#anyways here's the very first panel for the series!

[milky-rozen]

House of the Sun [spoilers]

***

[daydreamerdrew]

The Avengers (1963) #16

[acid-ixx]

Dear author,

I love your batfam series SO MUCH. I like the way you describe the feelings, how you use the words, how the depression of Y/N was shown, and the thinking of Batfam when they realize that Y/N had been heavily neglectful. Every time I read this series again, I still feel the hurtful of it and it actually makes me cry a lot T.T. And I love that feeling. And the series makes me want to draw, even though I’m not good at drawing.

The first panel, I draw Y/N in my thoughts ( sorry if you feel uncomfortable) and Conner. This one is inspired from a manga called “ Veil”.

The second one, I draw some scenes from chapter 3 (I tried to draw the ways Y/N calmed themselves down, but I couldn’t 😭).

From your series, I’ve thought about ABO au, where Y/N is a beta, they can’t be marked ; so the yanderes ( romantic one) are more yandere, because they know that Y/N never belong to anyone.

Last thing to say, I VERY VERY VERY LOVE your batfam series and this is one of the greatest fics of Batfam I’ve ever read. I also very admire your hardworking and your inspiration about this series. But I hope that you also stay healthy because I saw that you’re very productive ( how you can write so fast but still focus on the details TvT). No words can reveal the love in my heart to your series.

Sorry if I either bother you or my bad grammar ( English not my native language, this is also the first time I do this ). Thank you so much because spending your time reading this piece of mine. I just want to express my feelings and thoughts about your fic. Hope you have a good day!!!<333333

— masterlist !

a/n: the topic of a/b/o is written under this post. anyways, this comic panel is so absolutely brilliant and breathtaking omg... i love all the thoughts u have compiled here and i'm so sorry I wasn't able to reply to this quick enough 😭 but i appreciate this sm !! "even tho im not good at drawing" YET U SENT ME THIS !! i absolutely love everything about this don't say ur not good at drawing bec u are 😡

so like i said, don't be sorry if u draw the reader as female bec i portrayed them as gn so anyone can interpret them as any gender and it doesn't make me uncomfortable at all as long as i'm the one not being misgendered. anyways, veil is actually one of my fave mangas and if u ask me, i could say your relationship with conner is pretty much akin to that of veil's! which means conner is very touchy-feely with you and is uncaring of their status as a wayne and would rather... have you take his last name very soon, if you know what i mean hehe.

the second scene is absolutely heartbreaking even for me, especially the panel where your mom tries to comfort you by telling you it's all alright made my heart ache real badly because that's probably the last time you have experienced; the love of a parent that's soon taken away from you. your mom's last words would be reassurance, one that both comforts and disturbs you as the memory repeats itself over and over in you head like a broken record </3

and the abo au, for me personally (tho i never have written for it) is just going to threaten more angst with your family because not even your pack is willing to take you in and care for you. despite your hopes due to being a beta unlike your family who are comprised of strong alphas and resilient omegas, you are merely average in their eyes probably, average enough to be forgotten and discarded by a pack you had thought would take you in for you must be a misfit just like them.

yet despite the pain you had to endure for feeling unloved as a beta, it would also deepen your potential with conner as your love interest because although you could never be claimed by any past sweethearts, conner would always, and i mean always make a show that he loves you in a deeper, more symbolical way. he may not be able to mark you as your alpha, but a ring and an always protective hold on your waist paired with his scent and pheromones engraved into every piece of your clothing is enough to tell everyone to "fuck off, this one's mine."

and tysm for loving my fanfic 😭 even tho i have written it impulsively, look where it got now !! yes i am very productive but this is a mere product of my attention span and hyperfixations towards the dc storyline and no my health is very bad but trust me it's not from writing, it's more from me just being very ill every single day but im trying to take care of myself <33

[meo-eiru]

What's ur inspo for art? ur art style is so cute... any art advice?? Jajsjdkkaka, I understand if u wanna gatekeep 👁👁

I meant to answer this several days ago but couldn't find it in the sea of asks welp

Anyway as I mentioned before we don't gatekeep art related stuff in this household, artists help other artists.

Honestly it's hard to name an inspo but I do have artists I look up to a lot (this might be a bit long)

Kanisuke, you guys might be familiar with her, she's the artist of the upcoming yandere inside game Yandere Town. I know it's not out yet but I'm actually obsessed with this game and have even translated all the character intros (they are a bit old atp so there might be some mistakes) and actually if you see a Yandere Town related post high chance it's from me. Not only her art but I love her writing style as well.

Hakuri-sensei, their manga Sachi iro no One Room is definitely one of my biggest inspirations. I love the relationship between Sachi and her "captor" and it's the only manga I actually cried my eyes out while reading.

Tayu-sensei, all of their work for Yuugen Romantica (one of my fav drama cd series) are breathtaking and they've also developed even more since then, their current works are just so stunning and I love studying the way they draw hair

Shirahama-sensei, she👏is👏a👏queen👏 honestly I don't have much to say, go read Witch Hat Atelier it's an artistic masterpiece and a giant love letter to art itself

Furumi-sensei, another queen! She's the artist of my favorite Fate Grand Order character Ashiya Douman. I've even bough her art books before, honestly she is just so talented. I don't know what she was drinking when she came up with Douman but I need some of it

Usagi Routo-sense, another fgo artist AND JUST LOOK AT HOW INCREDIBLE THEY ARE AT USING COLORS LIKE??? HOW??? Their art is like cocain for my eyes I could look at them for hours

AU, one more fgo artist and oh my god guys this person right here is one of my biggest inspirations just look at their drawings. I'm not kidding I actually spent hours just inspecting how they shade outfits. I'd sacrifice my soul just to get a chance to watch them draw live

☝︎ FAN, an Ashiya Douman fanartist and god guys the comics they draw!!! They are the cause of some of my current biggest fetishes ngl

Oyo-sensei, an fgo artist and is also the main artist of 18trip. They have such a clean art style that's very pleasing to the eye. I especially love the reference sheets they draw.

Shibatora-sensei, she is the artist of my FAVORITE drama cd series Shinai naru Thanatos and my overall favorite yandere character from any fiction Seo Eito. Honestly if you know me irl probably the first thing you'd mention about me would be my chronic Shinai naru Thanatos addiction because based on what everyone says I start speaking about it within 2 weeks of meeting someone new.

ORKA, the artist of A Stepmother's Marchen. Anyone who knows that manhwa probably knows why she's on this list, her art has so much soul and passion in it, literally every single panel looks like a painting and it makes me want to cry just looking at it

82 Pigeon, an incredible incredible Korean artist, I think they also give art lessons? I really tried to get them but couldn't figure out how. They also have a youtube channel and I learn a lot just by watching their speedpaints

[tare-anime]

SxF Mission 102

(Beware spoilers)

The dreaded panel is finally here....

My reaction.....

Same.... Becky.... Same 😔😔🤝🤝🤝

We know it is inevitable, and yet, it doesn't hurt less.

But I didn't cry at that panel..... instead I cried at this panel:

The moment when Martha finally able to achieve her dream. With the help of none other than Mrs. Lucia Henderson herself. Showing that Mrs. Lucia was indeed a wonderful person.

I-......

And I assume they remained as friends. And both women respect each other, so that they can respect Henry. Their friendship was so strong until Martha still visits her grave every year for the past 15 years to give respect.

Gosh. Women friendship is amazing.

(I can't wait to see Fiona's character development to go somewhere near here.... tbh)

Anyway, I was right. Martha is indeed teaching Becky some wisdom of how to view the world.

Just like Twilight monologue back then during chapter 50.

Human always fears the unknown, but this unknown should also be the motivation for one to search the truth, first by accepting that one might not know everything.

So deep.

Becky and her family are so lucky to have Martha as her butler.

This woman who not only nearly died during the first war, but has the gut to participate on the second war too!! And still standing up until today.

Gosh. Highest respect to her!

And of course, Martha has to emphasize the theme of this series, huh?

*enter Bond's narrator voice here*

"Every one has a secret they don't want to share..."

Anyway, that's the end of this wonderful arc.

We got a more clear world building, especially the past war:

There has been 2 wars.

Both Twilight and Yor has been involved at the second war.

Donovan's idea of war is very concerning.

The next chapter will drop in 4 weeks, I guess Endo is preparing for vol 14 releases.

Endo, please make Henry and Martha as the cover, please!!!

Also, on a positive note, I can still hold unto my M4 ship! Martha and Matthew might meet each other during the second war 😏😏😏

[sunnnfish]

Okay OKAY I wasn’t gonna propagandize the summer hikaru died but ive been thinking a little too much about it. SORRY I’ve been basically recommending a hundred different series. If you think my posts are all over the place you should see my brain. Anyways.

The THING about the summer hikaru died. The many things about it. That are getting to me. Number one the overwhelming feeling of SUMMER. Almost every page has the sound effects of cicadas or rain and sweat on everyone’s bodies. It’s so immersive, to me at least. It’s like it never lets you forget. A constant droning it feels like everyone has to speak a little louder to be heard. Something oppressive lives here, and it’s not just the eldritch horrors.

Number TWO. Grief. But in like that horror way. Mourning somebody no one else knows is gone. I’m just gonna say it bc it’s revealed in like the first 5 pages it’s body replacement. Some.. thing replaces the main characters best friend and it’s like. The twisting feeling in your gut looking at something that you should know but knowing it’s not the same anymore. It’s someone else. Look at this page I can’t stop thinking about it

[ID: A panel from Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu. Yoshiki sits with his head on his desk, drawn so his face and body are streaking down the page in smears of black. Around him float black text bubbles with scratchy text saying "To move on." Then he lifts his head with a gasp when someone exclaims, "Finally! There you are!" End ID]

That’s fucking GRIEF a sinking terrible grief. That nobody in their right mind could understand. But it’s also like. Christ it’s the mitsuba sousuke tbhk dilemma it’s that this new thing is it’s own person too. They aren’t the same but it’s damn near impossible to separate them because they look the same and act the same and desperately want to be the same. They want to be alive.

THREE. Cannot forget the queerness. The queer allegories and actual queerness are intense. Grotesqueness and horror at being different. Feeling like you know something is bad but you can’t help but enjoy it. Gut wrenching desire mixed in with every complicated feeling about losing your best friend while something pilots his body almost perfectly. It’s very fucked up. ALSO. Fear at being found out. Self hatred for being grotesque and different and not what everyone wants. Not what he wants.

Anyways uuuhhhh.yeah the summer hikaru died is fascinating to me. I love the feeling of it. Gives me chills. It’s cool 👍🏻 ALSO THE ART IS SO. GOOD. Haunting. I love it.

[azulcrescent]

Hi! I remember seeing the first panel of IWTBACAG ages ago when it was just a one-off and it really hit me because that was almost my exact experience!

My older sister always wanted a little sister and would dress me up any chance she got (which I loved doing.) It wasn’t until many years later I realised who I was and embraced becoming the little sister - I just wish I’d done it sooner!

Anyway, imagine my surprise to find out that you’d created a whole series about Cheryl’s journey - it’s so sweet and honest, I absolutely love it! Thank you for your comic, it really speaks to me and I hope many others find the same inspiration it gives me.

Here’s a pic of me from many, many years ago, looking very pleased to wearing a dress :3

Ahaha. I guess you really did live the cute anime girl experience then! Thank you for sharing! ^^

[kalinara]

So one thing I really love about the Original Five in the future issues is how so many artists have such wildly different takes on Scott Summers's design, but each one works incredibly well for their respective contexts.

Take this one, from All-New X-Men #1:

This is the first look at Baby Scott that we get. Immonen's Scott here looks a lot like the Scott we see in the original issue that this is referencing:

I included the third panel because the resemblance is the most striking there. All cheekbones and suit that's just a little too big. A very young man trying to fill a big role and doing it about as well as anyone can.

I'm going to put the rest of these behind the cut, because this is a very image heavy post.

Anyway, as soon as we get to the past, the depiction of Scott changes sharply.

Six issues and one day later (All-New X-Men #007), Scott looks profoundly different:

He looks younger, softer, and that furrow in his brow is not going to be going away any time soon. Understandable. This poor kid has been through the wringer and life is not done with him yet.

Dauterman's Cyclops in...Cyclops #2 is pretty consistent with this portrayal:

He looks young, adolescent. A bit softer in the face. Perpetual furrow is still there. Well, not actually in this particular shot, but trust me, there's lots of furrowing in this series.

See? (Cyclops #03) Corsair can really bring out the furrow in a kid.

Actually, I hate to say it, but Corsair actually seems to have done this kid some good. The Cyclops that we see in the SECOND run of All-New X-Men actually seems almost confident again.

Bagley's Scott still got his issues, but aside from the scrawniness, he looks damn near adult. But also mostly content. This road trip that the team is on, away from the adults and the pressure, seems to be good for him.

Even injured, he seems to be doing pretty well (from All-New X-Men #12):

This is notable to me, because this issue came out in August 2016. Fast forward to late 2016 (specifically Champions #3), and we get:

Ramos's Scott is completely recognizable of course, but he is, very clearly, a CHILD, in a way that none of the previous versions really get to be.

And it works. It makes perfect sense. Because this is the first time since the plane crash where Scott has been able to actually be a CHILD. He's not leading the group, he doesn't have to set an example. He can just play too. He can, as he tells Ms. Marvel much later, actually relax.

But all sweet things must come to an end, and the Scott in X-Men Blue #01 is back to form:

Jean's actually leading the team, which is nice. And there's some very nice banter. But Molina's Scott is very much back to proto-adult here. (And while Jean is leading and starts the scene in front, Scott's positioning makes complete sense when the next page reveals who they're actually reporting to - Magneto).

I'm not really an art person. Generally I pay a lot more attention to things like plot, dialogue, and character development than I do the art styles. It's how I got through the 90s. But this has been a neat thing to go back and notice. Each depiction is excellent. Each one is immediately recognizable. But each one says something a little different and fits the story in its own specific way. And that's really cool!

[loryn-art]

Last panels for my Wakfu Moder AU series ->

I don't know if I'll ever write something about this AU but I love it more and more. Probably some scenes will be made into short comics, but I'm afraid of spoiling too much of the story that way…

For now I think I'll just make some character sheets, probably more about the Eliatrope Goddess as a human form ? Or more about the dragons ? Tell me what you want to know !

Qilby :

Given age - 40~ / Real age - +250

Older than Glip, but still looks younger, does he have special abilities/powers because he's the first born ? (He also has the ability to remember all of his past lives here.)

Tall.

I couldn't find anything that looked like what I really wanted for Shinonome's form, so I went with a sort of mix of different birds for her. (I'm probably going to change her appearance soon anyway...)

Same with Qilby's profession, I guess he's like a very famous scientist but prefers to stay in the shadows. He's like a consultant who works with a lot of different scientists and historians, and gives them his opinion and knowledge when they need it.

Spends his time travelling to various archaeological sites around the world. (Portals are SO convenient for this...)

His apartment is a real cabinet of curiosities filled with books and all sorts of things he brings back from his travels.

He's also supposed to smoke e-cigarettes, but I'm not sure about what flavor, I want something that reminds him of his home planet.

Has a LOTS of diplomas.

Left-handed.

Fluent in several languages.

Yugo :

Given age 20~ / Real age - 20 (how is this possible ? I'm still looking for an explanation...)

Very athletic and popular in his faculty~

Has the same group of friends for years now, they take care of each other like a family.

The Tofu key chain is one of Amalia's gift because he loves birds.

I have no idea what he could actually study :p Any suggestions ?

Skating.

Wears a cat beanie to hide his wings.

Adamai takes the form of a white wolf-like dog, with blue eyes. And a WEIRD smile.

Has tons of pictures of him and his friends~

A collection of beanies. (Most of them are actually gifts)

These are the very first drafts for my Au so please keep in mind that many things may change. I'll probably post something about the Eliatrop goddess next week, but her story is still a mystery to me… I have some ideas but nothing really solid at the moment.

*Returns in the shadows*

[originalaccountname]

Thank you for your reply!

And yeah, I mean when Chuuya shows up the first time in the manga and Dazai says that he sent a letter so Chuuya can't kill him, and oops Chuuya broke the chains so it looks like he broke Dazai out. His plan to me seemed like a bit of a plot hole at first because Chuuya is stronger and there's a bunch of cells and chains at his convenience in the mafia dungeon, and even without that there's nothing stopping him from continuing to punch Dazai...but part of me wonders if they both chose to ignore that on purpose and that is very funny to me. What's your take on that scene?

I have the unpopular opinion Dazai was 100% bullshitting his way through that encounter with Chuuya. Yes he could have escaped earlier, but he was waiting for a specific moment to do so. He was estimating the timing of what the others were doing. This is happening while sskk are having their battle on the ship and the ADA just got Ranpo on finding them. I fully believe that when Chuuya showed up it was a "oh no a sudden obstacle has appeared" situation to Dazai:

They bicker and fight like we've grown used to them doing, though Chuuya is the most violent he's been to him since he rammed him into a wall when they first met. There is pent up frustration and anger there. It's also Chuuya's introduction, so we quickly need to establish that he's strong, prone to getting annoyed by Dazai, and looks very cool. I'm serious his solo panels are so extra.

When Chuuya finally asks Dazai why he stayed captured instead of escaping, Dazai has to take a moment to think before answering him:

What happens here is that Dazai starts by saying the truth, that he let himself be captured to know who wants Atsushi. That destabilizes Chuuya, because Dazai helping someone isn't something Chuuya is used to. This leads to Chuuya taunting Dazai for having "gone soft" and revealing that he just came back from a mission:

Chuuya put himself at a disadvantage that way: if he was away and just came back, he is not aware of all the details and recent developments. Look at the bottom right panel on the second page ^, all black with a thinking bubble. Dazai just got an idea. Dazai can use this.

"if that were true, they should have contacted..." <- Chuuya wasn't told about any executive meeting because Dazai is making it up right now. There was no letter. Dazai is making up a dilemma for Chuuya to get stuck on, with just enough plausibility that Chuuya can't immediately brush it off.

Plus, when Chuuya is finally cornered, he simply assumes Dazai one-upped him again by turning his own words against himself:

When he walks in:

When Dazai corners him:

When Chuuya first said he was here to spite him, Dazai looked tense. When Chuuya remembers it, it's to Dazai's little "yep" + looking away pretending this was aaaaall planned and not at all something he just came up with.

Dazai is the "improvise adapt overcome" king, I have no doubts he enjoyed making Chuuya squirm, but I don't believe he stayed for that at all. It was just a surprise treat.

Chuuya absolutely had more options than killing Dazai or letting him escape there. There really wouldn't have been any surprise to Chuuya going "yeah so I broke his restraints and then put him back sorry". He just sort of gave up the idea of holding Dazai back in any way. Yeah he could have chained him up. Dazai would have escaped anyway. Chuuya knew Dazai was only waiting for something.

And you want me to believe Mori was aware they captured and chained Dazai and expected him to stay there? They have the same escape artist hobby. Mori was taking bets with Kouyou for how long it would take Dazai to get out. Mori wants Dazai back: chapter 10-11 are in the 3rd volume, and the bonus of the 4th volume is Chuuya drunkenly calling Dazai to complain about the boss telling him he wishes Dazai would come back. Why would killing Dazai even be on the table?

My final thoughts though is BSD is a live series that has been going on for over 10 years, and it's expected that some details would change as time goes on. Dazai asked Chuuya why he bought his hat. Dazai of all people should know what the hat represents. Asagiri just didn't know yet what the hat would mean because this was chapter 10 and Chuuya was just introduced. So everything is to take with a grain of salt.

[your-name-is-jim]

TOS fans, you may want to read this comic series!

Sooo I recently read this series of comics called Star Trek: Year Five, published in 2019-2021 by IDW Publishing; I heard it was good, but I didn't expect it to be that good!

If you haven't read it, I suggest to check it out! (it's also not hard to find it if you get what I mean)

The art overall is great and, more importantly, the characters act like themselves and there are several references to their canon backgrounds, past and future experiences! What I absolutely loved was also seeing a lot of "old faces" from TOS show, as well as mentions of events from the series and the movies.

As the title suggests, the story takes place during the last year of Kirk's five-year mission on the Enterprise. I'd like to tell you more, but I enjoyed the surprise of a lot of things I didn't expect, so first of all I'll post a few pics without major spoilers from the first 11 issues (there are 25, so you still have a lot to discover!):

I especially love how Bones and Sulu are drawn, they really look like them! Scotty and Uhura too, but that depends on the artist. Speaking of them, if you like a little Scotty/Uhura, this series has something good about it!

The joke about Kirk thinking there's something strange with the way the Klingons look now cracked me up. LOL

Also, I'm not sure Chapel would call McCoy "Bones", but she is very right in that panel. :)

The last panel is classical James T. Kirk's ass appreciation lol

Sulu has a love story with an alien who doesn't understand human genders and uses they/them pronouns. As someone who headcanons TOS Sulu as attracted to any gender, that was great to see :D

I'm also posting this "end-of-the-episode" panel because it's just perfection. TOS in a nutshell. Aww, look at Kirk and Spock just looking at each other! <3

I must say, you may be a little disappointed if you expect to see many moments with Kirk and Spock together, BUT the scenes they have together are really good! I won't say anything more, just read until the end and you'll see! :D

By the way, this series has a Valentine's Day extra, which is the only part where Kirk has a love interest (a female original character). Yeah, you heard me: in the main story, Kirk doesn't have new romances with anyone; Sulu is the one who gets all the action! ;)

The Valentine's Day issue is not linked to anything else and I don't think Kirk's female love interest is mentioned outside that story, so you can easily skip it if it's not for you. However, even if I can't say I'm especially happy with that story, I personally found something interesting there, for example this:

I think I saw this out of context once, but I didn't know where it was from, so sorry I'm just going to lose my mind thinking about ladies or GENTLEMEN in Kirk's life and Kirk not correcting her about his sexual preferences. Anyway, I might make a separate post someday about this special from a Kirk/Spock shipper's perspective, because I do have a lot of thoughts about it :)

So, if you haven't read Star Trek: Year Five, I hope I convinced you to check it out! I hadn't been lucky with other Star Trek comics before, so I had almost lost hope to find something good… and then here it was! Something that made me feel like it was really written with a lot of love for The Original Series! I really needed it!

If you decide to give it a try, I'd love to see your thoughts and see your favorite parts! I hope you enjoyed this little review. :)

[genericpuff]

Hi! I came here from your "lore olympus biggest whiff" blog about the finale... I've never read LO but I was always interested in it. However, after reading a few paragraphs of that blog (I didn't read all of it because I didn't want to get too many spoilers), it doesn't seem worth it. Would you recommend it up to a certain chapter? If yes, until which chapter should I read?

Honestly, if you want to read LO, I absolutely highly recommend reading the whole thing, or at least trying to. Not just to give context to the things we're all talking about in these communities, but also because it's about to go behind the Daily Pass wall on August 29th and it'll become even more inconvenient to do so.

I'm personally still a huge sucker for the first season myself because it just has that magic that LO used to have that a lot of us fell in love with in the first place; it still has its flaws, it's definitely the worst of the "Persephone looks like a toddler" era, but the characters feel a lot more real and a lot of the best, most iconic panels from the series come from S1. The first half of S2 also isn't awful, though the art does start to get a bit rough around the edges. It wasn't until the last half of S2 that I personally started to go , "Wait, I don't think Rachel knows what she's doing." That said, I didn't become a full-blown critic of the series until the S2 finale, which is where I firmly believe the comic should have ended (that is, if Rachel had structured the story better to allow for the S2 finale to be the overall series finale).

But you should read as much of it as you can anyways. Even if you can't get through a certain part of the story and decide to DNF, that's fine, but I personally don't want to be the one deciding for folks what they should be reading or how much. I also definitely don't want people forming their opinion of a work like LO entirely through my criticisms of it - the best way for you to form your own opinion, regardless of whether or not it aligns with my own, is to simply read it yourself. I know where I started to lose interest in the series, but you might not feel the same way when you read it yourself. It's definitely happened in the past that people have gone to read LO to "see what all the fuss is about" only to wind up loving it haha and that's great, honestly, I don't want anyone to wind up missing out on something they might like just because of my own opinions about it :' )

Honestly it seems daunting but you can easily read all of LO between today and the 29th, a lot of the earlier S1 episodes are relatively short and the actual pacing of the comic itself throughout the second and third season makes for a very quick reading experience, text bubbles usually aren't too wordy so depending on how fast of a reader you are, you can usually blitz through each episode within 2-3 minutes (that said, I'm also a bit of a faster reader so your reading time may vary). Plus the episode count on the app is also thrown off by several episodes that are purely dedicated to Q&A's, hiatus notices, etc. So it's about a 12-18 hour reading experience give or take, which sounds like a lot, but if you're able to read several chunks of episodes at a time in bursts, it can be done by the time it goes behind DP on the 29th :' )

So yeah ! I do hope you read it for yourself if you're really curious, and if you do, feel free to come back again and tell me about your experience! Did you get through all of it or did you DNF? Did it put any of my own criticisms into better context for you or did you wind up enjoying the series regardless?

Best of luck!! <3

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 409: Bro I’m Straight Up Having a Good Time

Previously on BnHA: AFO murdered his brother like the mischievous knave he is. Bruce was all, “hey Kudou don’t look now but I think Yoichi might have given you his secret quirk that we didn’t know he had.” Kudou was all, “damn that’s wild, it almost feels like this is a pivotal moment that will change all our destinies forever, you’d think Horikoshi would have spent just a little more time elaborating on this but I GUESS NOT.” Back in the present day, AFO was all, “I’m just going to use all my quirks at once because fuck this kid,” and Katsuki was all, “lol oh shit.”

Today on BnHA: Kacchan is all, “okay, I know I should be hopelessly outclassed, but hear me out: what if I just win anyway. What if I just go ahead and blow his shit up, because this is the final battle, and this is what all of my character development has been building up to since day one. What if I just beat him, because I’m the guy who wins. Simple as that. What if I just kick his ass with my one quirk, and prove all the haters wrong.” Horikoshi is all, “okay, sure.” AFO is all, “wait, wha -- ”

oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my g

huh. well I wasn’t expecting to start tearing up less than two panels into this chapter but HERE WE ARE

I love that he’s screaming and crying with his balled up little fist right from the get go lol. he was born a pissed off baby

he’s so squishy

and so tiny!!!!?!?! !?!??!?!

and he was RAISED WITH LOVE. fucking thank you, lol. gonna print that out and frame it on my wall. turn it into a flashing neon sign to give me comfort any time I stumble across stray Mitsuki discourse lol

anyway. oh my goodness. if this is a sign of things to come, there’s a very strong possibility this chapter may destroy me. how exciting!!

yep. yep yep yep. this is for sure going to be the chapter that finally does me in. it’s been a great ride folks

you better not be thinking any thoughts about dying, young man. this had better be meant in the sense of “because I’ll be by your side supporting you instead”, as opposed to “because I will be a little pile of dust in about three seconds’ time oh shit”

(ETA: after finishing the rest of the chapter, I’m pretty sure it’s the former! the first flashback is a reference to his chapter 120 speech -- “even higher than you, Chosen One.” the second is a throwback to chapter 247, when he told Endeavor he only had his one quirk, but it was strong enough to do anything he wanted to do. and the third flashback is one he also had at Jakku when he sacrificed himself to push Izuku out of the way.

so to me, this reads like (1) a reminder of his determination to surpass Izuku and become the strongest hero; (2) foreshadowing for him defeating AFO with Explosion, the Little Quirk That Could; and (3) a reminder of his “origin.” that last one being important because nowadays it’s just as strong of a motivator as his original goal. back at the beginning of the series, all he cared about was being the strongest. now, though, he’s not just fighting for himself; he’s also fighting to atone, and he’s learned to put himself aside if necessary.

as for the dialogue, this reads like a continuation of his mental conversation with Izuku that he began in chapter 362 (“gotta win... right, Izuku?” “so, Izuku... can I still catch up to you?”), and then continued in chapter 406 (“for some reason, I feel like I could overtake you now”). so in that context, “I’ll no longer get in your way” basically means that he’s done chasing Izuku, and that he’s caught up now and can hold his own. his determination to get stronger hasn’t wavered. his confidence in his own quirk and his own skills hasn’t wavered. and his resolve to atone for everything he did to Izuku is as strong as ever. put those all together, and we have the recipe for quite a spectacular redemption fight. his follow-up to chapter 362.

because earlier when he fought Tomura/AFO, he was basically just trying to buy time. no one ever planned or expected him to have to face the Big Bad one-on-one; that was supposed to be Izuku’s job. he was only meant to be there as support. and in the end he wasn’t strong enough, and he nearly died. and rather than being able to support Izuku, he ended up being used against him.

but this time is different. he’s no longer the decoy, the distraction. he’s no longer the pebble. he won’t get in Izuku’s way, because this time he’s going to be strong enough to win the fight. he’s going to hold his own, and get the job done.

so yeah. “I won’t get in your way” = “you can depend on me”, basically. because he’s become that guy at last. the guy who shows up in the clutch and wins the day. the hero he always wanted to be. good stuff.)

OH MY GOD

once again, just really solid hero advice from All Might here. there’s a reason he’s the GOAT

lol but in all seriousness it does tug at my heart to see him shouting so desperately at this kid. especially knowing that he’s presumably feeling the same pride and awe that I am, but with a lot more heart-stopping terror mixed in because unlike me, All Might doesn’t know that Kacchan is actually going to live forever. he narrated chapter 285, All Might, have a little faith

AFO is the extra-est mfer to ever live. but also it really tickles me to think that Kacchan pissed him off THIS much. it’s kind of an honor in a way

of course his plan is to simply just blow AFO up. of fucking COURSE it is. maybe there will be brain cells later on in this chapter, but for now who even needs them lol

OH MY GOD?!?

DID THIS MOTHERFUCKER JUST BLOW THE FUCK UP FROM THE INSIDE?? am I seeing this right?? DID KACCHAN JUST SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST ALL FOR ONE WITH HIS MIND

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD

(ETA: shoutout to AFO for being so analytical when I personally would have just been screaming, “OH MY GOD MY FUCKING EYEBALLS AHHHHHHHHHH.”)

THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYING THOUGH!! HIS POWER WASN’T DONE AWAKENING YET, APPARENTLY??

oh no wait it’s even better. this isn’t Awakening at all, this is just Katsuki playing 5D chess

so he actually did have brain cells the whole time then! Katsuki I sincerely apologize. you somehow had the presence of mind to make a goddamn minefield even in the midst of all of this hullaballoo

AND HE’S HUMBLE TOO LMAO

it’s true!! I’m people!! please ignore the multitude of times I’ve previously called him a dumbass, including earlier in this very chapter lol

hahahahaha yesssssssss

this chapter is incredibly validating for a number of reasons. I’m going to attempt to remain calm about it. but I’m enjoying this a lot ngl

oh AFO

:D :D :D

(ETA: you know what, I actually do have more to say about this. because I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve debated with people about this very thing, lol. for a while there post-Jakku it was just constant pessimism about Kacchan’s future in the manga. all this stuff about how Katsuki doesn’t have a main villain. Katsuki isn’t important enough. Katsuki is being phased out. Katsuki isn’t strong enough. Katsuki’s done developing. Katsuki’s just a joke character now. Katsuki’s just the damsel in distress. Katsuki’s always going to be second fiddle to Izuku. etc. etc. etc.

and then this chapter -- this whole entire fight, really -- comes along, and it’s just nonstop rebuttals, lol. and it’s not just that he’s proving all the negativity wrong. it’s that he doesn’t even care about any of that. AFO is out here trying to goad him with that same “YOU’RE JUST A SIDE CHARACTER” bait, and in response Katsuki just hits him with a Howitzer and tells him to shut the fuck up. AFO thinks he can get to him by being petty, because AFO still sees him as the bratty kid from the Sports Festival. but the present day Katsuki has long since moved past all of that, and no longer gives a fuck whether or not he shares the spotlight. unlike AFO, who never lost his childish egotism, Katsuki has learned to see outside himself, and the resulting growth has made him a bigger badass than AFO could ever hope to be.)

(۶•̀ᴗ•́)۶

ouch

HAHAHAHAHA

bro I’m straight up having a good time. this recap is gonna suck this week because there’s absolutely no commentary I can think of to add other than “I’M REALLY ENJOYING THIS, THIS IS GREAT”

I want to take this entire chapter and get it tattooed on my face

sorry AFO. this must really suck for you

lmao. is that all Kacchan. tell him how you really feel

OH MY GOD NO WAY LOL

so, fun fact, I literally just read chapter 385 last night lmao. most fortunate timing I’ve ever had, holy shit

okay so lemme just add some more thoughts on this one really quick

Hawks deserves all the nice things in the world and I’m so sad I can’t give them to him, but at least he gets this. sweet sassy revenge

I am once again calling everyone’s attention to the fact that AFO continues to be his own undoing. congrats on screwing yourself over bucko

Kacchan’s sleeve ripping up Deku-style is once again making my Plus OFA Theory senses all tingly. it probably is just a coincidence and has nothing to do with OFA, but I can’t unassociate it now, so I’m just gonna sit here and read as much into it as possible

if I had a nickel for every time AFO’s eyes blew up in this chapter, I would have two nickels, and that is way too many fucking nickels jesus christ

ever since he came back from the dead, Kacchan’s been doing this thing where he is just really pretty at all times, even when he is being a gremlin. and honestly it’s taken some getting used to, although I’m not complaining

but like in this panel especially, it just really stands out to me how even his “GRYAHHH I’M GONNA KILL YA!!!” face somehow has this really cool, intense, piercing glare now and he no longer looks like a baby troll when he does this kind of thing lol

OH FUCK YEAH

୧༼✿ ͡◕ д ◕͡ ༽୨

“THERE’S NO WAY I COULD’VE WON THIS ALONE.” OMG. THAT KACCHAN CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT JUST HITS DIFFERENT EVERY DAMN TIME, I SWEAR

he and Hawks basically pulled a “you hold him and I’ll punch” lol. thanks for the assist Hawks

Mitsuki and Masaru being all, “my little baby boy!!” and “HOLY SHIT”, respectively, sent me all the way to the moon lmao

HELLO THERE YOICHI? fancy running into you here. just chilling out over in this montage of people close to Bakugou who are watching him kick ass. did you take a wrong turn, mayhap. you’re not inside of AFO, we know that much. and Deku, much as I’m sure he’d love to have a front row seat to all this, seems to have his hands full dealing with Tomura right now, sadly

so all of that does seem to raise an interesting question, no? where did you come from just now, and why? and when Kacchan says he’s not alone, is there perhaps more truth to that statement than even he knows? or am I once again just reading way too much into this lmao

anyway so yeah! that sure was fun. and with the end of the year approaching and back-to-back two-week chapter breaks coming up, I have a chance to do the funniest thing of all time, and still not manage to catch up, lol. nah but I’m gonna try my best though. pretty sure I should be able to manage

[aluhnim]

Hello!! When you start a comic, how do you go about deciding your panelling layouts?? If this is too big of an ask for covid brain, how about your favorite song of the moment / a song that really inspires you?? I hope you feel better soon!

I was searching around for an old write up I did for some Original Character Tournament folks who were interested in my thoughts on panels and layouts. To try and answer your question, I go off of vibe now that I’ve made a LOT of comics. However, as much as it doesn’t seem like it at times, I do typically stay as “conventional” as possible to make sure my readers are still following the plot. I make a lot of adjustments along the way. Smarter layouts allow me to draw less, and drawing less is better for me in the long run! It’ll allow me to put more time in other places of the comic.

Anyway, here’s my write up back in the day that’ll hopefully answer some comic drafting questions!

More conventional paneling is a necessary stepping stone because you know your reader won’t get lost and the structure will have you more focused on flow and pacing. It seems remarkably easy to do comics with more “static” or traditional panel layouts but they work for a reason. There’s no real need to break out of something that works, unless you want to! Breaking out of the structure can really add some OOMPH to your important pages.

Some tips, note that these have been my preferences and some definitions don’t quite match their descriptors.

Bleed

I consider open panels or panels that stretch out beyond the edge of the page to be considered bleeds. They’re simple ways to make you feel like your not just sticking within your margins and making your page feel less static without much extra effort. Manga does this quite often, and Western American comics, especially during action packed moments or large splashes.

Some examples of things bleeds can do:

- They can also be used as transitions between pages (first panel bleeding in, last panel bleeding out).

- They can be used to interrupt or add a beat to a moment. Although the example below is mostly bleeds, you can see the one full panel at the bottom stands out because it’s not like the others. A subtle beat.

- They can also just be used to extend a panel to make it bigger. That seems obvious, but larger panels do make people spend a bit more time on them, regardless if there is text or not. Though, “more time” means probably several milliseconds or even a few seconds more than usual.

- Collaging with a bleed is a really great way to think beyond panels and open the space. You will be spending more time thinking of how much you can cram in along with the flow of how your text is going to lead through a series of images.

- Removing panel borders can really open a space and allow for more room without having to go above and beyond the ideas of comics and panels. (sorry, gale galligan is just good)

Gutters

The space between panels is almost just as important as the panel itself. That’s where readers and inferring actions and time. You can only control so much of what the reader is doing between their eye shifting between panels, which is why composition within panels and clarity are so important.

Gutters can also be played with! A simple example is changing your gutters from white to all black. It can be a subtle shift in time, a transition to a new space.

Even the amount of space between panels leaves an idea of time! I think webtoons/manhwa really work well with the gutter space, leaving you to physically scroll and feel the effects of time passing with the amount of empty space you encounter.

It’s important to understand that the gutter has a lot more to do with reader imagination, and your goal is to have them understand that the next panel is somehow plausible.

THIS SCENE EMFIELDS DID IS VERY FUCKING GOOD. TIME, SPACE, GO OOOOOOFFFF KING

Panels themselves can be a part story!

This one is a difficult thing to write for, since I feel like there isn’t many examples out there. There are very structural examples of panels out there, like Watchman. While the 9 panel grid was intentional, it also was likely the only way to deal with Alan Moore’s script effectively without missing details. The panels themselves don’t ENHANCE the story, but a means to an end.

But it’s also an incredibly good example of how conventional comics paneling can still be effective, especially when you start breaking that mold just a little bit.

But then you have comics like M. Dean’s “Baby fat”. Where the comic paneling itself never strays from its original structure, but is indicative of the story itself, representing tiles, mirrors, patterns.

Or Robert Hunter’s “The New Ghost” which he uses circular motifs and has circular panels representing the telescopes sight line.

Predicting Reader Navigation

These are my rules of thumb when doing general sight reading panel by panel.

1. Text is what people gravitate to first. It’s the context needed to approach the next panel.

2. Faces are next, this provides context to what the subject is feeling.

3. Familiar people/animals/objects and SFX.

4. Everything else!

This is an example of sight reading notes I gave to my friend Holocene when we were collaborating.

[tinietaehyun]

Fallen Temptation

[FallenAngel!Yeonjun x Researcher!reader] [One-shot series] [Mystic Trail Series]

Pairing: FallenAngel!Yeonjun x Researcher!reader

Genre(s): Dark fantasy, fantasy, romance, thriller, angst.

Contains: Dark themes, profanity, mentions of blood, injury, manipulation, captivity, slight obsessive/possessive behaviour, lots of angst, religious themes. (a lot of flashback and forth!)

Links: MYSTIC TRAIL MASTERLIST || MAIN MASTERLIST

Summary: When you wanted someone to fall for you, this was not exactly what you meant. Your lips tremble as you see his hands press against the glass panel of his containment. He was merely just a specimen to your team right? He was the first ever fallen Angel caught alive.

You’d been used as the bait, immediately once they knew you’d found one. Heartbreakingly, you toyed with his heart and trapped him for research. His dark eyes stare into your emptily as he gives you a smile, “I lost my wings for you, y/n. I won’t let you go that easily. Not after what you did to me.”

————————•••••••••••••••————————

You pitifully stand with a lifeless gaze aimed at the metal door. Your heart weighs heavy as though someone had tied a large boulder to it and left it to sink in the sea. Nervousness, anxiety permeate through your very being.

You were frankly tired of being showered with praise by everyone in the research facility. Every single compliment, every single praising comment stung incredibly, as though several knives were being plunged into your chest with every word they threw at you. You couldn’t accept any of it. Not with the sheer guilt that you felt inside.

Though it started off a trying to befriend an Angel, you had accidentally come back with something even rarer. Something that had shot you up in ranks amongst the various scholars and researchers here.

A Fallen Angel.

The clunk of the metal door sliding open makes you shiver as you’re hit with the blinding white of research chamber #32. The ever so slightly chill air brushes against your skin and your eyes take note of the few researchers spread across the room in various positions of observation, working and typing away. It wasn’t too large of a room but, most of the rooms weren’t that large in this research facility anyway. There was an inhumane, emotionless and sterilised feeling to the room- one that you had grown used to but now have begun to despise.

All these researchers in front of you; their eyes holding not a single drop of humanity, compassion or empathy. To think you once admired them, to become like them.

“Good morning superstar, we got some diagnostics running yesterday on the specimen, and let me say there’s a lot of potential here to work with-“ You coldly interrupt, “Yeonjun.” Your pathetic colleague stiffens in confusion, “Huh?” “His name is Yeonjun,” you murmur icily. He pauses for a moment before chuckling, “Oh my! The specimen’s name? That’s not really important at this stage you know? But I suppose you’re used to calling it that.”

“Don’t say ‘it’.” You find yourself snapping harsher than intended. The researcher peers at you in slightly shock before recoiling into a scowl, “Why? Did you sleep on the wrong side of the bed today? If I were in your position after bringing such a successfully intact specimen as fine as this back to facility, you wouldn’t be able to keep me from shutting up!” He leans in closer, “Surely you and Sohee are going to get a hefty bonus pay, no?”

You step back with an empty gaze, “What’s it to you? Don’t you have work to be doing?” The colleague grunts at your dismal tone and turns away to continue with his paperwork. It hurts, everything hurts. The other researchers look at you as you walk further into the room; some expressions are painted with awe, others neutral, some even jealous.

When you said you wanted to make an impact in regards to the knowledge of supernatural beings, you didn’t want your biggest achievement to be this. Said biggest achievement was now trapped inside a pitiful double-paned thick glass chamber. You turn to face the chamber in the left corner of the room. A bang reverberates in the room from the thud of a hand on the glass panelling. That noise was meant for you. For you only.

You brokenly peer at the glass and see him. Yeonjun. Despite his tragic position, he looked as darkly ethereal as ever. His venomous gaze points daggers at you and the prominent scowl lining his lips was enough to send shivers down your body. He looked like he wanted to rip you apart limb from limb.

Though you think, it was understandable. If you too experienced what he had experienced, you also would think that way.

You find yourself frozen to the spot just meeting his dark gaze. Oh, it pains you so, how that gaze was once so light, playful and full of life. Your eyes trail across his lightly scratched up face; his lips bitten raw- most likely from the stress. His disheveled hair with the strands ever so slightly turning darker and darker at the tips to match his new form.

You grimace. He still had splatters of blood and specks of his previous feathers here and there. He was pale, sickly even. So much more different than when you first met him. You still remember that day with such clarity that it feels like just yesterday that he didn’t hate you.

———

You grunt and manage your way through the steep hill. This was an infamous trail located in amongst the mountains which was home to numerous mythical creatures but most prominently, The Angels. Beautiful specimens that were very, very hard to capture. There were only a few known species that made it back to research facilities alive.

Most of what is known of Angels has been done from post-mortem studies which had you most disgusted and had you questioning various ethics of this entire quest of knowledge. You had hoped that your research facility was different. This particular expedition you are on is in search of Angels and other creatures such as Phoenixes and Griffins, however there was no intent to bring an Angel back to the facility. It was something not easy to do and wasn’t worth the sheer time and resources. You’d be most likely staying here for the next month cataloguing both the mythical flora and fauna for more updated information instead.

“Fuck, this is hard. I wasn’t prepared for it to be this steep.” Your fellow colleague and close friend: Sohee grumbles and you chuckle at her, “Yeah; I don’t think we’re very good at trekking, or hiking-“ She scoffs at your remark, “Might just quit after this. Can’t even make it fucking big with my own damn papers.” You tease, “What if we find something big? Your name won’t be on the expedition notes or the research paper when published, hm?” Her eyes widen, “Shit, can’t have that can we? Damn, you make a good point.” You snicker at her u-turn in attitude.

Both of you alongside the rest of your expedition team continue to grumble up the trail in the mountains. It was truly a stunning place with the peaks of the mountains caressing the clouds and an ethereal fog lingering atop the forests covering the mountains. It looked magical, almost as if it were heaven on Earth. You had only read about this place in your textbooks and now you were finally here!

Your expedition head calls out, “We’re reaching a narrow part here folks, so be careful. Keep it slow and steady and keep your backs to the mountain face. There was a sudden downpour this morning, which we hadn’t anticipated so be careful. Take your time when traversing this narrow ledge. It maybe be slippery.” You all nod with serious expressions as your heart rate shoots up. You weren’t too afraid of heights, you were more afraid of the prospect of falling. Or in this case, you peer down from your current position- falling to your death with no chance of your body being recovered. That’s what scared the ever loving shit out of you.

“We’ll traverse one at a time to ensure the ledge has as minimal weight on it as possible. Ladies and gents, remember quick, broad steps across. Less time on the ledge and more time on the stable terrain. It’s a long perilous drop, I’m sure we’d all like to make it back home.” You feel a wave of nausea hit you. You sigh as you see Sohee’s knees start trembling, “Hey, hey we got this. Just follow the instructions and we’ll make it past.”

She murmurs gripping your forearm tightly, “Can you go before me? Please.” You hesitate for a moment, it’s not too far. Perhaps a metre and half of a narrow precipice. You find yourself murmuring, “Alright. Okay. Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.”

You all line up as one by one you begin to inch along the narrow ledge with the guidance of your expedition head and two other experts. You noticed that this particular portion of the trail had been eroded (most likely from the sheer amount of scholars and researchers that come here!)

Around five people have now successfully inched across the ledge soothing your fear a little bit. “Alright, y/n, you’re up.” You nod trying to keep yourself calm. You slowly begin to scuttle across the ledge not wanting to look down. All of a sudden, you hear a scratching sound, followed by some cracking and snapping.

Before you can register what the source of the sound was; the rock below your left foot crumbles and you slide. The wind slams into your face as you slide off the precipice into a free-fall. A scream rips out of your throat accompanied with the screams of your fellow colleagues who peer on in sheer horror.

You close your eyes as you continue to fall through a layer of mist; your voice becoming hoarse. It feels as though everything slows down and your heart is about to come out of your mouth.

Death. This feeling before dying, before experiencing an excruciating death. This was it. Everyone you knew, everyone you loved, your memories, your future. It was going to end here.

You suddenly release another petrified scream as you suddenly feel something cold. Something…more like someone? Their arms suddenly wrap around your under your knees and around your back. A burst of wind hits you in the face. You tightly shut your eyes; were you hallucinating? Was it the air pressure getting to you?

The strong grip on you is reassuring and you simply lay limp in fear in this being’s arms. You refuse to open your eyes- too afraid. Too afraid if you opened them, that you’d keep falling.

“Sweet human, your kind really are careless,” the voice murmurs soothingly. The breeze around you slows and you feel the weight of gravity begin to caress you once more. You were being carried down. Your eyes timidly open as you peer down and see the forest below getting closer. Relief floods your senses. You peer back up at the source of the voice, your heavenly saviour.

Oh, heavens indeed! To your surprise, you’d never thought you’d be face to face with a real life Angel. He was indescribably stunning in all aspects. Most impressively his large feathery, pearlescent wings that flapped with great strength. They were beautiful; something you’d never seen up close. The temptation to touch them was strong; would it be such sin to run your fingers along those pure, soft feathers of his?

Your eyes gaze into the eyes of your saviour. His dark irises contrast his blonde locks of hair that sprawl across his forehead and his honey skin. Sharp eyes with such a soft, caring gaze enough to make your heart flutter like his wings! His sharp rosy lips tantalising to the eyes which give you the most serene yet playful smile you’ve seen in your life. “Is the human too shocked to speak? Not even a thank you, hm?”

He traverses through the canopy of the forest and you both finally reach the forest floor with a gentle landing. “I…I…” He playfully hums, “I…I… what?” You hide your face in his silken shirted chest. Goodness, he was unfairly handsome. Forget that fact that you were about to die mere moments ago.

You steadily murmur, “i…I mean thank you. You…s-saved my life.” He was still holding you; just how strong was he? The angel pleasantly hums, “Oh absolutely no problem human. What Angel would I be if I didn’t help a human in need?” You mumble, “A pretty bad one, I guess.”

He peers at you for a moment before laughing, “Here I thought the thrill of falling had made you dazed, but it appears that you’re clear headed enough to be humorous! How resilient you humans are!” You end up pouting at him and he cooes with wide eyes, “Oh how endearing! I am sorry, I didn’t mean to sound condescending. You humans are just awfully cute, like baby angels learning to clumsily fly for the first time.” You mutter, “Great, thanks. You can put me down now.”

“What’s your name human?” He asks you making you slightly flustered. You clear your throat, “Uh…it’s y/n.” He raises a brow, “Huh, interesting, a pretty name for a pretty human.” You begin to flush under his intense gaze. “You know, you’re the first human I’ve ever held.”

“Has no one else almost fallen to their death before?” You mumble. The angel bursts out laughing, “Not quite. There are a lot of near misses and close calls but not many manage to accomplish the feat you have.” You glare unimpressed, “Good to know.”

He places a hand atop your head gently, “So…so interesting to look at. Most researchers that come here are so grumpy and serious. I’m not that big a fan of the way they look either.” You raise a brow at his hushed tone. He hums leaning down slightly with a playful smirk, “You, on the other hand, I cannot say the same.”

“Oh my, how rude of me to not introduce myself! Hello human, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my name is Yeonjun.” He outstretches his hand to shake and you timidly take it. You notice how his skin almost glitters subtly under the sunlight filtering through the canopy. You give him a smile, “Nice to meet you, my saviour.” He flashes you a bright grin, “I like the sound of that, pretty human.”

————-

“I do like the sound of that, the paper title has to be changed though, we have numerous more tests to run.” Your mind focused in back on the present. You hear your fellow researchers talking uselessly in the background.

The fallen angel in front of you bangs on the panel at you. You timidly step forward until you’re in front of him. His eyes darken further and a bitter anger laces his expression. Yeonjun sneers, “That’s more like it. In your white coat and all, your true identity. An emotionless human with no regard for life.”

You stiffen at his words not willing respond. “The audacity you have to come here and look at me with such pity. It disgusts me. To think I saved you that day; I couldn’t help it. It was in my nature to do so.”

You flinch at the harshness of his words. Tears line your eyes and you try to keep steady. His voice cracks, “You lulled me into a false sense of security, to think I was beginning to-I- whatever.” You feel yourself shatter inside ever further. Angels always had the tendency to see the good in everyone.

A sinister expression crosses his face as his hands slam against the glass panels pressing against them almost with the intent to push past it somehow. You flinch backwards with wide, fearful eyes. “I suffered such agony because of your selfishness. I lost everything. All b-because of you!” His gaze is malevolent, “You all will pay.” A bitter chuckle escapes his lips, “Though I may have lost everything, I am no longer constrained by the numerous rules from before. There’s nothing left for me to lose.”

The ominous threat in his voice astounds you. You never knew he could talk like this. You peer down at the floor where numerous black rotting feathers are scattered. Once an Angel disrupts its natural order, they are physiologically affected. From the colour of their hair, and most prominently, their wings.

Every single feather turn black as they die and soon drop off painfully one by one, leaving a bloody mass on the fallen angel’s back where the wings once were. A haunting reminder.

He coldly murmurs, “Y/n…y/n..” you shiver at his tone. An icy smile plays on his lips, “Do you think you’re safe behind this pane of glass?” You remain quiet. He hums at you, “You were so talkative before? Don’t tell me? Do you actually feel guilty? Feel remorse?”

You peer into those eyes you had grown to love. The dark irises now filled with twisted hatred and a flicker of…something you couldn’t quite decipher. He murmurs, “Maybe you were tainted by the other humans here. Is that it? Did they change your mind?” He presses himself against the glass trying to be even closer to you, “Was it my mistake to help you get back to your research camp? Should I have just kept you in my arms and never let you go?”

Tears run down your face and you begin to feel the weight of everyone stares at your back. His eyes flicker; a hint of his old self peeking through with sympathy. You pathetically whimper out, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, i can’t…” His eyes peer at you as if you’ve lost your mind.

“I am so, so sorry, Yeonjun.” You begin to bawl as all your emotions come back and hit you at once. A hand touches your shoulder bringing you away from the containment chamber. “Come now, let’s keep communication with the specimen limited. I think it’s best if you take a break for awhile, yeah? It’s best for the specimen to not get too riled up too.” The apathetic voice of Sohee drones into your ear as you’re escorted out of the room. You snap at her, “Don’t fucking touch me.” Not after what she did.

You find yourself daily coming to visit the room; feeling upset. You two would end up staring in silence at each other. You wanted to get him out of there. You wanted to rewind time. Your mind flashes back to numerous memories.

———-

You had a fun time talking with Yeonjun as he guided you through the mountainous forest explaining pieces of new information here and there whilst flirtatiously teasing you. You definitely felt attracted to him.

“Right, your little camp is perched up on that mountain over there, yes? I remember flying over it.” You nod with a faint smile, “Yeah.” He pouts, “It seems like our time is going to end quicker than I would like it to. When are you going back to your home?”

You smile teasingly, “Oh you’re going to miss me already? You get attached quick.” He flushes for a moment a red hue crossing his features, “Ah, you caught on, hm? You didn’t answer my question.” You giggle murmuring, “We’re stationed here for a month to research the various things here. So…”

His eyes brighten up, “Really!?” You laugh at his excitement. “If I leave you back at your camp, will you be able to come talk to me? Am I able to…see you more? You’re so fascinating.” You hum deep in thought; a frown laces your lips. If your team got sight of him, it would be immediate bad news. No…you didn’t want him to get caught even though it would be miraculous to bring back a live angel to the facility.

Your name would be everywhere, you’d get insane recognition for your efforts. You were already well known for your high quality papers. It’s tempting.

However your conscience gets the better of you and you murmur, “I…I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Yeonjun frowns, “Why? Do…do you not like me?” You shake your head frantically, “I…the other researchers would probably view you more as an experiment or subject instead of a living being. I don’t want to treat you that way.”

His eyes soften and a look of revelation appears on his features. A genuine smile graces his pretty face, “You’re different. You…care. You care about us Angels?” A glimmer sparkles in his eyes, “You…you’re not like the rest who come here. That makes me so, so happy.” You chuckle; he was like a puppy that had just been shown a treat. “You don’t understand how touching that it is. You don’t just view me as…a separate being. Thank you.”

You frown, in your profession, this was one issue you knew deep down. Something that you’d have to confront one day. Yeonjun hums deep in thought, “Let’s get you to your camp. I’ll let you get down and walk there safely. Hm…we’ll discuss another way to meet then.” You playfully smile, “Rather desperate aren’t we?” He cooes, “How could I not be, pretty little human?”

With that Yeonjun gathers you back into his arms and begins flapping his mighty wings into flight. He soars across the sky and you watch in amazement at the forest and mountains below and around you. Ethereal, truly indeed. After a few minutes, Yeonjun lands a few metres away from your camp. He guides you, “Keep walking straight, I can’t go closer due to the risk of being spotted of course. You’ll manage right?” You nod giving him a warm smile. A jolt of attraction is felt between you both.

“Smile like that again at me, human and I might just fall for you, hm?” He cooes ruffling his wings and tucking them behind his back. You murmur, “Oh is that so? Should I smile for you more often then?” He grins, “My, what a way with words you have, as sweet as the lyres we play.”

Yeonjun hums deep in thought, “Since you’ll be here quite awhile. It would be nice to meet you frequently human. May we discuss a safe meeting place for us to convene?” You feel your heart flutter, were all angels so curious about humans or this attached on the get go? Then again, these angels do not have much leeway in regards their community rules; strict ways of living and isolation from humanity and other mythical creatures. You had to remind yourself how rare of an opportunity this truly was.

Yeonjun hums after peering around, “There’s a small clearing several metres East of your camp, it leads to a cliff where it overlooks the rest of the forest below. It contains some old, abandoned Fae huts.” Your eyes widen in recognition, “Oh yes! Yes! My supervisor mentioned those earlier, we went to take a look at them yesterday. I know the place, there’s trail markers on the way.”

Yeonjun hums with a bright smile, “Great! Then is that alright? Can we meet there? None of your teammates will come there right?” You nod, “Nah, the site has been explored for decades and there’s barely anything left. Plus, we’ve already got it shown it once. Everyone will be too busy to go there.” He nods pleased with the answer. “Mm…in that case, you better head back to your camp now and report back on your safety. I’m sure your teammates are worried about you.” He hums concerned. You smile at him, “Yeah. When are we meeting then?”

“Huh…let’s see. Do you think night time is safer? Will your team be out?” You shake your head, “We have a policy of not trekking at night, past 6pm. So we should be safe.”

Some little part of you knew this was risky but see him made you so incredibly thrilled. The feeling of talking to him was addictive. You wanted to see him more, get to know Yeonjun more. You wanted to satiate your burning curiosity. All in secret of course.

“How about we meet at six this evening? Or in your case, when the sun sets.” You hum. He nods, “Brilliant, I can’t wait to see you again, precious human.” You hums playfully, “I could say the same.”

With that, you return to your camp and alert the researchers who were stationed there, the events that had occurred. All you had told them was that you had fallen, you went unconscious, and you woke up nearby the camp. You had told them them you didn’t know what brought you here. Thankfully, they bought your far-fetched tale.

Your friend arrives back greeting you with a rambunctious hug! “I’m so fucking glad you’re okay. I…” her eyes widen, “I thought you were gone for good or something.” You chuckle, “You won’t be getting rid of me that easy. I still have a jaw dropping thesis paper to submit and many other dreams too!” She hums with a glint in her eye, “Ah of course, can’t have that. Can we? Your papers are always…the best.”

Thus, later that evening, just as planned, you wait at you meeting spot having made sure no one followed tou. You had taken your camera under the pretence that you were going to photograph the scenery, plant and animal species for an upcoming paper. Just as agreed upon, Yeonjun majestically appears touching down in front of you in all his angelic glory with a stunning smile brimming with excitement, “Have I mentioned how exquisitely the the sunlight glows against your skin, dear human?”

You playfully laugh, “Here we go again.”

—————

You peer at your watch: 01:30pm. You had gotten past security with some elaborate excuse that you had to finish a report for the expedition and you were nowhere near finished. Instead of going to the computer labs, you were in fact heading to see Yeonjun. You couldn’t sleep- no, you hadn’t slept in days.

You mind was plagued with memories of you both meeting up every evening, spending a few hours together chattering and learning more about each other’s cultures, customs and lifestyles. The way he would take you into his arms to allow you to see the most fantastic views. How his curious eyes gazed into yours mischievously as he asked questions upon questions. How you adoringly gazed into his as you did the same.

It fucking hurt, you couldn’t bring yourself to push past the sadness. You didn’t even have the motivation to get any work done anymore. Yeonjun was all you could think about.

You scan your ID opening up the metal door and step inside cautiously. This was risky, you could even get suspended for this but at this rate you didn’t care anymore. You walk in timidly and you’re heartbroken at the sight of Yeonjun kneeling on the floor with his arms wrapped around himself. You feel broken seeing his bloodied mid-back where his wings once were.

The floor below you creaks as you take a step forward. Yeonjun immediately twists himself around. You frown seeing his watering eyes and tear-stained cheeks. You had already seen him daily in the facility. He snaps, “What…what are you doing? At this time?”

You walk forward until you’re at the glass panel, your knees sink until you’re sat on the floor opposite him through the glass.

“Tch…if you’re here to see me again like you do everyday, you are sorely mistaken if…if I’ll ever forgive you humans.” He stammers. “It was never my i-intention, Yeonjun. You have to believe me,” You brokenly quiver. You stammer, “She…my friend-colleague. Ex-friend. She followed me.”

Yeonjun stiffens, “So?” You whimper, “I really did mean to keep our meetings secret. She happened to follow me. I didn’t realise how cruel and selfish she was inside. How much hatred and j-jealousy she harboured for me.”

Yeonjun remains silent. You murmur shattered, “I never wanted to betray you. Everything seems that way, I know. I…I never wanted to play with your trust or feelings!” His gaze is menacing, “How do I not know you’re not just shifting the blame onto someone else?” Your shoulders slump, “I…if you don’t believe me that’s fine. I just wanted to say this to you. I feel restless. All I think about is you.”

Yeonjun’s eyes glimmer in shock. He murmurs, “Your friend. Is she the brown haired woman always in this room? The one running the tests on me?” You nod solemnly. That two-faced conniving bitch! Everyone in this damn facility is only out for themselves, only out to make a name with the next big discovery so they can win numerous useless plaques and trophies.

Yeonjun approaches the glass pressing his hands against it, with a curious look, “You’re telling me you purposely didn’t call your team to tranquillise me and take me back to the facility?” You snuck back in here to tell me all this? Do you still expect me to trust humans after all this? To trust you?” He was being defensive.

His words slice into you like blades and you shakily murmur, “No. I don’t expect anything but you deserve to know the truth. To hear me out. I…loved what we had.”

“What we had…” he bitterly laughs. “What was not allowed…the forbidden. I should have listened to my ancestors teachings. Should have not let my heart get swept away so quickly.” Your heart pangs, “You regret it?” Yeonjun murmurs, “I…” His eyes meet yours intensely. You can tell he doesn’t despite not wanting to admit it. It’s all facade he’s putting on.

“Sohee. She followed me-“ Yeonjun cackles, “Did she now?” Snapping, you press your hand against the glass, “You damn well know, you also saw her there. She…I.. I should have known.”

Yeonjun hums, “What, so she followed you out to one of our regular meetings? You two aren’t working together?” You frantically shake your head, “No! No! I loved the time we spent chatting deeply away, watching the sky after sunset, the way you’d carry me and fly with me around. It felt so magical, I felt ethereal, at peace for once.” Tears drip down your face pathetically; perhaps he wouldn’t believe you.

Yeonjun remains silent peering at your face. You still remember that day clearly.

—-

“Where you going? I swear you go off every evening, what’s so special about the sunset?” Sohee scoffs. You shake your head with a soft smile, “Believe me…it’s magical. It takes my mind off all the hard work. Kinda like a form of meditation I guess.” Sohee’s eyes narrow slightly, “Mm, I suppose so. Why don’t I come with you this evening? You know these forests are dangerous?”

You stiffen slightly, “That’s sweet of you Sohee, but it’s okay. It’s not too far off the camp and didn’t you say you were wanting to work on your thesis?”

Sohee hums with a teasing smile, “You’re right, not everyone has such lovely intellect as yours. But I have a feeling this paper is going to be a hit.” You chuckle, “Oh hush, honestly I don’t know what I’m doing half the time I write my papers.” She hums, “Right, of course. It must come naturally to you. So many awards, already at this age. How…lucky for you. To think I have such a talented colleague.” She smiles at you. You mirror her smile, “Thank you. Having your support by my side these years has really helped.”

“You sure you don’t want to accompany you? I’d love to see what sunset has got you so wrapped up.” She teases. You shake your head, “How about we go to see the sun rise, it’s even more impressive. The hues in the sky are insane with the mist.” Sohee hums, “Hm, sure. Sounds good.”

Sohee peers at her watch, “Damn, I just realised I’ve got to go meet our supervisor, he said something about reports. I think I’m due for paperwork again.” You chuckle, “Oh god, paperwork is such a drain.” She hums, “Yet you’re always the first to submit all of it.” You shrug, “I’d rather not procrastinate, you know?” She nods getting up, “See you later then. Be careful.”

Just like that you find yourself trekking once more to you new favourite spot where you could escape the clutches of the human world. As always your one and only favourite angel flutters down delicately walking up to you with a gaze of adoration; ready with a new set of buzzing questions about human civilisation and customs and questions about you, yourself. These laced with heart-stopping smiles and gazes, tingling touches and a tension that could not be broken even with the sharpest knife.

This routine had become addictive. This forbidden meeting between human and angel, a special little secret. The way the two of you got closer day by day over the month. You dread the day the expedition would end. You’d have to have a painful parting. You almost wish you could take him with you.

One particular evening; you both sit on a log that Yeonjun had pushed around. Your arms and legs brush against each other. You find yourself slightly leaning against his shoulder as his left wing encapsulates you. It’s intimate, peaceful. He murmurs, “I love this. I never thought…humans could be so enjoyable to be around. They always taught me to observe and not interact unless humans needed help.” You nod, “I mean…it’s best to be wary, not all humans are good.” He nods peering into your eyes, “You’re good. You’re pretty, you listen to me, you’re genuinely interested in me.” You both hold an intense gaze.

“Holy shit-“ A voice startles you both. You abruptly stand up as Yeonjun flutters his wings in surprise. Your eyes widen as the figure steps out from behind one of the trees, “Sohee?” Her eyes widen stepping forward with a dazed expression, “An Angel…a real life angel.” You stiffen, this was bad. This was very, very bad. Yeonjun peers at her stiffly in silence.

Sohee murmurs misleading in tone, “Oh so, this is where you’d go off? What a specimen! I knew you were up to something!” Yeonjun folds his wings tentatively stepping back. More crunching of footsteps can be heard. Sohee steps forward with an almost mocking expression, “I came here numerous times before to see…but it seems I was right to be curious.”

“I-I think I should leave,” Yeonjun murmurs. You tremble, “Sohee, I can explain. I didn’t mean to hide him away. He-“ Sohee smiles at you, “Oh, I’m sure. I know you wouldn’t want anyone stumbling upon such a beautiful specimen. Your paper would be a hit worldwide, the numerous awards you’d get and what, with a live specimen to prove your findings!”

You should have checked if anyone was following you this time. Fuck! Sohee’s eyes glimmer, “Y/n! You’re brilliant.” You realise the way she’s talking and you begin shaking terribly. Yeonjun snaps his head to face you with a blank expression, “Live…specimen? Paper?”

You stammer, “Yeonjun, wait…no, listen.”

“Yeonjun?” Sohee questions.

“I-I should really leave,” he stammers beginning to open his wings ready to soar. More rustling is heard and your eyes widen, “Yeonjun-! Wait, let me explain!” Before his feet can leave the ground; you hear a single tiny shot. Yeonjun splutters as he peers down at the base of his neck; a tiny needle-no; a tranquilliser. “What the fuck?” You scream.

Yeonjun looks utterly shattered as he rips out the tranquilliser and he crumples in pain and drowsiness. Sohee rushes over holding you back from touching him, “Relax, it won’t hurt the specimen! Your evidence is safe! It’s to transport him!” Yeonjun’s eyes peer at you darkly as he tries to force his eyes open fighting against the chemicals in his system. They put him down like some rabid animal.

He collapses to the floor unconscious. You shove Sohee off you, “Don’t fucking touch me.” Sohee hums, “I know this is overwhelming, but I’m just trying to help you! You could be nominated for one of the greatest prizes, perhaps even a Nobel prize for your contribution! No one has ever captured a live-!”

“Fuck off!” Tears run down you face as you see some of your team members rush out surrounding Yeonjun in awe.

Sohee hums, “Don’t tell me you actually got attached to the specimen?” You glare darkly, “Don’t…call him that.” She scoffs, “Don’t you understand how insane this is? I’m doing you a favour, y/n?” She hums smiling, “Unless…you don’t want him for your paper? I can happily use him for my research?”

You feel your knees give way. Sohee peers down at you for a moment, “I’ve only dreamt of a moment where I’d be looking down at you for once. Not in your shadow. Thank you for giving me such an opportunity.”

You feel your head spinning and the voices of your colleagues rushing over with various congratulations and praise. Sohee puts a hand on your shoulder explaining to them, “Oh calm down, she’s a bit overwhelmed at the moment. She’s worked so hard to gain the trust of the specimen, give her some space. She’s just a little hurt by our methods, you know?”

————

Hurriedly, you begin digging through the file shelf in the room as Yeonjun watches you lifelessly behind the glass after hearing your explanation. You flip frantically through the files and pull out a paper. Rushing over, you press the thick paper to the glass.

He murmurs reading, “…Physiological Mutations in the Supernatural: Adaptations of a Fallen Angel- Case Study.” His eyes glance down to the credits, “…Hwang Sohee, Park Yeojin et al.?”

“Where is my name on this paper about you? Your species? I refused to have my credits on this paper, Yeonjun!” He stares at you silently.

You notice the way tears drip down his face; glittering against his pearlescent skin. He presses his hands against the glass peering at you, “I…I believe you. I just… I was heartbroken. Humanity is so cruel.” You tentatively move your hand; his hand and yours merely separated by a pane of glass. You knew he didn’t want to believe you but he couldn’t help it. He was fond of you.

“There’s no way out of here is there?” He murmurs. You notice the way his eyes flicker darkly. He murmurs, “Humans…pathetic humans…” A rasp in his voice catches you off guard. His hand is pressing against the glass as if he’s trying to break it. You murmur, “Your hair… your feathers, they’re black.”

Bitterly laughing, he hums, “an Angel without wings, a fallen Angel. One who can no longer fly to the heavens but is too pure to go to the depths of hell. Stuck.” You murmur, “Purgatory.” He hums, “Punishment.” Silence ensues.

“I…can’t help you. If I could, I’d break down this glass pane for you. My ID isn’t at a high enough authority level to open the door, either. I’m…sorry.” You sound hoarse at this point.

His dark eyes stare into your emptily before he gives you a smile, “I lost my wings for you, y/n. I won’t let you go that easily. Not after what you did to me.” You stiffen; it sounded like a threat. Nowadays, he seemed to be more aggressive, not the once so soft angel you knew. That was understandable of course.

“Y-Yeonjun? But I explained-“ He hums, “I know. But…I can’t just let you go. You’re the first human who has touched my heart, taken it. Surely you felt what we had? The very reason why I lost my wings. You are the reason for that. The feelings I had go against natural order.”

You find your hands trembling. “Yeonjun surely, you don’t mean…”

“My heart is yours no matter how much I don’t want it to be. I was so conflicted. You make it so hard to hate you. I want to hate you.” The darkness of his irises that once glowed brightly make you shiver.

He murmurs, “If you leave me, then my entire purpose is gone.”

Stammering, “Y-Yeonjun I…” His eyes glimmer, “Do you not feel the same way? I saw the way you looked at me. The way you felt when I ran my fingers across your soft skin, down your face, across your lips.” His face nears the glass towards yours, “Or if you don’t feel that way, why don’t you tell me beautiful lies to soothe my shattered heart instead?”

You wish you could have the power to change things as though you were the protagonist of some sort of story. However, this was real life. Things didn’t work like that. You were no hero to try and break down the door or steal your lab supervisor’s ID to open the door. Your life’s work would be on the line.

And with the way Yeonjun’s behaviour was drastically changing each day. You didn’t have a good feeling. Should you have left him the way he was? Simply despising you? Yet something drew you back to him.

“Don’t you love me? You wouldn’t work so hard to seek my forgiveness otherwise? That’s why you came to see me everyday? That’s why you came here tonight? Is this not what humans call love?”

Overwhelmed, you turn away. You felt something for Yeonjun. Was it love? Or was it a mere infatuation or admiration for him? If he were a regular human, would you feel the same way? Or was his appeal alluding you?

“I…I’m not sure.” He hums, “You’re not sure?” He chuckles, “I’m sure you do. You humans have a way of not admitting things so easily.” You remain quiet. Yeonjun peers around at his chamber- his prison.

A dark smile graces his face, “These walls and glass keep me locked in. They’re thick. Are they scared I’ll escape?” You shiver at his tone. “They have these for every creature. Some like to be more aggressive. So a dual purpose really.”

“Hm,” he ponders to himself. “It sadly is keeping me away from my freedom. From you.” His eyes gaze at you twinkling. “You’re the only one that cares. I can’t even go back home. No wings, and they wouldn’t accept me, someone tainted.”

Yeonjun trails his fingers down the pane of glass separating you both, “The things I’d do if I were out of here.” He continues talking, “You wouldn’t leave me, right? If I were to escape?” You stammer, “There’s very low chances o-of you esca-“

“If I did,” he sharply interrupts. A tinge of fear envelopes your senses. What did you stir inside him? What have you created? Has he become fixated on you? “I’d sweep you off your feet like before. Take you away from these disgusting humans around you. You’re much too pure for all this. You always ranted to me right? How much you dislike this place?”

You abruptly stand up, “I…I think I should go, Yeonjun. I just wanted to clear the air. Make sure…you were somewhat okay. We’ll get through this together.” He simply peers up at you without a word. His words create a mixture of emotions within you. A flame kindles within you; a twisted one that wished to leave everything behind; to satiate his pleading gaze.

“Sohee, was it?” He utters in thought making your blood freeze. “These other humans want an experiment yes? Then I’ll give them one they’ll never forget.” His threat is ominous making your stomach churn. No, surely he couldn’t come out of that chamber. It was impossible. Right?

You hurriedly leave and rush back to your room. Perhaps it wasn’t good to visit him too often. This was a turn you weren’t expecting. Did angels always get attached this quickly? You… really liked him, you did. But this version; it scared you. You felt conflicted. Your heart yearns for him, still.

He had truly fallen from grace. Fallen for you. Fallen into the temptation of love and lust; began to crave a violent touch.

So when you heard two weeks later, an excruciatingly loud siren and flashing lights with staff and technicians running around in panic, you weren’t surprised to learn that multiple scientists had been brutally injured when inspecting the specimen, leading him to somehow rip the ID pass out of a hand and scanning himself out.

To say he had snapped, would be an understatement. All you were now concerned with as you stand on the roof of your facility, watching the sun melt into the horizon was, the fact that you knew someone was coming to get you and that someone would never let you go ever again.

A bloodied hand touches your shoulder, “Were you waiting for me?”

Why else were you up here? To admire the same sunset you’d seen for the last few years? Of course not.

“If I were?” You murmur. Yeonjun gives you a dangerous smile, a tempting one for sure. “Good,” his tone is sinful.

Perhaps, you were just as tainted as he was. It was your turn to pick the forbidden fruit.

You couldn’t deny his touch, gaze or smile, no matter how wrong it felt inside.

Thus, you succumb. Succumb to the temptation. Noted; fallen angels were indeed dangerous creatures.

He presses his lips to the back of your hand with a glint in his eyes, “My precious human, how beautiful you look, when you submit to me…”

[innies-goth-gf]

Things aren't what they seem

Things aren't always what they seem - Ch 2

Pairing : Ot8🗝️ x Reader Genre : Supernatural 🦇, Romance 💌, Angst 🌧️, Fluff 🪽, Smut 🥀, Crack 🪿 W/C : 1.5k Notes : Hi sorry I meant to have this done yesterday but I got writers block lol. Anyways I just wanted to say I didn’t expect my posts to get so much attention even tho I only made this like four days ago now, it’s a bit overwhelming ngl but I’m grateful! Ty to everyone who’s reblogged and liked my posts, very much appreciated! (Ao3 : Seungmins_goth_gf) (Wattpad : Hansgothgirlfriend) [Master list] [Things aren’t what they seem - Series]

“And finally, we have the sitting room,” Han said, slumping down on the sofa. He had spent the last 25 minutes giving you a tour of the first floor.

“Wow, this place is massive.” You said looking around the room.

The room was long with high ceilings, the espresso wood paneling on it following a grid-like pattern, along with intricate foliage designs on the crown molding. Paintings adorned the side walls, and a blood-red mayflower pattern ran 3/4ths down the walls. The bottom of the walls followed a similar design and color to that of the ceiling. On the wall opposite to the arched entrance was a large fireplace, it stuck out from the wall with two shelves on each side built into the wall that extended from the ceiling to the floor. To the right of the room was a pair of deep-set windows that rounded at the top with thick velvet drapes that were pinned off to the side, their color almost matching the dark espresso color of the ceiling wood. In front of the fireplace hung a chandelier, right above an antique coffee table. Surrounding the coffee table and fireplace was an equally antique and fancy sofa set. There was a large carpet laid out on the floor a deep red color that went along with the color of the wallpaper.

You couldn’t help but feel small and out of place in such a house.

“Ji, are you done showing her around?” You and Han both turned to look at the entrance of the sitting room. Minho stood there, leaning against the arched doorway. “Yeah, actually I just finished.” Han stretched as he stood up from his spot.

“Well, I went and told Chan you were here. None of us knew when to expect your arrival, we apologize for that,” Minho explained as he walked over and sat on the couch next to Han. “He was just coming back from a jog when I talked to him, he said he’d be here after he looked more presentable.”

“Oh, there’s no need to apologize really!” You exclaimed quickly, waving your hand in the air dismissively. Seeing as you were now the only person left standing in the room, you too made your way towards the couches, sitting down on the empty one next to the one Han and Minho were occupying.

“No, he’s right, me and the others were really excited to finally meet you. We should’ve prepared better.” Han said with an apologetic look.

“Others?”

“Yeah, didn’t Chris tell you about me and the rest of our roommates?” Han questioned as Minho simply nodded in response to your question.

“Roommates? Wait so there's more besides you two?” You replied a bit shocked. Chris hadn’t mentioned either of them in the note, much less tell you he had multiple roommates. Although you did initially wonder how he could live in a place of such a size all by himself.

“There's five more excluding me, Han, and Chris. We all have our rooms up on the 3rd floor.”

“Ah to be honest Chris didn’t tell me much of anything in his letter, I kinda came in here knowing next to nothing.” You explained.

Minho and Han paused and looked at each other, honestly if you blinked you would’ve missed it, but you didn’t.

“Well, we're glad you got here safe and sound! Hopefully, you’re not too jet lagged.” Han chirped, changing the subject.

You continued on the convo while your mind was elsewhere. How you wished you’d blinked at that moment because then you wouldn’t have noticed that glance, that glance they shared that had a look of concern. A look that showed that they might know something you didn’t.

You couldn’t help but overthink it, it’s just the way you were. Why? Why did it bother you so much? You knew you were the type of person who often misread and looked too deep into things, but you just knew this was not one of those moments.

୨ৎ ˚ /) /) ༉ ‧ ₊˚

“I have 3 cats of my own,” Minho said matter-of-factly. Somehow the conversation topic had shifted to pets.

Just as you were about to chime into the conversation you heard a cough come from the archway.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt,”

Minho stood from his seat clearing his throat, grabbing your attention. “Han, we should go grab a drink for our guest.” Han then nodded, following Minho as he made his way towards the kitchen, excusing himself.

You barely managed to process your surroundings, you sat in shock. Although your whole reason for coming here was to reunite with Christopher, you still couldn’t believe he was standing here right in front of you.

He looked so different since you last saw him, his short black hair a longer blonde color. He was taller now. His face had matured from one of a high school boy to now a grown man. His once skinny lanky build is now a bigger, broader, muscular one, apparent through his plain black tee. Despite all those changes you could tell the man standing before you was the friend you lost all those years ago.

You can’t exactly remember how long you sat there staring, nor can you remember exactly when you’d gotten up and engulfed yourself in his arms. You sobbed into him, your cries muffled as you buried yourself further into his embrace. He held you gently, alternating between patting and rubbing your head delicately to rubbing circles on your back.

“It’s ok Y/n, I’m here yea?” He whispered to you, his words full of emotion. His voice wavered, and he sniffled as you felt his tears on you. “I’m here for you, I’m not going anywhere.”

You two took your time in each other's arms, holding onto each other for dear life. The longer you stayed in his arms the more you started to feel at ease, your emotions coming down.

“You don’t know how much I missed you,” You said sniffling as you pulled away from his embrace, your hands resting on his waist while he did on your shoulders. You looked up at him, seeing his red and puffy eyes glossed over from the tears that had left stains on his face. He wore such a warm smile on his face, one that you’d seen so many times before.

“I’m sorry,” He muttered, placing his hand on your cheek and wiping your tears. “I hate to see you like this.” You leaned into his touch, letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

“Shut up Chris, stop getting all sappy right after I stopped crying,” You replied jokingly, giggling a little. “I can’t believe I’m seeing you after all this time.”

“I can’t believe you actually showed up,” He chuckled. “I was almost sure you wouldn’t even open that letter.”

“I’d be stupid not to. I would’ve done anything to see you just one more time again,” You said wholeheartedly. Chris was the closest person to you in your life including your family, when he left you felt like you’d lost everything. “You mean so much to me Chris.”

Chris then took your hands into his, interlocking your fingers together. “God there’s so much I want to say to you, I can’t figure you what I should start with and-“

“Okay wait a sec all of that can come later,” You spoke up, cutting him off. “I think I'm at my limit right now. We can save that for tomorrow ok? I’m way too jet lagged.”

Chris smiled. “You might’ve grown up a little more but you’re exactly as I remember Y/n.” He chuckled.

Just as you were about to speak you heard another quiet voice coming from your right.

“This is so beautiful,”

Both of you snapped your heads towards the sound. Just as you turned you noticed three men huddled over peeking and eavesdropping from around the corner.

One of them was Han whom you’d encountered earlier, the two others were new faces. One had short silver hair with a very sharp-looking face, while the other had long blond hair and a slim face.

They all froze, realizing they’d been caught. Before anyone could say anything you began laughing your head off.

What was up with these guys? They were all so hilariously strange, that you almost found it endearing.

Chris then started shouting something at them in Korean, which you barely knew a thing about but you were too busy cackling to yourself to listen to whatever he was saying anyway.

“I’m sorry, those are my roommates and they tend to be annoying sometimes.“ Chris spoke up.

“Chris it’s ok, I don’t mind. I thought it was ridiculously cute actually,” You replied. “But now I really want to get some rest. I’m kinda feeling like I could fall asleep right where I’m standing.”

“Yeah of course pretty. Want me to show you to your room?”

“Lead the way, Chris.”