#been wanting to make an introduction post for him for a while so: here he is!

[1moreff-creator]

You've done this before so this is exclusively self indulgent but can you give your thoughts on DRDT foil theory again haha... I'm enamored by it and think about it daily.

I'll point out as well that there's been a trend regarding which characters are relevant to the chapter's case based on the order of the foils so far.

In chapter 1 it was [Xander, Min, Teruo & Charles] while in chapter 2 it was [Eden, Arei, Nico, Ace] - following this train of logic next chapter's main players would be [Hu, Veronika, Rose, J].

Hu's arc has just started (her beliefs are being challenged), Veronika became worst + Arturo is going to be centered at the start of chapter 3, Rose's arc just started + a money motive would be relevant to her & J's conflict with Arturo is going to be centered at the start of chapter 3.

Feel free to ignore this if you feel it's too repetitive, I just like it when I see people talking about my theory lol.

Well, if the creator of the recap foil theory asks me to talk about it, who am I to deny? It's probably, like, in my top three theories about DRDT, so I'm gonna enjoy talking about it! :D

(Btw I totally get you about enjoying when people talk about your theory. Whenever I see someone mention one of my posts I always go ":O that's me :D" it's great lol)

CW: Murder, electrocution, execution, suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, discrimination against a non-binary person, manipulation, poverty, harmful environments during childhood.

As a quick recap (heh): at the end of the CH1 recap video, the characters are paired up in a certain way. The theory states that they're paired up in a way that represents some of the most important foils in the cast. And... well, it seems to hold up quite well! I'll talk about them here in the order they show up in the recap video.

1) Xander & Min

And what a start! These two are basically eternal foils, with everything about their characters being contrasted with each other in some way or another. From the very first moment they're seen together, in Min's introduction, they immediately start beefing simply due to their respective talents.

The biggest point of contrast comes from their past with education. From Visiting Graves, we know Xander used to be a diligent student like Min, but he stopped when his family died while he was away studying. He's come to the conclusion that the things taught in school are oftentimes kind of useless for most people's lives, and his rejection of the education system kickstarted his rebellion against systemic issues in general.

Min, for her part, actually has a lot of the same views. Her Bonus Episode makes that pretty clear; she doesn't think things like Hope's Peak's history are really all that useful, and feels insecure because she doesn't see the same value in her talent as she does in others. However, Min still wants to maintain her talent, at least in title, seen as her first instinct when the killing game started was to grab an anatomy textbook and start studying it. Meanwhile, Xander dislikes his talent title greatly, as he believes calling him a "Rebel" undermines the stuff he does.

All of this is literally baked into their first interaction, as mentioned before. Xander seems to project heavily on Min upon first meeting her, assuming that she probably has no hobbies or friends if she's the Ultimate Student and judging her for it quickly. Min isn't particularly thrilled over that, given he knows nothing about her life.

Speaking of backstories, there's other points in those where they contrast. Particularly, the involvement of large companies and rich people in said backstories. Duke Spurling did a thing that killed Xander's entire family, which was the inciting incident for Xander officially leaving behind his studious nature. Meanwhile, XF-Ture Tech helped Min's family out of property, but pushed Min into studiousness for the Ultimate Student title; more or less the opposite of what Spurling did for Xander.

The same can be said of their relationship with Hope's Peak, which is elaborated on in the Bonus Episodes. Xander went to Hope's Peak for some kind of ulterior motive-

Unnamed Classmate [BE2]: I think your ability to get back from adversity is really admirable. That determination of yours is admirable. If you set out to do something, then never give up on that, no matter what obstacles may stand in your way. Even if it's risky or against the rules, as long as it's for a good cause... I'll trust that you know to do the right thing. Xander: Yeah, of course. That's why I've come to Hope's Peak, isn't it?

-which we can somewhat confidently assume to be bad for the school given Xander's... Everything. For Min's side, just getting to Hope's Peak was Min's entire goal for the entirety of her childhood, playing right into the hands of the Ultimate Contest for Eminent Students, and thus into the school's hands.

By the way, if you go back and look at what Absolutely-Not-Mai says to Xander, the idea of "bouncing back from adversity" could be connected to Min's whole "mistakes are to be corrected" thing. This one's an insane stretch, though.

For another point, though I don't know much about this particular topic, I find even their designs are opposites in some ways. Although arguably that's more a result of them being foils in general and DRDT having good character design but y'know.

Both of them seem to wear some kind of school uniform, but in totally different ways. Xander does everything he can to stylize his, be it wearing his coat as a cape, or getting a tongue piercing specifically because they weren't allowed and he could hide it, as stated in a Q&A, doing everything he can to fight against this institution. On the other hand, Min wears hers normally, and several Q&A answers clarify that she finds comfort in the colors and style of her uniform. One fights against institutions, the other works withing their systems (Min even wants to be a teacher which is an extension of that idea), you get the point.

Also this plays into the theme of fate because of course it does. Just replace "institutions" with "fate" and you kinda get the point. Xander fights against it, Min accepts it. Or, she accepts the fate of being the Ultimate Student, at least.

Their relationships with other characters, Teruko and David in particular, is another point of foiling. I've brought this up before, but as a recap: Xander betrayed Teruko so she openly hates him even though her real feelings are much more complicated than that, while Min tried to save her only to then panic and try to win the class trial, which causes Teruko to openly hate her even though her real feelings are much more complicated than that. But Teruko takes on Min's philosophy of fixing mistakes in the second trial, which is notable because in the same trial, David calls Min pathetic before his magical girl transformation, only to reveal that he's following Xander's ideals a while later. And while Teruko and David may not be recap foils, they sure are foils in general, so the foiling Xanvid and Terumin duos are formed. Cool!

As a minor point also connected to relationships, I could see the angle that Xander's friendship with David might parallel Min's thoughts on Mai. This one's iffier because anything about Mai is iffy, but I think it's worth mentioning.

The starting point of the Xanvid thing is the fact that they both used to idolize each other, but eventually decide that they should just be friends like any other friends. Cue the whole "foxes and children" quote from The Little Prince that shows up in LGI in the "I hate the things I love..." scene- I don't know how many people can follow what I just said, but I hope the main idea got across, at least.

Xander [1-5]: Enough with these idols or role models, okay? Let's just be friends.

In the same way, everyone loves Mai, but Min's Mai quote is:

Min: An average girl with nothing special at all about her.

Which can kinda be said about Min too, but the whole point of the end of the Bonus Episode is how Min is special to Mai.

Think of David as Mai and Xander as Min. David and Mai are idolized by everyone who knows them (pre 2-11 anyways), but Xander and Min see them as regular people (post 1-5 for Xander), while Xander and Min aren't idolized (by most of the cast at least) but are special to David and Mai respectively. I don't really know if it works perfectly, but it's close enough for me to mention.

You can even try to fit in some kind of point about the theme of cooperation vs competition, though I'll admit it's a bit of a stretch.

Competition is greatly important for Min's character, but she doesn't often go out of her way to help others. She helps when asked, sure, as she does when Surely-Not-Mai asks her to help her study in BE1, or when Eden asks for help baking and the subsequent clean-up. However, there's several scenes where she avoids conflict by reading that anatomy textbook of hers, such as in her introduction and when Arei's yelling at the Baking Squad.

Meanwhile, Xander doesn't really compete on anything with anyone aside the arm wrestling contest (which isn't much of a competition anyways), but he constantly tries to butt into other people's issues. It happens in Min's introduction, in his chat with Nico in 1-5, right before stabbing Teruko, you get the idea. So, he constantly tries to cooperate even without the consent of the person they're trying to cooperate with. Again, a stretch, but kinda works.

All of these foils culminate in Xander's death and Min's murder. Xander, like always, is proactive and acts even with incomplete information:

Xander [1-5]: Then, why did I do this? I don't even know... Why? Just why did you ask me to kill Teruko?

Trying his best to cooperate with an unknown ally to, presumably, hinder the mastermind's plans; fighting against the killing game like he fights against any other system.

But then Min barges in. She was just trying to fix the mistakes of the past, aka cleaning up the remnants of the baking thing. But just like her being randomly sponsored by XF-Ture Tech was in some ways both a blessing and a curse, she once again finds herself in a situation where, depending on how you look at it, she's either in the right place at the right time (to save Teruko) or at the wrong place at the wrong time (because she'll end up dying from this).

Xander attacks, and there's a bit of brain vs brawn thing that happens. I hadn't mentioned that theme before because Xander is intelligent and Min is arguably not the smartest in the cast, but it's true that Xander's physical prowess and Min's intelligence are some of their most notable strengths. This is brought to the forefront when Xander tries to kill Min by overpowering her only for her to outsmart him with the light switch trick.

However, again similarly to how she was pushed into a corner by the XF-Ture Tech contract, Min now finds herself in a position where she must compete with others for her own survival. And not just any form of competition, but a class trial. Once again, Min has to compete under the rules established by an institution, as she did in the UCES. She ultimately gets executed, but kept trying to survive until the very end, fighting for her life the same way she'd been fighting for her future her entire childhood; by trying to give the right answers in a test.

Look, there's probably more foils (because each time I look at these two I find more of them), but I need to stop at some point. These are characters who foil even in their fucking custom weapons for God's sake. Xander's "gun" looks extremely dangerous, when in reality it's nothing but a piece of plastic; and Min's pen looks totally safe, while actually hiding a knife. If I keep looking, I'll keep finding, and I have to talk about 7 other foiling pairs, so I'll keep it at that for this post :v

2) Teruko & Charles

There's plenty to talk about with these two as well! The main point of foiling is their respective character arcs so far.

Charles started out as a prickly and judgemental guy, pushing the others away as he felt superior due to his talent. However, after the events of the first trial, he started opening up a bit more, and hanging out with the others, mainly Whit.

Teruko, for her part, started out friendlier. She made a quick connection with Xander, and we saw her socializing with the elevator scene with Ace and Levi, and the baking squad scene. However, she went the other way after the first trial, pushing the others away to avoid getting attached and trusting no one. She's swinging back to trusting now, but the point stands.

Basically, Teruko and Charles went in opposite character arcs in the first two chapters. In that sense, Charles exists as an early warning to Teruko about the dangers of pushing others away, as the only reason Charles managed to get through the first trial is because Whit trusted him and his hemophobia. So, trust, relying on others, important themes their stories share.

And it's not just the in-killing game arcs, as their backstories also vaguely foil. Charles had a pretty privileged upbringing, while Teruko obviously had a lot more issues with her luck and all. Funnily enough, this includes them having scars they don't properly remember getting. Charles believes the dog bite wound on his arm is a birthmark, while Teruko doesn't know where the scar on her back came from.

Which is what gets us to the theme of memory we got going on. Both of them have memory issues, albeit different ones: Charles has childhood amnesia, Teruko has prosopagnosia. They even both have a brother of indeterminate fate, what with us not really knowing what happened to either "Kyo" or Elliot. Well we know Elliot's dead at least but you get the idea.

Speaking of the Elliot situation, one can tie this pair to a theme I can best define as "challenged preconceptions." Basically the idea that there's preconceptions these two carried into the killing game which are challenged by the events within it. That can technically be said about a lot of characters, sure, but Charles and Teruko have a fair amount of very specific notions which are only begin doubting in the killing game.

For Charles, this would be the existence of Elliot; that's the point I was trying to make with that segue back there. Charles thought he was an only child, but turns out he had a brother at some point.

Charles [2-7]: From birth all the way to the present, there are probably many things that you had taken for granted to be true. Things you never thought to question before, like those frivolous lies about "Santa Claus" or the "Tooth Fairy." Or perhaps less frivolous lies, like the idea that your parents know what's best for you. Once you're given some hitherto unknown information, you may begin piecing together a bigger picture of your past. Things you had accepted as truth your whole life begin to reveal themselves as lies. And once all the pieces are in place, you realize you were blind for never seeing the whole story before.

It's what Charles' numeral in LGI references: "if you doubt, brittle things are broken."

For Teruko, there's a few preconceptions that get challenged over the course of the killing game, but probably the most notable one is the idea that she's doomed to live a horrible life due to her luck.

Teruko [2-16]: I have always said that my misfortune, my personality, the choices I make, everything was all a product of a bad luck that I can't control. That I grew up in such horrible circumstances, so I was destined to grow up to be a terrible person. That everyone else abandoned me, so it's not my fault that I'm alone. I want to say that it's fate's fault, and that I had no choice in the matter. But, even so... Even so... Everyone. Xander, Min, Arei, Ace. Maybe even Levi. Is it my fault that they died? [...] Whether it was the fault of fate, or my fault... I already knew the answer. I had known what the answer was since a long, long time ago.

I think you can kinda see the point.

Their aptitude in class trials can also be mentioned. Although Charles was sorta out of it during the first one, he was definitely pretty good in the second one. And Teruko is far and away the most influential character in trial discussion overall. The fact they're equally matched intellectually speaking helps them play off each other pretty nicely.

Like with Xander and Min, there's probably more to talk about, but that's enough for me in this case.

3) Eden & Arei

The girlies! Arei's playground breakdown very neatly captures a lot of the themes these two foil on. Mainly, the theme of kindness and being a "good person." Arei used to try and be kind, but she was hurt because of it and thus decided to fight back against her sisters through becoming mean. Eden, meanwhile, remains kind and compassionate even through the despair of the killing game. This also plays into the idea of strength; while Arei is physically stronger and more forceful when it comes to getting what she wants, Eden is stronger in her resilience, her ability to remain Silly despite the horrors. Both have their merits, as we see for example when Arei defends Eden from Arturo and when Eden manages to move Teruko in the 2-3 kitchen scene, respectively.

Meanwhile, when we speak of being a "good person", Arei's breakdown of what that means in 2-13 is really all we need to talk about. Eden's seemingly unending patience and kindness is not what's truly needed to be a "good person", as even she must have made mistakes and hurt people in the past (cue fork CG). Rather, being a "good person" just means trying to change for the better whenever you mess up, represented by Arei. Not to say Eden's not a good person; she is, but you don't need to be like her to be "good"- you get the point.

In the same ballpark, we have the theme of friendship, what it means to be friends. In fact, Arei's little 2-10 reconciliation speech connects both this theme and the last.

Arei [2-10]: Being a good person means doing nice things. So if there's anything you need from me... Whether it's defending you from scary jerks like Arturo or baking some stupid fucking cake... I'll do it. I promise. I'll do anything for you. Okay? Eden: I... Arei: Because... because... Because that's what friends do.

Arei believes friendship to be all about doing things for the other person, protecting each other. This is pretty central to her character, seeing as "Because that's what friends do" is her secret quote. Eden brings up the same thing when acused of murder.

Eden [2-14]: I just wanted to help Arei.... I didn't kill her... Teruko: You know I can't just take your words at face value, Eden. Eden: Please, Teruko... You're my friend, aren't you? Friends help each other.... So please, help me...

So. That.

One could also connect Eden's theming around new beginnings (birthday right before New Year's, favorite color is daffodil yellow and daffodils represent new beginnings, her name references the Garden of Eden which comes from a story about the beginning of the world) to Arei's redemption arc, as Arei gets a "new beginning" in the kindness she once showed. This even ties into Arei's death thematically, as Arei not only dies trying to be a good friend to Eden (tying into the theme of friendship), but she specifically dies in the playground, a place connected to childhood. So we once again get "new beginnings" by connecting her place of death to her origin point and the time when she was kind, if you get the idea.

Again, probably more here, and for this one in particular I'm not even sure I really scratched the surface, but I'll call this good enough for now.

4) Nico & Ace

So these two have a ridiculous amount of beef and that's not really new. Even their very talents have foils; both work with animals, but Nico loves all animals, while Ace hates them, especially horses. 

Ace [1-5]: Animals are fucking lame, anyways. Seriously, they suck hard. If someone told me their cat was acting up or something, I’d give it a good punt.

But the main point of contrast is the theme of agency and taking control of their situation.

Ace’s thoughts on this are expressed quite clearly in his secret quote, “I don’t know what to do with myself anymore.” He feels he lacks control over his talent (forced into it despite being deathly afraid of horses), over his feelings (obvious), over his relationships with the cast, etc. And so he tries to feel in control by bullying Nico, especially when he gets their secret so he can try to blackmail them. Not that Ace doesn’t bother Nico before that, but it does get worse in CH2. He repeatedly does self-destructive things just so he can feel in control of something, be it killing Arei because he feels everyone hates him and he has no way of fixing that before he dies, or trying to find reasons to get mad at Levi so he can try to control his feelings towards him when they become inconvenient for the whole murder thing.

Nico, for their side, keeps having their agency undermined by people around them. They get pushed by both David and Ace into revealing their secret before they were ready, Hu keeps defending them even after they ask her not to, they keep getting spoken over during the trial, etc. You can even extend that to stuff like feeling like they have to present as a man at the start of the series because the people from their backstory don’t respect their identity, or more minor events in the killing game like Ace reproaching them for just… wandering around.

Nico [1-8]: The motive was on my mind. So I was nervous. I tend to pace around when I’m nervous. That’s not a problem, right?  Ace: Seriously? You were ‘wandering around’ all alone? You’re definitely the killer!

Basically, Nico struggles to assert themselves a lot of the time, which means they end up going from 0 to 100 pretty fast on the whole “murder Ace” plan. 

That’s how we get to the theme of victims/perpetrators, or rather, how sometimes things are more complicated than that dichotomy. The theme is explored throughout their relationship, with Nico originally being a victim of Ace's bullying, then Ace being a victim of Nico's attempted murder, then Ace being a perpetrator of actual murder, you get the idea. Pretty straightforward there. 

Going further, this also connects to the theme of forgiveness and apologizing, which comes up a few times in the trial. Nico doesn’t apologize to Ace after explaining their plan because they still hate him and know Ace isn’t going to forgive them, so they see no point in doing it. This parallels how Ace doesn’t expect anyone to forgive him for killing Arei, though with Nico, the question of forgiveness is currently open-ended, as there’s several characters who either have shown a willingness to ignore their crimes (Hu) or don’t know what to think of them (Rose). Basically, Nico has a chance to move past their mistake, which Ace isn’t getting.

And as usual, Ace’s death is the culmination of the themes his character embodies. He kills Arei, who is connected to him via the theme of bullying. He does it out of fear of death, because he feels he doesn't have enough control over his life to avoid getting killed by the enemies he made by insulting them all. Arei was on the path of forgiveness with Eden, which Ace cut short. Ace replicates what Nico did to him because Ace’s murder is the conclusion to everything that’s happened to him in the killing game, with everyone hating him and all that. You get the point. Hopefully.

For a relatively smaller theme, we can bring up dissatisfaction with their body. Nico is non-binary, meaning they’re presumably not very happy with the sex they were born with. Meanwhile, Ace has an eating disorder, not to mention that he always wears gloves for some reason (hiding his hands), and he wears heels to be taller because he’s shorter than he’d like, even though he’s also tall for a jockey. Can’t win, this guy. 

Again, probably more to talk about, but I’d like to get this post out at some point this year :v

5) Hu & Veronika

You mention in this ask that, since the first two recap foil pairs were important for CH1 and the third and fourth were important for CH2, it's possible that Hu-Vero and Rose-J could be important for CH3. That's certainly an interesting observation! We could also extend that to CH4, I guess, but that's a bit too far for me to talk about... so I won't! I will talk about CH3, though.

I'll get to Rose-J in their section, but I could definitely believe that Hu-Vero could be important for CH3. There's a fair bit of setup for both of them going through some kind of arc in the chapter, which you kinda mentioned in the ask (Hu has to deal with the fallout of the Nico situation, while Vero's reactions to Levi's near death and Ace's execution imply she's getting worse), and there's already a narrative connection between them through their pact about the secrets in the second trial. Not to mention that Vero's always given people CH3 death vibes, which I get even if I'm hesitant to say that myself.

But that's just speculation. What about the foils we already have? Well, the main point of contrast is their reaction to conflict, especially when it comes to a specific person they're particularly interested in. Hu always tries to mediate conflict and defend the people she considers good, mostly seen in her white knighting of Nico all throughout CH2. Veronika's the opposite. She enjoys watching conflict, stirring the pot with her psychoanalysis, and particularly enjoys whenever Arturo does some bullshit. Basically, Hu goes "I can fix them" while Vero goes "I can make him worse." Classic dichotomy there.

Then there's the matter of change, metamorphosis even. Hu’s character is designed around it, with her butterfly hairpin and the fact her name means “still lake”, as water is often connected to rebirth. And we know she has changed, from the hopeless child who attempted suicide three times into someone who seems quite attached to her life, if her secret quote is anything to go by.

Hu [Profile Source Code]: I want to pay for what I’ve done. But even then, I still want to live.

Much in the same way, we know Veronika in present is not the same person she used to be years ago. She mentions having been quite outdoors-y back in the day, some of that bleeding into her excitement about the playground, and of course her motive secret is that she used to self-harm, but no longer does.

And yes, the theme of self-harm/suicide is another one where these two foil, which has even come up with their motive secret pact in CH2. We don’t have many details on that yet, though.

That said, the reasons for why they harmed themselves seem to be quite different, which is noteworthy. Although we don’t know what exactly led Hu to attempt suicide, we do know that nowadays she desperately wants to be relied on so she feels useful, meaning it’s very likely her suicidal tendencies came from a feeling that her life had no meaning, or something equally depressing. Meanwhile, provided her secret is to be believed, Veronika just hurt herself when she was bored. Definitely very different reasons for self-harm there.

Looking over your original post on this (have I mentioned I’ve been cross-checking my own thoughts with your own? ‘Cuz I’m doing that), you also bring up maturity, which is indeed an aspect in which they foil. Hu’s character profile states she acts motherly, and the highlighted word in her subtitle quote (“Can you please try and act with a little more maturity?”) is, in fact, maturity. Meanwhile, Vero has childish tendencies, most evidently seen in the scene where the playground gets introduced.

There’s definitely a lot of things about these characters which we currently don’t know about, so I’m sure this section could get significantly larger in the future. But for now, this feels decent enough for me.

6) Rose & J

According to the extension of the original theory stated in this ask, J-Rose might be an important pair for CH3. And I can definitely see that! Rose's mental state has deteriorated a lot, so CH3 is primed to be a turning point for her character. Your point about Arturo being important at the start due to Levi's condition, and that possibly leading to attention being drawn to J, is also very reasonable. Not to mention that, as you seem to be aware of given what you said in the ask, DRDT's motives have so far aligned pretty well with the THH motives, with the first one being videos of their family and the second being secrets. This is important because, if that pattern continues, the third motive might be related to money. And one of the themes in which these two foil is wealth and poverty, which we'll get to in a moment, so it's entirely possible this pair could be quite relevant as a result of that. Not a bad idea in the slightest.

In any case, this is another set that mainly foils through backstory, at least for now. Rose was born into poverty, J was born into wealth. Rose tried to do everything she could for her family, J tries to distance herself from her mother as much as she can. Some parallels can be drawn between the influence the Spurling Foundation has on Rose’s life and the things Mariabella tries to force J to do. I can’t recall if this actually got mentioned in the series itself yet, but based on the childhood drawings post, we can tell J was probably forced to wear dresses despite disliking “girly” things per her profile, and from there infer that she was likely forced into doing a lot of things she didn't want to do.

These backstories can additionally connect to the ever prevalent theme of fate. Rose has accepted her fate, in a sense, believing that she’ll never escape her contract with the Spurling Foundation (see: her secret quote, “In the end, the only thing I can do is watch my wretched life go on”). On the other hand, J constantly rejects her fate by going against her birthright and hiding that she’s a Rosales (see: her secret quote, “Please don’t call me your daughter ever again”).

This is literally baked into their designs btw. Rose’s apron is stained all over, as if to signal she’s stained by the mistakes of her past, while J wears a hoodie as if to hide her identity as much as possible. Notably, J’s shirt actually has a paint splatter design, so she literally is hiding the stains (which in her case would be her last name) that Rose doesn’t bother covering up. 

(Btw while I was looking at their designs for this I noticed J’s hoodie has two zippers, which threw me off a lot lmao. Apparently those are a real thing, but it still caught me off guard and I wanted to mention it lol)

On the topic of design, why do they wear the same shoes?

(Rose's on the left, J's on the right)

Like, Rose’s are a bit less saturated and maybe a bit more green than blue, but that’s the only difference I can see. I don’t think there’s any other pair of pairs of shoes that look this similar in the cast. Whit and Arei’s are similar to these, but they have a few different details. I don’t even think this is a foil thing I think Rose and J just have very similar taste in shoes. I find this amusing. 

Anyways. Their talents are artistic.

…Yep, that’s the parallel! Admittedly, it does come up a bit, with J saying the decor looks new during the prologue, and Rose saying she could figure out a few things about the building if she could analyze the paint on the wall. They be detective-ing and stuff.

Arguably, the theme of betrayal can also be brought up, though it’s very minor. Rose got betrayed by Nico, who used her turpentine for their attempt on Ace. And something like that kinda happened to J around the same time, as she dragged Teruko into a dressing room to avoid Arturo and got a knife to her throat for the troubles. It barely counts, but given Teruko is one of the only people J seemed to genuinely like before that point, I’d say the situations are similar enough to mention, if nothing else. 

Leaving it off there!

7) Arturo & Levi

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way. Their talents are aesthetic related, be it related to people’s physical appearance or the clothes they wear. These talents connect to some of the other themes of their characters, such as Arturo’s obsession with beauty and Levi “styling himself” as a good person by doing things good people do, if that makes sense.

Then there’s the other big one; their family situation. Arturo’s home life was likely pretty bad, which we can infer from how desperate he seemed to get the hell outta dodge; and his sister committed suicide because Arturo left. Levi also left his family behind, although in his case he says everyone was a “bad influence” on everyone. Plus, he directly killed his father for one reason or another. We did get to see how Arturo felt about Levi’s nonchalance about the death of his father in the second trial, and that furthers their foiling. 

Arturo [2-13]: How could you simply *forget* that you murdered your own family member?

Yeah that.

Going back to the talents, there’s some contrast between how they got them. Arturo studied from a very young age and for years to become a Plastic Surgeon just as he entered adulthood, while Levi admits to being relatively new to fashion. They both kinda use their talents to escape their past in some way (it was part of Arturo’s plan to get the hell away from his home and Hope’s Peak is the reason Levi was never convicted for his murders), just that one had a little more planning behind it. 

Then there’s the matter of protection. Arturo repeatedly resents the idea that because he has some medical training, he has to be the cast’s doctor every time someone gets injured, and panics when he’s asked to do something as serious as saving Levi’s life.

Arturo [2-16]: I–! I’m not that kind of surgeon! I’ve told you, over and over, I have no experience with saving lives!

Levi, conversely, actively wishes to protect the others, seen for example when he attacked MonoTV in the Prologue and when he jumped in front of Teruko right before she got shot at. It’s even clarified in the subtitle quote of his profile (“I will do my utmost best to make sure that you all are safe”). Levi likes to protect others so they see him as a “good person”, which segues nicely into a more vague theme of categorizing important people in some way. Levi wishes to be seen as a good person and thus is quite interested in those he considers good (eg Eden), while Arturo is only interested in talking to beautiful people. It’s very vague and I don’t have much to say about it, especially since we don’t know exactly where Arturo’s obsession with beauty comes from, but it’s there.

Speaking of that, another point of comparison is the way both of them seek the approval of one specific person in the cast. For Arturo, it’s J because of her mother. For Levi, it’s Ace because of what happened in the first trial. They do it in quite different ways, but it is a thing that happens, and the differences help highlight the main narrative points these plot points bring to the table.

I’m calling that good enough!

8) Whit & David

We sure left a pretty interesting one for last. This is probably one of the ones I’m the least clear on, mostly because both Whit and David are sorta unclear characters. However, there are still a few interesting things I can bring up.

Let’s start with the theme of idolization of the dead, because it’s quite literally what Whit’s secret quote references.

Whit [Profile Source Code]: We tend to idolize the dead. 

Whit idolizes his mother, and thus tries to be like her in any way he can. He dyes his hair blond, he completely ignores the fact she’s dead, you know the drill. Meanwhile, David idolizes Xander. Take a pick from any of his 2-12 lines or any of the Xander related LGI bullshit to see what I mean by that. 

Though, speaking of family members, Diana Chiem. Given we have no idea what the deal with her is yet, I won’t speak too much on it. But if you’ve watched my Vivisection of the David MV, you might know that there’s a theory brought up there that Diana may have died during Hope’s Peak time and that David’s started saying she never existed when that happened. The link sends you to that section of the video. It’s kinda insane, but there’s some basis for it, and it would create a pretty clear connection between Diana and Elizabeth (Whit’s mom) so I’m bringing it up. 

Then there’s the theme of hiding/avoiding sad topics and the like. David is obviously not as happy with his life as he presents himself as, at least for most of the story, while Whit has a history of horrendously avoidant behavior when it comes to anything that’s even remotely negative.

David does occasionally talk about heavier topics, but always behind some kind of persona. Either as the inspirational speaker who takes on a leadership role in CH2 (see: revealing his family history of depression (which I think is true, even if he probably never thought that was actually his secret), comforting Arei in the playground) or as the cartoonishly evil person he pretends to be immediately after his magical girl transformation (see: “Arei was a weather spell” line). He’s seemingly a bit more candid when it comes to Xander in 2-12 for a bit, but then he mostly reverts back to just being an asshole most of the time, other than a few outbursts of genuine emotion (funnily enough, one of them being David shouting at Whit to take things seriously). Meanwhile, Whit (in my opinion) doesn’t seem to have a persona, per say; he’s just kind of an unserious person who repeatedly uses humor and other tactics to distract from the Horrors. He’s a deeply strange person, but that’s kinda just who he is.

Then there’s- say it with me everyone- the theme of fate. David believes people can’t change, that they’re fated to remain the same no matter what happens during their life. He’s made that stance relatively clear. Whit, for his part, has a much more optimistic view on humanity and the like, as he tells Teruko.

Whit [2-3]: Charles… No, everyone here… we might act callously, but we’re all only human. We're all real people with our strengths and weaknesses.  You included, Teruko. Just like Charles, even if you’re acting cold, there’s still a part of you that’s good–

(And yes, “we’re all only human” can be contrasted with the whole “David doesn’t really feel human” thing from LGI and Tally 5)

Thus, his connection to fate is actually something that hasn’t been talked about in the main series yet, but rather comes from his character profile. All it takes is noticing the repeated references to luck and thing that are “guaranteed” (aka fated) to happen, and you can kinda piece it together from there. 

Whit [Profile]: It’s said that if you get the Ultimate Matchmaker to find you a romantic partner, you’re guaranteed to have a happy and stable relationship for life. Unfortunately for Whit Young, he seems to lack all luck when it comes to finding a relationship himself.

And since that profile talks about his talent, I'll use it as a segue to look at similarities between Matchmaker and Inspirational Speaker. Both are talents based around influencing and advising people on how to achieve happiness, either in their love life or their… life life. Thus, both require some level of understanding on how people think and act, which manifests in Whit’s self-proclaimed intuitive nature and David’s confidence in his beliefs when it comes to people not changing and all that. 

And… yeah I’m gonna say I’m okay with that for now.

-

Wow, that was quite a bit, now wasn’t it! And it still feels like I could find more if I thought about it long enough, but I hope this was enough for you. Thanks for the ask! The DRDT cast is really fun to talk about, though, so the excuse to do so is always welcome :D

[anderstrevelyan]

Valas DeVir

Born: 1441 DR (51 years old); Class: War Cleric (of Kelemvor, he thinks); Race: Half-Drow; Origin: The Dark Urge

When he emerges from the Nautiloid, his memories gone, the first thing he notices is the cruelty: it feels outside of himself, sometimes, like when he writhes in visions of death at night, but it’s a sharply honed instinct, too: the way he interacts with the world. Strike first, shy from empathy, revel in the power of causing fear. Intense, passionate anger, often expressed in a quiet menace.

But as he stumbles through the first days, realizing he can’t do this alone, other parts of himself slip through. He’s calm under pressure. He’s not quick to trust or curious about a stranger’s story, but he’s loyal to those he lets in. He’s comfortable leading. Has a wry sense of humour, when it’s not overshadowed by the instinct to intimidate. He has a conscience, surely stunted from underuse, but a deep, desperate desire to stop spiralling into chaos. He’s utterly tender to those he loves, as surprised as he is by the feeling. Like Shadowheart, he clings to the small pieces of himself that pull at his subconscious, various affinities to physical things that feel like him. The glowing fauna of the Underdark, kept in jars and displayed for study. The strength and shape of soft drow leather gloves. The breadth of a starry night sky, the smell of dusty books by candlelight, the feeling of wind in his hair, the curious look in a small rodent’s eyes.

(Backstory after the cut, with some Dark Urge spoilers implied):

Born to Feron and Viconia DeVir in a quiet home in Baldur’s Gate’s Upper City, Valas was a child that never should have been: a symbol of hope, that the unlikely couple drawn together in the years after the Bhaalspawn Crisis could finally rest.

A fighter and mage by training, Feron—once ward of the late Gorion of Candlekeep—taught his son to spar with swords in the city’s streets and read him stories of adventure at night, content in the thought he’d never have to endure the real thing. Not with the curse of his own divine father, Bhaal, the God of Murder, finally free from his veins. Feron chose mortality. He chose peace. And what better way to live out that peace than to see the world through young, innocent eyes? Viconia, still astounded by the life she’d managed to find on the surface, named her son for the brother who intervened to save her from being sacrificed to Lloth. The whole family took on the surname DeVir, and Viconia tried to teach her son everything she could about the cultures he came from, marvelling at the understanding in his eyes. But the peace wasn’t to last. In 1453 DR, when Valas was twelve, a handmaiden of Lloth stole into the house and poisoned Viconia, leading to a death no cleric could cure. Feron tried to be the father he wanted to be in the years that followed, but grew distant, consumed with the thought that had he accepted a spot among the gods’ pantheon, he could have found a way to save his love’s life. Young Valas became fascinated with death, collecting the bones and dried carcasses of creatures he could find—bugs at first, then birds, or pieces of larger animals, filling the shelves in his room with the macabre collection. He started to approach it through faith, which Feron encouraged despite his own distrust of the gods—Viconia had found hope and strength in her deity, after all, after she lost everything of her life in the Underdark. Valas began praying to Kelemvor, and before long the young teenager was blessed by the death god in return, intending to continue training as a cleric and one day serve as a Doomguide. If anyone suspected his devotion was born out of a desperate desire in his grief to believe Kelemvor’s central tenets—that death is a natural part of life, not to be feared but to be honoured—rather than actual acceptance, they didn’t voice it. The druid Jaheira continued to visit, as she often had in Valas' youth, especially as Feron’s dreams of slaughter started to return. She’d take Valas into the lands outside the city, helping him find more trophies of things long gone but hoping to inspire him with the flourishing sides of nature too, to hold in balance. (If she thought she saw, a time or two, the young man snap a bone to steal a bird’s last breath, surely she must have been mistaken? He’d so calmly insist it had already been dead, and surely a lawful-neutral god wouldn’t have blessed him if that were a lie.) In 1456 DR, Feron’s godly inheritance still spelled his doom in the end. He was attacked in the streets of Baldur’s Gate, and turned into the Slayer. It’s said his fifteen-year-old son was killed in the ensuing rampage, along with dozens of bystanders, until a group of adventurers were able to cut him down. When Viconia, years later, was resurrected by Sharrans after all, hearing of the tragic death of her husband and the slaughter of their son at his own twisted, clawed hands pushed her firmly back to the Lady of Loss, in her grief at coming back to no one. But Valas DeVir didn’t die that day. He was taken, in secret, by a fledgling Bhaalist temple determined to shape him into everything his father could have been, should have been, but rejected. For what could be a better punishment for a fallen, soft-hearted Bhaalspawn than to look back at the world and know his cherished son will become the perfect picture of murder he fought so hard to never be?

[morganaawriterr]

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ Your Sweet Love;

Pairing; fem!reader X husband! Park Sunghoon Synopsis; As the storm outside unravels, you find yourself having to fight one inside of yourself too. Heavy feelings consuming you. When your husband, Sunghoon, finds you crying, both he and you are forced to face the small something growing between you too. Genre; Arranged marriage trope; Angst; A little fluff if you squint; Warning; Cursing; heavy tension; mentions of abuse; (disclaimer) This post and this story are heavily inspired by the drama 'The Trunk' on Netflix! MASTERLIST

DON'T FORGET: This is only a small drabble to introduce a story!! Click here to read the first chapter!!

A/N: This is a little teaser about what's to come! I've had this idea for a few days, and i didnt believe i could turn it into a little book but i did in fact do that haha. This is a little introduction to the story, im still not sure if i will use this in the chapters but here it is anyway! Follow and reblog to not lose the first chapter, im sure you will love it! Thank you so much for the love and support <3

The rain fell mercilessly from the sky, heavy gray clouds painting the atmosphere in dark hues, as silent tears streamed down your cheeks while you sat on the large sofa in your husband's house.

Your gaze remained fixed on the large window, watching the storm unravel before your eyes. Your knuckles turned white as you tightly gripped your navy-colored pajama shirt, trying your best not to make a sound.

Sunghoon sat on the sofa with his peaceful face resting on your thighs. He appeared so sweet with his pouty lips and soft snores. As your gaze wandered to him, you closed your eyes, trying to ease the ache in your heart as his last secret echoed in your mind.

Sunghoon shifted lightly beneath you, drawing your attention. You opened your eyes only to find him gazing up at you with curious eyes. His caring gaze traveled across your face as if trying to understand why tears brimmed in your eyes. Your hands slowly reached for his head, your fingers softly caressing his scalp. Sunghoon closed his eyes and leaned into your touch, savoring the tenderness.

It was the innocence in how you cared for him that began to soften his heart and made him want to open up to you. His past was riddled with deep scars, wounds that seemed to reopen whenever his ex-wife was near—like she embodied his greatest fear: his own father.

“Why are you crying?” Sunghoon asked kindly, his deep brown eyes fixed on the tears that ran down your face.

As he reached out to wipe them away with his fingers, you smiled faintly and shifted your gaze to your hands. Causing your cheeks to warm at his gentle touch.

“The way you’ve been treated by the people who were supposed to take care of you—it’s just so fucking unfair,” you murmured anxiously, unable to contain your feelings anymore.

Sunghoon tilted his head slightly, caught off guard by your words. It was the first time he had heard you curse. Even when he shouted at you, you never lost your composure. He found your compassion deeply moving.

Sunghoon had such a loving heart, his passion so genuine, that people often took advantage of him. It pained you to think of how he had been treated, and knowing the full extent of it made it hurt even more.

The two of you sat in silence for several moments, gazing into each other’s eyes as the rain outside began to ease, much like the storm in your heart. Your hand remained in your husband’s hair as his gaze lingered on you. Guilt filled his chest as he remembered the long months he had ignored you and treated you as though you were merely a maid.

It hadn’t been easy for you at first—watching the meals you spent hours preparing go uneaten as he simply left the house without acknowledging your presence. But as time passed, his strong façade began to crack. Your consistent care, your honesty, and your genuineness were things he had never experienced before.

Sunghoon found himself lost in your beautiful eyes, framed perfectly by long, elegant lashes. His thoughts drifted to all the times you had cared for him without his notice. He remembered the confusion he felt when you invited him to sit beside you on the sofa, telling him he didn’t have to speak—just stay. You knew he needed company more than conversation.

He secretly loved the way you always prepared his clothes and the way you straightened them before he left the house. The proximity made his heart race every time. The way you glanced at him with such warmth and fondness made his chest tighten.

You were calm, patient, and loving—the three things his ex-wife had never been. And that terrified him. What if he couldn’t be the same for you?

“You’ve come such a long way,” you murmured, breaking the silence as you smiled gently at the man resting against you. “You fell asleep so easily. No music, no nightmares, no pills.”

Sunghoon was at a loss for words, the bitter memories of his past surfacing to haunt him. He didn’t want to return to that place—not ever again. He would never trade the stillness and comfort he had with you for the chaotic, unpredictable life he once knew.

“I really want to kiss you right now,” he confessed in a low voice, interrupting the stillness that had settled and changing the subject.

Your eyes widened, and your cheeks flushed, caught completely off guard by his words. You suppressed a laugh, glancing away as anticipation fluttered in your chest.

Sunghoon had sworn to you on your wedding night that he would never touch you. Amid cruel accusations, he had called you an opportunist and dismissed you as naive. He had been intoxicated and heartbroken, still bitter from his previous marriage. That night, he vowed he would never kiss you, hold you, or—most certainly—sleep with you.

You had shouted back with equally hurtful words, calling him cold and ridiculous, mocking him for being wealthy yet dependent on pills to function. You had assured him you weren’t there to seduce him, unlike what he thought. This marriage was purely business: you would gain a comfortable life, and he would secure his position to take over his father’s company.

He regretted those words every single day.

“Sunghoon,” you whispered, pulling him from his thoughts.

Your hand trembled slightly as you pulled it away from his dark locks. Your eyes wandered across the large living room, avoiding his gaze.

Sunghoon suddenly sat up and moved beside you, his broad shoulders casting a shadow over you. His dark eyes searched your face—your cheeks had turned red, and a timid smile grew on your lips.

Slowly, he reached for your face, gently tilting your chin upward. His heart pounded as your pleading gaze locked with his.

“Can I kiss you, Y/N?” Sunghoon asked, his voice soft yet firm. As though the weight of the question might shatter him if you said no.

You couldn't hide it anymore—you wanted him as much as he wanted you. So, with your eyes closed and you're breathing unsteady, you responded:

“Yes.”

Your husband didn’t waste any more time; he had already lost too much. He leaned in and pressed his lips to yours in a much-desired kiss. Butterflies spread across your chest and stomach as you felt the warmth of his lips. Your hands instinctively traveled to his shoulders, your fingers curling and tugging at his hair, driving Sunghoon to the brink of madness.

Besides being an amazing cook and wife, you were also amazing at kissing. Your lips molded against his as if they were made for him. Sunghoon felt like he was losing his mind when you pulled away to catch your breath, your shy eyes meeting his as you tried to steady yourself. Your lips glistened under the faint light of the tall lamp near the couch.

Sunghoon was certain you were the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Your sweet demeanor was winning him over, leaving him feeling like a child deprived of sugar.

A sudden wave of boldness hit you. Small, naughty hands went to rest on your husband’s legs, causing his face to quickly turn towards you. He arched his eyebrow and stared at your embarrassed face.

“Can you kiss me again?” you asked in a low voice, craving the addictive warmth of his mouth once more.

A crack of thunder echoed through the room, filling the silence left by your words. Outside, the rain hit the window like a drumbeat, mirroring the frantic pounding in his chest to the sound of your bold question.

Who was he to deny an angel with such need and love in her voice?

Once again, his right hand reached for your chin as he leaned in. Within seconds, his plump lips were on yours again. Sunghoon tilted his body toward you, wrapping a secure arm around your waist and pulling you flush against his chest.

A surprised moan escaped your lips at his sudden touch, and he seized the moment to slide his tongue into your mouth, initiating a playful yet passionate battle with yours. Your taste was incredibly addicting, and Sunghoon cursed silently, knowing he wouldn’t be able to go a single day without your kiss now.

Your body was no longer just warm; it was hot, melting under Sunghoon’s hungry lips. He seemed to notice, as a sly smirk formed against your mouth while you kissed. Feeling your chest call for oxygen, you pulled away, completely out of breath.

You carefully studied Sunghoon’s face before meeting his eyes, ensuring he was comfortable with what had just happened. He looked proud and satisfied, his grip still firm around your waist.

Not wanting to push his boundaries, you slipped out of his strong hold and rose silently to your feet. Sunghoon’s eyes followed your every movement, curiosity evident in his expression. Yet you simply bent down, pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, and walked away. The faint sound of your steps grew quieter as you disappeared toward your separate bedroom.

Sunghoon ran a hand through his dark hair and smiled, his heart leaping happily against his rib cage as he finally allowed himself to surrender to your sweet love.

Taglist: @grandlightcandy @seokseokjinkim @strxwbloody @enhasunghoonishot @contyynishimura @heewanrik @ranwonbin @leanderexists @lovelyyf @youngheejay @crimson-reaper576 @rikifever @mrsjjongstby @laurradoesloveu @babyboomysweetie @mintchocos-things @nxzz-skz @saphiranishimurashan @ikeupups @yangjungwonnie @xiiaobaoo @itsuen @laylasbunbunny @mellowgalaxystrawberry @firstclassjaylee @questionsdearreader @greeyjre @en-doll @riqomi If you wanna be added or removed from the taglist just comment below!

[prettyboykatsuki]

mixed messages | r. sukuna

✮  tags ; gn + afab!reader, unhealthy relationships, not cheating but reader flirts with gojo while tipsy for fun, undefined relationships, fingering / making out, jealousy, modern!sukuna, sukuna and yuuji r brothers 18+

✮ wc ; 2k

✮  a/n ; a snippet / extension of my modern sukuna post for @arguablyferal. i hope it gives a clear-ish idea of what he's like!!

some more like. relationship explanation in an authors note at the end.

✮  synopsis ; you've never been able to get a good read on him. would he really come to a party just to keep you from flirting with another guy ?

somehow you doubt it.

He's hitting on you.

Gojo is, you think. Though you can't be sure since it feels...a little conceited to believe that a guy like that suddenly developed a genuine interest in you. You can think of a couple reasons he would hit on you, all of them to do with getting on Sukuna's last nerve in their never-ending rivalry.

But it's weird because it doesn't really feel like he's just messing around. As in, it doesn't seem like it's just for that reason.

You know Gojo. Not as close as Shoko or Getou might but enough to comfortably call yourself a distant friend. A little more than acquaintance but less then close.

He's facetious—melodramatic, really—totally by design. By necessity, some of it is an act, but you're good enough at reading him to know what's playful and what's not.

That's why you think that Gojo is really hitting on you. He's using the fact Sukuna, your...whatever, isn't here attending with you. He was supposed to be here but he flaked last minuted on coming with you. You ended up taking Yuuji and his friends though, anyhow.

You're letting him do it. He's serious about hitting on you, and he probably knows you're not very serious about returning his feelings.

But you're entertaining it, despite yourself.

Everyone you know is looking the other way while it happens too. Gojo is leaned close, sitting next to you in a plastic chair, and you're just a little bit buzzed. Humid summer air warms your skin, makes you want to sink into the night.

You're not touching, but you're too close for not-quite-friends. Gojo edges on touchy. A soft nudge here and there, the kind of proximity you shouldn't have. Gojo is a breath away, sober because he doesn't like alcohol.

And he's super friendly, which is nice.

A beat of silence settles between you as the night rolls in a little heavier.

Gojo says you what you assume he's been thinking about all night, without any real introduction.

"You should break up with him," He says, just over a can of soda with a kind of sincerity that makes you restless. You feel your nerves flip.

Your mouth moves before your mind has a chance to fill in the answer. You laugh. "I know."

"You're really too good for him, tsk," Gojo laments, clicking his teeth. Playful again, using just enough drawback so that you don't suffocate in the honesty. You shouldn't entertain this but the attention is nice. "And gosh, you're so much more fun without that dark cloud hanging around you, y'know"

You giggle unconsciously at the thought of Sukuna as a dark cloud. Big and broad with a deep voice—it's an astute comparison. Shaking your head, you give him a playful glance. "Am I really more fun? I feel like I'm not as good a conversationalist as a certain someone,"

Gojo smiles at you proudly. "I'm having fun at least."

You close your eyes and take another, much longer drink. "Yeah, me too."

"If you know you can do better, why bother with him? I figure that bastard might be holding you hostage but," He's serious again, brows raised. "You've got more options, you know?"

You shrug, absently. You don't know the answer yourself. It's one thing that Sukuna never quite lets you leave but it's another thing you come back to him every time. You settle on your reply with closed eyes then laugh a little too loud. Gojo doesn't startle.

"Who knows? But you know, thank you anyway. It's good to have options. Maybe it'll knock some sense into me,"

Friendly again. He's a nice guy you think.

"If it doesn't, make sure to give me a call. I'm pretty great too, y'know."

You give him a lighthearted smile.

It's hard to hear much over the loud thump of music. You're not very in touch with your surroundings and the pleasant air around you all but swallows you.

It takes you a minute. Longer than you care to admit, to realize that someone is approaching you. Even longer to realize who.

Sukuna is looming over you and Gojo when you finally look up.

"Having fun?"

You blink, pulling away to make sure you're hearing correctly. Sinking back into your chair, your eyes flicker up to whats casting shadow overhead. His voice almost bellows, deep and coarse but not loud.

"I thought you weren't coming," Is all you can think to say. Sukuna rolls his eyes.

"Yeah. I thought so too,"

He doesn't ask you to get up as much as he tugs you towards him. He's careful not to pull too hard but you come up still on a stumble, drink still in hand, and face in his chest. Your heart thumps, embarrassed by the sudden warmth. His hand sits on your lower back and suddenly there's a conversation happening overhead.

"Quit sticking your nose where it doesn't belong," He spits. He's talking to Gojo you realize.

"Be careful there, nii-san. You're gonna make it seem like you care."

Sukuna tenses under you before he relaxes again - rolling his eyes. He's not happy about it but you can hear that he's trying not to let it show.

"Stay out of it." Sukuna demands. Gojo whistles.

"Sure, sure. You two have fun there."

Sukuna turns you around like that, your face still in his chest as he drags you away. You hear Gojo laugh faintly as you walk further away from the crowd.

__

You don't really get any explanation from Sukuna as he packs you and himself in the backseat of his car.

He's quiet the entire walk there, and the air is so heavy your lungs can't find a breath around it. He doesn't say anything to you even as he opens the back door. He tells you to get in but doesn't show any emotion you discern.

Instead you end up laying in the backseat with Sukuna over you - cramped as his tongue slips all the way into your mouth and his hands grab your waist. All too sudden, without any ceremony at all.

You kiss back because he's being so suffocating and it's all you can think to do to appease him. As soon as he lets you breathe, you put a hand on his chest and push him away.

You make eye contact but he still hasn't said a word. "Are you mad?"

He sneers. "You tell me,"

He ducks down again to kiss you and you let him this time, doing your best to gauge what exactly he's thinking. You know he's upset, rather - but it's weird. Something is different about it.

His mouth is hot as he hands slide underneath your shirt further- his knees keeping your legs apart as his thigh presses against your clothed sex. You shiver, moaning into his mouth and Sukuna swallows the noise. Gasping, you pull back again.

"All you do is piss me off you brat," He tugs your lip back between his incisors as he speaks, voice bordering on a snarl. "You should know better than to cozy up to that idiot."

You squirm. "I wasn't cozying—"

"You think I'm fucking stupid? Think I don't got eyes to see with?" And then, like he's predicting your next question. "Yuuji texted me."

"And you came?" You stop, keeping him from going any further. "You came 'cause Yuu-chan sent you a picture of me and Gojo-kun....?"

He ignores your question. "Take your pants off,"

You make a face at him but oblige, hands unbuttoning your jeans as Sukuna practically tugs you out of them and your panties in one go. He sits back up on his legs and maneuvers carefully to keep his hands between your thighs. His middle finger runs through your slit, palm putting pressure on your clit.

He's rushing more than normal, mouth crushing yours again in a kiss so heavy it makes you gasp. You feel like you're imagining it but each time you pull back - his teeth sink into your lips until they're throbbing from how hard he's bitten them up.

He's possessive. Always has been. He's territorial over you in one way or another over everything, but it's usually only when you threaten to leave. There's a merit to what Gojo said about keeping you held down. But even in that, there's never any emotion stronger than annoyance to follow your little tantrums. You wouldn't call what you feel now desperation by any stretch.

But it's something more then simple possession and it makes you ache.

"I wasn't gonna do anything with him." You say half-way between a breath. You see his jaw tick with irritation at the mere thought. "It was just for fun—"

He quiets you with his fingers. With his hands, rough - spitting hard on your clit from where above making it splatter against your thighs. His fingers fingers the thick layer of spit and drag them down against your throbbing clit to make it wetter. He touches you hard and fast, places kisses against your jaw and collar before sinking his teeth into the clothed shape of your tits.

His fingers find your pussy not long after. Thick, scarred, intrusive - he slips them in one at a time. As much as he knows you can take until he touches that spot inside of you that leaves your whole body tingling. Knuckle deep, he presses his palms up against your clit to make sure you have the right friction. You moan his name loud, eyes rolling up into your head,

The windows are starting to fog.

"Sukuna,"

He grabs hold of your face with free hand, bordering on a snarl. It's mean you think, but more then that there's a genuine frustration to it that makes you shiver almost shamefully.

"You're mine." He sneers. You feel your cunt twitch unhelpfully at but Sukuna doesn't budge. Doesn't even go to make fun of you He just keeps growling, leaning in to kiss you - forcing his tongue into your mouth and pulling away again. "Get close with that bastard and I'll kill him."

Your stomach flutters in arousal at the aggression in it. The unreasonable, unhelpful, trained part of your brain nearly screams. He wants you, he wants you, he wants. It makes you wanna—

"G-gonna—gonna cum, fuck, Sukuna."

He kisses you again, murmuring against your lips. "Cum,"

Your thighs clamp around Sukuna's wrists as he continues to finger you, grinding yourself the edge of his palm as you ride out your high. Your voice pitches into a high whine, spine arching. It's rushed but intense, scratching the itch but not enough to tamp down the heat completely. You squirt around his fingers in a full blown gasp and find you can barely get your head above water.

You cum hard, convulsing. He doesn't move his hand until you grab him by the wrist and shake your head. Surprisingly, he listens easily and pulls away.

You pause and stare at him after you've caught your breath.

"What's wrong with you today?"

"Stay the fuck away from that guy."

You roll your eyes. "He's right. It's starting to sound like you love me or something. I wasn't gonna sleep with him anyway so chill out."

He scoffs. "Don't even fucking dream of it. I'd kill you both."

You take a second to look at him. You can't read him to save your life. But he's looking back at you, into you maybe, in a way that makes you wonder if there's something about him you're missing. You wrap your arms around his neck just to see if he'll tell you to stop clinging.

He doesn't though.

"Did you really come all the way here 'cause of what Yuu-chan sent you?"

He glares at you. "Are you deaf? Didn't I say that?"

"But then it sounds like you were jealous."

He rolls his eyes. "You're stupid."

"....You were jealous? Really?"

"Shut up already," He says. And maybe it's the alcohol but you swear his face goes warm. "And seriously stay away from that idiot. If I see some shit like that again I'm locking you in the house and chaining you to my bed."

"Weird proposal but okay."

"Dumbass."

"You love me,"

He rolls his eyes and goes to kiss you. Doesn't deny it, you notice. You pretend not to be giddy.

"Whatever."

✮ extended authors note ; hi!! i hope sukunas personality made sense here.

my point with sukuna in modern is that i think it takes away a lot of his unsavory aspects but the deep sense of possession and ownership sort of stays. this is a modern au so he's different from canon in many ways.

he has a hard time committing but he also does not do things he doesnt want to so him spending time with you and wanting your loyalty are both genuine desires. he understands why you're entertaining gojo's flirting and rationally knows it's unfair to want loyalty from you.

but he's into you so he gets. fucking pissed anyway. skjsjd. anyways i hope u liked it and i hope it made sense!! i just wanted to add this incase!!!

[lej222]

Supernatural Involvement and Ominous Signs in ASLFUA

For a while, many readers have theorized that there is some kind of a higher power/higher being in ASLFUA, and looking at the latest episodes it seems to have been confirmed. With this post, I've tried to gather every instance of the higher power's implied presence and all the ominous scenes in the story. I also included foreshadowing scenes that could have made Miae aware of certain things if she had paid attention because coincidences are important in the story, and certain moments that were defining in the plot. The list contains spoilers for the newest KR episodes and it keeps being updated.

Episode 2 :

Miae is reading a book in the library about how the last day of 1999 will be the end of the world: "'1999, a terrifying overlord is coming...the end of the human race.." -> this might be a reference to the famous prophecy of Nostradamus in which in the 7th month of 1999 a great king of terror would descend from the skies (which makes me think...is it July in the story right now?)

The Hwang family's phone stops working

Miae's dresser breaks and therefore she has to take out the trash, where she sees Cheol crying

"This boy is about to be this girl's most special person, someone whom she will never be able to forget."

Episode 3

Miae and her mother visit the Buddha statue and Miae's wish is not to be in the same class with Cheol - it doesn't come true.

Miae, Cheol and Jisu all become classmates in their last year. Miae and Cheol become deskmates by coincidence.

Episode 4

Cheol's furniture becomes Miae's, along with the contents of his dresser, something only he knows about

Episode 5

Yunhui calls Miae on their new cordless phone, the line is interrupted by another conversation, "Did you get the present I sent you?" - it sounds like a message to Miae from the higher power about Cheol

Episode 8

Miae ruins her bangs, her mother says she should do something about her hair - the first time we are told Miae should go to a hairdresser to fix it

Hwanggeum Academy uses corporal punishment - might be relevant later on?

Miae has to go to karaoke so she gives up on going to the hair salon (this foreshadowing is super crazy btw)

Episode 9

Cheol is compared to the protagonist of the comic Miae reads, 'My First Love Next Door Is Number 1' - gets into trouble and transfers, fights the school bully and wins, nicknamed Lucifer, has a facial scar, lives next door

As Miae is thinking about Cheol, her thoughts are interrupted by a cockroach in the classroom

Episode 11

Miae notes how strange it is that she keeps seeing Cheol while they didn't bump into each other the previous year (just like how Jisu later keeps commenting how strange he keeps meeting Miae) - Miae acknowledges the higher power

Yunhui's pager says "between friends goodbye"

Episode 12

Miae has a weird feeling when she's talking to Cheol's shoe as if it understands what she's saying

Episode 15

In her dream, Miae remembers Cheol crying and her making a wish with a stone tower about how she wants to be his friend. The phone suddenly rings, the TV becomes static and there's a storm outside despite the weather forecast not saying anything about it. The other end of the phone is silent and the lights go out.

Episode 17

Cheol's shoe gets smudged with ink so Miae cannot give it back to him. She cannot concentrate on her practice test, foreshadowing her involvement with Cheol's academy.

Episode 21

Miae again remembers some memories about Cheol saying he doesn't want to be her friend while she's sleeping

Side note: while Soonkki is a great writer, there's some inconsistency about Jisu's seating arrangement. I think she always meant him to sit in Block 1, that's why we got limited panels of that area of the classroom, but his position kept changing until his official introduction. Here, he should have been sitting in front of Seonghan, but there's another boy in that seat. In episode 23, we get a panel of Block1 again, and there's a boy who looks like Jisu from behind in that.

She again remembers her time with Cheol while sleeping on the bus

Episode 24

Daebak Academy notebook says "The teacher is spoon-feeding you, so why can't you pass" -> the higher power is giving hints to Miae, why can't she understand them?

Episode 29

Miae thinks about how she doesn't bump into Cheol as much as before, we get a close-up of the shoe and the Daebak Academy notebook

Episode 37

Miae falls on Cheol while playing soccer

Episode 39

Miae and Cheol are arguing but still bump into each other because of their parents

While Miae thinks about how Cheol should smile at people, she almost gets hit by a ball but Cheol saves her.

Episode 40

Cheol goes to Miae's house to do their homework. Miae's mother says she wonders if it will rain before she leaves. Cheol tries to change the lightbulb in Miae's room, but the lights go out because of the storm. Miae thinks "again?" and they fall on each other. She tells Cheol they should be friends.

Episode 41

Cheol agrees to be Miae's friend and we see a flashback of young Miae wishing they would be friends. While they are doing their homework the rain stops. Miae says planes even fly in the rain and Cheol replies that airplanes fly above the clouds.

Episode 42

Miae answers their phone and the line is interrupted again. Someone thanks their boss for the present and says they will do well on their own from now. -> is it a sign Miae should do well on her own after the hints?

Interesting to note that every time Miae might be involved with the higher power, certain objects in her room are highlighted - Cheol's shoe, the lamp, the notebooks. They all give signs to Miae that she keeps ignoring.

Episode 43

Cheol and Yonghui point out that Miae should get a haircut. Miae ends up cutting it herself instead of going to a salon.

Episode 45

Miae wishes upon a star instead of a plane so that the presentation in class will go okay. This actually comes true, as also noted by the narrator in ep 46.

Episode 46

Daebak Academy booklet says "nothing comes easy"

Episode 47

Something I've noticed is that throughout the story Miae keeps thinking she forgot something, and there's usually a situation that seems like the answer to it. Here, it turns out she forgot about Jinseop's homework. And Taekwang's song is about how someone cannot do both things at the same time. It was the same when she forgot about her homework while playing soccer. Forgetting about things is a recurring plot point for Miae, which culminates in the Jisu subplot where we learn Miae completely forgot about his existence even though she didn't have many friends who were boys.

Episode 50

Cheol's father wants to take a picture of Cheol and Miae, but Cheol refuses

Episode 51

Miae again cuts her own hair and wonders if she cut it too straight

Episode 55

Cheol kicks Miae's pencil into Jisu's chair (side note: you can see here again how Jisu's seating arrangement was inconsistent, he should have been closer to the window)

Episode 56

Miae gets sent out to the corridor with Jisu

Miae's friends talk about handsome boys and someone mentions the number1 student (Jisu)

Episode 60

Jisu becomes Miae's folk dance partner - the first time Cheol and Miae are not doing something together

Episode 61

Hwanggeum Academy booklet says "there's nothing you can't do if you put the work in, do not expect a miracle" when Miae is struggling with the dance

Episode 65

Cheol's father takes a picture of Cheol and Miae after the sports festival

Episode 66

In Miae's dream, Cheol's sister says for a while means 5-6 yrs, Miae counts she will be in middle school by then. There's also a memory of Miae running after Cheol, saying "wait for me".

Miae's mother tells her to get a haircut but Miae replies she needs a bigger allowance for it.

The narrator says Miae should watch where she's walking after she bumps into Cheol.

Episode 67

Miae loses her name tag and Jisu finds it

Episode 70

Miae wonders how her wishes never come true, but remembers she also made one with the stone tower as a kid, but cannot recall what it was about.

Episode 71

Miae's mom notes their phone keeps ringing since yesterday. The day before Miae wanted to tease Cheol with how she heard him saying he "loved her" in the shop and she saw him shirtless the same night.

Miae doesn't realize it was Jisu who called her a pervert

Episode 72

Miae notices someone wearing her name tag (Jisu), but doesn't find the culprit

Episode 75

Cheol wants to ask Miae something, but the homeroom teacher interrupts. Miae and Jisu get called to the teachers' room and have to do cleaning duty together for a week.

Episode 76

We see Miae's mom at a hair salon - could the lady in orange be Jisu's mother? who knows

Episode 77

Cheol stands up for Miae, but when Honggyu asks if they are dating, they both vehemently deny it. It suddenly starts raining.

Episode 78

Miae and cheol promise to be friends for real, forever. The narration comments, "But will they end up regretting their promise?". The rain stops. "1999, the final year of the century is half over" -> Miae's story is half over at this point. I have pointed out this before, but the series seems to be about the transition period between childhood and young adulthood, symbolized by the last year before the new millennium. Hence the title, 'green apple academy'

In her dream, Miae remembers asking Cheol if they are friends. She is awoken by their phone. the Daebak Academy notebook says "you are in danger if you are relaxed" and we see a girl talking to Cheol.

Episode 81

Cheol and Miae fall on each other and almost kiss, but the phone rings. Later, they do end up in the same position with an accidental kiss.

Episode 82

Miae wants to confront Cheol about the kiss and gets embarrassed, but her actions are interrupted when the trash bag she gave Jisu splits open, spilling its contents. Miae runs to him to collect it.

Episode 83

While Miae talks to her friends, she thinks back on her memories with Cheol and the narration says "I always liked.." and Miae looks surprised by it.

Episode 86

Interesting detail that Cheol doesn't know why Miae keeps looking at airplanes. If we assume she has a reason for doing it from the past, it's likely not related to Cheol.

Episode 87

Miae uses the trashbag as an excuse to run away from Cheol, repeating how she has to throw it out. All of a sudden, Jisu appears and takes it out of her hand, giving her a chance to run. It's just my personal theory that the trashbag here symbolizes Miae's vulnerability and reluctance to face her feelings, and Jisu takes it from her hand. It makes sense when we remember how his words made her think about her actions when she wanted to interrupt the confession. It's a great early foreshadowing that Jisu might play an important role in Miae's growth story as her voice of reason.

Episode 89

Cheol and Miae take photos together in a photo booth, first with Jinseop and Song-I, then the two of them alone. We don't know if Miae still has her pictures, but we can assume she somehow lost them during running around from the bullies because we never see them again. Cheol gives her a new name tag in the next episode.

Episode 95

Cheol gifts Miae an airplane model for her birthday. I personally believe this episode marks the end of the first part of the story and it's a turning point, but more about this under ep96.

While Miae leaves for school, their phone suddenly rings and her mom answers it. Miae sees posters about love on her way to school. For the first time, Jisu arives early for cleaning duty.

Episode 96

The series has had 2 symbolic illustrations at the end of 2 episodes. The first one was at the end of ep2, when Cheol and Miae's story started in the present:

Miae is offering a green apple to Cheol - a biblical allusion, here, the green apple probably signifies how Miae helps Cheol in the first part of the story to mature and grow as a person with her own knowledge.

This illustration comes at the end of ep96. Like I mentioned, I believe this marks the start of the second half of the story which focuses on Miae's growth as a person. Space is an important concept in the series, Miae also has planet stickers on the wall of her room,has a charm on her bag, etc.

"16 years old. An age much like the universe." "16 years old. An age where it's like you're thrown into space." - highlights the narration.

But why is it compared to space? We have the illustration right after Jisu splashes water on Miae's face and Cheol wakes up from his dream. In my opinion, it's because this is where these kids' limited worlds start to expand. In part 1, Cheol and Miae were mainly together, but as you grow up you start to feel like you're just one insignificant part of a greater whole. You might feel like you're the center of the universe when you're a teenager, and that the world is ending when you experience negative emotions, but as the illustration shows us, it's not just Miae and Cheol standing alone in the universe. There are other people, facing different directions, but they are all interconnected by an invisible force. Miae is looking at Cheol, but Jisu is standing in her shadow- because even though she was not aware of him, Jisu had his own life happening parallel to what we saw in part1, and this is where he starts to have an intersection with Miae. If there is a higher power in the story, it is aware of all these connections and talks about youth in a nostalgic way. The sense that these moments are fleeting is always present in the story, however, connections formed between individuals will always have a lasting impact, just like how the universe will continue to exist. Being thrown into space might feel like losing your footing, but here it's the personal relationships that ground these teenagers and make them stay close to Earth.

Episode 98

The teacher tells Miae to cut her hair after Jisu takes the blame for ruining the plant.

Cheol is acting strange because of his dream, and while Jisu looks at Miae the narration box says: "16 years old. An age riddled with the unknown, just like the universe."

Episode 99

Miae's hair gets stuck in the zipper of Cheol's bag and he pulls it out, ruining her bangs in the process. They go to the infirmary after Miae gets scratched by the zipper.

Episode 100

At the countryside, while Miae picked a flower she thought how nice it would be if Cheol came to her school - and it became true. She thinks how it was so strange -> Miae again unknowingly acknowledges the higher power when it comes to Cheol

Episode 101

It's raining and the TV is not working in Cheol's home. He remembers taking a picture with Miae in the countryside. He asks his father about the picture on the sports day -> the data was lost. Miae gets grounded by her mother and she wants her to quit the academy.

Episode 102

I've mentioned symbolic objects in the story, but this one was noted by other readers as well: in ep 101, Miae accidentally drops the chalkboard eraser out of the window and Jisu fails to catch it - but Cheol does. However, in this episode Miae tosses it back to Jisu before saying she hopes they'll never see each other again (it's the first, but not the last time she declares it).

Cheol fails to convince Miae's mom about the academy -> Miae's mom points out Miae's grades have been dropping since last year. She makes her stance clear - she wants Miae to study.

Episode 103

It's raining and Miae cannot open Cheol's drawer in her room.

She tries to cut her hair, but the phone rings. On the other line, Miae hears someone saying "I only did what I did because you wanted it so bad, but you screwed up that chance! You don't deserve that project, I'm going to hand it to someone else." -> the first time the higher power tries to directly say Miae is late

Miae's mom cuts her hair instead of sending her to a salon...

Miae loses the name tag Cheol gave her

Episode 104

Jisu says "see you again" to Miae (and will keep saying for a while lol). Miae points out she never wanted to see him again.

Episode 106

After the teacher discovers their conversations in class, Miae and Cheol get separated and Miae becomes Jisu's deskmate. Miae and Cheol are not allowed to interact until the final exams are over.

Hwanggeum Academy's notebook remarks "Do you regret it now?"

Episode 107

Miae dreams about the flower from the countryside and a voice says she should hurry up and do what she wants about her wish if she remembers. She doesn't remember and the voice gets angry, Cheol appears and crushes the flower, telling her if she doesn't remember she should just forget it. The voice remarks Cheol is angry because Miae is late.

Episode 111

Jisu, who has also become aware of the coincidences, tells Cheol he's not the only one having something special with Miae.

When Miae calls Jisu her friend from the same class and tells him he should learn for himself, Jisu tries to say something, but he is interrupted by Cheol.

Episode 112

Miae thinks about their bet and how she should ask something serious, something more than friends do from Cheol, and we get a bunch of error messages. Cheol's dream is all fuzzy.

Jisu wins the bet, but we never get to know his wish because Miae gets angry at him.

Episode 115

The narration points out Cheol has changed and matured a lot, is it Miae's turn?

Episode 116

We see some posters about a summer festival, the forest in Midsummer Night's Dream and how everything is the product of coincidence.

The forest in Shakespeare's play is dominated by the supernatural - what we have in common with this story is the forest Miae and Cheol played together as kids, and obviously the involvement of a higher power. The coincidences poster is possibly a reference to Carl Jung's Synchronicity, a concept that states that seemingly meaningful coincidences have a deeper meaning, they don't have a rational explanation - almost like destiny, a deeper order in the universe. It's a connection between one's psyche and the material world (so you have to notice and acknowledge the deeper meaning of these coincidences in order to experience synchronicity). Jung used this to argue for the existence of the paranormal. For example, if you cannot decide something, you might come across a book on the topic. What a coincidence, right? In this interpretation, everything is interconnected in the universe, and we are a part of this web of connections. So those coincidences...were actually not coincidences. -> Hmmmmm.....I wonder.....meaningful coincidences, the universe, connections...why do they sound familiar??? BECAUSE OUR STORY IS EXACTLY ABOUT THIS NOTION! Who notices these coincidences? Miae about Cheol, Jisu about Miae....One has to be open to the possibility of the connection between our inner world and the outside world, only then they can start to notice the signs the universe is sending them. Soonkki, you deserve my applause! Because it was exactly what I said about the art at the end of ep 96 and the placement of the characters. Mind? Blown!

Miae thinks that she feels something is wrong

Yunhui's pager says friends goodbye

Jisu gets involved in the Yonghui-Yunhui storyline by coincidence

Episode 117

We see all the coincidences from Jisu's perspective and how he became aware of them. And what does he say about them? That they are fascinating and kind of funny! My boy Jisu got the synchronicity message.

This is the 3rd time Miae and Jisu didn't hold hands. The first time Miae pretended to help him up, only for him to fall back. Then Jisu held out his hand after the exam, but she didn't take it. Here, he again reaches out and Miae doesn't take his hand. Remember this later!

Episode 118

Someone steps on Cheol's bag, and he's worried it might be Taeuk

Jisu wants to join in another bet in exchange for his help

Episode 119

Jisu gets involved in the Shim storyline, and as we know from later he picks up the cigarettes to get revenge on him

Episode 122

Miae learns that Cheol rejected Seonyeong and the lights flicker in her room

She cannot remember her dream. The narration says that she should have realized that something changed.

Episode 123

Miae notes that she experienced the kiss in the comic book with Cheol

Jisu almost catches her, but Cheol pushes him away

Episode 126

The parents are having dinner together at a pig feet restaurant and toast for the future of their children. The TV is not working, and a boy who looks like Jisu tries to fix it.

Miae kisses Cheol

Episode 127

Miae has a dream again in the white dress. As she realizes she might like Cheol, the voice says she's too late and there's no use regretting it.

Episode 129

Miae remembers that they took a picture in the countryside together and wants to take one now. She makes a wish to an airplane about how she just wants one photo, and remarks that the planes never granted her wish before. Spoiler, they won't this time, either.

Miae chooses to take the picture with Cheol. The narration box says "she's always done whatever she sets her mind to. That has always been one of her better attributes. But Mi-ae, it seems as though you keep forgetting something. I told you, you're too late."

The pager's message means idiot, cancelled and it suddenly starts raining. Maie and Cheol cannot take their photo and Cheol cannot give her back the hairpin she dropped a few eps ago.

Episode 132

Graduation photos were postponed until the second semester

In Miae's dream, the voice says she's all over the place and cannot decide what she wants from Cheol. In her memory, Miae wishes at the stone tower that Cheol would like her back. The voice angrily remarks how it must not mean much to her.

Episode 133

While Cheol and Miae are looking at each other, Miae is smacked in the face by a flyer. Later while they are riding the bike, Cheol almost says she looks pretty but he is hit in the face with a flyer that belonged to Jisu.

Episode 134

Miae takes the cigarettes from Jisu and puts them in her backpack

While Jisu and Miae look at each other, the narration box says "Well. this is what we would call fate. What do you think?" Miae can sense the voice and dismisses it.

Jisu again says "see you later" and Miae answers let's not, but Jisu replies they never know and it would be fun.

On the radio in Miae's room there's a voice speaking, asking if it was a success and how there is something you can't stop thinking about. "A friend? The fact that you weren't wrong? Whatever it is, I don't think it's such a bad thing to obsess over it a little bit. I hope you have no regrets about it."

Episode 135

Miae's eyebrow and bangs are so ruined she has to finally go to a hair salon. Yunhui gives her money and says there's a cheap place where she can go. It turns out Jisu's mother is a hairdresser and after realizing she is Jisu's friend, she doesn't ask for money. So if anyone ever wondered why Miae kept ruining her hair in the story, here's the answer....

a little bit of strange wording here:

The narration says "Now that I think about it, this was about the time..wait,no, it was a little bit earlier that things started to go wrong, little by little. You two were completely oblivious, though. Just you two."

Miae's mother goes to the academy. One theory I can give on this is that Miae's family might be moving. She wished for it at the start of the story, mentions it in a later episode as well. Who knows ~

Episode 138

Miae doesn't tell Cheol her feelings because of her pride as she feels like she would lose first

Miae has a feeling as if something is trying to make her look bad in front of Cheol and her gun suddenly starts working

Everybody forgot to buy the picture they took together in ep 139

Episode 140

After conveying their feelings indirectly to each other, Miae tells Cheol they cannot date right now because her mom wouldn't allow it. She plans to go to the same high school, university, everything and thinks there's no one to stop them so nothing can go wrong.

Episode 141

Cheol imagines high school together with Miae and their friends

Every time Cheol is flustered, he accidentally drinks his sister's coffee and he cannot sleep at night..in a story where dreams are relevant I'm sure this is just a coincidence, right???🧐🙃😏

Miae says they should not be obvious before the entrance exam and they start to think of it as a competition

Someone watches them from the street

Episode 144-145

We get everything from Cheol's POV

Cheol got his scar because he wanted to give Miae the romance book she liked before they left and he fell on the stone tower

The picture his dad took of them is about a young Cheol accidentally kneeling with flowers in his hands, the same flowers from Miae's dream, in front of Miae. This picture was in the book Cheol and his family kept.

Cheol realized the book was in his dresser that is now in Miae's room, the one she couldn't open before

Episode 146

Miae sees two flyers in the newspaper, one is about how a student still didn't give it up, the other is about changing one's car

On the street, the same car ads keep flying after her in the wind

Miae goes with Yonghui to wait in a line and the same flyers are all over the place

Episode 147

Miae wants to call Cheol, but Jisu stops her. Miae notices how often they have met during vacation, and Jisu says these coincidences are fun. He remarks it's almost like as if some higher power is involved (!!). Miae is standing on the car ad, they look down on it with Jisu, then she kicks it away. Jisu tells her he has a feeling they will meet again, but Miae hopes they won't.

The academy is also full of the car ads and Miae falls on them

Miae thinks that for a while she's had a feeling as if something wants to get between her and Cheol, but brushes it off

Miae ends up with a bubble gum in her hair and goes to Jisu's house to fix it. Jisu tells her she should stay because he is bored, and there is a car ad on a stool.

Episode 148

We see some of Jisu's childhood memories and he was called a magpie by Miae which was a symbolic choice (I also made a post about it). Jisu in this story is the grateful magpie.

Miae and Jisu "touch hands" for the first time when they high-five (I wrote about how their hand hold never happened before)

After spotting some men smoking, Jisu tells Miae to go inside (one of them might be his father?)

Episode 149

Miae finally remembers Jisu

the narration boxs keeps saying how Jisu is cool and showing heart-thumping sounds and Miae is confused about these strange things

Miae not remembering Jisu was an important plot point considering she recalled everyone else from her past. As I theorized, memories and fate seem to be intertwined, the synchronicity theory also supports this. Synchronicity happens when seemingly unrelated events coincide and they become significant to you. It's easy to see why Jisu was aware of this notion, but Miae was not - because Miae had no idea about those coincidences other than meeting Jisu randomly. Him being her classmate, being the one who found her pencil, who helped her in the crowd, found her name tag, etc. - only Jisu knew about these. But right now, Miae was made aware that they knew each other in the past - a pretty big coincidence.

So now that Miae might have kickstarted her own fate, the question is whether she will be able to fight it or if there are certain things bound to happen no matter what. Is the narrator omnipotent and omniscient? So many questions that will hopefully get answered.

Episode 150

For the first time, Miae says she and Jisu will see each other again sometime. Before this, it was always Jisu who said it and Miae would reply that she didn't want to meet him again.

Miae remembers Jisu transferring, but doesn't know why he singled her out (so she will probably recall more memories later)

As Miae leaves Jisu's house, the car ads are flying in the air around her

Jisu enrolls at the academy and for the first time he says it's not a coincidence

Episode 155

Hwani tells her mother it would be great if they could keep being neighbours with Miae because she's fun. After a pause, Cheol's mother agrees.

Jisu keeps telling Miae she's a "traitor" or "bat" (depending on the translation, meaning she keeps secrets from others like the Yonghui Yunhui situation and the fact that she went to Jisu's house) and she might get into trouble because of that

Episode 156

The narrator directly communicates with Miae again, and informs us about Miae's thoughts. It makes heart-thumping sounds when she's with Jisu just like in previous episodes, but Miae ignores them.

Jisu again says how the coincidences are so fun. He counts to three until the teacher interrupts Miae and Cheol's bickering (similarly to Taekwang in ep 158)

When Jisu tells Miae he'll go out of the room to let her talk with Cheol, Miae thinks she'll talk to him regardless of anyone's interference and we get a close-up of an academy notebook saying 'NO' and a plane flying in the sky.

Episode 158

Flashforward in the episode to a scene with Cheol leaving Miae at the academy while a storm is coming and Miae looks like she's about to cry

An hour earlier in the story the dark clouds are already gathering (I mentioned how rainy weather is always connected to the change in Miae and Cheol's relationship, and how it's usually an ominous sign). After seeing Jisu's flustered face, Cheol tells Miae that he wants to change the lightbulb in her house before she gets hurt. The lights at the academy are highlighted as they keep vibrating. (I also noted how the lights are signs of the supposed higher power, they get their own panels in Miae's room, and they went out 2 times when Miae and Cheol's relationship changed)

After Jisu reveals that Miae was in his house and Cheol gets angry, Miae's pager starts buzzing (again, the pager messages always appear when the higher power wants to communicate with Miae).

Taekwang is an interesting character because the things he says are sometimes connected to the greater theme of the story. Like when he listened to his music and said how Miae cannot choose two things at the same time (come on, it was the foreshadowing for the current conflicts!), he smelled Jisu on Miae (???), Jisu even said he's the one he cannot deal with, and now he was counting the seconds until Miae got another sign. Is he used as a medium? (who knows lol)

Miae wants to check the pager message but the fluorescent lamp(?) breaks. Jisu shields Miae from the shards while they fall on the ground, making it his first successful attempt to save Miae in the story. The pager lands in the corner of the room.

Episode 159

Miae goes to a phone booth to check her messages and it's filled with the car ads so she kicks them away

The first message is a loud noise of a song recording. I personally think if there's a higher power in the story, this message came from it. The other is about Miae's friends telling her they'll visit her at her academy which gives Miae a sense of panic knowing Yonghui and Yunhui might meet.

Miae sees an airplane in the sky and the narration says Miae has a feeling that something is interfering with her and the panels get fuzzy with flashbacks to phone calls earlier in the story (omg this is actually crazy)

It starts raining and we get a glimpse of the last countryside memory we haven't seen yet about Miae running after Cheol at night. In the present, Miae trips just as she did as a kid, but instead of Cheol she meets Tae Uk.

[pseudowho]

Debellatio

You ask Nanami Kento to help you and Higuruma Hiromi on a mission, after the events of In Flagrante Delicto (link here); you find yourself at the mercy of both men after they are struck by the aphrodisiac Curse.

An introduction to Greynami from my Post-Shibuya!AU Nanami; see Grey and Post-Shibuya AU!Nanami Headcanons

Warnings: 18+, another sex pollen fic because I'm utterly depraved and godless, threesome, I don't like to ruin surprises

(help me find the Higuruma artist in the banner, for crediting and thanks/permission!)

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"Kento. We're friends...right?"

Nanami Kento's one good eye narrowed at you, you, sat so surreptitiously on the arm of the sofa in the coffee shop you had asked to meet him at. Kento briefly considered lowering his newspaper, but decided he'd wait to see what you wanted, first. No longer working for Jujutsu High after the Shibuya incident, he did, however, stay in contact with you, one of his favourite colleagues.

"Friends?" he teased, "I don't have friends." You pouted, slapping his arm lightly, and he  continued, "Alright...what is it you want?"

You scooted next to him on the sofa, emboldened by his invitation; "It's Hiromi," you said, already desperate, almost begging.

Already on first name terms, Kento thought, a light jealousy twisting in his gut, having thought he and you always had potential together. "Higuruma?" he pressed, scarred face neutral. You nodded.

"I released him to the wild," you stated, filling Kento in, "I don't think he was ready, but he was insistent, he's been out on his own for a while now...anyway, he seems to have been alright. Alone."

You did not tell Kento how Hiromi Higuruma had spent every night over the past week in your bed, spurred on initially by an aphrodisiac Curse he had failed to exorcise. You had not told anyone at Jujutsu High, in fact. How would you tell them that you and Hiromi were...what? Colleagues with benefits? On an uncertain path towards boyfriend and girlfriend? Pleasuring each other blind every day and night, lost in each others' minds and bodies? You almost blushed, aware your underwear was damp with the seed he had left inside you just that morning.

Kento raised one thin eyebrow at your pause, imploring you to continue. You took a deep breath.

"There's a mission tomorrow, and they want to send more than one First Grade, they think it's big, apparently. They chose Hiromi, and me. But I've worked with him, and he's...he's..." you trailed off, searching for the words. Kento helped.

"Difficult? Doesn't play well with others?" he offered lightly. You nodded, hands clasped in your lap.

"Can you come with us? Just as a buffer. We won't even need you I don't think, just..." you tailed off again, hoping Kento agreed.

That familiar jealousy burned in Kento's gut again. 'We'. 'Won't even need you'. Kento kicked himself mentally, wondering if he'd left it too late to ask you out to dinner, to make his move, wondering if Higuruma of all people had showed up and pipped him to the post. His jaw clenched as he put down his newspaper, giving you a gentle reassuring smile. Of course he agreed.

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"Why is he here?" Hiromi pressed you, rolling his gavel between his hands in irritation. Nanami Kento stood a few feet away from you and Hiromi, catching up with Ijichi while the veil was prepared around a derelict shopping centre, held together by ivy and abandoned "SALE!" banners.

"Just for back-up, Hiromi. Anyway, I haven't seen him in ages. You'll be friends in no time, I'm sure of it," you cooed.

Hiromi bristled. He had heard you speak fondly of this...this...sexy pirate, Nanami Kento, and in these early, brittle stages of your relationship together, Hiromi couldn't help but feel threatened by this imposing figure of a man. Allowing himself a moment of fragile masculinity, he shook it off, reminding himself that you weren't a competition.

But that if you were, you'd chosen Hiromi and he had won anyway.

Kento smiled fondly at Ijichi, gripping his hand in a friendly squeeze, before heading over to you and Hiromi, the veil descending below him in an oily drip down an invisible dome. Kento's face remained neutral as he approached, he and Hiromi reading each other, both shrewd, calculating. You swallowed at the palpable tension, before trying to bridge the gap with a reassuring smile to them both. Kento spoke first.

"The electricity's back on, so we're not operating in the dark. We should introduce ourselves. Nanami Kento," he said shortly, offering a brief bow, his gaze piercing into Hiromi even through an eye patch, it seemed.

"Higuruma Hiromi," he offered, "I've been told you're just here as..."

"...insurance," Kento finished coolly, "as you're rather...new to this." Hiromi felt another pang of irritation, smiling tightly at Kento.

Kento turned to you, giving you a smile so warm and sincere that it cracked through his icy demeanour. When you smiled back, Hiromi gritted his teeth, reminding himself again to behave. Eyes now on you, he threaded his fingers through yours, tapping your joined hands against his thigh in an act of affection and possession.

"Come on then, my love. We'll lead the way, shall we?" Hiromi pulled you ahead of Kento as a pair, and Kento glowered silently at your backs as he followed you into the building.

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"Have you read The Day of the Triffids?" you mused aloud to Hiromi and Kento, running your hand along the network of enormous vines, some as thick as your thigh, clinging along the inner walls of the building. A hazy mist had settled within the confines of the corridors, dewy and tropical in the summer humidity of central Tokyo. Exotic and otherworldly flora popped in bursts of colour from the ceiling and floor as the corridor curved away from you.

Hiromi and Kento both confirmed immediately, competitive, flashing each other furious glances. You were oblivious, examining the tendrils and flowers in glittery-eyed fascination. Hiromi and Kento stewed, both hovering close to you, irritated by the invasion of each others' space.

"We should go deeper into the building," Hiromi stated, confident, tapping his gavel against his adjacent palm, "the main Curse body is probably hiding centrally." Kento cleared his throat, imitating politeness as he disagreed.

"Many of these Curses linger on the edges, like spiders in webs. It would be more thorough to scout inwards from the edges, first."

"Well that sounds pretty inefficient seeing as we know--"

"--well we don't know, you're just assuming--"

"--based on experience, I think--"

"--oh yes, and what experience would that be?" Kento finished, curt, brittle. He turned to you, shoulders clenched in a taut line under the clipped corners of his suit. Hiromi spun to catch your eye, anger burning low at Kento's interference. Both beseeched you, seethingly, to agree with them.

You blushed under their stares, feeling their Cursed energy rising, competing, and gulped, feeling naked and exposed.

"I think," you started slowly, "that both options are as viable as the other," both Kento and Hiromi huffed air out of their noses, lips curled in annoyance, "and so you two should decide between you."

"Either way," you continued, the air thick with tension, "we have to go this way to get to the rest of the building anyway. It will give you two time to make a decision, and maybe learn to get along?" Both men bristled at your gentle chastisement, facing each other, chins out, teeth gritted.

You continued behind Hiromi and Kento along the corridor, watching with mute horror, as conversation escalated into debate, descended into argument, spiralled into insults--

"Well you're apparently so smart," spat Kento at Hiromi, "that I probably should let you decide, even if you find out the hard way, but you're not dragging her into danger too, so--"

"--sorry we can't all muscle our way through our problems, Nanami, she probably should stay with the brains of the group, so--"

"--she's coming with me!" Their voices rang through the corridor in tandem, and you shouted in warning, as they both tripped, distracted, their legs tangling in a flower-covered vine, like trip wire across the floor.

A puff of yellow pollen shot up from the flowers, clouding Kento and Hiromi in a clinging haze. They coughed, sneezing, staggering backwards out of the cloud. Kento cleared his eye with a swift wipe, looking down at himself, surveying the damage.

But, Hiromi spun to face you, barely disguised panic in his eyes; "Shit. Shit. Not again--"

Your jaw dropped, appalled; "Again? Hiromi? Was this-- is this--"

Hiromi groaned, and leaned heavily, shivering against the wall as the pollen seeped through his pores, the yellow fading as it sunk into Hiromi's bloodstream. Kento's back was to you, but dread crept into your belly, low and hot, as you saw his shoulders roll and shudder, his scarred hand clasped over his mouth as his chin dipped towards the floor.

As both Hiromi and Kento turned slowly to look at you, hunger glowing in their eyes, you began to take tentative steps backwards, your speed gradually increasing as you spun, quickly building into a full sprint back down the corridor.

Kento was burning from the inside out; every nerve was on fire with desperate arousal, his cock rapidly hardening in the confines of his slim suit trousers, and he knew in furious desperation that if he didn't pin you down and ram every inch of himself into you, that he would surely perish in these sordid flames, and--

As Kento's legs bent with intent to hunt you down the corridor, he felt slim fingers grip around the front of his throat, Hiromi stepping into his vision, clearly suffering just as he was, but determined and steely, hooded eyes smouldering with threat.

"Not my girl, Nanami," Hiromi spat, squeezing the sides of Kento's thick throat with surprising force. Kento chuckled, full of dark mirth as he gripped Hiromi by the wrist, twisting it away from him; Hiromi held fast, hand shaking with exertion.

"You were the back-up, Higuruma," Kento rumbled, smirking, judgement clouded by wild, throbbing need, "so back off. Daddy's home now." Kento swept Hiromi's legs from under him, elbowing him to the ground, before leaping over his scrabbling form and stalking down the corridor, with surprising grace for such a big man.

Hiromi was on Kento in seconds, spinning him into a resounding thud against the wall, and Kento roared in frustration, as the two continued to scrap along the corridor, concrete cracking under their feet and shoulders as they bodied each other into the walls, trying to gain the upper hand.

You had reached the end of the corridor, the stairs blocked with a bawdry tangle of prickles and vines. You scanned the corridor, spotting a lift to the right, and you ripped fine vines away from its entrance, pressing the lift's button in a frantic panic, hearing the roars and crashes of Kento and Hiromi moving down the corridor towards you.

You had a moment of dread, fearful that the lift was now inoperable, before a tinny little ping announced the lift's arrival. Clambering over vines and into the lift, you saw a puff and crumble of rubble down the corridor as Kento was thrown into a wall, the ceiling partly collapsing above him.

You pressed the button again, again, again, your heart thick in your throat. You saw Hiromi round the corridor, zigzagging across jigsaws of vines, eyes intently on you.

As the doors grinded closed, Kento and Hiromi descended upon them, still scrapping, bloody, fighting with mindless desperation and rage. The lift stayed still, halted by your own paralysis as you caught their eyes through the glass, both begging you to let them in.

You swallowed, your belly hot with anticipation, wanting to help but utterly incapable of accepting the only means by which you could help. You mouthed wordlessly at Hiromi and Kento. You pressed a shaking finger to the lift's 'down' button, and Hiromi swiftly countered by pressing the button outside the lift doors. The lift pinged, juddered, stopped, started, indecisive, torn.

You were at a stalemate. You ran your hands through your hair.

"I can't...I can't help both of you," you cried, turning to look at Nanami, eyes brimming with apology as he rested his forehead against his fist, breathing out in a shaking moan.

"Kento, I...Hiromi and I, we..." Kento thumped his fist against the outside of the lift, the lift trembling at his strength.

"You choose him?" Kento spat, feeling precum leak down his thigh in a constant damp stream. He coughed, arousal burning through his throat, and reached down to squeeze his cock, desperate for relief, moaning softly as he bit into his fist.

"You'll-- you'll help me, though?" Hiromi urged, hopeful and throbbing, palms and forehead pressed flat to the glass of the lift, eyelids heavy and breaths hot and urgent. You swallowed, considering your promise to always help Hiromi, and nodded slowly, swallowing, memories of how desperately he took you the first time sweeping through you, your clit aching and pussy clenching around nothing.

"Open the door. Please, please, open the door," Hiromi whispered in prayer. Kento accepted, sickly, that you had made your decision, still certain he may die without relief. The pollen pulsed through him, toxic and ruinous, and he felt his vision fade into animalistic shades of black, white and red.

"I can-- I-- just let me watch," Kento forced out, begging through clenched teeth. You hesitated, eyes flicking towards Hiromi in question. Hiromi scowled, lips curled in distaste.

"Watch, don't watch-- I don't give a fuck. But I'll have your head if you lay a finger on her."

Kento snarled, lips pulled taut against his teeth-- but nodded his agreement. Your hand lowered, hesitantly retracting from the button as Hiromi calmly pushed the 'open' button from the outside, eyes burning into you with unholy intent.

As the door opened, Hiromi stepped to you, trembling with restraint, fists clenching and unclenching as he urged you backwards, caging you in against the wall with outstretched arms. Not breaking eye contact, he reached down to grab one of your hands, pressing it hard against his straining erection with a low groan, eyes closed against the enormity of the tiny relief and the promise of more to come.

Keeping your hand pressed against him, rutting into your open palm, Hiromi dipped his mouth to your neck, taking your skin between his lips in a deep, bruising lovebite.

"You know how this works," he intoned, low and slow, licking your neck as he rubbed your hand on the outline of his rigid cock, "and I know you can take it." You hesitated as Kento moved slowly into the lift space, the doors closing behind him. His eye shot daggers through you, the burned side of his face twisted in agony, until his gaze flicked downwards, staring hungrily at where Hiromi rutted his cock into your open hand. Kento's tongue darted out to lick his lips, his hand sinking slowly to undo his own belt.

As Hiromi continued to devour your neck, moaning with abandon as he pressed closer to you, humping his weeping clothed cock against your body, you felt your own inhibition fade curiously away. Your trepidation was slowly being overtaken, being seeded and overgrown by a burning hunger. You took a gasping breath, high off your own desire, head swimming--

"Hiromi-- the pollen, it's-- it's on your clothes," you urged, your brain clouding, thrumming, succumbing as yellow mist soaked into your skin.

Kento watched with erotic fascination as you became pliable, supple as water under Hiromi's mouth, your eyes half-closed with aching arousal, a desperate keening noise rising from your throat.

"Oh god yes," groaned Kento, voice gravelly with lust as he released his throbbing erection, pumping his thick cock in his fist, biting the backs of his knuckles on his free hand, "keep going, don't stop-- don't--"

Hiromi drank up Kento's begging, seethingly determined to prove his ownership of you, and grasped your top between his hands, ripping it open like paper, snapping the front of your bra so the cups hung loosely over your pebbled nipples. Hiromi heard Kento release a shuddering whine behind him as he latched his tongue and lips over your nipple, still rutting into your hand, which was joined by the other now as you worked frantically at Hiromi's trousers to release him.

Kento and Hiromi both gasped as Hiromi's cock sprang upwards, and was instantly grasped between your fingers, your first squeeze releasing a thick dribble of precum down Hiromi's length as he shuddered, moaning into your breasts, pressing his fist into the wall as you began to masturbate him. You ached to your very core, reeling with need.

"Please fuck me," you begged Hiromi, voice whispering and pleading in his ear, "cum inside me, as much as you want, I need it, I--"  Hiromi didn't need to be told twice and lifted your legs to straddle his hips, holding you up against the wall as he flipped your skirt up, ripped your tights and sticky wet underwear at the groin, and allowed you to line up his cock between your puffy, glistening folds.

Kento's hand worked harder and harder on his own cock now, stopping to circle his thumb around the sensitive head, spreading his precum, fighting the urge to throw Hiromi aside and thrust into you himself. Biting his lip hard enough to draw blood, he instead focused on where Hiromi's cock lined up with you.

"What the hell are you waiting for?" Kento growled as Hiromi paused, panting into your neck, "get inside her or I will."

With one aggressive thrust, Hiromi's cock rammed into you to the hilt, slamming you back against the wall as you cried out, clawing at him desperately. Your hands clenched the front of his shirt, gripping and ripping, buttons scattering over the floor with faint skitters, so desperate were you to feel Hiromi's skin on yours.

Hiromi fucked you ruthlessly, eyes fixed on where his cock crashed into you, hips snapping back and forth with barely controlled fury. Spurred on by your mewls and whimpers, Hiromi panted, chasing his relief, agonised cries breaking from his mouth with every other thrust.

Kento's eye had drooped closed behind Hiromi, stroking himself now to the sounds of you and Hiromi alone, feeling with agonising certainty that cumming in his own hand would do little to relieve his deadly need, but needing to chase his orgasm regardless. He felt his pleasure building rapidly as he heard you cum, falling apart with trembling cries around Hiromi's cock.

Hiromi didn't last long, his first orgasm hitting him with a wave of relief so violent, his knees almost buckled, relying on you for a moment to hold yourself up against him. Hiromi felt blinded as rope after rope of his seed spurted into you, coating your cervix, soothing your aching belly with warmth. Kento came with a shuddering gasp, streams of thick cum splattering onto the floor and coating his hand, face contorted in pain when he felt little to no relief despite his orgasm plundering through his every muscle.

You and Hiromi clung onto each other, still joined, and Hiromi's cock felt no softer at all, still rigid and held with urgency against your cervix, sucked in by your velvety walls.

"I'm-- I'm sorry I-- I can't stand--" Hiromi stuttered, dropping to his knees with your legs still wrapped around him, still pressed core to core as you wrapped your arms around his neck, straddling him, riding him as he whimpered into your mouth. Lost in your own pleasure, your eyes had drifted shut as you rode Hiromi, slippery with cum, keeping his cock jealously inside you, unwilling to let him pull out by more than an inch.

You felt a strong hand wind into your hair, tipping your head backwards and sideways, and as you gasped, you felt a droplet of salty cum drip onto your tongue. Kento's other hand, sticky with his own seed, ghosted around your lips as he stared down at you, scarred face impassive, but his eye urgently begging, and he dipped a cum-covered thumb into your mouth, stroking across your tongue.

Hiromi flung a hand out sideways, clawing with fury at Kento's thick, corded thigh; "Nanami," he hissed in warning. Kento ignored him, still staring at you, pleading, impeaching--

You nodded slowly, opening your mouth, holding out your tongue. Kento groaned his appreciation, and leant down to dip his tongue against yours as you gripped his thick cock in your hand. Hiromi scowled, thrusting you harder onto him in possessive punishment, satisfied to hear you squeak against Kento's tongue. As Kento pulled away from you and your mouth started to close, he gripped your jaw, stopping you.

"Open," he barked and you acquiesced, jolting and groaning as you felt him spit into your mouth, mixing with the drips of cum his fingers left behind. Humming lowly in satisfaction, Kento stood tall, manoeuvring your head and thrusting his full length down your throat with little warning.

Despite himself, Hiromi was hypnotised as Kento gripped you by the hair, ramming into you; Hiromi kept pace with Kento, matching his timing by slamming your hips down onto his. His eyes fixed on your mouth as you coughed and spluttered, cheeks covered with cum and saliva as you choked down wet gags, Kento barking orders at you as he slammed his cock repeatedly over your tongue and into your throat.

"Harder, Nanami," Hiromi ordered, blinded by lust as he felt your cunt clench around him, fluttering weakly as Hiromi slipped his hand between your legs, finding your clit with practiced ease, rubbing rapid circles, lubricated by the slick of your cum.

You were overwhelmed, floppy and malleable as you embraced being used by Kento and Hiromi, covered in fluids, sticky and sweating, and you shivered weakly as Hiromi dragged you to another orgasm. You felt Hiromi ram you onto him once, twice and three more times until he came with a frantic shout, legs cramping underneath him as he felt his seed shoot through him like electricity, dripping out of you and soaking the patch of trimmed black hair at the base of his cock. Hiromi whined, his balls clenching painfully, watching as Kento finished in your mouth.

Kento pulled you to him, his knuckles deep in your hair as your nose hit his neat honey-coloured pubes, gulping as streams of his hot cum trickled down your throat, Kento growling his relief-- "good girl-- good girl-- swallow now"-- as you drank him down.

Kento let go of your hair and you pulled back, gasping and coughing, his cock still rigid, sat wetly on your cheek as Kento rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck from side to side, still tense. Hiromi was wrecked, burning with need, but crippled and paralysed with a bone-deep exhaustion as he straightened his legs under you, his cock still rigid and throbbing inside you as he came down from his orgasm.

"Not-- not enough--" Kento rumbled, still desperate, devastated by the lack of relief.

"Enough, Nanami," Hiromi gasped, "She needs a--"

"'She' can handle it," you interrupted, nose to nose with Hiromi as he looked into you, glassy-eyed and worried. He nodded slowly. Kento rumbled his approval, pressing you forwards by the back of the neck until Hiromi was laid on his back on the floor, cock still inside you, and you laid down belly first on him.

Without hesitating, Kento mounted you from behind, his mouth ghosting against your ear as he bit it, relishing your squeaks as you pressed your cheek into Hiromi's chest. Lining up his cock with where Hiromi was already seated deep inside you, Kento pressed his cock into you.

You saw stars as your pussy was stretched more than it ever had been, clawing wildly at Hiromi's chest as Kento bottomed-out; Hiromi shivered with delight at the impossible tightness and slickness of you, his groans cracking as Kento's cock slid against his with every thrust. Higuruma lay unmoving at first, colours popping in his eyes, before digging his fingers into the plushness of your hips, and thrusting into you in tandem with Kento.

You were ruined, completely prone on Hiromi as you felt Hiromi and Kento's lengths bully in and out of you, your thighs shaking with urgency as your clit was shunted against Hiromi's pubic bone every time Kento rammed into you. Hearing Kento's groans, broken and velvety behind you, had you tipping over the edge, your arousal spurting out around Kento and Hiromi, your cries and whimpers echoing weakly around the little chamber.

Kento felt fire burst through his hips, back and belly as he came for a final time, barely able to keep himself from collapsing on top of you as he felt himself weaken, Hiromi's cock twitching against his as Hiromi shuddered, sandy gasps leaving his throat as his seed mixed with Kento's inside you.

Hiromi reached around you, rolling you all sideways so Kento could collapse onto the floor. You lay together, stunned, sticky and panting. The air was thick with the smell of sweat and desire. Kento chuckled, low and shaking, as you nuzzled into Hiromi, planting tender kisses on his jaw.

"Alright," he rumbled, reluctant, "so she's your girl. But I still owe her dinner."

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Hiromi and Kento at the end of this:

The reader:

This took me two large glasses of wine to write.

[kamaluhkhan]

LONG HOT SUMMER NIGHT

pairing: luke castellan x fem!poseidon!reader word count: 8.4k chapter summary: it's the summer solstice and olympus is throwing a party! thalia notices the tension between you and luke, poseidon gives you some relationship advice and you punch the god of desire in the face. warnings: angst! jealous reader. lots of drinking. complicated relationships. reader dealing with ptsd + survivor's guilt (post-titan war). mention of injuries + blood. creepy guy pushing reader to hook up. ending is a bit steamy but no actual smut. spoilers for the entire pjo (book) series. no betrayal (au where chris was the one who sided w kronos and led the titan army) so slightly ooc luke <3 also reader is in a band called the midnight sirens and is born on the summer solstice! author's note: thank you so much for all the love for part 1!! summer is almost over and this is very much a summer series BUT summer's not over yet !!! hope y'all enjoy this one too and thanks 4 reading 💙

part 1 | series masterlist

♪: long hot summer night by jimi hendrix

mail to: 

Luke Castellan Camp Half-Blood, Half-Blood Hill 3.141 Farm Road Long Island, New York 11954

LUKE! 

I’m sitting in my kitchen right now, watching Percy make us blue blueberry pancakes and hoping he doesn’t burn down my kitchen while doing so. I caved and agreed to take him to Disneyland while he’s here and breakfast was part of the deal, but I think I might regret it later. 

We went surfing yesterday. It was Percy’s first time, but he was (unsurprisingly) amazing at it. I still can’t get over how beautiful the beaches are and the waves — gods, the waves are unreal. You’d seriously love it here. It’s like every day is summer. You have to come visit. PLEASE come visit!!!!

- [your initial]

P.S. The band and I are working on some new music, which means I won’t make it to camp again this summer. I’m sorry ;( Fingers crossed I’ll make it next year. 

P.P.S. hi luke! happy to report that i did not burn down my sister’s kitchen. anyways, can’t wait to kick your ass in sword-fighting this summer. xoxo, percy

THREE YEARS LATER 

the first time you visited olympus, you had been sent on a quest to retrieve zeus’ stolen lightning bolt, bringing luke and charles beckendorf along with you. you had missed the summer solstice deadline, but still tried to reason with the king of the gods when presenting the symbol of power, maybe calling him out once or twice along the way. before zeus could strike you down for your boldness, poseidon stepped in. the war between them was averted in fear of a much larger, looming threat; an ominous introduction for what was to come in the next chapter of your life.

another time, the gods debated whether or not they should kill you, some seeing you as a threat to their future. that was the day you accepted your destiny, not wanting your brother percy or your cousin nico to deal with the weight of the great prophecy. 

your last visit to olympus was on your 18th birthday, after helping to defeat kronos and his army. you made the gods swear to stop neglecting their kids and to allow all demigods, regardless of whether their parent was an olympian or not, to have a home at camp half-blood; to treat their children as children rather than heroes as pawns in their twisted games.

needless to say, it’s quite strange, being back here under very, very different circumstances, where the gods invited camp half-blood’s senior counsellors and staff to join in their summer solstice festivities.

it’s not every day you’ll be invited to a party on olympus; you’re determined to have a good time, to have fun. there’s already an abundance of music, dancing, food, or alcohol, and the night is just getting started.

you’re happy to be there with new and old friends, but you’re ecstatic when you see that thalia grace is there, too. 

“immortality looks good on you, t!” you compliment, raising your voice slightly over the music.

thalia preens, and you bask in her silver glow. 

“bet you wish you took the gods up on their offer, huh,” she teases. then, her eyes widen. “oh - shit! it’s your birthday! happy birthday!” 

thalia tackles you with another hug; even after all these years, she still smells like pine trees. she grabs two goblets of honeyed wine and hands one to you as you catch up. you eagerly gulp the sweet drink, until you’re reaching for another while listening to her stories about adventures she’d been on with the hunters of artemis. 

about halfway through her story about fighting off a manticore during a snow storm, a nymph appears with a platter of the ripest of fruit – sweet plums and fresh figs, tantalising pomegranates, succulent grapes and crisp apples. 

“oh my gods, this is the best apple i’ve had in my entire life!” thalia exclaims after indulging in a taste, herself giddy from a few goblets of wine. “where’s luke? he’s gotta try this — he’s always reminding us to eat more fruit. luke!” 

you hadn’t kept track of luke, at least not on purpose. you assumed he’d been off partying with van or his siblings, and, probably, avoiding you. wherever he was, thalia calls his name twice more and, like a ghost, luke appears. 

“i’m here, t.” luke’s voice is a deep, steady rumble floating above the music. his cheeks are slightly flushed, either from the heat or the drinks. likely both. “what’s up?”

“you need to try this.” thalia shoves the apple in his mouth before luke can respond. 

luke takes a bite, and some juice drips down his chin. you, in a honey-soaked haze, think about running your tongue over to catch it, but he beats you to it, wiping it away with the back of his hand. 

probably for the best.

“holy shit. yeah, it’s good.”

thalia, a sparkle in her eyes, urges you to try it as well. from across the makeshift triangle the three of you had formed, luke tosses the apple your way. you catch it effortlessly, and sink your teeth into it. 

you’ve almost overwhelmed by the burst of flavor. the fruit is just the right amount of tart to balance out the sweetness, and it’s damn near the best crunch you’ve ever experienced.

“good is an understatement,” you say after another bite. a distant memory crosses your mind. “i wonder if these are the same ones we almost got killed by a hellhound for.” 

thalia shakes her head, laughing in disbelief. “all because luke said we needed more vitamin c.”

“i was just looking out for us!” luke guffaws. “how was i supposed to know that persephone owned an apple orchard in connecticut?”

you pat his shoulder, the three of you smiling at the memory. “let’s call it an honest mistake.”

“well if annabeth had been with us by then, i’m sure that she wouldn’t have made that same honest mistake.” 

“okay, but she’s the daughter of athena —”

you let luke and thalia slip back into their playful bickering as if no time has passed. you listen and continue eating that glorious apple, enjoying how the golden glow of your shared past fills whatever distance might have grown between the three of you. 

somewhere down memory lane, luke’s amber eyes flick towards you.

“hey, you’ve got some….” without another word, luke suddenly reaches over to brush away a trail of juice with his thumb before sticking the finger in his mouth to savour the taste. he holds your gaze as he does so, and you feel a familiar kind of heat rush through your body — not from alcohol or summer sun, but from luke. 

it’s such an intimate gesture that you almost forget that you’re at some extravagant party on mount olympus, where gods and half-bloods and a whole bunch of other mythological creatures are celebrating the start of summer by essentially getting drunk together, until thalia clears her throat. 

“okay, well, seems like the two of you might want some alone time.”

luke’s cheeks grow more flushed than before, and his eyes widen as if realizing what he’d done.

“oh, we don’t need —”

“we’re not —”

you and luke both stumble over your words; thalia just smiles knowingly. 

“i’m gonna go flirt with that nymph,” she announces, pointing across the grand marble pavilion.

“i thought — doesn’t artemis sort of frown upon that sort of thing?” you ask.

“she makes exceptions on holidays. besides, i’m her favourite. you guys have fun.” thalia winks at you and walks away.

you glance at luke and, gods, there’s so much history between you. 

the time you jumped into an ocean full of sirens to save luke from drowning? you have a scar running down your forearm where one of them scratched you as you struggled to get luke towards the surface. 

or when you took turns holding up the sky while on a quest to save lady artemis and defeat the titan atlas? it’s evident in the matching streaks of grey that you each have running through your hair. whenever you see your reflection in the mirror, you remember how you couldn’t save your cousin bianca di angelo earlier that day, and how nico has had to grow up without a sister because of a promise you broke.

how about when you, luke, and one of your best friends were sent on a mission to destroy the princess andromeda, the headquarters of kronos’ army? only the two of you survived, and sometimes you can still feel luke squeezing your hand pike he did during charles beckendorf’s burial shroud ceremony while you both cried.

or when luke took a sword between the ribs for you because he, somehow, knew the one spot the curse of achilles left you vulnerable? he can only slouch for so long before the bones there start to ache.

so, yeah. there’s way too much history, and so many tangled threads, and now really isn’t an ideal time to unravel it all. 

“i’m gonna go find my dad,” you blurt out and disappear into the crowd with no real intention of finding your father. 

the once sweet apple now tastes rotten on your tongue; you rid yourself of it in exchange for some more wine. you’re determined to have fun — no pain or heartache or grief. 

you’ve all had enough of that for three lifetimes. 

summer — age 14

“sorry your birthday was ruined.” 

luke exhaled sharply when you pressed a disinfectant-soaked cloth to the wound on his leg.

“hold still,” was all you mumbled in response, brows knitted together as you wrapped the cut in gauze. 

once you were done with his leg, you moved on to luke’s hands, burned by poisonous acid. the four of you had run into a hydra earlier that night. you managed to wound it enough so you could all get away, but not before a few injuries were sustained. 

you were uncharacteristically quiet as you worked. you only met luke’s gaze to warn him before pouring some nectar on his wounds. you let luke hold your hand, tightly, as the liquid dripped through his fingers and down to yours, first right, then left. the pain was instant, seering almost as much as the hydra acid, but it was over quickly. the last thing you did was bandage each hand before getting up. 

“i’m…i’m gonna check on thalia and annabeth. i’ll take first watch.”

luke caught your hand before you got away.

“wait. you’re bleeding.” he pointed to the cut on your brow. you had been so preoccupied in making sure everyone else was safe that you let crimson liquid drip down your face. it probably stung, too, based on your grimace.

luke wiped away the blood with his sleeve, used nectar to disinfect the wound, and dressed it with a fresh bandage, working silently as you did.

“it’s still your birthday,” luke finally said once he was done. “you get some rest; i’ll take first watch.”

you gave him a small, strained smile before checking on the others. 

later that night, you stayed up with luke anyways. 

seemingly out of nowhere, you handed him your portable cassette player. luke stared at it for a moment, unwilling to comprehend just what you were offering and, more importantly, why. 

you and luke had grown accustomed to sharing things: flannels, socks, makeshift beds and scavenged food. but this —

it was your aunt’s. 

you never met your mother, who’d left you as a baby, and of course, poseidon was too busy tending to his underwater kingdom to step in as a parent. your aunt raised you as her own. and then you lost her, too. 

you kept her cassette player buried deep in your bag with some mixtapes she had made and ones you’d stolen throughout the years. when it wasn’t your turn to keep watch, luke would sometimes catch you with headphones on, looking up at the stars. 

luke liked to think he knew you well; all those subtle elements that made you — the crack of your knuckles, the cadence of your voice, the slope of your nose, the dreams of your childhood. engraved in his own personhood. bones and all. 

and, still: he didn’t know you, not entirely. 

you’d only allowed luke to listen with you once, maybe twice. he’d never forget what it was like: knees pressed together and heads just as close to keep the wires from stretching too far; you gushing about the magic of jimi hendrix, recounting memories that echoed through gentle guitar riffs; luke yearning for one more song to play, for another a wistful smile of yours to appear. luke, wishing to linger in your private oasis a beat longer before you pushed him out again and closed the door behind him. 

the one lock luke couldn’t crack: your grief, and how you carried on so buoyantly despite its weight.

well, there you were, presenting the key to luke as an offering. a sacrifice for something luke would never ask of you. 

“this….” luke swallowed the lump in his throat, refusing to look at you. he turned the device over in his bandaged hands, the metal smooth, though well-worn. “you can’t just —”

leave. you can’t just leave. you can’t just —

“hey.” 

your hand over his, forcing him to stop spiralling and look at you. 

right away, luke regretted it. a small sliver of him, however delusional, had hoped that you were joking. 

you weren’t. behind you, there was an empty space where you had previously wedged your sleeping bag. your backpack was already strapped around your shoulders, fully packed. 

“i need to leave, luke. we can’t stay together. it’s too dangerous.”

“you don’t need to —”

“there’s more of us, now,” you interrupted, pulling your hand away to rest on your thigh. “four demigods together isn’t ideal. we’ve been attracting more monsters. more deadly monsters.”

“that would happen, anyways. it always has whether it’s the four of us, the two of us, or….” 

luke stopped his sentence short, not even wanting to give you the idea to go out on your own, even though you’d probably been thinking about leaving for some time. 

you made reckless decisions sometimes, but this didn’t seem to be one of them.

“well, it’s happening more.” your voice was steady, too steady. luke imagined you rehearsing just what to say to counter the inevitable backlash. 

luke shook his head. “i’d be dead if it weren’t for you.”

“you almost died because of me,” you clipped. you lifted a hand to touch the bruise on luke’s jaw, but let it drop just as quickly. “you know that children of the big three cause more trouble. maybe we managed it when it was the two of us, but now, there’s more to consider. a child of poseidon and a child of zeus, travelling together. it’s like we’re asking to be killed. it’s too dangerous.”

“that’s our life,” luke snapped. “you can’t just run from it.” from us.

you faltered, looking back to where annabeth and thalia were sleeping peacefully. 

oh. he must have said that last part out loud, too. 

“you know i’m right,” is all you said.

luke could only shake his head again. because, fine, you weren’t entirely wrong. it was more dangerous — but it was danger luke hoped you’d all face, together. 

“i’ve made up my mind,” you added, an anchor in the sand.

“don’t leave.” luke’s words came out as a prayer. if he offered something, maybe you’d stay.

you paused to take a shaky breath. “this isn’t goodbye, luke. i swear to poseidon…fuck, i swear to all the gods that this isn’t goodbye.”

luke couldn’t speak. there were tears bubbling in his throat, threatening to spill. 

“so, keep this for me,” you whispered, once again placing your hand on top of luke’s. his fingers gripped your cassette player tightly, like it was the only piece of driftwood leftover from a shipwreck, keeping him from sinking into the cold, dark nothing. “you’ll give it back when we see each other again.”

a promise. 

“fine,” luke conceded, though he wanted to scream at you. he wanted to argue like little kids — petty, loud, meaningless, back and forth until tears streamed down cheeks and throats were raw. 

but, you were leaving, one way or another. luke didn’t want this shared memory to be tainted if it might be your last.

“you have to take this, then. give it back when we see each other again.”

luke removed the chain from around his neck, the one that held the key to his childhood home. he placed it around yours, instead.

he didn’t need the key now, but his mother had given it to him when he was six. before he knew what it meant to be the son of hermes, god of thieves. 

call him sentimental, but luke had kept it. just in case he ever got lost. 

“if you’re ever back in connecticut, you have a home.”

“yeah, okay.” you smiled softly. 

it fell just as quickly. 

“take care of them,” you told him. “of yourself, too. i’ll see you again when it’s safe.”

luke didn’t ask when it would be safe, because the truth is that it might never be.

“because you want your cassette player back?” luke joked, instead trying to lighten the mood, to capture one last moment of brightness.

you laughed softly to not wake the others. 

“yeah. that too.”

you pressed your forehead to his, something you hadn’t done since you were kids. 

“i’ll see you again,” you repeated.

without another word, you got up and jogged away. luke shut his eyes, refusing to see you become nothing but a shadow. 

(you looked back several times, but he couldn’t see through the darkness.)

now

call the gods out on their bullshit (you encourage it), but if they have one thing going for them, it’s that the olympians know how to throw a party. 

the night grows darker, yet somehow becomes more lively. demeter and persephone had supplied a generous amount of fresh, decadent fruit, and dionysus an even more generous amount of wine. apollo starts a karaoke corner and you’re just tipsy enough to agree to sing a duet with him in order to break the ice. apparently, he’s a big midnight sirens fan and had seen your band when you headlined at glastonbury festival. you smile to yourself, imagining your bandmates’ faces if you told them that the god of music had watched you perform.

as you hand the microphone to a giggling dryad, the sound of your name washes over like gentle waves on a shore.

“if it isn’t my sweet, summer child!” your father brings you in for a hug and an ocean breeze engulfs you — salt and sand and sun. 

“hi dad,” you exhale as you pull away. 

you hadn’t seen each other in a while, but poseidon looks the same. he’s dressed in a turquoise hawaiian shirt and birkenstocks with a crown of seashells on his head. there’s a cocktail umbrella in his glass, a slice of pineapple wedged onto the rim. you’re about to ask him how he managed to secure a pina colada and where you might find one, too.

“that was quite the performance!” poseidon takes an eager sip of his drink, green eyes sparkling like sea glass in the sun. “i must tell you: your newest album is all the rage in atlantis. the nereids and merpeople can’t seem to get enough of it and, truthfully, i find myself playing it on repeat as well. you’re quite talented.” 

you try not to let your shock slip through, instead smiling and asking how things are in his underwater kingdom, but you’re….touched at your father’s unexpected praise.

the gods aren’t perfect, and your father is no exception. they’re divine beings who have time to conceive children, but not to raise them. there’s a long history of them abandoning, mistreating, and manipulating their own offspring. of course, being the prophecy child, it became practically impossible for your father to ignore you; you’re sure that being dubbed the saviour of olympus gives him bragging rights with his immortal family. even with their sworn promise to change, it’s impossible not to resent the gods in some ways. 

still, you feel comforted by your father's presence at times — when you catch the perfect wave on your surfboard, for example, or when you sit on your fire escape during a storm after a bad day. it’s been like that pretty much all your life: poseidon there in spirit, not in practice. despite everything, he’s watched over you, and percy, throughout the years.

and here poseidon is now, grinning at you like you’re his pride and joy. 

“enough about aquatic politics.” he pats your shoulder enthusiastically after telling you about the struggles of keeping humans from overfishing. “i came over to wish you a happy birthday. and to give you this.” 

poseidon reaches into the pocket of his shirt and hands you something you’d long thought gone: a leather cord with several clay beads and a silver key.

“i found it off the california coast,” he explains. “i kept meaning to get it to you, but i suppose time has a way of getting away from us, immortal or not.”

a warmth grows in your chest as you run your thumb over your old camp necklace, bright and full. it had fallen off one day when you’d gone surfing, and you assumed it was lost to the ocean. you'd been given a fresh leather cord when you arrived at camp earlier this summer, but it felt empty. hollow.

“thanks, dad.” 

you smile at him as you put on the necklace; it feels like coming home. your father then asks you about your summer so far.

you tell him all about your life as of late, until you catch a glimpse of luke with van on a marble bench at the other end of the pavilion. van is sitting in luke’s lap, and they lean over to whisper something in his ear before kissing his cheek. 

you freeze mid-way through your sentence.

sensing the shift in mood, poseidon frowns. he turns his head to follow your gaze.

“ah.” poseidon turns back to you and clears his throat. “now, i don’t mean to pry, but i saw you earlier with the castellan boy.”

you flush at the fact that your moment with luke was witnessed by your own father. “dad —”

“did you know in ancient greece, throwing someone an apple and having them catch it is considered a marriage proposal?”

“i’m pretty sure that was disproven,” you scoff.

poseidon raises an eyebrow at you, clearly amused. “which one of us was actually there, hm?” and though you roll your eyes, you can’t argue with that. “i just wanted to know if there was a wedding happening in the near future.”

you almost choke on the last remnants of your wine. “dad.”

“i’m kidding. i’m kidding! mr. castellan seems otherwise occupied.” 

“yeah, it does seem that way,” you grumble.

poseidon puts a hand on your shoulder, firm but reassuring. “regardless: if you find someone who would go to tartarus and back with you, someone who would fight alongside you every step of the way, you hold on to them. there’s only so much time you mortals have on this earth.”

you sigh — easier said than done — but your father is trying, so you manage a nod.

“i’ll keep that in mind.”

“now, i better go — ” poseidon looks over your shoulder, where the air behind you starts to feel staticky. “it seems a disagreement is brewing between zeus and hades. they always get into it whenever dionysus makes the wine a bit too strong. brother, put away the lightning bolt —” and he rushes away to prevent another divine conflict from arising.

left to your own devices, you venture over to the food table, finding an array of fresh and dried fruit, breads, cured meat, fresh oysters and, of course, more wine. you grab a goblet and a few dried figs.

“careful, i heard dionysus made the wine extra strong tonight,” someone warns, creeping up beside you. the voice is soft and alluring, and you feel something tug at your heart. 

you do a double take when you turn to them; the person is devilishly handsome, a golden aura paired with a golden smile. 

(you will soon find out that the god flirting with you is the son of ares and aphrodite, the latter of which takes the appearance of whoever the onlooker loves. as it turns out, her son appears in the same way. 

all this to say: it doesn’t mean anything that this god looks like luke castellan to you. 

it doesn’t mean anything at all.)

“i’m eros.”

“hey. i’m —”

“i know who you are, savior of olympus.” eros winks at you. “i just never realized you were so beautiful.”

your cheeks heat up as you take a sip of your drink.

oh, shit. 

okay. the literal god of desire and pleasure is flirting with you. 

you’re flattered, really, and maybe the wine has gotten to your head, but you’re not eager to turn him away.

“well, i’ve definitely heard about you, and the rumors do not do you justice,” you quip, painting on a flirtatious smile.

eros puffs out his chest, clearly pleased. 

over the next few minutes, you decide that eros can hold a decent conversation, asking you the classic first date questions about your likes and dislikes, and he’s cute enough that you wouldn’t mind things going further. 

(he might be a god, but he’s no luke. you push that thought away, and force yourself to flirt with helios. eros. right, eros.)

eros leans in close, pretends to listen to you, lets his gaze drop every so often to the deep v-neck of your shirt.  

“no way! 13 going on 30 is a classic,” you argue. you nudge your shoulder into eros’s playfully, and let the contact between you linger. eros, the inspiration for cupid himself, has angel wings, and you feel them brush softly against your burning skin. 

“it’s totally overrated!” eros exclaims. “also, the childhood friends to lovers trope gives people false hope.”

“it’s not false hope. it’s about the buildup to their happily ever after,” you reason, swallowing some wine to dislodge the lump in your throat.

eros shakes his head. “trust me, baby, it’s all about the instant attraction. that’s where the excitement is.” 

he’s so close now, you can smell the sharp alcohol on his breath. not wine, but something stronger.

“oh? what do you mean by that?” you lean impossibly closer, trailing a finger down his chest.

eros smirks, placing a hand on your thigh. “want me to demonstrate?” 

not even a second after you whisper a yes, eros crashes his lips onto yours, and you will yourself to kiss back. he slides his tongue in your mouth, runs his hands over your body. 

you’re making out with the god of desire and passion, so, objectively, it’s a good first kiss: soft around the edges and firm where it needs to be.

sure — you feel nothing, no real spark, but it’s almost enough to fill the hole in your heart in the shape of a certain son of hermes. 

the son of hermes who has moved on and is in a loving relationship with a perfect emotionally available partner. 

so, it’s fine. 

this, this thing with eros, is fine. 

you’re fine.

eros pulls away first, but keeps a hand on your cheek.

“let's get out of here.” 

he grabs your wrist before you have a chance to answer. you stand up, let him weave you through the crowd towards the stairs of the pavilion. apparently, his room is just through the garden. 

as he tugs you along, he looks back at you, smiling. under the glow of the stars, eros looks just like luke, except it’s becoming harder to ignore that he isn’t luke and that makes you feel all sorts of nauseous. your camp necklace weighs on your chest and, in particular, the silver key that you’d kept for all those years burns through your skin. 

lightheaded, you pull away from eros’ grip just as you reach the top of the stairs and place a hand on the column next to you to steady yourself.

eros turns around sharply. “what is it?”

“i changed my mind, actually. let’s just…keep talking here.”

eros grabs your wrist again, his grip tighter than before. “don’t be a tease.” his tone is ever-so-gentle, but there’s an edge behind his words. 

this time, your voice comes out more assertive. “i just changed my mind. that doesn’t make me a tease.”

“come on, baby, don’t you wanna experience what real passion is? this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that a million girls would kill for. you’d be an idiot to pass it up.” he brags, and you’re this close to breaking this guy’s nose, god or not. 

“i don’t care,” you snap, struggling to break free from his grip. “and i’m not your baby.”

“okay, whatever,” eros rolls his eyes, but quickly plasters on an arrogant grin. “we’ll go somewhere private and i’ll call you whatever you want.”

he manages to drag you down two steps as you strain against his iron grip, now almost cutting off your circulation. your heartbeat quickens and you feel dizzy. finally, you grab onto the railing for leverage and use your strength to rip out of his grip, forcing eros to stop in his tracks.

“what is it now?” he snaps, whipping his head around once more. 

he looks nothing like luke, now.

“just stop, eros.”

“listen,” he starts, speaking to you almost mockingly, like you’re a naive little kid. so much for being the savior of olympus. “trust me, i know what people want, so you don’t have to be shy. i promise to be the best you’ve ever had —”

“eros, is it?” the rest of the party is in full motion, but here’s percy, giving eros one of the most intense death stares you’ve ever seen. percy, your little brother who talks to lonely fish at the aquarium; who, if you cut open, would bleed blue m&m’s; who would never let anyone, god or otherwise, hurt someone he loves. “i’m gonna have to ask you to let go of my sister.”

“mind your own business, kid,” eros hisses. “we’re kinda in the middle of something.” he tries to move you down another step, but you stand your ground.

annabeth, no longer the scared little seven year old you, luke, and thalia found behind a dumpster, is also glaring at liam from the top of the stairs. one of her hands rests firmly on her belt, where she keeps her dagger. 

“i’d back off, if i were you,” she warns. “wouldn’t want to cause a scene.”

“just mind your own business,” eros snarls.

“they said leave her alone,” thalia asserts, walking over once she sees what’s happening. “and you don’t wanna mess with us, trust me.” she clenches her hand into a fist.

“who the fuck are you? her bodyguards?” 

“just let her go,” percy orders. “my sister can do a lot better than a minor god with a major god complex.” 

eros growls, baring his teeth at percy. “you impertinent little shit.”

as soon as eros lunges for your brother, you tug one of his wings towards you, hard. he whips around and you take the opportunity to punch him in the face. he doubles over, golden ichor gushing from his nose.

“i’d be careful if i were you, baby,” you seethe. “you wouldn’t want to go up against the demigods who led an army against kronos and won. unless, of course, humiliation is a kink of yours.” you laugh humorlessly at the way eros scowls at your words. “to each their own,” you continue. “but i’m not in the mood to fuck an entitled creep with angel wings to compensate for his tiny dick. you better fucking respect that, and leave us alone while you’re at it.”

eros’ flirtatious smile is long gone, replaced with the kind of anger only entitled, self-important jerks have when they don’t get what they want and they’ve taken a few blows to their ego. 

call it stupidity or arrogance, but his only response is a punch delivered right back to your face. 

you hear a crack upon impact, and pain radiates from your nose. you stumble, but percy manages to reach out and catch you before you fall down the stairs. he holds you as thalia and annabeth create a barrier between you and eros. you hear them shouting at eros over the music, but their exact words don’t register.

you lick your lips, tasting blood. your ears are ringing, and everything is suddenly all fuzzy. percy tries his best, but you slump your body weight into his and he almost topples over.

“i’ve got her.” luke’s calm and measured voice cuts through the chaos. you feel a strong, familiar arm wrap around your waist to steady you. “from what i remember, you were too much of a coward to even step foot on the battlefield, so i’d listen to her if you know what’s good for you.” in a haze, you guess that luke is directing his sharp words towards eros, before turning to the others and instructing: “you guys take care of this — find clarisse if you need back up.”

somehow, you find yourself over in a small secluded temple, sitting on a window bench overlooking the clouds as luke sits next to you.

like most of olympus, the building is made of marble with gold accents; this one has roses engraved on the walls, and the space smells like flowery perfume. it’s much quieter than the pavilion, though you can hear laughter and music in the distance. it’s cooler, too, but not by much; even without all the body heat, you're left with sticky summer air, and luke’s breath on yours, sweet with wine and ripe fruit, as he carefully examines your injury.

you feel your head spinning all over again. maybe it’s the alcohol, or the adrenaline, or the fact that the two of you haven’t been this close in a while — probably a dangerous mix of all three. 

you know (from trying not to but ultimately not being able to pull your attention away from him after all) that he’s had a few drinks as well; it seems like the two of you ignore each other best when you’re sober.

“thought the curse of achilles would protect you from nosebleeds.”

“guess it doesn’t protect against —” what did percy call eros? “ — minor gods who have major god complexes,” you recite.

luke looks slightly amused. “that’s a shame,” he hums. “would have been nice to get one birthday without being injured.”

a smile creeps onto your face, despite the dull ache from your nose.

“you remembered.”

“of course i remember,” luke almost scoffs like the mere suggestion of forgetting what day you were born is an insult to his very character. he meets your gaze, and you could melt when he offers you that lopsided smile of his, painfully familiar. “happy birthday, aquagirl,” and it’s the softest he’s spoken to you in a while. just like old times.

he remembers. 

somewhere within him, luke holds on to fragments of you.

he wipes the blood off your face, the sleeve of his silk white button-down now stained crimson. “how’s your hand?” he asks. 

you flex your fingers. “it’s been better,” you answer, your knuckles slightly aching. “totally worth it.”

“i guess all those years away didn’t change anything. still willing to put a god in their place, huh?”

all those years away. 

the reminder feels like a stab to the heart, and you’re worried that it might burst the comfortable bubble you and luke had drunkenly stumbled into. 

thankfully, luke continues:

“the kids really take after you.”

he says as a joke, mostly, but there’s a sincerity in those deep brown eyes of his, too. something you also hadn’t seen from him in a while. 

the kids, who you’d in some ways raised together when monsters were trying to kill you and the gods didn’t care enough to stop it. 

the family you and luke had built together despite being born into the world of greek tragedies. 

“as if annabeth wasn’t threatening to pull the dagger you gave her, skywalker,” the nickname rolling off your tongue with ease. “besides, they’re not kids anymore.”

“yeah.” he pauses. “neither are we.” 

luke’s fingers trace your camp necklace, brush against your collarbone. the breath hitches in your throat.

here you are again, at the edge of something real and very scary, and you fear luke is going to push the two of you over. 

but he doesn’t. instead, luke suggests, jokingly: “maybe we should start a fight club at camp.” 

you take that as a good sign: like you, he’s hoping to preserve the playfulness between you before everything else seeps in and ruins it. before you’re brought back to the present, where you’re practically ignoring each other.

where you’re fine, but really. 

you snort. “chiron and mr. d would love that.”

“like they’d ever find out!” luke explains. “you know the first rule of fight club —”

“don’t talk about fight club,” you finish together. 

luke laughs, even though it’s not that funny. you laugh, too. 

and that’s the thing that really, truly gets you. 

try as you might to ignore it, some days it’s hard to forget the pain and heartache and grief. 

you still feel like your life is a battlefield; you still see the ghosts of everyone you couldn’t save even though people call you a savior; you still have those scars, inside and out, that seemed healed but ache every once and a while. 

but that isn’t all. 

sometimes it hurts more thinking back to the good times and knowing, deep down, you can never go back.

summer — age 13

“ugh — you think with all their power, the gods could help stop global warming,” you groaned, swatting away a mosquito that tried to land on you. “do you think they have air conditioning on olympus?”

“oh, for sure,” luke quipped. he gave you a lopsided smile, his curls sticking to his forehead, drenched in sweat. 

it was the summer solstice, the longest and the hottest day of the year so far. the two of you had found a perfectly good hideout, but luke insisted that this place would be worth the move. 

he’d been leading you down side streets for what felt like forever. the sun had already set, and you were very close to passing out from the heat, until luke finally stopped at a door behind an alley, with a sign reading CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS. 

luke knelt down to do whatever son-of-hermes lock magic he had to do to get the door open. he flipped a switch, and you winced at the sudden overwhelming brightness. 

the destination was different than the hideouts you usually sprung for: those small, hole-in-the-wall type places. instead, this space was big and bright, filled with arcade games and fun posters and neon colours. the type of place a kid might have a party or where a group of normal teenagers might spend their friday night. 

“what…what is this?”

“you thought i forgot, didn’t you?” luke smirked at you. he sat down on the colourful carpet, taking out some snacks, a small plastic bag with coins, a wrapped box, and a plastic blue crown, and gestured for you to join.

you did, in fact, think that luke had forgotten your birthday. 

birthdays were bittersweet for children of gods, who were constantly reminded that any year could be their last, their youth cut short by monsters or prophecies or a fatal flaw. all the two of you usually did on either birthday was split any sweet treat you could get your hands on. 

it wasn’t a big deal, really, to skip that tradition of yours. there were much more urgent things to worry about, like finding food and water and shelter, and not being devoured by monsters. 

you did think it was strange that luke hadn’t so much as said happy birthday to you all day, but you knew that he loved you.

(like a friend loves a friend. nothing else, no matter how much your stomach fluttered at the thought of him.) 

“i wanted to surprise you,” luke explained once you claimed your spot next to him. he reached over to place the crown on your head. “i found this place a few days ago during a food run. it reminds me of where we had your —”

“eighth birthday party, yeah.” you smiled at the memory of running around and feeding quarters to every machine and trying every game, of your classmates singing happy birthday to you off-key before you all stuffed your faces with sickly sweet confetti cake. 

truthfully, you never thought about having another celebration like that again.

but, it was five years from that faded childhood memory, and luke was presenting you with something you didn’t even realize you had needed: the chance to be a kid again.

“so,” luke got up, a wide smile on his face. he held the plastic bag in one hand, extending the other to you. “which do you wanna play first?”

you started with space invaders, then moved on to dragon’s lair and pac-man. you took a break before street fighter ii so that luke could ceremoniously light a candle and present a cupcake that had been tossed around in his bag (but you were still very, very grateful for), along with fresh batteries for your portable cassette player. he had made you a mixtape too, though you couldn’t figure out how. 

your last stop was a photobooth. you vowed to keep those pictures — a collection of you and luke together, smiling bright and colourful, goofing off and laughing — for the rest of your life.

now

those moments from past summers are like popsicles melting in the sun: tangible for a limited time before leaving you with a sickly sweet mess of what once was. 

you think about what happened earlier, how percy, annabeth, and thalia stepped in to protect you, still the brave kids you had once known so well. how luke is here with you now, taking care of you so tenderly even after you’ve silently agreed to give each other the cold shoulder. 

maybe luke is right. maybe all those years away didn’t change anything. 

except — once you leave this temple and the alcohol leaves your system, it won’t be the same. 

none of you are kids anymore, if you ever even were. 

“why’d you go for eros, anyway?” luke asks, breaking you away from your thoughts. he removes his sleeve from your nose since the bleeding seems to have finally stopped.

“you really wanna know?”

“yeah. most gods are assholes. and you’re…” luke places a hand close to your leg, pinky finger brushing your thigh. “you.”

“i went for eros because….well, honestly, i don’t think i cared who it was, as long as they made me forget you,” you admit, because what did you have to lose. you probably have a broken nose, you definitely have blood on your shirt, and your time with luke is running out. 

luke’s eyes darken. his fingers start to play with the hem of your shorts. 

“did it work?” his voice is a whisper, but he’s close enough that he’s crystal clear.

“no.”

it’s hard to determine who leans in first, but soon enough your lips are on luke’s — messy and urgent. noses bumping together, teeth clacking against each other. he cradles your face in his hands, and you move to straddle his waist. you taste wine on his tongue, and maybe a hint of sweet pears, but it’s overwhelmed by the salty, metallic taste of blood stained on your lips. when you run out of air, you pull away. it’s clearer now: you’re not dizzy from the alcohol or adrenaline, but dizzy from him. luke’s gaze is heavy on yours as he traces your top lip with his thumb.

“luke,” you whimper, itching to kiss him again. 

“you’re still bleeding.”

luke wipes away the blood with his thumb. before either of you can do or say anything more, there’s an echo of footsteps on the marble floor. a flower nymph, there to leave an offering and let you know that, while aphrodite encourages acts of love, she prefers it doesn’t happen in her place of worship. 

you realize that aphrodite also might not look so fondly at you kissing someone else in her place of worship after publicly rebuking her own son.

luke untangles himself from you, and you know that he’s been jolted back to reality, too. 

and, just like that, another moment has melted away.

your father was right. time has a way of slipping away for us, immortal or not.

summer — age 18

“hey, you awake?”  

“yeah,” you replied softly. sleep hadn’t been easy, in the days and weeks and months leading up to that final battle with kronos and his army. 

and once it was all over? 

you rested your head on luke’s shoulder, sword discarded at your feet and armour half-removed, as argus, the hundred-eyed security guard of olympus, drove a school bus with a dozen or so demigods back to camp.

“why’d you turn down their offer?” luke whispered.

oh.

"why...why do you ask?"

"i don't know." luke paused. "just curious, i guess."

you closed your eyes and replayed that moment on olympus when you refused the gift of immortality. the look of shock written on the gods’ faces. and on luke’s.

“i don’t care about living forever,” you told him bluntly.

forever seemed too long, especially for someone who was prophesied to die at 18.

you tilted your head up to meet luke’s gaze, and his messy curls brushed against your forehead. evidence of the battle was clear on his face: caked-on dirt and blossoming bruises and dried blood. 

behind him, outside the bus window, the world was flying by. a child who had fallen off their bike being comforted by a friend. two people sharing an mp3 player and a pair of earbuds. an elderly couple walking their dog.

“you once told me that this was our life,” you continued, gesturing towards the weapons and battle-worn kids, some quiet, others crying, many injured. “what if it didn’t have to be?” 

luke furrowed his brow. “do you mean….are you talking about leaving?”

you shrugged. running from monsters for your entire childhood then being the child of the great prophecy was a lot.

a break might be nice.

there was so much about the world, the one you’d fought and bled to protect, that you wanted to experience. 

maybe something closer to a normal life.

“would you ever leave camp?” you wondered, not really answering luke's question. 

“no,” luke replied instantly. his fingers started fiddling with the beads on his necklace. “i can’t just walk away, not after everything.”

“yeah, i get that.” and you did; you really, truly, did. the guilt of wanting to leave camp curled in your stomach like a venomous snake. you took a shaky breath. “let’s talk about this later, yeah? i’m tired, and we have the rest of — ”

the rest of the summer slipped away in the blink of an eye. gone, before you even had a real chance to say goodbye.

you closed your eyes and held on to luke, as if gripping his arm would anchor you to something you weren't ready to let go of, but in some ways needed to move on from.

it was no use, though. 

by the end of august, you’d be gone too. 

now 

you learned early on that the curse of achilles doesn’t protect you from hangovers.

you wake up the morning after the celebration on olympus with a deep, throbbing pain lodged in your temple and an uncomfortable swirling in your gut. parties and late nights at bars are common on tour, which means migraines are, too, so you have a routine to make sure you’re not out of commission for too long.

except this time, the aspirin and blue gatorade and dry toast don’t work. the sting in your brain and uneasiness in your stomach doesn’t go away, even after a few days. you haven’t been able to sleep, either.

desperate for a cure, you consult lou ellen, head counsellor of the hecate cabin, who you’d unexpectedly grown close to in the past few weeks. she mixes something for you, while asking if there’s something that’s been weighing on you.

you couldn't keep it in anymore; you tell her about the summer solstice and luke.  

later, with nothing but your thoughts and percy’s snoring occupying your time post-curfew, you grab your phone and flip it open, deciding to finally reach out to luke, when you get a text from him.

luke is already on the beach when you arrive, looking out onto the water. 

“hey,” you greet as you sit next to him on the sand, but not too close. “i was actually about to text you —”

“did you tell anyone that we kissed?” he interrupts. you can’t quite read his expression as he waits for you to answer.

“no, i didn’t,” you lie. “would it matter if i did?”

“well, i mean, word travels fast around camp, and i don’t want van finding out. it’s not like it meant anything.”

the throbbing in your brain becomes a sharper sting, the uneasiness in your stomach a tidal wave of nausea.

“it didn’t?” you hate how fragile your voice sounds, compared to luke’s stoic demeanor.

luke shrugs. “i mean, we were both drunk and the thing with eros happened…we just got caught up in the heat of the moment.” 

“you’re saying there’s nothing between us, then? nothing?” the word tastes bitter in your mouth.

luke turns away before he answers. “no. nothing.”

“then what about last summer?” you demand. you force yourself to keep it together, your tone firmer than before. “i guess that didn’t mean anything, either.”

“y/n…” he sighs. “i don’t know what you want me to say. we’re barely even friends anymore. you come back here, after all this time, after so much shit happened, and expect us all to drop everything to fit you back into our lives. but, you don't. whatever you came here for, it's not here for you. there's nothing to go back to. we moved on. i moved on, and i can’t deal with you —" 

“got it,” you snap, already turning to walk away. “loud and fucking clear, luke.” 

it’s not like it meant anything. we’re barely even friends anymore.

you replay luke’s words as you crawl into bed, holding back tears so as to not disturb percy. finally, you swallow a generous amount of whatever concoction lou ellen had brewed up for you.

drifting off into your own sleep, you decide that you don’t love luke anymore. not as a friend, not as a.....

nope. 

according to luke, there's not even anything to go back to.

nothing.

nothing.

[liahaslosthermind]

𝐒𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐥𝐛𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞

Summary: Azriel sits by himself, watching as she is surrounded by dancing children. Unbecoming of an Illyrian warrior, he just can’t gain the courage to speak to her. But when an intoxicated male walks up to her, looking for trouble, he might just have no choice but to make an introduction.  A/N: This is a fic I wrote and posted about 3 years ago now. I decided that some of my older pieces (though I'm still proud of 15/16 year old me for writing) need a facelift, so here is part of that process. I did the same with Betrayal and have been so much happier writing for it, so I hope you enjoy this one too! The original request (from September of 2022!) is down below, but I didn’t really stick to the prompt much. Request: Well...how about something where Azriel sees the fae reader dancing in Velaris (like a Tangled sort of dance) and she catches his eye. Later on he sees her while he is taking Feyre around town. The fae woman is with a bunch of younglings because she is a teacher. She smiles at him and feyre then and his shadows just shoot out towards her but not to hurt, just to play with her. He is shocked when she is friendly with the shadows and he finds out that when they aren't with him, they play with her. Just something really cute about azriel falling for her as he moves on from mor.

It was unfair. It was absolutely unfair.

The infamous Spy Master of the Night Court, the formidable Shadowsinger, was currently pouting at his family’s now empty table at a Starfall Ball the High Lord and Lady were hosting. Maybe pouting wasn’t the right word, if anyone looked at him they would see no emotion on his face. His family might say he was brooding, but it was a little more pathetic than that. The last standing bachelor Bat Boy watched while the rest of his family, either with a date or already mated, danced with their partners. To be fair, the Ilyrian could easily find someone to dance with. While seemingly unapproachable unless one had a death wish, Azriel was still the most sought after man wherever he went, even before his friends had found their mates. But there was only one who he wanted to dance with, and she was currently partnered with about 8 small children.  

It all had started one day at the Palace of Thread and Jewels. Needing supplies for Starfall decorations, Feyre had asked Azriel to join as another pair of arms to carry bags. She hadn’t really needed his help, but the High Lord and Lady had gotten into an argument about which flowers would look best as centerpieces. So, naturally, she thought asking the Shadowsinger to accompany her instead of her mate would piss Rhysand off. While Azriel hadn’t wanted to join in on the argument, he couldn’t deny a request to make his brother mad. 

Azriel had been sitting outside of the cafe Feyre was currently trying to place a rather large order at when he first saw her. In a crowd of giggling Velaris children, she sat in a chair and animatedly read a story. Usually, the sight would upset the Spy Master, at least a little. Even after 500 years, Azriel never stopped feeling jealous when seeing children happily existing in their bubble of love and comfort. He always wondered what it would have been like for him, had his childhood been one with his mother and away from his father’s abuse. Away from that dark cell. 

This time though, he found himself too enamored with the fae woman reading aloud to think about what was stolen from him. Her excitement, easily matching the children’s, and her smile and flushed cheeks made his heart skip. 

From then on, Azriel often found an excuse to be in the area. Sometimes her classes remained inside, in which he would leave a few shadows to monitor, for safety reasons, of course. But when she took her class of preschool aged children elsewhere, or when she ran after school programs for various other ages, Azriel would find himself nearby. Although, it sounded bad when you put it like that. He wasn’t stalking her, he just… alright maybe he was a little. Maybe he was head over heels, maybe he was healing this inner child, it didn’t matter, because he would never do anything about it. 

Back at the table, Azriel had been too caught up in the patheticness of his situation to notice a drunkard had come up to her. A familiar tug on his shadows and suddenly he watched as the man started to get handsy as the female tried to push him off. If that hadn’t been disgusting enough, the man also pushed a child that had tried to help her. Blood boiling, Azriel had only made it a few steps in to try and grab the pig when he was stopped in his tracks, watching as she landed a swift and powerful elbow to the male’s face, sending the creep stumbling back. 

Huh. 

He wouldn’t have guessed Velaris’ beloved preschool teacher would be able to take down a very large, drunken, adult male with such ease, but here she was. 

Seeing as the situation was handled on her part, Azriel started to walk over to the man when his shadows started to tug at him again. 

Deal with him later, Master. We will keep an eye on him, they sang. 

Unsure of what they could have wanted Az to do in the moment other than deal with the asshole, he began to half heartedly fight their tugging. That was till he realized where they were trying to lead him, straight to the teacher. Immediately, Azriel stopped moving, desperately protesting the shadow's intervention. 

She had immediately sent the kids back to their parents after her attacker had disappeared to who-cares-where. It had been a long and exciting night for her, from coming with friends to doing some overtime babysitting when she saw her students’ parents in need of a quick break to enjoy the holiday. She hated that the male had spoiled her mood, but she was determined to not let it spoil her night. Walking off the dance floor, she made plans to go home and settle down with a glass of wine and a book when something caught her foot, sending her straight into the arms of the Night Court’s very own Shadowsinger. 

Azriel cursed his shadows as he realised far too late that if he wasn’t willing to go to the female, they were going to bring her to him. Purposefully tripping the poor girl just trying to leave the dancefloor, he had been lucky, or unlucky, enough to have caught her before she fell. Where had these reflexes been the rest of the night?

It took her a few moments to right herself before she looked up at her knight in shining armour. Finally registering who it had been, the gratitude on her tongue died and was replaced by apologies. 

The change in attitude gave Azriel whiplash. How she could go from elbowing a man in the face with little remorse to becoming completely flustered after accidentally tripping into his arms was beyond Az’s comprehension at the moment. He was far too stuck on the fact that she was talking to him, nevermind that the only reason she was doing so was because his traitorous shadows had tripped her. He imagined his cheeks were just as red as her’s at the moment.

Cauldron help him.

She was blushing.

Because of him. 

And he was blushing. 

Because of her. 

For the first time in a very long while, Azriel felt weak in the knees because of his feelings. Last time he had felt even somewhat close to such an emotion was with Mor, but that feeling had faded so long ago he forgot how intoxicating and horrifying it could be. 

As she searched his face for any anger, all she saw was confusion, and that he seemed to be as flustered as she was. 

“Um, hello?” she asked. After multiple apologies, she had asked if he was alright, to which no answer was given. She watched as it seemed to take a few moments for him to register her words. 

“How did you do that?” He was all he replied. 

“Trip into you? Well I kind of just walked over here and it happ-”

“No, take down that man. Where did you learn to fight like that?”

“Oh! well, just- you know, picked up any lessons I could get. Thought it would be better to know how to since I spend so much time teaching children.” 

Azriel remained silent for a beat. Just kept staring as the song began to change into a slower one. Seeing as her usual company of children had dispersed, giggling while watching couples dance, he took the moment to finally ask the question weighing on his mind all night.

“Would you like to dance with me?” 

He watched as she laughed, presumably catching the fear and anticipation in the Spy Master’s voice. Fortunitally, before he could get too into his head about the action, she stuck her hand out for him to grab. As he led her back to the floor, as they started to sway, it felt… different. 

Like their bodies fit perfectly against one another, as if the two had done this many times before, as if they both belonged there, in each others’ arms. 

Neither wanted to ever leave.

A/N part 2: The original story is about 700 words while this is double that, but if you are curious, I've linked the original post. It is... rough

[ozai-the-bonsai]

Could you write for Daemon targaryen like currently after all those nightmares in harnehal he finds a prisoner of harnehal as the only person who brings him peace him falling in love with her and trying to be better person he still fights for team black obviously rahaenya is definitely not happy with these arrangements especially seeing him all dedicated all in love some things he never have done for her but she have no option currently rather accepting his second wife though at the end when team black would be winning and fight at harnehal like aemond Vs Daemon she ask for reader's head happy ending at the end please or anything you wanna write I just wanna see Daemon happy in love at end please

Finally I have time for my hobbies again! Sorry I left you waiting for ages, this term the exam season was tougher than what I have been accustomed to… Anyways, I have started writing some stuff and I wanted to post the intro instead of writing a full-length chapter 1 since it would have taken a couple more days (:

As a side note, I honestly have no idea where this story will be headed because I have no clear course planned, I had some little ideas and I just started writing them. Also I will be introducing stuff which is not in the asoiaf universe.

I am continuing to read Silmarillion from where I left off and let’s say the ideas about Daemon’s love interest are… inspired from what I have been reading (; Enjoy!

Memento Mori

| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 |

Pairing: Daemon Targaryen x fem!reader

Warnings: strong language, I am not a native English speaker, reader is (or will be) described with long hair

This is a very short introduction! Also the chapter is from Daemon’s pov. The title is inspired by Memento Mori by Lamb of God (the song has been a great inspiration for the story so far)

The dungeons of Harrenhal were cold, wet and lonely.

He had no idea when, how and why he had gone down there – one moment, he was in his chambers and the next, he was opening his eyes to the mossy stone walls of the dark dungeons with a torch in his hand. The line between dreams and reality was becoming thinner each day he spent in this cursed castle.

As Daemon walked past the empty cells, he tried to shake off this unsettling feeling lingering around him, dancing on his neck on its tippy toes, making him wonder whether he was indeed alone.

I doubt Simon Strong keeps prisoners down here, he thought while wiping the water from his forehead which was dripping from the broken ceiling. Maybe he has decided to lock up the witch?

Just when the Rogue Prince – correction, the King Consort – was about to turn back and leave the depressing, humid and somewhat eerie atmosphere of the dungeons behind, a soft humming reached his ears.

A soft, sweet humming of a song coming from one of the cells at the very end of the darkness.

“What kind of prisoner is Simon Strong hiding here?” Daemon asked, his voice created echoes as he waved the torch in front of him, trying to cast some light.

The humming stopped immediately, as if the sound itself was cut by a knife.

Daemon’s purple eyes widened upon seeing that the last cell was indeed not empty.

There was a young woman inside, looking at him with her eyes full of curiosity. Her hair had an unearthly shine under the dim moonlight. She tilted her head to the side. “You can see me?” She asked, it was the same soft voice from a moment ago, though the sweetness was no longer there to be felt.

Daemon raised an eyebrow at her direction. “Do people not see you?”

The young woman shook her head, her movements – no matter how simple they were – felt almost too harmonious. “Not normally, it is not intended that I am seen.” Stopping for a moment, she eyed Daemon from head to foot. “You are not really here, are you?”

The raised eyebrow quickly turned into a frown. “What do you mean? I am standing in front of you.”

She shook her head once again. As her soft whisper filled his eyes, Daemon started falling into the nothingness, again, for the unknown-th time ever since he had come to Harrenhal.

“Wake up.”

***

When he woke up, trying to catch his breath, Daemon found himself lying on his bed, as always. Anytime he had one of those weird dreams – he wasn’t even sure if he should call them dreams anymore – his consciousness would find its way back to his bed.

Unless he was daydreaming, which were considerably the worse.

“Who the fuck was that weird woman?” Daemon muttered to himself as he stood up, dressing up in his regular robes. The feeling in his stomach was telling him that he had to go down there, to the dungeons, to find that woman. If he were to wait until dawn, he feared she might be gone.

What was it that she said again? It is not intended she is seen?

Leaving his chambers with a torch in his right hand, Daemon shook his head to the thoughts flowing through his mind, causing his silver hair to move. “Weird woman,” he muttered to himself as he walked through the dark corridors of the castle with haste. “She somehow reminds me of the witch.”

The dungeons were as dark and wet as he remembered from the dream. A cold wind was wandering besides him, kissing the mossy walls and licking Daemon’s skin, sometimes whispering wicked words in his ears. Even the wind was odd here, in Harrenhal, but he had somewhat got used to it – hearing its eerie whispers whenever he walked alone during the hour of the wolf.

“Show yourself,” Daemon spoke with a strong voice which created echoes as he stood in front of that very cell from his dream. “Your king commands it!”

“Huh, king?” The same soft voice answered from the dark corner of her cell. The moonlight had left its shining spot, leaving the torch in Daemon’s hands as the only source of light in this entire corridor of the dungeons. “I answer to no king.”

A condescending scoff left Daemon’s lips as he came closer to the bars made of steel, separating him and the weird woman. “You do live in Westros, do you not?” Daemon asked, not really waiting for an answer. “As long as you breathe in this land, you do answer to the King.”

A chuckle came from the darkness. “I have been breathing in this land before your ancestors flew across the Narrow Sea, Daemon Targaryen.”

Taglist: @throughgoeshamilton @mirandastuckinthe80s @xicesam @mariamyousef702 @eddiemadmunson @dont-try-pesticide @sweetybuzz25 @hc-geralt-23 @schniiipsel @ttae-yong @syrma-sensei @asiludida164 @kaitieskidmore1 @irmavanity-blog @pax-2735 @trickrtreatart @shanzeyxsyed @random-human02 @scarwicht @xcallmetaniax @instabull @niiight-dreamerrrr @my-dark-prince @stargaryenx @abaker74 @babywolff @sonnensplitter @bi-narystars @softtina @sadmonke @avalyaaa

[qrrieterisunnq]

Midnight snack - Luke Hughes

luke!hughes x fem!reader Summary: y/n getting up in the middle of the night to make a snack and accidentally waking up Luke because they didn’t stop the microwave’s obnoxious beeping in time. request: yes/no A/N: Hi! We have here a new fic a short one, this time with Luke. I hope you'll like it. And because we have reached the 100 followers milestone I decided to make an AU with Jack!! I'll post the introduction with the fem!reader on saturday so keep an eye on it! likes are good, reblogs are better <3 gif not mine word count: 0,86K warning(s): weird food cravings, sleepy Luke, moody y/n because of cramps

masterlist | wip's

You’ve been staring at the ceiling for a whole hour. Your stomach has been making weird noises for the past ten minutes, but you’re too lazy to get up. And another thing is Luke’s arm lying across your stomach.

You know how clumsy you can be, and if you’d try to remove his hand you would probably wake him up, but with your rumbling stomach, there is no other option.

Slowly, you take ahold of his hand, moving it in slow motions down your body, until it drops down on the bed. Luke let out a quiet snort as he turned on his back, placing his head over his eyes.

You let out a sigh of relief that you didn’t wake him. You walk over to the circle armchair where is lying your nightrobe. You slip your hands in the holes and tie it around your waist.

You make sure Luke is still asleep before you leave the room with a quiet click as you close the door. With quick but quiet steps you almost run into the kitchen while your stomach still makes the weird noises.

As soon as you’re in the kitchen, your eyes immediately wander to the pancakes you had for dinner.

You take the plate and place it on the table, you take one of the pancakes in hand and take a bite. You walk over to the fridge and pull out whipped cream, pickles, and Nutella.

Yeah, weird combination, but your period is supposed to come in two days. As you’re eating the pickles, you get a terrible taste for cacao. You pull out the milk and pour it into the biggest mug you have. You put it in the microwave for a minute so it’s warm enough. As the time counts down, you pull out the cacao and place it next to your food as you put some Nutella on the pancakes and place pickles on it.

You’re so distracted by the food you completely forget about the milk in the microwave until the last two seconds are on and the annoying beeping sounds through your apartment.

“Shit!” you let out as you run to the microwave trying to turn off the sound. “C’mon!” you groan when the sound goes on. When you finally turn it off, two strong hands wrap around you, making you let out a squeak.

“Hey, calm down, ‘s just me,” Luke whispers in your ear in a sleepy voice, kissing your neck.

“I’m sorry, I woke you up,” you sigh and pull out the warm milk. “I didn’t mean to.”

“‘S okay, but what are you doing here?” he looks around and you cock your brow as if it wasn’t obvious. He let out a laugh at your reaction unwrapping his arms from you.

“Very unique food cravings,” he points out to your pancakes. You just shrug and walk over to the table to continue with your snack.

“You want some?” you reach your hand with your food towards him. He shakes his head as he yawns, guilt forming in your chest. Luke has early morning practice today, yet he’s here with you because you woke him up. If it wasn’t up to your food cravings, he’d be still sleeping.

Luke must have noticed the change in your mood, ‘cause you to put the pancake back on the plate, chewing slowly.

“Hey, baby, what’s up?” he whispers as he pulls you in a hug.

“Nothing.” you shake your head forcing a small smile to form on your lips.

“Hey, I know you,” he cocks his brow. “So tell me, what’s wrong?”

“I…just…you have morning practice,” I sigh when I see his confused look. “You have early morning practice yet you’re here, because I woke you up, just because of my weird cravings. You’ll be tired and just because of me.”

“Hey, ‘s okay. I don’t mind I’m here. You know I’ve told you multiple times that you can wake me whenever you want if you need anything.” he says kissing the top of your head.

“But it’s not okay. I don’t want to be the one, who you are tired because of.” I mumble a tear sliding down my cheek. Jesus, stupid hormones. I wipe it quickly away but more and more starts sliding down.

“Hey, hey, hey, it’s alright. Don’t cry, my love. I promise I’m not tired. And even if I’ll be, I don’t care, you’re my priority. Always,” he bends down kissing your lips. “I don’t care if you wake me up at midnight that you’re craving hamburger or whatever. I don’t care if you wake me two hours before my alarm, that you need pads. I’ll get up and get you whatever you want. I just want you to be happy and alright.” he smiles down at you.

You nod and pull away from him, to take the pancake you were eating. He laughs at you and takes one himself. He squirts some whipped cream on it and with a full spoon of Nutella he starts eating.

“I love you,” you mumble with full mouth. A smile forms on his lips as he nods.

“I love you too, baby.”

[junebugsarchive]

𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 . jake kim

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 '𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐈 𝐂𝐀𝐍'𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 / 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐌𝐘 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 . . . ♡

summary: you and jake used to be as thick as thieves back in middle school, even when he became part of the notorious gang big deal. that is, until a miscommunication and jake's stubbornness leads to a heart-breaking fall out, and you never saw or heard of him until a few years later. now jake wants you back in his life, but are you ready to accept him so willingly again?

pairing: jake kim / kim gimyung x reader

details: slight mentions of harassment . cursing & violence . really, really long (wc 11.9k words, sorry everyone ) . all dividers used are from @cafekitsune, pictures from pinterest !

a/n: first ever work wowow >< this fanfic is mostly just to give u guys a taste of my writing style hehe <3 this has been in my drafts for a long time already... finally got the courage to post! hope u guys love, mwah mwah ♡

                Jake Kim will never forget the day he met you. He was fifteen, in his second year at Gangseo Middle School, sleeping soundly at his desk while the teacher at the front droned on about something - he was too lazy to care anyways.

                "Hey!" Someone suddenly slammed both hands onto his table, making him blink blearily, fuzzily looking up in annoyance at the culprit, ready to give them the beating of their life.

                A girl grinned back down at him, her prim and neat uniform a stark contrast to the dirt and grime on the rest of the students, and the blood and cracks coating the walls of their classroom. Jake blinked at her as he straightened his back, opening his mouth to yawn. He had no idea there was a girl in this school.

                "I transferred here a week ago," The girl chirped, as if sensing Jake's thoughts. "My name's [Name] [Last name], nice to meet you!"

                "What do you want?" Jake asked brusquely, ignoring her introduction as he dug in his pocket for a snack, groaning inwardly when he realized that he had eaten them all already. "Go away, kid. This school isn't a place for a girl like you."

                She frowned as she watched him, putting one hand on her hip as she pouted slightly. "I'm not a kid, I'm just a year younger than you!" She replied defiantly. "Besides, this was the only school my aunt could afford."

                Jake raised his eyebrow at this. This girl... was intriguing, at the least. More so annoying, but Jake decided to pardon her overly-zealous attitude. "What do you want?" He repeated in annoyance, nevertheless. "If you don't want anything, go away. I'm trying to sleep here."

                "Protect me."

                Jake paused, just as he was about to close his eyes again, and raised his head, narrowing his eyes at the girl, who was still smiling in a carefree manner. "Excuse me?" He asked, unsure whether to be offended or weirded out by this demand.

                The girl shrugged. "I'm a girl," She explained. "Well, the only girl in this school at least. My auntie couldn't afford anything else, so I had to lie to her and tell her I have a nice friend here that could protect me. Which, obviously isn't true." The girl paused here, looking straight into Jake Kim's eyes without a hint of fear or hesitance. "I can do stuff for you. Your homework, quizzes, tests, whatever. Just please protect me while I'm in this school, until my auntie can get me to transfer, then I'll be out of your hair."

                Jake nearly laughed at this. This girl had the audacity to ask him to help her beat up any guy that essentially looked at her wrong, because she wasn't able to do so herself? She should've just chosen to be home-schooled, or just worked her ass off to make money at a young age instead. "No," He replied bluntly, settling himself back down onto his table, ready to doze off until the end of the day. "Bold of you to assume I want to do well in my studies, anyways. Now go away, kid. I want to sleep."

                You frowned in disappointment. Sure, you weren't a hundred percent certain that the school's most notorious fighter would actually help you, but your optimistic side was really hoping that he'd agree to your crazy demands. "Ok," You relented, rummaging through the plastic bag you'd brought along with you, before bringing out a little Kuromi lunchbox and gently placing it beside the boy's head. "I brought some food, by the way. If you don't wanna eat it it's fine." You wait for a few seconds, but it had become apparent that either Jake was ignoring you, or he was already asleep. "Well, bye Jake." You left, making sure to gently close the door behind you.

                You should have tried harder to convince Jake. You really should have. Because right now, you were in a super uncomfortable situation you wish you could have avoided one way or another. Found blackmail on Jake Kim to make him protect you? Nah, he'd kill you in an instant. Whine and whine and beg for his protection? Still kill you anyways. Fuck, nothing you could have done would make Jake relent.

                Your eye twitched slightly as you heard the boy sat next to you call you 'sweet cheeks' for probably the hundredth time in the past few hours, then proceed to claim that you were his 'girlfriend'. Yeah, right! He was so ugly even mirrors would shatter if they saw him. Another vulgar comment about your ass made you feel like breaking your pencil. Screw being polite to potentially dangerous boys, you were ready to break this guy's arm. You cringed when the guy stupidly decided to make a move and loop an arm around your shoulder, making kissy faces as he slowly drew closer to you. You shivered in horror - this pervert was about to try and kiss you!

                "Hell no." You groaned, gingerly pushing his face away from yours as you stood up, ready to get out of this hellhole. No way this guy actually thought he had a chance with you. Not with his personality.

                "The fuck did you just say, bitch?" The same guy growled, slowly standing up to tower above you, the rest of the class following in suit. It was clear that he was the king in this class, and even the teacher at the front was shivering in his seat, too afraid to say anything.

                "I said, hell no." You repeated, throwing all caution to the wind. "I'm not your girlfriend, so please stop acting like I gave you permission to touch me all you want."

                The guy's goons began to menacingly crack their knuckles and bring out bats from god-knows-where, you were starting to regret making a scene.

                "Disrespectful bitch." The leader spat out, slowly advancing on you. "And disrespectful bitches get taught a lesson." This must have been a sort of cue, because the goons began to jump over desks and chairs to run at you, fully prepared to beat the shit out of you.

                "Oh fuck," You mumbled, before darting out of the class - thank god your seat was the closest to the door - speeding through the hallways while the boys behind you screamed bloody murder.

                You really should have exercised more, because in a matter of minutes, you were already starting to feel stitches coming in, and wheezing pathetically as you began to slow down, giving one of the more athletic goons the chance to grab your hair, making you shout in pain as your scalp burned, bringing tears to your eyes as you struggled in his grasp, kicking and flailing like a wild animal.

                "Yo, boss! I got her!" The goon shouted excitedly, grunting slightly as he kept you under his iron grip. "Stay still you bitch-!"

                A loud bam made you flinch, instinctively reaching up to cover your ears. Did someone blow up a part of the school? You blink, realising the goon wasn't restraining you, before slowly looking to the wall beside you, seeing a human's head smushed into the cement, acutely aware of a person standing behind you. Slowly you look up, your face breaking out into a happy smile upon seeing Jake Kim, one hand holding the goon's head into the wall, the other holding up your Kuromi lunchbox to you.

                "The food was okay," Jake said blankly, though the twitch at the corner of lips said otherwise. Letting you gladly receive the empty lunchbox from his grasp, he slowly surveyed the frozen goons, their leader at the front, before looking at the heads peeking out from the classrooms, his eyes darting towards your slightly trembling form. His eyes softened, peeling his jacket off his form to drape over you, giving your head a small pat before walking in front of you.

                "I have a deal for you," You perk up upon hearing his voice, his form still relaxed as the goons in front of him shifted into battle stances, fully believing they could take him down. "You make me those lunches everyday, and I'll protect you." Without even waiting for a response (you would have said yes anyways), he immediately lunged forward, meeting the boys in front of him with a flurry of fists and legs.

                The fight ended just as quickly as it had started. Jake Kim was standing tall among the unconscious bodies, his uniform bloodied but still intact. You gingerly stepped over the bodies, meeting the boy in the middle as you eyed his dirty form judgmentally, snuggling deeper into the warm jacket. "Ew," You hum. "I should wash your clothes too."

                "Whatever," He replies blankly, slouching down again, his tall and prideful aura when fighting nowhere to be seen now. "Let's go. I wanna sleep." You brighten again, humming a cheerful tune as you trot after him, a skip in your step.

                "Hey, what do you wanna eat tomorrow? Bibimbap? Bulgogi?" A grunt was your only response.

                A year has passed since you met Jake Kim. Since Jake was being held back a year (you scolded him for this, though you were pretty sure he wasn't even listening), you were now in the same class as him, which relieved you, since you no longer had to walk past judgemental eyes from every class to deliver his daily lunchbox.

                Humming a happy little tune, you halted outside your class, classroom 2-1, skidding to a halt as you nearly bumped into two tall freshmen exiting the classroom at the same time.

                "Sorry," The shorter one says absentmindedly as they brush past you, the taller one's dreadlocks nearly smacking you in the face. Scrunching your nose, you poke out your tongue at them, before entering the classroom.

                Jake was awake when you entered, staring silently at two packs of orange gum resting neatly on his table.

                "Who's that from?" You asked curiously, watching as he slowly unwrapped one, popping the gum into his mouth, and began chewing obnoxiously. "Ooh, Jake's got admirers?"

                "Just some freshmen that wanted to be head," Jake replied nonchalantly, offering one to you, which you took and popped into your mouth. "And is it that surprising I'm awesome enough to have admirers?"

                "Stop being so egoistical," You grumbled, noticing the faraway look in your friend's eyes. "What, thinking about how old you are now for freshmen to be having the guts to challenge you?" Jake's gracious reply is a side-eye in your direction.

                "Be right back," He suddenly hums, standing up from his seat to his full height, effectively towering over you. "Don't move, alright?" He ruffles your hair like some puppy, momentarily making you freeze up, before leaving the classroom. You sigh, shutting your eyes tightly as you plopped into your seat, which was right beside his, banging your head onto the table and covering it with your arms to hide the growing red on your cheeks. Stupid Jake Kim, you think to yourself in annoyance. Making me have a crush on him... Stupid...

                Another few months rolled by in a flash. There were two new members of the Jake's Followers Squad, namely Jason Yoon and Brad Lee, who were more than happy to beat anyone up that simply looked at you or Jake wrong, eagerly accepting any and all lunchboxes you gave to them. You swear, you could give them a lunchbox with rat poison inside and they'd gobble it up in a matter of seconds.

                Morning assembly in the courtyard was always boring. The principal would always ramble about how the students should be grateful for all the teachers and the equipment in the school, while the students down below slowly fell asleep one by one.

                "Everyone listen up!" A teacher shouted, clearly trying to suck up to the principal. "The principal has an announcement to make!"

                You groan as an old man in an expensive suit - clearly out of his salary - walked up to the podium and began his daily speech. "I wanna sleep..." You whine under your breath, as Brad and Jason nod in agreement behind you.

                "Prestige, my ass." Jason yawns.

                "What bullshit." Brad follows in suit.

                In front of them, Jake stays quiet, shutting his eyes as he effortlessly falls asleep standing upright, making you groan as you fan yourself. Fuck this weather, honestly.

                A loud creak by the entrance made the four of you turn towards it, curious to see what the commotion is about.

                "What's going on?" The principal shouts in panic through the microphone. "What are you guys doing by the gate?!" His question goes unanswered as the students slowly pull the gate open. "Hey, shut the gate at once!"

                Jake's eyes narrow at the sleek black limousine that rumbles through the now-open gate, and the students that bow ninety-degrees towards the vehicle. You blink; that was some surprisingly high level of standard and discipline the once-rowdy boys of this school had.

                "Welcome sir!" The students shout. "It's an honour!"

                The limousine's engine vroomed loudly, before it suddenly sped towards the crowd of students, who shouted in panic and quickly backed out of the car's way, only for it to skid to a halt - right in front of Jake Kim. The boy simply raises an eyebrow at the vehicle, his tall shoulders blocking your view of whoever stepped out of the car.

                "Damn..." The man hummed as he stepped out of his car, circle-shaped sunglasses perched neatly on his nose as he leaned on his car, hands placed in his pockets. "It sure is hard to drive in the school zone." His eyes wander to Jake - not that anyone could tell with his tinted sunglasses.

                "Good to see you," The man, Sinu Han, greets amicably. "Head of Gangseo Middle School; Jake Kim." His lips suddenly stretch into a wide grin. "Join Big Deal."

                "No," Was Jake's immediate response. "I'm not going to join Big Deal."

                "Whoa... so assertive!" Sinu continues smiling, unaffected by Jake's harsh rejection. "Why not?"

                "I don't do thugs." He answers sharply.

                "I'm not a thug."

                "Bullshit." Jake was quick to reply. "Everything about you screams 'thug'."

                "Damn, you got me." Sinu shrugs uncaringly, which slightly infuriated the boy.

                "Stop messing with me and go." He takes a gum out of his pocket, popping it into his mouth as he chewed, blowing a small bubble. "I'm sick of dealing with you thugs." And as he brushes past the man, Sinu observes quietly as you, Brad and Jason follow quietly after him, the son of Gapryoung Kim slowing down a little to subtly look back at you, raising an eyebrow almost inquisitively, silently asking if you were okay.

                Sinu Han watches in amusement as you nod your head brightly, and only then does Jake turn back and disappear into the school. "Ah, young love." He muses quietly as he turns around and heads back to his car. "Kinda reminds me of the romance of Big Deal."

                To be honest, you weren't all that surprised when Jake joined Big Deal. Sure, it was a little dangerous to hang out on a street full of gangsters with the possibility of getting attacked any second, but you understood that your three friends could protect themselves.

                Somehow, you found yourself wrapped up in the gang's shenanigans too. You were sort of an unofficial official member now, finding yourself managing Big Deal's finances and spending, even going as far as to help the gang put aside some money to invest in stocks. Due to your connection with Jake and Sinu, you were placed pretty high up in the ranks, as the sixth-in-command. It wasn't really high, like Jake, who was second-in-command, but everyone in Big Deal still genuinely respected you for your kindness - and home-cooked food, of course.

                "WELCOME, SIR!" Everyone bowed immediately, in one swift motion, their bodies bent a perfect ninety degrees as Big Deal's Number 3; Samuel Seo smoothly brushed past in his neatly ironed Big Deal coat, a cigarette between his lips. One of members of Big Deal caught his eye, making him pause directly in front of him.

                "Where's your coat?" He asked.

                "I was in a rush and forgot to wear it, sir!" The member replied loudly, scratching his head nervously, knowing he was fucked.

                "Is that so?" Samuel asked softly. A loud smack rang through the street as the member's face was snapped to the side, having been slapped by Samuel. "Does that mean you're not a member of Big Deal anymore?" The other members winced as they watched Samuel scold the boy that forgot his coat, said boy nodding nervously as he held his swollen cheek.

                "Samuel, don't be so harsh." You frowned a little, chastising the third-in-command as you stepped between the boy and Samuel, your Big Deal coat swooshing behind you as the boy looked at you like an angel that had just descended from heaven. "It was just one time. He won't forget again, right?" You smile kindly at the boy, who nodded fervently with a grateful smile on his face. 

                "Yes Ma'am!" He practically shouts, bowing profusely as you nod and wave him away, before speeding off, probably to go tell his friends about his encounter with you.

                "You're too soft," Samuel grumbles lowly as the two of you watch a bunch of Big Deal members crowd around him, exclaiming about how lucky he was to interact with the so-called 'Angelic Number 6' of Big Deal. "Gangs like Big Deal are all about discipline and respect. If you let him off so easily, he's going to take advantage of it."

                "You're just too harsh," You repeat your words from before, rolling your eyes. "You need to chill, Samuel. It's the first time he forgot his coat, right? You didn't need to slap him so hard, I could already see the bruise forming."

                "It's the third." Samuel mumbles petulantly, but even he knows better than to argue with you. For all he knew, the next meal you gave him could include a few worms for noodles. 

                He watches you leave, smiling and waving at every Big Deal member you come across, all of which smile stupidly and wave enthusiastically, or jaw drops and bows lower than they should, the same fervent look in all of their eyes.

                Stupid girl, Samuel thinks to himself as he watches you, walking freely with the Big Deal coat hanging off your shoulders, practically unaware of the weight of your role. Walking so freely, without a single care in the world. He wishes he could be like you.

                Big Deal was in its golden era for months. Ever since you, Jake and Samuel joined, profits have been soaring higher than anyone has ever seen, and no gang has decided to mess with Big Deal - except for the stupid ones.

                Nevertheless, life was looking great. You had an amazing group of friends that you laughed with and ate with, your aunt was starting to earn more money, so you could afford better ingredients for the food you cooked for Big Deal.

                You and Samuel, surprisingly, got along like a house on fire, something Jake wasn't too happy with, but never spoke up about. Just like you, Samuel loved money almost as much as he loved fighting, and the two of you would have in depth discussions about the best way to earn a lot of money for Big Deal while budgeting for about a hundred or so members. Despite your earlier grudges about him kicking a cute little boy named Johan out, he was quite friendly, underneath his tough exterior.

                Jake, on the other hand, got along like a house on fire with Sinu, which wasn't very surprising. Sinu had a very blatant favouritism towards the boy, and wasn't shy in showing it either. You didn't appreciate the leader of Big Deal proudly favouring Jake, but you never spoke up about it either.

                Admittedly, you still had that stupid little crush on Jake. Surprise, surprise, after months of being with Jake in gang, and seeing all of his sides - from the positive ones to the negative ones, you still found him handsome, deep down to the core.

                Samuel didn't appreciate you fawning over Jake in front of him - and yes, he knew because you told him. He'd roll his eyes, sigh and scoff whenever you brought the name up, knowing he was up for another session of 'Oh-my-gosh-did-you-see-how-Jake-took-those-guys-down' or 'Jake-looks-even-better-today'. But he never complained, which was something you appreciated. It was easy talking to the stoic and monotonous Samuel (arguably), since talking to anyone else essentially meant they would snitch to Jake, even Yeonhui and Sinu. Samuel didn't care enough to tell Jake, but at least he cared enough to listen while you talked his ears off.

                However, over the past few days, you noticed that Samuel became more prickly whenever you brought up Jake. He'd scoff - genuinely scoff, not the kind where he'd scoff but still listen, and make up some excuse to avoid you talking about Jake. Occasionally, when he'd lie that he had a phone call or he needed to check on the shops, you'd nod quietly, but stare questioningly as he walked away. You wondered what had happened between the two.

                One day, your aunt called. You were strolling around Big Deal street with Samuel, the two of you noting which parts of the street needed to be cleaned or repaired, when your phone rang in your coat pocket. Pausing, you dug your phone out, clicking on the 'answer' button when you saw the caller address.

                "Hi auntie, what's up?" You hum cheerfully, as Samuel pauses to patiently wait for you as well, lighting up a cigarette in the mean time.

                "[Name]!" Your aunt speaks cheerfully, her happy tone making you tilt your head. She'd never sounded so happy in the years you had lived with her. "I've gotten a huge promotion. It can earn me a lot of money for both of us!" Your face breaks out into a happy grin when you hear the news.

                "Auntie, that's great!" You beam, though she couldn't see it. "Should we eat KFC tonight?" Your aunt laughs, but it trails off a bit at the end. "What's wrong, auntie?"

                "My new job is in another part of Seoul, so we're going to have to move away."

                Your face went slack, eyes only widening slightly in shock. Samuel looked up questioningly upon your silence, inwardly noting the look of shock on your face.

                "[Name]?" Your aunt asks quietly, upon hearing nothing from you. "Are you okay with it? I know how close you are to your friends here... If not it's fine, I can reject the offer-"

                "No!" You say quickly, clearing your throat, before quickly regaining your composure. "It's fine, aunty. I can't wait. When do we leave?"

                "This coming Friday." Your aunt replies, her tone careful to gauge your reaction. "Are you sure you're okay with it?"

                "I'm fine," You say, trying your best to sound cheerful. Today was Tuesday. You only had two days, not counting today, to say your farewells. "Congratulations on that promotion, auntie! You deserve it."

                "Thank you, dear." You could practically hear her fond smile from the other line. "I'll hang up now, but I'll tell you the details at home. Love you, bye!"

                "Bye, auntie." You say, but the line had already gone dead. You suck in a deep breath, staring at the 'call ended' on your screen. It was dead silent for a while as Samuel observed your face.

                "So," He finally says, breaking the silence. "When are you telling Big Deal?"

                "Soon," You say resolutely, sighing as you ruffle your hair, suddenly feeling exhausted. "Keep it a secret from them until then, please?"

                Samuel raises his eyebrow at your plea, scoffing as he puffs out smoke. "Why should I?" He asks, smirking infuriatingly. You sigh at his reaction - clearly you expected too much of him.

                "I just don't want them to be sad." You finally say, a look of fondness in your eyes as you take in the street before you, a street you were proud to take part in building up to its glory. Your dearest pride and joy, Big Deal. "Jake's got a lot on his plate too, y'know? Sinu oppa's thinking of stepping down, and I heard there were talks of a guy messing up the other gangs around this area. They've got enough to worry about, they can't worry about me. They can't." You repeat the last sentence, eyes glazing over as Samuel watches you from the corner of his eye.

                "It's always Jake." Samuel mutters, barely catching himself in time to glimpse you curiously looking over him.

                "What?" You ask, making him quickly clear his throat and look away.

                "I'll keep your little secret." He grumbles, watching your expression light up as you give him a happy smile.

                "Really? Thank you, Samuel!" You rush forward, giving him a hug before gasping, checking your phone. "Oh, my auntie will be back soon! I gotta buy KFC, see you Samuel!" Without waiting for his reply, you dash away, breathlessly shouting a greeting to every Big Deal member you crossed.

                Samuel Seo watches you go with a sinking heart, his expression relaxing as he sighs and scratches the back of his head, trying hard to ignore the warmth in his chest. After all this time, it's always been Jake.

                You didn't show up the next day. Samuel pretends like your absence isn't a big deal, and carries on with his daily routine of supervising the members and scolding those who didn't wear their jackets. Who cares, anyways. You were probably just busy packing with your auntie to go somewhere else. It's not like he couldn't find out where you were going and visit you. He shakes the thought away, schooling his expression to one of blankness as he marks down another renovation needed to be made, strolling down the street.

                Inwardly, he felt somewhat triumphant that he knew something about you that Jake didn't. Watching him go around like a lost child, asking if anyone had seen you today was quite amusing, especially more so because he, Samuel Seo, knew before Jake did.

                He wouldn't miss you, Samuel reminded himself. Just another Big Deal member needing to move away. No big deal.

                On Thursday, Goo Kim came. Samuel watched on as Sinu was defeated, by a teen barely older than him, with bleached blonde hair and a joker attitude. He and Jake watched over Sinu as he rested, one man's mind in a turmoil and the other a calm sea.

                "Samuel," He clenched his teeth, hating how he automatically looked up at the boy.

                "What?" Samuel shoots back with gritted teeth, looking back down towards Sinu.

                "Where's [Name]?" Jake asks quietly, staring down at the floor with a blank expression, dark eyes a brewing storm.

                Samuel looks at him for a moment, his mind in a turmoil. He wanted to rile Jake up, just a little bit. And yet... his mind flashes to your face, knowing you'd be so upset if he caused a rift between you and your best friend. Best. Friend. Samuel clenches his jaw, and makes his mind up. "Took the day off." He's careful to keep his tone neutral and casual, as if he was oblivious to how Jake was slowly getting angrier and angrier. "Said she had more important stuff to take care of."

                The second-in-command nods silently, before getting up and saying he's going outside to get some fresh air. Samuel nods, and when the door closes, he lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding in, and stares down at Sinu. He thinks he feels guilty, but maybe not after all.

                Outside, Jake Kim is having a mental breakdown. More important things my ass, He thinks furiously, closing his eyes to take a deep breath to calm himself down. What's more important than Big Deal that she couldn't tell me herself?

                He sighs, smoothing back his hair. Tomorrow, He tells himself. Tomorrow, I'll deal with her.

                Tomorrow never came.

                Friday rolled past in a blur for you. Your auntie was so busy with paperwork and events, you had to help pack everything in your tiny little apartment, which had shockingly a lot of things. This took two days to pack by yourself, and on Friday, you found yourself whirled away by your aunt early in the morning to go to the train station, with no chance of saying your goodbyes. Inwardly, you scolded yourself for procrastinating your farewells, but brushed it aside as you admired the greenery that rolled past your window. You could easily text them, no problem.

                When you arrived at your new apartment, it was already late at night. Overwhelmed by exhaustion, you crashed onto your new bed, not even bothering to unpack or shower, and slept soundly till Saturday noontime.

                Once you woke up, you were determined to say your proper goodbyes. Grabbing your phone off the nightstand, you switched it on, clicking on Jake's chatbox before typing out your message.

[name] 🧚

hey, so sorry i didn't show up the past few days! was

super busy with stuff, i'll lyk thru call, just text me

when u have time, k? x

Seen

                Jake's reply came almost instantaneously, and your brows furrowed the more you read.

jakey (gyat) 🍑

I can't believe you. What 'stuff' were you even busy with?

Why weren't you here when we needed you? I'm starting to

think you don't even care about Big Deal. And you can't even

tell me face to face? I really can't believe you, [Name]. Don't

text or call me until you can tell me straight to my face what

exactly was so important you couldn't be here with us.

Seen

This person has blocked your contact.

You can no longer text or call this person

                Your brows furrowed, feeling hurt as you reread Jake's message once, twice and three times. What had happened the two days you weren't there? Clicking out of Jake's chatbox, you were determined to clear up whatever misunderstanding happened between you and your friend.

                Scrolling through your contact list, you clicked on the groupchat you had made with Brad, Jason and Jerry, originally meant for when you wanted to plan Jake's birthday party last year, but ended up as a groupchat where you and the rest of Jake's loyal fanclub would discuss anything (positive, of course) related to their boss (like the memes the four of you had created regarding Jake, though you all swore never to tell anyone about them).

Boss Jake's Fanclub 🍑

president [name]

guys what happened while i was gone and why

is jake mad at me rn?

Seen by all

hello?

Seen by all

guys please tell me i really don't know what

happened

Seen by all

jason 👠

i'm kinda going against boss jake's orders

but

on thursday sinu got defeated by some guy called

goo kim and jake's mad that you didn't show up.

he told everyone in big deal to block your

number and not talk to you at all until you talk to

him face to face.

                Your eyes widened as you slowly sat up in your bed, heading spinning as you slowly read through Jason's message. Sinu? Defeated? And Jake was angry that you were absent?

president [name]

i had a good reason, i swear.

im sorry i never told you guys sooner but my auntie

got a job promotion so i had to help her pack and

i left yesterday morning.

i really wanted to tell you guys about it but everyone

looked so stressed and tired i just didn't want to make

it worse.

im sorry everyone, i'll get ready to leave tomorrow to

explain everything to jake.

Seen by all

baby kwon 💗

I think it is better if you don't, [Name].

Boss Jake is very stressed right now, and I don't

think he wants to talk to anybody right now. Goo

Kim and his accomplice, Gun Park, said that we

have to pay them 100 million won every month if

we want Big Deal to survive, so everyone's very

tense right now.

I don't mean to be rude, but if you come back, Boss

Jake will be even more stressed.

brad (nail artist <3)

sorry [name].

we all miss you though.

we'll have to delete this chat bc if boss jake sees

this he'd kill us all.

Seen by all

president [name]

it's okay.

thanks guys.

Seen by all

baby kwon 💗 has removed you from the chat

baby kwon 💗 has left the chat

jason 👠 has left the chat

brad (nail artist <3) has left the chat

                You switched off your phone, staring at the black screen blankly.

                That day, your auntie had to console you nonstop as you cried your heart out, all the way until you fell asleep from exhaustion, tears still dripping down your eyes as your head hit the pillow.

                A few months later, a sleek-looking Samuel Seo paid you a visit. Your aunt was out working and you were watching television while eating fried chicken when your doorbell rang.

                Upon opening your front door, you were greeted with an unbelievably taller Samuel in a neatly ironed white suit, with a bunch of men standing behind him.

                "Samuel!" Your face lit up as you smiled warmly at your sudden guest. "Oh wow, you've grown taller!"

                "Hi, [Name]." He nods at you, the corner of his lips curling into a half smirk. "Can I come in?"

                "Of course, of course!" You unlocked your door, ushering him inside as you threw a curious look towards the men still stationed outside your house. They looked strange, in well-ironed suits that didn't scream 'We believe in the romance of Big Deal'. "Do they want to come in, or...?"

                "They'll stay where they are." Samuel replies dismissively, barely giving the men a glance as he looked around your house. "Nice place you got here."

                "Sorry for the mess," You say apologetically as you hurriedly switch off the television and clear away your chicken. "I wasn't expecting anyone to visit. I'll get you some tea. Make yourself at home!"

                Samuel sat down on your couch, watching as you bustled around in the kitchen, inwardly knowing you wouldn't treat him so kindly if you knew what news he came bearing.

                "So," You plop down opposite him, pouring him a cup of tea before pouring one for yourself. "What's up? How's Big Deal?"

                "Ah..." Samuel slowly took a sip from his cup of tea, the warm liquid running down his throat. "I left Big Deal."

                You paused, looking up at him in shock as he set down his cup with a sharp 'clink'. "What?" You say disbelievingly, glancing down at the shiny badge on his collar, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "But... you love Big Deal."

                "Loved," he corrected, unfazed by your piercing stare. "After Sinu was defeated, I realized that frankly, Big Deal was still a mile away from what I wanted to achieve." He gave you a professional smile, smoothening his hair. "Absolute power."

                "So what," You scoff, head still spinning. "Big Deal was just another stepping stone to you?"

                "Precisely," He didn't even bother sugarcoating it. "And now, I'm inviting you to do the same. I know that you still think of yourself as a member of Big Deal, though Jake may not feel the same."

                Underneath the table, your fists clench.

                The tea in your cup has quickly gone cold.

                "Join Workers. We will give you all the power and money you could ever want. We won't turn our back on you just because you need to take a few days leave without prior notice. Don't you want your aunt to stop suffering? Don't you want to live a lavish lifestyle, to have anything you want at a snap of your finger?" He leaned closer to you, and you could practically smell dirty money oozing from him. "Join Workers, [Name]. You won't regret it."

                You were silent for a while, before lifting your head as you stared at Samuel, a fire burning in your eyes.

                "So you're saying all I need to do is turn my back on Big Deal and join you?"

                Samuel hums in affirmation, his eyes gleaming in victory. He celebrated too early.

                Lifting your arm, you stand up, grabbing your cup of tea and mercilessly splashing the liquid all over Samuel, glaring at him as he calmly wiped the liquid away from his face with a handkerchief.

                "Like hell I will," You grit out, eyes blazing as you set down the cup with a loud bang, before pointing towards your door, hand trembling slightly. "Get the fuck out of my house, Samuel. I'm not a fucking traitor, unlike you piece of shit."

                You were half expecting him to get angry and punch you, but instead he chuckled almost good-naturedly and got up to leave.

                "Alright," He says easily, brushing past you. "That's fine, [Name]. It's not like you have a gang to go back to even if you refuse my offer."

                You were left there standing alone as the door shuts with a loud bang, fists trembling as you stared at the table.

                A year had passed since you had unofficially been kicked out of Big Deal. You had learned to push down the nostalgia and tears that the gang had brought every time you thought about them, and buried yourself in studies. Your new school, J High, was admittedly elite and quite expensive, but thanks to the scholarship you had scored from a company called H Group, the school fees were much cheaper.

                Originally, you felt extremely insecure about your background and looks, since almost everybody in J High was either good looking or rich, or in some cases, both, but you quickly adapted to your new environment, comfortably securing yourself a spot as an almost invisible girl, not too invisible for people to forget your name, but not too unique to be popular.

                During your third year, your department had some interesting freshmen. The Architecture Department was known for being an all-boys department for years (until you arrived), since 1) they were mostly gang members and 2) the girls were too scared to join. But the new first years were... unique, to say the least.

                Originally, you had thought they were just another bunch of rowdy teenage boys picking fights and smoking at the back of the school, but you were pleasantly surprised to hear chatter of how they were more mellow (which spoke a lot) and a boy in the first year had formed some sort of gang that apparently 'punished bad guys', called Burn Knuckles.

                Your curiosity piquing, you decided to volunteer to be the Architecture Department's student guide for the first years.

                The leader of Burn Knuckles, Euntae Lee, was a very amusing boy. When the teacher first introduced you to the class, you had accidentally made eye contact with him. Having read through and memorised the class roster, you gave him a warm smile, making his face go stiff as red blossomed on his cheeks. You nearly laughed, but kept it together as you introduced yourself to the first years.

                You only grew closer to Burn Knuckles when you discovered that the right hand man, Jace Park, worked at the same coffee shop as you did, thus his other gang members were also frequent visitors of the cafe, once saving you from a old man that was harassing you.

                "You don't touch a girl without her permission," You clearly remember Euntae Lee saying, as he glared at the man, who had tried to lean over the counter to touch your arm, and kept an iron grip on his wrist. "You're a bad guy. And bad guys must be punished."

                You had thanked him profusely afterwards, making him blush and avert his eyes, mumbling for you to call him 'Vasco'. As a way to express your gratitude, you talked to the manager, and succeeded in getting chocolate milk added to the cafe's list of drinks, making Vasco's eyes sparkle when he walked in the next day, seeing the new addition to the menu. How cute.

                You got along well with Burn Knuckles. Perhaps it was from your past experience with Big Deal, but you knew perfectly how to get the rowdy bunch to quieten down and listen. Of course, they loved you for your kind and unbiased nature - but they also loved your food. You grew close enough for them to comfortably call you noona.

                You felt relieved when Vasco gained new friends. Of course, they were an enigmatic bunch, almost as comedic as Vasco was, but you were grateful nonetheless. At least he had friends outside Burn Knuckles - not like it was a bad thing.

                Rumors were starting to circle. An illegal betting ring was starting to gain popularity, especially among students. You knew because one of your coworkers, John, had tried to borrow some money from you, though you wisely declined when he explained it was for betting.

                One of Vasco's friends, unfortunately, got caught up in the betting ring. You felt pity, as you stared down at the scrawny boy in front of you, looking like he was one sentence away from weeping his heart out at his money lost.

                Daniel Park, one of Vasco's friends, had called upon you late at night, requesting for your presence at a nearby convenience store. Apparently, they had been trying to help the boy get back his money, though literally nobody there was good enough at consoling him. Biting back a sigh, you tell Daniel you'd be there in five minutes.

                You smile kindly down at the boy, Jiho, who looks at you like a deity descended from heaven as his tears dry up almost instantaneously. "Don't be sad, we'll help you get your money back." You say. "Did you meet the people who ran the site, though? It'll help a lot."

                Jiho nods his head vigorously, smiling gratefully up at you through his thick lenses. "I did!" He exclaims in affirmation. "I know their names, too. This guy named John introduced me to the leader." You suppressed a sigh. Of course John was the one that made Jiho this messed up.

                "I don't know the leader's name, but he presented me to another guy, Jake Kim." Your heart stilled. Staring at Jiho, your head swam as your breathing became uneven, the loud thumping of your heart in your ears drowning out whatever Jiho was saying. Jake Kim? There was no way he would involve himself in illegal betting rings.

                "Jiho?" The boy paused in his rambles to look up at you, a small chill running up his spine as he sees the scary expression on your face, a blank yet terrifying aura around you, extremely unlike the usual kind and warm one you present people with. "What did Jake Kim look like?"

                "A-ah..." He paused, recalling the brief interactions he had with the teen. "He was very tall... and he had a lot of hair gel."

                Without the given circumstances, you would have laughed out loud. Of course the best way to identify Jake Kim was by his overly-gelled hair.

                But Jiho watched in surprise as you trembled slightly, a wild torrent of emotions clouding your eyes as you clutch his shoulder tighter. "Noona... are you okay?"

                At this point, you were acutely aware of the number of eyes watching your reaction in concern, ready to step in and console you at any moment.

                "Ah..." You lift your head, any trace of your previous panic attack gone in the blink of an eye as you smile widely at everyone. "Sorry, guys. I used to know a Jake Kim, but it must be a different guy." You laugh falsely, the sound grating your eardrums. "I need to get going now, my aunt's probably worried not knowing where I am." You bid them a quick goodbye, speedwalking away from the convenience store.

                Daniel Park watches you leave with furrowed eyebrows, staring at  your hunched form in worry. 'Strange,' He thinks to himself. 'For a moment there... she looked hurt.'

                Jace watches in sheer horror and shock as Jake Kim mercilessly pummelled Vasco to the ground, the former boy's fists soaked in blood. "Whew..." Jake hums, wiping his chin with one bloodied knuckle, sounding like he barely even broke a sweat. "You're persistent. It's impressive you managed to hang in like that." Jace clenches his fist.

                "Hey, friend." Jake Kim averts his gaze to Jace, who was still standing there in shock, disbelieving. "Take him and leave."

                With a start, Jace shifted his stance, clenching his fist as he prepared himself to attack, though his legs trembled in fear.

                "Hm? You want to fight now?" Jake nearly laughed, teasing the big-eared boy in front of him. "Did you hold yourself back not to embarrass your boss?" Jace merely stays silent, though a word from Vasco made him pause.

                "It's okay, Jace." The boy strains out, slowly getting up from the ground, his arms trembling from the effort. "I... will win."

                "Y-you can't!" Jace sputters out, helping his friend up from the floor, allowing Vasco to painfully lean some of his weight on him. "Vasco..."

                "I promised [Name] I would defeat bad guys." Vasco reassured, keeping his gaze levelled on Jake. "I won't disappoint her."

                "[Name]?" Jake softly repeats, his fighting stance relaxing as he stared at the two boys in front of him with a faraway look in his eyes. Shit, he should've realized how familiar that determination in Tabasco's eyes were. "You guys know [Name] [Last Name]?"

                Vasco exchanges a look with Jace, before simultaneously glaring protectively at Jake. "What's it to you?" Jace was the first to reply with a guarded look.

                "She's someone I knew a while back." He shakes himself out of his stupor, a small, bitter smile on his face. "I should've just listened to her instead of being so stubborn."

                "Here's the 100 million won for the month." Yeonhui places the last box of cash right beside Jake, her tone brusque. "Counted all of it with the girls."

                "Wait, hold on." Jake checks his clipboard again, eyebrows furrowed. "We were definitely a few million won short just yesterday. Did I count wrongly?" He looks up at Yeonhui, who suddenly had a shifty look in her eyes, glancing towards the door. Dread piled in Jake's gut as he thought of the worse. "Yeonhui, what did you do?"

                The woman's eyes widen. "We didn't sell our bodies or anything, you dimwit!" She whacks the man over the head, ignoring the bump that was beginning to form. As Jake nurses his skull with a small pout, she hesitates a little, looking at the empty peg with a Hello Kitty sticker pasted above it hanging on the wall. Jake recognized whose peg it was almost immediately - you used to hang your Big Deal coat on the same peg.

                "We just had a little extra help." Yeonhui finally says, her tone absolute, with no room for arguments. She pauses, as if fighting herself mentally, before taking out a small piece of paper and tossing it to Jake. "Read it. I'm going to tell everyone not to come in for the next half hour, you're going to need the privacy."

                And before Jake can reply, the woman had already sped out the door, shutting it firmly behind her. With nothing better to do, the man shrugs, unfolding the paper carefully. His heart drops as he reads the first line, and he has to lower the letter and stare blankly at the boxes of cash surrounding him, take a deep breath, and continue reading.

                'Dear Jake', the letter read. 'I hope this letter finds you in good health. I told Yeonhui to give this to you once things have settled down, or when you find out you've magically had a few more million won than before. I know you hate me because I wasn't there for Big Deal when you guys needed me the most, and I understand if you never want to see me again. I've moved to another part of Seoul because my aunt found a better paying job, and a part of me has moved on from whatever happened between us. For all it is worth, I'm sorry I wasn't by your side to support you through this tough time. Gun and Goo sound like a pair of cruel bitches. I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect Sinu, or keep Samuel from leaving Big Deal. He came to me, a few months after I'd left, with an offer to join his new sponsor, Workers. Of course I declined; even if I'm gone, I still love and cherish Big Deal with all my heart. My coat still hangs proudly in my room, and I wash it every month!

                'I'm not angry at you for acting as you did, Jake. I know that what I did, from your point of view, was wrong. I'm truly sorry. I know there's no way I can make up for what I did, but I'm trying, a little at a time, to help you. It must be tough for you, this new role and responsibilities that come with it. I'm sorry I'm not there to make it easier for you. Yeonhui's still sending me the tracklist for the 100 million won per month, and I'm still helping her calculate profits and suggest methods to increase them. Auntie's making more money than before, so sometimes I can slip in a few million won to help. I'm sorry if it's too little, I can send more if you want.

                'How is everyone at Big Deal? Does Jerry still have that little pink bike of his? Has Jason bought new shoes yet? Those red ones were looking really torn the last time I saw them. Tell Brad I love the nail art designs he sends me. If Yeonhui's still crying at night because she misses Sinu, give her a hug for me. I'm happy now. Even if you choose to forgive me, don't look for me, please? We'll all be okay if we just stick to now, forever. I'm sorry Jake. I hope you can forgive me.

                Yours truly,

                [Name] [Last Name]'

                Jake's eyes begin to water as he reads the last line. Then he finds himself rereading it from the first line again, until the tears in his eyes blur his vision and drip down onto his pants in little droplets. He stays like this for the next hour, reading and rereading, until he burns each and every word written from your soul deep into his aching heart.

                Vasco and Jace shared a curious look. They've never heard their senior speak of this strange, overly-gelled up man before, but a loud laugh from nearby made their heads whip towards the noise.

                "Well, this is interesting." The voice hums, as a man wearing tinted sunglasses appears, a cruel smirk on his face. The blood drains from Jake's face, and his fists clench tighter than ever. "You," he grits out, eyes blazing.

                "It's been a long time, Jake. How have you been?" Gun Park asks, in an almost amicable tone.

                Another year passed, and you were now an official J High graduate, working full-time at the cafe instead of part-time. The pay was much better, and the manager, a middle-aged woman, was kind enough to give you a bonus every two months, since you were one of her best and most loyal workers, which you deeply appreciated.

                The illegal betting ring situation was still plaguing the back of your mind, since you had heard rumors that Big Deal's leader was now in juvenile detention, but you currently had more issues to deal with than to dwell on it forever, like how the stupid espresso machine wasn't working again.

                As you wrestle with the insides of the demonic espresso machine, your mind flutters back to a few days ago, when Daniel Park had paid you a visit.

                "Jake Kim" Small Daniel says as soon as he sits down in front of you. You pause in your work, turning your head towards the shorter boy to give him a close-eyed smile. But even he could see through your mask.

                "I don't know what you're talking about, Daniel." You say, clenching tightly on the cup in your grasp, your words an underlying threat.

                The boy's adam's apple bobs nervously, but he still stares straight into your eyes fearlessly. You falter, previously wide smile dropping as you sigh, and Daniel catches a glimpse of pure exhaustion on your face.

                Setting down the cup, you motion for another worker to take over as you disappear in the back, probably to ask for a break, appearing once more as you take a seat opposite Daniel.

                "You got me," You say, shrugging carelessly, though inside, your heart was thumping loudly. "What do you want?"

                "You..." Daniel Park hesitates. "You know what happened to Sinu Han, right?"

                You hum in affirmation. A few weeks after your disgraceful step-down, Jason had secretly paid you a visit, telling you everything you had missed, including how Sinu had sold Big Deal.

                "Sinu Han's in an affiliation called Workers now, in the Second Affiliate. It's one of the Four Major Crews." Daniel Park explains, not missing a beat. "I want you to help us take down the Second Affiliate, by meeting Sinu Han."

                He doesn't expect you to laugh loudly, leaning back on your chair with faux relaxation. "I'm assuming I'm not the only one you came to with this offer." You hum, and Daniel Park tenses.

                "No," He admits truthfully. "I was planning on telling Jake Kim, too."

                He watches as you sigh, turning your head to look out the window, a faraway look in your eyes. He follows your gaze. A group of high schoolers were outside, laughing and shoving each other playfully. The picture of adolescent innocence.

                "You can make up with him," He presses stubbornly. "I don't know what happened between the two of you, but I know you guys can fix it-!"

                You smile, and Daniel is taken aback. It isn't your usual carefree and heartwarming grin, more like a pained and tired one. "If only it was that easy," You mumble, mostly to yourself. "Once upon a time, I would have wanted to. But now...?" You give him a helpless shrug. "He made it clear he hates me. Why should I be the one making the effort in saving a relationship he clearly doesn't want to preserve?"

                Daniel Park stares at you, with tears glistening in your eyes, and it finally dawns on him. "You liked him." He whispers, and you smile sadly back at him, not saying a word.

                "I'll send you the location," He stands up abruptly, eyes still ablaze with determination. "Exactly one week from now, my friends and I will be taking down the Second Affiliate."

                "Good luck, then." You hum, also standing up. "Goodbye, Daniel."

                Now is exactly a week from when he paid you a visit.

                Staring down at the address he gave you, you bite back a sigh as your head spins. Fuck.

                "I'm leaving early," You call out to your manager as you toss your apron on the front desk. "I'll make up for it some other time."

                "Alright, dear." She replies, smiling gently at your silhouette as you practically race out of the door. "Go chase that boy," She hums.

                Sinu Han was happy.

                Rather, he felt more regretful than happy. But seeing the gang he worked so hard to shape bowing in front of him, shouting their heartfelt greeting, even after not seeing or remembering him for three years, made his heart swell and his body feel so positively full. Big Deal was complete. But...

                "Where's [Name]?" Jake freezes as he catches Sinu's mumble, as Jerry, Brad and Jason exchange nervous glances. "Where's [Name]?" Sinu repeats, louder this time, as his voice carries for miles.

                His heart thumping wildly, Jake slowly looks up to see Sinu wide-eyed, afraid for the worst outcome. Shit, he thinks. If he finds out, he might lose his mind-!

                "I'm here, I'm here." A melodic female voice rings out, as everyone's head darts towards the entrance of the room, wide-eyed. "Jeez, no need to get all worked up."

                Jake's breath got caught in his throat.

                There you were, standing at the entrance, your Big Deal coat hanging loosely off your shoulders. Hands in your pocket, head tilted as you cooly regarded your former gang.

                Jake should have been happy to see you, alive and healthy. And yet...

                You silently walked through the neat formation, coming to a stop in front of Sinu, not even acknowledging Jake, who was beside him. The air was tense.

                "Welcome back, Sinu-oppa." You say blandly, forcing a tight smile on your face. "It's been a long time." Sinu smiles down at you, not sensing your awkwardness as he pats your head, making you freeze up.

                "Thanks, everyone." He says, a single tear dropping from his eyes. "How's everyone doing-?"

                "Sinu..." Another feminine voice mumbles in Japanese. "What are you doing?" Everyone turns towards the source of the voice, a small, trembling Japanese woman sitting on the couch. "You're joking, right?" She chokes out. "Stop fooling around. I'm not in the mood for this. You better cut it out." Mitsuki Sohma raises her head, a downright creepy look on her face as she shrieks at Sinu. "YOU NEED TO FIGHT FOR ME!!"

                A resounding slap echoes through the room as everybody sucks in a breath.

                "Cut that shit out," You glare down at Mitsuki, your hand stinging from the force of smacking her. "Stop running after a man that'll never love you. Whatever delusions you keep feeding yourself, that one day Sinu's going to marry you or something, you better force them out of your brain and flush them down the toilet before I do it for you."

                Everyone around you hold their breath as they stare at you, who was still scowling at the Japanese girl, holding her cheek as she trembled violently, tears running down her face.

                A chill suddenly runs through the room, and the hairs at the back of your neck rise. You slowly turn around, watching as the fearless gang you once knew part like the Red Sea, making way for a blonde Japanese man in a white coat whose face was so blank it made your heart nearly stop in fear.

                Kuroda Ryuhei. You've heard of him before. The leader of an infamous biker gang in Japan, rumored to have come all the way to Korea in pursuit of a woman 'like no other'. The rumors were true, then, you think, as you silently watch him pick up Mitsuki, bridal style, carrying her over to a sofa nearby, before turning around with an unsettling smile on his face.

                "Oi," Kuroda Ryuhei finally speaks in Japanese, the smile still on his face. "Who made her cry?" Nobody dared to speak, and you could feel the man's temper rise. He turns back to Mitsuki, and you glimpse his eyes becoming tender. "Hey, cutie." He hums softly. "Tell me, was it them?" He angles his head towards Jake and Sinu. "Tell me what you want me to do." And a chill runs down your spine as you hear the next sentence that comes out of this psycho's mouth. "If you want me to kill them, I will."

                "I did," The words fly out of your mouth faster than you had expected. At the corner of your eye, you see Jake's eyes widen; he clearly didn't expect you to defend them like this. "I made your girl cry." Your heart thunders in your ears as Kuroda Ryuhei slowly turns to look at you, and he looks almost amused to see another girl, besides Mitsuki, in the room.

                "You?" He hums. "Listen here, princess. I don't usually hit girls, but if you really made Mitsuki cry, I'm going to beat you up."

                "Come at me, then." You challenge, stepping closer to the blonde as you glare straight at him. "Let's see what the great Kagiroi is made of."

                I didn't mean that! You want to scream, but it's too late, as the biker's grin widens, and he pulls back his fist, prepared to punch you. You brace yourself as your life flashes before your closed eyes, and you hear the thud of flesh against fist, and you feel yourself fly back a little, but the hit never lands on your body.

                The smell of gel hits you first, then the familiar warmth. And as you slowly open your eyes, you feel Jake Kim's big, strong arms wrapped around you as his bicep blocks the punch, the shape of Kuroda Ryuhei's fist still heavily dented in his coat. "Don't you dare touch her," The man downright growls, his eyes ablaze with protectiveness. You flush a little, feeling the eyes of hundreds of Big Deal members looking at the two of you in shock.

                Ryuhei quietly observes the two of you, watching as Jake slowly releases you from his grasp, and you mutter a quiet thanks, the atmosphere between the two of you tense and awkward.

                "Ah," He suddenly smiles, and the two of you look at him. "You're just like me and Mitsuki." You flush a little at the comparison, and glare at him more heatedly, as Jake looks between the two of you in confusion, having known nothing of what the blonde had said.

                "Well, no matter." Ryuhei's smile disappears, and his intimidating aura returns. "He is willing to fight for you, no? Then I'll just kill him instead, for making Mitsuki cry." He leaps at the members of Big Deal, just as dozens of hands grab you and pull you behind the thick horde of Big Deal members, as the men protect you from the biker's wrath.

                You are lost in a sea of red, black and white, the iron tang of blood burning heavily in your nostrils.

                Big Deal streets smelled like home. You found yourself sat on a small plastic stool, blankly staring at the long rows of tables, filled to the brim with Korean street food of every kind. The place was abuzz; the smell of tteokbokki, ramyun, stir-fry and soju mixed together with the loud shouts and laughter of the members around you.

                You shifted slightly in your seat, self conscious of the gazes trained on your body. It was no secret that you were apparently the 'Fallen Angel of Big Deal', infamous for abandoning them during their downfall. The rumors went wild, but after Jake had explained the situation after reading your letter, they grew extremely protective of keeping your namesake safe, rumored to be going around and beating anyone who dragged your name in the dirt.

                Yeonhui and the girls quietly welcomed you with open arms. It was silently agreed that everyone would keep the fact that you had left for a while out of their mouths, until Sinu became a bit more mentally stable. For now, you just had to act normal around everyone - especially Jake.

                Speaking of Jake... your face grows hot as you recall how he had protected you with his body from getting punched by Kuroda Ryuhei. You knew it had to hurt; his arm was slightly trembling as he checked on you, pretending like it wasn't painful to move it around.

                Which is how you found yourself outside the warehouse you knew Jake would be inside. You stare at the door, mentally berating yourself for standing there like an idiot, because every time you tried to knock, your feet would just carry you away, before you walked back to the warehouse, embarrassed. If anyone had seen you, they'd think you were mentally ill.

                Finally, you throw all caution to the wind and knock sharply. "Jerry, I told you not to disturb me." His familiar voice grumbles from inside. albeit slightly muffled, and you deadpan. "It's not Jerry." You say clearly, your lips twitching as you listen to the clatter of an object hitting the floor, followed by rushed scrambles of someone with worn shoes rushing for the door, and you swallow your smile as you come face to face with a disheveled, wild-eyed Jake, clearly not expecting you to visit him.

                The boy breathes your name out, his eyes wide as saucers, and you shuffle your feet a little, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "Hi," You mumble a little. "You, um... weren't at dinner."

                "I- yeah." Jake nods along awkwardly. "I wasn't really hungry."

                "Oh," You nod along, and the silence is defeaning.

                "Um... did you need anything?" Just as he speaks, panic flashes in his eyes as he struggles to explain his seemingly rude words. "I'm not trying to be rude or anything! Sorry, I-"

                "It's fine," You crack a small smile. "I brought some ointment. Those hits must've really hurt." You hold up the small plastic bag you'd brought along, and Jake nods a little, smiling awkwardly as he opens the door wider to let you in.

                The first thing you are hit with is how poor the room looks. You weren't kidding. The walls were peeling, the cabinets were rusty, the light was flickering on and off, and the rugs were so brown you never could have imagined that it used to be royal blue - unless you were the one that bought it.

                You clicked your tongue as you pulled out a char to sit beside Jake, digging through your bag of first aid supplies. "Do you not clean this place anymore? How irresponsible of you."

                Jake cracks a small smile as he watches you unscrew the lid of your ointment, scooping out some of its contents, fondness shining clearly in his eyes. "I can't seem to do anything without you by my side, I suppose." He says softly, shyly testing the waters.

                It works, he thinks, as he sees your movements falter and your ears burn red. "Don't test it." You warn, but Jake knows there's no real bite behind your words. His smile grows wider.

                The two of you fall into comfortable silence as you tend to his wounds, as Jake admires your soft face and beautiful features. Fuck, he was an idiot for letting you go. Maybe it was the post-fight haziness, but he felt like he was on cloud nine just with your touch.

                Feeling his gaze on you, you look up from beneath your eyelashes, and Jake nearly has a heart attack. "What?" You say shyly, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear.

                Jake thinks he wants to start over with you. He wants to start his life with you. And as he searches your eyes, looking for the confirmation he needs that, just maybe, you felt the same way too, he decides to pop the question.

                "Forgive me?" He whispers, and you gulp, acutely aware of how close his face suddenly was to yours. Your mind goes blank. Even after years, he still looks so good, he's able to make your heart flip and butterflies dance to Moonlight Sonata in your stomach.

                Who cares about the past, You think hazily, smiling a little as you remember one particular memory. "Yeonhui told me you cried for an hour after reading my letter." You whisper instead, shifting your face away as you close the lid of the ointment, bending down to place it back into the plastic bag as you bring out a roll of bandages.

                You enjoy watching as Jake's face falls from the corner of your eye, content with torturing him just a little bit more. "I told her not to tell anyone," He groans, running a palm down his face.

                "Mm, I don't think so." You dance around him with your words as you begin to wrap his scar-littered arms, acutely aware of the muscles flexing beneath your touch. "Practically the whole of Big Deal knows, even without Yeonhui saying anything. She may have only told me, but even a fool could guess."

                He watches you quietly, a tinge of playfulness in his voice as he replies. "Well, I guess I'm a fool for you." He replies, and you snort. Jake's face positively lights up, and you are immediately reminded of a puppy being told 'good boy'.

                He is silent until you finish wrapping the bandages, before whispering once more, "Forgive me?" You tie your plastic bag up, straightening your back to stare directly into Jake's hope-filled eyes.

                And finally, you crack a smile, and the charming grin on Jake's face spreads wider. "I thought it was obvious I've already forgiven you?" You murmur with a small smile.

                And when Jake Kim leans forward to kiss you, fireworks explode and swan perform mating dances in your brain.

[bubblesgarden]

always you — john b x reader

｡˚○ navigation

summary: you and john b have been friends for years, but when kiara carrera comes along, things become different.

author's note: hi guys ! this is my very first piece of work i've posted here and i really hope you enjoy it ♡ if you did, please consider giving this a like, reblog, or comment ! feel free to give me a follow if you'd like to see more ♡

you were just eight years old when you first met john b. he had scraped knees and an untamed mop of hair, but his smile was infectious— like how the sun shone through your curtains on a summer morning, or when you listened to a song for the first time and would have it on repeat constantly. and before you knew it, you were spending every single day together. the two of you inseparable, running wild, dreaming up adventures, and sharing secrets that you swore would never leave the walls of the chateau.

for years, it was you and him— two kids hand in hand, against the world. at least, it felt that way.

but then kiara carrera came along. she was cool, easy going, and fit into the group so effortlessly that you couldn’t really blame john b for wanting to hang out with her. at first, it didn’t bother you— after all, kie was great. but slowly, you noticed the dynamic start to shift.

the days where it was just you and john b became fewer and farther between. instead of running off to hide up in the treehouse in your backyard for hours, or lay smushed up together on the hammock at the chateau while you stared at the stars to talk about everything and nothing, he was suddenly too busy. too preoccupied. with kiara. 

at first, you tried to convince yourself it didn’t matter. john b was allowed to have other friends. but as days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, the sting of being phased out by your best friend since childhood was too much to ignore.

one night, after another gathering around a fire where you felt like a shadow in your own group; constantly being talked over or ignored completely, you decided you’d had enough.

you didn’t exactly know what you were going to say— there were too many things running through your mind that you were positive it was all going to turn into a bunch of word vomit when you’d eventually face him. or you’d end up freezing. there was no in between unfortunately. 

so when you finally approached the chateau, you found john b sitting on the porch, sipping on a beer as he gazed out at the stars. the glow of the moonlight highlighted the familiar curve of his jaw, and those messy curls you had ruffled a thousand times before.

“can we talk?” you ask, skipping the introductions and small talk. that would just make this worse, you thought. you stepped up onto the creaky wood, arms crossed over your chest, almost in a way to hold yourself together. 

he turned to you, surprised. almost like he had forgotten you existed— surprised to see you here, where you had been day after day, and night after night, during your years of being friends. it wasn’t unusual at all for you to show up unannounced, but right now, with that look on his face, apparently it was unusual. 

“yeah, of course,” he nodded, motioning for you to sit down on the tattered, old couch on the porch. sitting down beside him, you folded your arms around your knees. for a moment, the silence stretched between you, awkwardness and the sound of cicadas filling the void.

“what happened to us?” you broke the silence, voice barely above a whisper but still steady as you turn your head to look at him. he hadn’t changed much all these years— still had that stupid boyish charm that seemed to get him out of trouble, and those same, soft eyes. 

you felt him stiffen besides you, and you almost scoffed. “what do you mean?” he asks, his tone matching yours.

“you know what i mean,” you sigh, the hurt you’d been bottling up spilling into your words. “it used to be you and me. we spent every day together. and then all of a sudden kie came along, and it’s like… i don’t exist anymore.”

his brows furrowed, and you saw the guilt flash across his face. “that’s not true.” you could pinpoint his defensive tone from a mile away— the same tone he would use when he got in trouble for something he did do, but always tried to claim he didn’t. 

“isn’t it?” you laugh bitterly, shaking your head a little. “come on, john b. you barely talk to me anymore. if i didn’t come looking for you, i don’t even think you would have noticed i wasn’t around.”

“that’s not fair.”

“neither is feeling like i lost my best friend.”

the crack in your voice must’ve struck something inside him because you watched as his defences crumbled. he set his beer down, running a hand through his already messy curls as he sighed deeply.

“it wasn’t supposed to be like this,” he spoke, his voice quiet.

“then why was it?” you pressed, eyes still trained on him.

he hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting away before they finally met yours again. “because i screwed up.”

your brows furrowed, and you could feel your heart pounding in your chest.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” he said quietly.

john b exhaled shakily. “i started… feeling things i wasn’t supposed to feel. about you. and i thought if i got closer to kie, it would— i don’t know, distract me or something. make it go away.” he laughed bitterly, shaking his head. “but it didn’t. it just made everything worse because i couldn’t stop thinking about you.” 

your breath caught in your throat as you stared at him, the weight of his confession settling over you like a blanket. “so, what? you just pushed me away instead of telling me the truth?”

“i didn’t want to ruin what we had.” his voice cracked, and for the first time, you saw the fear in his eyes. “you’re my best friend, and if you didn’t feel the same way— i can’t lose you, (y/n). i thought maybe if i kept my distance, it would hurt less.” 

you swallowed the lump in your throat, emotions churning in your stomach. anger, hurt, but underneath it all, a flicker of something you had buried a long time ago. 

“john b—”

“i’m sorry,” he cut you off, voice barely above a whisper. “i didn’t mean to hurt you. i just— i didn’t know what else to do.”

you searched his face, the boy you’d known for many years looking at you like he was afraid you might disappear. that you might run away and never speak to him again. 

“you’re an idiot,” you laughed softly, shaking your head. 

he looked startled, blinking in confusion. “what?”

“all this time, you were scared of ruining our friendship, and you didn’t even think to ask how i felt.”

“how you felt?” he repeated, brow furrowing. the pure confusion over his features made you want to laugh, but instead you just rolled your eyes. 

“i liked you too, john b. i still do.”

his eyes widened slightly, hope flickering in them like the fireflies dancing in the yard. “you do?”

“yeah,” you admitted, your voice softening. “but you’re going to have to make up for being a complete idiot about it.”

a slow, disbelieving grin spread across his face. “i think i can manage that.” 

before you could get another word out, he leaned in, hand brushing against yours as he closed the distance. the kiss was tentative at first, a question in the way his lips moved against yours. but when you didn’t pull away, you felt as he deepened the kiss, like he was trying to make up for all that time he’d wasted worrying. 

when you finally broke apart, he let out a breathless chuckle, resting his forehead against yours. 

“i’m never phasing you out again,” he promised.

“oh so you were phasing me out?” you tease, resulting in several pokes to your side by the curly haired male in protest.

“okay— okay! but seriously. you better not,” you said, a small smile pulling at your lips.

and just like that, it was you and john b again. always had been. always would be.

[mizgnomer]

Behind the Scenes of The Giggle - Part Twelve

Excerpt from Benjamin Cook’s article in DWM 599:

Full disclosure: the drop to London far below would make me giddy if the helipad weren’t, in fact, on terra firma (well, almost – it’s five feet off the ground) and tucked away on Wolf Studios’ backlot, where mavity is on our side. The weather less so. Cardiff is experiencing a heatwave this week. It’s uncomfortably hot. “That’s why I didn’t wear any trousers?” Ncuti will joke tomorrow. “Now it all makes sense!” It’s tomorrow’s bi-generation that’s the talk of the set. In the Make-Up tent, David Tennant’s hair stylist, Steve Smith, is giving us the skinny. “It’s a hell of an introduction, having the new Doctor Who spend half the episode in his underpants,” he says, cheekily. “Bi-generation gives me the heebie-jeebies,” confesses make-up designer Claire Williams. “The costume is halved! Each have bits of it. Ncuti has a shirt and tie, and socks and shoes, but he’s in his boxers.” “Oh, we’ve had many conversations about how long his shirt is,” Russell tells me later. “While absolutely checking Ncuti’s happy – we’d have doubled the suit if he wanted.” “And then David,” continues Claire, “has an under-shirt, a waistcoat, and trousers, but he’s barefoot.” “We do see David’s feet,” confirms Steve. “Tonight we’re giving him a pedicure.” Meanwhile, might Ncuti be getting his legs waxed for the occasion? “I’ve just spent six weeks on Barbie,” he’ll tell me tomorrow. “I’m used to being waxed.” Is that a… yes, then? “He’s dying his buzz-cut back to black today,” adds Claire. It’s been a bleach-blonde do for the past 12 weeks.

For other posts in this set, please see the #whoBtsGiggle tag. The full episode list is [ here ]

[amandacanwrite]

More Headcanons for the Gale Babes: Pining Edition

Tagging At Their Request: @eclecticqueennerd @jeneralmischief @thewizardhole

Tagging Because I Thought You May Want To Know I posted It: @lewdisescariot @ollypopwrites @rissi-chan @foreskinfinder87

Here are some headcanons about Gale behind the scenes as he pines for you/Tav (Goodnatured, Gender Neutral) Bear with some things that are just regular ole canon for a moment and then I will get into the headcanony stuff near the middle.

Upon Your First Meeting

"I'm Usually better at this." "At Introductions?" "Hah...At magic."

Safe to say that he was well aware of just HOW much trouble he was in very shortly after beginning to travel with you.

The words "Do NOT do this to yourself, you ridiculous, touch-starved man," may or may not have been said to the mirror...or to a mirror double of himself.

But godsdamnit, you just had to continue being...kind and courageous and well spoken and your eyes...and your lips and Focus--FOCUS GALE DEKARIOS

And hells, what a world it would be if he could stop putting his foot so squarely into his mouth.

"Gods, Gale. Really did a number with that thing you said, didn't you? They probably thing you're pompous--which you are--perhaps rightfully so, you are a very gifted wizard..."

He uh...talks to himself a lot. Old habit from the tower, you see. You only catch him doing it a couple of times though, and rarely hear what he said.

"Oh, just thinking out loud, you know!"

Once He's Gotten To Know You A Bit

"Go on, Gale. You're among Friends." "I may just be about to remedy that."

It's hard to pin point the exact moment he fell in love with you. But the realization was nothing short of devastating for him.

As a younger man, he may have been brought to tears reading a tragedy like his. Abandoned by a former lover, forsaken in a plight brought on by wishing to do her a grand gesture, falling for a simpler love...one he may never have because of the orb threatening to level a city in his chest.

Sometimes at night, he watches you asleep in your bedroll, wondering if he had met you as a young man...if he'd perchance seen you on the streets of Waterdeep or sitting at the bar in The Yawning Portal perhaps he'd never wound up in this position in the first place.

Perhaps he would have simply been chosen by Mystra, and not have fallen in love with her.

It feels wrong...even to think it. He wonders if Mystra can sense the betrayal in those thoughts--in the wish that he'd never fallen in love with her.

But it's hard not to feel that way when he has to spend every waking moment next to you.

And when he watches everyone else in camp seemingly falling over themselves to get to you as well.

He makes his peace with the fact that there is simply no way that he can compete with the pale elf who is constantly making eyes at you...calling you darling.

He remembers meeting people like that in school. He remembers burying himself in his studies to distract himself from the fact that he'd never felt particularly charming or even efficacious in matters of the heart.

Of course that all changed when Mystra chose him. Before he'd wooed her, he'd managed to have a few dalliances as a teen, even going into his early adulthood.

But you're the first he's ever wanted to have something with since Mystra had forsaken him.

He still carries the charm he'd cultivated. It's hard not to get at least a little full of yourself when the goddess of magic herself chooses you. Harder still to drop the habit after he'd committed to it, even while sequestered to his tower.

He'd been deep in thought on these matters when you checked in on him one night.

"Nothing to worry about. Just a wizard stewing on matters of the arcane and curious, I assure you."

When he finally has to reveal the truth of his affliction to you and the others in the party, he's devastated all over again. He's ready to once again be banished for his crimes, to be newly punished for his folly, however well intentioned he was in acquiring it.

But...you simply don't... It seems you never do what he expects because you hardly bat an eye. Even when Astarion tells you to kick him to the proverbial curb, you let him stay.

It's that night he conjures the image of Mystra in his hand, turning it this way and that to see if it still hurts to look upon her as it used to.

When you wander over to inquire about her visage, he is relieved to find it doesn't bother him to speak of her, and daunted by the ache in his chest that you seem to inspire in him.

He keeps trying to find a way to tell you how he feels, but he simply can't form the words without choking on them.

Until that night with the teiflings...and well...let's just be honest, the generously flowing alcohol.

He just wants to share a moment with you--a foolish idea to help you experience the weave using him as a conduit. A bit cheeky he realizes--knowing perhaps better than you might the sort of sensual, intimate nature that being connected through the weave can be. But he can't help it, it is the only relief he can find for this torturous pining. To be allowed to be of one mind with you for just a fleeting second is too tempting to refuse.

When You Imagine Sharing A Kiss With Him

"I'm sorry...I wasn't expecting...but it is a pleasant image to be sure. Most pleasant, in fact. Most welcome."

How can he convince himself that he won't immediately ruin this? Does he even remember how to kiss? God's it's been so long.

He lies in his tent, banging the heel of his hand against his forehead.

"You should have just kissed them, you damned fool. How long have you wanted this? And apparently they want it, too. And you were linked with the weave! What could have been more perfect? Why didn't you just kiss them, you blithering idiot."

When he doesn't kiss you for a while, you worry you may have made him uncomfortable with the thought. Really, he simply can't find the perfect time between all of the bloodshed and bandages.

He gets sloppy in battle, too worried that someone will take you way before he has a chance to make good on that dream you shared with him. Not the best course of action for a man who can literally implode in the event that he dies.

And then he had to go and say that stupid thing about danger and...other forms of stimulation.

"Perhaps," he tells himself one night. "Perhaps, Gale of Waterdeep, you will actually make a gesture more than a silly joke and a stammering admission of liking to kiss. Your actions so far have not hinted that you will, but perhaps there is hope for you yet."

In the end it's a night where you're near out of provisions that gives him the opportunity to close this blasted distance betwixt you.

He's having a melt down of sorts. About the lack of decent food in camp. How is he to feed all of you with nothing but a few half-eaten apples and a fish head?

You suggest a walk, not far from camp. You're sure you can scrounge up some berries, or some tubers--maybe even a squirrel or a rabbit. In truth, you're not sure you'll find anything, but you can sense that Gale needs time away. Needs privacy. Needs space to simply feel things without an audience.

After walking in silence for a while you ask him if he's alright.

"No. No I am categorically not alright. Not at all. I am filthy. I am covered in goblin blood. The orb refuses to be sated. I cannot find a way to properly feed you so that you'll have the strength to fight another day. And on top of it all--rounding out the depths of my misery--you so bravely showed me the intimacy you wanted to share, yet I cannot for the life of me figure out how to adequately stage that moment so that it is worthy of the splendor that you are."

It's hard not to be touched by his admission, but you don't want him to be miserable. So you make it easy for him. You simply stride up to him and plant a kiss on his lips.

"Is that better?" you ask him. "Now you needn't fret about the last thing."

His simply...gawks at you. Stares in utter befuddlement, his mouth slightly agape. For a moment, you're certain you've broken the poor wizard. You almost have the urge to wave your hand in front of his face to see if his soul has left his body. Then he smears his hand down his face and groans

"NO," he says. "No it is not better. That is not a proper first kiss worthy of how I feel about you. I can do much better than a first kiss like that."

You remind him that that was technically your first kiss with him. He is welcome to show you how it is properly done.

You expect the slow burn with him--expect him to have to ponder that for a few days, perhaps even a few weeks, before he makes good on it.

But he has had enough of waiting. He drops his bag off to the side and unstraps his bow from his back in a quick flurry of movement. He reaches for you, gently grasping the soft curves of your face and pulling you toward him, claiming your mouth with his own.

It is a frantic, desperate thing, this kiss. Simultaneously overwhelming and buoyant. You find yourself lifting up onto your toes and leaning against him as he tilts his head, seeking some opening to taste you, to feel you on his lips.

Your knees buckle, and his hands move from your face to catch you, crushing you against him as if he wishes to match every curve of you to every corresponding curve of his own body.

His lips are soft, though they are posessive. When you finally allow him across the threshold of your lips, he tastes like that fragment of weave you shared with him. He tastes of pure connection.

And then, just like that moment, it is over. You're left panting and weak as he holds you against his chest, his face flush, his brow gently curved with worry.

You blink dreamily up at him. "Oh." you say.

"'Oh?'" he asks incredulously. "Please tell me you have more to say than 'Oh.' Or at least specify the quality of that 'Oh.' Hells, if I'm to get any sleep at all--"

You simply lift your fingers to his lips, pressing the tips to quiet him. "Consider me properly schooled in how it's meant to be done," you say. "You're an excellent teacher."

He heaves a sigh. "Oh," he says. "I know."

I hope you enjoyed this! I'm sorry if it's not as satisfying since it's a lot of like...subtext for canon things. I have more Ideas but this is already quite long. Do let me know if you would still like to see more or if you have anything you'd like to see or expand on with an actual small fic. I have been having so much fun with these.

[quinngefail]

Um. So

Wanted to do an inverse of that last drawing set, and the initial plan was for this one to also have an overall goofy tone. But I couldn't think of ways to spin humor into this one (save for the last image) given what I wanted to touch on, so...

I guess here's some divulgence of my post-bathroom-trap Lawrence characterization, but with a weird juxtaposition between Writing and Visuals because I still ended up using the Little Guy art style HRKGKG...

And same as Adam's post, if my writing is difficult to read, it's all in text form in the image descriptions! ^_^

I feel rather self-conscious about this one overall. But y’know, fuck it man. We're posting it regardless

More thoughts under the cut:

So basically... In my mind's eye, this is a man who has developed an extremely guilty conscious following the bathroom trap, and is now hyper aware of the consequences of his actions. He's been separated from his family, and is desperately determined not to fail anyone else; something that especially applies to Adam, and their relationship in general. And despite Adam having long forgiven him for what happened in the bathroom trap and making it very clear that 'I don't hate you, I could never hate you', Lawrence just cannot internalize this, and constantly has this 'it's the least I can do for you after everything I've done' sort of mentality towards far too many things in regards to Adam.

While also having serious bouts of that whole "You're just manipulating him so you can get your cheap validation and feel good about yourself-"

I'll elaborate more when I write my full thoughts out because there is SO MUCH MORE I could talk about but. FOR NOW THIS IS AN INTRODUCTION TO MY SICK AND TWISTED BRAINROT 🙌

Okay and like the overall tone on Adam's drawing set may have indeed been more goofy, but DON'T GET IT TWISTED that is not my perpetual approach to the way I think about + want to depict his struggles and all that. It was just certainly easier to throw comedy into his pieces lmao. And I've also got a whole lot more to elaborate on with him and his 20 million issues </3

And then lastly!! With the final image it's like I IMAGINE LAWRENCE DOESN'T GET AS CAUGHT UP IN BEING EMBARRASSED OVER BEING ROMANTICALLY CHEESY AND SHIT but y’know. Sometimes you're saying "what's cookin', good lookin'," to your boyfriend with no problem. But other times your brain crafts up "MI ADAM-ORE" and you just have to take a step back after actually going through with saying that one. And have your moment of regretting your every life choice. Y’know

Once they both realize + embrace how cringe + cheesy + corny they truly are. It'll be all over

That's all lol thank you for reading 👉👈

[stu-dyingstudent]

Sakura Haruno fic recs: time travel AU

I'm finally getting around to recommending some good Sakura-centric time travel fics! There are plenty of them out there and they can be kind repetitive, but I always eat them up. Typically speaking, I really don't care much for the whole introduction bit at the start where it's the actual process of her being sent back... So just make it past there before you decide whether or not to continue!!! Also, I'm starting to think this list is getting kinda long, so maybe I'll do a second one?

I've been dying to post some of these fics in a list, so please enjoy!

Started: 2024.08.16

Last Updated: 2024.12.02

note: feel free to check out my master list which has a bunch of Sakura Haruno fic recs (all organized)!

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Sakura - lilac haze || ffn/ao3 || M || minasaku || time travel AU || complete

AU. Non-Canon. Time Travel. Please see inside for full warnings. Cross posted on Ao3. On his deathbed he was granted eternal peace and place to rest for all of time. Of course that was not appealing to him. Ever unpredictable to the end he had a counter offer. One that the Sage had to consider. In which Sakura's going to have a rough time. A really rough time.

If there is one thing I want you to take away from this list, it is this fic right here. I kid you not, Sakura is one of the best fics I have ever read. I have never felt so gutted, so heartbroken, so giddy, so stressed, all from one work. It's a masterpiece all while being criminally underrated. The characterizations and storytelling are beautifully done. You feel for the characters and the relationships formed along the way are truly great. Please share this author some love.

Check TWs before hand!!

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The Misadventures of Kakashi and the Girl From No Where - Goldfishlover73 || ao3 || kakasaku || M || time travel AU || complete

When a girl called Sakura seemingly falls in the sky, Kakashi is skeptical. Far more skeptical than the rest of Team Minato are. War is approaching quickly and this strange girl is leaving more questions than answers in her wake, Kakashi must decide where his trust and loyalties lie in a constantly changing world.

Told in the perspective of Kakashi in his youth! Really interesting take and I love how strong Sakura is in this in addition to the fact that we get to see a different side of Kakashi that we aren't used to.

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Anachronistic Drift  - Elesrea  || ffn || gen || T || time travel AU || incomplete

Her plan was flawless. Save Shisui. Save the world. Time-travel, Sakura-centric AU

Sakura spends years training to be sent back in time and save the world from Sasuke. Whilst masquerading as her younger self, she poses as an unofficial ANBU to stay anonymous in her efforts of changing the shinobi world for the better.

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Tourniquet - lilac haze || ffn || T || minasaku || time travel AU || complete

She was his tourniquet. She stopped the bleeding, she stopped his bleeding. She stopped his pain, his despair, his loneliness. She was the first face he saw. She was the first person he trusted. She was the first person to keep his secret. She was his tourniquet. He did not love her. He only loved the idea of her. SakuraXMinato. Time-Travel Fic. Alt. Universe

I quite honestly think this is a hidden gem amongst time travel AUs since I never see people recommending it, but Touriquet is so good! What's interesting here is that it isn't Sakura that's playing with time, but rather Minato. The night of the Nine-Tails attack, rather than dying, he is sent to the future where post-war Sakura is the one to find him and keep the former Hokage alive. It's a delicate situation and one which is kept a secret from many, but through Minato's depression and difficulties with his new life, Sakura becomes a close confident.

Same author as Sakura! I gotta read more of their works

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Armour-Sleeved Single Hit - thatdamnuchiha || ao3 || T || madasaku || time travel AU || one-shot complete

Sasuke always told Sakura she was weak. Even after she trained with Tsunade for years he only had eyes for Naruto whom he considered strong. She would forever be invisible to him no matter how many mountains she toppled. Being a member of Team Seven despite Sasuke’s refusal to acknowledge her meant she got herself into her fair share of sticky situations. Getting stuck a hundred odd years in the past had to take the cake though. But she was just a weak little girl and compared to the shinobi of old she’d be ridiculously pathetic. Sasuke had said she was weak to him – a modern day shinobi who hadn’t been forced into battle after battle like they did in the Warring Clans Era. Obviously she’d be nothing more than a spec of dirt in the eyes of the Founders.

Sakura manages to find herself in founding-era Konoha! While trying to prove that medical ninja are capable fighters she unknowingly gains the affection of Madara Uchiha. After all, the Uchiha find beauty in strength. Super cute read!

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here are the fruits of your labor (would you like a cherry on top?) - snickiebear || ao3 || M || shisaku || time travel AU || one-shot complete

Shisui smiles and it is unlike any smile she has seen before. She cannot remember the last time she had seen a smile. 

Sakura manages to fix everything and now tries to live her life in a past she doesn't know. Shisui is the first to find her and the two of them form a close relationship that continues through her journey of recovery.

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The Moon Knows Best - darth_healer || ao3 || E || madasaku || time travel AU || complete

The Moon has played a cruel trick on Madara. He's still home, but it's not the same. Instead of a tranquil forest, there's a colorful vibrant village. Instead of the cliffside he knows so well, it's a collection of Senju faces, one of which belongs to his good friend Hashirama. And instead of Hashirama, Madara is saddled with a very interesting, pink-haired girl. MadaSaku in which young Madara goes forward through time.

Madara finds himself far into the future where the first to stumble upon him is Sakura. He's such a brat, but his and Sakura's interactions are rather entertaining.

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In the Magic Hour - summersirius || ao3 || E || minasaku || time travel AU || complete

It's not perfect, but everything is beautiful. —Minato/Sakura

A sharingan mishap lands Sakura in the past where she drops down in front of team Minato. With her hope of returning to the present time dwindling, Sakura excepts her new life and tries to make the best of the situation and the new bonds that come with it. The dynamic between Sakura and the older generation is quite refreshing and her mentor relationship with the former team 7 is great.

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Stumble - writer168 || ao3/ffn || gen || T || time travel AU || complete

Sakura wanted to die.Sasori was fine with staying dead.But it seemed fate had other plans for them, because when they both wake up younger with blood pulsing through their veins, they had to remember how to live again.Time Travel AU

Sasori and Sakura are both sent back in time and they try to make a difference in their respective villages. Told in the perspective of both characters, but primarily Sakura. She ends up forming a pretty sweet bond with Ibiki and Genma (which I love) and they help her through some things. Sakura has a rough time

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A Twist in Time - wolf08 || ffn || sasusaku || T || time travel AU || complete

With Konoha on the verge of destruction, Sakura is sent on a last-resort mission to save her world by travelling to the past. Join her in coping with her old body's shortcomings, testing the natural laws of time, falling in love all over again, and rediscovering who she is.

With Sakura frustrated at being back to where she started in her becoming of a shinobi, she begins to train with Sasuke. This time around in her life, her relationship with her brooding teammate isn't so strained. Pretty cute read imo

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Return & Rehash - SpaceNugget11 || ffn || sasusaku || M || time travel AU || incomplete

"You," Sakura snarled with bared teeth. Sasuke gagged for air, clutching at her forearm, but she only pressed harder into him. Her green eyes crackled, and she wished she could burn him alive with the heat of her anger.

Sasuke and Sakura certainly did not end in their last life on goods terms and it is prevalent from the moment Sakura awakens and attacks her teammate.

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An Inch of Gold - KuriQuinn || ffn || sasusaku || T || time travel AU || complete

Team 7 is sent on a mission to investigate a disturbance outside of the village, where they encounter an unconscious girl in a crater. The mysterious Sarada insists she's a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf trying to rescue her teammates. When the team discovers she possesses a Sharingan, things become even more unbelievable. [Part of the Legacy of Fire Series]

Sarada lands herself back in time all while crashing into another team 7 mission gone wrong. An Inch of Gold is in multiple perspectives, but they're all done quite well. Sasuke and Sakura are obviously rather flustered by the situation and the fact they have to deal with it in front of the team makes it quite entertaining.

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These Eyes of Mine (I Can See) - tsukuyue || ao3 || gen || time travel AU || complete

They've lost. Naruto was dead, killed at Kaguya’s hands. Along with him died any illusions of hope that they could win. They couldn’t win, but perhaps they wouldn’t need to. In attempts to stop the Fourth Shinobi War from ever occuring, Sakura is sent back in time to the moment of her birth. Protecting the people she cared about would be much easier if she knew all the facts. OR Where Sakura can see the dead, and Danzō deserves to die.

I'll be honest, I can't remember much, but I do remember that it was really good! I believe a large focus is the Uchiha massacre.

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Trials of Change - Espoiretreves || ao3 || gen || time travel AU || complete

Haruno Sakura made a promise. Looking in the eyes of her Shisou and the reanimated Hokage, she took on the most important mission of her life. Go back in time and try to prevent the 4th Shinobi War. Now, Sakura is back to her 5-year-old body, with all the knowledge and haunting memories of the future. She vows to keep her precious people safe and stop certain events from happening, without altering the timeline too much. The trials her emotions and logic put her through have her questioning her very existence, but for the sake of peace, she has to push forward. No matter what.

If you love Shisui then you'll definitely like Trials of Change. Him and Sakura form the most wholesome friendship ever and try their best in taking down ROOT. A huge cast is present here and the whole thing is just great. It seems as if everyone has some character development lmao.

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Time Flies Like An Arrow - Katlou303 || ao3 || gen || K || time travel AU || complete

Sakura traveled back in time with the intent of changing everything, but something went wrong, and now she's four years old having nightmares about impossible monsters and losing friends she has yet to meet.

I always like the ones where Sakura isn't fully aware she time travelled. I find it interesting in this fic to see how oblivious Sakura is to her situation, she's a four year old in mind and body. However, she still feels the need to make a difference in the lives of the people around her.

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cut the head off the snake - itsthechocopuff || ao3 || T || time travel AU || complete

when eighteen-year-old, post-war Sakura is thrown back into her tiny, pre-Academy body, she makes a decision. she'd had a childhood once already, and this time, she's more interested in Not Dying when the inevitable shit hits the proverbial fan. so she will work harder, care less, kill more, and smile when she's done.and hey, if she ends up reviving an extinct nature transformation to attract the most corrupt, power-hungry man from her timeline, all the better for her, right?

Sakura decides that her first order of business after traveling back in time is to infiltrate ROOT and that's exactly what she does. Sai, Shin, and Shisui are all great characters and team Ro is present as well. Very good!

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The Danger of Smudged Storage Seals - bluemingqueen || ao3 || M || kakasaku || time travel AU || complete

Sakura should have known that Naruto taking an interest in seals would lead to disaster.

In hindsight, maybe she should have looked to see if the piece of paper she’d pressed a chakra-laden finger to was the explosive seal or the slightly smudged miniature storage seal containing all of her shinobi registration documents.

Perhaps one of my favourite kakasku fics and this was just recently completed too! Genin Sakura is sent back in time due to a faulty seal and maybe it was for the best? She ends up joining Team Minato and forms some great friendships in addition to a super sweet parental relationship with Minato and Kushina. There's a really good balance between training, missions, goofing around, heartfelt moments, etc.. I think the author did a fabulous job with the characterizations as they all feel accurate and unique to themselves. Also, fuinjutsu-user!Sakura??? Yes please! Slow burn kakasaku where they are both immature idiots

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A Second Chance - Invisibleninja12 || ao3 || T || sasosaku || time travel AU || ongoing

A 15 year old Sasori turns up in the Leaf Village almost one year after Sakura defeats him (in canon). Not knowing what to do with this young, (semi) innocent Sasori, Sakura hides him from the world.

A teenage Sasori somehow manages to land himself 20 years in the future and he isn't quite sure what to make of it. Sakura feels she owes it to Lady Chiyo to help out (a bratty and emotional constipated) Sasori and ropes Sai into assisting. I've really been enjoying A Second Chance so far and I really love that Sai has a large role!

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Q: Do you guys like my little comments? If you look at my other lists you'll probably notice that I tend to reuse some of what I say (bc I'm lazy), but for the most part I try to add something new whenever I put a fic on a list. I know that descriptions aren't always very helpful, so I like to put a little something for y'all to get a better idea of what to expect!

Send me recs if you have any!!!