#also I’m sure there’s other reasons behind my surprise at that too lol

[themoonunderstoodmydadjokes]

It’s still such a baffling concept to me that anyone on here finds me attractive 🫣 like this isn’t a “I’m not pretty” kinda thing cause I’m very comfortable with myself and how I look and my body and all of that, but it’s always so strange that like….. other people think the same??? People think I’m cute??? People think I’m pretty??? Wild lol

[angelfic]

— THE WAY I LOVED YOU

pairing: theodore nott x reader

summary: in which theodore nott will do anything to get you to go out with him, but you’re just as stubborn rejecting him

warnings: swearing, kissing, dangerous stunts and theo being stupid (ryan gosling in the notebook style), unedited since i wrote this in the middle of the night on no sleep again lol. enemies to lovers if you squint a bit

author’s note: since everyone loves theo i’ll pretend this isn’t just for my own selfish needs <3 (especially the notebook reference) also surprise surprise mc is a gryffindor as always, you’d never know i was a slytherin my bad guys… as always let me know what u think! enjoy, angels 💌

The first time Theodore Nott asks you out, you spill a pot of ink directly into his lap.

It’s not like you meant to do it. But when there’s a Transfiguration worksheet to be getting on with, the Slytherin boy seated next to you by Professor McGonagall asking you out would surely take anyone by surprise.

The second you twist in your seat to look at him in shock, your arm slides the pot right off the desk and directly onto his grey trousers, instantly staining them with the black liquid before you have a chance to speak.

Your hands fly to your mouth to stifle your gasp and you look up at him, anticipating an angry glare in return. Instead, he looks mildly surprised at the ever-growing stain on his crotch, but mostly… amused?

“A simple ‘no’ would have sufficed, darling,” he says, raising an eyebrow and suppressing a smile.

You begin stuttering out an apology and scrambling for your wand to wave away the stain before you can do something stupid like attempting to rub it off with your sleeve. Your cheeks instantly heat up at the humiliating image now plaguing your mind and you barely contain a sigh of relief when you realise the lesson has finished.

It’s a miracle your shoes haven’t left scuff marks on the ground in a cartoonish trail with the speed at which you leave the classroom. Godric knows why Theo Nott of all people wants to ask you out, but since it can’t possibly be for any good reason, you’d rather not think about it too much. This, however, isn’t helped by Hermione pestering you about why you look so flustered for the entire walk to the Charms classroom.

Twenty minutes later, her attention is finally diverted. On the other hand, it’s because she’s berating you for accidentally burning the end of her left eyebrow off with a charm gone wrong.

The second time Theo asks you out, there are thankfully no ink pots around.

“Hey,” he whispers from behind you, making you jump within an inch of your life despite his low volume. You swivel in your chair to glare at him, incredulous. Seeing that he’s startled you, Theo grins. “Sorry. What are you doing?”

“Baking a cake,” you deadpan, once your heart has started beating at a normal pace again. Holding up your Potions book, you feel the annoyance start to seep in when Theo continues looking at you, undeterred. “What does it look like I’m doing?”

Apparently unfazed by your sarcasm, he drags out the chair next to you and spins it around to sit on it backwards. Settling his arms on top of the backrest, Theo rests his chin on them to look at you. “You never did answer my question.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you mumble, eyes scanning the page in front of you but taking in nothing. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to study-”

“Are you going to make me ask you again?” he sighs. You panic a little at his bluntness and continue pretending to read, not knowing what else to do. Theo takes your silence as encouragement and shuffles his chair closer to your own. “Go out with me.”

The arrogance practically drips off his voice, and the pit of anxiety in your stomach immediately turns into irritation instead. “No,” you grit out, slamming your potions book shut to scowl at him. “And I don’t hear you asking anything.”

“Okay,” Theo says slowly, nodding as though he understands. It’s clear that he doesn’t though, because the next words out of his mouth have you stunned. “Please, oh please, will you do me the absolute greatest honour of going out with me?”

”Merlin,” you exhale, pinching the bridge of your nose. Dropping your hands into your lap, you see no solution other than gathering your things to return to the common room. “You’re having me on…”

“I can assure you, I’m not,” Theo says quickly, stopping you from leaving by gently grabbing your elbow. You stop in your movements to catch him looking more unsure than you’ve ever seen, and you’ve never been more perplexed. “I’m completely serious right now. Go out with me?”

“Wh- I don’t even-” you sigh, cutting your senseless muttering off to cross your arms over your textbook. “Whatever happened to a simple ‘no’ sufficing, darling? Aren’t there a million other girls for you to go and pester? Godric knows you’ve got an entourage following you half the- What are you looking at?”

Amazingly, Theo’s expression has lost all trace of vulnerability and now displays a slightly faraway look, his signature lazy grin in full effect. “Sorry, I didn’t hear a word after you called me ‘darling’.”

Resisting the urge to hit him over the head with your textbook, you take a deep breath and grasp the potential weapon tighter in your hands before speaking. “As hard as it is for me to believe that girls actually fall for this rubbish, your history with them shows that they do. Don’t think for a second, I’m going to let you use me like they do.”

Theo considers your words for a few seconds, mulling them over as carefully as though he’s trying to solve a brain teaser. Eventually, he seems to come to a satisfying conclusion, because he tucks his hands into the pockets of his trousers and tilts his head. “So you need me to prove I’m serious about this… and then you’ll say yes?”

“Oh, for the love of-” Huffing, you turn on your heal without saying another word and storm out of the library. Theo doesn’t follow you, allowing you to clear your head and think about the incredibly odd interaction.

You’re climbing through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor common room when you realise you never actually refuted Theo and his theory to make you go out with him. Whether or not it was on purpose, you can’t quite decide.

Over the next few weeks, you start wishing you had stopped Theo before he could start trying to prove himself to you.

You can’t go a single day without the question of going out with him popping up. Much to your bewilderment, it isn’t always him asking. Sometimes it’s his friends, sometimes it’s students at the Gryffindor table who are sick of the multiple owls every morning flocking to your table with a note in their beaks. Sometimes it’s even your friends.

“I mean, really,” Hermione says at breakfast, huffy as always when reprimanding someone. “It’d be benefiting everyone if you just went out with him. Why don’t you, anyway?”

“He’s a Slytherin,” Ron butts in, talking to Hermione as though he’s explaining something to a child. He takes a gigantic bite of his toast before speaking, his next words coming out muffled. “Surely that’s reason enough.”

“No, that isn’t reason enough,” Hermione says sternly, furrowing her brows. “A good reason would have been all the girls he’s always with. Of course, that’s flown out the window recently. He’s also never given them as much attention now that I think about it.”

“He’s definitely not the worst of the group either,” Harry adds, leaning in as nosily as Ron. “Not like we’re talking about Malfoy…”

“Don’t you two have Quidditch tactics to be discussing?” you snap, exhausted by the subject already. The two boys hold up their hands in surrender, before shuffling down the bench. Whether that’s to be closer to the Quidditch team, or to get away from you before you start throwing hexes - you aren’t certain.

The fact you’re awake early in the morning on a Saturday isn’t helping your sour mood, and the Quidditch match being between Gryffindor and Slytherin only adds to this.

“We’d better go and get a good seat at the front, so we aren’t on our tiptoes for the whole game like last time,” Hermione says, already sliding off the bench. You give your cup of coffee one last longing look before you allow yourself to be dragged away.

You haven’t even made it onto the Quidditch pitch before you’re already wishing for that cup of coffee to give you strength, because you find none other than Theo standing outside the Great Hall in his green and silver Quidditch robes.

As soon as he spots you, Theo plasters on that charming smile of his and opens his mouth, no doubt to ask you if you could talk privately.

Hermione interjects before he gets the chance. “Don’t bother, I’m leaving.” She simply sighs when you look at her, betrayed. “He’d have convinced you anyway! I’ll save you a seat.”

You watch her leave, helplessly before turning to Theo and crossing your arms. “Yes?”

“I have a proposition for you,” he says simply, getting to the point. The proposition has, without a doubt, got something to do with you and him and a trip to Hogsmeade, but you gesture for him to continue nonetheless. You can’t deny it’s been entertaining watching Theo come up with new ways to ask you out these past few weeks. “I’ll throw the match and let your lot win if you go out with me.”

This startles a laugh out of you, something between a chortle and a gasp. “Oh, you cheeky bastard,” you exclaim, but you can’t help grinning. That was quite possibly the last thing you expected him to say. “First of all, I think my lot is perfectly capable of winning on their own. And secondly… as funny as it would be, I’d rather not have your death and Malfoy’s subsequent imprisonment in Azkaban be on my conscience.”

You only realise just how wide your smile is when it starts to fade under Theo’s unwavering gaze. His lips twitch up into a smile and you immediately frown as an automatic response. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’re bantering with me,” Theo says, grinning as though he’s extremely pleased with himself. You realise with a jolt, that yes you were bantering. “One step closer to agreeing to go out with me.”

“That’s not happening,” you protest, but it sounds fairly weak, even to you. “Like I keep telling you, I’m not going to be one of those girls.”

Theo shrugs. “And I think you already know you’re not one of those girls. It’s fine, I can wait.”

The relaxed manner in which he says this has you flabbergasted to say the least. Truthfully, you aren’t completely sure why you haven’t just agreed at this point. No one in the whole school is used to witnessing such extravagant displays from Theodore Nott, so you’ve accepted the fact you’re an outlier in this particular subject area. You’re starting to think Hermione’s right, and it’s pure stubbornness that’s keeping you going.

“You’ll be waiting a long time then,” you say, giving Theo a bland smile.

“Nah,” is all he says, the smile still gracing his unperturbed face. “Keep an eye out for me in the Quidditch stands.”

Theo winks at you before walking away in the direction of the pitch and you linger in the castle for a good few minutes before snapping out of it and walking in the same direction.

You find Hermione quickly at the front of the Gryffindor stand and you’re about to ask how long until the game starts when Lee Jordan’s voice begins to boom from the commentator stand.

“Strong start for Gryffindor with Katie Bell taking the Quaffle and- nope, Vaisey’s taken it and passed it onto Urquhart, his fellow Chaser and the new Slytherin captain.” You’re thankful for Lee’s commentary as it’s easy to follow and you probably wouldn’t have a clue if it weren’t for him. Surprisingly, he keeps it professional enough for a while. “Ginny Weasley tries to take the Quaffle after a near hit there to Urquhart, thanks to new Gryffindor Beater Jimmy Peakes and that very solid Bludger over there. Unfortunately, he missed-”

“JORDAN.”

“Sorry, Professor McGonagall, I meant fortunately. Slytherin Chaser Mattheo Riddle now has the Quaffle and seems to be aiming to score and- oops! He’s missed, thanks to Gryffindor Keeper Ron Weasley. Good on you, Weasley,” Lee says, unable to be impartial as shown by McGonagall’s glare. “As for the Slytherin Keeper, Nott seems to be distracted by something in the Gryffindor stands. Or should I say someone.”

Laughter echoes in every stand, much to your utter humiliation and some people even start whooping and cheering in your direction. Theo’s antics are common knowledge at this point, but it doesn’t make the laughter any less embarrassing. You try and maintain a shred of dignity by standing still and glaring as hard as you can at Theo. Horrifyingly, he starts to fly in your direction.

Lee looks at McGonagall before speaking, but she merely shrugs helplessly, looking flustered herself. “Er, well it seems Slytherin are open for Gryffindor to score. No one seems to be taking advantage, however, as I think I can speak for everyone when I say we want to know what’s going on with Nott and Y/N.”

Glancing at the others, you realise Lee is right and all the players are hovering in place, making no move to continue the game. They look partly confused, but mostly nosy.

Theo stops just outside the Gryffindor stand, his attention focused wholly on you. You raise both eyebrows in question, waiting for him to speak. “Go out with me.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t quite hear what Nott is saying, but I think we can all guess he’s asking her out again,” Lee says, causing a few more cheers and even a couple groans. “Take the hint, mate.”

“Theo, get back to the game!” you hiss, wrapping your arms around you as if it’ll shield you from everyone’s eyes. “You’re embarrassing m- What the fuck are you doing!”

Theo swings a leg over the side of his broomstick so that he’s sitting completely facing you, legs dangling dangerously off one side. Lee sits up a little in his booth and McGonagall looks positively horrified. “For unknown reasons, Nott is balancing precariously in a position no Quidditch player wants to- Merlin, he’s hanging off his broomstick!”

Everyone in the crowd screams and shouts when Theo slips off his broomstick, but they quieten down and watch with fright when they see he’s still holding on with both hands. You think you’re going to faint.

“Theo,” you plead, with the same voice you’d use to coax a bloody kitten out of a tree. “Get back on your broomstick. Please.”

“Only if you go out with me,” Theo says, eyes determined despite breathing a little heavier. The broomstick is thin and despite his strength, it’d be hard for anyone to maintain a grip for long. “Say you’ll go out with me and I’ll get back on.”

“Just say it!” Hermione grabs you by the shoulder to shake you.

Professor McGonagall seems to have shaken out of her previous daze and begins scrambling around for her wand while Lee narrows his eyes to better assess the situation. “Godric, Y/N. Just say ‘yes’ and end everyone’s misery already.”

“But…” you trail off, hands shaking as you keep your eyes on Theo’s white knuckles still gripping the broom. “I don’t want to encourage this stupid behaviour.”

Theo rolls his eyes as though he can’t believe you’re still objecting. He shakes his head at you, though his chest is shaking with laughter. “Go out with me, and I swear I’ll never do anything stupid again. Fucking hell, I’ll quit Quidditch altogether if you want.”

You open your mouth to say something, you’re not sure what, but before you can get a word out, Seamus Finnigan pipes up from beside you. “Personally, I say let him fall off the bloody thing.”

Tutting, you turn to Theo just to find the idiot raising an eyebrow challengingly. His left hand begins to loosen on the broomstick, deliberately.

“Theo, don’t you dare.”

He drops his left hand completely and you scream, the noise drowned out by everyone else’s yells.

“OKAY!” you yelp, heart in throat as you watch Theo dangling from his broomstick with one hand, clearly struggling. “Okay, I’ll go out with you, you stubborn idiot!”

The Gryffindors that hear you, begin to cheer, setting off the other houses and once McGonagall sees Theo begin to pull himself up on his broomstick, she visibly relaxes, slumping in her seat as she clutches her chest. Lee soon gets the message. “Finally, after a good month of watching Nott pine pathetically, Y/N has agreed to go out with the poor bast- Er, beggar. Sorry, Professor. By the way Nott, you’ve got detention for a week.”

Now sitting normally on his broomstick, Theo grins at you like the cheeky bastard that he is, with elation clear as day on his face. You struggle to fight off your own grin and you can tell by his expression you’re not doing a very good job at it. “Pull something like that again and I’ll push you off your broomstick myself,” you warn him, though it lacks any real threat. You were more worried than angry, and it definitely shows. “Okay?”

“No more stupid behaviour,” Theo promises, sounding sincere as he nods, messy hair falling into his eyes. The wind blows it out of the way almost immediately and you find yourself wanting to do it with your fingers. “After this, though.”

You furrow your brows as Theo flies close enough to the Gryffindor stand to get off his broomstick and hop right into the crowd, landing next to you. Broomstick in hand, Theo doesn’t take his eyes off you when he holds it out to Hermione. “If you don’t mind, Granger.”

Clearly baffled, Hermione gingerly takes the broomstick from him and watches the two of you, as enraptured as the rest of the school.

You face Theo properly, looking up at his eyes to see them glittering with pride and achievement. You tilt your head in question, wondering why he hasn’t yet returned to the game.

Theo answers you by gripping your waist to pull you into a stupidly dramatic, dizzying, wonderful kiss. His lips are soft against your own and cold from the wind, but the shiver that runs down your spine has nothing to do with the temperature and everything to do with the way Theo is pressed against you.

You could go on forever, but the cheers and claps and hollering around you remind you that you’re surrounded by all your peers and, Godric, your teachers.

Pulling away, you clear your throat and attempt to gain back some of your dignity by keeping a serious face. Theo attempts nothing of the sort as he’s still wearing a silly grin. You try and avoid his eyes for the sake of your nerves and you mutter the first thing that comes to mind. “Erm, good luck then. I hope you win.”

This is the wrong thing to say surrounded by your fellow Gryffindors as a few of them boo at you.

Theo rolls his eyes at the dramatics, while you simply scowl, pointedly at Seamus who seems to have boo’ed the loudest. Hermione is beaming at you when she hands Theo back his broomstick, though she also gives a little frown directed at Seamus.

Getting back on his broomstick, Theo hovers near you outside the stand. You lower your voice to a whisper that only he can hear. “I still hope you win.”

Theo shrugs, looking more relaxed than you’ve ever seen him during a Quidditch game. “I’ve already won, darling.”

© angelfic 2023.

[pupyuj]

→ “cherry on top.” || jang wonyoung x reader fic.

— gifting your girlfriend a beautiful (and expensive) necklace was going to be the perfect way to end the last night of your winter getaway but with the necklace being forgotten all the way back to your shared apartment, wonyoung decides on the next best thing…

word count: 3.7k.

dynamic: dom!jang wonyoung x sub!actress!reader.

warnings: age gap, reader is older, lots of biting and marking, fingering, mommy kink, praise kink, hair pulling, reader being an actress doesn't really play a big part lol, wonyoung is down horrendous, wony is also lowkey into pain like whoa!

requested?: nope.

a/n: fun fact, i wanted to drop this fic around/on christmas but ofc, i didn’t have enough time so i just made it winter-themed instead 😭 i would have loved to actually drop something from my wip list that's actually been there for a while but since this ended up being a short one, i decided to go with it instead! i hope you guys like it though! i know it's not my best work ever BUT this will be a nice little step to get me back to my writing machine roots 😎😎

“i really don’t know why i’m doing all of this. it’s really nothing special,” you shared a giggle with your girlfriend, wonyoung, as you guided her along the hallways. you made her wear your favorite sleeping mask to completely obscure her vision for the sole reason of surprising her with what you have spent quite a bit of time setting up earlier in the afternoon. wonyoung, despite her excitement, takes her next steps carefully. she didn’t want a stupid incident to take attention away from what you so obviously worked hard on. “but i think this is the best way to end our little trip.” you halted her steps, giving her a soft kiss from behind her shoulder and finally lifting up the mask.

wonyoung blinks several times to have her eyes adjust to the lights that illuminated the lodge. what she saw in the living room area was a humble picnic set up! soft sheets lay on the center of the room (wonyoung noticed that you pushed the coffee table aside for space) accompanied with a few pillows, a wicker basket filled with pasties, wine, and other snacks was sitting right beside it along with a bouquet of pink tulips, and right on the sheets was your laptop with Clueless more than ready to start playing.

“oh, unnie, this is wonderful!” wonyoung whips around and squeezes you for a tight hug. you returned the embrace with the same amount of love, even going as far as to giving a kiss to the side of her head. wonyoung proceeded on tugging you over at your little set-up and sat you down. one would think that you ended world hunger with the way her eyes shined as she stared at you. you tried to ignore that sinking feeling in your stomach—guilt. because as lovely as this was, this trip should not be ending like this. you had something far better planned! but you should have expected with the way you and wonyoung rushed to start the trip that you would forget the most important item that you would be gifting her—the prettiest diamond necklace that even made a successful and rich actress like yourself sweat with how expensive it was. 

but you weren’t going to tell wonyoung about the dent it made on your bank account, like ever. anyhow, you realized that you completely forgot about the necklace on the previous night. you weren’t able to sleep much since something in the back of your mind was screaming at you to check your bags and make sure everything was perfect for the next day and alas, the necklace was nowhere to be found! if wonyoung hadn’t been sleeping peacefully, you would have screamed out of pure frustration at yourself!

there was no use crying over spilt milk, however. and so, you spent the rest of that nearly-sleepless night thinking up of ways to end the trip on a good note even without the necklace. a cute indoor picnic was the idea you liked the most, and now that you’ve seen how much wonyoung appreciates it, perhaps the idea wasn’t too bad. the next problem to tackle was explaining all the trouble you went through to set this all up to wonyoung, but maybe that should be saved for until you’re both too buzzed to care about anything else.

“i hope you don’t think this is boring compared to everything we’ve been doing for the past week, love.” you said as you filled up two glasses with wonyoung’s favorite white wine. (upon noticing this, wonyoung couldn’t keep her eyes off of you. maybe it was painfully simple of her to fawn over the fact that you remembered her favorite drink because it was the bare minimum considering you’ve been dating for years now, but it is as they say: it’s the little things! so, do pardon wonyoung for falling in love with you just a little bit deeper.) a surprised sound escapes your lips when you feel your girlfriend pressing her lips on your jawline, but then you laugh at how her hair tickled your skin.

when wonyoung leaned back and saw that she left a faint kiss mark on your jawline, she let out a satisfied smile. “what do you mean? this is lovely, unnie.” wonyoung can’t even remember all the times she has wished for one relaxing day with you, so she was beyond thankful that she had a whole week of just that. with her being a bigger idol than ever and you jumping from project to project, naturally neither of you had too much time to be together recently. but at least you were luckier than most celebrity couples who can’t even see each other at all! mostly because of their management that just refuses to give them time together. you and wonyoung were blessed with family, friends, and teams that supported your relationship so both of you made sure to enjoy this little trip with everything it had to offer.

“well, between skiing, having lunch in an observation deck atop the mountain, seeing the northern lights, and a picnic with some movies, which one would be more appealing to you?” you asked, leaning back on the pillows. almost automatically, you wrapped a single arm around wonyoung’s waist and pulled her closer to you.

“anything’s good with me as long as i’m with you. how’s that?” wonyoung replies with a grin, knowing she successfully made you cringe in your seat.

you laughed, shaking your head. “ew. cornball.”

the next three hours were a blur. thanks to wonyoung who was clearly having the time of her life, the two bottles of wine were finished relatively quickly. she had begged you to get just one more bottle, using everything in her power to convince you from fluttering her eyelashes, pouting, kissing you, and whispering naughty promises in your ear. as much as you didn’t want to wake up with a hangover, you couldn’t resist wonyoung. especially when all you could see in her eyes every time you looked at her was love!

surprisingly enough, wonyoung was… quiet. when she gets drunk, she’s usually so chatty and giggly. laughing at everything and nothing, sometimes she even turns into a whole pervert! inappropriate comments and all! but tonight, it seems like being in your embrace, basking in your scent, and listening to your heartbeat as she lay her head on your chest was everything she needed to be content. you turn your head steadily towards her, careful not to startle her away from your warmth. her eyes were closed and her breathing had slowed and gotten… heavier? was she asleep? well! that wasn’t how you expected your picnic night to go.

that is until you felt fingers sneak inside your hand-knit sweater, as well as plump lips pressed against your collarbone. a whimper accidentally escapes your lips at the cold sensation of wonyoung’s hand, and you can just tell that that was a sound you should not have allowed to come out of your mouth.

“you’re so sweet, (y/n)-unnie,” wonyoung was positively drunk! her cheeks were glaringly pink and a lazy smile spread across her face while she looked up at you from your shoulder. gods, she was adorable. but you didn’t have the time to revel in that fact when she suddenly straddles your lap, her long legs wrapping around your waist and keeping you in place. with nowhere to go, you were forced to look up at her this time. “planning this entire vacation behind my back, paying for everything and strongly refusing whenever i offered, giving me the best getaway of my life… why are you so perfect?”

“it’s what you deserve, wonyoung-ah.” your reply fell from your lips smoothly as if it was the only right answer to her question. and it really was.

wonyoung playfully rolled her eyes, “so do you. but i got distracted by how much thought you put into this entire vacation that i couldn’t think up of anything to make it up to you! except for one thing, of course…” you didn’t miss how wonyoung’s tongue swiftly brushed across her upper lip and how her smile now turned into something akin to a sly grin. her eyes spelled out her plan without needing the help of her words to which you adorably and pathetically blushed at upon realization.

“n-not everything is perfectly planned… i mean, this really wasn’t how i wanted to spend our last night here together! i was going to take you to the nearby town, have a candlelit dinner with the prettiest view of the frozen river and the snowy mountains, and… i was going to give you a—”

“—a necklace, right?” wonyoung cuts you off. (on the night you found out that the necklace was nowhere to be found, wonyoung was woken up by the sounds of your frustrated and heartbroken rants to one of your friends over the phone. you had no idea she heard everything. she made sure to hold you extra tight when you returned to bed in hopes of making you feel better. and naturally, it worked.)  you pouted as you nod your head, once again feeling sad about how careless you were on the day you both set off on your vacation.

“i couldn’t believe i forgot to grab it… and i didn’t realize that i never brought it with us until yesterday! so you can imagine the stress i was under this entire day while i tried to set this all up!” you sighed deeply after your little rant. you pulled wonyoung close, putting your head in her chest as she consoled you. she couldn’t hold her laughter due to the sheer amount of cuteness aggression she was feeling over your whining, but she made sure to pat your back and kiss the top of your head.

“that explains why you abruptly left me by myself in the skating rink this afternoon! and why you came back all disheveled and out of breath! oh, unnie…” wonyoung only laughs harder when you tighten your hold around her waist—you were clearly embarrassed by your antics from earlier, but wonyoung thinks it’s so cute. you were older and wiser than her, but there are days where your childish and adorable side slips out and wonyoung thinks it’s so, so charming. and the way you don’t realize it makes it all ten times better. makes you ten times more… desirable. irresistible.

wonyoung starts to kiss you from your forehead, your nose, your cheek, your jawline… until she finally reaches your neck where she liked to just take you in and relish at how you shuddered at her actions, “necklace or not, the night would have ended up exactly the same… you did all this for me, and i would love to do things for you in return. many things.” you don’t realize that she reached behind you and undid the perfect ribbons she herself tied up for you. not until you felt her fingers drag across your now exposed skin while simultaneously giving your neck the softest kisses you’ve ever received.

“will you let me?”

she didn’t even need to ask. and she didn’t need to hear an answer from you. kissing her with never-before-seen passion was enough of a confirmation from you. wonyoung appreciates how you always allowed her to have control whenever things escalated. both of you knew you were too clueless about all this, but fortunately wonyoung wasn’t.

and thank heavens for that.

wonyoung tugs gently on your hair with one hand and holds your jaw tightly with the other, deepening the kiss, practically shoving her tongue inside your mouth and establishing dominance early on just because she so loves feeling the moment you submit to her. it happens when your shoulders relax, your hands fall on her thighs, and your hips desperately grind towards hers to quench your thirst. it’s a massive ego boost and if it wasn’t for you, wonyoung would feed on it until it consumed her… but she doesn’t allow that to happen. not anymore.

you deserve the utmost care and love and that was what she wanted to give you. what she will give you.

“mmhn.. wonyoung…” who would’ve thought that the brilliant young actress that the entire nation adores for her kind heart, bright-as-the-stars smile and unrivaled poise would elicit such sounds for a lover? but then again, jang wonyoung is not just any lover, is she?

wonyoung pulls your top over your head and tosses it elsewhere. she refused to believe that it was the wine that made you look a thousand times more delectable than usual, but rather, she accepted that you were just that stunning. with your hair unkempt in the most perfect way, your lip tint a mess on your face, chest heaving up and down, eyes clouded with longing… and the cherry on top? seeing that you were wearing the bra that wonyoung got you a few months back.

the younger girl bites her bottom lip at the sight, “please, have some patience.” whether wonyoung said that to you or to her very own hunger for you was unclear. she repositions herself so that she was now on all fours, her lips attached to yours once again but now… you had her hands on her. you wanted to feel her skin on yours, but wonyoung had plans of her own. she ignores your needy whines and your desperate attempts to undress her with great difficulty and continues on making a mess of your mind using her lips alone.

eventually, you were sitting on the couch while wonyoung was on her knees in front of you. your bra had been cast aside as well, leaving you fully topless. what a sight to behold, really. wonyoung spots a faint hickey on your collarbone, the one that she remembers putting there herself when she couldn’t help it after you both arrived at the lodge. there was another one on your shoulder which looked a lot more recent—that was from when she dragged you into the shower with her two days ago, and she was particularly proud of that one too!

you held wonyoung’s stare as her hand traveled slowly from your chest to your stomach. she was teasing you. enticing you to make a desperate action just so she can shut it down and hear you beg… but you know her game, and you don’t feel like playing it this time. besides, she asked you to ‘have some patience’! you weren’t one to disobey when she asked so nicely.

lifting your hips, wonyoung successfully got your shorts off of you and left them to fall at your ankles. “aww, you’re all ready for me.” wonyoung said smugly, staring at the wet spot on your underwear. add that to the list of things wonyoung finds so adorable about you; you can get riled up so easily, it’s sometimes unbelievable. and yet, you were never too needy and would rather wait for wonyoung to initiate something. she almost hated how patient you can really be, but hey, she was the one who asked for it!

“a-are you sure we should be doing this without closing the c-curtains—i mean, what if someone… some…” your words trail off, having been distracted with the way wonyoung gently presses her fingertips against your clothed clit and rubs very slow circles on it. and all of a sudden you didn’t care anymore. the mild shrubbery in front of the lodge was enough of a cover, you suppose.

“hm? what was that, unnie?”

“nothing.. noth—ah!” you squeak after wonyoung unexpectedly pressed hard on your clit, but cover your mouth immediately. but it’s not like anyone would hear, anyway. all of the other lodges are quite a distance away and you would have to be screaming for them to hear you and that, wonyoung feels, is quite timely because that was exactly what she wanted to do. as if it wasn’t obvious already, wonyoung has been a lot more head-over-heels for you than usual. she truly believes that she was falling in love with you all over again and the last time that happened, wonyoung had to run after you as you were leaving an event just to tell you about all about the feelings she has had for you. of course, that led to the wonderful relationship you have now… but just what else can wonyoung do this time?

“come here.” she pulls you in for a kiss. it was softer this time but it wasn’t any less passionate than the last. it almost felt like a reminder that even though her heart was on fire, wonyoung will still take care of you and you know what? that was basically the only reassurance that you needed to completely submit.

soon enough, your panties joined the pile of your clothes on the ground. wonyoung had started attacking your neck, her lips latching onto every inch of your skin and leaving lovely red marks in her wake. you’d tell her to be careful not to make them too red, or not to leave too much if it didn’t feel so good, if the way wonyoung’s fingers wasn’t so distracting with just how much she was teasing you. oh, to hell with it—you start grinding against her hand, paying no mind to how wonyoung couldn’t help but break into a smile while she worked her lips down to your chest. she wraps an arm around your waist, pulling you as close as you can be to her before catching one of your nipples in her mouth.

your hands dig through wonyoung’s beautiful hair while your moans fill the warm, empty air. it was getting harder and harder to pay attention to anything at this point. all you can hear was wonyoung’s soft moans and heavy breathing, and it reminded you of how much you would have loved to switch roles and please her yourself, but wonyoung was sweet enough to take charge and you need this. “mmn… mommy, open up for me… please?” the younger girl whispered against your skin. you lift one leg up, giving wonyoung all the access she wanted and more. 

you leaned further back on the cushions of the couch as wonyoung inserted two fingers inside you. she was slow, careful. she always gave you chances to back out if you didn’t feel comfortable enough to do any of this with her. and once she knew that you truly wanted this, she allowed herself to relax and start her work. although, her steady pace didn’t last long��each second that passed, she only thrusted faster, wanting to hear you moan over and over again. she kept glancing up from your chest, looking at your expressions and smiling to herself while she alternated between sucking on your tits and leaving marks all over them. not having had enough of it all, you started rocking your hips towards the younger girl’s hand, desperately chasing after even more pleasure.

occasionally, wonyoung would wince at how hard you tugged at her hair. she knows you don’t do it on purpose and she does like it, plus it gives her reason to, say, ‘get back at you’ by biting your skin and making you wince. and it was when she bit on your collarbone that you moaned her name wonderfully. pride surges within wonyoung. more, she wanted, and faster she went. her fingers reached deeper than they ever have before and out of your mouth came sounds wonyoung was hearing for the first time, so she kept it up.

“tell me,” wonyoung says. you hear her, but you don’t respond. “am i doing goo—mmpf!” you silenced wonyoung by quickly pulling her hair and crashing your lips together. your free hand clutches on her shoulders for dear life, your nails digging into the skin exposed by her off-shoulder blouse.

“yes…! hmnn… you’re being so good, love…” you answered as your lips briefly parted hers. wonyoung, overwhelmed by adrenaline, moans at the praise. she was soaking wet herself; her core ached for attention and your praises, your lips, and your tightness wasn’t making anything easy for her. but oh, sweet and selfless wonyoung wouldn’t stop pleasing you just as you’re about to reach your climax just so she can get off instead. she hides her face on the crook of your neck, now stimulating your clit with her thumb and driving you into a frenzy.

“i love you so much, unnie… i’ll make it up to you properly later on but—hah… but for now,” wonyoung releases your waist from her hold and places her hand behind your other thigh before pushing your leg back. “cum for me.” she mutters right against your ear. a shiver runs down your spine before you succumb and the knot in your stomach breaks. wonyoung held you as you came, trying her very hardest not to cum with you because not only will that be embarrassing but also because surely you would tease her for cumming untouched!

wonyoung pulled her fingers out of you once you were calm again. you smile at her as you didn’t have the energy to speak just yet… nor did you have the energy to do anything else at all. while wonyoung was busy cleaning up her fingers (using her mouth, naturally), you just so happened to notice that she had her legs closed a bit too tightly, and her face was flushed way beyond normal. and then, you knew. your poor, darling angel needed you too!

you went on to move yourself back down on the mattress on the floor, then, you took a hold of wonyoung’s sleeve and pulled her down with you as you lay yourself down on your back. wonyoung was confused, albeit being totally into whatever you were planning. it was when you slid a leg in between her thighs and pressed it against her throbbing core that she knew. and oh, was she ready. 

you tucked wonyoung’s hair behind her ear, and warmth blooms inside your chest when she smiles at you, “let’s make this night last, wonyoung-ah.” you mumbled as you placed a soft kiss on her nose.

“whatever you want, my love.”

well, turns out you really didn’t need that necklace, after all.

[goosewriting]

Dinner Disaster

summary: after some flirting, reth finally asks reader out for dinner, but it doesn’t go as planned (follows the dinner disaster quest)

relationship: Reth x gn!reader

warnings: spoilers for Reth’s backstory and interactions, smooching

word count: 5.1k 

A/N: literally no one asked for this but this game is consuming my very being to a molecular level, and this man is a big reason i’m obsessed. btw if any of you play palia or are interested in playing, hmu and we can add each other lol this is set some time after the flirting starts, after reader gets involved in his uh, side business. this is more or less how the quest played out in my head so, yeah, enjoy~

Navigation: Part 1 (you're here) | Part 2

(english is not my first language. constructive criticism and grammar corrections are very appreciated!)

— — —

Since you developed a real green thumb, to the delight and pride of Badruu, you have some extra apples from your tree that you don’t know what to do with. So, as with most of your garden surplus, you decide to bring them to Reth, who will surely find a good use for the produce.

You spot the freckled Majiri behind the bar when you enter the Inn, thinking that he’d probably make an apple pie with the fruit, and that you’d surely get a slice. Your mouth waters at the thought. You wonder when the cook will teach you the recipe; maybe you should ask him. 

Reth’s working the register, finishing some transaction with another human customer, when you place the wooden crate of apples on the bar, and proceed to take a seat on the stool you usually occupy when you visit him at the Inn. Reth gives the apples a curious glance, and talks to you over his shoulder as he hands the customer some change.

“Thanks, babe,” he says without thinking, and you both freeze at his words, as does the human who just paid for a recipe. They shoot you a quick look with raised brows, then silently turn on their heels and walk out of the Inn. Reth slowly turns to you. 

“Sorry, that kinda slipped out,” he says sheepishly, unable to meet your eyes. “Are we at the babe status yet?”

To be honest, if he had asked you first, you probably would have said no. It’s not your favourite pet name, and he could surely come up with something better. He often calls you sweet tooth, which you’ve actually come to like a lot. But hearing him call you ‘babe’ so matter-of-factly out of nowhere… You’re surprised to realise that you actually like how it sounded, how it sounds coming from him.

“I mean… If you want to be,” you answer after a moment, deciding to tease him a little. “Sure thing, babe.”

Except that it backfires and it ends with both of your faces burning up, which he tries to play off by clearing his throat. 

“Yeah, I’ll still have to get used to it, too,” you chuckle, bringing a hand to your face in an attempt to cover up how flustered you got. “But I like it when you say it.”

“Noted,” he replies, then looks around the Inn to see if someone else will approach the register. As there’s no one else, he fully faces you, leaning slightly over the bar. “Say, what are you up to today?”

“Oh you know, the usual,” you reply, starting to count on your fingers. “Hunting, fishing, foraging. Then tending to the vegetable garden. I also need to craft a new chair. Why?”

“A-are you busy later tonight?”

You prop yourself up on your elbow and give him a lopsided smile. 

“I’m never too busy for you,” you offer, and he smiles amusedly at your answer. “You have anything in mind?”

“I was thinking we could have dinner. At your place, maybe?” he asks. “I’ll take care of the food and everything. You just have to show up.”

Up until now, no one has actually visited your house. Sure, you upgraded from your first precarious tent to a proper building, and the Majiri came by every so often to say hi or bring you something, but no one has actually gone into your house. And for some reason the thought of Reth not only being at your place but also being the first one to do so, it makes you a bit nervous… but in a good way.

You realise that he’s still looking at you waiting for an answer, fidgeting with a loose nail on the wooden crate still on the bar. 

“I’d love that, actually,” you reply.

“Great!” He looks actually relieved. As if I would have said no to you asking me out, you think, smiling to yourself. He’s so innocent sometimes. Reth takes the crate and shoves it under the bar somewhere. 

“Then let’s say around 6pm?” he proposes.

“Sounds good,” you agree with a nod. 

Ashura enters the Inn, giving you a warm smile and a wave from afar as he spots you. Given that it’s his boss and you shouldn’t be distracting Reth from work, you take it as your cue to leave.

“See you later then,” you say in a low voice so Ashura can’t hear you.

“Don’t miss me too much,” Reth gives you his usual goodbye. He winks at you and you merely roll your eyes as you turn to exit the place. And just in time, so he can’t see your flustered face. You can’t remember when exactly the winking started, but it never fails to make you weak in the knees.

Once down at the plaza, you refocus on your tasks for the day, mentally making a list of the things to buy, resources to mine and places to go. Then you head for your first stop with a spring in your step. Tonight can’t come quickly enough.

— — —

You come home with a backpack full to the brim of crabs, plants, stones and other goodies. As you set down your things on the grass with a grunt from the weight, you see your palcat coming out of the house to greet you.

“Hey there,” you say, crouching down to scratch her head. She purrs and meows happily. You recently got this companion, and it’s been nice having someone at home to come back to. She often accompanies you when you go out as well, but this morning she was feeling especially lazy and cosy so she stayed in bed. You walk to your storage crate, starting to put everything away, and your cat looks at you with a light tilt to the head as you tell her about your day.

“Oh and actually,” you finish your retelling with the big news. “We’re having a visitor today.”

“Mreow?”

“Yeah, him… So you have to be on your best behaviour, you hear me?” you tell your cat with an accusing finger pointing at her. “We have to make a good impression. If you’re good, you can have lots of treats later, okay?”

She meows again, and you like to think she just agreed; bribes with food always work, after all.

There’s still some time until six, so you tend to your garden, clean yourself and change into a new set of clothes, the nicer one. It’s the only one you own, and it was a gift from Jel. In fact, all the clothing you have was given to you by him in some way or another. You make a mental note to prepare a gift for him for helping you out so much.

Next to your house there’s a nice spot among the trees, near the pond, where you can hear the trickling of water. You grab a big blanket and a lantern, and set everything up for a picnic corner. Even if whatever Reth brought was more of a “plates and cutlery at the table” kind of meal, you could still come out here after and look at the stars a bit. Then, maybe you’ll find the courage to make a proper move on him… You imagine the both of you sitting on the blanket, illuminated only by the warm glow of a candle and the gentle moonlight, you take his hand, he leans in, and… 

You mentally slap yourself to get rid of those thoughts, cheeks ablaze. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, you reprimand yourself. He may be a bit of a flirt at times, but Reth doesn’t strike you as the type of person to take such feelings lightly. So you have to make sure that he even is into you in the first place. Like actually into you. Suddenly your whole mental scenario shifts, and as you take his hand, he pulls away, disgusted. But wait. Dinner was his idea. He even called you ‘babe’. Surely he must have some interest, right? You’re not just… a side piece? 

Before you can spiral down further, you hear your name being called, although it’s not the voice you were expecting; this one is higher and has a slight lisp. You turn around to find Auni by the gate to your yard. You jog up to where he stands, smiling curiously. Sure, he delivers the mail twice a day, but usually you just find the letters in your mailbox as if they magically appeared; you never saw him actually deliver anything. You wonder if he has a new cool bug to show you.

“Hey Auni!” you greet the boy as you approach him. 

“Hi, I have a delivery for you,” he announces, holding out something for you to take.

“Oh, what is it?”

“Reth paid me in cakes to have this brought to you asap, said it was really important.”

“Oh?” 

You take the letter from him with a thanks, and he says his goodbyes. Why would Reth send a letter when he’s supposed to show up himself? Maybe it’s a treasure hunt kinda thing? 

You open the folded piece of paper, which isn’t even in an envelope, recognising Reth’s handwriting, but it’s even messier and more hurried than usual. The curious smile on your face disappears, your brows furrowing as you read.

Hey, I feel like a HUGE jerk for doing this, but I have to cancel our plans tonight. Something came up that I can’t ignore. Next time we see each other I promise I’ll explain.

- Reth

It feels like your whole body suddenly runs cold, and your hands drop to your sides, your eyes looking ahead at nothing in particular.

Your cat, who had poked her head out the door when she heard Auni, seems to sense the shift in you and approaches, meowing softly, as if asking if everything is okay. You look down at her, and give a light shrug.

“Looks like we won’t have visits after all…” you explain, reading over the letter one more time, then letting out a deep sigh. “Let’s get you something to eat, c’mon.”

She seems to know those words, as she immediately stands up and circles around your legs. Following you inside, she waits for you to get the bowl ready, and once you set it on the ground, she happily digs in.

“Well, at least one of us got a nice dinner.”

You stroke once from her head to her long bushy tail, to which she comically lifts her behind, then you decide to turn in for the night and head to bed, not really feeling hungry despite the eventful day.

— — —

The next morning you wake up to the sunlight shining through your window and fully hitting your face; you forgot to close the blinds the night before. With a squint, you look down at the weight you feel on yourself and find your cat curled up on your lap, which gets a sleepy half smile out of you. 

Picking her up in your arms, you go to close one of the blinds, then make your bed and head to the kitchen for breakfast. You start your routine like normal, having breakfast, taking care of the garden, going through your inventory to check what you need and what you can sell. You take your time, though, not really wanting to head into the village just yet. 

By the time you’re ready to go, it’s almost noon. Usually you’d be at the inn in the morning to say hi to Reth and chat a bit before starting your day. And while you really don’t feel like talking to him after leaving you hanging yesterday, you also know that he’s probably beating himself up about it, even more so if you haven’t been seen all morning. So after heaving a deep sigh, in hopes of letting all anger and frustration exit your body, you walk through the gate down into the village. To your surprise and delight, your cat follows this time.

You make your way towards the central plaza, exchanging greetings with those who walk by you, stopping to have a short chat with Chayne, whom you probably don’t talk to enough. You make a mental note to remedy that.

Somewhere in your mind though, you know you’re just stalling; you should just get it over with. Reth probably has a good explanation. Besides, you don’t want to be mad at him or give him the silent treatment or anything. You miss him, and you do want to see him. You’re just… disappointed. 

Taking one last deep breath as you stand before the Inn, you look down at your palcat and give her a nod. She meows encouragingly. You walk in through the open door, relieved to find it mostly empty. There’s very few people sitting at the tables in the corner, and Ashura isn’t at the reception desk. 

Your eyes find Reth’s behind the bar, and he freezes for a moment. You approach him like you normally would, about to take a seat on your usual stool.

“Wait,” he says before you’re able to fully sit down. You merely shoot him a questioning look. He lowers his voice, shooting a quick glance at the people eating at the tables. “Let’s talk in the back.” 

Reth scribbles something on a piece of paper and places it next to the till, indicating for you to follow him with a nod of his head. You pat the seat you meant to take while commanding your cat to hop onto it, and she does, so you tell her to stay there and wait. Then as you walk to where he said, you take a quick look at the paper; it reads “back in 5”.

You follow Reth into the back room, and you both come to stand in the farthest corner; since there are two archways but only one has a door, this will have to do to stay away from prying ears and curious eyes. You both talk in hushed voices.

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” he says with a sigh, scratching his neck. He drags his eyes up to meet yours, scared of what he might find.  “Please don’t be mad. Are you mad? You can be a little mad. I’m such a jerk–”

“Hey, no need don’t say that,” you interrupt him, and you just look at each other in silence for a second. “I mean, I’m upset, but not in a ‘mad at you’ way. More in a… ‘I was really looking forward to it and was bummed that you had to cancel at the last minute’ way.

“I was really looking forward to it too, it’s just…” Reth runs his hand over his face with a groan. “Yesterday was kind of a mess.”

“What happened?”

“Ashura caught me sneaking into the back rooms after hours. I panicked, so I lied and said I was actually planning a party for him, as a thank you. He liked that idea, so he got off my back, but now I actually have to throw him a dinner party with other people.”

You look to the side, unable to stop the scoff that escapes you. But it isn’t a mocking or offended scoff, it’s more of an amused sharp exhale. 

For a moment, you think back to how you kind of ended up roped into his side hustle of smuggling illicit goods (especially Flow and ancient artifacts, which are very illegal), which is why he was sneaking around in the first place. You’ve been covering for him with Ashura and many others for a while now, and while at first it was more of a personal favour, now you're in too deep. Not that you mind, though. If you’re being honest with yourself, it adds a bit of an exhilarating factor to everyday life. You’re not entirely sure yet about the actual power and meaning of Flow in this society, but it seems to be connected to humans in some way, so you’re at least a little bit interested in it. If you have to investigate and interact with it in secret, then so be it; you also want answers as to what happened to humanity and how you landed here. Besides, it’s one more thing you two can bond over. Literally partners in crime. The thought makes you smile to yourself.

“You’re kind of bad at this whole criminal thing, you know?” you tell him with a playful grin. “Getting strangers involved, almost being caught by your boss.”

He doesn’t seem too amused. 

“I know, I’m…” his demeanour shifts from annoyed at and with himself to almost shy, and he looks down as he bites the inside of his cheek. “I guess I’ve been distracted lately, is all.”

You hum in response, somewhat intrigued. When his gaze comes back up to meet yours though, eyes filled with yearning, the look he gives you makes your heart skip a beat, and suddenly you’re all too aware of how close you’re standing to each other. You need to wrap this up.

“So is there anything I can do to help you out?” you ask him.

“What? No, you really don’t need to. You’ve already saved my hide so many times,” he’s quick to dismiss your question. “Besides, cooking is one of the few things I’m actually good at, so I got that covered.”

Suddenly he looks like he just thought of something that you could in fact help out with, but he doesn’t want to say. You give his upper arm a soft push with your fist.

“C’mon, out with it,” you encourage him with a playful smile. 

“Well…” His eyes linger for a second where you touched him. “I need to prepare everything, so I can’t be out and about actually inviting everyone to the dinner party.”

He takes out a paper from his pocket and hands it to you. You skim over it, seeing a list of names.

“If you could invite everyone and let me know how many guests will come, I can make sure to cook the right amout.”

“Got it,” you reply with a nod. “I’ll ask around and probably send Auni back to let you know. He told me you’re paying him in cakes for special deliveries. Think you can sneak another baking session in today on top of dinner? On my tab.”

“Sure thing,” he chuckles, then gets serious again. “And hey, I really am sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”

“Reth, it’s okay, really,” you say, and he’s so close and he looks so sad, you want to hold his face so badly. In fact, your hand is already going up, but you pull back midway, fidgeting with the collar of your shirt instead. “Just… be more careful next time, okay?”

“Yeah…” he sighs. “And thank you, for the invites. I owe you. Again.” 

“Yes, you do,” you chuckle. “Maybe I should start charging you with interest.”

He starts patting down his pockets. 

“I don’t have any cash on me at the moment,” he says with a smile, playing along. 

Your answer comes quicker than you can anticipate and you’re unable to stop your words. 

“I was thinking more along the lines of kisses maybe…”

Both of you look at each other a bit shocked.

“Oh. O-oh,” is all he stammers.

Whatever confidence came over you for you to say that, immediately dissipates as Reth turns several shades of pink darker. The tips of his ears look like they might actually catch fire any moment.

“But we can talk about payment later,” you’re quick to add, and clear your throat. “I’ll uhm, get your invites out. You better start on that food.”

“Right. Yes,” he says stiffly, and you both put some space between each other. “Thanks again. And sorry too. And–”

“Reth,” you cut him short again, giving him a reassuring smile. “It’s okay. See you later.”

“B-bye.” 

You exit the backroom, calling for your cat, who walks around the bar to find you, and you make a hasty exit through the back, walking down the stairs to your left. As you pass the river, you consider for a moment jumping into the water to cool down. Maybe that would get your heart to slow down again. You fist your shirt over your chest where you can feel the pounding against your ribs. 

An inquisitive meow from the side gets your attention back, and you look down at your companion, who’s looking up at you confusedly.

“Right. We have a job to do,” you say and go to take out the paper with the list from your pocket, except that it’s been in your hand the whole time, and it’s now crumpled and slightly damp because of how clammy your hands were. You cringe a bit at that, commanding yourself to calm down at once. Geez, get a grip on yourself, you think.

It takes a while to track Auni down after everyone else, given that he’s always out on his mail route or out and about exploring, probably trying to catch some bugs. When you finally find him, you give him the list of people who plan to atttend Ashura’s dinner, and send him to Reth to deliver the news with the promise of getting his sticky hands on more cake. This seems to do the trick, and he happily jogs off with the new list stuffed into a side pocket of his gigantic backpack. You look after him as his figure gets smaller and smaller, wondering how he’s even able to carry all that. His equipment is bigger than himself. 

With a shake of your head, you bring your attention back to your own equipment, and get your bow and arrows ready. Today you’re hunting chapaas; Hassian asked for some meat and fur earlier this week and you haven’t been able to deliver yet. 

— — — 

You get back home relatively late, and when you do, the flag on your mailbox is up. Setting down your haul next to it, you get out several letters, looking for a message from Reth. And lo and behold, there’s one from him, this time properly written and folded into an envelope. 

He says that in the end everything worked out, to which you sigh in relief. Ashura doesn’t suspect a thing apparently, and everyone had a great time. He tells you to meet him at your “private spot” tonight, he has something to give you. 

You look at the time, then down at yourself; you’re looking pretty shabby after hunting for hours on end, kneeling down in mud and such. So you quickly change into clean clothes, wash your face and prepare food for your loyal cat. As she happily munches away, you grab your jacket and leave again. Nights can get pretty chilly here, you’ve learned. 

It doesn’t take long for you to make your way to the inn, given that you’re essentially bee lining for it. Checking that no one’s following you or sees you enter the inn from the back, you quickly take a left and go down the stairs towards the storage room. Reth gave you the key to it, so you unlock the door and enter, quickly closing it behind you. 

When you turn around, you’re met with the cook on the other side of the room, stopping whatever he was doing on the table, and he stands up to come and meet you.

“Hey sweet tooth, thanks for coming,” he greets you. 

“Hey,” you smile up to him but he looks tense. “Is everything okay? I thought you said the dinner party worked out? “

“No, it did. It’s- It’s not that,” he curses under his breath at himself. 

“What is it then?”

Reth sighs, and you can tell he’s trying to find the right words. So you give him a moment to gather his thoughts, waiting patiently.

“You know… I’m not used to asking for help,” he starts explaining. “Even as a kid, I wouldn't, and I didn't expect others to help, either. It was always just me and Tish against the world. And now there’s you.”

His cheeks flush ever so slightly, and you can start to feel yours mirroring his.

“Here you come, busting into my life,” he says with a soft smile, but it quickly vanishes. “And even though I keep messing up… somehow you’re still here. You’re not sick of me yet.”

You want to interject, as that “yet” doesn’t sit well with you, but he doesn’t let you.

“And more than that, you've put yourself on the line for me, more than once. I honestly don't understand why you keep putting up with me but… I really do appreciate everything you've done and how much you've helped me out, and Tish as well. But the cartel… I- I don’t want you to get hurt because of me. And I don’t want to scare you off either.” He lets out a shaky breath. “Whatever is going on between us, I don’t want to lose this. So let me make it up to you.”

He steps aside to show you what’s on the table: a container with your favourite food. 

“And I know this is barely enough for everything–”

“Reth, please stop,” you interrupt him before he can spiral further, your voice soft. “I’ll take the food, thank you. It looks delicious. But you really don’t have to try to make up for any of the, uh, side business stuff. Sure, the dinner didn’t work out, but if you say we just have dinner another day, then that is enough for me.”

You step a little closer, your hand tentatively reaching out for his.

“And you don’t have to worry about scaring me off.” Your voice is nothing more than a whisper now. “I also don’t want to lose what we have. I’m not going anywhere.”

Reth looks down at your hands as he shyly intertwines his fingers with yours, and when his eyes come back up to meet yours, they’re full of something… new. His gaze flickers down to your lips for a second and back up, and you wonder if he can hear your erratic heartbeat. You’re standing so close to each other right now, it wouldn’t take a lot to close the gap.

“That said, though, about that payment I mentioned…” you trail off.

His jaw clenches, and he looks to the side, pulling back away from you ever so slightly.

“Are you sure about this?” he questions rather bitterly. “About me?”

“What do you mean?” you ask. He sighs, eyes cast down at the floor.

“People will talk. They probably already are. With my reputation and all… I strayed from my Path. Most days I’m convinced people don’t even like my soup. I’m nothing more than a scoundrel.”

Your free hand comes up to gingerly hold his chin and turn his face to make him look at you.

“First of all, I don’t care what people say,” you start refuting his arguments. “Maybe I still don’t understand Majiri tradition, but I think you should be free to choose your own path with no expectations, and change it if you find it doesn’t suit you. And I like your soup. Also, I think being a scoundrel is part of your charm. Is that a bad thing?”

He doesn’t reply immediately, and when he does, his voice is so small you almost miss it. 

“You’re too good for me.”

You pull back slightly to fully look at him, and it breaks your heart a little how earnestly he means that. So you let go of his hand and hug his torso instead, burying your face into the crook of his neck.

“I don’t know what happened that makes you think that, but I will try my best to show you how wrong you are. You deserve good things, Reth. Whatever it is you want, you’re allowed to pursue it.”

He hugs you back, tightly, so you place a kiss to the only place you can reach, which is his jawline just below his ear. You feel him tremble, but if it’s from relief, anticipation or something else, you can’t tell.

“Right now what I want is you,” he says after a moment. 

“Then what are you waiting for.”

Reth lets go only enough for you to come back face to face with him, and he doesn’t waste a second to capture your lips with his. At first it’s shy, new, a sequence of soft pecks, testing the waters. When your hands travel up his chest to cup his face, he relaxes a bit more, kissing you more confidently. His hands slip underneath your open jacket, holding onto your waist and pulling you to him. 

His kisses grow more intense, hungrier, and his tongue finds its way to yours. You can’t help the low moan that escapes you when he presses you further into him, and he practically swallows it. 

As he takes a step forward, you take one backwards, then another and another, until your back hits the door, and you’re being squished between the rough wooden surface and Reth’s body trying to get impossibly close to yours. The impact makes you grunt, and he responds with something between a sigh and a growl, moving away from your lips to attack your neck. You welcome the break to take a breather, panting, and you remember something.

“Wait,” you say between breaths, and immediately Reth stops his soft bites and licks on your throat, also out of breath, and worry starts spreading on his face.

“W-what? Is this okay? I–”

Your hand on his face gently covers his mouth to stop him from talking, while with the other you turn the key below the doorknob to lock the door, which you had forgotten to do when you arrived.

“Just don’t want to risk getting interrupted, is all.”

You take a moment to admire his slightly dishevelled form: the bandana is a bit askew, his pupils are blown out, his cheeks and ears a deep pink. You probably don’t look much different, to be honest. He looks at you expectantly, waiting for you to give him permission to continue. 

“Let’s move away from the door, maybe–” you start, and within an instant, strong arms are picking you up under your thighs, carrying you over to the other side of the room and setting you down on the table. 

“Better?” he asks, placing a kiss to the corner of your mouth.

“Better,” you reply with a smile.

“You said you’re charging me with lots of interest,” he mumbles into your skin as he starts again where he left off earlier. You can only hum in response. “And I plan on paying back what I owe.” 

You pull back a little to look at him, and the newfound confidence and assertiveness in his eyes and voice send a pleasant tingle down your spine. 

“I’m very much looking forward to it.”

— — —

A/N 2: what? goose being attacked by brainrot over a freckled red-head who seems confident on the outside but is actually riddled with insecurities and does some illegal stuff to keep his family safe? huh, bet no one saw that one coming 🙄 guess i have ONE TYPE, smh.

A/N 3: if this is something you'd like to see more of, feel free to let me know and i'll add palia to my taglist fandoms for you to sign up :D palia has now been added to my taglist! link in my pinned post~

[transmascaraa]

I’m submitting another request right after my last one was published, but I have no complaints

Since I found out you write for Danganronpa, I wanted to ask for headcanons where/how different male characters would react if the reader gave them different forms of affection (hugs from behind, kisses, etc.) while [character] and reader are early in a relationship.

The specific characters I am requesting are Rantaro Amami, Shuichi Saihara, Hajime Hinata, Makoto Naegi, and any other characters you feel like writing for!

Thank you, Nyx!! 💖

(I wonder if I’m the first DR headcanon request 👀)

multiple characters headcannons!

affection.

characters: rantaro, shuichi, hajime, makoto x gn!reader

author's note: YUPPPP YOU'RE THE FIRST DGR REQUEST^^(idk how many of you guys will even read it but i hope you like it if you do i suppose) so like i've been busy for the last few days blah blah blah finally done with elementary school therefore sorry for the lack of posts😭 but hopefully i'll finish these reqs asap lol i've kinda missed writing(a bit ig??) either way enjoy lmao(lmk if it's ooc at all btw)

✿ Rantaro

-he LOVES when you're affectionate

-a LOT

-and I MEAN IT.

-he thinks it's adorable when you show him physical affection, especially while you shower him compliments and all

-like literally he adores it all

-if it's kissing, he'll kiss you just as much in return

-if you wanna cuddle, he'll cuddle with you for however long you want

-if it's random hugs, he's gonna hug you when he gets the chance

-he doesn't show it DRASTICALLY or DRAMATICALLY in public or anything he just likes it wholesome

-also i think he's also into quality time probably since he thinks it "strengthens" the relationship

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

♡ Shuichi

-alright he's probably my fave from v3(also a huge lover of miu and kaede— and kiibo)

-so he's not into pda at all bffr

-and like at first he's pretty surprised when receiving such affection from you

-both surprised and flustered

-so he's kinda gonna have to get used to it if he wants to be in a relationship with you

-aka someone who is really physically affectionate.

-PLEASE compliment him

-he'll compliment you back dw js let him regain himself after whatever you told him

-deep down he absolutely loves it when you hug him/ask him to cuddle or smthn

-kissing him is his weak spot definitely

-just a small peck on his lips and he's freaking out inside

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

✧ Hajime

-alright

-i feel like he'd also really like it but not in the same way as rantaro

-yes he'd pay you back for all of it but i still feel like he wouldn't like to show it in public AT ALL

-and if you did he would just kinda get flustered and quietly scold you "what if other people see us??!!?!?!!!??!?!!?"

-tell him to chill cuz his "scolding" won't stop you

-but definitely, when you're home alone, he's almost as affectionate towards you

-he WILL buy you something that you really want cuz he isn't an EXPERT at showing it in the same way

-not saying he's bad at it, he's just not professional in it.

-but definitely, after some time in a relationship with you, he gets used to it and SPECIFICALLY ONLY showers you with affection and compliments AT HOME

-so good luck with him ig (for some reason i can't imagine him being extremely affectionate or smthn)

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

⑅ Makoto

-ooh okay so likeeee

-he adores it when you're affectionate as well

-because he's affectionate towards you too^^

-unlike the last 2, he's kinda like rantaro when it comes to pda

-sure ofc js nothing too much

-but while at home DEFINITELY be ready to receive the same amount of affection in return

-cuz he's happy when you're happy and all

-has probably tried to rant to byakuya about you but it was the first and last time ever

-anyways, even throughout building the relationship, he's still the same

-he just loves it when you two cuddle or hug, especially kiss

-absolutely loves kisses before either him or you go out somewhere

-recommended imo tbh it's nice

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

OPINIONS PLS??????

idk it's not too bad if you ask me(don't ask me)

feels nice writing something again(hoping to get his by a truck of motivation these days)

| @run-dennys-is-on-fire | @mariaace <3

[exactlymaximumgarden]

what i did for love (jschlatt x reader fic)

chapter 2: new guy

summary: after endless chatter about the so-called "new guy," you finally have a less than ideal run-in with him. word count: ≈2.0k warnings: fem!reader, use of (y/n), kinda angsty later on a/n: hi chat. this chapter is kinda tea so i hope you like it lol song: again and again - the bird and the bee

You never thought you’d be more grateful for a lunch break in your life. The cast had been dismissed for an hour just after running the emotional monologue from the character Paul, which promptly followed your solo dance number. Teching your routine wasn’t too much of a hassle, but the actual choreography was beyond grueling. You were more than ready for a breather.

Surprisingly, Schlatt, during the run, wasn’t a bother at all. You could’ve sworn you caught him glancing at you from the wings at certain points, and you couldn’t say for sure whether or not he had seen any of your solo at all, but during the monologue afterward in which everyone in the cast was offstage save for your castmate Mateo, Schlatt was nowhere to be found. 

Not that you had a problem with that, anyway. Hell, you didn’t care what all he fucked off to do as long as you didn’t have to be there for any of it.

Now, you could only do your best to rid your mind of all thoughts related to him as you sat in your dressing room, which you shared with Victoria and two other castmates, Sierra and Lola. Aside from your already established bond with Victoria, you’d taken it upon yourself to build a closer friendship with Sierra and Lola since they played the characters Maggie and Bebe respectively, so naturally you would have to stand near them in the chorus line formation. That was also partially the reason the four of you had been grouped together to share a dressing room, so it was only beneficial for you to have a good rep with both.

The four of you were plopped in a circle on the dressing room floor, accompanied by your other castmates Ari, Mateo, and Dante. All seven of you picked at your lunches, more interested in the conversation at hand than actually eating. However, the topic quickly shifted to the oh so mysterious new guy, and as much as you wanted to shut your brain off than have to listen to speculations about Schlatt, you were also insanely hungry. So, you simply forced yourself to sit there and listen.

That was just like Schlatt, you couldn’t help but think sourly. Always the center of attention, even when he wasn’t in the room.

“Has anyone actually gotten a chance to talk to him yet?” Lola asked, her amber eyes twinkling with curiosity as she scanned the group. 

“I accidentally bumped into him after we teched my scene,” Mateo piped up. “He was pretty nice. Apologized to me and all. Even though it was totally my fault.”

“Can I say he’s kinda hot?” Sierra was next to chime in, her silvery voice quickly filling the silence. A quiet laugh promptly rippled through the group, although it took a bit of willpower on your behalf to keep your own from sounding too forced. “Like, respectfully? I’d smash.”

“You’d smash anything that breathes.” Ari, seated behind her on the dressing room counter, nudged her teasingly with his leg.

“Hey, can you blame me? I’ve tried every dating app there is. I’m debating whipping out the last resort any day now.”

“eHarmony?”

“No. Becoming a nun.”

“Okay, but do we know why they brought in someone new so late in the process?” Victoria interrupts. “What happened to the old stagehand? What’s-his-face?”

“Who cares what his name was? He got fired, and good thing.” This heated answer was spat from Dante, who had been cast in the show as the lively tap-dancer Mike. His heavy Brooklyn accent was interwoven through every syllable as he continued, “He was a fuckin’ idiot, not to mention a total dick. Always actin’ like he knew everything, being a shit to Vanja and all. I’m surprised she didn’t kick his ass out sooner. But I heard they put out an open call for someone to fill in for ‘im. Anyone with at least basic knowledge of allat computery shit. I guess that’s how they roped the new guy in. Shat, or whatever he’s called.”

Of course. He made perfect sense for the job. He’d wanted to go into computer science before he’d gone down the rabbit hole of his own career. “Schlatt.” You couldn’t keep the correction from spilling from your lips. You weren’t all too thrilled to discover the way his name still tasted like acid on your tongue.

“Yeah. That.”

“Well, at least he seems nice.” Victoria shrugged. “Upgrade from the last dude.”

“Nice and sexy!” Sierra giggled, earning another nudge from Ari.

Despite yourself, you opened your mouth. You had the insatiable urge to say something, maybe a cryptic, biting remark directed towards Schlatt. Something about how nobody here knew what he was really like, how he was the furthest thing from nice, how he’d ruined everything. However, you were promptly interrupted by a knock on the dressing room door.

“Hello?” Lola called out, craning her neck to snag a better view of the visitor.

The door creaked open, and Lacey poked her head in. Lacey was a petite, curvy girl, her hair tied up in pigtails and extravagant eyeshadow powdered against her lids. She’d been cast as Val, so she figured going over the top in her stage look would fit the character. Nobody had the heart to tell her she looked clownish.

“Just wanted to tell you guys we have five minutes until we’re back,” she explained in her typical squeaky tone, a toothy grin spreading across her lips. “Vanja’s giving us a bit of extra time to get settled, though. She just finished introducing herself to Jay.”

For whatever reason, Lacey first-naming Schlatt created a strange feeling in the pit of your stomach. Nobody ever did that. Not in his circle, anyway. But you couldn’t necessarily fault her for that. She didn’t come from his circle. That was a you problem.

“Thanks, Lacey.” You quickly hopped to your feet, stashing what was left of your lunch back with your belongings. “I’m gonna go to the restroom real quick. Will someone let Vanja know in case I’m not back in time?”

“I got it,” Victoria instantly volunteered, to which you shot her a grateful smile.

“Go piss, girl!” Ari murmured, resulting in a collective snort among the group. He elicited a grin from you, too, but you’re already out the door by the time you clocked it.

___

Wandering through the twisting hallways of the backstage area reminded you of yet another thing you’d never get used to regardless of how long you’d been performing. It never seemed to fully register that the older the theatre, the more historic the building, the dingier the backstage was. And right now, you might as well have been traversing a maze.

All this for a piss.

You couldn’t tell how long it took you to actually locate the bathrooms within the labyrinthine hallways, and you could only imagine that, with your luck, it’d be even longer before you found your way back to the stage. And of course that proved to be true. Before you knew it, you were lost. It wasn’t your fault, you kept telling yourself. This is why you exclusively used the restrooms out in the theatre’s foyer. At least those were easy to find.

“Whoa!”

You were instantly snapped out of your daze as you collided with someone’s larger frame. You stumbled backward from the impact, but whoever you ran into quickly clamped their hands around your biceps to keep you from completely falling on your ass.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry, I-” Your vision refocused, your voice instantly trailing off as you gazed upward at the person before you. Schlatt’s eyes bore into yours, hints of both concern and amusement evident in his gaze. Suddenly, the grip on your arms turned from something relieving to much more revolting.

The corners of his lips tilted upward in the faintest of smiles as he let go of you, stepping back. You could feel his gaze raking over you, taking you in. “Hey, stranger,” he greeted, leaning against the wall beside him.

You wanted to walk away, turn your back on him this instant. But you couldn’t. You felt paralyzed. Rooted to the spot.

“Hi,” you muttered in return.

“How’s it goin’? Been a while, huh?”

“Yep.” No shit, it’s been a while. I never wanted to see you again. “I’ve been fine. Been busy with the show and all.”

“I can imagine. Seems like a lotta work already.”

“It’s Broadway. Of course it is.” Your tone came out a bit more biting than intended. Schlatt quickly seemed to catch on, his brow quirking up in a slight smirk.

“You’re right. Stupid thing of me to say.” He held up his hands in mock surrender. You huffed out a scoff, but it was clearly forced. “Well, uh, hey,” Schlatt tried once more after an awkward silence ensued. “I saw you dance a little bit. From the wings. You did… good.”

“Good, huh?” You folded your arms across your chest, a bit exasperated with how the conversation was going nowhere.

“Yeah. You did good,” he repeated, his eyes still glued to you. It was growing increasingly hard not to shudder under his stare, feeling like prey beneath him. Your stomach churned, and you could practically hear your heart’s frenzied beating within your eardrum. For a moment, he fell quiet once more, and you swore you saw his expression falter. Whatever air of confidence was there before seemed to melt, devolving into something softer, something unreadable… disappointment, maybe? Regret? “You look good, (Y/N).”

It felt like the world stopped at that. You had to fight every fiber within you that wanted to bark out an incredulous laugh. “Really?” you instead asked, bewilderment of his utter audacity clear in your voice. “Is this a joke?”

Schlatt instantly straightened, no longer leaning on the wall. An air of defensiveness flickered over him. “What? Can I not say you look good?”

“Are you actually asking me that?” It shouldn’t have been so easy for him to rile you up, get under your skin.

Schlatt’s lips flattened into a straight line as he heaved a heavy sigh. “(Y/N), come on. Listen, I know these aren’t ideal conditions, but-”

“Like hell they aren’t!” You ran a hand through your hair, feeling like you might as well have been on the brink of tearing every single strand out. “Just stop. Not now. Don’t do this to me.”

“Why not now? Look, we gotta talk at some point.”

“There isn’t anything to talk about. You made things very clear when you decided you were done with me,” you spat. Schlatt opened his mouth to protest, but you quickly interrupted. “Can you please just do me a solid and point me back to the stage? I’ve got more important things to focus on right now than this.”

He stopped dead in his tracks. His usually soft expression was icy, and it was evident by the way his eyes flitted all across your face that he was seriously debating what to do next. However, to your relief, he jerked his head over his shoulder. “Straight ahead behind me. Take a left, up the stairs, take a right. You'll find your way.”

You didn’t wait to say anything more. No sooner did the words escape his lips than you practically bolted past him, reciting the directives he’d given you over and over to occupy your mind. To anyone else in the cast, your exchange with Schlatt would have seemed entirely random. Up until this moment, you two hadn’t interacted once. How could it have bubbled up to this so quickly?

That was something only you and Schlatt knew. The history between you two. And yet, knowing that history like the back of each other’s hands, he still wanted to act like things were normal. He still wanted to try and pass off as if nothing happened. As if everything was fine. Tearing your heart and stomping on it, over and over and over again.

Furiously wiping your eyes as your feet pattered up the staircase he’d guided you to, you couldn’t help but ponder. He was so clearly over everything. Over it enough to feel confident enough to act all casual, anyway.

So why the hell couldn’t you be?

prev chapter, next chapter

[beautifulpersonpeach]

I was a bit surprised to see that mhj specifically said that newjeans had approved the statement saying that belift had copied newjeans' concept with illit. I'm not the type of person that thinks that you're a bitch for asserting position or your value, so this isn't where I'm coming from, but, especially in an industry where it's so rare to see groups say anything negative about other groups, particular junior groups I would think, it was quite the strong, swift position to take. Do you foresee newjeans continuing to engage publicly with this scandal, and how would you think taking an active part in this would affect their brand?

*

Ask 2:

bp in your opinion is there any chance that in this Hybe/MHJ situation there's a buried kind of double-blind motivation?

Like the kind i've seen attributed to E|on Musk, where he creates a big scandal to provide cover when he's doing something much shadier (and then maybe it gets out of hand, like the TwiX thing lol)

You've said you're pretty familar with the corporate side machinations - could Hybe be purposefully airing all this, sure to stick it to MHJ, but also to temporarily drive down stock prices for idk easy shares-repurchasing? Or even allowing a mess they can blame for having to report lower numbers to shareholders for whatever reason: boycott actually impacting profit, hedging against lower-than-predicted bts returning numbers, etc.

Or is this too convoluted of conspiracy thinking and BPD/HYBE/MHJ, and by extension from your recent posts basically 'corporate kpop' entire, are really just that transparent and petty?

*

Ask 3:

Might be a stupid question because I honestly don't have any clue about corporate businesses and how they work. But in the light of this scandal and how BigHit/Hybe developed over the last years: would you say this is what you get when you become too greedy instead of concentrating on what you were good at?

*

Ask 4:

in your opinion, is mhj truly an indispensable part of newjeans creative output? Also, do you see any way that hybe would let newjeans leave with its name and discography if they try to break their contract to go with mhj like some people are saying?

*

Ask 5:

I’m seeing a lot of discussion about whether newjeans will try to leave with mhj and break their contract with hybe, but I don’t see this as a realistic scenario, and I especially don’t see hybe letting them leave with their name and discography. You mentioned that there are a limited set of options now, but is this even one of them? In my mind, newjeans as a concept either stays at hybe, with or without mhj in whatever capacity, or can’t really exist legally

*

Ask 6:

Also this has given everyone (kpop stans, ARMYs, journalists) the go ahead to drag Newjeans in order to "defend" Illit, BTS, Riize, etc by throwing (again) dozens of plagiarism accusations and trying to discredit everything the group has done and achieved. And it was started by Hybe themselves... I have no words, bpp

***

I think these six asks capture most of the talking points in the asks I've received since yesterday, so I'll use these to answer your questions.

The sheer amount of spin happening in the media right now is ridiculous lmaoo. With the mention of BTS in the "escape files", ARMYs have predictably moved from shady bystanders to actively joining in the negative spin, spreading rumor articles and many are now attacking the girls themselves. But honestly, this is nothing less than what I expected. NewJeans is the most popular group in Korea, the 2nd most valuable IP only behind BTS, and Min Heejin is the brains behind the operation - an achievement she's insisted on taking full credit for since inception. Leaving the only option for whoever is masterminding this from within and outside HYBE, to destroy her reputation as an executive completely to diminish her value to outside investors, and weaken the fan support for NewJeans given how closely they are already associated with MHJ. And that's what is happening. It impacts every group at HYBE and nearly obliterates the viability of NewJeans.

For HYBE, it's a tolerable loss given there's only one year left before BTS returns and closes that earnings gap in mere months. Whoever took this action sees it simply as resulting in a numerical loss that can be soon corrected, but personally, I disagree, for the same reasons I objected to HYBE's acquisition of SM even though on paper it made numerical sense.

Anon in ask 1: I can understand your surprise but sad as it is to say, I expected that response from MHJ. She's a creative, not a PR exec or an MBA-credentialled suit. I'm not sure how familiar you are with ADOR's press releases in general, but anybody who reads them can tell there's almost no corporate doublespeak, no vague allusions, nothing that shows it's written by a typical media-trained PR person. Which is why most people, including you, take that statement to mean NewJeans agrees with MHJ that Illit copied them (it's a possibility), when in reality the language shows it could refer to them agreeing with MHJ's assertion that HYBE hasn't duly responded to her requests about inter-label discrimination, or other related matters. That's the kind of detail a trained PR person would be sure to include, to minimize the fallout to NJ, but just as with the press release on Cookie, the one on Minji's rival sasaeng, the response to Hyein's veneer rumours, and practically every press release ADOR has put out, the language is unsophisticated.

"Do you foresee newjeans continuing to engage publicly with this scandal, and how would you think taking an active part in this would affect their brand?"

NewJeans has so far not engaged publicly with this scandal. MHJ has mentioned them to signal any separation between them will likely be contested. It's leverage. If they do take an active part in this scandal, it will completely destroy their brand. Like, it's already on life support. Anything more and we might as well say their last rites.

*

Anon in ask 2: I'd say that's not a conspiracy exactly but it is kinda pushing it. Anytime there's a stock dip it's a buying opportunity, and HYBE is always guaranteed to be a Buy so long as BTS is slated to return within 12 months of the stock event. But we simply don't have any clear indications that's the case now given the timing doesn't quite line up. If anything, that is more like the 4th order side-effect.

And yeah, people on the corporate side, not just in k-pop, are many times just that petty. But it's also true this case has been sensationalized in particular ways to appeal to k-pop stans specifically.

*

Anons in ask 4 & 5: The options available are:

MHJ leaves HYBE and NewJeans stays in HYBE

MHJ leaves HYBE and NewJeans leaves with her

MHJ stays in HYBE but is demoted from her exec role and NewJeans stays in HYBE

MHJ stays in HYBE and keeps her exec role and NewJeans stays in HYBE

None of these options are good, but the worst of these evils is option 2. If the members attempt to leave with her, there's no pretty way to say this, but they'll be done. I'm not even going to waste time writing all the ways HYBE and k-pop stans as a whole will rip them to shreds, all I'll say is that whoever is attached to these girls should consider taking a 6 months sabbatical away from k-pop entirely once that news breaks. The law is not on their side and public opinion, especially after all the 'leaks' and spin from HYBE in the last 72 hours, certainly isn't on their side either. It would be career suicide.

"in your opinion, is mhj truly an indispensable part of newjeans creative output?"

Personally, I think yes. Every label at HYBE had similar initial monetary investment as NewJeans and ADOR had, and other groups from the Big 3 have had even bigger investments and resources at their disposal. There isn't a single group, both within HYBE and outside HYBE, that has yielded the same results as NewJeans in the same period of time. Illit comes close, but even with their achievements they haven't reached the same (positive) notoriety as NewJeans did at debut. All HYBE groups have access to HYBE's youtube channel, connections and resources, and yet the achievements of BOYNEXTDOOR, LE SSERAFIM, ENHYPEN, and even ILLIT, are nowhere near comparable to that of NewJeans. And I agree with MHJ that she's the primary reason why. Having access to resources is only one part of the equation. How you allocate those resources and what you do with it is far more important, and this is where MHJ and ADOR excels relative to other sub-labels.

NewJeans without MHJ will not be nearly as threatening to everyone else in k-pop, and I suspect this is one reason there have been calls for her to be removed from managing the group since their debut.

*

Anons in ask 3 & 6: Yeah there's a fair bit of greed on show here. Generally, for a lot of people in this industry, greed is good... unless the greedy person is a woman. Because the only thing more central to nasty corporate tussles like this, more than greed, is ego.

I'm not trying to play the gender card, but sometimes I do wonder why there are no articles like this about people like Jaden Jeong and Simon Jakob given the reputation those men have in corporate circles, where top officials (in this case, within HYBE) are saying they cannot possibly work with MHJ because she is "overly and excessively opinionated". I'm highlighting this article because despite the initial paragraphs of spin, that bit is the only thing consistent with MHJ's claim that this attack from HYBE started because she'd filed a whistleblowing report on toxic inter-label competition and followed up an email that said quote:

"..is this deliberate obtuseness and unapologetic behaviour consistent with HYBE's founding philosophy of rebelling against unfair practices in the entertainment industry?"

I mean... in corporate Korea, I can see how they were sick of her shit and it was only a matter of time before she got the boot.

The insidious thing about spin is that it mixes the truth with lies, making it easy for people to accept it wholly. It's entirely possible that MHJ wants more compensation, more autonomy and independence, feels that Belift and other companies borrowed her ideas without full credit, and that she was unsupported by HYBE HQ. It's entirely possible that she took actions such as monitoring fan feedback of the group(s) she suspects and filing a whistleblowing report to build a case - according to both MHJ and others at HYBE, these are complaints she's apparently had since last year, but none of those things would justify HYBE's response nor is it enough to turn people against her.

What I find particularly interesting about this case, is that everything that decisively incriminates her of the more sensational and sinister allegations, comes from the person of VP L or CEO A - a person who only joined ADOR in January 2024, shortly after which HYBE received their first tip-off that MHJ was planning to escape. It's VP L who titles documents with the equivalent of "TOP SECRET DO NOT TOUCH" on company computers... the same guy that's supposedly a double agent working in favour of MHJ and ADOR but is situated within ADOR, not HYBE, where simple logic shows he'd be most useful. Unless he's situated right where he's supposed to be.

Anyway...

HYBE has requested for a shareholder meeting on April 30th where they'll likely table the motion for MHJ to resign regardless of what's found in the audit. Far as I know, she's completed the audit questionnaire but not surrendered her laptop as HYBE has requested. Given the play is for HYBE to kick her out while continuing to manage NJ, I can see how she'd rather die than surrender her laptop and hand over her ideas (and potentially incriminating info) to HYBE on a silver platter for them to use in her wake.

Every way this shakes out is bad news for HYBE groups IMO. So long as NewJeans keeps quiet and sides with HYBE, they'll be somewhat okay. But regardless of the fallout from HYBE cannibalizing itself, all HYBE groups have no choice but to take it on the chin and bide their time until BTS comes back to capture the attention back to them.

I hope I answered all your questions. IMO there's really no point talking more about this until there's a firm conclusion.

[bri-cheeses]

| Sprace microfic | Word count: 1,054 | This is my make-up post for having forgotten to post yesterday lol |

-

The rain that had just been pouring down in Brooklyn was borderline dangerous, having come and gone with all the ferocity of a small hurricane. Not even the awning of the little street store that Spot and Race had taken cover under had been enough to keep them from getting wet.

“Ugh,” Race muttered under his breath, having just pinched the fabric of his shirt between his fingers to find it heavy with the distinct weight of rain-soaked clothes. “I’m going to have to wear this all the way home.”

It was the downcast way he said it, along with the wary glance he threw out to the street where cart vendors and civilians alike scurried from place to place, looking up at the gray sky all the while, that had Spot making his decision.

“C’mon,” he said, not giving Race a chance to respond before Spot was grabbing his hand and leading him out from under the overhang.

“What are you doing?” Race asked from behind him. He sounded confused, but Spot didn’t turn around.

“You’ll see,” he responded instead, and kept walking until he reached the door of the Brooklyn Lodging house.

Race’s small noise of incredulity made Spot tighten his hold on the other boy’s hand in order to better drag him up the stairs to his bedroom. Sure, he hardly ever brought Race in here during the day, but it really shouldn’t have been all that surprising that he was taking him here now. After all, Spot had made countless exceptions for Racetrack ever since they first met. Race just had that kind of effect upon him.

Race’s shock didn’t stop him from waggling his eyebrows suggestively, however, once they were in the privacy of Spot’s small room.

Spot rolled his eyes, albeit somewhat fondly.

“You’ve still got to get home before the sun sets,” he reminded Race, not looking at him as he went to his stack of clothes. He knew that if he so much as looked at Race, his resolve might crumble—because Race had that kind of effect upon him, too.

“Besides,” Spot said, rifling through his shirts, “you’re just here so I can give you this.”

He tossed the shirt he had been looking for towards Race, who just barely caught it against his chest. He looked down at what Spot had thrown at him and his brow furrowed for a second or two before realizing what he was holding. Once he had, however, Race clutched at the garment, his mouth slightly agape as he looked up at Spot.

“Might want to close that, or you’re going to catch flies.” Spot nodded towards Race’s mouth, which snapped close.

“I— you want me to wear this?” Race sounded faint.

Spot frowned, not sure what the problem was. “Yes?”

But from the way Race tentatively held up the shirt, showing it off in the dim light of the room, he was definitely unsure of something.

“What?” Spot prompted.

Race lowered the shirt a little so he could look at Spot. He still looked a little confused.

“Well, it’s yours, for one.”

Spot shrugged. “You can plan on giving it back to me tomorrow if that makes you feel better.” He hadn’t really planned on actually gifting the shirt to Race—after all, he was still dirt poor and hardly able to afford food, much less new clothes. But he had known that Race probably wouldn’t feel comfortable fully taking it anyhow, and so Spot was fine with him borrowing it for a night or two.

Besides, he really wanted to see Race wearing his clothes and walking back to Manhattan smelling of him.

Not that he’d ever admit that.

Race’s teeth worried his bottom lip. “I mean, yeah, that sounds good, but also…” Race trailed off, his eyes flicking back down to the material in his hands. “It’s red.”

And suddenly, Spot understood the reason for his hesitation. Amongst the newsies, it was common for those who lived in Brooklyn to wear red if they could find it, and the same was true for Manhattan and blue. If Race went back to his lodging house wearing red, he’d stick out like a sore thumb. Not to mention all the questions he’d undoubtedly get, along with the assumptions that’d be made.

Still, Spot couldn’t help the words from spilling out of his mouth.

“I think it’d look good on you.”

Race’s head jerked up. A blush worked its way into his cheeks, resulting in a pretty flush.

Spot wanted to kiss him.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Spot said. He’d meant it. “Let them ask questions, let them wonder where you got it. You and I are the only ones who actually know anyhow.”

Which was certainly true enough, he thought as Race turned over the shirt, considering it. Spot could see the exact moment he made his decision, with the mischievous glint that formed in his eyes and the way he clutched the garment tighter.

“Well, I always have been a bit of a man of mystery,” Race said, a grin spreading over his face. “What's the harm in confusing people just a little more?”

And then he was changing out of his soaked shirt and exchanging it for Spot’s, turning toward him when he was finally done.

“Look good?” he asked, just a bit cheekily.

Spot swallowed, mouth suddenly quite dry. “Yeah.”

The resulting grin Race threw him had his heart thumping in his chest, but Race just pecked him on the mouth before he was at the door, about to the turn the handle.

“See you tomorrow, Spotty,” he said. “And thanks for the shirt.”

And with a parting wink, he was gone, having slipped out the door.

Spot stared at the space Race had just occupied. He could easily imagine Race’s walk home in that red shirt, the stares he’d get once he’d cross the bridge. The questions that would be asked, the way Race would deflect each and every one, and how he’d return tomorrow with a cheerful grin oh his face as he returned the shirt.

But most importantly, Spot could still see Race in his mind, wearing his city’s colors, wearing his shirt, and not even fully aware of the effect he had upon Spot.

Spot groaned. Just what had he gotten himself into?

-

[ad0rechuu]

hiii 👋 may i please request prompt 58 "forever mine" kisses (+ prompt 3 hiding face in neck, only if it's okay!!) for lucifer? thank you so much and warmest congratulations on 100 followers!! 🥺💙

❪ # x ❫ : LUCIFER. ━━ PROMPT 58 & 3

volcanic love by the aces

🏷️ gn! reader , angst (?) / comfort , tw: spoilers for the end obey me part 3, it’s kinda bittersweet , wc: 584 , notes: thank you so much anon thats so sweet and i really enjoyed writing this request so thank you for that too, i wanted to make it sadder but i didn’t how that would turn out lol !

Begging lord Diavolo proved to be useless.

You knew he had his reasons but the fact that all the seven demon brothers were willing to throw their pride out of the window (even the literal Avatar of Pride) to have you join the family made you a bit willing to throw hands.

They wanted you stay with them and you wanted them to stay with you.

And yet, you couldn’t. Because life is never that simple.

It hurt. It wasn’t surprising, but it hurt nevertheless. You knew you were not the only one hurting. Five of the seven brothers made that very clear on the ride home (Belphie too, but he fell asleep almost immediately).

Their drunken whining and complaining would normally make you laugh. But today it made your heart ache.

You noticed that Lucifer had been quiet the entire way home. Even when his brother cursed Diavolo’s judgment, he stayed uncharacteristically silent. He also didn’t say a word when you reached Serenity Manor and everyone excused themselves to get some sleep.

You stayed behind, expecting him to go straight to his room as well. Instead he surprised you as you watched him disappear to the backyard. Curiosity and worry got the best of you as you followed the demon.

By the time you reached outside he was already sitting on a lawn chair, his glasses in hands as he looked up at the sky. You would’ve spent more time admiring him but you had to remind yourself that that wasn’t the goal right now.

You walked up behind him, careful not to startle him on accident, even though he’d probably sensed your presence already.

“Are you disappointed?” You asked, making him turn around and face you. Demon Lord, you were going to miss those ruby eyes.

He nodded to you, acknowledging your presence as he stood up, eyes still on the night sky.

“Disappointed? Disappointed isn’t the word. I can’t say that I did not expect his answer.” He spoke, sorrow in his tone. “I’m closer to dissatisfied.”

One arm snuck around your waist as he used the other hand to hold your chin, making sure you kept looking at him only.

“I’m dissatisfied that I have to leave, I’m selfishly dissatisfied that I cannot keep you by my side forever and I’m dissatisfied with the current conditions that keep us apart.” A rare desperation sounded from his voice as he held you close.

His face neared yours when he turned your face to closer his liking. “Why did you have to make me feel this way about you Mc? I cannot imagine a life without you anymore.” He breathed on your lips and closed the gap between your two.

Lucifer was known as stoic demon with a tight grip on everything, including his own emotions.

The Lucifer in front of you was nothing like that, he reminded you of the Celestial Realm Lucifer that you heard stories about; pouring all his feelings and emotions into the passionate kiss. As you moved in sync, you felt a tear fall from his once impenetrable eyes. You felt your soul yearn for him like never before.

As you parted, slightly out of breath, your hand found the back of his head. He hid his face in your neck as you combed through his raven hair.

His arms tightened around you at the calming gesture, like you could disappear at any moment.

“I wish I could make you mine, Mc. For the rest of eternity.”

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Protector: Yathrylx

Hii I love your protector fic sm, I was wandering if we could get a bit of a glimpse of the past of the five they're still a bit of a mystery, I also absolutely love badass Virgil would like to see more of that – lazybunzz

Can I get some Janus Lamia/Naga Angst? Just a small crumb, if I may? Lol – insanitori

Read on Ao3 Masterlist

Warnings: blood, wounds, mild gore, naga!janus

Pairings: DLAMPR

Word Count: 6895

At some point, perhaps, Virgil will fully get used to the fact that his life is now inextricably tied to a group of magic users, but today is not that day and tomorrow isn’t looking so good either.

Still, he can respect the fact that at least they seem to know that he’s not fully on board with their complete and total involvement with his business just yet. At least Logan does.

He raises one hand in greeting as he steps out onto his front stoop, a dagger tucked into its holster on his leg. Logan smiles, raising a hand in turn.

”May I come over?”

“I’ll come to you.” Logan nods, folding his hands politely behind his back until Virgil comes to a stop just at the edge of his garden. “I didn’t expect to see you today.”

“My apologies if I’m coming at an inopportune time, but I’d like to retain your services.”

Virgil’s spine straightens a little—something he knows Logan notices too—and his hand drifts toward his side.

“It isn’t a particularly challenging quest, and you would be compensated for it.”

“But it isn’t one you can do yourself.”

Logan nods. “Would you like to know why?”

“I would like to know why.”

“I’d like a set of ingredients obtained from a territory that’s a bit too close to another magic user’s home. At the risk of upsetting them, we—“

“We?”

Logan waves a hand over his shoulder in a way that probably indicates the rest of the Five. Of course.

“Your reasoning is that it would be safer for a non-magic user to venture in instead.”

“That’s correct.”

“What ingredients would I be retrieving?”

Logan reaches into his pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper. He holds it out. Virgil pulls on a gardening glove and takes it, unfolding it to see a small list. His brow furrows slightly as he scans down a remarkably simple healing salve.

Well, simple in terms of the fact that it’s a magic user asking him, not in terms of what’s actually on here.

He glances back up and holds the list out to Logan. “What payment would you offer?”

“I can’t tell you.”

The shiver lingering at the top of Virgil’s spine shoots down it with remarkable speed. He nods, fully prepared to bid Logan a good day and go back inside, only for a hand to catch his sleeve. He blinks. It’s gone a moment later, but Logan is now firmly in his personal space and he’s not sure how he feels about that.

Because he’s a magic user, not because he’s pretty.

It’s not.

“I know how that sounds,” Logan says quietly—right, there had been a conversation going on— “and I understand your reservations about agreeing to something without all the terms laid out, but I’m asking you to trust me.”

“I do trust you,” Virgil says, surprising them both, “but I can’t just take your word for it.”

“Will you accept a token as assurance that further payment will follow?”

”That depends on the token, and I reserve the right to refuse should I not find it suitable.”

Logan nods, reaching into his pocket. Virgil’s hand twitches toward his dagger instinctively, and Logan raises his other hand as a show of good faith before he produces a small orb about the size of a snail shell. He holds it up to let it catch the light, revealing a dark, almost black surface with a golden yellow curling just beneath. As it moves back and forth, it almost looks like liquid.

“I would like to know what it is,” Virgil says quietly, taking note of both the obvious arcane weight to it and the way Logan’s hand twitches as he holds it out.

”It’s a yathrylx.”

“…am I supposed to know what that is?”

A corner of Logan’s mouth tugs up into a smirk. “I’m surprised you haven’t come across one in all your years.”

“I’ve prided myself on staying away from most arcane objects, actually.”

“A yathrlyx is an arcane pact made manifest,” Logan explains, “in simple terms, it represents the magical cost of a deal struck.”

Virgil takes it gingerly. “Is this one for payment?”

“No. It’s…its magic is tied to another’s deal,” Logan says carefully, “and I wouldn’t want to speak about it without their knowledge or consent. But I can assure you that it has great significance to me.”

No kidding. If Virgil’s hunch about this thing is even half right, there’s no way Logan’s being anything but sincere about it. His gloved hand still holding it carefully, he picks up a small burlap bag and tucks it inside.

“I will accept this token as a placeholder for payment for retrieving the items on the list.”

He definitely doesn’t imagine the way Logan’s shoulders sag in relief, a smile coming properly to his face. “Thank you, Virgil. I—is there anything I can do to help you prepare for the journey?”

“Have you been to this place recently? Or at least recent enough?”

“Yes, why?”

”If you could tell me what it’s like while I pack, I have a greater chance of having the things I need when I need them.”

“I would be happy to.”

***

The thickness of the dust at the base of the hill makes it hard to breathe. Stubborn particulates worm their way through the covering over Virgil’s face, making him cough. He hunches his shoulders against the worst of the wind and presses onwards. The goggles make it easier to see the road.

He says road, when what he really means is ‘dusty part of the rocks that looks the least likely to twist his ankle.’

The yathrylx rests against his chest, the awkward feeling of something spherical underneath his bandolier a welcome distraction from the ever-present itch of the dust. An idle corner of his mind turns it over and over as he goes. He’d said he was uncomfortable speaking about it without the party’s knowledge or consent. Did that make it one of the Five’s? Or was it unrelated entirely?

And why a healing salve? Sure, the ingredients on the list were enough to make Virgil’s coin purse cry at just the thought of them, let alone the skill he would need to mix all of them together in the right quantities, but these were, well, magic users. It’s not as though they lack the means to heal themselves other ways, ways that would certainly be much more effective at a faster rate. Then again, if one of them were in such a state where a salve this sophisticated was necessary, then they might be in no fit state to access that kind of magic.

Shit, Bonnie’s rubbing off on him more than he thought. He’s never wondered about a contract this much before.

You just took a contract from a magic user without guaranteeing payment, you’re in deep.

Shut up, Virgil says to that part of his brain as he finally, finally makes it up high enough to escape the thick cloud.

The mountain comes to a stop just shy of the cloud cover, stray rays of sunlight filtering through as he lifts the goggles. Instead of a tapering peak, the top of the mountain is a massive crater. He can see the opposite edge of the rim peeking above the trees rising from the shallow valley just beneath him. He rips the face covering from his chin to gulp greedily at the fresh air. As he scouts the cliffside for a safe way down, his thumb rubs absentmindedly at the covered lump of the yathrylx.

It’s ever so slightly warm.

There’s another not-road down to his left a bit that looks like it’ll take him directly into the base of the forest proper. He keeps his eyes up for any sign of tripwires, arcane or otherwise, reaching for the small pendant hanging by his right ear. He taps it once, twice. A low hum rings out as he walks. Every so often it changes pitch and he turns until it returns to normal.

When he reaches the end of the rocks, he slows, crouching slightly. He slides the goggles from his head and tucks them into his pack. He scans the tree line. Nothing obvious, no signs of ambushing an unsuspecting creature. He creeps forward, footsteps light. The grass barely crackles under his feet.

The forest is…nice enough, he supposes, as he treks through it. It’s not quite as dense as the one on the way to the Aspen Witch, nor is it as muddy as some of the ones he’s had to wade through on his many quests. There’s a faint smell to it, like fresh water on a warm day. Just enough to notice, not enough to name. Still, he keeps his face covering close, just in case.

The lack of wildlife is starting to get to him. He hasn’t heard so much as a skitter. Everything is that same soft hushing of breeze, except for his own steps. He keeps his head on a swivel. His shadow starts to blend into the trees as he walks deeper and deeper.

Something shifts out of the corner of his eye.

He turns just slightly, trying to get a glimpse of it again. Another flash of movement. He looks fully this time, readying himself to reach for a weapon, and the beast raises its head.

It’s fucking huge.

Virgil freezes, as is his right when he’s suddenly staring at something that’s bigger than his fucking house. The thing’s head moves again, its throat bobbing up and down like a frog’s. One giant eye blinks. Then the other. It looks like the forest is growing on top of it, as though it’s the soil of the valley itself. Vines and tiny trees take root in the folds of its skin. The line of what must be its mouth is covered in mosses and lichens, the sickly-sweet smell of slightly rotting flowers wafting through the trees.

Virgil doesn’t move.

The beast watches him for a few more moments before it heaves a great sigh, turning and laying its head down once more. He lets out a breath he wasn’t sure he’d been holding and forages forward, coming into a small clearing.

If that’s the magic user they were worried about upsetting, I fucking get it.

The clearing itself isn’t very large, probably no more than three-dozen paces across in either direction. In what little respite there is from the canopy, a series of bushes have taken root. Dense bunches of purple berries grow next to pearlescent flowers with paper-thin leaves—a veritable goldmine.

“Really hope that was you back there,” he mutters under his breath as he slowly approaches the plants. The last thing he wants to do is piss off some other thing he didn’t know about, or go rooting around in a magic user’s private garden.

He isn’t accosted by any sort of defensive measures as he nears the bushes, nor is there a gargantuan roar from behind him as his gloved fingers brush the leaves. Thankfully, he does know a bit about pruning magical plants. He’s careful to sever the stem only at the base, where it will be easy for the plant to grow back. He only takes as many as he needs, sparingly taking from particularly thick bunches around the bush where it looks like the blooms are getting a bit crowded anyway. He does the same with the berries, wrapping each up carefully to ensure they’ll be preserved as he makes his way back.

He passes by the creature again, heart in his throat. It stirs as it hears him approach, trees shedding leaves as it swings its massive head around to look. He holds still once more, letting it look at him. The eyes blink. The throat bobs.

A low hum ripples through the ground, just enough to shake the loose dust from Virgil’s boots. He swallows, trying to calm his frantic heartbeat, before it blinks lazily and resettles.

Great. Time to get the fuck out of here.

He leaves the forest behind, ascending the lip of the crater once more. Sparing one last glance behind him, he swears the forest has a new magical shimmer that it didn’t have before.

Huh. Not gonna think about that too much.

***

He only gets about halfway home before there’s a low hum and a snap behind him and he’s already turning, shifting into a defensive position as a rift opens up and a very shaken Patton steps through. He frowns, standing and sliding his dagger back into its sheath.

“Patton? Is everything—“

”Oh, you made it,” Patton breathes, rushing forward and grabbing his arms, “you made it, thank goodness.”

“Easy,” he barks when Patton wobbles a bit, steadying him, “take a breath. What’s going on?”

“We have to hurry—“

Well, if a magic user tells him to hurry, it’s probably a good idea to listen. He lets Patton take him by the sleeve a tug him towards the—it’s not a rift, it’s a portal, he realizes belatedly. His heels dig into the ground on instinct.

“Come on,” Patton pleads, still tugging his sleeve, “we have to go. It’s safe, I promise.”

He swallows heavily and follows Patton into the portal.

From the way the bards and his fellow adventurers have romanticized falling to portals, Virgil has to admit he’s a little disappointed when he steps through, there’s a slight whine, and he’s suddenly staring into the mouth of a dark cave. No fanfare, no wild magic, nothing. Then, of course he realizes he’s staring into the mouth of a dark cave and he snaps back to himself right away.

For better or worse, he only has a few seconds to worry that this has all been a terrible trick before Patton’s dropping his hands and running over to a well-lit alcove, where Logan, Roman, and Remus are all hunched over a table. Remus looks up at the noise, his fingertips already glowing with some magic Virgil won’t even try to name, only for his expression to slacken with relief when his eyes land on them.

“Oh, thank fuck,” he breathes as Patton runs over, “did you get it?”

”I have the requested ingredients,” Virgil says, walking over as he brings his pack from over his shoulder. “In the requested quantities.”

“Thank you,” Logan says in a rush, already reaching for the pestle and mortar, “Roman, bring me the—“

“Yep, here you go.”

”Are you okay?” Patton asks, hands flitting over Virgil’s figure. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“I’m uninjured.”

Remus whistles lowly as he helps Logan balance something. “You got past the crater without getting hurt?”

“Well, the creature didn’t seem to mind me much, and I didn’t run into any bandits, so—“

“Wait, wait, wait, it ‘didn’t mind you?’” Remus balks. “That thing has torn me in half before!”

“Well, for one, you deserved it,” Roman says, as Virgil tried to wrap his head around the ‘tore me in half’ thing, “and two, Virgil’s Virgil.”

Remus grumbles something Virgil isn’t going to try and figure out, instead looking around for the missing member of this little crew of troublemakers.

Yes, he’s aware he’s referring to an incredibly powerful group of magic users as a crew of troublemakers. No, he’s not stopping to think about it for too long.

Before he can voice his question, the yathrylx sears violently hot against his chest and a guttural moan echoes off the stone walls. Roman turns to look over his shoulder with a worried crease on his brow and Virgil has a horrible feeling about this.

“It’s getting worse,” Patton mumbles, confirming Virgil’s bad feeling, “I don’t know how much longer he can last.”

“I’m working as fast as I can.”

“I know, I know.”

So whatever just made that noise is Janus. They’re making this healing salve for Janus. And if the way Roman keeps glancing in both directions up and down the long stone tunnel, whatever’s happening to him is probably not the only source of danger in this cave.

Great.

He should go. At the very least, he should step back and let the magic users tend to their own business. He has the yathrylx still, he has Logan’s word, he could go home and wait for all of this to resolve and then seek about getting his payment. He could say he’s fulfilled the terms of his contract and owes them no more.

That’s what he should do. That’s what he’d tell Bonnie to do, that’s what he’s done to stay alive for all these years.

What he actually does is wait until it looks like there’s a spare moment to pull Patton slightly to the side and ask what’s going on.

“A confrontation with a fae went wrong,” Patton says, shooting glances off in the direction of the pained noise, “we’ve staved off the worst of it, but Janus needs to get his magic under control or else…”

He trails off and Virgil’s not gonna push that ‘or else.’

“The problem is he’s near-feral right now.” Remus twists a thing of a metal contraption in his hands and an amber glow illuminates the workspace. “Any incoming magical presence is gonna be seen as a threat. But the longer he stays in pain—“

“The worse it’ll get,” Roman finishes. “He got wounded when we tried to flee. We were just able to get him here before we had to get away.”

“So you’re making the salve in the hopes that he’ll apply it himself?”

“That’s the plan, yeah.”

Virgil can see several flaws with this plan, actually, the least of which is leaving a terrified and half-feral creature with the responsibility of caring for itself alone. The yathrylx pulses against his chest.

This is a really, really bad idea.

“I’m not magical,” he says, “what if I go?”

They all turn to stare at him. Patton wrings his hands together.

“He’s really scared right now,” he tries, “he’s not—he’s not fully in control of himself. He could hurt you.”

He doesn’t say anything.

“You won’t be able to defend from some of his…attacks,” Logan says next, still watching him carefully, “and we might not be able to get to you in time.”

“And Janus would never want to hurt you,” Roman adds with devastating softness, “even if he didn’t do it on purpose.”

Virgil looks around at all of them. “I understand the risk. I will remind you that this is my job, I do know what I’m doing. If I think I can’t do it, I’ll retreat.”

They still look unconvinced. As a last measure, he looks at Logan.

“You came to me for help,” he says quietly, “let me help.”

Logan looks at him for a long moment before he sighs, turning and picking up the mortar and holding it out.

“You’ll need to apply this on all the wounds. It should trigger his natural healing instincts and start the work.”

Virgil nods. He strips himself of his pack and weapons, settling the dagger atop the stack and accepting the mortar. Patton walks him slowly down the hall until they reach a large boulder. In the darkness beyond, he can hear the faint sounds of hissing and scales sliding over stones.

”He’s scared,” Patton whispers, “just…be gentle with him?”

Virgil nods. He walks down the tunnel, keeping his footsteps log but audible, until he catches sight of a flickering light just around the next bend. He doesn’t keep going, instead crouching on the cold stone floor and calling out softly.

“Janus?” His voice bounces around the stone. “Janus, it’s Virgil.”

He doesn’t get a verbal reply, but the hissing and writhing die down slightly. He’s gonna take that as a good sign.

“I’ve got the salve that the others have made for you,” he continues, still in that same, soft tone, “I think it’ll help. I’d like to come help you with it.”

Another bout of hissing that dies down almost as quickly as it began. He waits, muscles still tense from crouching, until there’s the quietest little okay.

“Thank you for trusting me,” he says, “I’m going to stand up now. If you ever want me to stop and go away, strike the wall three times.”

He knocks on the wall and hears an answering clatter.

“I’m coming in now.”

He edges around the corner, expecting to see the flickering torch toppled over on the ground and the wave of the iron stench of blood to smack him in the face. He isn’t necessarily expecting the limp naga curled around its own bleeding tail peering up at his through the firelight.

“Hey,” he murmurs, crouching just at the edge of the makeshift campsite, “it’s just me, bud. I have the salve, see?”

He holds up the mortar. Janus’s eyes follow it warily until Virgil leans forward to set it a little closer to the torch. He leans back, giving Janus plenty of room to scent the air and see that he’s telling the truth.. The slitted pupils flick back to him with guarded trust.

“I’d like to help you put it on,” he repeats gently, “I know how hard it can be to try and dress your own wounds.”

The naga—Janus hisses again, tongue flickering slightly between his fangs. Virgil waits, enjoying the faint warmth of the torch, until he sees the faintest nod.

“Yeah? Is that okay?” Another nod, stronger now. “Alright. I’m gonna have to stand up to come over to you, okay? It’s only me, I promise, I don’t mean you any harm.”

There’s the slightest familiar smirk of get on with it and Virgil chuckles. So it really is Janus under all that, that’s…oddly reassuring. He reaches for the mortar, tucking it into the crook of his arm, before slowly, slowly rising from the crouch.

A flash of fear shudders through Janus’s body and he hunches over, trying to make himself seem smaller, less of a threat, diminish the flickering shadow that he knows has probably thrown itself behind him. He keeps up the litany of reassurances as he slowly creeps around the edge of the firelight, always keeping it in view. The closer he gets, the more he can see the shuddering breaths under the blood-slick scales, see the way Janus has hunched over on himself protectively. The yathrylx burns warm at his chest as he crouches next to the prone form.

“Hey,” he murmurs again, even softer now that he’s close, “you’re doing so good, bud. Thank you for letting me come so close.”

Fuck, he can see some of Janus’s familiar features underneath the twisted magical effect still rippling through him. He swallows the anger that someone hurt Janus—and chases it quickly with the confusion at himself for feeling so strongly—and smiles.

“I think it’d be easier to start on your tail, then you can see what I’m doing, okay?” He shifts a little further away, closer to where the shuddering scales are darkly lit with the blood. “Again: if you ever want me to stop, strike the wall three times.”

Janus nods.

“Can we try, bud?” Virgil lifts his hand and carefully rests it on an uninjured part of the tail. “Can you tell me to stop?”

Janus’s hand shoots out and bangs three times on the wall. He lifts his hand immediately and shuffles away. A truly despondent whine leaves Janus’s throat and he quickly shushes it.

“Hey, hey, I’m not leaving, I’m right here with you. I just needed you to see that I was telling the truth, okay? If you ever want me to stop, just do that.” If you’d ever asked Virgil if he thought a naga was capable of puppy-dog eyes, he’d tell you that you had too much time on your hands. And yet, here he is. “Can I come back over?”

The most emphatic nod he’s ever seen and he chuckles, shuffling back until he’s nearly brushing Janus’s tail. He sets the mortar down on the floor and settles himself on his haunches.

“I’m gonna start applying the salve,” he warns, “it might sting a little bit. If you need me to stop, you know what to do.”

He waits for one more nod before he carefully takes a bit of the salve on the end of his finger and begins to smooth it over the scales. A hiss comes from behind him and he hushes it on instinct, liberally reapplying the salve to his finger to ensure the rough material of the gloves won’t snag on anything tender.

“You’re doing great,” he keeps murmuring, “you’re doing really well. Shh, shh, it’s okay, bud. You’re okay.”

He’s not gonna examine what’s happening to the scales too closely, just enough to see that the salve is working. Still, he can’t help but catch sight of the skin knitting itself back together in the low light and resolves that no, he’s not gonna think about that right now. He has work to do.

After the initial sting and shock of it, the worst of Janus’s instincts seem to settle. The tail turns pliant under Virgil’s hands, the hissing subsiding to an infrequent hum. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Janus peering at him curiously The yathrylx has softened its burning sear to a gentle warmth, humming just above his skin. The little alcove fills with the sound of crackling firelight and rasping cloth as he works, the metallic tang of blood smell fading into the vaguely herbal scent of the salve.

When he’s done all he can with the tail, he sits back and glances at the mortar. There’s still a decent amount left, but with how sharp the smell of blood still is and how much Janus is still protecting his abdomen, the pessimist in him is starting to get louder.

“Janus,” he calls quietly to get his attention, “where else are you hurt?”

In an instant, some of the walls start to rise again. He curls in on himself a little more. Virgil’s eyes follow the movement to see the very edge of a massive wound.

His breath leaves him in a rush.

This is gonna suck really badly, isn’t it?

After another steadying breath, and convincing himself that this is Janus, this isn’t just a random feral creature, Virgil clears his throat.

”It’s on your stomach, isn’t it?” A pause. “The longer we leave it, the more it’s going to hurt and the higher the chance it’ll get infected.”

But this isn’t reasoning with a magic user right now, this is comforting a scared and hurt animal. Which means that, unfortunately, Virgil’s gut was right about how this is going to go.

“Hey,” he calls again, reaching out to place a comforting hand on Janus’s arm, “I need to see, okay? Can you show me?”

Janus whines again, the sound ringing against the unyielding stone. His eyes keep darting over Virgil’s expression, searching for any sort of hesitation, and find none. A soft hiss and slowly he begins to relax.

Only years of being confronted with terrible injuries keeps Virgil’s expression stoic as he unveils a gaping wound across the length of his torso. It jumps with the short, shallow breaths, and he hopes to fuck this salve is as good at the others say it is.

“Thank you,” he murmurs, eyes on the wound, “now I need you to stay still. Can you try and do that for me?”

He gets a nod, but as soon as he gets close, Janus curls right back up again. It takes an age for him to relax again. Shit.

“Do you think you can stay still?” When Janus slowly shakes his head, he lets out a low hum. “Can I help and hold you?”

His survival instincts are screaming at him that this is a bad idea, but he still smiles when Janus nods.

“Okay. You know how to make me stop,” he reminds, “and I promise I’ll be quick.”

Still, it’s one thing to think about putting his knee on a naga’s uninjured hip to hold back the tail, his other arm braced across the chest to keep the head and arms away, and another thing to actually fucking do it.

As soon as Janus feels the weight of the pin, gentle though it may be, he hisses violently and tries to thrash. He can’t get enough leverage with his tail, not how it is right now, but he can dig razor-sharp nails into the thick hide covering Virgil’s arm.

“Hey, hey, shh, shh, shh,” Virgil soothes, moving so Janus can look at his face, “It’s just me, it’s just me, okay? I’m not gonna hurt you, it’s okay. Shh, shh, you’re okay, bud.”

Janus’s expression is still crazed, still more than half feral as he bares his teeth at him. He just waits, pressure firm enough to hold him down, until slowly, slowly some of the mania recedes and he can see Janus under all of it again.

”I know you’re scared,” he says gently, “I know it hurts. I’ll work as fast as I can, but you have to let me see it, okay?”

There’s not enough of Janus in the naga’s eyes and he bites back a curse.

”Hey.” The eyes flick to him. “I need you to do something for me, okay?”

The naga chitters.

“In my pocket, right over my chest, there’s something tucked in there. Can you take it out for me?”

A curious chitter, and the hands slowly disentangle themselves from his armor and reach for VIrgil’s chest. He swallows the instinctive panic as the nails graze just above his heart, but the yathrylx comes free with a few gentle tugs and he can see the muscles go slack at the warmth of it.

“There,” he mumbles half to himself as the naga curls around it protectively, “I need you to focus on holding that for me, okay?”

A soft hiss, more in absentminded acknowledgment than anything else, but the worst of the feral fear has settled.

Virgil takes it.

Slowly, with the utmost care, he reaches for the salve and starts to apply it to the edges of the wound. He keeps glancing up to make sure the naga isn’t going to freak out, starting at the very edges where the pain will probably be lessened by the dry warmth of his hand, letting the skin close the slightest bit before working his way to the center.

It’s painstaking work, and his muscles are protesting before too long, but he keeps at it.

Until he accidentally scoops up too much and a glob of it drops directly into the center of the wound.

In a flash, the naga’s teeth are embedded in his arm.

The beast thrashes, throwing him from side to side. His arm groans in protest and he feels his shoulder separate from its socket as pain whites out his vision—

Deep breath in, deep breath out. Focus on the scent of the salve. The teeth haven’t penetrated his leather armor. He hasn’t heard the three strikes of the wall. Janus is scared and hurting, not trying to kill him.

He takes one more breath, before opening his eyes and looking over. He can see the firelight glinting off the teeth in his armor, but the expression on Janus’s face isn’t that of half-blind panic. No, it’s almost like…almost like he’s trying to hold onto him, as much as he’s clutching the yahtrylx to his chest.

“I’m sorry,” he mutters, voice a bit gruffer from the exertion, “I’m almost done. I know it hurts.”

Janus’s jaw doesn’t fully unclench, but it eases its grip slightly and he can see his throat work with the force of the panting breaths. He waits a few more seconds, just for Janus’s eyes to flick back to his, before he starts in again on the wound.

Slowly, over the course of who knows how long, the wound closes from a yawning gash to a thin red scratch. Blood still covers the sweat-soaked skin of Janus’s bare torso, but it looks to be drying now, no longer the wet mass of a deadly injury. Virgil smears one more layer of the salve over it, just to make sure it’s really closed, before he carefully sets the mortar aside and looks back up at Janus.

“I’m all done,” he says softly, “you did great. I’m really proud of you.”

The naga chitters, still clutching the yahtrylx and his arm in equal measure.

“I’m gonna let you go now, okay? Can you let go of my arm?”

His nose wrinkles and he whines. It should be illegal for a half-feral naga to be adorable, that should be a rule.

“I won’t leave, but I don’t want to keep pinning you like this. Come on,” he coaxes when Janus whines again, “I’m right here, okay?”

Taking his leg off of his hip, he quickly wipes the remaining salve on the wound, unbuckles his glove and yanks it off with his teeth. He rests his bare hand on Janus’s flank, stroking gently with his thumb. Something flickers behind the slitted pupils and the teeth move slightly away from him.

“That’s it, see? I’m right here, bud. You’re okay.” A corner of his mouth tugs up. “I don’t think my glove tastes very good, does it?”

Janus’s nose wrinkles again and he pries his teeth from Virgil’s arm, leaning back against the cave wall. Virgil checks it over—not so much as one hole, he’ll have to give his compliments to the young lass who made them—and settles properly on the floor. As Janus takes a deep breath, his scales shimmer. Another. Another. With each breath, the magic looks more and more defined.

After the tenth or so breath, his shoulders slump and the wicked curves of his nails retreat into something more familiar.

“Hey, bud,” Virgil says as the naga starts to look more and more like Janus, “you doing okay?”

“Better than I was before.” His voice is slightly ruined, probably from the shifting vocal cords. “I suppose I have to thank for that.”

“I’m glad you’re okay.”

Janus hums, twisting a little bit. The tail hasn’t faded yet—that’ll probably take way longer. His eyes flick over Virgil’s form. “Did I hurt you?”

He shakes his head. “Not a scratch.”

Janus isn’t quite quick enough to disguise the relief in his expression, but he appreciates the effort. “Should I be jealous?”

“Of?”

“Of whomever taught you how to pin a naga that effectively?”

Virgil chuckles. “I’ve got more than my fair share of scars from that learning curve, believe me.”

“Don’t be coy,” Janus murmurs, but it’s still a far cry from his normal demeanor. Virgil raises an eyebrow.

“You’re still recovering. Don’t get any big ideas over there.”

“Spoilsport.” But he settles anyway, toying with the yathrylx. His expression grows pensive as he rubs his fingers over its smooth surface. “How did you know?”

“Hm?”

He holds it up. “How did you know it was mine?”

Virgil blinks. “I didn’t.”

Janus’s brow furrows. “What do you mean, you didn’t?”

“I didn’t know it was yours. But you needed something to focus on that wasn’t ripping me to pieces—“ he winces and Virgil holds him a little more securely— “and I figured it would work.”

Janus is quiet for a long moment, staring at Virgil, before he huffs and looks away. “Well. Now you know.”

Ah. Logan’s words before this whole fucking mess started make a little more sense now.

“It’s none of my business,” he says gently, “you don’t have to tell me anything.”

“Logan gave it to you as a token of promised payment, I know what the price is.”

“Not this,” Virgil says firmly, “I don’t make a habit of dealing in secrets or knowledge. You can keep them.”

Janus stares at him hard for a moment, before he looks back down at the orb. It glistens in the firelight. “My patron is fae.”

Virgil nods.

“As part of my bargain with it, it took my tongue.” At Virgil’s sharp inhale, he elaborates. “Not literally, but it made it so that I have less control over the words as they leave my mouth.”

“As in, your patron can talk for you?”

“More like the filter between my brain and my mouth is overseen by someone else.” He shifts, eyes staring at the wounds for a moment. “Sometimes they think it’d be funny if I said something…less than ideal.”

Oh.

Oh.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, “I’m so sorry.”

“Most of the time it’s alright. And it’s not like I don’t know how to handle myself,” he says, drawing himself up in an imitation of his normal poise.

“And you’ve got the others.”

Janus scoffs, but something worries at the light behind his eyes.

“They’re here for you,” Virgil continues softly, “they care for you a great deal.”

“I know they do.” His lip quivers for a moment. “And sometimes I’m scared I’ll say something that will drive them away forever.”

Virgil winces at the way he almost spat the words out. “Like that?”

Janus’s sharp nod is all he needs to confirm that he really didn’t want to say that.

“Do they know about it?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’m sure they understand. Hell, they probably understand more than me because they’re magic users too.” The hand on his side gives him another soothing rub. “It’ll be okay, bud. You’ll be okay.”

Janus looks at him, chewing on his lip. His mouth opens and in a flash, he claps his hand over his mouth and curls up with a whine.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey, hey,” Virgil soothes, reaching up to cup his cheek, “shh, shh, it’s okay, it’s okay, shh, shh, shh…”

Get your hands off his words, he thinks sternly, they’re not fucking yours.

But he’s not going to make that stupid decision on top of whatever else he’s done today, so he just holds Janus gently until he’s done wrestling with the magic controlling his tongue. The hand covering his mouth moves to grip at Virgil’s shoulder, not a threat, just a hold. He dips closer under it, almost sheltering him.

“You can do this,” he murmurs, “you’ve got this.”

Janus screws his eyes shut and forcefully swallows. He stays still for another long moment before he sighs and opens his eyes. “Thank you.”

Virgil nods. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

“That won’t be all your payment, we’ll arrange something else.”

Strangely enough, that’s not Virgil’s priority right now. Instead, he shifts his grip to support the back of Janus’s head. “The others will be worried. Can they come in?”

“Oh, I suppose.”

You’re not fooling anyone, he thinks but doesn’t say, before he raising his voice and calls out.

“You can come back!”

Scrabbling sounds and quick footsteps and Remus appears on all fours, racing around the corner and nearly running into them.

“Whoa, easy!” Virgil shifts and holds out an arm to block him. “He’s still hurt, be careful.”

“Snakey,” Remus whimpers, worming his way between them to—carefully!—hug Janus, “you’re okay!”

“Yeah, I’m okay, little Kraken.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Patton breathes, falling to his knees beside him, “I thought—I thought—“

“That doesn’t matter now,” Logan says as he and Roman come join them too, “what’s important is that you’re stable, you’re alright, and now we can focus on making you better.”

Roman doesn’t say a word, just leans down and presses his forehead to Janus’s.

The creeping sense of not-belonging starts to raise Virgil’s shoulders and he leans back, trying to disentangle himself from the five of them as painlessly as possible. The moment his hand leaves Janus’s head, however, he reaches out and grabs his hand.

“Where are you going?”

“I—uh, well I figured that you—that this might be something that you guys wanted to do by yourselves.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Remus huffs, all but nuzzling Virgil’s side, “stay. Janny wants you to stay.”

“I don’t—“

“He’s not wrong,” Janus mumbles, squeezing the hand in his, “you…you can stay.”

Patton chuckles. “That’s Janus for ‘if you leave, I’ll cry.’”

“It is not!”

“Yes, it is.”

“I’ll stay,” Virgil says quickly, before this can devolve anymore, “I’ll stay.”

If you’d told him that he’d get to the point where he’s practically snuggling with a naga that’s actually one of a group of incredibly powerful magic users, surrounded by the other four of said powerful magic users, all of which are refusing to let him leave because they’re fond of him, he’d have asked if you were cursed.

And yet, here he is, being talked into letting Janus cuddle him.

He holds out. Just barely.

Listen, naga tails are strong and he’s the only one without magical invulnerability, he’s trying to keep his ribs intact, thank you very much.

General Taglist: @frxgprince@potereregina@gattonero17@iamhereforthegayshit@thefingergunsgirl@awkwardandanxiousfander@creative-lampd-liberties@djpurple3@winterswrandomness@sanders-sides-uncorrect-quotes@iminyourfandom@bullet-tothefeels@full-of-roman-angst-trash  @ask-elsalvador @ramdomthingsfrommymind@demoniccheese83@pattonsandershugs @el-does-photography @princeanxious@firefinch-ember@fandomssaremysoul@im-an-anxious-wreck@crazy-multifandomfangirl @punk-academian-witch@enby-ralsei@unicornssunflowersandstuff@wildhorsewolf @thetruthaboutthesun @stubbornness-and-spite @princedarkandstormv  @your-local-fookin-deadmeme @angels-and-dreams@averykedavra @a-ghostlight-for-roman @treasurechestininterweb @cricketanne @queerly-fluid-fan @compactdiscdraws@cecil-but-gayer@i-am-overly-complicated@annytheseal@alias290@tranquil-space-ninja @arxticandy @mychemically-imbalanced-romance@whyiask@crows-ace @emilythezeldafan@frida0043 @ieatspinalcords @snowyfires@cyanide-violence@oonagh2@xxpanic-at-the-everywherexx@rabbitsartcorner @percy-07734@triflingassailantofmyemotions @virgil-sanders-the-gay-emo@cerulean-watermelon@puffed-up-bees@meltheromanstan@joyrose-fandomer@insanitori@mavenmush@justablah65@10paradox10@uhhh-hi-there-i-am-nervous@cutebisexualmess@bella-bugatti-frogetti-baguetti@ultrageekygirl

[thequietesthing]

Ok but now see you don’t understand. The 100 season 2 episode 9 is one of the most well written episodes in the entire season in my opinion for both the progression of the story and also for the construction of Clarke as a character and everything that she will do later. 

The episode begins with the aftermath of her killing Finn and the beginning of the alliance with the grounders. 

In this episode the relationships Clarke/Bellamy and Lexa/Gustus shine through and are the focal points of that storyline: two powerful women in charge, and the men that love them (in one way or another) want to protect them no matter what.

Bellamy wants to go inside M.Weather but Clarke says it’s too dangerous and she “can’t loose him as well” right after losing Finn. (For my bellarke girlies, the look on Bellamy’s face when she says that is imprinted in my mind forever because he was soo not expecting that lol)

They go to Ton DC and the whole debacle with the poison happens. Bellamy is the first one that jumps in front of Clarke to protect her and snatches the potential poison from her hands. After we find out that it was Gustus that poisoned the cups to protect his commander.

Lexa doesn’t care the reasons behind it, but only the action, because “love is weakness” so she kills him.

When Octavia, Lincoln and Bellamy are in front of the fire and L asks to Bellamy how did he know it was Gustus, B says because he would “have done everything to protect her. To keep her safe.” AND AS I’M SURE EVEN THE WALLS HAVE UNDERSTOOD THAT HE WAS ALSO TALKING ABOUT HIMSELF AND CLARKE because as of right now Bellamy has done exactly that: do everything to protect Clarke because he trusts her, sees her as a good leader and generally cares about her. Also very relevant the immediate response that Octavia gives to this statement “look at the thanks he got” which is kinda of foreshadowing of what is about to happen.

Because Clarke, my dear sweet freshly traumatised Clarke, sees Lexa so powerful and capable that she decided to imitate her and adopts her mentality, so she goes to Bellamy and in the coldest voice we have ever heard from her (towards him) she says that he was right and that they need an inside man in MW. Now here is where cinematography comes in to help with the story, because first of all we see the complete and utter surprise on Bellamy’s face at this sudden change of heart that he doesn’t understand because less then 12 hours she told him that he couldn’t loose him (his Heart shows) then his practical side takes over and he regards her also with understanding. BUT THEN then the camera moves to Octavia and Raven. Remember Lincoln is also there but we don’t see him, we only see those two. Why? Because they know. They know the relationship between these two, they’ve been there since the dropship days, they know this is not how things are done. You can literally feel the awkwardness in the air, as Octavia stares between the two like what the hell is going on. Then Clarke leaves and Bell gets ready for his mission.

Clarke, who has also been plagued by visions of Finn, says to his ghost that love is weakness (after all she just implemented the principle with one of the boys she cares about, she’s only fair to say the same to the other in a more clear matter since he’s dead) and the ghost vanishes it.

By the end we see her reject to keep Finn ashes that abby offers, officially implementing this new motto.

DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN???????? THE GENIUS, THE WRITING, THE EXPRESSIONS, THE PARALLELS, THE ACTORS. 

THIS IS WHEN THE 100 WAS A PROPER TV SHOW AND BY GOD DO I MISS IT.

(yes I'm doing a rewatch, yes is very late at night, please keep your judgement of my insanity to yourself)

Ok I’m done I’m going to sleep now.

[destiny-in-the-universe]

what have i done lol-

I somehow managed to get back into The Promised Neverland and decided ‘hey, wouldn’t it be kind of silly if there was a crossover with my current interests’ and i realize this might make very little sense but this is created from self indulgent bullshit

I’m only using RC9GN for now but this will likely stay in wip mode for now! (this is not the angst idea i had in mind for finja and nomi- that’s something different)

Though to explain my thoughts for this nonsensical idea-

🏠 For the time being, Marci is the caretaker of the children- she is always good to them until the very end; as much as it pains her- she knows what needs to be done and makes sure the kids never know what happens on the other side of that gate

🏠 The Sorcerer is an ancient demon. He becomes the primary foe that our main characters will have to face after escaping from the orphanage

🏠 McFist and Viceroy work for Lambda. Viceroy administers the tests, creating certain technology which keeps the test subjects complacent while McFist ‘runs’ the facility under the Sorcerer’s occasional supervision

🏠 “Finja” is this crossover’s William Minerva. He was a member of a resistance though no one knows what happened to him- he seemingly disappeared one day, and his title back then - the Ninja - faded into the wind… (there were others like him, but they had barely any luck)

🏠 Skip to present times when Marci’s the current caretaker- we’re introduced to Randy Cunningham and his best Howard Weinerman, they’re nearing twelve but still have a bit before they’re adopted. Randy longs and hopes for a happy family, and who knows maybe they’ll want Howard too

🏠 Norrisville High are of course, the orphans. Randy is an adventurous boy- much more than his friend Howard. He spends his time in the forest; things are happy and they couldn’t be better- and then it’s announced someone’s been adopted

🏠 He feels happy for them, but he also can’t shake a feeling- Randy decides to bring the adopted child their left behind stuffed toy, say his final farewell

🏠 What he sees takes him by surprise (he feels sick to the stomach). Randy is terrified out of his mind as he remains rooted there, unable to will himself to move but there wasn’t any way to forget that thing which ate his sibling - even if they weren’t really related - and he knew he had to do something. He would escape with his family

🏠 Randy immediately goes to tell Howard. Howard is, of course, horrified by this but he doesn’t want to get involved- though after a bit of convincing from Randy, he reluctantly decides to help out (although he’s made to promise not to tell anyone- not yet-)

🏠 I feel at some point Julian, Theresa, and Debbie eventually are clued in on what happened- Randy is desperate to get everyone out, and eventually he learns of “Finja”. He decides he needs to take on the mantle, become the next ninja

🏠 I don’t know who would be sent to Lambda, if that arc happens at all

🏠 (it would be a little funny and mean of me if it was Randy though- in a bad ending version)

🏠 I’m not entirely sure what happens after this, but I do know that eventually we have a scene parallel to the escape scene- Randy and the rest of his allies had trained up to this point, clueing in everyone else (not completely, as he doesn’t want to fully scare them)

🏠 if this does get written- it might not happen anytime soon! I still have a one-shot to work on and a potential multi-chaptered work (unless it’s just a really long one-shot), on top of other projects but I simply couldn’t leave this idea alone for some reason. It doesn’t help I was talking about the anime last night with a friend of mine heh

With that, I’ll be on my way- (sort of) but I hope you enjoy this! This is me and my weird self indulgent ideas-

I have no idea what this alternate universe would even be called, hence why I’m once again leaving it to vote

[beanieable]

Hi! I just had this lil questions I'd like to ask lol hehe if you don't mind:33

1. I totally love your ships! And I already have read your fanfics of them and they're so good! I was wondering if like, you also ship some of the turtles with other characters (not tcest lol)

like would be there an Mona Lisa too like for rottmnt Raph? Do you also ship yuuichi usagi and rottmnt Leo? (Most shipped lol) And apparently there's also an Mikey and miles morales from the spiderverse (which was interesting lol, and I kinda love this crossover ships so much!) and for rottmnt donnie, not really sure yet hehe

2. Would you also make an fanfic about your jonatello human au? (The hockey player x ice skater thing I forgot lol hehe) Just kinda curious about it:33

3. If you have any tips on how to update your fanfics without being on hiatus? (Me currently cause I'm so busy, I haven't done an schedule to post and writer's block sadly)

That's all! Sorry if it's a lot, I always wanted to ask questions to you lol hehe. To be honest, by reading your other TMNT fanfics, kinda inspired me to continue my Mm! Fanfic, which is jonatello. And I have some more draft ideas to be made as an fanfic but not yet for now:33

(last thing, I ABSOLUTELY ADORE YOUR ARTS!! and I would like to try out your other fanfics that is also, another fandom:33)

-thedailyeverlucian

I rarely get asks I love answering them tho! And first off, thank you 😊 feel free to ask me anything you’d like I’m always happy to answer.

1. So I have a few ships. First the most obvious ones, 2012 Jonatello, Ramona and Shinirai. Then for MM I have Leopril (?) and Jonatello with my version of Casey. In 2003 it’s Capril and Karai x Chaplin . In Rise it’s Baronjitsu and Sunpril (?). And if it counts since they’re kinda OCs - Rise Saki and Tang Shen as well as Karai and Cha Lin (Rise Chaplin).

As for Leo and Usagi. I hate it, okay hate is a strong word but I heavily dislike it. I can get behind it and don’t mind it in 2003 but I have to admit the fans ruined the ship for in in Rise. I’ve seen people get mean comments because they shipped Leo with an OC or headcanoned him as something that isn’t gay. It’s started as not being my cup of tea to I really dislike it.

Miles and Mikey are a fun one. Not something I go out to to find but a nice surprise when I stumble upon it.

And for Raph. Well he gets an OC. It’s Tao (fic where they get together). I originally shipped Tao with 2012 Leo but I wanted to take then out of the context of the crossover and then it developed into them getting with Raph. Which in turn resulted in me creating more versions of Tao for different iterations. Each one is also shipped with a different turtle as of right now. I’ll reveal more about them when I get the references done. 🥰

And since you specifically asked about Rise Donnie, I don’t have anything right now but there are ideas for an OC. 🤫

2. Yes! If all goes well I’ll publish it in June this year for pride month. 🏳️‍🌈☺️

3. I try to write one chapter a week when I have a multichapter fic in the works and update weekly. I also like being 2 - 3 chapters ahead of schedule to take the pressures off my shoulders for when I can’t write for whatever reason. Also planning everything or most of it out before hand helps me too.

This is what works for me.

But I can also recommend just rambling your ideas and posting them. Maybe seeing people like the ideas you have gets you motivated.

Regardless, the most important part is that you enjoy what you’re writing and that your having fun writing. 🥰

[bohnsky]

You guys. I might just be the happiest person alive right now. When I started getting into F1 a few months I decided for whatever reason (the reason being Charles Leclerc) to support Ferrari. I quickly learned that being a Ferrari fan came with lots of downs and very few highs, but today I learned that the highs can be so high that you want to die on the spot because there is no way life could get any better.

You can guess how I feel about Carlos winning today. In Monza I got a Chestappen podium, now I got a Carlando podium. What’s next? Strollonso? Sewis? (thinking about it, Seb’s going to be in Suzuka, maybe we’ll actually get Sewis content, not a podium tho)

Also I didn’t expect to see Eric Nam at F1. Never in my life would I have expected to watch Eric Nam shake Carlos Sainz’ hand. Like wtf?

And that last grill the grid episode killed me. As someone who is interested in geography I can say that some of their answeres were catastrophic. It was hard to watch at some points. (Like wtf do you mean you have to find Europe first?)

So here are my favorite drivers four months and a week into liking f1. This time I decided to do a top five because my top three haven’t changed in ages:

1. Alex Albon

I love him, his voice, his face, his goofy laugh, his personality, (his girlfriend ahem), his driving, his everything. Please marry me. The marketing short film with the Albon pets, I mean come on. Alex and cats is everything I need in my life. And the other drivers with his shoes, that’s so cute.

The weekend was not optimal for Williams, but tbh I didn’t really pay much attention to them because I was a little distracted by Ferrari and Red Bull.

2. Sergio Perez

Okay hear me out. I love Checo and I feel bad for what I’m about to say but I was so happy that Red Bull had a bad weekend. I like Max and I love Checo but it felt so good to see someone else win for a change. Although I would’ve loved to see Checo in front, because I always do.

3. Charles Leclerc

My little Ferrari heart was so happy this weekend. And I think that Charles should have pitted for mediums in the end there and maybe we would’ve gotten both Ferraris on the podium. Charles did some incredible defending and keeping the Mercs behind him to help Carlos. Afterwards he seemed a little bummed out, but happy enough for the team and Carlos.

Also he’s just the cutest on grill the grid, always looks so confused. And his laugh, I can’t with him.

4. Lewis Hamilton

This is probably no surprise to anyone, because I keep debating if I should put him or Charles on third and Charles always wins. Lewis is great and he deserves the podium. Although I do think that George should have gotten it.

Also I just found out that he has an Extreme X team. With Christina Gutierrez. How cool is that please? (Not as cool as Carlos Sr. with Laia Sanz my love my one and only, but still)

5. Carlos Sainz

So this is where it gets intresting, because I had Lando and Lance on my list for fifth as well, but lately I have become somewhat obsessed with Carlos. I’ve always liked him, but now I love him. He has become one of my favorite drivers (otherwise he wouldn’t be fifth lol). He is funny, smart, seems like a very nice guy and doesn’t take himself too seriously and I love that. I guess you can imagine how I went feral several times this weekend. The fact that he kept Lando close enough so he’d be in his DRS zone. I mean sure it was strategy, but still. I like to believe that he did it solely to help his Lando.

Honerable mentions:

Lando. Of course, what a great race and I can’t with all of this Carlando content. They deserve the world. But damn just let Lando stay home when you do geography with grill the grid. It hurts us all, not only him.

Lance. I really don’t know what it is about him. He took my heart. Every time I see him, I just want to squeeze him. I was super happy about all the Lance content we got from grill the grid, but then quail happened. I just hope he is okay and recovers quickly. That crash was insane, but luckily security got better over time.

Fernando. First it was all fun and games with Strollonso and all, but I’ve somehow started to actually get attached. He makes me happy, or in this case sad, because the race sucked for him. Not a good weekend for AM. Also Fernando with Alex' shoes. Loved it.

Max. I feel bad for him. I am happy that the Red Bull reign is over (for now) but he deserves a good car, because he’s just such a good driver. Also he really impressed me in grill the grid.

George. I shouldn’t be mad at him for being good, but I am. But at the same time I’m happy for him. He’s a great driver and damn what a race today, he really should have stood on that podium. But he ruined a Ferrari front row by being good so I am allowed to be mad.

Esteban. First of all, happy birthday my man. The race sucked again, but at least this time there was some coverage of him and we didn’t have to assume that he got abducted by aliens. And again, I love his accent way too much.

Liam. I had the time of my life watching his quail. I might have celebrated a little too much when he kicked Max out, but oh well. And he got his first points, which is great for him. I hope he gets a permanent seat soon.

Daniel. I had to include him just so I can mention Taylor Swift. My man singing Our Song was the best thing ever.

[futurequibblerjournalist]

I really really hope it's alright if I ask like,,, a 2n1

So 1st of all if Charity is like as obsessed w her friends as you make it sound,, do u think she's ever introduced them to Igor or vice versa?? If so what do you think it was like??

And for pt2 electric boogaloo LOL um I would really like to hear about your Avery :33 I hope thats alright

Aghhhh sorry for so many words and like,,,, anons,,,, you're literally flooded Nd I feel so bad for making more AGHH but I just love your blog

-Weed Anon LOL 🍃

Tw: talk of alcoholism and eating disorders further down.

You can ask all you'd like I promise I'm loving all the questions!! I feel very Debbie Ryan tucking hair behind her ear knowing you like my blog so much vjfnbjgnb

I don't think there's a universe where Charity doesn't introduce Igor to her friends. Perhaps a little sooner than she should sometimes too. I think they all react quite differently too.

Wilhelm would be all “oh my god you’ve got a boyfriend how exciting!” and then seconds later he’s all “is he really good for you though? Such a violent brute, if I were you I’d be worried he’d hurt me! What a horrible thought!” We’ve already established that Wilhelm and Igor do not get along and Igor would hate hate hate to have to be near him.

Aurora would be excited on her behalf but it would be very lowkey. She also doesn’t get the whole congrats on relationships sort of thing but she’d be happy that Charity is happy. I’m not sure how they’d react to each other, honestly I don’t think Aurora would say a whole lot to him but she’d have a little chat with Charity later on.

Severus already knows Igor, they’ve got a weird kind of friendship in a similar way as to how Severus and Charity has a bit of a weird sort of friendship as well. Severus got assigned to be Igor’s little transfer student buddy when he first got to Hogwarts and the two just sort of chill around each other tho Igor does annoy Sev more times than not lmao (I also have thoughts about these two in the context of shipping them soooo if you ever wanna hear about that ask me about crownest lmaooo). I’m not sure he’d care all that much but perhaps he might be in the group of surprised people because like,, look at them lmao

I don’t imagine Bruce to be particularly close with Charity so I don’t see him getting directly introduced though I do see him sharing a dorm room with Edmund and Edmund being the little complaining bitch he is would totally mention it. He’d probably be in disbelief at first and second he’d be a bit jealous because anyone with eyes can see that Charity is gorgeous though I doubt the feeling would last

Edmund is an interesting case. Charity thinks they’re besties but in reality Edmund has a fear for women and he would really just like to avoid Charity. She just doesn’t let that happen. Edmund also does not care for Igor. He thinks he’s stupid and obnoxious and loud and it’s incredibly unfair that Severus now shares a room with him after being assigned as his little Hogwarts buddy because Severus shared a room with Edmund first!!! (My all time favourite Sev ship is Sev and Edmund and with crownest also being a thing sometimes,,, well, let’s just say Edmund sometimes had a lot of reasons to not like Igor). Edmund’s main reaction to being told they’re dating is just “and I should care.. why??” Charity would giggle and say he’s silly and pat his shoulder and Edmund would wiggle off to the Slytherin showers like some worm while considering if he should burn the part of his uniform that she touched.

Look at this super fun sexy segue into the second question. Very mindful very demure.

My Edmund is to put it lightly a little bitch lmao. There’s so much to him. He’s a homophobic homosexual who’s engaged to an equally homophobic lesbian. He’s afraid of women and yet considers himself so much better and purer because he’s abstained from being with one for so long.

He grew up an only child in a Jewish home and he is a complete mummy’s boy. He copied his father in every way possible and he’s the spitting image of the man except for his mother’s light hair and her eating disorder. He dresses like he’s from a time twenty years ago and he speaks like he’s from the 1800s. He calls his fiancee a church bell and probably also a hedge-creeper. He wore round glasses and his hair slicked back like his father’s and his body is riddled with beauty marks. Picture Harold Lloyd with beauty marks and you’ve got him honestly.

He thinks he’s better than everyone else. Like the slippery little snake he is he constantly manages to escape trouble. His father has taught him that you are only as powerful as those you associate with and Edmund sticks to that so much!! This is seen in canon with how he evades getting thrown in Azkaban by claiming he was under the imperius case and getting away with it. Only when Voldemort rises again does he return to him because now power is once again within reach. It’s unknown whether or not Edmund escapes the second war without getting captured but I would not be surprised if he did.

It’s also noted in canon that he had an evil sense of humour seen with how he and Bruce tormented Mary together to the point of Lily bringing it up to Severus. In his adult life he’s cowardly and weak and slightly incompetent though I don’t think these are his only traits. I think those are just the ones that come out when he’s in a situation where he’s under pressure. Interestingly both Sirius and Lily have spoken about him with less disdain than they have for his remaining friends which makes me assume they does not consider him as much of a threat and perhaps more so a bother which honestly I think is so funny.

His favourite subjects in school were Arithmancy and Ancient Runes and he was an obnoxious know it all when it came to both. He’s got the most horrendous unreadable cursive writing that he got from his father and Slughorn curses to himself every time he’s got to correct his homework. He would carry around thick books everywhere he went and the fact that this kid was considered popular in any capacity is wild, but he had an aura of confidence and entitlement that allowed him to get away with much more than he should have been able to.

He was a whiny child, always sticking to his mother’s side rather than playing with other children despite his father having plenty of friends with kids he could have played with. He’d rather drink tea with his mummy or play in the pool with her. He hated getting dirty and still does and would come crying to his mother after getting a paper cut as if someone had chopped off part of his finger. He remained close with his mother for all of her life but their relationship was tainted by her alcoholism as he grew older and realised what was going on. Still, he named his first daughter after her.

And then there’s his relationship with Severus and his homosexuality of course which is,, oof that’s a whole other bag of worms. Maybe we’ll come back to that cause oh boy I’ve done it again this is so long lmao. Maybe once I’ve found a shipname for these two we can come back to them I can’t keep calling them emofaggot and calling it a day lmaoooo

Thank you so much for the asks and the kind words!!

[adrift-in-thyme]

Rank the LU boys 1 to 9 with reasons

Oh gosh okay

*deep breath*

Here we go

Time. This one’s no surprise to anyone I’m sure XD. I loved the Hero of Time before I even got into LU. His tragic tale struck me as so interesting and heart wrenching. Getting into LU pretty much sealed the deal. He’s just such a great character. He’s through so much yet he’s still kind and tries to be the best leader he can be. I mean, this is the guy who stuck around after his death to train his ancestor cause he felt bad about leaving Hyrule without a hero (and also because he regretted being forgotten. HELLO ANGST). Plus, he’s a major gremlin imo. Just a hidden one lol

Warriors. The captain was actually the Link who got me interested in LU. I read @skyward-floored ‘s fic “Up in Arms” and fell in love with him. I’m naturally attracted to snarky, confident characters with a traumatic backstory and secret soft side (Flynn Ryder was my high school crush if that tells you anything XD) so it was kinda a given I’d love this guy lol. I’ll admit my first read through of LU was mainly me fangirling over him and analyzing his every appearance. (Not that that’s changed much).

Legend. He’s tied with Warriors for second tbh. But since I’ve gotta list them all out I’ll just place him in third. I hadn’t played any of Legend’s games when I got into LU but right after getting attached to Warriors, I got attached to him. Largely because to me he’s extremely relatable. He’s also multilayered in the best way. A soft sweetheart beneath all that snark he tries to hide behind.

Sky. I love Sky for pretty much the same reason as Legend. He’s relatable. Very much so XD. And also more complex than I think he often gets credit for. Beneath the calm, sleepy nice guy demeanor he’s got going on is a fierce warrior who’s been to hell and back for the person he loves. And would do it all again. He fought a GOD for goodness sake! He’s freaking awesome!! Also, Skyward Sword is my favorite Loz game so there’s that too. Plus, him and Sun? Chef’s kiss. Couple goals

Twilight. The older sibling thing endears him to me a lot. He carries a large burden and always has. Plus, his love for animals, gentle heart, and the way he brought down Midna’s walls with his kindness just makes me love him. Who can’t like a guy who rambles about Ordon goats and carries kittens like babies??

Wild. He is widely liked so for me that puts him farther down the list just because I kinda get tired of seeing endless content for him lol. But still. I love him very much. I mean, wild child with a traumatic past, memory issues, a mischievous and snarky side no one sees coming and a fierce love for his friends? YES PLEASE. Also he has long hair.

Four. Since I came into the fandom right around the time when that comic was posted I’ve always been a bit hesitant to write him. But he’s grown on me a lot lately. I actually had fun torturing him for whumptober XD He’s got an intriguing personality and I hope to see more of him in future LU updates.

Wind. I love this little dude A LOT. But I’ve never truly been able to get super invested in characters who are canonically much younger than me. Plus he is just SO HARD for me to write. So while I find his personality adorable and his dynamic with the other Links great, I can’t help putting him farther down on the list.

Hyrule. I like him, really I do. But I just can’t get as invested in him and his story as much as the other Links. I’m not sure why tbh