#but also. there are some things you return to even if you don't want to

[kukinkrim]

I got a request for you!!

Would you be willing to write fic where the reader is also a demon amongst the group, but they don't know off hand?

They have a sense that something is different about the reader, but they can't place it until the reader legit jumps in to protect them against Huntr/x? And they see the reader full on demon mode, full on dressage, with the eyes, elongated fingers and purple marks?

Ps: I love your writing!! <3

under your nose

saja boys x gn!demon!reader

themes: kpdh spoiler, angst (?), fighting (hints of blood & violence), diverges from canon a bit

note: thank you so much for the request! i just want to say sorry in advance if i wasn't able to do it justice 🙂‍↕️ i suck at writing fighting scenes! i didn't know how to end this and became too lomg im so sorry TT

side note: just for dramatics, demons don't disappear immediately as soon as they are injured.

jinu prided himself on being the smartest among them.

the long game. the weight of shame woven through every performance, every comeback; he carried all, the knowledge that everyone who had ever loved he and his group were doomed to fall soon. afterall, he was the one who first proposed this plan to gwi-ma.

centuries of being stuck in hell made him smarter. it allowed to become observant. patient. it took many, agonizing years for him to come up with this plan. the process was slow and doubtful, he wasn't sure if it would even work. but in return, he got a taste of freedom on the surface. limited, but still there and not ten feet under. he managed to strike a deal with gwi-ma once more for a chance to forget everything—a deal so tempting that gwi-ma didn't think twice and sent him up here with four other demons like him.

and tonight, it was meant to be the crowning moment of it all.

he had successfully broken up the huntrix. all of south korea's eyes were on them. the stadium was booked, overflowing with people. it was going to be a feast, exactly like how gwi-ma wanted it.

south korea. the vibrant, foolish south korea would fall into gwi-ma’s open jaws tonight.

he watches from behind the stage as the crowd poured in mindlessly, completely filling in the seats. his heart pounds against his ears as guilt and shame pulled at his soul. centuries cannot erase the fact that he had a heart once.

but everything was in place. there wss no room for hesitation.

jinu's eyes wandered towards you who was standing not far off, talking to some of his members.

you were not like them. you were a mortal. their manager who applied unknowingly when they were looking for one. humans assigned to oversee them during their performance and take care of them behind the scenes.

jinu admits that their lives on the surface was somehow easier with your help.

but mortals were just disposable tools. you were helpful, yes, but in the end, you were just being used for what you were worth—just like the five of them. later, tonight, you'd lose your soul to gwi-ma too.

but jinu isn't sure if he's okay with that at all.

mystery thinks you were something.

something. in a sense that you didn't feel like human at all.

from the beginning, there had been something off about you. a picture perfect resume that seemed too good to be true. when you looked at then, there was something about your gaze that reminded him of something familiar. you were calm. almost cold, even.

the members all think it too.

and they'd study you, of course.

perhaps, there were mortals out there just like you—the epitome of professionalism. you stand tall, straight, unbothered of their shenanigans. you were smart and precise and controlled. you handled them all like a conductor guiding chaos.

but sometimes, baby thinks, when he looked at you, there was a flicker of moment where your eyes didn't look human.

baby always thought it was his imagination. a trick of light. he might not be as smart as jinu was, but he was observant to a fault. yet, despite the things he'd seen, he would brush it off.

he noticed the way you'd enter the room, foot light despite the creaking floor. romance even commented that you could kill them if you so wanted to, because they wouldn't know you were behind them if they didn't physically look at you.

or how you always seemed to know where each of them were, even without looking. abby once hid himself in a prop room for half an hour, and while the rest of the staff was in a frenzy, you just sighed and walked directly to him. no hesitation in your foosteps as you popped the room open without no problem.

baby thinks you're some kind of witch. that, or you're just really good at your job.

mystery said you never even blinked once. everyone was confused why he knew that but eventually, found themselves staring at you and waiting for you to blink too.

mystery said alot of things that they never really thought to notice, actually. how, despite your organized self, your handwriting would change slightly depending on what time of day it was. never consistent, like a baby learning how to write. no one really cares about it—who cares about how you wrote? they all have ugly penmanship anyway.

still, even with all the signs, they never really believed. because you laughed too easily. you seemed too human despite all that was accused of you. you bitched about brand deals like a mortal. hell, you even threatened to fire jinu once—jinu, of all people—for showing up late to dance practice and called him 'a pretty face with the emotional intelligence of a spoon.'

and you knew this. it wasn't hard to figure out there were all suspecting you. their eyes lingered far too long than normal and sometimes, without subtlety, they would even ask bluntly of your nature. "manager-nim, are you sure you're human?" you never bothered to answer, it wasn't part of your job to entertain them, afterall.

you were never supposed to care.

gwi-ma had made that very clear when he summoned you from the depths of hell and branded your purpose into your spine.

“watch them,” he had hissed, his flames licked at your skin and stretched towards the sky. “watch them, and ensure they do not forget who they serve.”

you weren't sent to assist. you weren't sent to nurture, to guide, or to scold like some babysitter for little children.

no, you were a leash. a dog. gwi-ma's eyes on the surface.

disguised as a manager, you were his eyes and ears. a reminder that even when they walked freely on earth, hell was still watching. hell was listening. and hell had expectations.

you were merely following orders.

for the first few weeks of handling them, you did your job with ruthless efficiency. scheduled their concerts and performances, making sure they were on top of everything, plastered in every billboard across cities. you even vetted photographers, producers, even stylists, eliminating anyone who got too close. you ensured the boys remained beautiful and loved, because that's what the public wants. monsters dressed in silk.

but things had began to shift.

what was second nature to you was slowly being overwritten with laughters and gentle voices.

you had grown soft.

you had grown to care. alot.

it was subtle at first. a glimmer of amusement when abby started re-writing lyrics to make his members laugh during a recording. a flicker of pride when mystery would hit a high note and the crowd would eat it up, his name trending on ever social media platforms there was. they were all starting to grow on you. slowly grilpimg at your heart.

you tried to stay cold and indifferent. you were all just trying to fulfill your missions, afterall.

but they kept worming into your days and nights, these demons and their silly little quirks. they were cruel and chaotic and charming and so deeply lonely. they reminded you of yourself. and—shit, you really are going soft, huh?

perhaps, living as a human for a few months made you forget you weren't one.

and gwi-ma noticed.

of course he did.

he always did.

it began with the whispers; claws of voices curling in your ears in the dead of night, hissing your name like a curse. louder than before as they ring against your ears. then the burning of every part of your body where patterns branded your skin, reminding you who you belonged to.

you don’t feel.

you watch.

that was he ordered and what he expected of you.

but something inside you had already begun to crack. maybe it was jinu’s unspoken glances, concern flickering in his eyes when you become distant for a while. maybe it was abby's dumb, loyal grin when you keep yelling at him for messing up. maybe, maybe maybe.

maybe it was the way they looked at you like you were someone. that you were more than just a dog on a leash or a demon imp.

the concert began as planned.

the five of them were onstage, leading the crowd like gods as they swayed mindlessly towards gwi-ma's roaring flame. the broken seal of the honmoon pulsed weakly as it slowly dispersed.

but somehow, in some way, the demon hunters managed to resurface them. all their efforts in breaking them up were in vein as the huntrix stood across them on stage, weapons drawn as they stared straight at them. taunting them to continue.

you watched from behind as two opposing forces fought. gwi-ma ripping open a portal at the center to summon thousands of demons to try and deter the huntrix, only for them to fail.

you swore your heart raced the moment the boys moved to fight. your boys.

they moved fast. the huntrix wasted no time in attacking, tearing through the flesh of your own kind. their screams echoing and bouncing against the walls of the stadium. the hunters' weapons gleaming, reflecting gwi-ma's red flames.

you stayed rooted on your spot, watching with baited breath as your boys were sent flying towards the hunters; no doubt ordered by gwi-ma. jinu stood behind, however, watching the disaster unfold as he grapples against his doubts. he was weighing his options.

your breath hitched, something primal clawing up your throat as abby’s scream tore through the air. somewhere to your left, he bellowed—a sound that was more beast than the charming man he was—and crumpled forward, clutching at his abdomen where a long gash leaked red down his bare torso. the glow from the hunter’s blade still hissed against his skin, searing his flesh with every movement. he tried to stand, but stumbled, knees buckling.

romance was already there, arms wrapped around him. “i got you, you oaf,” he muttered under his breath, dragging abby away as far as he could.

jinu’s eyes were burning holes into the collapsing wreckage, watching as his fellow brothers started to fall. he shouldn't have underestimated them. they shouldn't have thought it would be this easy.

he turns to look at you who stood from behind the stage, heart clenching at the look of horror stricken on your face. a part of him was scared to see how you looked at them now that you knew what they were, but a part of him was also asking, begging, for help.

it's funny, right? a demon asking help from human.

it felt like he was back in the studio again, pleading at you to help him fix things whenever he messed up. you were their manager—the one who always supported them from the back. you were always there whenever they needed help with something. kind of like an older sister, a mother, perhaps, who kept an eye on them and protected them from the world.

jinu felt like a child, but somewhere deep down, as he stares at you, he was pleading.

that look in his eyes broke you and you couldn’t look at him for long.

not when baby screamed something guttural and threw himself toward jinu, who seemed to be out of his goddamn mind, shoving him out of the way in an attempt to take the blade meant for him.

you moved before your mind could catch up, body propelled by instinct. you find yourself on the center of the stage, holding rumi's blade between your claws as you struggled to keep it from tearing through your flesh. your breath comes in short, ragged gasps as your tattoos flared on your skin.

your body shook with the impact as the hunter stared at you in shock, only to press down harder, forcing you back a step. then another.

your feet slid across the polished stage. your human skin was slowly fading, giving way to the patterns that you wanted so bad to erase. they flared up like burning brands across your body. purple, curling like the ink of some divine script across your arms, your neck, your face. your claws, long and black, scraping against the metal of the hunter's spear.

"a... demon...?" you hear baby whisper from behind you, crouching beside jinu who only looked at you in disbelief.

you didn’t turn around but you felt them.

all five. the demons–your demons, bruised and breathless and bleeding, now behind you instead of in front. safe, for now.

baby crouched beside jinu, wide-eyed, watching the scene like he was watching a dream unravel in real time. jinu… still sat in silence, eyes trained on your back like he was trying to redraw every memory he’d ever had of you and failing to make the puzzle fit.

you gritted your teeth, holding the blade in place as it inched closer and closer to your chest.

rumi’s expression twisted into one of fury. “you were one of his.” her voice shook. “a demon. you’re gwi-ma’s.”

"get out of the way!" you pressed back, voice trembling but loud enough to be heard. you don't address the hunters, not bothering to dignify her with a response, instead you screamed. "get your fucking asses up and move, you idiots!"

the boys stirred, looking at each other. romance was the first to speam, limping forward on his injured foot that still has yet to heal, his lip split but still had the audacity to grin. “okay. that’s hot. but also—someone help our manager?!”

mystery stood up, dragging abby along with him. the long gash on the red-hair's abdomen was slowly being stitched together—very painfully slow. “they're stalling. come one, we have to go.”

“you heard them. we're in the way,” abby snarled, struggling to stand up despite his fellow demon's support. "let's move and come up with another plan."

"jinu?"

all four turned towards jinu, their leader, who has yet to move an inch. he merely stared at your back, his eyes trailing the purple patterns that decorated your skin were the fabric of your clothes tore.

"jinu? let's go, man."

there was only ringing in his ears until you whispered; your voice raw and trembling, muscles shaking and arms slowly giving way. "jinu, please, you have to move."

rumi watched it all unfold, her hold on her spear faltering. demons, just like her, yet with feelings so raw that it made them look so humane. her eyes flickered from you towards the five who looked at her in fear and she wonders what were they fighting for all this time.

gwi-ma roars in fury from behind you, cackling and taunting as his flames stretched high. she hears her friends from behind her, fighting off more demons being summoned, slowly getting tired and overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. and she sees you, who struggled to keep yourself from breaking just to be able to protect people you cherished so much, trying your best to break free from gwi-ma's binding.

maybe, she thought, not all demons are that bad.

because nothing she’d been taught, nothing she’d been raised to believe, ever told her that demons could love. not this way. not raw and desperate and selfless. the look in your eyes were anything but malice. you didn't want to hurt, but driven on a primal instinct to protect.

she could see your knees quivering, shoulders locked in pain. the patterns that seemed to be burning your skin, adding to the pain of her blade scraping your palms. you weren’t going to last much longer. you were breaking the seal that gwi-ma had carved into your soul, and it was killing you.

but you did it anyway. for them.

she looked again—at jinu who was looking at you in desparation. all five demons, who she believed to be cold-blooded and cruel and evil, scrambling to find ways to help you.

and rumi faltered.

the burning light of her spear dimmed, just slightly, as her grip loosened because she understood something then. something she’d been too blinded to see.

not all demons are the same.

not when you looked like that.

not when they looked at you like that.

maybe, she thought, just maybe, everything they’d believed—everything they’d fought for—wasn’t black and white after all.

not when the devil’s puppet was the one bleeding to protect others.

not when the “monsters” cowered behind you like scared children.

not when love looked like this.

and with all the force she could muster, rumi shoved you backward.

you yelped as your feet left the ground, tumbling back toward the five boys who instinctively reached for you. arms wrapped around you in an attempt to catch you. baby caught your shoulders and mystery pulled you in. jinu, eyes wide, cradled your head so you didn’t hit the stage. you crashed into them like fate pulling you back into place.

you turn to find her rushing towards gwi-ma instead.

a human fighting for the sake of demons.

how poetic.

[bonus-links]

*waiting eagerly and patiently for directors commentary* :)

IT'S DONE RAHHHHHH ITS FINALLY DONE!!!!!!! I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter but I am REALLY excited to move on to what's next!!!!! i have been waiting literal years to get here,,,,

starting off with a few things: these frames are the same design from pt. 9, just damaged now. it's also uh. literally the same drawings KJSNFKJG listen sometimes I just have to make things easier on myself. also convenient crack through the hero of time's right eye >:-)

okay so the hero of time lore gives me a bit of a headache. let it be known that I understand in wolf's timeline, the events of OOT technically never happened. He knows the "hero of time" moniker bc he's met him, and i could've SWORN that name is mentioned if not somewhere in TP then in the TP manga. suspend ur disbelief for me lol

Anyway the idea is basically that post-game Wolf has done some digging to track down the person the Hero's Shade was when he was alive. I like to imagine he had some kind of bargain with Zelda where if he agreed to come to certain events she'd let him dig around in what survived of the archives after lol. I actually got stuck on this panel for a while trying to think of some other imagery that got this idea across without being so,,,idk on the nose? but i couldn't think of anything so i went with this HAHA. Even if Mask wasn't technically the "hero" in this timeline, I think he still ended up being a prominent figure, and some documentation of him would exist. An unfinished portrait, a text about the history of the royal guard, military records, correspondence between him and the castle, etc.

ALSO ALSO. how do they know they're talking about the same hero of time? well, they don't. they're making an educated guess lol. obviously whoever made this statue of the Hero of Time couldn't make it look exactly like him, but I feel like Wolf has noticed enough similarities between depictions to be like. hey wait a second

wake is trying to give a pep talk here like "come on guys, going on adventures is what we do!!" meanwhile Wolf and Loft are both like. yeah i guess leaving our loved ones behind with little notice to go on dangerous missions we may never return from IS what we do.....

speaking of which Loft is maybe technically being a little bit of a hypocrite here but I really think he's just trying to make sure Wake doesn't make the same mistake he did lol. he's feeling guilty

one of many things I really regret abt this chapter is not having Tetra and Loft have a conversation similar to the one he and BOTW Zelda have. I feel like Tetra's experience of getting to grow up outside of the pressure of the royal family or her role and then basically having it forced on her during the events of WW would be very valuable for him to hear. I had so many things I was trying to juggle this chapter and somehow that just slipped through the cracks 😭 im sorry tetra.

AT LAST!!! ANNA FROM FROZEN!!! when all that was going down a few weeks ago i was like GUYS GUYS WAIT. HE'S ALMOST HERE. does this mean I have to get a new icon now

in case its not clear (and it probably isn't) he's in the ALTTP lost woods!

okay so some of you may have noticed this, but up until now we've basically been following the thread of mainline games, starting where the timeline merged and working our way back to where it split in OOT. ALTTP is technically part of that, as the timeline where the Hero of Time dies. I have them all connected through the Lost Woods. The pitch for this was basically "wouldn't it be so fucking funny if Mage could've joined the story way earlier but didn't bc he was the only one with enough sense and also enough gall to just throw something through it." and then I couldn't NOT do that

so on that note, this is the BOTW lost woods. If you look closely, you can see Wolf in the distance.

I wanted to do something to establish him as a magic user! he could have just pulled these out of his bag but where's the fun in that. you might also notice that he's not wet because the rain isn't actually hitting him

ALTTP ZELDA MY BELOVED!!!! that's all

that's all i've got for now!!! bonus links turned 3 years old 3 days ago which is. wild. thank you all for sticking with this story for so long!!!

[mylovesstuffs]

More or less, I’m still recovering.

This absolutely had me by the throat, the heart, and all the hidden corners of my domestic-romantic soul. Like, at face value, it’s a simple premise: a petty (?) [though y/n was just trying to help—but also she kinda should've let go BUT Jun didn't have to do that] little argument that gets out of hand. But insofar as emotional realism and character dynamics go, this was brutal in the gentlest, most well-written way.

From the very beginning, there’s this slight tension between the excitement of a new chapter [baby clothes!!!] and the weight of unspoken stress — and needless to say, that contrast hit so hard. You see reader trying to be sweet, trying to preserve the joy, and you know something’s about to go south. And when it does... Oh, it hurts 😭😭😭😭 THE FIGHT. Generally speaking, I’ve never wanted to shove a fictional man [yes bc hesunot real here] into a wall while also hugging him in the same breath more than I did Jun. He’s so stupid [affectionate], like sir why are you saying that?? Why are you yelling?? Be that as it may, his spiral into guilt and panic was portrayed SO WELL, like what the heck June???? The tossing and turning, the desperate planning of his apology, the flowers in the vase, the cereal logic??? Like he thought him arranging flowers [though I think this worked AFTER their conversations], making breakfast and dinner could fix emotional devastation and honestly?? I respect the hustle

And let me just say: I was going “ah” every five seconds like I could only make one sound. That’s how wrecked I was. The argument scene was the hardest thing I’ve read in a while. You captured that feeling of being completely disconnected from someone you love so well. The silence, the sting of being left behind in the middle of emotional mess… it physically hurt to read. And that means it was written perfectly 🥲 And yet here’s the thing, I still understood both both of them. I could see where Jun was coming from, his the frustration, the overwhelm, when your brain short-circuits when you're upset and you say things you don’t mean. And her hopefulness and her trying to hold things together. The heartbreak of being left to sit in silence with all that love and pain at once. Neither of them was perfect, and that’s what made it work imo.

And then, to rephrase the feeling: pure devastation when he realizes she’s not home. The overnight bag, the toothbrush, the absence, that moment cracked my soul open like a soft-boiled egg iykwim even though I don't know how to explain what I mean by boiled egg 🤡 but that how Ielt. Boiled egg 🥚[imagine it's a soft boiled egg with oozy center lol]. But the cherry on top is him knowing where to check. Knowing her routines. Knowing her heart, even if he just temporarily forgot how to handle it.

All things considered, the scene where she returns home and he doesn’t even let her walk in properly before apologizing... I cried. No exaggeration. I was holding my breath. The way he loves her and the way she, even after everything, still says “I love you” — my god. Reader is so emotionally mature 🥹 I just want to wrap her in a blanket and give her warm green tea. Jun too. After I lightly slap him once [sorry June]. And the ending with the flowers, the blueberry/strawberry waffles, the baby clothes [still dk when he bought those], the forgiveness... It didn’t erase the hurt, but it layered comfort on top of it in a way that felt earned, and so, so loving.

Again, this fic wrecked me in the best way. To some extent, I am now a ghost writing this. But be that as it may, I would read it again and again. Thank you for this perfectly painful little piece of comfort, @junkissed It was everything.

Under the cut is me again... live commenting in my head [my notes app]

what do you do now? no— you know exactly what you need to do, and it’s a long list of things. the real question is, where do you begin? — this actually a valid concern to have.

but you remembered he’d mentioned so many times about how excited he would be to pick out clothes once you got pregnant. you would want him to have the honor of picking out the very first one, going to the store together and looking through the whole section before finally settling on the perfect one.— ahhhhh I wanna see Jun picking out baby clothesssss. It's gonna be so cuteeee.

but you’re still on a high after everything today, so you decide on being a little bit sweeter to him in the hopes that your happiness will be contagious and that it’ll lift his spirits, despite what was probably a really awful day at work.— Ah, it could all go south now 😬 eeeee I’m scared.

“i said, what do you want?”— ah 😰😭 he repeated ahhhh fttrxtdxrt I'm worried how it'll go

so he’s saying he doesn’t regret everything else, the cursing and the anger and the pointed words that were clearly meant to hurt you? — ah so now if you put it like this 😭

your heart drops even further when you realize it is, in fact, from jun, but not the news you want to hear.— AHHHHHH. The more I read, the more I worry. If they never let an argument sit for this long, then this one is big. Him staying overnight at Cheol’s and not coming home… omg. Both are really going through it 😩

you squeeze him so tightly you know it must hurt, but he doesn’t say anything,— oh seokmin :( he's the comforting friend we all need during our hard times :(

jun can’t stop tossing and turning. he’s fucked up, he knows he fucked up, big time.— uh now it's all coming back at him 😩😬

but in that moment all he could think about was what the next awful thing he might say to you was,— ahhh I wonder what he had to say. What was that awful thing in his mind?

he knows it won’t make up for how he acted, but the very least he can do it buy you a bouquet of your favorite flowers.— At least he’s trying to fix it. It won’t erase the fact that he left her in the dark last night, but both were hurting… yeah. I hope they figure it out 🥺

he plans out everything he’ll do in the car. he’ll bring the groceries in and put them away quickly; it’s still fairly early in the morning, so hopefully you won’t be awake yet. he’ll arrange your flowers all nice in a pretty vase, and he’ll come in and wake you up with the best apology of his life and hopefully a really big hug. after the last 24 hours he really could use a hug, and he’s sure you could too. and then he’ll explain how sorry he is and how he didn’t mean any of it and then everything will be better again. yes, everything will be okay.— AHHHHHH HIS SINCERITY AND REGRET TO THE WHOLE SITUATION is making me feel so happy and bittersweet 😭😭 but she’s not home…

you aren’t usually up this early, but maybe you hadn’t been able to sleep and you’d gone out for a walk, or maybe you’d gone to the store to get more cereal?— I’m sorry, bro, but that’s unfortunately not the case today. I feel so bad for both of them 😩

he walks back into the bedroom to confirm something, sliding open the closet door to check. your overnight duffel bag is gone. he ducks back into the bathroom to check something else. your toothbrush isn’t sitting in the jar like it usually is. he slides open the bathroom drawer to check one more thing, and— — OMG I love how he knows exactly where and what to check. AND OMG DID HE FIND THE PREGNANCY TEST?!?!?!??!?!?

he figures seokmin is his best bet, so jun takes a deep breath and finds the contact in his phone.— WOW. I mean yes, he’s her husband and he should know this, but omg, I love how well he knows her and can narrow it down like this.

“‘if you had known?’ so you won’t yell at me if i’m pregnant, but you’re just fine with yelling at me when you think i’m not? is that the only reason why you’re even apologizing to me right now?" — Oh I’m going to cry 😭 It’s so hard knowing both sides and not being able to step in and fix anything because IT’S JUST A STORY 😭💔 My heart breaks for both of them.

“…i love you," you add, changing your mind at the last second.— I LOVE Y/N. I LOVE YOU. YOU’RE THE REAL DEAL. I LOVE YOU!

before you can even respond his eyes widen, like he's just now remembering all the things he had planned, and he lets go of you, bounding into the kitchen. he returns seconds later with a huge glass vase full of flowers, practically tripping over his own feet in his rush to hand them to you. "and i got these for you, too. sorry they're not the best, it's all the store had this morning."— OH I LOVE YOU TOO JUN 😭 they’re such a cute couple 🥹 I’d love to be their friend or neighbor.

he laughs. "no crying anymore. and i did promise you that, so tell me: do you want blueberry waffles, or strawberry?"— aaaaaa so cuteeeeee

happy ending

member — husband!junhui x f reader genre — angst, fluff, hurt/comfort word count — 6.6k synopsis — a pointless argument escalates until both of you need some space, but it couldn't come at a worse time. warnings — female reader, planned pregnancy, there's a big argument but i tried to not make it too toxic (jun and reader have a happy & healthy relationship i promise), swearing, there is a happy ending lots of fluff !! notes — requested by anon — this has been sitting in my drafts for months bc every time i look at it i get shy and wanna change my mind but i'm proud of how this turned out so i'm posting it finally! i know pregnancy fics aren't everyone's favorite but this was honestly very comforting to write so i hope anyone who chooses to read can find comfort in it as well <3 also the last time i proofread this was like april and if i try to proofread it rn i'll get shy again and chicken out so if there's any mistakes pls ignore! i hope you enjoy :)

you sat on the bathroom floor, trying to comprehend the weight of the news you held in your hand. you couldn’t believe it. you could? you couldn’t. 

after many months of trying to start a family with your husband, you had finally succeeded. the slim plastic stick with two tiny pink lines was the last piece of evidence you needed. it had been months of carefully tracked cycles, fertility doctors, and new positions that seemed too weird to actually do anything. but now, everything was finally falling into place.

you don’t know exactly how much time you spend sitting on the floor and staring at the pregnancy test; thinking, planning, and thinking some more. but when you finally stand up and place the positive test on the counter with shaking hands, it still hasn’t fully sunk in yet what’s happening. something you’d wanted for so long, and finally it was all right in front of you.

what do you do now? no— you know exactly what you need to do, and it’s a long list of things. the real question is, where do you begin?

you thought back to all the videos you’d watched over the last few weeks. somehow every social media algorithm knew exactly what you wanted to see, and it had given it to you in abundance; baby showers, gender reveals, those “get ready with me - new mom edition” videos. all getting your hopes up before you could confirm whether or not it had finally happened.

with your hopes high and expectations even higher, you were already beginning to plan how you would break the news to junhui. as your husband and your soon-to-be baby’s father, of course you wanted him to be the very first person to know, so you couldn’t wait too long to tell him. you couldn’t wait to see the look on his face.

maybe you’d get a little gift box and give the test to him before dinner. but, then again, it was literally a piece of plastic you’d peed on. surely you could give him… something a little nicer than that.

maybe you could buy a baby outfit and wrap it up for him. but you remembered he’d mentioned so many times about how excited he would be to pick out clothes once you got pregnant. you would want him to have the honor of picking out the very first one, going to the store together and looking through the whole section before finally settling on the perfect one.

what else was there you could do? bake a cake? make a crossword puzzle? buy him a t-shirt that says “dad-to-be”? so many ways you could do it, but none of them seemed perfectly right.

from the other room you hear the door opening, and hurriedly you stuff the test into a drawer, not wanting to tell him just yet. you need a plan first; waiting another day or two couldn’t hurt, so you’ll just have to figure out how to tell him later.

you flip off the bathroom light and stride into the hallway, barely able to contain the grin on your face. you’ve always been terrible at keeping secrets, and with news as big and exciting as this you have no idea how you’re going to be able to hide it from him for more than a minute.

but luckily you don’t have to wonder about it for long, because as soon as you see jun you can already tell he’s in a sour mood. 

you know it’s usually best to let him have some time alone when he’s upset, but not for too long because he starts getting frustrated with himself and won’t stop working until he’s exhausted.

but you’re still on a high after everything today, so you decide on being a little bit sweeter to him in the hopes that your happiness will be contagious and that it’ll lift his spirits, despite what was probably a really awful day at work.

you find him sitting at the kitchen table with his head in his hands, long fingers pressed against his eyes trying to block out the light.

“hey, junnie,” you call out, sitting down in a chair next to him. “bad day?”

“yeah,” he answers shortly.

“i’m sorry, baby,” you hum, putting your hand on his shoulder, but he flinches and your hand falls away in surprise. he’s never done that before. weird. you try something else. “um, any requests for dinner?”

“not hungry.”

“alright. well, i guess i can cook up some veggies and leave them out, you can heat them up whenever you get hungry.”

he moves his hands away from his face and onto the table, sighing as he leans back in his chair. “can you just— leave me alone for a while? i’m sorry.”

you nod and stand up. “no, it’s fine. i get it. i’ll bring you some tea later then, maybe. text me when you’re feeling better.” you reach out and gently touch his hand before walking away, leaving him alone at the table.

it’s definitely one of his worser days, you note, so you retreat to your bedroom to watch more videos on your phone, trying to bring back your excitement from earlier. hopefully later he’ll be more open and you can sit down and eat something, and maybe by then you’ll have come up with a good way to tell him the news.

an hour passes and you come out of your bedroom to look for jun, having a question from one of your friends about the dinner you’d arranged to have together next week. but he’s no longer in the kitchen, so you peek your head into his office room and find him exactly where you expect him to be, trying to work himself to death.

you clear your throat before you enter, not wanting to startle him again. “hey, junnie, i know you’re in a bad mood, and i’m sorry to interrupt, but—”

“what do you want?” he snaps, never turning around from his desk. just from the way he’s hunched over his computer, he looks like the most stressed you’ve ever seen him, and your chest tightens with worry before your brain registers what he’s just said to you.

“i— excuse me?”

“i said, what do you want?” he repeats, still facing away from you.

you resist the urge to glare at him, knowing he’s probably under a lot of pressure, and you aren’t trying to add to it. “you don’t have to be rude, jun. i just came in here to double check about next weekend, minghao’s texting me.”

he finally lifts his head, slamming his hand down on the desk. “i’m really trying not to snap at you, but— jesus, you make it so fucking hard sometimes.”

you raise your eyebrows in disbelief, your voice lifting in tone. “well, i’m so very sorry to inconvenience you then, but i really don’t appreciate you talking to me like that, jun.”

“and i don’t appreciate you talking to me like i’m a child! when will you get it through your head?”

his comment stings, but you brush it off. “well, maybe if you’d just talk to me like an adult instead of throwing a fit and hiding in your office then i wouldn’t have to treat you like one!” you’re starting to get tired of how he retreats in on himself every time bad shit happens. all you want to do is let him know he doesn’t have to do it alone, and he’s just… exploding at you for no reason, so you don’t try to hide the snarkiness behind your words.

he scoffs angrily and stands up, towering over you at his full height. “oh, grow up! you’re so moody all the time and you expect me to just put up with it! as if i don’t have enough other shit to worry about, i have to worry about what you think of this and that and everything all the damn time!”

you’ve never seen him get so angry like this, and it’s almost scary how completely different this jun is from the jun you know and love. “okay, jun, fine, i’ll just—”

“no, don’t fucking “jun, fine” me. it’s like you’re doing it on purpose at this point, you act like everything is just so perfect and then when it’s not you act like it’s your job to fix everything! you can’t fix everything!”

“i said fine! just forget it, i’ll leave you the hell alone like you always want!”

he pushes past you and crosses the room in two strides, grabbing his keys off the hook by the door, his hand already on the doorknob. “i need to get some air. i’ll be back later.”

you fold your arms over your chest, trying to look unphased but inside your heart is breaking. “you’re really gonna walk out like that? you’re just gonna run away from this? real mature, junhui.”

he spins around, and the look in his eyes is cold. “if i don’t get out of this house right now i’m gonna say something i actually regret.”

and in a flash the door is slammed shut and jun is gone. you can hear his car starting up in the driveway, and seconds later everything is dead silent.

you stand frozen in front of the door, unable to move. you can’t believe it. you can’t. what just happened?

jun has never just… walked out like that.

his words ring in your ears; though your argument wasn’t very long, a lot was said in a very short time and you can’t even begin to think about how to process it as it starts to hit you all at once.

say something he actually regrets? what the hell does that mean? so he’s saying he doesn’t regret everything else, the cursing and the anger and the pointed words that were clearly meant to hurt you?

minute after long minute passes and you realize he’s not coming back anytime soon. finally you drag yourself away from the door, dropping down on the couch in a daze.

there’s never been a time where you and jun haven’t made up immediately after an argument. sure, maybe you take a little bit to cool down in your own space, but neither of you like letting the tension sit unresolved for very long. so what was it this time that made him leave without even a goodbye?

so many reasons, so many excuses, so many words you could’ve said instead. you shouldn’t have reacted like that, you shouldn’t have kept it going, you should’ve just left him alone. would that have made him stay? if you’d backed down sooner and just let him work through it on his own?

despite all the what-ifs and the doubts in your mind, your conscience won’t allow you to let him worry about everything by himself without at least offering your help. you’re a team, husband and wife, and you’ll be damned if you let him forget that. maybe you trying to help actually made things worse in the end, but at least you know you tried… right?

it’s not until you check your phone and realize that jun’s been gone more than half an hour that you finally let yourself cry. you’d been so focused on worrying about where jun was and whether he was okay that you’d barely even thought about what might happen after this.

will he just… come back and pretend nothing happened? will he come back and still be angry at you? it would almost be worse if he was calm and acted like everything was normal. would he even apologize? would you even apologize? of course you would. both of you said things that were fucked up, and you’ll be the first to admit it if it means this whole thing can be over. right now all you want is to have junhui back.

the tears keep falling but you don’t even feel yourself crying, your face rigid as the tears continue to stain your cheeks.

after an hour you force yourself to get up off the couch and move somewhere, anywhere around the house to try and get your mind off things. but you can’t erase his voice from your head, the look in his eyes as he walked out the door and the way his shoulders hunched from anger mixed with exhaustion.

you find yourself back in your bedroom and you fall onto his side of the bed, wishing you would wake up to find that this has all just been a very bad dream.

it’s after 10pm when you hear your phone buzz on the nightstand and you sit up in a panic, scrambling to see if it’s something from jun. your eyes sting from crying so much, and you blink away the remaining tears as you unlock your phone with shaking hands. your heart drops even further when you realize it is, in fact, from jun, but not the news you want to hear.

you let your phone slip out of your grasp, tumbling to the carpet with a thud. when he’d said he’d be back later you had assumed that meant he’d be coming back tonight. clearly you thought wrong.

tomorrow seemed so far away; too much time to spend alone in a house that was supposed to be filled with happy memories, but now all you felt was pain. you felt it in your chest and in your stomach and in your head and everywhere. the whole room was suffocating, heavy weight crushing down on you from every angle.

you slide to the floor and pick up your phone. you don’t text junhui back. you’re not sure anymore if he’d even read your message. 

instead you type in your friend seokmin’s phone number, listening to the line ring as you wipe the back of your hand across your eyes.

as soon as he picks up, he can hear the anguish in your voice and he’s begging you to tell him what’s wrong, but all you can muster up is a soft, “can i stay with you tonight?” because you can’t bear to be in this house another second without junhui. 

and of course he says yes, and of course he’s immediately on his way over to pick you up. and of course he stops at mcdonald’s on the way back to his house to buy you something to eat, because you haven’t eaten and even though you don’t particularly have much of an appetite right now, seokmin would rather die than let you skip a meal, especially on a night like tonight when you could really use something to keep you going.

you throw your overnight bag on the floor of seokmin’s living room with a small sigh. in a haze you’d tossed in whatever items you thought you might need; a toothbrush, pajamas, something to wash your face with. 

he gives you space for a while as he pulls out the folding bed part of the couch and brings out blankets and pillows for you to sleep with. you don’t say it, but you really appreciate his help. he’s been one of your best friends for so long, and you don’t know what you’d do without him. 

you hadn’t thought about it while you were packing, but as you stand in seokmin’s bathroom you think about the cleanser you’d grabbed; your favorite one, the one jun had gotten you for your birthday last year and you’d never switched to another brand since. 

every single thing reminds you of him, and you push down a fresh wave of emotion as you scrub the foam into your skin, trying to wash away all your tears.

when you’re done getting ready for bed you find seokmin in the living room with a pot of tea. he was just trying to help, but unluckily for him, he’d made green tea. it was your favorite… but it also happened to be jun’s favorite.

and this time you can’t hold back your tears, and seokmin is sitting wide eyed and bewildered, wondering why you’re crying over tea, but he doesn’t ask. he just reaches out to let you hug him, and you squeeze him so tightly you know it must hurt, but he doesn’t say anything, just lets you hug him as hard as you can and lets your tears stain his t-shirt.

it takes another half hour for you to calm down enough to talk. you’d spent the time watching whatever was on tv, not really paying attention and instead playing everything back in your mind. seokmin had just sat next to you, quietly keeping you company until you were ready.

“jun and i… had a fight,” you say finally, interrupting the commercial playing on the screen.

“i figured,” he says, offering you a comforting smile as he mutes the tv. “do you wanna talk about it?”

“i don’t know. there’s not much to talk about.” you take a shaky breath, remembering it all one more time. “we both said some awful things that we didn’t mean. at least, i know i didn’t mean them. then he just… left, and he texted that he’d come home tomorrow. that’s it.”

you don’t tell him about the pregnancy test. you’ve mentioned once or twice that you and jun had been interested in starting a family, but you’d never gone into detail about it and you weren’t going to now. you still wanted jun to be the first person to know, even though you didn’t know when that might be anymore.

you tell him about other things instead, about your day at work and your plans for the weekend. eventually you finish your tea, and seokmin retreats to his own room and shuts the door with a quiet click, leaving you alone in the quiet of his living room.

it takes you a long time to fall asleep, but soon your exhaustion catches up with you and you let yourself rest, physically and emotionally drained. at least the silence here isn’t as bad as the silence at your house.

across town in his friend seungcheol’s guest bedroom, jun can’t stop tossing and turning. he’s fucked up, he knows he fucked up, big time.

why did he leave? he shouldn’t have left. you had been absolutely right, he was running away from everything and it was stupid and dumb and immature. but in that moment all he could think about was what the next awful thing he might say to you was, and he knew if he had stayed for any longer he wouldn’t have been able to stop what came out of his mouth. he was out of control, and immediately he knew it.

not even the worst day in the world could make you deserving of all the things he said to you. you were the only thing that wasn’t bad in his life; even on shitty days like today, all you did was care about him. and all he did was hurt you.

jun barely sleeps that night, finally forcing himself out of the extra bed at dawn. he’d been too anxious to sleep, too frustrated with himself to do anything other than think about everything he did and wonder if you were okay without him.

he’d already gotten an earful from his friend last night, and he knew he was still in big trouble. the things he said wouldn’t just go away overnight. in fact, they’d probably gotten worse by leaving them to build up overnight, and again he’s kicking himself for ever leaving in the first place.

he packs up his things as quickly as he can, eager to get home and see you again. on his way out the door, he thanks seungcheol for letting him stay the night and he apologizes for bothering him so late.

“i’m not the one you need to apologize to. you better figure out how to fix this, jun.”

with a straight face he nods, bowing his head as he closes the door.

in his car, jun takes the long way home, trying to find an open grocery store. he knows it won’t make up for how he acted, but the very least he can do it buy you a bouquet of your favorite flowers.

he walks through the aisles, basket in hand, trying to think of something else for you. maybe he’ll get the ingredients he needs to make your favorite dinner tonight; he hadn’t eaten last night, though you had offered to cook for him and he’d shot you down.

he feels another pang of guilt at the thought, remembering yet another kind gesture you’d tried to give him that he’d brushed off like it meant nothing. it meant everything to him, and in the middle of the frozen vegetables aisle he swore he wouldn’t ever do it again. 

he’d taken you for granted, and he was so lucky that things hadn’t ended worse than they did. he could’ve said something truly unforgivable, or he could’ve even lost your relationship altogether. but he was still yours, and you were still his, and he would just have to work extra hard to make sure you knew how sincere he was.

he’d been a little worried that you hadn’t texted him back last night, seeing that you’d read his message but never responded. you were probably still hurt, and he didn’t blame you; still, he’d hoped you would say something back.

with grocery bags loaded full of ingredients for dinner and the special things he’d bought for you, the drive back home feels a little more hopeful.

he plans out everything he’ll do in the car. he’ll bring the groceries in and put them away quickly; it’s still fairly early in the morning, so hopefully you won’t be awake yet. he’ll arrange your flowers all nice in a pretty vase, and he’ll come in and wake you up with the best apology of his life and hopefully a really big hug. after the last 24 hours he really could use a hug, and he’s sure you could too. and then he’ll explain how sorry he is and how he didn’t mean any of it and then everything will be better again. yes, everything will be okay.

the first part of his plan goes perfectly. he sneaks into the house and when he’s met with silence he continues putting everything away, quietly so he won’t wake you up in the other room. then, he puts the flowers in a vase and with everything in place, he walks down the hallway to finally face you.

but when he twists the bedroom door handle, the bed is made and the room is empty. you aren’t there.

he frowns, leaving the room and poking his head into the bathroom, then his office. he calls your name loudly, hoping you’re just in a corner of the house and you’ll come out once you hear him. but no reply.

he goes back into the living room and sets the vase down on the coffee table, trying to think. you aren’t usually up this early, but maybe you hadn’t been able to sleep and you’d gone out for a walk, or maybe you’d gone to the store to get more cereal? 

a sinking feeling rises in his chest, and he walks back into the bedroom to confirm something, sliding open the closet door to check. your overnight duffel bag is gone.

he ducks back into the bathroom to check something else. your toothbrush isn’t sitting in the jar like it usually is. he slides open the bathroom drawer to check one more thing, and—

his hand freezes on the knob, staring at something in the drawer that wasn’t there before. he’s not sure it is what he thinks it is, but either way there it is, clear as day in front of him: a little white piece of plastic, sticking out from underneath a tissue. 

gingerly he pulls it out, holding it up to the light to see it better. when he sees the two pink lines he nearly drops it in shock, but he stops himself, setting it gently on the counter instead.

this is something special, something precious, and he knew he had to take care of it. you’d saved it for a reason; you could’ve easily just thrown it away once you knew the results, but you had kept it instead. were you going to give it to him?

he covers his mouth with his hand, still staring at the stick sitting on the edge of the sink. it was just a cheap piece of plastic, but to him it was the most important thing in the entire world.

he deflates when he realizes you’d probably been planning on telling him last night, before he’d blown up at you. if he’d been paying attention to anyone other than himself, he would’ve noticed your mood was happier than usual, your face glowing with contained excitement. he should’ve been paying attention.

there’s a sense of urgency in his stride as he dashes around the house, looking for any other sign of you, but it’s clear you weren’t there. there were so many places you could be, he can’t even begin to think of where to look. your parents, friends, family; hell, you could even have stayed in a hotel, alone and upset. he should’ve been there. none of this should’ve ever happened.

immediately he presses the speed dial for your phone, but of course– no answer. he calls again, and again you don’t pick up. he curses, resisting the urge to slam his phone down on the table in frustration. no, he has to stay calm. that’s what got him into this whole fucking mess in the first place.

he remembers that your parents are out of town on vacation, so you probably wouldn’t have gone there. you wouldn’t have gone to a hotel because you always lecture him about the importance of saving money “just in case”, so you wouldn’t have paid to stay somewhere. your sister is still in college and shares an apartment with three other people, so probably not the best idea either. 

that narrows it down to one of your friends’ houses; seokmin, who lives a couple blocks away, or joshua, who lives on the other side of town.

he figures seokmin is his best bet, so jun takes a deep breath and finds the contact in his phone.

“what do you want?” seokmin’s usually cheery voice has an edge to it today, and jun knows he’s picked right.

“is she there?” he asks anxiously.

“she is,” he confirms, and jun exhales, letting out the breath he had been holding in. “but she’s asleep still. i’ll let her know you called.”

“wait,” jun adds quickly.

the line is silent for a moment, and he’s afraid seokmin’s already hung up, but finally he gets a response. “what is it?”

"can i–are you sure? please," jun pleads. if he could just talk to you, just explain what happened and that he's so fucking sorry—

“hold on,” seokmin says, and the phone goes quiet again.

jun’s heart is in his throat as he waits for a response, and he stops when he finally hears your voice. “hello?”

he breathes a sigh of relief. “sweetheart. i’m so sorry.”

you don’t reply, so he continues.

“i’m glad you’re okay,” he starts, trying to put the right words together. “i shouldn’t have said any of that last night, and i shouldn’t have left. i didn’t mean it. i’m sorry.”

“thanks” is all you say, and he hates how small and sad your voice sounds. it’s his fault you sound like that.

“i found your test,” he bursts out, unable to hide his excitement any longer.

“oh." you pause, swallowing. "so… you know.”

“yes, i do know, baby. i’m so sorry, if i had known before—”

you cut him off, your tone suddenly rising with anger. “‘if you had known?’ so you won’t yell at me if i’m pregnant, but you’re just fine with yelling at me when you think i’m not? is that the only reason why you’re even apologizing to me right now?"

“no— fuck, no, of course not. i shouldn’t yell at you, period. and i’m not going to ever again.” jun pauses for a second, rubbing his hand over his eyes. he’s done nothing so far but make everything worse. “i really messed up, honey, and i’m sorry. i can’t say it enough. but— please, come home. i don’t want to talk over the phone.”

you squeeze your eyes shut, trying to will away the tears that threaten to fall again. you don’t want to cry about this anymore. “okay,” you say finally. “i’ll be home in a little while.”

“thank you,” jun says, and the way his voice breaks makes your heart sink. you can tell he feels awful about everything, and you do really, really miss him.

“…i love you," you add, changing your mind at the last second.

“i love you, too!” he says immediately. “i love you, too, honey. text me when you’re on your way.”

“i will.”

he says “i love you” twice more before you end the call. you sit in silence for a second, processing everything before you stand up off the couch and head to seokmin’s room to give him back his phone.

"can you take me home now, please?" you tell him softly, and immediately seokmin stands up and hugs you, his arms wrapped tightly around you.

"of course. let me know when you're ready."

half an hour later you find yourself in the front seat of seokmin’s car once again, this time sitting nervously in his driveway as he puts your bag in the trunk for you. you're still not sure if you're ready to face jun yet, but you know you have to.

reluctantly you unlock your phone and open your text messages with jun, your eyes landing on the text he'd sent last night that had gone unreplied. with shaky fingers you type out that you're leaving seokmin’s house, and jun replies almost instantly with a long string of heart emojis.

seokmin gets into the car and starts it, and you exhale and set your phone in the cupholder.

"are you okay?" he asks, turning to look at you. "because you can always let me know if you need anything. anytime, day or night."

"i'm alright," you say, taking a deep breath. "i'm fine. but thank you, seok. i really appreciate everything."

he smiles, shifting the car into reverse. "of course. it's no problem at all."

the second he hears the car pull up outside the house, jun jumps up off the couch, smoothing his shirt down anxiously. through the window he watches seokmin hand you your bag and close the trunk, giving you one last hug before he gets back in the car. he doesn't drive away until you're at the front porch, and with a deep breath jun swings open the door, before you can even knock.

you both stand there in silence for a second before he blurts out another apology. "i'm sorry," he rushes to say. "i'm really sorry."

you give him a weak smile. "can i maybe… get in the house, first?" you ask quietly, motioning with your free hand at the doorway.

"yeah, i— yeah, shit, of course," jun says as he practically jumps out of your way, holding the door open for you to walk inside.

you set your bag on the floor by the couch as he closes the door behind you. the sound of the lock clicking seems too loud in the uncomfortable silence that settles over the room.

"can… can i give you a hug? please?" he asks, and you stay quiet but nod. 

he closes the distance between you in one stride and wraps his arms around you, squeezing you so tightly and holding you close to his chest. "i'm so sorry, honey. i didn't mean any of it. i promise."

"i believe you," you finally manage, your voice a little muffled from how he's pressing you against him.

he doesn't say anything more, just holds you and holds you, and it feels so good to be home where you belong. there's a lot that needs to be said, but for right now you don't need any more words. you're just glad to be back together again.

after a while you pull your head away from him so you speak. "i'm sorry."

"why are you apologizing? you didn't do anything wrong, baby. i'm the one that needs to be apologizing."

you shake your head. "no. i said some things last night, too. granted, not as bad as you, but…"

jun breaks out into a grin at your joke, and you feel your mood start to lighten. "…which is true. and i'm sorry."

"jun, you can stop apologizing now. i get it, you're sorry. you don't have to tell me a million times," you say, trying to laugh a little.

now it's his turn to shake his head. "well, i'm going to anyway. because i am sorry." you look away from him, feeling embarrassment start to boil up, but he continues talking. "i'm serious. i'll say it as many times as it takes to make it right."

you turn your head back to him, struggling to keep a straight face. "why did you leave, jun?" you ask softly.

he takes a deep breath, and still trapped in his arms you can feel his chest expand with the breath. 

"it was stupid," he says finally. "i left because i didn't want to stay and risk hurting you more. but i realize i did that anyway, by leaving. i was just… i needed some air. but i shouldn't have stayed away, and i'm not gonna do that again. i won't do it, ever again."

"i just don't want you to leave me," you manage, trying and failing to hide the crack in your voice as you feel your eyes start to well up with tears.

he hugs you tighter and one of his hands comes up to cup the back of your head, gently smoothing your hair with his thumb. "i know, baby, i'm sorry. i'm not going to, i promise."

you don't respond, but you know he's telling the truth. the last 24 hours have been hell for the both of you, and you don't doubt he means every single "i'm sorry" he's said.

"so…" jun starts, and you tilt your head up at him.

"so?" you know what he's going to say next, and despite the excitement you had yesterday you feel yourself dreading this part of the conversation.

"you're pregnant?"

you sigh, looking down and avoiding his eyes. "yeah."

he hums. "but you don't sound excited?" he asks.

"well, i was, last night."

"i'm sorry," he winces. "do you wanna tell me now and i'll pretend this didn't happen and i don't know about it?"

you shake your head. "no, it's fine. the moment's kinda… ruined, already."

he sighs. "yeah, i know. i'm sorry i ruined it."

"i said it's fine, jun."

"no, it's not fine," he says firmly. "it's one hundred percent my fault. this is important to you, and to us, and we should be celebrating right now. last night should never have happened."

"jun, it's in the past. it was messed up, but i forgive you," you say, lifting you head to look at him once more. "it's not a big deal. we're okay now."

"i just want you to be happy about it," he says with a sniff. "we've been trying for so long, and finally…" he trails off, staring at you with watery eyes. 

you smile at him. "i am happy about it, junnie. i'm so happy, you can't even believe."

"did you tell seokmin?" he asks, and his brows furrow when you shake your head no.

"no, i didn't. i wanted you to be the first i told," you say shyly. "i knew you would want to be the first to know."

"i love you so much," he says, still hugging you. he's never going to let you go, never again. "do you know how far along?"

"no, i didn't go to the doctor. probably like two or three weeks, though, if i've been counting it right."

"wow," he sighs, a smile on his face as he stares off into the distance behind you. "i can't wait."

you watch his eyes, practically able to see the thoughts running through his head. 

after a while he loosens his grip around you, moving to swipe at his eyes quickly with the back of his hand. "well—anyway," he starts, giving you an awkward chuckle. "i bought stuff for breakfast. if you haven't had any, yet. and i'm making dinner tonight, too."

before you can even respond his eyes widen, like he's just now remembering all the things he had planned, and he lets go of you, bounding into the kitchen. he returns seconds later with a huge glass vase full of flowers, practically tripping over his own feet in his rush to hand them to you. "and i got these for you, too. sorry they're not the best, it's all the store had this morning."

"junnie, if this is the best the store had, then i don't think i wanna see their best," you laugh, holding the flowers up and admiring the dozens of bright blooms. "this is gorgeous, but you really didn't need to get me anything."

"but i wanted to," he counters, still running around the room to grab the gift bag sitting by the couch. "consider it an 'i'm very sorry' slash 'congrats you're having a baby' gift."

you set the vase down on the table next to you and take the bag from him, pulling out the tissue paper and crumpling it into a ball.

"i didn't have a whole lot of time to look this morning, but i found these," he says nervously, waiting for your reaction.

from the bag you pull out a miniature plastic hanger holding a set of tiny pajamas covered in little kitties, attached to a matching set of striped orange socks.

"i wanted to be the first person to get you baby clothes," he explains as he fidgets with his hands. 

"i knew you would," you smile at him, setting the empty bag and the clothes on the table along with the bouquet of flowers. "and they're perfect. they're so… you."

you throw your arms around his neck, pulling him back in for another hug. "i love all of it. thank you, jun."

he grins, rocking you back and forth in his arms and leaving kisses all over your cheek. "i love you too, baby. i missed you so much. i won't ever do that again."

"i know," you smile. "now… you promised me breakfast, isn't that right? because i'm starving. crying is exhausting."

he laughs. "no crying anymore. and i did promise you that, so tell me: do you want blueberry waffles, or strawberry?"

❯ taglist | @foxdaisy @tinkerbell460 @seokmins @just-here-to-read-01 @blizzardfluffykpop @ny0sang @matilde111 @noniestars @noraehey @squiishymeow @pearlygraysky @baekhyunstruly @tenn87 @blowfishish @raevyng @aceofvernons @odetoyeonjun @dkakapizzaboy @enhacolor @highkey-fangirling @baldi-2 @variety-is-the-joy-of-life @potatofrieswithketchup @wonuziex @stariightjoyy @strawberri-uyu @tigermoonbiss @diving1ntoyou @emmmm127 @hybe02z @sstarrysshit @g00dtimenotlongtim3 @yourfavoritefreakyhan @fr0g-filez @chocolatekdramakpopfreak @synthetickitsune @jvkeslvr @fairybinie @aestheticallea @miriamxsworld

❯ strikethrough means your blog cannot be tagged, please check your visibility settings

❯ if you'd like to be notified when i post, you can fill out my taglist form here: join my taglist!

❯ i hope you enjoyed this!! if you did, consider reblogging or leaving a comment or an ask :) it shows me this is something people want to see more of, and knowing people like this makes me want to write more of it! thanks for reading!!

[psin314]

some of murat's exes and "exes???". nico, ines and fargiz. (info and little pics under the cut)

nicole (or nico) de riva, 24 yo (murat's 22-23). elf, mage, healer. after the fights young murat run to her to heal his wounds, especially he cared about the ones on his face. murat still sometimes visits her. friends but not close, mean to each other as a joke. she has seen murat naked so many times and is not proud of it. yes, they slept together. she immediately said to murat that he's not her type. but ovulation leads you to places you wouldn't even go with a gun. + a bottle of wine, and they made out a couple of times. she healed not only his wounds but also hey i have this weird rush on my well yeah... someone had to treat his stds... alive in datv. still see each other sometimes.

ines, 19 yo (murat's 22-23). murat's nice ex. there was a real romance, like in books. he saved her from some bad guys in an alley, she gave him something in return, they went separate ways and then met by chance. they started talking, falling in love, all that stuff. everything was very sweet. then ines started noticing that murat was kind of downcast, sad and decided to find out what was troubling him. she really wanted to help him. in the end, murat got scared that she would find out that he's a crybaby, that he doesn't know who he really is, and that this charismatic cool guy is just a mask and inside he's just a loser. (murat's mental stability was very questionable.) so he lied to her. like i'm a crow this is very dangerous i love you and i want everything to be okay with you so we need to break up although i don't want this but i'm very sorry blah blah. they said goodbye to each other very tearfully. ines believed that she could be in danger because of him and let him go. murat then went on a drinking binge for a week as usual. in datv ines is happily married, 3 children, a nice house, everything like that. and she sometimes remembers her wild youth with a smile. she doesn't hold a grudge against murat and hopes that at least he's alive and everything is okay with him.

fargiz (his real name is fargat, likes -iz more), 27 yo (murat's 25). half-elf, but looks very human, bard, assassin, sometimes pirate. originally from rivain, spent half his life until adulthood constantly moving back and forth across antiva. plans to move to orlais (dreams of a luxurious life), but before murat hung out in antiva. murat fell in love with him as soon as he saw him. fargiz was playing and singing somewhere at the market. after the performance, murat offered him a drink. that's how they started talking. all murat did was confusing fargiz with his behavior towards him. murat was a big ass red flag here, but fargiz didn't want to notice it cus he fell in love too. murat stated at the very beginning that he's not into guys, he's just "quirky" and very passionate man. but murat kept flirting, casually touching and drinking with him. so fargiz thought murat was just joking. they probably kissed drunk, but murat added no homo after each time. they were "friends" like that for several months. then day x happened, they were drunk af again and it seemed like things were heading towards s e x. but at some point murat stopped it, said he's not like that, joked and left. fargiz got fucking mad at murat and the next day he yelled at him for hours on the street and then stopped talking to him. and a few days later he left treviso. murat learned from their mutual friends that he had sailed away to some other antivan city port with the first morning ship. murat didn't look for him cus well fuck him i dont need this *** anyway. the next week he drank, cried and hated himself. 🗿 in datv he lives in orlais, married a lonely rich widow. he holds a grudge against murat and hopes that at least he's dead and if not he hopes that murat is a drunkard with a miserable life and his dick has fallen off.

[edgygayguy]

I want to throw my thoughts out there and gush about how good this update is even though there is no quest

SPOILERS FOR ISLEWEAVER OFC

Lore wise spiders appeared in Warframe a few times (Chains of Harrow*, Lettie using them as a metaphor for depression); the 15 fragments seem to be Rusalka's autobiographical version of the tales of Duviri: she ran away from her emotions untill she had nowhere else to go, nothing to "fill her life up with", and the indifference jumped at her moment of weakness. Ofc the spider (Wally) saying he could "eat up" all of her worries and finally eating her is just a perfect fairytale way to put her fate into words. Instead of fixing the things that make her sad, envious, angry, he "kills" her, then she can't feel bad anymore. Here's a KIM chat with Lettie that explains it well:

Drifter: You've mentioned the spiders before, a metaphor for depression, I assume?

Lettie: Ay si. Something I've had all my life. Stupid little things in my head that tell me lies. Little things that whisper to me things that I believe when I am too stupid and fall for it.

[...]

Lettie: Then you truly understand what it's like, mi corazon. They are little pinches cabronas. But they are liars remember that always. This kind of sadness is small but it can be a poison if you let it get too strong**. Mi mama had it all her life so I have seen the toll it takes.

Lettie: But here is why I call them spiders. Because you can take a newspaper can roll it up into a tube. And CRUSH THEM. They are small and easily broken.

Lettie points out that this destructive force (depression in her case, indifference in the story at large) is not that strong, but it's steady and unrelenting. Kinda like how the murmur's assault on Albrecht's lab is described in the codex. **I also think that Rusalka slowly poisoning herself with effervon is just another nice symbolic layer to this.

When she brings her self-poisoning up, she also says that the indifference offered her new life. It made a pact the same way it did with the tenno, catching her at the lowest point in her life. We have no idea what the nature of her (and ours tbh) deal really is so this is heavy speculation. I don't think Rusalka is all gone (the secret message for her parents and some of her dialogue in Duviri make it seem like she's working with Wally, instead of being a hollowed out meatsuit). The man in the wall is using her, she's sort of given up on herself. She saw no other way out of her situation in Höllvania. She ran off to Duviri with Wally believing there is no possibility of things getting better. The fragments are a tragic realization of what got her up to that point of no return.

*The story of the corpses on the other hand plays well with what we hear from Rell. He mentions baby spiders eating their mother. Wally definitely remembers this since he was stuck hyper focusing on Rell for a long time. Velimir's and Minerva's corpse entries? stories? what am I writing... are obviously both about parenthood.

Minerva's directly mentions baby spiders eating their mother to "become strong" (I don't remember well but maybe Erra says something like that to Lotus... the scope of this post is beyond me rn). I have a feeling that what Wally did with the Tenno was an experiment****. Nature vs nurture sort of thing. How would two identical children turn out if they grew up in totally different environments (Drifter and the Operator ofc). Idk why the indifference decided the parents must die in both cases, at that point, but since the void exists outside of time it's hard to say anything concrete really.

In Velimir's fragment the queen emphasizes how the parents turned on their children first, not just all adults.

(Screenshots from @tennospaceboots)

Tagfer theorized that Wally just wants to know about humans, the real world. So I don't think it's out of the question he used the Zariman as a fucked up experiment on human nature. I think the last line from Velimir's fragment speaks volumes:

The same crack runs through everything, kiddo, she explained. You want to deny it, that's on you.

I think what we see in these fragments is Wally speaking through Rusalka, as opposed to the fragments which are purely Rusalka. In that quote Wally gives his "thesis" on the human condition. Human nature is contradictory, as an outsider he sees all happiness as fleeting, and a cause for further suffering. He cannot wrap his head around this contradiction***, of love causing pain (parents holding themselves to a too high standard [the final secret Kim chat with Minerva and Velimir show that ultimately, even thought their family was torn apart, they still found peace], lovers separated [Albrecht and Loid]), he cannot see how it could be worth it. It's probably by his nature, he's the indifference after all. Makes me wonder if he considers, after seeing the differences between Drifter and Operator, if he could have been completely different if the circumstances of his "coming into being" were changed. If his body wasn't torn and stolen from him, used by unknown others, abused by Entrati. I prefer to interpret Albrecht's first meeting with the indifference as unfortunate, I don't think he could have reacted differently, he was probably like 2% as afraid as were the Cavia when he met face to face with Wally for the first time. I have plenty sympathy for him, which is why I love the story of Warframe so much. You can have sympathy for everyone EXCEPT THE OROKIN, THE HUMAN ROOT OF ALL EVIL.

***As a sidenote maybe that's why he hates us mixing elements into more complicated forms, symbolism etc. idk it's 4 am now.

****I think the line "No one has a greater imagination than a scared child" is backing this up, good God why doesn't the wiki have the quotes yet.... : (

I think when we find out more about his deal with the Lotus this whole thing will be more fleshed out. Is Wally saying (in the Minerva fragment) that we will learn that lesson by "eating" her? (Lotus eaters hello) I sure hope not. The sentients have the most cool, unusual and amazing family relations so I'm excited how DE will explore that.

This could be a whole fucking video at this point, Socratetris and Stallord I'm coming for your gig (no I'm not).

Now for the most important part of the post:

The forefathers of your forefathers looked into the shining heart of an atom, scribbled their clever equations, and ripped it apart. Did they spare a thought for the age-old love between proton and neutron? Or did they only think of the bountiful energy they could harvest?

I've been emotional about Warframe a few times but this hit me harder than a ton of Quorvexeseses. It's so simple yet so beautifully poetic I'm not even going to try to give a shitty explanation. Wally I love you and I'm so sorry.

And here I'll throw some random extra thoughts that are unrefined (I know the shit above is also unrefined but you know):

I think people have a tendency to overcomplicate things with Warframe's story, which I don't blame them, the story is a mess lol. But some of the theories I've seen on Oraxia's origin are jumping through too many hoops (am I a hypocrite now). I think she was a guardian Warframe for Entrati the same way Protea was for Parvos Granum. He was the most important scientist in the empire, seems logical that Ballas would give him a guardian.

Also wtf does Thrax mean that he was the most of a father we ever got.

A strange idea came into the Orphan's mind. The Queen knew at once that the Glory was at work within them, just as it worked within her, but she held her peace. - this line still puzzles me, ofc we see the indifference exercising control over Rusalka and the glory is a name the indifference chose for, well indifference, but what idea came into the orphan's mind?

It's kinda interesting that Wally himself seems kind of contradictive. If he's indifferent why does he even bother interacting with humanity? Why is conceptual embodiment a thing if the void "craves stillness, emptiness". He is so interesting. Maybe he wants to be human. He wants the contrast. He wants what he doesn't, and maybe even, can't have.

[cosmerelists]

Cosmere Characters React to Kaladin from the End of WAT

[THIS POST CONTAINS MAJOR WAT SPOILERS!!]

As requested by @dutifullythoughtfulrebel :)

This post is so spoiler-y, I didn't want to even put anything in the title, ha ha. But if you're still reading, then you've either finished Wind and Truth or you have no care for spoilers. So! This is a post about how characters might react when they find out that Kaladin is a herald now.

1. Shallan and Adolin

Shallan (already tearing up): I-I said it, didn't I? Shallan: We promised we'd all have a drink together, in the end, and the universe heard us and made sure we all survived. Adolin (also tearing up): Y-You must have some damn cool stories, Kal. Adolin: What's it like...being a Herald? Kaladin: Well...I hung out with Shallan's mom a lot. Shallan: ... Adolin: ... Shallan: You WHAT

2. Szeth and Nightblood

Szeth: ...You might have said something before you left. Kaladin: It was all a bit...sudden. Szeth: I buried you. It was...difficult. Nightblood (helpfully): Emotionally difficult! Szeth: Also physically. Szeth: Since I was missing an arm. Nightblood: And because of all of the sadness! Kaladin: I'm...sorry I put you through all that. Kaladin: I did take your place as Herald, though, so that was cool of me...right? Szeth: ... Nightblood: He might need a minute!

3. Hesina

Hesina (holding Kaladin's face in her hands): If I had a clearchip for every time I learned that my son was dead only to have him show up later... Hesina: With new powers... Hesina: I'd have two clearchips. Hesina: Which isn't a lot, but... Kaladin: I missed you too, mom.

4. Lirin

Lirin: A Herald, huh? Lirin: Does that mean you don't have to fight anymore...or that you have to fight more? Kaladin: Well, it mostly means one thing... Lirin: What? Kaladin: [grins] Lirin: No! Kaladin: The Wisdom of the Heralds... Lirin: Don't you say it! Kaladin: Is now the Wisdom of Kaladin! Lirin: ... Lirin: ...I missed you too, son.

5. Bridge 4

[All inexplicably sitting in lawn chairs, wearing sunglasses, wearing T-shirts that say "Kaladin Return Party"] Lopen: Called it. Skar: You did NOT call that Kal became a Herald. Lopen: Called that he was still alive. Drehy: We ALL called that. Rock: Ha ha, yes. No matter how often people try to tell us he's dead, we? We know better. Lyn: Can't BELIEVE they told us he was buried. They think we're soooo gullible. Lopen: It's like? Psssh, you found a body? Who cares? He clearly got a new body or something. Hobber: Just another day in Bridge 4. Kaladin: ... Kaladin: You guys could be a LITTLE impressed.

6. Hoid

Kaladin: You know...when you said I wasn't going to come back... Kaladin: I thought you meant I was going to die. Kaladin: I can't believe you were predicting that I would become a Herald! Kaladin: How did you do that?? Hoid: >.> Hoid: <.< Hoid: Ah, well, you know, immortality...Hoid powers... Kaladin: WAIT YOU THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE?!

7. Moash

Moash: Well, well, well... Moash: Look at us, Kal. Both basically immortal. Soldiers. Enemies. Moash: Wanna see who's stronger? Kaladin: Don't you want to know what I was doing while I was away? Moash: Training, I'm sure. Doesn't matter! Kaladin: I was practicing therapy. For years. On the toughest cases on Roshar. Moash: W-Wait... Kaladin: Hey Moash, do you want to talk about your feelings? Moash: NOOOOOO

[vxnillabxn]

Hello vanilla 🍦!! I absolutely love that you're a zayne girlie and I love your blog fr! I just have a simple request. I'm obsessed with the idea of mc being pregnant and doing her best to hide it from zayne, because she's scared (though it doesn't last too long because he's her doctor). Yes they are In a deep relationship/ very early marriage.

Heres a Lil zayne gift taken by yours truly 😄:

𐙚˙⋆.˚ zayne x fem!reader ꒰੭

𐙚˙⋆.˚ fluff, pregnancy themes, suggestive! ꒰੭

𐙚˙⋆.˚ sfw! ꒰੭

𐙚˙⋆.˚ do not translate/copy/repost! ꒰੭

﹙♡﹚YES GOD! he looks so scrumptious, so deLICIOUS, dare i say scrumptilicious? THANK YOU!! ♡ btw, this contains pregnancy themes, hormonal imbalances and some other things related to that, so keep it in mind!

the honeymoon was marvelous. you two hadn't had the chance to be together for that long, with no work or urgent matters distracting you.

of course, you spent every single second together during that one-month honeymoon, and… it's safe to say you were loved every night.

now, it's only been a short while since you returned home, and that same lovey-dovey atmosphere lingers in the air. he still holds you so tight, takes his sweet time worshipping you, kissing you, caressing you, and he already told you to expect this for the rest of your marriage.

and you believe he means it.

naturally, things tend to happen after loving someone so... deeply. and as you held the positive pregnancy test in your shaky hands, you knew this was a consequence of your now bound love.

you were happy… as happy as you were nervous… and as nervous as you were terrified. it's only natural to have babies once you marry and both agree, right?

but still, you don't exactly feel prepared. or at least, you're afraid this will overwhelm your dynamic, especially since you and zayne are practically newlyweds.

you throw the test away and decide to ignore it for now.

out of sight, out of mind.

when zayne returns from work, you act as if nothing happened. lots of kisses, soft giggles, hand-feeding, massages on his tense shoulders… until you two clumsily head upstairs, lips locked, and take it under the sheets.

as the warmth of your love still lingers between you, he gently kisses your forehead. but you're thinking too much, your face buried against his chest.

he senses something is bothering you, but he also knows you'll come to him when you're ready. so, you both fall asleep, wrapped in each other's arms.

unluckily for you, things soon start to change, though not in your relationship. you two are still perfectly fine.

but you can't stand the smell of your favorite things. they make you nauseous.

irritated, even.

your skin feels different, your mood changes, even your scent shifts.

you have to use oversized clothing, but he's used to you stealing his shirts, so you manage to be sneaky —according to you.

and it's only been a week. yes, just one week, but zayne already notices, even when you think he doesn't. he knows about hormonal changes, so he quietly decides to suggest a few trusted gynecologists when you're ready to talk.

but inside, you're terrified. seeing how tired zayne comes home, noticing how immature you feel for hiding this… suddenly, the idea of becoming a mother feels too real. too soon.

and yet, every time you look down at your belly, you feel this tender pull. there's nothing visible yet, but the thought of carrying a little sprout that shares both your features and zayne's makes you want to sob.

how will you tell him? you'd have to admit you've been hiding it. what if he feels hurt? or worse, disappointed? what if he thinks you don't want this?

your mind spirals. and it just so happens tonight zayne has a night shift, so he won't be home.

you promise yourself you'll tell him when he comes back.

…

but you don't.

the next morning, when he finally comes home by breakfast, he heads straight to bed. by lunchtime, you wake him with a tray in hand, and he thanks you, offering to share.

the dish you made looks beautiful, colorful, and so nutritious… but when the spoon nears your lips, nausea hits.

you rush to the bathroom, and, of course, he follows.

he isn't clueless. he's a doctor. he put two and two together, and got a huge, obvious four. the first time you two had unprotected intimacy? it was six, almost seven weeks ago. the symptoms all point in the same direction.

you're either pregnant… or something else might be wrong.

“i got you, love,” he murmurs, gently pulling your hair back and rubbing your arched back. truthfully, seeing you like this breaks his heart, but if it's because you're pregnant, it makes that heart race with quiet joy.

once you calm down, he helps you wash your face, then cups your cheeks tenderly.

“my love, i don't wish to intrude… but i think it's necessary to buy a pregnancy test, just to check the possible causes.”

poor zayne. if only he knew you already took the test. but as you look away, fidgeting with your hands, his gaze catches it. his brows furrow slightly, and he lifts your chin.

“my love, is there anything you wish to tell me?”

your bottom lip trembles. stupid emotional imbalances.

before you know it, you burst into tears, throwing yourself into his arms.

“i'm sorry, love! i found out ages ago, i thought i could hide it until i felt ready… but the truth is i'm being immature, and i was scared of burdening you with this when your life is already so hectic, and—”

his eyes go wide. gently but firmly, he takes your shoulders.

“breathe in.”

you sniffle and obey, inhaling shakily.

“and out.”

you exhale, and he nods.

“good. now, here's what we'll do; we'll go sit outside, finish lunch, and you'll tell me everything you feel comfortable sharing, alright?”

you nod softly, following his lead.

after an honest, vulnerable conversation, he cups your cheek.

“my love. you know i think you're the smartest woman i've ever met, right?”

you nod, nuzzling into his palm.

“but… truly, you still manage to amuse me with such silly worries,” he sighs, though there's only warmth in his voice as he means no harm.

“i know. i'm sorry, zayne. it all happened so fast. i thought it might change things between us… we're still adapting to being married, and… i don't know.”

he hums, gently pulling you into his lap so you face him.

“tell me honestly. does the idea of having a baby with me make you happy?”

you pause, but then nod.

“yes. i'm scared… but when i think of a mini-zayne growing in my belly, it feels warm and right.”

a small smile softens his face as he kisses your forehead.

“then listen to me. i'm ecstatic to have a baby with you. you and i have overcome so much together. this won't be any different.”

your lips curl into a shy smile, and suddenly, all those fears melt into soft, hopeful images; zayne holding a tiny baby, your baby, baby laughter filling the house, his gaze tender and so full of love… and you, right there with them, just as happy.

after all, this pregnancy is a result of a man who loves you, and who you know will love you eternally. hiding it from him now feels so foolish.

“tomorrow morning, we'll see a gynecologist. you'll need vitamins, a checkup… i've already looked into the best-reviewed ones. our little jasmine will be strong.”

our little jasmine.

your currently tiny sprout.

you nod, hugging him tightly. when his hands gently rub over your belly, it finally feels real. it feels meant to be.

yes, you're still a little scared —and so is he. but together, with this steady love, you know you're invincible.

and your baby will be welcomed by a small, but oh-so-thankful family.

[kitkatscabinet]

HOW TO TELL IF YOUR COWORKER HAS BEEN POSSESSED

requested by: @honeyandbiscuitandtea-cafe

pairing: guy gardner x blue lantern fem! reader

summary: your relationship with guy gardner has always been contentious at best, so logically, demonic possession is the only reasonable answer for his sudden personality change.

There was something wrong with Gardner. Like stolen identity-shapeshifter-possessed by a demon level wrong.

It'd started after a particularly gruelling mission the guardians had forced you to work together on had gone spectacularly sideways, mainly in part to Guy's big fat mouth and impulsive behaviour. Weeks of preparation flushed down the drain, ending in a brawl that had nearly gotten you both killed.

You'd torn him an entirely new asshole for it, screaming until your voice was hoarse then storming away before he could get a word in edgewise.

In hindsight, you hadn't exactly regretted what you'd said, more so the way you'd gone about it. Nor did the kicked puppy look he'd thrown your way plague your mind, it didn't!

Returning to Oa had been embarrassing, and you'd been dreading the inevitable confrontation with Guy ever since. You'd been braced for anything he could throw at you when he'd stormed toward you, only to be completely flabbergasted when he'd apologised.

Guy Gardner... had apologised... To you.

You'd been so stunned that you hadn't even been able to put up a fight when the Guardians had decided to assign you to be Guy's partner permanently.

"A blue and a green lantern working together was exactly what the galaxy needed in these troubling times." They'd argued.

You called bullshit, they just wanted someone that wouldn't stand for Gardner's particular brand of fuckery, and you'd drawn the short straw.

A few weeks later, you felt like you were being gaslit or punked. Like everyone in the galaxy, but you were in on some elaborate prank orchestrated by Guy as payback. Because it hadn't ended with the apology, the next morning, Guy brought you breakfast.

He was opening doors, complimenting you, and apologising for minor things like being slightly late, which had also been happening less and less.

Frankly, you're not sure why the others aren't more concerned. When you'd brought it up with Hal he'd given you a weird look, claiming that Gardner was the same asshole as always.

You'd felt as if you were close to gaining answers when you'd cornered Kyle, the younger man clamming up anxiously until Guy had appeared from thin fucking air to pull you away for "important Lantern business."

Which, of course, had turned out to be nothing.

Now, with your suspicion at an all-time high, you were sitting across from Guy in a restaurant. A nice one at that, not the kind of place you'd think Guy would ever even set foot in, let alone pay for.

Your eyes narrowed. If Guy thought you were footing the bill, then he had another thing coming. You could picture it now, weeks of Guy getting you to drop your guard, only to stick you with an exorbitantly expensive bill under the guise of an apology dinner.

"I'm not paying for your portion of dinner, Guy." You raised a brow as he scanned the wine list.

"Don't you worry about that, Guy's got it all sorted, babe." He pointed a thumb at himself, shooting you a cocksure grin.

That was another new endeavour. The pet names. Well, Guy'd always called you some form of infuriating or crass name (sweetcheeks had almost earned him a giant hammer construct to the face), but lately they'd been... almost cute.

You swore you hated the way it made your stomach go all fluttery every time he called you babe, or honey, or sweet girl.

"Are you possessed?" You've given up on the illusion of browsing the menu, the words falling from your lips before you can think better of it.

He blinks. You blink back, refusing to back down, even as you wince internally at his incredulous look.

"Er, what?" He sounds as bewildered as you've felt the past few weeks, laughing nervously as he notices your dead serious expression.

"Don't give me those puppy dog eyes," you bristle, refusing to be gaslit any further. "Apologising to me, buying me things, flowers! Being all nice, and not at all... you!"

You pause to take a grounding breath, gesturing vaguely in his direction. "And now dinner? It's suspicious, so what's the play?"

His shoulders slump a little, a sigh escaping his lips as his eyes turn downcast, your satisfaction at being correct quickly overpowered by... regret? When he doesn't bounce back to his usual cocky self, instead seeming impossibly small for a man of his stature.

You sighed, trying to swallow down your sudden traitorous sense of guilt for upsetting him. "Guy—"

"You were right." He cut you off, bright eyes suddenly boring into yours. "That day, when you yelled at me, you were right. I am selfish, arrogant, and a lot of things much worse than you called me."

Though his voice is sure, unwavering, he sounds so... small. A word that you now realise should never be associated with a man like Guy Gardner. That sinking pit of guilt and shame from your words that day reignites in full force, and you try to speak, only for your words to fail you.

Guy, seeing the manifestation of guilt on your face, shakes his head. "I wanted to show off, and you got hurt." He frowned, lower lip quivering a little as he reached over the table and took your hands in his. "I was supposed to protect you, but you got hurt because of me."

Suddenly, the pieces start clicking into place. It's embarrassing, really, how easy the puzzle was in hindsight, only for you to completely miss it because you'd been staring too hard at the wrong pieces.

"Oh, Guy... that wasn't—" You stutter, well, it wasn't not his fault. "Look, you made a mistake, but we both survived, and I shouldn't... I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

Without even realising it, your thumbs had started to rub soothing circles over Guy's skin.

"I deserved it." He mumbled dejectedly.

"No, you didn't." You acquiesce, sensing Guy's intense need for absolution.

"But I—"

"Guy!" It's your turn to cut him off firmly, the sudden sternness in your tone making his eyes widen like saucers. "Are you going to keep wallowing in the past, or can we enjoy our date?"

"Our...date?" He whispers a little breathlessly, before perking right back up. "I mean, yeah, our date, that we are so obviously having right now."

Just like that, it was as if a switch had been flicked, and the confidence you were used to Guy possessing was back in full force. "Don't you worry that pretty head of yours anymore, babe, this'll be the best date you've ever had!"

Aaaaand he was back.

At least he was pretty to look at, you mused, even as your lips quirked upward in an uncontrollable smile.

[cheshireliam]

"Me and You, Always" Story Event: Silvio Ricci Chapter 3

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection; expect mistakes, grammatical errors, and some creative liberties. All original content and media used belongs to Cybird. Please support the game by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

Read this before interacting

Emma: Prince Silvio?

I pulled Emma into my arms, trapping her and that oddly intense enthusiasm for gathering autumn greens.

Silvio: Before I waste my time humorin’ yer little game, ya better come clean with it.

Silvio: Same with summer, what’re ya really up to?

Emma: … I just wanted to see a new world I’ve never seen before.

Silvio: Still plannin’ to keep it a secret?

Emma: … 

Silvio: If that’s how ya wanna play it, I’ve got my own ways to make ya talk. 

(Didn’t wanna resort to this, but I ain’t got no choice.)

Holding onto her with one arm, I slid my other hand to her side—

And started tickling Emma mercilessly, her composure shattering in an instant as she thrashed about.

Emma: W-wait…! Stop— haha…! 

Silvio: What was that? Can’t hear ya.

Emma: Ahaha… stop… I’m going to die laughing!

Silvio: Ya know what ya gotta say if ya want me to stop, don’t ya?

(Can’t believe Valerio’s old secret tactic actually works on you too.) 

It was childish and underhanded, even I was embarrassed about it, but it was also undeniably effective. 

Emma: I’ll talk…! I’ll talk, so please…!

Seeing tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, I stopped, but kept my hand resting on her waist so that she wouldn’t bolt off.

Emma: I want to train.

Silvio: Train for what? 

Emma: So that… I’ll be able to join you on your voyages some day.

(Huh?)

Silvio: What the hell for…? 

Emma: Because it's my dream.

Emma: If I could travel together with you and return to the kingdom with great treasures… 

Emma: I just know that would be the greatest, most valuable treasure in my life nothing else can replace. 

(... So that’s what’s been in her head.)

Without realising it, a small smile tugged at my lips, and my arm tightened its hold on her. 

Silvio: Ya needed to hide that?

Emma: … I didn't have the confidence to tell you.

Emma: I have neither knowledge nor experience in sea voyages, so I thought I’ll only end up being a burden. 

Emma: That’s why I wanted to train and learn lots of things…

Emma: Until someday, you’ll feel like you could take me along with you.

Emma: I didn't want you to laugh at me either.

Silvio: I ain’t laughin’.

(If it were any other woman, I’d probably laugh in her face, but I’ll never do that to ya.) 

Going on sea voyages could easily go horribly wrong if anything bad were to happen.

If it were a short trip, sure it could be a noblewoman's little joy ride.

But the farther you want to go, the more preparation and guts you would need. 

(Still, you’re still the only noblewoman around who’d try learnin’ to set up a camp herself.)

(Most of em’ just leave that stuff to others and don’t lift a damn finger.) 

I almost said those words aloud, but decided to swallow them.

It didn't feel right to say things that’d trample all over her determination.

So instead of mocking her, I reached out and ruffled her hair.

Emma: You’re making it messy again!  

Silvio: Shut up. That’s yer punishment for hidin’ stuff from me.

Silvio: … Let’s go.

Emma: Huh? 

Silvio: Ya wanna learn how to gather mountain greens, don't ya?

When I let go of her and started walking, her face lit up so obviously as she hurried to catch up with me. 

Emma: And how should I thank you this time?

Silvio: Anythin’ is fine. But if ya start gettin’ all cocky again, I ain’t teachin’ ya nothin’. 

Emma: I’ll be sure to stay humble and do my best. 

(Now that I know what’s been goin’ through that head of yers, I’ll give ya a hand.) 

(It’s this side of ya that I—) 

(Nah, forget it. I’d just end up gettin’ laughed at myself.) 

…

Autumn flew by in the blink of an eye, and now came the cold winter. 

(... Still feelin’ like I’ve lost my damn mind.) 

(I should just change it, even if I’m only doin’ it now.) 

(But… she’s the kind of woman who’d be happier with somethin’ like this than a precious gemstone.)

(I know that. I know, but damn it, this is insane.)

(Somethin’ like this for a christmas present…) 

???: Where are you going, Prince Silvio? 

(...!)

I stopped in my tracks and forced the discomposure off my face before turning around. 

Seems like I’d walked right past the room I was headed for, and Emma was peeking out from behind the door with her head tilted. 

Emma: Are you not done with work yet…?

Silvio: … I’m done. 

Silvio: I just, uhh… forget somethin’ and need to go grab it, that's all. 

Emma: Ah, then I’m sorry for stopping you.

Emma: I couldn’t help but open the door when I heard some jangling, but I’ll be good and wait patiently. 

Silvio: … Be back in a sec. 

Emma gave a small wave and closed the door. 

I quickened my walking pace to avoid making any noises she might hear, but I couldn't contain the big sigh I almost let out. 

(The hell am I even doin’?)

…

A lavish feast worthy of a christmas dinner filled the table, and Emma was all smiles throughout the dinner. 

Only after she finished the last bite of cake did she finally set down her cutlery. 

I was thinking the dinner ended peacefully, but I had a bad feeling the instant Emma locked her eyes onto mine.

Emma: Are you hiding something, Prince Silvio?

Silvio: Hah? What’re ya talkin’ ‘bout all of a sudden?

Emma: You’ve been fidgeting the entire time.

Silvio: I ain’t. It’s all in yer head. 

Emma: You know you can’t fool these eyes of mine. 

(... She’s weirdly sharp when it comes to times like this.)

Emma stood from her seat and moved behind me—. 

[girlfailureblog]

I LITERALLY WORK IN SUPPLYCHAIN AND LOGISTICS - AN OPINION ON THE DAN AND PHIL IRL MERCH SITUATION

Hi guys, I have been following the dnp / irl merch situation that's currently unfolding and as someone who works in end-customer supply chain, I think I could bring a relevant opinion to why I personally think there are issues with the orders from a picking/delivering standpoint.

I WANT TO CAVEAT THAT THIS IS 100% PURE SPECULATION! I DO NOT WORK FOR IRL MERCH, I DO NOT KNOW THEM, I LOVE DAN AND PHIL, I JUST WANT TO SHED SOME LIGHT ON HOW COMPLEX THIS STUFF CAN BE!!!!!

So, from what research I've done, there seem to be three core issues:

production delays leading to delivery delays

picking errors

damage

Let's break it down.

Production delays leading to delivery delays

So, production delays happen. From a logistics perspective, there's really not much you can do on your end, so I can't really speak on this specific thing. However, logistics and customer service should be proactive about communicating this to customers. It's completely normal in this industry to not give details as to exactly what has gone wrong with production, as the customer doesn't really need to know. But the customer should be told as soon as you know there's going to be problems, so expectations can be managed. From what I've seen, it seems like IRL merch are only getting in contact after customers have raised concerns, which is Not Epic.

2. Picking Errors

A 'picking error' is basically when incorrect stock is chosen from the warehouse and sent to the customer. Again, this can happen for a variety of reasons; the warehouse might be semi-automated, stock may have been receipted incorrectly, blah blah technical stuff. From what I've seen regarding the photocards, it could be one of two issues: either stock was picked from an incorrect rotation, or the stock itself was receipted incorrectly. What this means is that either stock was taken from the wrong places in the warehouse when the order came in, or the stock was stored incorrectly when it arrived at the warehouse, and has been picked and delivered without people realising that it was stored incorrectly. Personally, my money is on option two. If that's the case, it is a nightmare to unpick because it's caused by a cascade of miscommunications, but it can be fixed. Just unfortunate that stock went out to the customers before it was spotted.

3. Damage

Damage is unfortunately inevitable. Hauliers mess up, warehouse staff mess up, postmen mess up. You can have all the safeguards in the world and shit still happens. I once had a whole pallet tip over inside a truck and all the boxes were so damaged that we had to send them back for repack, and even then some stock couldn't be salvaged. Damage sucks all round, for everyone involved.

The only thing you can really do about damage is mitigate. So, having a robust returns policy, clearly communicating with customers, exploring the least costly options for redelivery etc. And it can be really difficult to figure out exactly what's happened if damage is reported but CCTV on all loading points is coming back clean - you do need to properly verify whether damage claims are legitimate before refund/redelivery can be organised. Investigation also takes time, because you're relying on multiple people to get back to you with The Evidence. So just sucky sucky sucky. But good customer relations helps a TON.

I think overall, the IRL Merch drama boils down to poor communication. Logistics and end-point fulfilment is really complicated and if you don't have adequate experience, it can become a shitshow real fast. I've seen some people on twt be really harsh about this, which kinda sucks because they don't have the full picture, but also I totally understand because how would you know if you don't work in the industry?

It seems that from a structural level there are some end-to-end processes that need to be restructured, which is a long-term fix. And perhaps because the key stakeholders involved don't have that industry experience, they're reaching for short-term solutions first as a stop-gap measure, but with the timescales in fulfilment that's just setting you up for further issues down the line.

So I think all around it's a really complicated situation. I do believe IRL Merch are trying their best, but I think they'd benefit from clearer customer communication, and a structural overhaul. And maybe if it's really really bad, a pause on operations just so they can get their bearings.

That's just my two cents, and as I said, PURE SPECULATION! MY ENTIRELY SUBJECTIVE OPINION! I COULD BE COMPLETELY WRONG!

[pompomqt]

Journey to the West Chapter 87

Wukong going wherever he wants in heaven without any sort of appointment:

I feel like normal people aren't able to meet with the Jade Emperor the moment they feel like it without any sort of warning or appointment.

Welcome back to this week's chapter of Journey to the West with @journeythroughjourneytothewest. This week, they finally make it to India! However they still have a while to go until they reach their final goal of the Thunderclap Monastery. So let's get into it shall we?

So the gang once again finds themselves approaching a city, so Tripitaka asks Wukong if they've finally made it to the Kingdom of India. Monkey breaks the news to Tripitaka that even if this is India, this isn't the Thunderclap Monastery, but they'll find out exactly where they are when they get closer. They arrive at the city, and after Tripitaka calms everyone down from the fright of seeing Pigsy, one of the officials, who is currently hanging up a notice, tell him that this is the Phoenix-Immortal region, and that they have been suffering from a drought for several years, and are looking for some priests to pray for some rain.

Monkey asks to see the notice and reads it, which basically says whoever successfully prays for rain will be rewarded with a thousand gold. Tripitaka tells them, that if any of them can do it, they should because it would be the virtuous thing to do, but if they can't, they should just continue their journey. Monkey, as previously established, is very good at bullying the dragon gods to get rain, so he agrees to do it. Upon hearing this, the officials get very excited and rush off to the prefectural office to tell the prefect the good news.

Upon hearing this the Prefect rushes out to greet the pilgrims and introduces himself as Shangguan, and personally asks them to pray for rain. Tripitaka tells him they can continue this conversation inside and asks if they have a monastery or temple they can stay at, so the Prefect offers his own residence for them. The Prefect has a vegetarian meal prepared for them, and then they get down to business. The Prefect tells them that they have been suffering drought for three years, and will gladly repay them with a thousand gold if they can fix it. Monkey says they don't need the gold, just the merit. So Monkey asks the Prefect to watch over Tripitaka, while he takes Sandy and Pigsy to act as his ritual assistants to summon a dragon.

So Wukong summons Aoguang, the Dragon King of the Eastern Ocean, and asks him why they haven't provided any rain to this region for several years. Aoguang tells him that although he's the one who makes the rain, he doesn't decide where it goes, that's heaven's business. Wukong however says that he is telling him to do it. Since Wukong is really not someone you want to say no to, however the Jade Emperor has also been known to behead dragons who don't obey him, Aoguang suggests a path forward. He'll return to his palace and get his rain making army, while Wukong goes to the Celestial Palace to get an imperial decree for rain.

Monkey finds this acceptable and let's Aoguang return to his palace, while he updates Tripitaka on the situation. Tripitaka gives Monkey permission to leave to do his errand in heave, so Monkey leaves Tripitaka in the care of Sandy and Pigsy and takes off. Meanwhile the city prepares for the dragon's arrival.

Wukong arrives at heaven and is greeted by the Devaraja, who asks if he's completed his mission yet. Wukong says they should be close now, but that's not why he's here, he here to ask for rain for the Phoenix-Immortal Region. Devaraja says he's pretty sure that rain is banned in that area because the prefect offended heaven and earth. So the Jade Emperor set up a rice mountain, a noodle mountain and a huge square lock of gold as punishment. Monkey has no idea what he's talking about, so he just goes to talk to the Jade Emperor personally.

The Jade Emperor tells Monkey that three years ago, they saw Shangguan push over a sacrificial maigre, that was intended as an offering to heaven, and feed it the dogs. For this blasphemy, they set up three things that must be overturned before rain will be permitted in that region. The Jade Emperor then invites Wukong to see for himself if those three things have been overturned yet, so the four Celestial warriors lead Wukong to a hall to look around. In the hall there is a mountain of rice, about one hundred feet tall being pecked at by a small chicken, a two hundred foot tall mountain of noodles being lapped up by a small golden puppy, and and a large lock with a tiny flame under it.

Wukong asks the Celestial Warriors what the meaning of all this is, and the Celestials tell him that until the Chicken has finished pecking at the rice, the puppy has lapped up all the noodles, and the lamp has burned through the key, there will be no rain in that region. The Celestials tell him not to worry about it to much however, since there is a simple solution to this. The problem can be resolved through virtue, so all Wukong has to do is go back down to the prefect and persuade him to do good, and the mountains will topple, and the lock will snap immediately.

So Monkey goes back to earth and makes a beeline for the prefect telling him that the reason this region isn't getting rain is because he offended heaven three years ago. So the Prefect explains his side of the situation. At the time he was arguing with his wife, and knocked it over in a fit of anger, and afterwards just had some dogs come eat it up. He had no idea that heaven was so offended by it that they decided to punish the entire region over it though.

So Monkey tells them about the mountains and locks, and Pigsy asks why they don't just go there and eat the rice and noodles themselves and break the lock. Problem solved, plus Pigsy would get a decent sized meal out of the deal. Monkey tells Pigsy that they can't just cheat a heavenly test like that, but that doesn't matter since there is an easier way anyways. The Prefect just has to do good. Monkey tells him to repent and return to virtue, and read some Buddhist scriptures, and that if he refuses, then even he won't be able to save him.

The prefect agrees and soon enough the entire city is performing religious services for three days and reciting sutra's to appease heaven. Tripitaka also helps by reciting some sutra's for them. Once Monkey is satisfied with the way things are progressing, he once again tells Sandy and Pigsy to guard Tripitaka while he makes another trip to heaven.

Monkey arrives in heaven and once again is greeted by the Devaraja who asks why he's back again so soon. Monkey says they have already returned to virtue so he's here to petition for rain again. In fact the paper work is already being taken care of as they speak, so there is no need for Wukong to meet with the Jade Emperor again, he can just go straight and ask for some thunder deities. So Wukong meets with Celestial Worthy and says he wants to borrow some thunder deities for rain for the Phoenix Immortal Region. When the Celestial brings up that rain is banned in that area, Wukong says the situation has already been taken care of, so the Celestial approves the request.

Meanwhile the Jade Emperor receives news that the Phoenix Immortal Region has repented and that the rice and noodles have vanished and the lock has broken. Upon hearing this the Jade Emperor issues a decree for three feet of rain for the region right away. Meanwhile Monkey and the thunder deities have already gotten started on working up the storm, just in time for the rest of the army to come with the rain.

Once the storm is over, the deities involved go to take their leave, but Monkey tells them to stick around so the people can give proper thanks. So Monkey arrives back with the others and when the Prefect tries to thank him, Monkey tells him instead to gather his people and thank the rain deities so that they will receive rain in the future as well. So the deities reveal themselves to the mortals and are worshiped for about an hour before Wukong lets them head back, but tells them they should give them wind every five days, and rain every ten days. In return Monkey will make sure certain households in this area keep up with their offerings and oblations.

Monkey returns to Tripitaka and says that their business here is concluded and that the people should be fine now, so they should go. The Prefect however insists they stay so that they can repay them. So a grand banquet is held, and a new monastery is built in their honor. Tripitaka names the monastery the Monastery of Salvific Rain, and four shrines are erected in the pilgrims honor so they may receive offerings. After all that, the Pilgrims are finally able to continue on their Journey to the West.

Current Sun Wukong Stats: Names/Titles: Monkey, The Stone Monkey, The Handsome Monkey King, Sun Wukong (Monkey awakened to the void), Bimawen (Banhorseplague), The Great Sage Equal To Heaven and Pilgrim Sun. Immortality: 5 + 94,000 years Weapon: The Compliant Golden Hooped Rod Abilities: 72 Transformations, Cloud-Somersault, Ability to transform his individual hairs, super strength, Ability to Summon Wind, Water restriction charm, and the ability to change into a huge war form, ability to duplicate his staff, ability to immobilize others, the ability to put others to sleep, and the Fiery eyes and Diamond Pupils, intimidating horses, churning large bodies of water, sleeplessness, seizing the wind, enhanced smell, discerning good and evil within a thousand miles, Spirit Summoning, lock picking, object transformation, distance reduction, vanishing in a flash of light, super healing, transforming others, Invisibility, Wind Immunity, Medicine Making, putting out fire from a distance with a glass of wine, weaving a straw dragon, Body Division and Breathing Fire Demon Kill Count: 10754 + Unknown Number of Minions Human Kill Count: 1039 God's Defeated: 23 + Unknown number Defeats: 8 Crime List: Robbery, Murder, Mass Murder, Arson, Theft, Coercion, Threatening a Government Official, Resisting Arrest, Assault, Forgery, Employee Theft, False Imprisonment, Impersonating a Government Official, Treason, attempted murder, failure to control or report a dangerous fire, desecrating a corpse, breaking and entering, trespassing, violating Tree Law, looting corpses, trading counterfeit goods, criminal threat, animal abuse, Assisting or Instigating Escape, Damage to Religious Property, contaminating a substance for human consumption, Identity Fraud, Disorderly Conduct, Joyriding, unauthorized practice of medicine, Voyeurism and Immolation Cry Count: 22 + 3 fake cries Mountains Trapped Under: 4

Current Tang Sanzang stats: Names/Titles: River Float, Xuanzang, Tang Sanzang, Tripitaka and the Tang Monk Abilities: Curing Blindness, making branches point a certain direction (allegedly), reciting sutras, pretty privilege, memorization, Heart Sutra, Meditation, Being Heaven's Specialist Little Guy, a Golden Halo and Danger Sense Cry Count: 52 Tight Fillet Spell Uses: 63 Paralyzed by fear: 6 Bandit Problems: 3 Kidnapped by demons: 18 Falling Off Horses: 12

Current Bai Long Ma Stats: Names/Titles: Bai Long Ma (White Dragon Horse), Prince of the Western Ocean, and third prince jade dragon of the dragon king Aorun Abilities: Transforming into a human, a water snake, and a horse, eating a horse in one bite, flight, Magic of Water Restriction, Singing, Sword Dancing and Magic Pee Cry Count: 1 Crime List: Arson, and Grave Disobedience. Contributions to the plot: 4 Kidnapped by demons: 6

Current Zhu Wuneng Stats: Names/Titles: The Marshal of the Heavenly Reeds, Zhu Wuneng (Pig who is aware of ability), Zhu Ganglie, Pigsy, Idiot and Eight Rules. Weapon: Rake Abilities: 36 Transformations, parting water, fighting underwater, cloud soaring, size enhancement, CPR and Shoveling Demon Kill Count/Kill steals: 16 + Unknown number of minions Kidnapped by Demons: 12 Human Kill Count: 1 Failed Flirtation/romances Attempts: 5 Cry Count: 8 Crime List: Sexual Harassment, Murder, Kidnapping, arson, defamation, Damage to Religious Property, contaminating a substance for human consumption, Identity Fraud, Theft, Forcible entry, Disrupting a Funeral, Violating Tree Law, Arson and Immolation

Current Sha Wujing Stats: Names/Titles: The Curtain-Raising General, Sha Wujing (Sand Aware of Purity), Sandy and Sha Monk Weapon: Monster Taming Staff Abilities: Fighting underwater, Cloud soaring, fetching water from a well, and Conflict De escalation Demon Kill Count: 1 + Unknown number of minions. Kidnapped by Demons: 8 Human Kill Count: 1 Cry Count: 6 Crime List: Breaking a Crystal Cup, murder, desecration of a human corpse, Damage to Religious Property, contaminating a substance for human consumption and Arson

[riteliso]

S01E11

I don't really have anything to say about this it's just another of those brief shots and she's glaring at Adora down the hall and I think it's neat

She still fuckin does not like She-ra at all

I bet I could make this whole episode's analysis about how Catra glares at Adora but y'know that's because there's something wrong with both me and the people behind the show because I bet you it'll happen at least five more times this episode, probably more like eight

I'll keep track, so far we're at 2. I don't promise to get screenshots of every time, though. Hey it might happen anyway I just don't promise.

Unlike the other runestones, it's portable :)

This does speak partially to the idea that She-ra is a protector of Etheria, not any one nation within it. She is not bound to any one place, nor are her powers, and as we learn later, nor is she as a concept.

I don't remember if it's gone over that the first one created the stone itself or just the sword? I'll keep an eye out.

"Oh she's gonna be stuck on this or a while, I can really just do whatever."

Girl we've all been there

I just like this face I like when the characters wear this expression

Also if I only ever point out Catra faces then idk I'll FEEL bad because Adora is pretty

Alright we're a little on the nose here

Also, hi.

I'd say "what if that wasn't Catra" but really what if that was anything, even when it IS Catra that's a bad move

There's no universe where twitch firing that fucking sword is acceptable in this situ--

In fact, give it here, I'm turning the safety on.

This watch through has actually been making me feel very nice. Save the Cat isn't some outlier or some return to how they were, Adora will always save Catra the moment the oppourtunity arises. Because she loves her.

I went over it in something I edited but I don't think that shows up in the full thread or whatever--

Adora saving Catra is a running theme in this show, as is Adora attempting to convince Catra to abandon the horde. Usually the two go hand in hand, and usually they can also be seen as a metaphor for being-- TOGETHER.

Catra doesn't want to be saved. She doesn't want to leave the Horde. She's very clear about that. Adora continuously pursues and rescues Catra despite her protests, and they hurt each-other with how they just-- ARE.

Catra despises being helped. But that doesn't matter, because if Catra doesn't recieve help, she still feels betrayed. She's not ready to be with Adora because her pride is way too spiky, slimy, and DISGUSTING for her to swallow.

She can't be with Adora because if she leaves to be with her and everything is okay, then it means Catra was wrong. And if it isn't okay, just like Catra fears-- then that's not really any better.

Now, is it okay for Adora to pursue Catra this way, if we add this additional meaning to it?

Fuckin-- I don't know, dude, okay

Catra is wrong and Adora knows she is. They love each-other and feel like the things keeping them apart are due to the other being WRONG.

So is it acceptable for Adora to constantly be putting Catra in situations she's uncomfortable with with the prospect of beginning a relationship, or at least CHANGING the relationship they CURRENTLY have?

In real life the answer would be an easy yes, even when the two DO love each-other.

But this is a romance, so-- no?

It's like when some grandpa says they asked the cashier out 80 times until they eventually said yes and eventually got married

Like yeah it's ridiculous and creepy kinda

But I mean it-- IS romantic. Stupid, but romantic.

And besides, if a grandma said that about another grandma I'd be like "hell yeah" this is affected by personal biases lesbians get to be mean and weird and cryptic okay THEYRE ALLOWED I DONT CARE THAT IT'S A DOUBLE STANDARD

They really do argue like lesbians too

And if you think I'm just saying things you're wrong

I can literally hear "Clearly nothing in here is listening to me" in my girlfriend's voice so effortlessly

You are SUCH A BITCH and I HATE THAT I DO WHAT YOU DO

When nobody else can see them they're a normal couple if I'm honest

Don't--

Do NOT read into my personal life based on what I post here for all intents and purposes I am playing a character I'm larping keep your distance shut up and you're stupid

Does your mom know you're gay

"So you snuck out to see me?"

I didn't realize that that's what she was implying until now

She knows this isn't a mission Catra was sent on now and so she's hoping that that's at least PART of the reason she's here

On the left we have "fuck me" eyes and on the right we have "fuck you" eyes

Were you expecting a sorry

Did you think she was gonna sneak out and APOLOGISE TO YOU??

OH MY GOD THAT'S SO FUNNY

EVERY-- EVERYBODY LOOK AT THIS GIRL

SHE'S SO FUCKING STUPID

AW, WHAT A FUCKIN MORON

Oh god

I'm not even- HA!

I can't even insult you for this the situation itself is enough of an insult on its OWN LMAO

This is an awkward thing to say when I DUNNO IF YOU NOTICED BUT YOU'LL BE WALKING THE SAME DIRECTION FOR A BIT, DUMBASS

Next time you watch she-ra pay attention to the animation here because it's fucking awful and looks like dogshit

but it's okay because it's funny and doesn't happen often in this show

At least your bright-ass sword ALMOST has a use for once

ALRIGHT SO

Here's how we're doing things, right? We're gonna go one episode at a time, and I'm gonna give my thoughts whenever they come up. This is a train of thought type beat, alright? Unlike my usual grandstanding authorial and analytical self, this re-watch is purely for the rant factor. If you don't know me, and you just happened upon this thread because you like reading she-ra rewatches, hello. I'm a writer from Canada who found she-ra in 2025 and is currently on her sixth watch through. From that, hopefully you can discern that I like this show, even if I'm likely gonna criticize parts of it. We good to go? Good. We start with S01 E01.

RIGHT, THE SWORD PART 1! A zoom in, with an angelic singing being drowned out by digital bloopy fright zone vibes, and then Adora being a fuckin dweeb as her leitmotif plays in a decidedly crystiline synth-y tone.

Now, what do we learn from this? This, aside from one gripe I'll have more to speak on later, is an excellent introduction. With the music alone we're essentially taken from the beauty of the planet, the overwhelming dread of the fright zone, and then into a hopeful tune that isn't FREE from these sort of digital themes in the music, but is very defined and separate FROM them.

This isn't gonna be one of those things where I praise literally every single fuckin thing so keep your panties on, I'm not gonna full-on overanalyzing avatar this shit, but the most important parts of a story are the beginning and the ending.

Now, when I say that, I am speaking pragmatically. Every part of every story is important-- but when it comes to what people remember, what they love, what they never shut up about-- it's the start and the end. You need to nail the take-off and the landing, people will forget the turbulence from the rest of the trip.

Now, what does THIS bitch's intro tell us about her? Well, a lot, honestly. Most of what we know about Adora at this point is she plays by the rules, but she is a notably goofy person. She's goofy, but she's unwilling to goof-OFF too much.

And while we get a taste of the rivalry they have instantly, with "That's low, even for you." "You know nothing's too low for me~"

We instantly see that that is not the CORE of their relationship.

I'd like to praise the voice direction in this show for the first of many times here. The voice actors do amazing work in this, and the direction can be felt throughout.

"Come on, you look stupid hanging there" can obviously be a seen as a strange first line to show the warmth these two share, but the inflection from Catra's voice actor, AJ Mikalcha, makes it read as downright sweet.

Also don't get used to me using names of the crew besides ND Stevenson because I'm so awful with names I was still calling Catra Katara half the time on my second re-watch and I was like 90% of the way to realizing I kinned her at that point

Also don't make fun of me for kinning Catra there's no RESPONSE to people making fun of you for kinning Catra THAT DOESN'T MAKE YOU SEEM MORE LIKE FUCKING CATRA OKAY

Anyway, the following scene makes it clear that this is not a one-way dynamic. The two banter, and it's clear Adora knows how to get under Catra's skin and annoy her as well. This is notable in a few places MUCH further on, but it is a difference worth highlighting NOW.

Once Adora leaves, Catra's primary goal is still to get under her skin. She's angry about it, she's mean about it, but she's still just doing what she's always done. The relationship between the two doesn't actually change as much as the context does. I'd say the relationship itself doesn't change much until the final season, at a scene I'm sure I'll have a lot to say about.

On the flip-side, Adora's goal when it comes to Catra is simply to fight her off. But that's not all there is. At points, it's clear that Adora holds some sort of REVERENCE for Catra, and while Catra is very capable of very mean things, don't get me wrong, Adora sees Catra as more of a threat than she realistically is.

At a few moments I'll point out she also relishes in getting under Catra's skin, but admittedly those are few and far between.

People have gone over this introduction billions of times, so I won't BORE you to death with it, but Shadow weaver's introduction does hint at a lot of what we'll learn later. I think it's very notable that while Shadow weaver brings a dark gloom that encompasses both our leads, her vile tendrils only dare to touch Catra. We learn the specifics of the dynamic these three have later, but it is a very unique and terrible situation to be the least favourite of an abusive guardian. Especially if you are repeatedly reminded of that fact.

I'm not gonna go over all the body language shit I've seen other text posts about it there's plenty of them a lot of focus in this show goes into tiny details where characters are constantly reacting to the world around them, and very rarely do we get lame stretches where anyone's face is just frozen and unflinching while they listen to someone else.

with all due respect to the setting at this point in time the bright moon rebellion is so pathetically anemic it's the two teens, some movie night lesbians, an immortal princess queen, and a bunch of fucking trees.

And you'd think the one carrying the team would be THE IMMORTAL PRINCESS QUEEN, BUT NO, ITS THE FUCKING TREES DOING ALL THE GOD DAMNED WORK

This introduction is fine. I don't particularly like it, nor have any strong feelings about it. It establishes the relationship between glimmer and her mother, but besides that it doesn't honestly do much. And don't come at me with "Uh, all it needs to do is establish that relationship?" Yeah, no shit, but we just had a better introduction to our other lead characters. And yes, those are the MAIN leads, the sort of heart of the show, but that doesn't mean that the other characters are unimportant. Glimmer's development later on is truly interesting, and Bow becomes a massively inspiring character. Fun jokey times are fine or whatever to show that they're immature and don't know the first thing about war, in contrast to our full-blown child soldiers raised from birth in the fright zone, but we really don't learn anything particularly INTERESTING about our best friend squad compadres in their intro, nor do we really see any of it until episode 2, to be frank.

This is something we don't actually see much of-- Catra has this ideal of being a conqueror, but it's very clear that she doesn't want that. Her threats are vapid and aimless-- She can enjoy some chaos, sure, but a shit-stirrer isn't gonna use that feces to build brick shithouses that they never intend to fall.

I think this should have been elaborated on more, personally. Catra is comically terrible with authority, and her plan, as stated later, is to wait it out until her and Adora are the ones calling the shots. But we don't really see what she thinks conquering even looks like, and it's not clear whether that's that she hasn't even imagined it and just likes evil words, or if she genuinely wants to rule with Adora as her Queen.

I gravitate towards the first, but that's partially because I wake up and post shit like "I want to destroy the world and rule its dust" and then forget I posted it when someone likes it 5 minutes later. If she do, in fact, as studies point toward, "be just like me fr," then I fully understand. If not, then I'd like to understand.

aw :(

Fuckin dweeb pulling the "my mom doesn't want me hanging out with you anymore" card

HA! Ah, what a bitch. Anyway, she's lashing out, but it's also quite tragic. A lot of people seem to think Adora IS, in some way, a people pleaser, but in reality she just has such an ingrained and violent sense of justice that she wants to right every wrong she has ever and will ever come across. She believes her validity is tied to what she can provide to the world, and she's got a natural sense of charisma, so it's natural for someone who refuses to blend in and naturally tends to put people off like Catra to have this view of her.

In reality, Adora is just-- a good person. And people LIKE good people. She's not a good person with an asterisk-- a good person with terms and conditions-- someone who falls into the definition of a good person while feeling and being treated like something else. Catra is the "a tomato is a fruit" of good people. Adora is just, like, a 1 dollar costco hotdog of a woman. An inarguable good treading water on this earth, no matter how hard it tries to pull her under.

Imagine falling for a brat with mad hops, like a fucking 50 foot vertical, you say you're too tired to play their favourite board game and they go hang out on your neighbour's roof, couldn't be me. Get fucked I guess

Yeah this is sad. Empathy is very much a learned skill, and people who don't learn empathy don't GET happy FOR people. Catra's not a complete person yet. She's not ready to be. That doesn't happen for a really long time, during an exceptionally long manic spiral. We'll get there, calm down, don't think about how far away that is and how much I've already yammered on.

Anyway, if you find yourself getting jealous or annoyed instead of getting happy for people, consider empathy isn't what you thought it was, and that you might still need to work on yourself.

fucking porno framing. Immensely sexual image, really. These bitches violently gay I suppose, I think I'm picking up on that during this sixth re-watch.

Buddy you got no idea how many problems those two already have you literally lose your little tiara at some point I think it ends up in the middle of a tree in space or something it's kinda unclear

Adora elbows her square in the nose during this so to everyone accusing Catra of physical abuse I just want it to be clear that Adora started it :/

Actually I'd like to retract that joke immediately because I know how people get about these two

My feelings are that they are literally child soldiers who were likely raised sparring each-other.

I was raised sparring other children and I ended up fine! Not for war, for Karate. And I didn't end up fine. And neither did they. Anyway, my point isn't even specifically that because this is sci-fi fantasy it's ridiculous to hold real life standards to it, it's more-so that because it's sci-fi fantasy there's extenuating circumstances that are going to affect how these two characters treat each-other. I'll go into hotter takes later, I'm sure, and get people to send me plenty of death-threats, but I'm gonna go into the nuances of exactly what forms Catra's abuse takes, and how it differs given by the separate circumstances we're shown the two in throughout the show.

my girl when I'm tryna live my best life playing as blue toad in mario 3d world

also holy shit we're only like halfway through this I am an AGONIZING yapper jesus fuck

Okay, what to say about lighthope-- well, their first words are "balance must be restored," far before they say Adora's name, so it somewhat lays out their secret priorities for us there. Besides that, I dunno, they got circuits on them? I don't have particularly strong feelings about lighthope, nor their introduction. I think they serve the setting and are written well, I just subjectively am not a sucker for the way they be. Their friendship with Mara is cute tho

I was gonna point out this is cute and how often I do this exact brat tactic but instead we data moshin, nothin wrong with a little data moshin, I'm down

This is the only reason she even wears a ponytail I'd stake my fuckin life on it

Once she leaves the fright zone that thing's fucking vestigial like a tailbone or having "any pronouns" in your bio when it's pretty clear you're very much a "she/they" type of bitch by now

glimmer why don't your windows have glass

or alternatively

how the fuck do you open and close that window

you can absolutely fucking hear her from this distance what on earth are you trying to pull

you a pillow princess tho how many of those arrows are just hitatchi magic wands attatched to a stick with duct-tape after the series ends do you think

The fuck you mean BOTTOM drawer we lookin at left and right here

or is this similar to my pillow princess comment and she's just addressing him and giving him an order

"Bottom; drawer."

It's established later on that he's a tech wiz but at this point in time they don't really give us much to lead us to the fact that he made that fucking thing

she's a freak

yes it's very sweet that she sleeps this way but I don't think it's some bdsm powerplay thing or anything like that, which would honestly be more tolerable, I think she's just like that

like how the way I'd sit in high school was to get two chairs and face them toward each-other then sit cross-legged across both

even if there weren't enough chairs to go around

people would sit on the FLOOR because I wanted to sit criss-cross-applesauce across two chairs, they wouldn't even ask for one of my chairs

also since I was sitting, again, cross-legged, it would have made more sense for ME to sit on the floor

I mean I think I got asked ONCE for one of the chairs and I just said "fine" but besides that people just let me sit on my fuckin throne

She really is kinda dumb, though. Like I ain't complaining, it's a character trait, but like obviously even if just you get in trouble Catra's gonna get blamed, you've seen it like at least once a month for your whole entire life

Mind you, can't really have Catra for the next part, because Catra's reaction to Bow and Glimmer wouldn't be "just let me have the sword" it'd be murder

oh wow we hit the image limit looks like we're doing TWO SEPARATE POSTS FOR THE VERY FIRST EPISODE YEE-HAW!!!!! THIS IS GOING TO TAKE ME FUCKING FOREVER

[nebulations]

Fish, 7 (For your prompts! ❤️)

Hi, anon!! Thank you for the prompt, you were the very first one to send one in! 7 was, again, the wildcard, so I randomly generated a different number to land on Yue Qingyuan (from Scum Villain)! I have no choice but to dedicate this to @bytedykes, because I told her about this prompt and she said “yqy pet fish mental health speedrun” and we went, uh, a little insane about it. Enjoy some yuefang, folks!!!!

“Mu-xiong,” Yue Qingyuan says. “I’m sorry to bother you. Are you available?”

“Yue-xiong is never a bother,” Mu Qingfang says warmly. “And I am, actually, yes. Is everything okay, Yue-xiong?”

“I think I need help.” A bit dramatic, perhaps, and Yue Qingyuan hates to trouble Mu Qingfang on a rare day off, but Yue Qingyuan and impulse have never been the best combination, and he would appreciate a second opinion.

Mu Qingfang’s voice turns hard. “Where are you? I'll come right away.”

“What—?” Yue Qingyuan stares at his phone like the blank call screen will tell him why Mu Qingfang suddenly sounds so serious. “I'm at home, but—”

“I'll be right there,” Mu Qingfang says, and hangs up.

Yue Qingyuan stares at his phone for another second, then lifts his gaze to his sparkling new aquarium. His new betta, white and black and resplendent of fin, stares back. Was his crisis of faith about his viability as a fish owner really so deserving of such urgency…?

—

“So,” Mu Qingfang says. “This was your emergency?” He looks about as unimpressed by the betta as it does by the two of them.

Yue Qingyuan feels obscurely like he’s being scolded. Mu Qingfang is one of the nicest men he knows, but that just means that his censure takes the form of a blunt instrument of mass disappointment.

“In my defense,” he points out meekly, “I didn’t say there was an emergency. Mu-xiong just assumed.”

“That’ll teach me,” Mu Qingfang huffs, but at least he looks amused. “Yue-xiong should get used to asking for help more so this gege doesn’t have to panic every time he does ask.”

Yue Qingyuan’s mouth almost drops open. He can only hope his cheeks aren’t as red as they feel. “Er—well, I asked this time, didn’t I?”

“You did,” Mu Qingfang allows, looking something horribly close to fond. Yue Qingyuan swallows and tries to hurry on.

“So—not an emergency, but I do want your opinion,” he coughs out. “I’m having… doubts. About the fish.” Mu Qingfang’s eyebrows contract. Yue Qingyuan rushes it out. “Do you think I should keep it?”

“Yue-xiong…” Mu Qingfang looks politely incredulous. “Why does my opinion matter? The fish is already yours, isn’t it? If you don’t think maintaining its upkeep will be feasible, that’s one thing, but… Surely Yue-xiong did the research before getting it?”

He doesn’t sound judgemental, but Yue Qingyuan feels his cheeks warm. “I did, but I wasn’t planning on getting a fish; I was only admiring the tanks. There was a salesperson who was… very insistent.”

Mu Qingfang regards him doubtfully, which is fair. Yue Qingyuan towers over most people he meets, and his bulk only further adds to the impression of immovability. It’s only when he opens his mouth that it becomes clear how spineless he actually is.

Yue Qingyuan falters. “I had thought… I thought it might be nice.” The bettas had seemed so majestic in their tanks, iridescent monarchs of false grass and plastic coves, and Yue Qingyuan had thought, wildly, that one might be rewarding to keep, might breathe a touch of life into his immaculately sleek living room. The whole affair hadn’t even been expensive by his shiny new standards, forget difficult to physically arrange. It was only when installation and set-up for his new aquarium had finished and he was left to watch that jewel-bright being swim disaffectedly through its new home that doubt had seized him, all-consuming and black. He had, admittedly, panicked a little after that.

(Yue Qingyuan’s apartment is very large, and very clean, and very empty. It holds the barest amount of decoration and muss to qualify as lived-in rather than a snapshot from a magazine ad. The fish may, in fact, be the only thing in the entire place which really qualifies as his. No wonder Yue Qingyuan wanted to jettison it from his life as soon as he got it.)

Mu Qingfang’s expression hovers between concern and simple confusion. “I’m sure Yue-xiong will be a more than adequate caretaker,” he says, more gently than Yue Qingyuan and all his neuroses probably deserve. “What’s this really about, Yue-xiong?”

Ah. There it is. Being the mildest person of Yue Qingyuan’s admittedly sharp-tongued social circle doesn’t preclude Mu Qingfang’s wit from being as keen as the scalpels he works with.

“I don’t…” Yue Qingyuan falters. How to express to Mu Qingfang how manifestly unfit Yue Qingyuan is to care for any living creature at all? He changes tack. “I think he hates me,” he admits dolefully.

Mu Qingfang stares at him for a long time, long enough to imply that he’s reevaluating certain opinions about Yue Qingyuan’s intelligence. “Yue-xiong, with all due respect to your new pet—it’s a fish.”

“Fish have emotions!” Yue Qingyuan argues. He flushes at the volume at which it comes out, and at the way Mu Qingfang’s eyes go wide-eyed in startlement. But the salesperson had been very insistent about that, as well. “Bettas are intelligent animals. They dislike certain colors, apparently, and they’re very sensitive—ah, to environmental disruptions, that is. And—”

Mu Qingfang’s eyebrows are still high, but his face has relaxed into a smile. “It sounds to me like you like it quite a bit already. Isn’t that reason enough to keep it?” His tone curls with sudden mischief. “Have heart, Yue-xiong—you’ve hardly known each other for a day! Give it time to adjust to you, and I’m sure you’ll win it over as surely as you do everyone else.” And he grins, sure and easy in his trust that Yue Qingyuan won’t fumble and shatter something so small and monumental as a life that he could cup in his palms.

While Yue Qingyuan is still dazed by that, Mu Qingfang’s eyes alight with interest. “Ah, Yue-xiong—what have you named it?”

“...”

Mu Qingfang’s face falls as devastatingly as it had lit up. “Yue-xiong…”

“Mu-xiong is aware that I was unsure of whether or not I’d keep him!” Yue Qingyuan is terribly aware that his ears are now heating up to match his cheeks. Mu Qingfang’s ensuing laughter does not help with that matter.

Yue Qingyuan is not very good at holding onto things. More often than not, he makes a mess of whatever he’s set his clumsy hands to, lets it fall right through his scarred fingers. But Mu Qingfang’s words ring through his head: Isn’t that reason enough to keep it? And, well, isn’t it? Surely Yue Qingyuan is adult enough to follow through on this. Maybe happiness can be look like his new betta swimming up to the tank to observe the new colorful form moving in front of it, can come as easy as Mu Qingfang quipping that his knowledge about fish is clearly lacking and vowing casually to read up on bettas to be a better fish uncle.

Yue Qingyuan buries a smile and walks over to let Mu Qingfang know that bettas can be trained to follow fingers around. The betta’s clear preference for Mu Qingfang over Yue Qingyuan is as good a marker of intelligence as any fun fact the pet shop worker could have given him. Yes, Yue Qingyuan thinks with a smile—he thinks he’ll be keeping this after all.

[taintedcigs]

so i decided to log in after not being on here for some time... and the first thing i see is someone replying to my fics and complaining about my writing lmao yuck... if you don't like my writing pls do not read! there is a difference bw helpful advice/criticism and just straight up being mean </3

[musical-chick-13]

*grabbing my reflection by the shoulders and digging my nails in* Listen. LISTEN. You can have a few clunky phrases in this chapter. No one will kill you or kick you out of society if you write two really long sentences in a row. You can use an idiom in this person's internal monologue without explaining why they would use it. THIS IS FOR FUN, PLEASE CALM DOWN.

[thecutestmonkeygirl]

She hated to see the disappointment in his eyes and she hated herself for causing it. "I'm really sorry I didn't live up to your expectations, Raphael. I can't really put inta words how to explain it and I know that probably makes things worse." she admitted slowly. As she talked, she could see some of his happiness returning and she tried to relax once again. "You can. You can stay with me the entire time you are here if you want. I would really like that." Sasuga blushed a bit as he talked about them in bed. "It is a bit...weird, I guess. I never really thoughted I'd have a lover and especially not one here. Then after Coyote came into my life I just figured he'd be the first one I was with here and we'd go to the mating grounds..." she hummed softly. "If he hadn't sent you and the letter saying it was okay. That we could do whatever we felt was right and he was okay with it, then I wouldn't even consider it... but he did so...I-I am sure w-we will get inta ...things.." she chuckled.

She watched him change and shook her head at his shirt though she also was rolling her eyes at his antics. "Oh I don't think you'll be like that, but most of the males here are topless. It's hot and we all have jobs to tend to. The females can go topless too... just most don't." she shrugged. "Not unless they have a baby on them."

Alpha's Temptation

It had been just over a month since Sasuga had to tell her mate goodbye. She had arrived at the village of Kou just as Mulo was throwing a fit as if she was somehow weeks late. She didn't say a word to him as the beast of a demon howled and hooted in anger at her. Instead, she had gone right to the Elders to let them know she was there and would start her first patrol to get the layout of any changes that had been made while she was away. Changes had indeed occurred in her absence. There were other demons here. Demons that were not monkeys and that was a first for her. There was even a lion roaming about, which at first set her on alarm until she saw her longtime friend holding a baby that looked more like father than mother. She said nothing to the pair that first day, simply taking in the hope now that the Elders would allow her own mate access to the village. Time crept in that first month. The days were bad enough, but nights felt empty and her tiny bed in a hollowed-out trunk just felt wrong. She argued with herself about being too spoiled for it anymore and that she should be mad at herself over it but really a bigger, more grand bed would have been far worse if empty. The fact of the matter was that this wasn't home and hadn't been for a while now.

Friends or people just wanting to know about the world outside would make small talk with her, but everyone could tell she wasn't the same demon that had left here. Many asked about the ring on her finger and eventually she had taken it off and carefully packed it away just because she couldn't continue telling lies when nobody even believed them. She held new babies and dreamed of her own, before making excuse to go on patrol so she could sob without anyone knowing. She shared tales of the human world but always kept it less than personal so nobody would know about Coyote and her family there till she was ready.

One such day, just after a night of heavy rain, Sasuga was on patrol. She was making her second and usually unnecessary round when she heard the distinct sounds of branches being pushed aside. In an instant she jumped down from the wall of trees which kept the village safe from sight and gave out a loud warning shriek. This was to warn those she protected as well as to maybe scare off the ones headed her way. She stalked forward, before leaping easily up into the trees, moving from one to the other in small silent motions till she was close to what was clearly a group of people heading toward the village. Just as they were breaking through the thick foliage she jumped down in their path. "You need to turn around and find another way to wherever the fuck you are going." she huffed loudly before she even fully understood who she was talking to.

@banditcoyote