmate mark AU, so why not? In which Roland is his usual terrible, lying self and Marianne meets a goblin king who is mysteriously Unmarked.

Wedding Bells

One-shot (or possibly two-shot). ButterflyBog wedding! As Bog prepares for his wedding with old goblin customs, he shares a tender moment with the person who never gave up on seeing her boy happy beyond his wildest dreams. Bog & Griselda bonding, goblin wedding traditions, and the royal wedding of the century.

Where the Asters Bloom

One-shot. One day, Marianne notices that Bog seems particularly distracted. As it turns out, today is a day with special meaning for Bog and he decides to introduce Marianne to someone very dear to him. Bittersweet fluff with some exploration into Bog’s childhood and fairy and goblin customs surrounding death.

[whatscallion]

rise: ch. v

//- A Medieval AU with the help of Anne who always encourages my muse to no end.

Chapter Summary: One of a few story arcs. The first one! The Demon Widow approaches Saint Johann, and she’s just not feelin’ it anymore. Enjoy!

Chapter Word Count: 1,742

Previous Chapters: Prologue - One - Two - Three - Four

Tagging: @cptsteven @blackberrywidow​ ( message / ask to get tagged! )

Ravens were perceived as harborers of every malady known to man, countless eons cementing every rumor and myth into place without recourse. The wake of every known tragedy rode on oil slick feathers, and yet their more prominent traits were forcefully ignored. Cleverness unmatched with intelligence to round out rough edges of an animal psyche, ravens were the masters of their own realms. Trickery and survival both intertwined beautifully to allow ravens an allotment in life unparalleled. It was this mastery of wits that proved to be integral to a plan in its lifelong journey to reality. One lone raven would change the course of history and lives through its own honed instincts and uncanny connection to an Instrument no more. Faith was displaced, the sliver of light within, precious in its scarcity, turned from the heavens above and onto oneself. Faith would begin in the actions and convictions of an enlightened being, held before an audience unknowingly. It would be now that the Widow Demon would become known.

The fire had started in simplicity, the obsidian bird having spent years upon years building tinder within the walls of the newly renowned Saint Johann. A man of the cloth in which God Himself spoke freely through, yet so few knew just how much of a fantasy that was. All it took was one push, one thought of sentience and deviation, and a kingdom hidden in the shadows of hulking monoliths would crumble as a leader fell. Natalia would see to it personally, though not for sentimental reasons. It was not for the death of her mother or her stolen life. It was not for the exile of Matthias or the killing of so many innocents. It was proof that the evil of man would become it’s own undoing through fundamentals and deadly flaws.

All it took was one push.

The moonless night brought a thick veil of the unknown to even the most open of areas, needing candlelight to grant safe passage even among the well known. But those who operated and dwelled within the seeping darkness would find their advantages heavy in this night. The Widow preferred to live this way, keeping eyes off herself in order to maintain an illusion of an enigma. She was meant to be a mystery, people doubting her very existence until her supposed wrath rained down upon them. Her reputation had been bolstered in the doubt of truth in her abilities. No one could be that good. No one could be that deadly. Rumors would be confirmed, just as she entered Saint Johann’s Cathedral, where he ruled over the low layers of society. His power was creeping towards the sun, and there was little standing in his way.

“My young Sister!” Johann bellowed from the altar, cheerful glee spreading a smile too wide upon his aging features. “I was having doubts of whether or not you were able to wash the sins of the Blind Nomad or not.” Natalia’s stride didn’t stop as she pressed forward down the center aisle. “Tell me, did you procure the Scripture?”

His question drew pause to her advance, finding it unnecessary to glance about her. It was easy to assume there were lesser Instruments surrounding her, all eager to make a name for themselves by tearing down the Widow Demon piece by piece. Johann was trying to read her as an exercise in futility. Natalia’s indifference ran through to the very core of her being, allowing so little to be gained at face value. It was unwittingly one of her most invaluable traits.

“Yes,” she answered firmly. Adrenaline was beginning its slow release into her system, causing hyper awareness to envelope her completely. The doors closed behind her, and the trap was set. It wouldn’t have mattered what she had done in those cold mountains. Her fate was sealed by the Hand of God’s own mercenary. Johann beckoned her forward, skeletal fingers curling before him, yet she remained steadfast in her unmoving ways.

“Bring it here, my darling.” The eagerness glistened like lamp oil in his beady eyes, hunger causing thoughts to salivate over the mere idea of finally obtaining that which should’ve been burnt ages ago and buried with the ideals of their forefathers. Hands remained loose despite the buzzing just beneath the surface.

“No.”

A glimpse was caught among the sudden flurry of darkly stained robes and sharpened steel, of Johann retreating to those secret chambers dreaded. So many Instruments had been added the ranks, most of which weren’t of the Three Bloodlines, and they all descended upon her with blind faith in a man who was no more than just that. The following felt too familiar, these sheep thinking they could take down someone with such a natural edge. The fundamental understanding of weaknesses and precision was not something to be taught, but something given. Natalia could only grant herself an instant of relief in the knowledge that Ivan resided at his manor and not the Cathedral like every individual she proceeded to slay.

In her own deceit and betrayal, the Widow Demon died away, forfeiting tenure and reputation with each Instrument falling by her hand. Specks of blood repainted natural freckles along her stoic features, exertion slow to rise as she cut down the masses who had strived to become a fraction of what she’d made of herself. This was not Ivan’s doing, but her own determination and strength that pushed her to stand upon hallowed ground. They were beneath her, and in this act of savage rebellion, it came to stand in bronze.

Fire began to lick up the tapestries and parchments adorning the walls, flames spreading within the infrastructure to burst forth with so little to stop it. Her raven, her guide, her true speaker of destiny. He had given the spark to bring this crashing down in an elegance to match her own grace. The deadly dance that only she could choreograph in brutal grace and ruthless finality was left unaffected by the volatile nature of the spreading fire. In order to get to those chambers, to the one she knew he retreated to, she must cut her way through pitiful emulations of herself. These fallen copies were innocent in their own right, the only sin they held was that of mistrust.

She had to work quickly as to ascertain safe passage out of the symbolized crumbling of an empire born of mankind’s evil. It didn’t matter now, how many she left alive or barely clinging to consciousness. Johann was where her fate lied, and the Widow made quick work of moving into the series of chambers stowed away behind the altar. Though she claimed to be the best, numbers had not left her unscathed yet the razor focus she now held was keeping frivolous things such as pain away from the forefront of her attention. Repercussions for this necessary deed would be contemplated at a later date, though Natalia was aware of the immediate reactions to her betrayal.

Steeped in the blood of her brothers, she pressed on with emerald eyes searching out every corner and turn to find the King of Liars. It would be in his own bed chambers she found him, attempting to stow away what few treasures he thought highly of. Materials that were given as offerings in the time of worship were selfishly taken as spoils of spiritual war, painting Johann’s privacy in decadent tones of gold and velvet. Three paces forward, and a blade had already pierced through him, her form pinning him to the floor to allow her to loom overhead with unrelenting fury burning as brightly as the cathedral itself. Crimson sputtered from his thin lips, disbelief shaping his face into something befitting that of a caught thief.

“N-Natalia...my- my sister.” The sound of her name slipping off his dying tongue forced the blade in further, her split lip curling into a heavy snarl so rarely seen by those surrounding her.

“Twist the name of God in your favor, Johann, and He will surely smite thee in time.” The dark voice she used was gritted with a proclamation itching to burst forth. “Did you not think you would fall prey to his wrathful ways? There are no exceptions, Demon.” The moniker so easily used on the Instruments was now turned upon himself, and the rebuttal was laced with anger as energy crumbled from the man beneath her.

“I am no Demon. I s-see your lies, y-you heathen! D-Daughter of a whore, I-I should’ve killed you w-with her.” The true colors of the archbishop were shining through, thick like tar and rancid in its show in the fire’s light. A small smile began to accompany the snarl on the Widow’s scarred facade, finding humor in the dying man’s words.

“You are no Demon,” she agreed. “You are The Destroyer himself, dear Brother. Tell me, Fallen One, if it is God who holds your fate in his hand, how is it that I hold it now?” Silence between the two was filled with the inferno pressing on beyond the chambers. Time was ticking away without mercy, yet Natalia couldn’t pull herself away from this moment, finding too much pleasure taken in the sinful decree of murder. Speechlessness from Johann was sipped upon much like an oasis in a never ending desert. This triumph would affirm her own past actions justified in more ways than one. Blood of the Lamb would be washed from her soul in the eradication of evil in His eyes. And yet”

“Look upon me, Johann,” she whispered, leaning down to become the only thing he could see. The light was dwindling in ice cold eyes glaring up at her, weight pressed further upon the weapon of his destruction, the length of it having now sliced clean through his chest. “I am not the Widow Demon. I am not your Instrument. I am not of your flock.”

Johann slipped into purgatory upon Natalia’s parting words, falling from her lips with unshakable conviction.

“I am God, Johann, and I have judged you unfit for my precious gift of life.”

O Holy Mother in Heaven, I beseech thee. Praised be unto the God Widow, for her wrath is swift and unending. Guide me, Mother, and I will follow the shadowed footsteps through the valleys and mountains.

O God Widow, I worship thee.

Look upon me, and tremble in sight of the God Widow.

[ashethehedgehog]

OKAY U GUYS LMAO TY FOR THE ASKS <33333 I’ll do ygo for all the letters here! It’s long so I’ll put it under a read more! So dive on in for some talk about my writing and puzzleshipping fics! (Also some snippets I posted below so wink wink)

B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

Not like directly, but I definitely put some of my influences into them. Like Yugi wanting to be a knight in The Beast Within was 100% because I used to want to be a knight lmao. 

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Ohhh off the top of my head? Gosh mmmm. Okay so off the top of my head there’s this one scene in an AU I’m probably going to abandon actually, so it’s kinda ehhh to show it now and tease u all like this lmao, but I did really enjoy writing the interactions between Yugi and Atem in them, so I’m going to put one of those for this! I just like the way they butted heads and Atem refused to relent, but then so did Yugi so they just tip toed around each other looking for the weak spot while referring to ‘the pharaoh’ as if it’s someone else and not Atem lmao. For context, it’s from an AU where everyone is an anthro animal, felines are considered the high ranking ones, spotted cats (Yugi’s species) is endangered and highly revered, Atem is a lion.

“You’re under the protection of the pharaoh, and as such are to remain in the palace where said effect can be carried out.” Atem answered as dully as he could manage. It seemed to work, as Yugi’s expression dropped.

“That order can be extended and revoked by the pharaoh himself should he wish. Do you think the pharaoh realises that? I wonder…” Yugi clicked his tongue, a thoughtful hand tapping his chin.

“I believe the pharaoh wishes for the spotted cat to remain within the palace walls, where he would be safest. I wonder if he realises that he could have servants fetch anything he needed from the city.”

“He wants to go look at what the city has to offer. With his own eyes, not those of servants not belonging to him.”

“You have your own staff I have assigned to you.”

“They’re not loyal to me.”

Atem paused, finally giving his full attention to Yugi. So that’s the kind of game Yugi was playing today. It seemed he had slipped up, however, and Atem wasn’t beneath taking advantage of this blunder.

“You question the good intentions of the pharaoh, who has given you his place as residence while asking nothing of you?” Atem tsked, turning back to his scroll, attention slipping from Yugi. He knew that would irritate the little cat, and sure enough, Yugi gave a soft growl in warning.

“I do not question the pharaoh, only wonder if he remembers whether or not he will honour his agreement.”

“What agreement?” Atem rolled his eyes.

Yugi pushed off the desk, slamming a hand down on the table, tail lashing angrily behind him. “You cannot keep me locked up here, pharaoh. Protective rules or not, if I leave, you cannot stop me.”

“No, I can’t,” Atem responded calmly, adjusting the scroll in his paws. “But you lose my protection if you venture into the city. You go alone.”

"I will be going into the city, pharaoh. And you will provide me with the necessary guards."

G: Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

I tend to write random scenes around as I get inspiration for them, but mostly I write it chapter by chapter to keep it consistent! But if I’m in a slump, I write scenes that I had the motivation to work on, even if it’s for like three chapters ahead. I did this a little with my Big Bang fic because I had a deadline and needed to be working on it lmao. Fun fact tho, The Living Daylights I started off with the opening scene from chapter nine! Yeah nine chapters in right crazy ahaha, but that was what inspired the AU! xD

H: How would you describe your style?

I dunno? Semi-decent descriptions enough to understand locations and a fuckton of travelling montage work and fighting scenes. I couldn’t tell u dude I dunno my own style lmao.

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

Sure, why not! So my list of fics I’m currently writing are:

Prince and King on AO3

Dragontaur AU/ Opportunities in Unexpected Places on AO3

The Demon Prince Yugi and Knight Atem AU, which will be my next multi chap fic after PaK is done.

A naga!Yugi and vampire!Yugi AU that I’m writing, buuuuut they’re both for my smut blog, where I post them exclusively, and I’m not going to move them to AO3 either soz (anyone is welcome to IM me for the link to the blog, but it’s on private so access is message only lmao).

Magic AU, which u can find some snippets of here! I don’t plan to take this further than a longshot, even with the potential for more there, I just don’t have the time for another fantasy AU world to build rn lmao. But I hope to have something of this to share soon!

Lion Atem, which I gave the snippet of above, where they’re all anthros. I never wrote much for this, and although I liked the concept, I don’t think I’ll work on it anymore. Maybe I’ll post the 6K I wrote just as a ‘read if u want but don’t expect more pls’ kind of thing. But yeah, at this stage this one is p much discontinued because I don’t have the time to work on it. 

And that leaves Elf King Yugi, something that has definitely been on the back burner for MONTHS now (ever since Trial and Error, so u do the maths lmao) which I have written a fair amount for, but need to do some serious plot work before I consider doing more. Since there is a chance I’ll continue to work on this one tho, I’ll post a snippet here!

"You know the council isn't going to like this Yugi. You're in for a long and dangerous fight with this one."

"I know Anzu- you don't need to treat me like a kid." Yugi scolded her with a quick frown.

"I'm just warning you. Be prepared to argue into the night."

"I am- believe me." Yugi groaned, a hand rubbing his forehead as if to still a headache.

Yami tittered at the edge of the room near the door, unsure if he should interrupt what looked like a conversation (or argument) between friends.

Luck wasn't (or was) on his side though it seemed, as Yugi took that moment to crane his neck to where Yami was standing, his eyes lighting up. Yami suppressed a groan as he waved him over. Yami stepped lightly, his steps hesitant as he approached the two.

"Oh wow Yugi is this him? Your narcissism is showing with this one." The girl’s eyes gleamed with something predatory, like she was sizing up how long Yami would last in... Something.

"Would you please stop saying 'this one?' It implies I do this frequently- which I don't." Yugi said, shooting Yami an apologetic look. "This is Anzu- she works at the castle here-"

"You forgot to mention I'm your best friend." Anzu said in a sing song voice. Yugi shot her a look this time.

"Yes, and you're my annoying best friend." He turned back to Yami. "She's going to give you your tour, alright?"

Yami nodded. "Where are you going?"

"I have to go to court today. We'll see each other later, my dear Yami." Yugi smiled at him, reaching out to pat his shoulder as he passed him, disappearing out of the room.

Yami turned back around to immediately jump in surprise.

Standing way too close for comfort in front of him was Anzu. She had a wild grin on her face, like she knew a secret Yami didn't.

"Well well Yami. Looks like it’s just the two of us for the rest of the day." She practically purred.

"Uh... Okay... Should I be worried?" Yami frowned, not liking the glint in her eyes. It's like a maze of demons here, Yami observed. You turn away from one only to find another.

"Not at all," Anzu hummed, patting Yami's shoulder. "We're all friends here I assure you. Yugi wants me to take extra good care with you. And I must say- I can see why. You're a keeper."

"A keeper?" Yami's frown deepened, and he suppressed a sigh of exhaustion. Just what have I gotten myself into here? He was beginning to seriously regret his decision to break the elves' border seal now.

"Never mind." Anzu waved him off, trotting over to the door only to swing back around, her hand on the handle. "You coming? Yugi wants you to see the castle."

"Oh, right, of course." Yami muttered, following Anzu as she made her way out into the hallway.

"Alright, first things first- unless Yugi gives you public permission to travel around, don't go anywhere without an escort, okay?"

"Why? I'm not a kid." Yami scoffed.

"Mmm, technically you are to a lot of these folk. Most of the population in the kingdom are elves, and they tend to be a lot older than they appear."

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

LMAO YEAH REALLY WISH I DIDN’T HAVE TO WRITE THE REST OF PRINCE AND KING BUT WELP IT’S MY FIC AND I’VE COME THIS FAR SO I GOTTA FINISH IT RIP. I just reaaaaaally crave the day I can slap a COMPLETED on it :’’’’D

O: How do you begin a story–with the plot, or the characters?

The plot! Mainly because fanfic so the chars already exist lmao. I usually start with one thing that catches my interest, and work out from there. Sometimes my AUs start from dreams, like Demon Prince started because I had a dream Yugi was a demon in jail trying to seduce Atem to come work for him so lmao there u go. 

P: Are you what George R. R. Martin would call an “architect” or a “gardener”? (How much do you plan in advance, versus letting the story unfold as you go?)

I’m much more of an architect, because without a decent plot written out in front of my, in like a chapter by chapter format, I will easily lose motivation and focus because I won’t have a ‘oh yeah that’s what’s happening next!’ sort of thing. It helps with building up foreshadowing and stuff too for me. The stories I try to ‘gardener’ for I guess are the ones that often don’t see tumblr or AO3 lmao. AKA u will never hear of them because I have a few lmao.

Q: How do you feel about collaborations?

Interesting question! I suppose it depends what kind! I like collaboration ideas, in fact my first multi chapter fic The Living Daylights was a collaboration in ideas between me and my pal Ren! But I still wrote the entire thing lmao. I guess I like to have control over the writing for style consistency, but I think tackling the entire concept with another writer would be fun! I’ve never tried to write something with someone else so I dunno how that would go!

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

[kinda nsfw] INNOCENT PURE YUGI MUTOU WHO MUST ALWAYS BOTTOM FOR ATEM BECAUSE ATEM IS SEX GOD AND YUGI IS VIRGIN WHO KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT SEX. Listen nothing rustles my JIMMIES more than that that troupe which is EVERYWHERE in puzzleshipping. I don’t understand why it’s so popular??? Like, this isn’t to say Yugi 100% CANNOT bottom because he totes can! But of ALL the puzzleshipping I’ve ever read that involved smut, especially in multi chapter fics, Yugi topped like... once, maybe??? ???? That’s SO MANY fics where Atem almost NEEDED to top. It kind of feels like people were too scared to write it at times? Like some stories I could totally see it either way, but it was ALWAYS with Atem topping, always. I don’t really understand why people are so against Yugi topping in puzzle but auuuugh I just wish there was more of it u know? Like if I want top Atem material shit man I got hundreds of fics for that, but top Yugi? Man, I can list them on my fingers...

Long story short ppl shouldn’t be afraid to let Yugi top pls. I’m not saying he ALWAYS HAS TO TOP, but more of that than Atem always topping would be real nice? A nice mix instead of everything seemingly so bias would be cool? Sometimes I want top!Atem, and sometimes I want top!Yugi, isn’t that the same for everyone lmao. Like they’d totes switch it up all the time so why is there so little for top!Yugi? The mystery of my life lmao. Let Yugi Top 2k17.

X: A character you enjoy making suffer.

Probably Atem, sorry to the kid but he’s the one who ends up suffering the most in my fics opps. I think there’s like ONE fic where Yugi suffers more maybe? The rest is all like nope lmao soz bro but ur the punching bag ahaha.

W: Do you like more general prompts, or more specific ones?

(this is the one I picked myself lmao) I like really specific ones! I like to know exactly what I’m writing, and unless I get a burning idea in my head I’d rather do (not often) I’d prefer prompts that give me more to work with, or at least more detail than like a one line simple prompt lmao.