#got inspired by one of my moots to work on him again and I also got inspired by the securiton's shoulder pads hehe

[eggsrblue]

My two possible designs for my robot sona :P

Left one is old one...

[coralinnii]

❋ You said what now? ❋

↳ He accidentally found out your feelings

feat: Ruggie ⭑ Chenya ⭑ Lilia ⭑ Epel

genre: fluff (uhh for the most part), humour,

note: no pronouns used with the reader, no explicit spoilers for book 7 in Lilia’s section, reader is referred as human in Lilia’s section, reader is implied to be a first year in Epel’s section, bad cat-related wording in Chenya’s section

Fun fact: while not obvious in the English translation, if you listen to Chenya’s Japanese voice lines, he likes to say “nya” at the end of his sentences.

Will I keep that fact in mind anytime Chenya pops up? Absolutely.

Also, I just started my college classes again last week (which is why I didn’t post last week). All of my classes are dense with text and quizzes so…I need to study real hard which will most likely eat up my time for writing. Good ol’ inconsistent me~

Although, I’m taking History and we focus a bit on the age of nobility and old kingdoms…so maybe some inspiration for my villain/ess!au series (or maybe not cuz history is weirder than one thinks…)

How it happened

Perhaps a little sneaky, Ruggie is someone reliable, resourceful, and fun to be around. You started to fall for him and even that sneaky side of his became endearing to you.

But bigger, financial priorities occupy the hyena beastman’s mind more than anything else. Unless he can make a madol from it or get a freebie, his interest in anything else is seemingly non-existent. It was rather easy to keep your feelings to yourself when the topic of love rarely, if ever, comes up.

So it came to a surprise to you when the shaggy-haired sophomore mentioned his coworkers at a part-time job he picked up in town.

He started ranting about how a duo at his workplace started an unlikely relationship a few days ago. According to him, the two were from two different worlds and didn’t appear to be either of their types.

“Doesn’t make any sense if you ask me” he mumbled, scratching his fluffy head by the sudden revelation at his job.

You nodded and hummed as he recounted his workday with you, but in all honesty, you didn’t share his confusion over the so-called sudden pairing. By the way Ruggie described the couple, it does sound like their personalities wouldn’t mesh well and would theoretically clash too much for anything to bloom between them.

But attraction follows no simple formula. No one can stop themselves from falling for someone. You yourself were an example.

“Love is never predictable, Ruggie.” you commented without thinking, perhaps too distracted by the cute love story of Ruggie’s coworkers or it could be that you’re drowning in the warm feelings from being so close to your crush that your mouth is running too comfortably on its own. “I mean, I never thought you were my type but I still ended up-“

You shut your mouth before you could finish but looking at the wide-eyed expression on Ruggie’s face, the effort was moot.

“You still ended up?”

…Shoot.

What happens now?

Colour him shocked. Ruggie never entertained the idea that you would like him, out of all people.

He could’ve pretended not to figure it out, or convince himself that it was a misunderstanding. But he knew when he saw your flustered embarrassment and your cute stuttering trying to come up with an excuse, there was no misunderstanding. You like him.

Ruggie has a good amount of ego and he wouldn’t downplay his boyish good looks (odds are it got him out of a few close calls), but in a school of celebrities, royalty, and guys with money coming out the wazoo? He knows when he’s outmatched.

To be honest, his brain froze for a moment at your slip up. He clutched his heart which stuttered out of beat, his ears and tail stood in attention like a meerkat. Jack was worried watching his upperclassman in such a daze while folding laundry, heck it even got Leona raising a brow over the uncharacteristic clocked out look on his shorter dormmate.

But, Ruggie is a workaholic hyena. Always planning his way to work up the ladder to earn some good madol. Even if he likes the idea of making a family of his own, romance wasn’t in his peripheral vision at the moment. Not while he’s working multiple jobs at once. He would honestly feel a little bad because he knows he’ll end up ignoring any poor soul stuck with him.

As bad as it is, he might at first think to pretend he heard nothing about your feelings. He couldn’t bring himself to make you go through that, to be in a relationship where work takes precedence over you.

But then he thought it wouldn’t be so bad…snuggling up to you during one of his rare free time. Maybe you’re the type to surprise him with lunch and he could rest on your lap while you brush his hair. Would you maybe rub his sore muscles after an arduous club training session? Having boyfriend privileges means no one can complain when he slides up to your side, keeping your attention to himself without having to share…

Screw it, he’ll figure something out. He’s a greedy hyena through and through

Shyeheehee! Better be ready for what you’re asking for. Once I’ve set my eyes on something, I’m not lettin’ it get away!

How it happened

This man is a literal magic trick, appearing and disappearing to revel in the shock of his unsuspecting audience. As elusive as he is, the times he does show up brings a shock of joy and excitement to you.

It seems that the purple-haired student has made it a habit to join the Heartslabyul’s unbirthday parties from time to time, enjoying the occasional chaos and keeping you company to your conflicted delight.

You didn’t know why but Chenya made it his mission to fluster you every chance he gets, with cheeky comments and sly touches as he leads you away from incoming mishaps such as a stray splash of paint or a flying slice of cake. You don’t know why but the cat-like menace has taken a shine to teasing you out of the blue. Sometimes he would suddenly whisper nonsensical riddles into your ear, or tap your shoulder to then poke your cheek as you turn. Small silly pranks that should annoy you but your body becomes filled with butterflies when he smiles that charming grin at you.

How maddening, you thought as you fell for another sneaky surprise from the impish beastman. Once again, Chenya appeared right behind you, smiling just over your shoulder which gave you and your friends a fright (for different reasons) to which he took pleasure in, judging from the mischievous grin on his lips.

Your shouting caught the attention of the other Heartslabyul students and recognizing the white jacket and castle emblem, their eyes boiled with competitive rage. An RSA student? On Night Raven territory?!

“Ah, looks like fun time is over. I’ll just show meowself out~” and like a mirage, Chenya’s figure disappeared as the NRC students failed to catch even a strand of his fur. Not even when he took a second longer to fade out just so he could teasingly tickle the tip of your nose with his fluffy striped tail.

The students kept on making a fuss, eager to teach the mischief maker a lesson for trespassing on rival territory. You sighed at the wasteful effort, assuming that Chenya would be smart enough to have left long ago.

“Why must my crush be such a frustrating person?” Angry hollers and Riddle’s commanding cease-and-desist orders overwhelmed your tired voice, and your soft words ended up softly carried off into the wind.

But your words caught the interest of a curious ear before it disappeared.

What happens now?

Curiouser and curiouser. He was not expecting such a confession. Though to be fair, he supposed you didn’t mean for anyone to hear it.

Chenya found joy being in your company. The shock in your bright eyes followed by your cute laugh sends a warm, giddy feeling in his heart that he just could not stop. He had a feeling he knew what these feelings could be but he was content with what he could get in the rare moments he can see you.

But now, when he realized what your cute reactions meant? That sends whole new exciting feelings within him. It’s fuzzy and warm as usual, but now also shocking and thrilling. The sneaky beastman is grinning for more than one reason now.

He won’t immediately confess back. Considering this wonderful predicament where you don’t know he knows of your affections, his playful nature compels him to milk the fun of this situation for all its worth.

If you thought his cheeky antics were bad enough, you haven’t seen his flirty side till now. Playful taps on the shoulders become sneaky grabs by the waist, and just when you think he’s gone, his signature grin would grace your vision as he fades into view, a little too close to your own face. Sometimes when he feels emboldened, Chenya would sweep you off your feet for a spontaneous walk along the sweet breeze.

When you’re finally at your wit’s end, when all his teasing and heart-fluttering gestures fills you to the point of combusting in flustered frustration, that’s when he’ll finally tell you his reciprocated feelings, perhaps while stealing a quick kiss when you least suspect it. All to see that terribly adorable look on your pretty face.

Every adventure requires a first step. I’m excited to see where we’ll go together from meow on~

How it happened

See, you thought he already knew. You swore he did. Why else would he tease you so much with his sweet compliments and flirty jokes? The mysterious senior spoke to you as though you were a naive child crushing on their older peer, which you supposed wasn’t entirely wrong.

The way he treated you with so much care and love that you wondered if he already suspected of your feelings and was being considerate to you. He listens to your rambles as though he has all the time in the world for you, compliments you on your achievements as though he’s genuinely proud of your hard work, and he jokes with you with that boyish charm of his. But the scarlet-eyed fae never pursued further with advances with you, which made you think that perhaps this was just who Lilia was, a strange but friendly man, unwilling to hurt your feelings. Were you grasping at straws and misconstruing his intentions?

With a heavy heart, you tried your best to give up your hopes but maintained a cordial bond with Lilia, not wanting to avoid the jovial fae so suddenly (well, without having to explain why anyways)

But one day, when you were walking with the smiling senior, he started talking about a souvenir shirt that Kalim had given him during their club meeting. It was a shirt patterned erratically with various colours and pictures of tiny bats littered about. It was an eccentric visual of fabric but it strangely fits the equally eccentric man.

“What are your thoughts? Would I not look absolutely adorable in this?” Lilia asked, holding the shirt in front in his uniform with a boyish smile, his fangs peeking out slightly. But you rolled your eyes as you sighed exasperated by this man’s antics.

“Don’t you think that’s unfair for you to ask me?” You looked at him with a pout, somewhat irritated at the mature fae you’re trying to get over. “Of course I’d said you would, considering how much I like you”

For a rare moment, Lilia turned wide-eyed at your words. “Pardon? Do you by chance… harbour feelings for me?”

Turns out, he didn’t know at all

What happens now?

Guess you can still surprise this old man. He had his suspicions but for all he knew that was how the youth were these days. He was fond of your shy expressions whenever he was around and he could hear the quickening of your heartbeat, but he didn’t want to assume. Perhaps you were just more on the skittish side.

In the centuries he lived, he saw love in many forms. In the recent centuries he lived, he got to experience some of those forms of love he’s seen, with the pain and joy that comes with it. To him, it couldn’t ask for more as he lives out the last few centuries he has left.

You however, were still vibrant like a freshly bloomed flower in its prime. Was that why he just couldn’t take his eyes off you? He couldn’t help but watch in admiration as you lived with almost enviable vigour. He felt pulled, entranced to be by your side for even just a moment, just to see that beautiful gleam of life (and love, he realized) in your eyes.

But Lilia felt a beat of guilt in his heart. Your life is so short in comparison to his own. You should be sharing your youth with someone as brilliant as yourself, not pining over an old soul like himself. Humans are fickle creatures but he supposed with such short lives, it’s best to be curious and experience all one can without regrets.

He would be honest with you, sharing his thoughts with you as though warning that your affections were better spent with someone that suited you better. It would be up to you to convince the stubborn fae that he was your choice, that you already decided he suited you just fine. All you’re asking from him is if he shared the same feelings as you did.

“I may have tried to get rid of my feelings before, but I’m choosing not to run away this time,” in your eyes, Lilia sees that same vibrant gleam that mesmerized him, almost breathing a new sense of life into him. “All I ask is if you feel the same way”

And he does. He’s lying to himself if he hasn't thought of a life with you where he could steal surprise kisses throughout the day, where he could bring you to soar through the night skies as he takes you to explore the world with him. He imagines a life of silliness but also a life of blissful content as he gazes at you like a beacon of light in his life, a new reason to live a bit longer.

Lilia feels ensnared by love once more, but the burning warmth in his soul is just too invigorating. He’s looking forward to this new chapter in his life, with you.

I do hope you’ve prepared yourself, my dear. Eternal love with a fae should not be taken lightly. But rest assured, I look forward to our new adventure

How it happened

You were Epel’s close friend and confidant, someone who he can share his achievements and woes with. Being so new to the college, the two of you depend on each other through thick or thin and along the way, you grew to see the lavender-haired freshman as more than just a companion.

He has a bit of a temper and is quick to the jump at times, but he was always there for you and even though he doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with them at times, he respects his seniors and takes their lessons to heart.

When he talks about how much he dislikes his height or his feminine features, you nodded along for his sake but you couldn’t tell him that you were actually in disagreement. You adore his fluffy locks that you occasionally got to touch with his permission and his light blue eyes felt like calming waves of the purest lake. Epel constantly swore to you that he’ll have his growth spurt and will even tower Leona in height, but you like how you could hold him close to you without issue.

You love all that he is, even if he’s not too keen on some parts himself

But you kept this all to yourself. You thought Epel had other priorities on his mind and you were scared that confessing would ruin the friendship you’d built with him. For now, you were content to be by his side for however long you can.

You were dead tired during a particularly harsh Flying class with Coach Vargas and you were barely conscious enough to keep your eyes open. It took everything you had to just nod along to whatever Epel was saying, something about some Savanaclaw students?

“Who they think they are, callin’ me cute like that? I outta rip off their yapper for underestimatin’ me.” You weren’t helping his point when you thought how cute his accent was as he grumbled about his day. You were falling in and out of consciousness but thought you should at least reply back to your friend…anything at all…

“I’m sorry…that happened…even though…I think…you’re really cute…”

You were already out cold to notice your friend frozen in place as you finished your drowsy comment, your head landing on his stiff shoulders.

What happens now?

ALDFIUAHLBWAIGLH

Congratulations, you broke your friend and you don’t even remember it. When you woke up, you couldn’t figure out why Epel was as bright red as his hometown’s apples. Epel couldn’t even bring it up without getting too tongue-tied, his accent sputtering out incomprehensible words.

The blue-eyed freshman was raking his brain for an explanation. You thought he was cute…really cute to be precise, but what does that mean? Did you like him? As in like-like him? Is it normal for non-countryside folk to just say something like that? But most students around here tend to mean it like an insult but you weren’t like them, you would never do that to him. So what did you mean by it??

Left without a choice, Epel thought about who he could ask about this, maybe one of his seniors. But he immediately reconsidered when he realized who his seniors were (Vil and Rook will never let this go and there’s no way Leona would entertain this conversation) and turned to the only adult he can trust, his meemaw.

In his letter, he asked his grandma what it means when someone you cherish calls you cute (not mentioning who) and after a few days of fidgeting and awkward encounters with very confused you, he finally got an answer from her.

“STOP SITTIN’ ON YOUR KEISTER TWIDDLIN’ ‘ER THUMBS! GO AND ASK, DAGNABBIT!”

And that’s how you were confronted by a flustered Epel about your cute comment one random school day. To be fair, you probably didn’t fare any better when you realized you let your thoughts slip out.

You may have confessed your attraction to him but Epel can still be the first to make the first move. Relationships and dating are all new to the petite freshman and honestly he felt a little weak in the knees, all the nerves wracking his body like his first broom ride. But the past few days, he couldn’t stop thinking about being with you, sweeping you off your feet, impressing you the only way he can, to have your eyes solely on him like he does when you’re around. Heck, he thought what it’d be like to grow old with you, holding you like no one else can as you spend day and night by each other’s side. All these thoughts and more is what spur him to take the next step.

I ain’t too great on love and romance, but I’ll work hard to show ya how much ya mean to me. I promise that!

[multifandomslxt]

NCT 127 AND PLACES THEY WOULD FUCK YOU

(just so yk this is dirty asf and inspired by my moot @neoculturecollectives)

Taeyong

On a High rise balcony

I said what I said

He likes to show off his pretty things

and that is exactly what you are

OMGGGGGG

If someone happened to see you both...

"Be a good girl and show them just how much you love my cock"

HE WOULD WANT YOU TO BE LOUD

And the toys he would use???

pleaseeeeeeeeee

the vibrator that he's been fucking into you for the past 3 minutes???

and you better not cum bitch

NOT WITHOUT HIS MF PERMISSION

Makes you spread your legs wide so

"Everyone can look but they will never be able to touch"

MAKES YOU SQUIRT OVER THE RAILING!!!

a stranger probably thought it was raining or something

Johnny

The dark VIP section of a very much alive nightclub.

Let's get one thing straight

YOU WILL BE ON HIS LAP!

He wouldn't try to be discreet

If you're gonna ride him

Ride him properly babe

or else he’ll take matters into his own hands

and bend you over the table and fuck you

And yk we've discussed this

He's 100% fucking a baby into you

When he cums

he's cumming hard

so hard that it actually starts to run out of you

uses his tip to push it back into you

then slaps his tip on your clit and laughs as you tremble

ALSO

YOU WILL BE GIVING HIM A BLOWJOB!!!!

as I said earlier

he will not be discreet

"The men over there a touching themselves so go ahead and give them a show sugar plum"

Yuta

In the dressing room at one of his concerts specifically 5 minutes before he has to go on

It may seem like a short time

because it is

but It's Yuta Nakamoto we're talking about

He's making it work

Fuck a condom (Ya'll better wear protection and don't play with me)

He's going in rawwwwww

I'm sorry but

no foreplay

he ain't got the time for that

the most you'll get is a slap on both your tits

and him roughly palming you

then he forces himself inside of you

one word

BEAST

THIS AIN'T ABOUT YOU!

understand that this is one of the rare times

where he doesn't care if you cum or not

once he's done

HE'S DONE!

"This pussy is mine so I'll use it how I please."

Doyoung

IN A CHURCH!!!!!!

Everyone say thank you ANDYYYY

@neoculturecollectives this is because of you (yall go look at her blog rn and you'll see what I'm talking about)

IM SO SORRY BUT...

Doyoung would fuck you in the bathroom while the sermon is going on 😭😭

He would also fuck you at the back of the bus on the way to the annual church picnic

DARE I SAYYYY

RIigth after bible study toooo

And this ain't no regular fuck

THIS IS THE P0RNST4R TYPE OF FUCKINGGGG

spit would be everywhereeee

leaving the bathroom with a white stain on your brand-new church dress...girrrlllllll

The smirk he would give you knowing he did that

and he'll do it again

The same fingers he uses to skip the pages of the Bible

are the same fingers that were inside of you a couple of minutes ago

Made you squirt all over the bathroom mirror

"We'll ask for forgiveness after but right now, this will be our dirty little secret okay?"

Jaehyun

In a crowded elevator

Jaehyun has class and etiquette I swear.

But when your ass is rubbing against his cock in a crowded elevator

He's...tempted

doesn't matter what type of bottoms you're wearing

he's finding a way to fuck you lmaooo

slow and steady because unlike Johnny

he'd try to be discreet

pretends to adjust himself but in reality

he's just trying to thrust a bit deeper without making it obvious

he cums messily babessss

his hips would start to buck

beads of sweat would be all over his forehead

would let out a low groan.

even when you get to your floor he's staying on until everybody leaves

fucks you while looking into the elevator camera

I SAID WHAT I SAID.

"Such a dirty and classless slut you are"

Jungwoo

On a hiking trail when it's most active

like animals

yall are fucking in the nearby bushes

He uses a condom

he's a good boy

but he's also fucking you on the bark of a tree

so...

don't worry though

I promise he makes it worthwhile

Loves to use his fingers

when he sees someone coming

he'll use one hand to cover your mouth

and the other to finger the daylights outta you babeeeeee

USES HIS LEG TO MAKE SURE BOTH OF YOURS STAY OPEN

note: he doesn't care if you came 100 times

you are doing that shit again

also

DOGGY STYLE!!!!

like actual animals

"Just one more time. Come on baby show me how far you can go."

Mark

In the practice room while he's on a 10-minute break

First of all

Baby is frustrated as hell

and also in a rush

Trust me when I say

HE'S PUTTING THOSE BIG ASS MIRRORS TO USE!!

oh hell yessssssss

yall got ten minutes

and he turns you into a damn gymnast

There is a s3x position called

"Seashell"

OH YESSSS

and you better look in that damn mirror

omgggg

makes you watch through the mirror

as his cock slowly sinks into you

in reverse cowgirl position

in less than ten minutes

he makes you squirt all over the mirror

and cums in your panties and tells you to put them back on.

"Don't you fucking dare take your eyes off that mirror"

"Even if my cum is dripping down your legs don't take those panties off "

Haechan

In a supply closet LITERALLY ANYWHERE

A classic hookup place

but when I say ANYWHERE

I mean it could be a Walmart, a school

a church

An office

bitch it doesn't matter

as long as a supply closet is there

he's ready

ALWAYS does it raw (Again, please be smart yall use protection)

Even when he's not in a rush

he fucks like he is

rough

and extremely harsh with his words😭😭

Gets carried away sometimes

and overstimulates you

yall started out standing

but he will fuck you to YOUR KNEES!

don't play with him

Makes sure you're okay when he's finished

and he's ALWAYS the first to walk out of that closet

with a smirk on his face and your panties hanging out of his picket

No, he wouldn't try to be discreet.

"Such a need whore. Practically begging for my cock"

"Aw, are you crying because it's too much? Stupid Slut"

[i-literally-cant-with-this]

ALSO ::: @blkkizzat got me all inspired and shit with her cute little mdni banners. So this one kind of models Kali's? Even though they really don't look that similar. I still wanted to give her credit for the inspo! I love inadvertent inspo the mostest. Thanks, Kali!

A/N ::: This came to me way too long ago in my Ask box. And Istg, I can't remember the last time I couldn't dislodge my head from my ass to write something. It's not that I don't want to write it, because I love the idea and very much wanted to write this for one of my moots. So here I am, throwing caution to the wind, spitting into the breeze, pissing at the hurricane and hoping for the best. I'm down on my knees, praying that I can finally belt this out. Just kidding. I'm on my knees suckin' Draken's huge cock. Duh.

C/W ::: Adult Draken x F.reader, "sexercise", sex as a form of exercise. You know when you wake up the next morning and you're sore from the amazing sex you had the night before? THAT is working toward THIS.

WC ::: 1,954

Here you go mack

MNDI under the cut

"What the hell are you laughing at." Draken stared you down with his dark eyes, waiting for you to say one more stupid thing about this new thing he's implemented into his workout routine.

"I- aheh - I'm laughing ... because it's fucking ridiculous, Ken. Like, I respect you for being so dedicated to working out and stuff. But sexercise? You can't believe that'll be a thing." You walked over to him and ran your hands up the front of his shirt, stopping to admire the firmness that pushed back against your palms.

You cocked your eyebrow and rubbed his pecs, "Have you - have you always been this ... hard?"

He bent down and whispered into your ear, "Why don't you let me show you a few different exercises, princess? If all else fails, at least you'll have a good time." Draken kissed his way from your neck up to your lips. You felt his hand creep up your thigh, stopping just short of where you wanted to feel him the most.

You moaned softly into his mouth and tugged at his hair, "You're so fucking dirty, Ken. Ok, fine. You can show me a couple of these ... 'exercises'. But don't count on me doing anything more than bouncing on youahh!" He bent over and hooked your waist over his shoulder and carried you off to the bedroom. "You mean to tell me that there's no equipment that's needed for this shit?" You laughed, "I should've kept my sex-pectations low!" You laughed again, harder this time.

Draken's hand came down hard on your ass. "There's equipment alright. Heavy, hard, big equipment." After he smacked you, he squeezed the cheek he punished. It made your cunt clench in anticipation.

He dropped you onto the bed and immediately started pulling his shirt off, revealing his tattoos and toned muscles. He was so hot that it was almost unreal. You couldn't believe this was the man that wanted to show you some ... interesting new exercises. You started pulling off your own clothes, eager to have his skin pressed against yours.

He pushed you back onto the bed and crawled over you, his cock hard and pressing against your leg. You could feel the wetness pooling between your legs. You couldn't wait to see what he had in store for you.

"Now, you're gonna lay here and watch me do some pushups," he grinned at you, "Don't move a muscle." He pulled the bottle of lube out of the nightstand and situated himself at the end of the bed and started lowering himself to the floor, then back up. He wasn't even breathing irregularly. The bastard. You could see his muscles flexing as he lowered and lifted himself.

"Not moving is kinda my thing." You watched him do a few repetitions, admiring how hard his cock was when he did them. You couldn't help but rub your fingers over your clit, teasing yourself.

He jumped up and pushed your hand away, "I said ... no moving, princess. That means no touching, too. Ok, angel?" He grabbed your hips and pulled you down to the foot of the bed, so your feet were on the edge. "Ok, lift your hips up and hold them there." Draken helped guide you so you were alligned with his cock. "You ready? Tell me if you need to stop." He stroked himself a couple more times for good measure and got a decent coating of lube.

You scoffed. "Hhh, yeah, okay. I'll be sure to let you know when I'm tired of you fucking me. Also, what the hell happened to foreplay?" And then, almost as if it was completely out of your control, your eyes rolled.

"You happened, brat. I'm - I'm serious. I am just now getting to a point where I'm not really sore the next day, an' I've been doin' this for about a month."

You sat up immediately, your feet hit the floor with a loud thump. "Who the fuck you been doing this with!?" He dodged the swipe of your hand at his stomach.

"You, brat. Only you. You haven't noticed the weird positions lately?" Draken bent over and kissed you. "If your pretty little head wasn't screwed on ... I don't know what would happen to you. Ok, you ready now?" He smiled at you and half of the tension in your body melted away from just one look from him. The effect he had on you was ridiulous.

He pushed into you slowly, letting you adjust to his size. He felt so good that it almost hurt. Your pussy clenched around him, making him groan. "Fuck, you're so tight, princess. Y-you gotta relax or I'm not gonna be able to - I'm not gonna be able to move, heh." He said, brushing his hair from his face.

You moaned softly as he bottomed out, stretching you so good that you weren't sure how you were ever able to fit him in before. "Fuck, Ken. You're so big." You felt your body relax around him as he started to thrust in and out of you, slowly at first, then picking up the pace. "So, what you're gonna need to do is sorta rest on your shoulders. And then ... you ... fuck ... me." His thumbs ran small circles over the plush of your thighs, some harder than others.

"Wow, this - I mean, I'm going to be toned in no time! Ok, so I just fuck you? Can do." You positioned yourself so you were resting on your shoulders and started to raise and lower your hips to do just what he said. It wasn't 20 seconds later that you were whining.

Not because it felt good, but because it was fucking hard to maintain this position. "I, ow! K-Ken help! My thighs are going to spontaneously combust! Get ... get out!" You started laughing hysterically. "JESUS!"

Draken pulled out, leaving you feeling empty. "What are you doing, you ... Oh my God, ha! Are you ok?" He joined you in laughing, but not nearly as hard as you were. Tears ran down your face.

You whined, trying to pull him back to you. "Ok, so, maybe it's not as easy as it looks. Show me something else! Something that doesn't require me being like ... like that."

Draken grinned and flipped you over, so you were on your hands and knees. He grabbed a pillow and put it under your hips to prop you up. "Ok, now you just ... lift your ass up and down. Like, it's kind of like a squat, but ... you know what? Just do whatever you want, you'll get it eventually. You're a smart girl."

You turned your head to look at him, "Aww, Ken. You really think so?"

He bent over and kissed your cheek, "Of course, baby. Now, let me give you a demonstration. And then you can join me. Deal?" He positioned himself behind you, his cock still glistening with your juices.

You rolled your eyes and chuckled, "Deal, but only because you're so fucking sexy, Ken. And I don't think I've ever been so wet in my life."

Draken took hold of your hips and pulled you back onto his cock. The sound of your ass slapping against his thighs made you moan. He started thrusting in and out of you, filling you up over and over again. He bent over and kissed your back, leaving a trail of small love bites up your spine, leading up to your shoulder blades. He kissed your ear and growled through his teeth, "Yeah? Does my princess like this? You like how I fuck you?"

"Yes! Yes, Ken! Fuck, don't stop! I'm gonna cum!" Your thighs clenched as you came around him, your body shaking from the intensity of your orgasm.

Draken moaned and pulled out, his cock covered in your cum. "You wanna taste yourself, baby? Yeah? Well me too. You taste so good, I want some." He pulled you up and pushed you back onto the bed, then started to lick your clit. He sucked and licked and teased you until you were crying out, begging him to stop.

He pulled away and smiled, "You ready for another exercise?" He moved up to your mouth and kissed you, letting you taste yourself on his lips and tongue.

You whined, "Yes, yes, I'm ready! I can do this!" You said a little too enthusiastically.

He grinned and laid down next to you. "Ok, this one is called ... the blowjob. It's pretty self-explanatory, but ... you just gotta suck me off. Can you do that, baby?"

You slapped him on the thigh. "I've never heard of that one. Why don't you walk me through it? I don't wanna fuck it up, y'know." He smiled that dark smile he has and grabbed a handful of hair on the back of your head, guiding your mouth to his cock.

He helped you line up, and then you just opened your mouth and let him push in. You could taste your own cum mixed with the salty taste of his. You looked up at him as you bobbed your head, watching his face contort in pleasure. "Fuck, you're doing so good, baby." You did that for a while until you could feel him getting close to cumming. "Hey, wanna try a new position? Get on top of me, yeah?" He pushed you off of him and positioned himself on the bed, his cock standing straight up.

"Ok, just straddle me and slide down, and then you can go at your own pace." You did as he said, sliding down his cock. "Just like that, princess. Now, lean forward and put your hands on my chest, and just move up and down. Use your thighs ... you know how to do this. You do it all the time." He was right, you did know how to do this. You started rocking back and forth, his cock hitting all the right places inside of you.

You moaned, "Oh god, Ken. You're so deep. You're so fucking deep! I c- ... any-, please! I want to cum!" Draken groaned and bucked his hips up into you, meeting you halfway.

"Just so you know, this is cheating. Me, helping you do this exercise, it's cheating. Technically, you're supposed to do everythi-"

"KEN! Shut up!" You yelled.

"Right, right. Sorry, angel." He grabbed you by the hips and began to thrust into you harder, bringing you both closer to the edge.

"Faster, please! Just a little bit faster! Ohhhh myyy fuck - yes!" You felt your orgasm rip through you as you collapsed on top of him. He came a few seconds later, filling you with his hot cum.

"Ok, so ... I guess this isn't what you call sexercise. More like, just regular sex." You giggled and laid on top of him, his cock still buried inside of you.

He smiled and brushed a strand of hair behind your ear, "Sexercise? God, princess. What a silly word. Let's never use it again." He pulled you in for a kiss, and you melted into his touch. "You're so weird, y/n. Please don't ever change."

You smiled back at him, "Same."

He rolled his eyes and pushed you off of him, "Shut up. You're getting sappy." You giggled and cuddled into his side. "Now, I think it's time for a cool down in a minute, ok?"

"Oh god, there's more?!" You buried your face in his neck. "What could that possibly consist of?"

He rolled out from under you and got you situated before he trailed his lips all the way down to your hips. His mouth was so hot you could feel the tickle of arousal stirring in you again.

"I'm so glad you asked ..."

Taglist ::: @arlerts-angel @viburnt @darkstarlight82

[daisynik7]

“Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga for Toji Fushiguro- Angst + Smut

(i had to request another for my stinky man 😭🩷 ily)

Bad Romance

I want your love and I want your revenge, you and me could write a bad romance

Pairing: Toji Fushiguro x f!reader

Rating: Explicit – MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

Word Count: ~2.7k

cw: wild west au, violence, implied assault, mentions of sex work, weapons (gun, knife), explicit language, a bit of angst, smut – PIV sex (cowgirl), blowjob, cunnilingus, dirty talk, degrading language (whore, slut), pet names (sweetheart, baby), cream pie, unprotected sex, a whisper of a breeding kink

Summary: You’re the Vixen Viper, an outlaw on the run with an outstanding bounty. You find a temporary safe-haven at the Star Saloon, protecting the women who work there while they protect you from the authorities. One night, a bounty hunter by the name of Toji Fushiguro shows up, threatening to cause some trouble. 

Author’s Note: Thanks for the y2k karaoke party request my beautiful friend @batafuraikisu! I have lots of inspiration behind this. I love the Red Dead Redemption video games and have been fascinated with the wild west since. There’s also an exclusive Patreon audio from AugustInTheWinter that rewired my brain chemistry where he plays an outlaw; he has an accent and everything, SO GOOD. Another special shoutout to my lovely moot @/neesieiumz who is currently writing this incredible aot wild west au anthology called Gold Rush – READ IT NOW if you haven’t already, it’s fantastic! Anyways, I hope you like this, thank you for reading! I had an absolute blast with this one!

Midnight at the Star Saloon is always lively with rambunctious activity. It’s the perfect time for stragglers moseying through town or the miscreant locals to stop by for a break, meaning booze, gambling, or sex. Usually all three in one night. You’ve been a regular here for almost three months now, befriending the women and men who work hard to keep the patrons satisfied. Whether it’s serving alcohol until they fall out of their seats, enabling poker addictions, or riding their cocks in one of the private rooms upstairs at a special rate, they do it all to make an honest living. Though on occasion, customers will cross the line. 

And that’s where you come in. 

It started two months ago, after you had frequented the saloon enough times to be considered a regular. It was around three in the morning when one of the barmaids approached you, asking you to follow her upstairs. She led you into the private room all the way down the hall, and inside was another worker, sitting at the foot of the bed, cheek swollen and a black eye all on the left side of her face. That’s all you needed to see to set you off. The perp had already left, but you knew who he was as soon as she described him. And, of course, like all assholes do, thinking they got away with it, he came back. When he did, it was you this time who took him upstairs to that same bedroom, dressed in one of the barmaid’s outfits. You, who flirted with him and stripped him naked on the bed, promising to give him exactly what he deserved. And finally, it was you who robbed him and held a sharp blade to his pathetic penis, threatening to slice it right off if he ever showed his ugly fucking face in this town again. You haven’t seen him since.

At that time, your friends at the Star Saloon already knew you were someone who could handle things. Maybe it was the way you dressed at first, often showing up in cowboy attire, ready to book it if the situation called for it. Or maybe it was because they recognized you from the wanted posters plastered in the next town over, your silly nickname the Vixen Viper in big bold print below an unflattering photo of you from the last time you landed in jail, right before you escaped. They never mentioned it; never reported you to the authorities. Instead, they welcomed you in with open arms. There’s a bounty on your head for the crimes you committed against sleazy men like that, but you hold no guilt for your actions. To you, and to all the women in the saloons you’ve frequented, it’s justice. They need someone like you to protect people like them. Because lord knows that no one else in this godforsaken world will.

You’ve lasted three months in this town without the authorities catching on to you yet. You look quite different from your poster when you’re done up in makeup and a frilly dress, dagger concealed in the garter wrapped around your thigh. And with the help of your friends, you’ve managed to hide in plain sight, posing as one of the barmaids while you patrol the late-night crowd for any possible threats. Violence against these women has significantly lessened since you’ve been around. The rumor amongst the patrons is that men who misbehave get their money taken and their dicks chopped off, which is pretty spot-on to the actual truth. So fortunately, for both the workers and the customers, there isn’t any trouble.  

Tonight is a little different. 

You lean against the bar doing your usual inspection, checking for people who are causing a ruckus or getting rough with any of the ladies. You’re dressed similarly to them, though you never get requested to entertain in one of the private rooms above, considering you don’t go out of your way to flirt with any of the men. You lack the illustrious charm the others do; you’re only here for when things get ugly. It surprises you when a mysterious stranger on the other side of the room points to you directly, wiggling his finger to beckon you over. He smirks, the prominent scar on his lips curving with it. You grab your drink and walk over to him, curious to see what this is about, sensing that it can’t be anything good. 

When you reach his table, you give him your most cordial smile. “Good evening, sir. Is there something I can help you with?”

He grins, waving to the seat across from him. “I was hoping you can join me for a little chat.” His tone is even, though there’s a hint of something sinister in there. Maybe it’s your imagination or better yet, your intuition. You’ll soon find out.

You drag the chair out, plopping into it, laying your hands flat on your lap, palm pressed to the knife hidden beneath your skirt. He scans you up and down before asking, “What’s your name, sweetheart?” 

Resisting the urge to roll your eyes at him, you answer, giving him a fake one, of course. He nods, accepting it. “Toji Fushiguro. Pleasure to meet you.” He holds his hand out, which you take reluctantly, shaking it. His grip is firm, callouses rough against your own. “I saw you and knew I had to meet you.”

Your raise a brow at him. “Oh? What about me caught your eye?”

“Thought I recognized you from somewhere.” His gaze lingers on yours, expression unwavering.

Your heart stops momentarily, a rock settling in the pit of your stomach. Not here, not now. You swallow thickly, feigning ignorance. “Really? From where?”

He slides you a rolled-up paper, nodding his head for you to open it. “Take a look.”

Trembling now, you obey, unraveling it slowly until you see the words WANTED: ALIVE and your face staring back at you. There’s no need to go any further. You fold it up immediately, heart racing, glancing at your surroundings hoping no one else is listening in on your conversation. As calmly as you can, you lean forward towards him, muttering, “So what, are you going to arrest me? Hog-tie me in front of all these people?”

He inches even closer, noses nearly touching now, his breath tickling you. “Now, I’m a gentleman. I like to know a woman first before I tie her up.”

You scoff. “So what, am I supposed to come quietly then?”

He glances at your mouth, then back to your eyes. “I’m willing to negotiate if you have something to offer.”

You clear your throat, intrigued by his response. “Let’s discuss this somewhere more private,” you say, grabbing his wrist and dragging him up the stairs with you.

“Lead the way, Vixen.” 

You lead him to the very end of the hallway, the furthest room away from the bar downstairs. There’s a fire escape just outside the window, your best chance to evade arrest. First, you’ll have to subdue him.

Inside, you lock the door shut, turning to face him. “Are you a police officer?” 

He shakes his head. “Guess again,” he answers, opening his coat to display the gun and knife hanging on his belt.

“Bounty hunter,” you state, glaring at him.

“Yup. And you, my dear, have a very hefty bounty on your pretty little head.” He steps towards you, caging you between his arms, your back flat against the door. Although you remain untouched, his presence is suffocating. 

“What do want?” you ask him, breathing in deeply through your nose.

“All the loot you robbed from those scumbags. Enough to exceed the bounty I’d get if I brought you back with me.”

You smirk. “Is that it?”

“And a deal,” he adds. “A partnership.”

You stare at him, confused. “What?”

He laughs, amused by your reaction. “I’ll admit, I’m a fan of your work. Drifting through town-to-town, robbing sleazy assholes. And you haven’t been caught until now. It’s impressive.”

You’re caught off guard by the praise, relaxing just the slightest bit. “So, what do you propose?”

He lets his arms down, placing his hands in his pockets while he explains himself. “There are several bounties for men exactly like the ones you hate. If you promise to help me get them, I won’t take you in tonight. I’ll even give you some of the money. If you’re good.”

“And why can’t you do this yourself?”

“It’s easier to get a guy when his guard’s down. If there’s a pretty little thing like you seducing him, catching him will be easy as pie.”

You stare at him, contemplating his proposition. It’s an easy decision for you to make. It’s either this, or jail. “Fine. You have a deal.”

He offers his hand to you. “Put it there, partner.” His tone is soft, almost sincere. You can’t help thinking that if this were any other scenario, you’d find him attractive. Hell, even in this one, you’re drawn to him. You take his hand, shaking it. He tugs you in closer, voice low and seductive. “I think we should celebrate this new friendship. What do you say?”

You smile at him, what feels like the first genuine one of the night. Maybe this isn’t as bad as you initially thought. When you close the distance, his mouth is on yours quickly, lips smacking, wet and sloppy. He slides out of his jacket, letting it thud loudly on the hardwood with his weapons weighing it down. The shirt he wears is tight on his body, clinging to him, emphasizing his muscular physique. You can’t remember the last time you were intimate with a man without the intention to backstab him. In fact, it’s been a while since you were intimate at all. With him guiding you, however, you match his movements naturally, sliding your hands up his torso, pawing at his chest as his hands squeeze your hips, pulling you towards the bed.

He moans, slipping his wide tongue past your lips, deepening the kiss and exerting his dominance. “Can’t wait to see what the Vixen Viper can really do,” he huffs, hoisting the hem of your dress, bunching it in his fist. His fingers trail the inside of your thighs, stopping at the garter, feeling the handle of the knife strapped to you. He clicks his tongue, mouth hovering your ear, hooking his finger to snap the elastic against your skin. “You really are dangerous.” 

You let out a whimper, your pussy throbbing with arousal. He grabs the blade by the handle, whipping it out from its holster, tossing it to the other side of the room away from you. You chuckle, lifting your arms up so he can strip you properly. “Are you scared of me?”

He removes your corset swiftly, squeezing your bare breasts in his hands, thumbs flicking at your nipples. “I don’t want to get stabbed in case you change your mind.”

You shove him onto the bed, where he lies flat on his back, watching you straddle his lap, naked. “If I do that, then I wouldn’t get to fuck you.”

He laughs loudly, biting his lip. “Oh? You’re the one who’s gonna fuck me?”

“Yeah, I reckon ,” you reply, unbuckling his belt and undoing his zipper. He continues to watch you intently, groaning when you shimmy his pants off to release his cock. It flops against his abdomen, even bigger than you imagined, all veiny and girthy. You salivate at the sight of it, opening your mouth for a taste. 

“Fuck,” he curses, head relaxing into mattress, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling as you sink down on him, swallowing him up until the tip hits the back of your throat. You bob up and down on his shaft, gripping the base of his cock, swirling your tongue around the head. “You suck cock like a fucking whore. Did your friends out there teach you that?”

You grasp his balls in your hand, squeezing them tight, causing him to shudder. Shaking your head, you say, “I learned this from experience.” 

He smirks. “Yeah? Come here. Put this pussy on my face. Bet I can teach you something you haven’t learned yet.”

You release him, crawling up his body until your wet cunt is pressed to his lips. His tongue laps at your arousal, swirling around your aching clit. You grip the top of the headboard, grinding on him. “Oh fuck!”

His hands surround your ass, squeezing at your soft cheeks, fingers digging into your flesh. He hums into your skin, the vibrations adding to the sensation. He nods beneath you, encouraging you. “That’s it, sweetheart. Take it. Take it like a good slut.”

He takes you into his mouth, slurping at your clit until your gushing all over his face, your orgasm shiny on his lips and chin. His eyes are wild with excitement, peering up at you between your legs. Kissing the plush of your thighs, he says, “Well, go on then, Vixen. Fuck me.”

Soon, you’re sinking down onto his fat cock, pussy already soaking wet with slick and spit. He fills you up to the brim, taking a few seconds to adjust to size comfortable. When you’re ready, you start to bounce on his lap, his cock thrusting in and out of you smoothly. He hits your sweet spot over and over, stimulating you into another messy orgasm after just a few solid strokes. Your tongue hangs out of your mouth, drool leaking down your chin, throat dry from the incessant moaning. 

“Look at you. So fucked out for me,” he growls, planting his feet on the bed, taking control. He grabs onto your hips firmly, pounding up into you, watching your entire body convulse with each delicious thrust. “You talk a big game, but you like being manhandled like this. You’re just a slutty little hole waiting to be ruined. Waiting for the right man to use you.” He presses his thumb to your clit, massaging it with deep strokes. “Seems like you finally met the perfect partner.”

“Fuck, Toji!” you cry out, unraveling once again. 

He increases his pace, the bed creaking noisily below you. “That’s it, baby. Come with me. Gonna breed this perfect pussy. Gonna fill you up so fucking good.” He pulls you down towards him, wrapping you in his arms, kissing you fiercely as he pumps his load inside you. 

You both lay still for a moment, catching your breaths, Toji peppering delicate smooches along your neck. You’re surprised at how gentle he’s being, considering his brutish behavior from earlier. When enough silence passes, you look at him, grinning. “What a way to celebrate, am I right? Partner?”

He laces his fingers with yours. “The beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

After you clean yourselves up as best as possible, you snuggle together under the covers, him spooning you from behind. “’Night, Toji Fushiguro.”

He nuzzles his nose to the nape of your neck, whispering, “What’s your real name?”

You smile, grazing your lips on his knuckles, actually giving it to him. 

~~~

Toji Fushiguro, the most sought-after bounty hunter in all the west, wakes up the morning feeling fantastic.

He glances to his side, hoping to see his lovely new partner still peacefully asleep beside him. To his surprise, no one is there. He inspects the room, searching for clues on where she ran off to and notices nothing.

And that’s when it hits him. There’s nothing in the room. 

All his clothes are gone, his weapons, the wallet full of cash buried in his pockets, even the very blanket they fell asleep under. He’s as naked as the day he was born, confused and beguiled until he finally realizes it. He’s been robbed. And it was the Vixen Viper who robbed him. 

The only thing he finds is her wanted poster, folded up on the bedside table, a small note scribbled to the back of it:

Toji - Thanks for the fun night, but I don’t do partners. Maybe the next time you catch me, I’ll reconsider.

He laughs, unable to contain his smile as he reads her real name signed at the end of it.

[fanaticsnail]

I watched the Storyteller version of Sapsorrow and knew it sounded familiar! I read "The Magic Fish" by Trung Le Nguyen. It's a graphic novel about a young Vietnamese boy struggling to come out to his friends and parents, particularly because they're immigrants and he feels they might not understand. His mother and him bond over fairy tales and there are three main tales in the novel that are used thematically, the first is Tattercoats (i.e; Sapsorrow), the second is a Vietnamese story Tâm Cám, and the third is the little mermaid. The Tattercoats story is a little different than the Sapsorrow Storyteller version or your version, but the art is beautiful I seriously recommend the book from the art alone (and if not the art, the Vietnamese fairy tale is kind of like Cinderella at the beginning but so interesting and full of plot twists).

I have to thank you for introducing me to Storyteller though, I'm gonna have fun looking at all their other retellings.

Oh my goodness, I know The Magic Fish! I haven't read that one in years!! Thank you for reminding me it exists, sweet snail. I adore it.

Of the Storyteller Series (1988), I have littered some of the plot points in several others.

Remember Me: (Shanks x Bride!Reader), I had "the true bride" in mind. Particularly her apprehension at having her hair touched. In the story in that case, it was a promise to not let another person kiss their cheek - in mine it was a sweep of the hair.

Drawing inspiration from things that impact your heart is so much fun. Makes it all the more real, in my humble opinion.

There are only nine episodes: (All are linked to YouTube for ease)

The Soldier and Death

Fearnot

The Luck Child

A Story Short

Hans My Hedgehog

The Three Ravens

Sapsorrow

The Heartless Giant

The True Bride

I would honestly love to write an OP fic for each of these.

Soldier and Death - Zoro He traps death, now unable to die. He has lived his life to the fullest, but death is the only thing that truly fears him. Reader is the reaper, ordered by Death to not claim him. Fearnot - Luffy He's just a sunshine boy who has never been frightened a day in his life. He wants to experience fear. Just once. The Luck Child - Buggy He is a failing forward king, as the usual. Circumstances demand his death, he continues to thrive. A Story Short - Usopp He has to perform a series of storytelling adventures and present them towards the court for a hundred days. On the hundredth day, he has come up with nothing. What will he do? Hans My Hedgehog - Corazon He will only reveal himself to his wife at night, cursed as a monster within the hours of daylight. She wants to break him of this curse, but has no knowledge to help him. The Three Ravens - Sanji Just imagine Sanji desperately crying out for his love to grace him with the sound of her voice, begging her to say something to aid in her defence - bound to the stake and threatened with death if she does not speak. Ahhhhh. Screaming. Sapsorrow - The one I'm actively working on with Mihawk The Heartless Giant - Doflamingo Speaks for itself, truly. He just is. I could also do this for Sir Crocodile, if I wasn't too busy shipping him with @empressofmankind's Shivs. The True Bride - Already partially did for Shanks. I would love to visit this trope again for him though. Have him be the one with amnesia trope.

Honestly, I would love to do this as a massive moot fairytale collaborative au.

@since-im-already-here - what say you, sis? You reckon I've got the characters and the prompts down for each series?

@gingernut1314, do you know this jim henson series? You want to take a crack at one of them?

@writingmysanity - go on. I know you want to do the Corazon. You so, so want to do the Corazon.

@sordidmusings 👀 c'mon now. Romance, pining. Angst. All that good stuff, dear.

@feral-artistry, you've even already drawn some puppets. You know you want to....

[plum-at-sea]

ANSWER THEM ALL I NEED TO KNOW ABT HER NOW IM FONAN EXPLODE /hj

OMGHWIF THANK YOU MOOT IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT ALL MY LIFE ILY

Meet my yuusona! original post

1. Name: Emery Sutton, some friends call her Em, Cater and Kalim call her Emmie, same nickname Floyd and Rook has for mc

2. Inspiration: None initially but she does remind me a little of Ariel and Ursula's human forms I might draw her in their dresses omg!!!

3. Age/Birthday: Since she's a freshman I just had her be 16 like the rest of them and she is a Scorpio born on October 24th (my bday :3) Treys birthday is closest.. literally the day after. Two parties in a row though that's fun!!

4. Dorm: She's in Ramshackle!!! Her and Grim had trouble with the ghosts at first but like canon, they eventually warmed up to each other and she has a lot of respect for them as people who have died. Her relationship with the ghosts is symbiotic in a way, they serve as security cameras and watch out for her and she takes care of and restores their home. Having to clean up Ramshackle made her learn a lot of skills and she could probably replace the roof herself. She also got really into interior design and woodshop so Ramshackle is definitely really pretty with her as prefect.

5. Class: Her and Grim are in the same class as Ace and Deuce and when they're not all goofing around, they can lock in pretty well and get work done. She always takes detailed notes in class solely because she can make the others buy them from her with snacks if they miss class or weren't paying attention.

6. Height: She's about 5'3 and is between Riddle and Kalim in height.

7. Hair/Eye color: Her hair is dark brown but sometimes I can't decide and make it medium brown. Her eyes are a deep blue and around her pupil, she has a sort of ring around it that's darker.

8. Homeland: Like mc, she's not from Twisted Wonderland but is in fact a Cali girl.

9. Club: I literally cannot decide what club she is in.. at first, I thought maybe the light music club so she can sing all my favorite songs but now idk, maybe she just has her own thing but I think she definitely pops in to hang out with other clubs when she's bored. She cant be tied down!!!

10. Subject: Her favorite and best subject is astrology because that's one of my special interests.. but she's also probably really enjoys history of magic too and flight class. Her and Cater definitely geek out about astrology.

11. Hobby: She really likes painting or just making little trinkets and jewelry. Everyone she's ever talked to has a friendship bracelet from her or like those string of beads you hang on your wall with a crystal at the end. She also really enjoys making snacks with Trey.

12. Pet Peeves: People walking slow in front of her and she HATES snoring and other obnoxious sounds. If you're at a sleepover with her and snore... expect to never wake up ever again, she will suffocate you with a pillow (/j). Grim is lucky he doesn't snore too bad or he would be sleeping outside. But Deuce on the other hand.. she makes him sleep in the farthest room from hers and puts a towel under his door.

13. Food: her favorite food is any kind of noodle and just in general Italian food. She really likes gnocchi and bread and yummy warm filling stuff. She doesn't care for steamed vegetables, especially asparagus and prefers them fresh.

14. Talent: She's actually a really seasoned oil painter and loves doing portraits!! She's not so good at painting landscape but that's something she's started practicing more often. Rook and Malleus probably appreciate her work the most and often ask to see what she's working on lately. Azul commissioned her to paint a whale for monstro lounge and wanted to ask her to paint him all cool and evil but was too embarrassed.

15. Unique Magic/Signature spell: Since she's yuu, she doesn't have magic but she is maybe a teensy bit psychic whether she realizes it or not. She has the prophetic dreams, is really intuitive and she can in some ways command other people telepathically if she's determined enough, like if she thinks "GET YOUR BIG HEAD OUT OF MY WAY I CANT SEE" and they get the sense to move over a little bit.

16. Quote: "Live you? Or are you aught that man may question?" To Malleus when they first met because she's been waiting forever to quote Shakespeare.

17. Personality: Pam Beasley. She can be kinda shy and awkward and not talk so much or she can be really outgoing and a chatterbox and like making people laugh. When she's warmed up, she'll be quick to witty retorts and teasing but most people's first impression of her is that she's a little timid unless her friends are giving her confidence. She loves working with Ace to pull clever pranks on Grim and Deuce and Sebek. When she's upset or angry though, she can be really firm and serious and maybe a little passive aggressive. Generally really friendly and generous and likes having fun. She's maybe in the middle of Lilia and Kalim personality wise.

skipping 18 lol

19: Favorite Housewarden: if she had to pick, her favorite housewarden would probably be Riddle just because they're the closest as friends and she really appreciates and admires his improvement as a person. They have tea at Ramshackle almost every week and just hang out #besties!!

20: Partner: FLOYD FRICKING LEECH!!! they met how canon mc and he did and started dating sometime after book 4. She likes the excitement he gives her and how cute and smart he is and how awesome he is and how sweet he is when he's nice, and he likes how resilient and caring she is and that she laughs and matches his energy instead of avoiding him. They're best friends that are practically engaged because things would be so boring if they broke up. Fit together like eels and shrimps. They're literally Johnny and Baby from Dirty Dancing.

thank you for blessing me with the opportunity to rant have this messy epel sprite edit of her

[thepalaceofmelanie]

Martell Week: Character of the Day: Elia Martell

Tag list: @adriennegabriella @morby @wingsoftheangels @candycanes19 @tashastrange89 @elvinaa

(A/N: Going an AU route with this one. As someone who like Elia has, chronic illness; I wanted to write something on this. I’m not planning on having this as a self-insert but I’m basing certain things off my issues. Character won’t be named or described.)

TW: Medical talk, wanting to give up (not the hard S, you two are just tired.), mention of cheating and death.

Song inspired: “Aerith’s Theme” from Final Fantasy VII

Character of the Day: Elia Martell

__

“Elia, how are you?” I asked.

It was shockingly a good energy day for us both. We found ourselves at a Tim Hortons having something to drink. The smell of the mocha ice capp filled my noise, made sure to have extra chocolate in it.

“Hey you, I’m okay today. How about yourself?” She asked in returned.

The weather was warm, so at least our anemia won’t start making it cold for us. Elia took a sip of her iced tea and I could see she was trying to smile through a storm in her body. Both of us born premature, but our conditions differ a lot.

“To be honest, I’m just tired of it all. I don’t want to die, but I just want to sleep till they make a cure for everything. I can’t regulate my thyroid; I’ve only done it once… so now the Endo, thinks I have not just Hashi’s, not just hypo, but also hyper! Honestly, between the medication, the blood work, the side effects, and everything, I just…”

“I understand, and then when they tell you “it’s going to be okay.” a part of you feels like they’re lying. They don’t understand what people like me and, you go through every second of our lives. Then again, we don’t understand either. So, the point is moot.”

Elia, she must have had a rough morning though with the kids; she didn’t even braid her hair like she normally would.

“How’s Rhaenys and Aegon? I’m guessing their Father is watching them?”

Meaning Rhaegar, I don’t like using his name or talking about him. I mean he cheated on Elia, how does someone forgive that?

“Yes, he is. It’s his day to have the children anyways. So I guess it works out for me.” She semi-chuckled.

“Your heart?” I asked.

Elia’s eyes tried to give some spark of hope; I knew it was bad news.

“They still don’t know what’s going on. They tried an echo-cardiogram but they found nothing. I nearly dropped to the floor twice yesterday.”

Yikes!

They really need to find out what’s causing this and soon. I’m worried she’s going to hit her head and those children won’t have their Mom around. I feel her take my hand in hers, I could see her trying to hold back tears.

She’s scared.

I don’t blame her one bit.

“All I feel that I can do is say that “I’m sorry” but honestly, we both got to be fed up hearing that phrase. I don’t know what I can do for you to be okay as best as you can feel.”

“Just still be my friend. Knowing I’m not alone, helps at times.”

I nodded, if that’s what it takes, I can try. She knows we can’t make promises; some of us just can’t keep them. If we do, nine-times out of ten, we have to cancel last second. For us just to meet together today was a big thing.

We both drink our drinks in silence.

Moments past, the sounds of the shop filled our ears; the smell of the cafe woke people up and the two of us were thinking of what to say next.

Both of us probably already wanting to go back to sleep.

“What was your panel?” She asked.

“My T4 was normal, it’s the TSH was high. About 36.88.”

“How do you feel though?”

“Believe it or not, I’m fine. I feel “normal” I suppose. I’m not tired or losing hair any different or whatever else. I just been having a hard time eating and honestly taking the meds at times.”

“Please tell me you didn’t cause this.”

“Why my thyroid is effed? I can’t tell you anymore, I don’t know. I’m more worried about my mental health half the time.”

Elia squeezed my hand lightly, trying to get me to smile. I can’t smile at this, the fact that my body is ill like this and I’m not sure if I’m at fault or not, really does suck.

“Yours?” I asked.

“It’s a little under but I hope the new dosage helps.” She smiled.

“Yeah, for sure, you need your energy basically watching over the children. At least Oberyn and Doran are helping as well. They’re both good men.”

“I do love my brothers, Oberyn though is my favorite; out of all my family, he supports me the most.”

I felt a pang of envy in my heart, her family loves and cares about her. My Father...not so much at times. It took him years to believe in my depression and anxiety. Elia could tell something was wrong, her facal expression showed it.

Sorrow…

“I’m fine, I’m honestly happy for you. It just sucks that not everyone’s accepting like Oberyn and Doran are.”

“I agree with you; just because your Father doesn’t see your illnesses doesn’t mean it’s not there. It’s real just like us, it exists like us, but it haunts us.”

We both pause, feeling like time stopped. We both finished our drinks and tossed them into the trash, before sitting back down.

“Will you be alright?” Her voice cut gently.

“I will be, I’m just used to it by now. I’ve had certain issues from a young age and the thyroid didn’t get put on paper till a few weeks before my fifteenth birthday. Picture this, you get home from a wonderful vacation with your Father; you go into the doctors and they tell you, you have this issue and basically you’re stuck on meds forever, it messes with everything in your system. Seriously, this sucks, but I’m just so used to it by now; what people say to me doesn’t even phase me anymore.”

Elia didn’t say anything. I could tell she was taking in what I had said.

“But you’re here, you’re dealing with it.”

“So are you.”

She’s right…

We are.

“Your hopes and dreams matter, of course I could go into the whole “Life gets better” and such, but we don’t always want to hear it. That’s fine...do you remember how I asked if we could both do this thing? That list about reasons to keep going.”

“Yeah, I wrote mine on my phone.”

I take my phone out and go to note pad. I noticed she took out her notebook and sat it in front of her. She asked me to list at least three things before we met next, I guess we were both able to do it.

“Okay we’ll trade off. I’ll go first. First reason to keep going is to love my children and be a good Mother.”

“That’s a real sweet one. Okay first reason to keep going, to find a partner.”

I blushed, but I’m lonely. It didn’t matter if it was platonic or romantic at this part; but I knew that would be years later. I have to work on myself first.

“Second reason is to support my brothers when they’re dealing with something.”

“Elia, c’mon, you could have had the first one just be “family” and called it a day!”

The two of us laughed; she knew I had a point, but we both did need the laugh. I’m thankful for her friendship. Elia was always that person who would pour her heart and soul into life; she truly loved her family.

Damn you, Rhaegar, you fuck up.

“Reason two, to kick the ever living crap out of Rhaegar. Listen, if he wasn’t happy, he should have just told you and do something about it. That’s not right what he pulled; did he even ask for an open marriage or whatever before you found out?”

There’s nothing wrong with polyamory, open marriages, ect, but for the love of the gods!

“No, he didn’t. To say the least Oberyn and Doran want to throw hands,” Elia laughed. “Okay, seriously, last reason. To actually have a good life.”

Honestly, that was a reasonable thing. It would be hard but you know, sometimes we don’t know what life has planned for us. I just hope she doesn’t see her last sunrise before achieving this. With being chronically ill, it’s like our bodies are time bombs, depending on what’s going on with the person. With my thyroid issue, my thyroid is slowly dying because the white blood cells are attacking it.

“Yours?”

Oh right…

“To see my favorite band in concert for the third time.”

I could see her smile at that; to her it was a good one. The rest of the time, we talked; we talked about old memories, we cried, laugh and just tried to live for the moment. But little did I know was…

This would be the last time I’d see Elia.

[tamaruaart]

WOWOWOOWOWOW, okay you gon make me cry out of happiness/lh

ABOUT HIS LORE.. It's pretty basic.. I mean, 2018 gacha backstory LMFAO

And for the inspired Folklore of Slovene/Slovenia at first I wanted to make him.. unique ykyk.. Choosing the Goldhorn/Zlatorog specifically for just that! But I sorta removed it because it would barely make any sense considering the fact I didn't know much about the whole thing

(mainly inspired the gold horns and healing blood???)

Either way, imma go on a summary lemme-

There was this one stupid god > accidentally caused the extinction of dinos > sleep for idk very very long as the Earth forming back > come back down > marry to woman > got 'cheated' on and got his daughter killed > also brings trauma to the fellow children in the village there > teaming up with LBD and got killed by SWK > stuck in the dream realm of that he created along with some.. souls

CONTINUE ON..

Shuying was somehow born > his father hated him for being identical to the god(he still loved his parents tho) > kinda developed mental illness??? > got sent in the dream realm when he sleeps and meets a boy from the past!(They become friends:D) > he was killed by his father due to a training > revived and lost his memories > mk and mei found him crying while they were sneaking into his house's garden(they comforted him randomly > they became friends!! > second death > revived again but with a mental illness(Alexithymia maybe) > Train and discover his light magic and abilities(also his goats features from the ancestors) > when he's old enough he decided to work with MK(He also developed a crush on him)

And that's pretty much all with going quickly thru the.. uh events, it could be much detailed but atp it's VERY long.. SOBS

—Lumina ⟡(I'm honored to be your moot)

AGHHAGGGGHGGHHHHHHH I LOVE THAT LORE SO MUCH---

Shuying my poor, poor, depressed little goat man

Shuying and MK would be such a cute couple too!!! And lemmie guess, their ship name is Golden Goat Horn? X'D

Thank you so much, hon! I'm honored to be your moot as well :D

[buckets-and-trees]

Have you ever had a dream that either inspired a fic, or you were already writing a fic and a character showed up in your dream? Maybe a smutty time dream?

I WISH I HAD SMUTTY TIME DREAMS THAT WERE CLEAR ENOUGH THAT I COULD BRING THEM BACK AND WRITE THEM!

I know that I dream fairly often, but dreams that I wake up from and remember things significantly? Those are more rare. In those dreams there are sometimes clearly future smutty intentions, but not always.

There's a dream that I had a few months ago - maybe October - that I think could be a nice second-chance kind of rom-com novel. It could be turned into fanfic and star one of the Sebastian or Chris characters we love, but... hmm. I told one of my moots about it when it happened, so that's why months later I still remember quite a bit of it. Let me share, and we'll see what you think...

I'll use a "reader" pov so it's more accessible as a narrative.

You move back to the city where you went to high school for a good job. It's not a big city, but big enough that even though you were worried about seeing people you knew when you was younger, you actually don't almost at all. You settle in and establish a few new roots.

A couple of years down the line, you finally do run into someone from her past. And not just any someone: it's the boy you always had a crush on throughout high school. Sure you liked other guys, but he lived on the street behind you, and you always loved him. You never dated but became generally good friends (didn't hang out exclusively, but had mutual friends, so you sometimes ended up at the same hangouts or adventures on the weekends).

It's the middle of the week and you have run into him while picking up something at a Home Depot. He's there getting some plastic storage boxes. He's warm and friendly, and seems genuinely happy to see you. He tells you he's getting boxes because he's actually moved back home and is living with his parents until he can find a more permanent place. He says he'd love to see you again soon, asks for your number, and you give it to him.

It totally got you nostalgic and hopeful, but you tell yourself to keep your heart settled and not blow this up to be more than it is.

He texts you a few hours later and says how nice it was to run into a familiar face, but it doesn't go much beyond that.

You look him up on old socials - you had been connected on a few platforms, but neither of you are very active at all on any of those oldies. Instagram has the most recent stuff, but his posts are ages old. You do see some of the stuff from when he got married, posts from those early years, and not one, but two kids, then it kind of drops off.

Friday night after work, you get another text from him asking if you want to come over to his parent's house the next day for lunch - he knows it's not fancy, but he's got a lot of unpacking still to do, but would really love to see you if you don't mind coming by for a while and catching up while he takes a break. You agree.

Because even though you saw what you did see on socials, you also looked at his left hand when you bumped into him at the home depot, and he wasn't wearing a ring.

He's in the garage when you pull up to his parents' house in the old neighborhood you two used to share, and he greets you warmly. It's chaos in the garage - he's sorting through boxes and furniture - but he leads you into the house where it's only mild chaos. There are toys here and there in a few of the rooms. He leads you into the kitchen and says you should sit down at one of the stools at the counter while he makes lunch. It's grilled sandwiches, potato chips, and a pasta salad and fruit he pulls out of the fridge. You tried to offer to help, but he told you it was easy and you were his guest and this was not at all fancy for catching up, so he insisted on prepping with no help, just your company.

It's not the first thing that either of you brings up - he wants to hear about your life these days, your job, etc - but then he does bring up the whirlwind of his life. He had been living out of state with his wife and two kids - girl and boy - and his wife passed away. His parents and her parents had flown out a lot to help with the kids, but longterm he knew he wanted them to come back home, be closer to family. He had just waited until his little girl was done with her year of kindergarten (so that not everything in her life would be uprooted) and he had secured a new job here, and then moved back.

Today his parents took the kids to the zoo so he could get things a little more settled - sorting through what they need now and what can stay packed up until he can find a new house.

He says he's not looking to get into anything quickly, but that seeing you his first day back in town? Thinking of you more than once since then? He says he doesn't want to hold off on a future either. That he'd like to just get to know you again, see where things go.

There was a bit more to the dream, but... what do we think? Novel potential? Try it as a fanfic first? If fanfic, who would this guy be?

[dropthedemiurge]

✨🎈🕯️

I'm very bad at the tumblr games but at least I'm doing it rn! (the writer ask game)

✨What's a fic you've posted you wish you could breathe life into again and have people talking about it? (or simply a fic you wish got more credit)

Oh, for sure it's my iKON AU fics, like "Out of Sync" which is a story about one guy figuring his asexuality out while constantly navigating confusing world that sees him very weird (no resemblance with the real life existing artists, consider it as borrowing vague personas to play toys). It's somewhat personal story, somewhat enchanced for hurt/comfort, but I'd be proud if people took time and cared about people whose experience doesn't align with theirs to understand (or I'd even appreciate different opinions cuz I'm curious how'd everyone see the main character's struggles) If we take Thai BL fics, it's "Yok is Art" because character studies my beloved and I really put all my adoration for Yok as a character in this short story, please read it and tell me you love Yok too ^^

🎈describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change?

My style can be described as a 'chaotic coder'. I was told I write like a programmer write their code xD Here and there, filling out needed things, putting blocks to try and make it work, switch paragraphs, a bit robotic etc.

But I think I'm also easily influenced by whatever I consume so I can be inspired to try and write things in a different mood or style and so I hope there aren't many disappointed readers that liked one fic and think I can write well all the time (can I even write well?)xD

🕯️how do you think engaging with each other through tumblr, twitter, comments, kudos, creates healthy fandom experiences? How do you deal with that if you're not a social person/experience social anxiety?

ENGAGING WITH COMMUNITY IS THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO AS A CREaTOR !!! I do have social anxiety in real life and I'd hate engaging with strangers but fandom communities are one of the friendliest things (well depends maybe if the fandom overall is toxic or not) but responding to people's posts (to just express your opinion) can lead people to wanting to talk more with you and discuss things and leading to more tumblr and twitter moots and discord servers where everyone is happily screaming about one thing or pairing and exclaiming when they see your post or work and giving you comments or writing comments when you read/see something nice is just... giving the best type of energy that can keep you going through life for many many years, definitely recommend to start small and spread positivity and find communities *___*

[alluringjae]

until dawn - ljn

part I | part II

⤑ summary: basic number one rule of the museum is not to touch the art. but no one told jeno that falling for one of them isn’t allowed either.

⤑ pairing: jeno x female reader

⤑ word count: 14k

⤑ genre: fluff, humor, angst | broke architecture major!jeno, historical figure!reader, college!au

⤑ warnings: jaemin mentions onlyfans as a joke, references to actual historical figures (some try to flirt with jeno lol) and literature, explicit language

⤑ author’s note: wow, i’ve had this idea for almost two years! this one was inspired by one of my favorite childhood movies, night at the museum. it definitely required a lot of research and brainstorming, and finally i brought it to life! it was so fun to play around with the characters, and even if majority of them are real people, this is all still fiction.

i also wanna mention one of my moots, marge for enlightening me about her life as an architecture major.

⤑ taglist: @renjunniehome​ (dm me if you want to be added) 

⤑ leave me some feedback, constructive criticism or hellos!

Dormitory rent was another thing to worry about aside from the inflated university tuition per semester. Although he’s lucky to have his parents backing him up already on it, paying the monthly rent for his dorm was the remaining objective on Jeno’s list.

Plus, money for food. The man was a heavy eater, following the whole “gym is life” mantra.

Splitting it already with two of his dorm mates turned best friends, Renjun and Jaemin, his plate felt lighter. But the question still lies: where on earth was he going to get the money?

He’s practically checked out every available part-timing job in university and anywhere near campus. Barista at the same café Jaemin works at, teaching assistant for an art school for kids, convenience store cashier, library assistant, all taken in a heartbeat. The burden of his friends paying his debt these past months took a toll on him, almost to the point he almost considered making an Onlyfans.

“Yah, just find something else! Part-timers are in demand right now!” Renjun intensely closed his laptop before his older friend gets any suggestive thoughts.

“I mean, you didn’t work out your body to look the way it is for nothing.” Jaemin pitched otherwise, lifting the front back up. “When do you want to start filming? Loads of chicks would dig a piece of you!”

The contradicting opinions of his friends were like the devil and angel debating on his shoulders. Useless, he gave this worry a rest and returned to drawing new plates. A common thing when you’re an architecture major. Those deadlines were nearing. Looks like he’ll pull another all-nighter again.

Good thing most of his classes were late in the morning until 6 pm.

As if someone from above heard his petition, Jeno saw a help wanted sign posted on the bulletin board outside of the university museum. He initially went there to document some artwork and architecture models from Greek and Roman times, further analyzing how they’re still apparent in modern buildings.

The sign explained the need for one part-timer from any college to cover the night shift of the museum due to the current night guard’s full semester absence. He only had to come in 3x a week, choosing his days since he was still a student. Even the pay was above average, considering that most part-timers never go beyond midnight. Jeno would, on the other hand, always staying for his projects or gaming with the boys. Drinking sometimes during late-night Fridays with his entire college crew.

The pay would leave him a load of extra cash for himself, thus he sent an application to the museum office right before he left. A week later, while he was out with the boys, he got a text from the office that they wanted to meet him again for a final interview first thing on Monday.

Perhaps it was having architecture as his course and a healthy physique that landed him the part-timer position. Mainly, the latter because guards required strong endurance and fighting skills when worse comes to worst. It would start at 9 pm until 6 am the following day, and there was a designated uniform of it too. Blue blazer with matching trousers, white dress top, and loafers.

Aside from the typical museum etiquette the head director instructed him about, there was an unofficial list of tips written on paper given from the night guard on leave when the director handed you over his box of office-related things.

Only read at the night guard office once you’re the remaining staff left.

He did as he was told like an obedient son, flipping the succeeding page.

 To my temporary replacement,

This part-timing job is nothing regular than the other jobs. You’ll witness things as you’ve never imagined them to be, almost like witchcraft. You’ll be lost and maybe frightened, or that’s how I felt the first time because no one led me through it all those years ago. Lucky for you, I made this small guide on how to properly take care of the place that the other staff doesn’t know about.

Before you proceed, I request you take a 5-minute stroll around the lobby first to understand what I’m talking about. After such, go back to the office or somewhere quiet then browse through the guide as quickly as you could.

Art is timeless here, so they need to be taken care of.

Good luck!

 Park Sanghoon

Night Guard on Leave

 Nothing could’ve prepared Jeno for what’s to come once he unlocked the office door. They say that art brings so much color to our life, allowing us to feel all sorts of emotions in a glimpse. But no one ever interpreted art to be literally alive and walking in the halls.

Behold, random wax figures and marble sculptures that he’s seen in the past roamed the hallways, as well as the paintings were interacting with each other side by side. Even the standee of a puppy from the entrance played fetch with one of those sculptures. He swore he looked like Hermes the messenger god from his arrow headpiece and sandals.

It made more sense why the guard on leave explained his feelings during the first day because it resembled Jeno’s. But unlike that guard, Jeno sucked it up. No one ever does well on the first day, even if others say otherwise. The first day was a learning experience, so he collected his thoughts even though the goosebumps triggered his body during that one rotation.

There was an indoor garden, already locked by the day guard earlier. The only room without any art piece, where students lounge to study the plants or relax in nature.

The sculptures section ahead, showcasing various fictional figures specifically from Greek mythology, chattered away about family drama and beliefs. The sculptures of Hades and Zeus, according to their title plate, argued relentlessly about power while Athena always intervened by shouting or even throwing arrows or daggers to any of the lightbulbs there.

That was one rule in the guide, but Jeno didn’t know yet until he came inside the room and swerved the attention of the arguing duo.

“Well, what do we have here?” Zeus, in the center, straightened his posture on his throne to present himself in a more regal way. “Are you perhaps the temporary replacement of Sir Sanghoon?”

“Sir Sanghoon’s stand-in is rather good looking, don’t you think?” Hera mused, stepping down from her throne beside Zeus to take a closer look at the taller male. Her cold fingers trailed his jaw until his chest, where his heart was beating intensely. She even pinched his toned bicep, mouthing wow.

“Truly handsome you are, my dear. So full of life, please introduce yourself to us.”

While Jeno introduced himself to everyone in that room, he answered any sorts of questions they had for him too. From his age, educational background, hobbies, Aphrodite just had to ask him if he had a girlfriend because he was that handsome.

“Nope, I’m single. With my degree in architecture, the requirements are so heavy I can’t even try dating.”

Mentioning his degree excited the gods, telling him how their people created and designed all these temples to house them and perform rituals. They loved it so much. This was a copy-paste of what Jeno learned from his history classes, and for a first, he’s hearing the perspective of the Greek gods.

Mind-boggling that he hasn’t fully freaked out yet. That’s what Athena anticipated when Sanghoon told her about his short leave, putting her in charge of everyone for the meantime while the replacement settled down.

The college museum was built during the late 70s as a gift from one of the alumni. It was for the purpose to preserve history and educate college students outside the classroom. The Greek mythology exhibit was the oldest one, making Athena have more seniority. Over her stay, she’s seen every new guard lose their senses during the first night. Some not even returning for a second night. She got used to every outcome, and so far, only 8 people lasted after the first night. A couple of students in the 70s and 80s, Sanghoon in the 90s, and now Jeno was one of them.

“Jeno, aren’t you terrified by us? You just got a job in a museum that comes to life every night, and it’s not a normal thing.”

“Well, I’m still shaken up about it. But it’s my first night, and it’s when I learn everything about the place from head to toe. Plus, I really need the money.”

“Money for what? But you’re young, a student even!”

“Yes, I am. However, I do pay for the rent in my dorm. So, this job is like my first big responsibility, and I want to perform well.”

Athena commended his sense of authority, capable of leading himself. She noticed how well-spoken and poised he is, respecting and listening to everything the gods and goddesses said even if they were nonsense. She never liked to compromise with her power, taking a while to like Sanghoon back in the day. Though Jeno looked like a natural leader on his first night. If he could take care of himself well, he’s skilled to take care of the rest in the museum as well.

Plus she had full control on the nights he won’t be there, especially the weekend.

With his potential, Athena mentored him the entire night about the gist of the entire museum. Every upcoming leader needs an intelligent mentor, right? She was naturally gifted with worthy leadership skills, managing Jeno like her own child.

Athena explained how the museum came to life, which was through a royal golden plate from the Oriental room. It was a gift from a popular sorceress in China to an affluent family from the Han dynasty, who wished them a long life after she was saved from invaders due to them. The plate preserved over time, becoming an artifact. Its power remained immortal, mutating to bring life wherever it goes. In this case, the museum since its arrival in the late 70s as well.

“That’s why the Oriental room must be locked always so no one could touch or break the plate.”

After she ordered Jeno to lock the mentioned room, alongside the Foreign Art Exhibit Room which he checked out for his class, she led him to the best view of the entire museum. Center of the second floor, where stairs were on both sides. Jeno marveled at the vivacious atmosphere, witnessing actual art living, breathing, and enjoying themselves.

“Unreal, right?” She leaned in the railing, scanning through the chatty paintings.

Jeno also leaned down, deep in thought and wonder. “Absolutely, Athena. How come no one knows about this? Art coming to life? It’ll invite more students to the museum.”

“That goes against a golden rule as a night guard in this museum.” She replied bluntly. “The life that goes on inside this museum at night must remain a secret to the public.”

Jeno predicted this kind of response, having watched too many films where anything supernatural mustn’t be revealed. Although he liked the advantage of knowing something this powerful, he’d never abuse it.

Athena’s intellect was beyond the world, seamlessly reading Jeno’s expression and what he was thinking. He had good intentions even if he’s a bit mischievous. She needed to keep a keen eye on him, but for now, he needed to explore on his own.

“Anyways, Sanghoon still left out some other details. So if you have any questions, I’ll be at my exhibit trying to shut my father and my uncle up again.”

“Can you not use any weapons to do so?”

“Can’t make any promises, Jeno.” She slyly cracked her knuckles and neck as if she was fighting another battle.

Jeno was silently left with himself, finally browsing through Sanghoon’s guide while seated in one of the museum benches.

It consisted of 25 rules, wherein the first two rules consisted of locking up. One, for the doors and gates of the museum, so no art piece could escape. If they do, they will turn into dust when the sun is out according to Athena. Two, locking the Oriental and Foreign Art Rooms, which was already done.

Rule #5: Let Mochi the puppy from the lobby tag along with you; feed him treats if you have any.

On cue, the little guy barked from the corridor and raced to his side. Jeno carried him, babying him for a little and letting him lick his face a few times before putting him back down. He’s surely going to the pet store first thing in the morning with the museum allowance the director gave him.

Since he was on the second floor, he read and followed the rules that fit in before returning downstairs. On the other side of the floor were the wax figures exhibitions: one for prominent men in history while the other for prominent women. Well, more people to get acquainted with.

It’s the exchange of gasps and profanities he received when he chose the latter room. Seeing their faces, these were women he’s learned in school and online. Now in the (fake) flesh. Except for one girl he’s never heard of, unbothered in her corner sketching her life away in a sketchpad. But before he could check who she was, a suggestive touch on his arm distracted him.

“My, oh my, Hera wasn’t lying when she said that the new night guard was a fine specimen.” By her dark blue eyeshadow and eyeliner with the snake-like crown, Cleopatra studied him like he was one of the most renowned art pieces. Even patting his chest, abdomen, and arms with both her hand, Jeno caught a suggestive glint in her eyes and a smirk across her red lips.

Rule #13: Reject Cleopatra’s seductive advances at all costs.

“Goodness, Cleopatra. It’s only his first night, and you’re scaring him.” With her accent, round eyes, and a chic formal outfit, she carried a posh aura while unhesitatingly scolding the Queen of the Nile.

“Come on now, Diana. He’s stunning, who wouldn’t go after him?” If no one knew her, you’re not reading up on your world history. She’s said to have been a lovely and intelligent woman, gone so soon. Jeno definitely understood why after she detached Cleopatra’s raging hands off him.

Rule #14: Treat Princess Diana and Hera like your own parent.

“Your highness.” Jeno nodded at her out of respect, only making her chuckle uncontrollably.

“No need to address me like that, love. Now, come here.” She widened her arms for Jeno, hugging him amiably. He sensed her motherly warmth, accepting such a gesture. “You remind me so much of my youngest son, Harry. Welcome to the night shift of the museum, love.”

Similar to the Greek mythology exhibit, he introduced himself and responded to any questions that the women wax figures may have. Good for him, they weren’t crossing any borders and kept him at ease.

“A student like you working at night to pay rent?” Katherine Johnson, an African-American NASA mathematician whose calculations led to the success of a lot of famous spaceflights, cannot believe her ears. Students must only focus on school, nothing else. “What about your studies, boy?”

Rule #15: Engage in academic discussions with Katherine Johnson whenever you can.

“Most of my classes are in the afternoon, Miss Katherine. So I’ll sleep in the entire morning later and study during my breaks.”

“Mr. Jeno, what do you like to do outside of work?” Anne Frank, a German-Dutch teenager whose revolutionary diary that documented her life in hiding from the Nazis gained popularity worldwide after publication dreamily asked from her section of the exhibit. Her life was robbed of greatness merely because of her religion and war.

Rule #16: Bring delicious food or gifts to Anne Frank.

“Well, I like to bike with my friends, exercise, and draw whatever comes into mind!”

Everyone he’s met so far acquired pleasure in knowing about who he was and his passion for architecture, ridding the “freaking out” phase Athena assumed he had. Yet not everyone in this exhibit bothered to give him a shot.

Jeno’s attention from Anne talking about her crush towards Peter van Daan, a teenage boy who lived with her, switched to the section beside her, where an unacquainted figure was zealously sketching as if something was due to the following day. It reflected how he’d look when he’s cramming one of his plates due to first thing in the morning. While he properly excused himself, he quietly gazed at the way this woman scrunched her eyebrows when she erased something then drew it again. She was someone he’s never seen or heard before, reading the information plate in front of him about her.

 (Y/N) (Y/L/N), Explorer and Author. (1854-1900)

 Wealthy women in the Victorian Era only served one purpose in society: marry a man from a prestigious family, have his children and join whatever interests they have. However, for (Y/N), she wasn’t going to conform to those standards.

Born into the affluent house of (Y/L/N), she was the youngest of 8 children. She was said to be the kindest and sweetest sibling out of everyone, not capable of hurting anyone or anything. She said it herself that she can’t throw away a dying flower because it’s too painful. While 5 of her older brothers were sent to school, she stayed at home with her 2 older sisters Cecilia and Amelia where she learned how to play the piano and take voice lessons from impressive teachers. Due to the huge age gaps between them (12 and 8 respectively), she never felt close with them. She was only closest to the 6th and 7th siblings, her twin brothers Benjamin and Liam whom she only had a 2-year gap. She was also best friends with one of the scullery maids her age, Lily, because she found her amusing that than the boring rich girls her mother forced to interact with.

The moment it bothered her that she wanted to live a more meaningful life was when Amelia got married. She was 12 years old at the time, and it left her as the last unwed daughter in the family. Badly did she want to revolt, which she gradually did. Instead of practicing piano, she’d sneak in to read every book in her father’s office. She secretly studied the notes of her older brothers from school and even dressed as a boy numerously thanks to Benjamin and Liam to join their classes or field trips.

This was her routine up until the age of 18 when she stomped her foot down and expressed to her parents that she wasn’t going to let Victorian society dictate her. The night before her parents were bound to send her to her great aunt’s home down South to sort her out, she successfully snuck out her house thanks to Lily, Benjamin, and Liam. It’s another good thing that she saved a lot of money for that moment.

Off she went across Europe first, then sailed to America and even parts of Asia. Initially under the name Lilibe, coined from picking the first two letters of her brothers and best friend, she documented her days and nights through her journals and sketches. Over time, she sent them to her brothers for publication. It started the franchise, “The Adventures of the Young and Free Lilibe”. There are 10 books under it.

She learned French, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean by herself as she made friends from those places. It was rare of someone like her to be fluent in Oriental languages, surprising locals every time she spoke to them. She was the only explorer to vividly describe life in different Asian lands in English, talking about their history and culture. With her accurate drawings of diverse citizens and their daily lives, it educated a lot of those living back home in Europe about them rather than speaking lowly of them.

In Seoul did she stayed the longest until her death from pneumonia at the young age of 46.

In her posthumous work, Finding Me, did she reveal her real identity, dedicating it to her parents whom she apologized and expressed her love for them despite everything that occurred between them. She talked about the last years of her life in Seoul, how locals were so nice and inviting to her, and how she adopted kids instead of having her own through the years.

“It’s not because I never found love in men. It’s more like I found love in doing things I’m passionate about. Traveling, learning new cultures, it outweighed the human need of romance.”

Due to her thrill in taking risks and embarking on wondrous adventures, it brought inspiration to a lot of young girls pressured to marry at that time to pursue what they really want.

 A remarkable background you had, Jeno contemplated. How come no one discussed her in his classes?

You kept brushing the bangs of your hair back as it fell repeatedly. But you got irritated instantly because it sabotaged your drive, you brought out a hairpin from her desk and attached it on both sides. But when you shifted your angle of focus, the corner of your eye locked with Jeno’s attentive gaze.

He didn’t flinch, even he should’ve. He wasn’t one to linger his look on anyone’s physical appearances, but your story and the passion on your face as you sketched mesmerized him. He was charmed, to say the least.

“Uhm, hello there?” You broke the silence due to your uneasiness about it. What’s his deal?

Jeno bowed, reintroducing himself to you. As soon as his presence settled in the room when Cleopatra attempted to hit on him, you could’ve cared less. Though this man was a first for you, a first in a long time as all guards would feel intimidated by you during the first night. Even your sharp tongue didn’t faze him. “Staring is rude, sir. Didn’t your mother teach you manners?”

“She did,” He wandered through the exterior of your section, by the fence that separated you and him. Not breaking eye contact, his eyes turned into moon crescents as he smirked with trouble. “Though she also told me to appreciate the art too.”

Snorts noisily exhaled from Cleopatra, who took the center section of the exhibit, succeeded by Princess Diana’s whispered gasps and Katherine’s side-eyeing Anne beside her while she taught her math. That was an odd way a guard conversed with you, but Jeno was merely doing what the rules stated. Partly, he was impressed with his cheesy pick-up line, partly embarrassed because he’s never spoken like this to anyone.

Rule #17: Act playfully around (Y/N) (Y/L/N) to break the tension; she’s a harsh one.

There was irony between the information he read about your life versus the wax model. Even when you faced sexism and ran away according to your history, never were you impolite to anyone in your life. You couldn’t even kill a lurking fly when it roams around your food! It showed Jeno a possibility that as much as you’re just a wax version of someone famous in the past, maybe the external environment around you had a heavy influence too.

“You fool!” His confidence exasperated you, urging you to persistently throw balls of paper with your failed sketches at him. No one dared to talk to you like that, most especially a night guard. “Take that for your comment!”

If you thought he’d scram away and act repentant, you were proven wrong. His reflexes were parallel to a spider, capturing every single paper ball without fail. Up and down his body went, one arm held on to them and no more were left on your part. Never a single defeat during the first meeting in years, but that seemed to alter now.

“Give up already, Ms. (Y/L/N)?” Jeno remarked vibrantly as he discarded your mess in the trash bin behind him. If he managed to get everyone to like him tonight, he wanted to make sure to have you onboard too.

Whatever agenda he had, you weren’t up for it. You’d treat him the same way you usually treated Sanghoon for the past 20 something years: cold and ignorant. From your stool, you left your comfortable position to come face to face with this man. He better be grateful for that barrier in between you, or else you would’ve caused mayhem.

“Never in your wildest dreams, Mr. Lee.” Your mouth gave a half-smile, clenching on the bars to liberate your annoyance. Before you could fend back, that’s when Princess Diana intervened between your heated dialogue.

“Oh heavens, children!” She stood by the barrier, mostly to protect the newbie Jeno with her body. “(Y/N), he just wanted to know you. Must you be so cross?”

This Princess Diana embodied all the traits the real one had: soft-spoken, intelligent, and protective. She’s gotten so used to your gradual temper, staying on standby whenever anyone tried to mess with you. Even if it was harmless, you could get so mean!

“Diana, he was mocking me! Saying such a sleazy phrase as if to amuse me, ha! Not a chance, I hate people like that.”

“Not us women though; you just despise men in general.”

“And you’re absolutely right!” With a smug smile, you greedily rejoiced. “Anyways, escort this disgrace out. I’m not in the mood to get angry when I have a lot of inspiration on mind right now.”

While you resumed your sketching to let go of that extra steam, Jeno was left with Diana who apologized on your behalf. Your pride was too high to do that, and as the motherly figure among them, she always took care of things in your exhibit.

“I’m so sorry for that, Jeno. She’s not really like this, but I know how much you tried your best. It was quite a fresh spectacle honestly.”

Whatever was responsible for your abrasiveness, Jeno yearned to know. He couldn’t understand who you were yet even knowing your life story. All he wanted was to get along with everyone. It was the key to successfully maintain his job for the next 6 months.

“How can I make her come around then?”

A demanding question that no one had a solid answer to. Diana recalled how much Sanghoon didn’t let your dislike for him get to him, maintaining a respectful boundary in between each other after his past attempts. Though with Jeno, observing how he riled you up and your focus entirely on him, she hasn’t seen anything like it since the 80s.

There was something in Jeno that may just get you to warm up and return to your kind nature.

“Aside from acting playful, as Sanghoon recommended, I can think of two ways, love.” By the doors of her exhibit, where Jeno was already waltzing the corridor to visit other rooms, she suggested smartly. “One, argue back to her opinions. She hates whenever anyone tries to get her way, but boy, you’re just as wise as her. No one was brave enough to peeve on her until you came.”

“How about the second way?”

“Do your research, love. Aside from libraries, you have those small technology devices that allow you to search up anything.” She tousled Jeno’s brown locks as if it were her actual son’s. Some habits just don’t die when you do.

“Brush up on your history, Jeno. Not only will it help you with (Y/N), but it’ll serve purposefully with the other art pieces here.”

Boy, he was ready to crash in his bed for a few hours after all those interactions. His introverted nature required to be revitalized.

Towards the last hours of his shift, the art pieces who’ve strolled in the first floor lessened his plate by not leaving any major clutter behind. As if she listened to him, Athena didn’t break any lightbulbs too.

His main highlight would be meeting the men of the historical male section, who flaunted a more humorous ambiance. Freddie Mercury from Queen insisted he drink a glass of his wine and to bring more wine next time, which he denied since it would against Sanghoon’s rules. King Sejong the Great and Martin Luther King Jr. argued back and forth over the most random things (pineapple on pizza specifically), while Steve Jobs mediated whenever one crossed the line. Meanwhile, William Shakespeare was too preoccupied in his writing and speaking to himself about his books, wondering how to improve them.

During one of his breaks today, he multitasked drawing a new plate with his research on every art piece to know them better. He started with the exhibit of sculptures of the Greek gods and goddesses, which were Zeus, Hera, Hades, Athena, Hermes, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Artemis, Dionysus, and Circe. They weren’t the complete roster because the rest were in other museums across the globe, as said by Athena before sunrise. The majority of them he knew what they were in charge of, but the rest were foggy to his knowledge. Typing away and jotting notes down, he started downloading his favorite jazz songs too.

Rule # 4: Play jazz music to the paintings on the first floor so they can relax and dance within their frames.

Circe is a minor goddess, the daughter of the sun god Helios. She’s recognized for her versatility in incantations and herbs, capable of transforming people into animals. From Jeno’s perspective, she’s mostly within her space with her journals and magic wand, trying new spells or combinations of herbs. For the latter, he had to keep a closer eye on.

Rule #9: Don’t let Circe, god of potions, into the Oriental Room to get plants and herbs.

He discovered that Dionysus is the god of wine, happiness, and theatre. That’s why every god in the exhibit had full wine glasses during their gathering. It also added up why Freddie Mercury always comes to him when his bottles run empty, though he mustn’t go overboard.

Rule #18: Make sure Freddie Mercury doesn’t get too drunk from the wine of Dionysus; he might make numerous scenes if he does.

After his lone studying session, he took a short trip to the pet and convenience stores to buy food. He got a dumbfounded look from Jaemin back in the dorm room, who was studying for one of his quizzes in Biology in a couple of hours.

“Woah what’s with this stash? Is it for yourself or something?”

“The museum surprisingly has a lot of tasks needed to be done at night. And no, not from my wallet but the allowance they gave me before you get a heart attack.” Jeno plopped on his solo bed, covering his face with a pillow.

“Thank God.” A relaxed sigh escaped Jaemin’s lips, taking back his balled-up fists meant for his roommate. “I think I would’ve stormed that boring museum if they made your broke ass spend a cent.”

“Boring?” Jeno removed the cushion hastily, eyeing his busy and coffee-high roommate. The scent of black coffee from his mug spread in the room, assuming that this upcoming test was testing his roommate’s patience again.

Not even trying to look at Jeno while reviewing his handwritten notes, Jaemin continued giving his opinion. “Museum culture is dead, Jeno. Not everyone has the time to roam around one, plus people can always look up the artifacts online these days.”

People were entitled to their own opinions on numerous things, though Jeno begged to differ with his roommate’s. Especially after witnessing the magic of the night shift, you shouldn’t merely judge a book by its cover. In this case, you shouldn’t judge an artwork or art piece merely on its history and legacy.

Maybe because his roommate was in the science department, he thought this way. A lot of art students regularly visit the museum both for fun and for their classes, and Jeno was one of them. Though he was too sleepy to explain his side, he let it slide for now and snoozed throughout the late afternoon.

An hour before the start of his shift, Jeno promenaded the emptying museum to inspect anything else he might’ve missed out on from last night. There were two areas according to his rotation, both in the first floor.

One was the Diorama Room. Divided into 4 sections, highlighting some of the well-known ancient civilizations in world history. Ancient Egypt and Ancient China to your left, Ancient Rome and Ancient Maya to your right. They acted as if they were the actual people during those times, giving Jeno a laugh when they cracked jokes in between. Such tiny figures, yet the rule for them said otherwise.

Rule # 7: The small figurines in the Diorama Room are feisty, so make sure they don’t fight with one another again.

The remaining room left was the Theater Room. He’s never been here, though his art friends have for film festivals held by the university.

The interior of it was set to look like an actual cinema place you’d see in a mall. There was a mini lobby with a few posters of iconic films over the years. Singin’ in the Rain, Back to the Future, Titanic, those were some framed and hung on the wall. There were two other doors there: one leading to the chairs and the other where the movie projector was. The latter room was pretty riveting, wherein you can choose to watch old short films through an 88mm film projector or switch to a cd player for the newer releases.

Back to those posters, they weren’t an exception to the magic and a simple rule was left for Jeno to do.

Rule # 10: Chatter with the movie posters in the lobby of the Theater Room; they love meeting new faces.

Since there wasn’t anyone checking out the Art Rooms on the second floor, he closed them. Though as he was about to lock the Oriental Room, the ravishing plants around the royal plant appealed his interest. Said to hold magical properties from his research, Jeno was reminded of another rule to keep in mind for later.

Rule # 3: The fake flowers in the Oriental Room come to life too at night, so when no one is lurking, water it diligently.

Instead of lounging at Sanghoon’s office first, he brought his important items to the front desk of the lobby and continued sketching his plate. He wanted to watch the art come back alive with his two eyes. Usually, he’d have coffee when he does his work, but due to another crucial rule in the guide, he’d rather not take the risk.

Rule # 6: The lobby room can get rowdy, so keep any drinks away from important items.

On the dot, the cries and yawns from the art pieces around him reverberated. Closing his sketchpad, his night guard mode was on. Connecting his laptop on the aux cord of the museum speakers, he tapped play on his playlist of jazz music that’ll last for the entire shift duration. As the first notes flooded the entire vicinity, sounds of joy left the lips of each painting. Some were humming, dancing, and even singing along.

“You can never go wrong with Frank Sinatra!”

“This Jeno lad really did the heavens’ work quick!”

Having the sense of accomplishment on his sleeve, the small barks of his fluffy pal reached closer to him. As he kneeled to find him, he was only taken by surprise as Mochi excitedly jumped on him. Tumbling over, Jeno chuckled innocently as Mochi licked his face numerously. This puppy was friendly, easily liking everyone at first sight. He wasn’t as choosy like Daegal, the puppy of his friend Chenle studying Business Management.

Once he composed himself and cradling the dog like his own, he fed him a dog treat from the desk.

“Good boy, Mochi!” He rubbed his fur while the puppy happily munched on it, ready to fulfill more of his duties.

He skipped the Greek mythology exhibit since Athena was doing a good job not letting anyone go overboard with their powers, though he’ll check in again in a few hours. He met the posters of the theater room, who were celebrities he grew up watching on tv. Sanghoon was right; they were the kinder group in the entire museum because they were more laidback.

On to the second floor, all the female wax figures lounged by the male section due to another lecture from Shakespeare. Although the guide informed him that most of the time it could get boring, this lecture was more stimulating. On his platform, he elaborated with conviction the lines of one of his famous books, Romeo and Juliet. A must-read book back in his high school days, there’s no way Jeno could’ve missed that out.

From the looks of it, Jeno perceived that Shakespeare was performing spoken word poetry due to him reading only Romeo’s lines while Cleopatra read Juliet’s beside him. This kind of show was one of the sources of entertainment to these figures, so Jeno leaned by the side of the door to listen. After all, the famous author of it was a few feet away. Cleopatra channeled such a naïve character to her ability, absentmindedly saying as she clutched her chest.

“O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet.”

“Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?”

“'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? That which we call a rose-”

The flow of an engaged Cleopatra was abrupted by the loud yell from Shakespeare in front, specifically to an amused Jeno. “Jeno, my boy! Welcome back!”

Such an announcement diverted everyone’s attention to the back, some running to Jeno to give their respective greetings. It’s rare for everyone to feel at ease with a new guard, taking them weeks to approach them due to the intimidation. Though Jeno’s bright presence felt welcoming, so they accepted it. Perhaps it’s because of his youth, it reminded them of theirs too.

Shakespeare highly requested (or forced) Jeno to take his part as Romeo, intrigued to watch someone younger read his lines. Since most of the male wax figures were aged, it never satisfied Shakespeare so he jumped on this opportunity as quickly as he could. With the roaring cheers from the other figures, Jeno might as well give it a try. It wasn’t like his friends were here to clown him like they usually would if he did something humiliating.

Jeno shockingly liked this activity as he wasn’t much of a performer on stage, but someone who does the behind-the-scenes of it. He realized as he read the lines from the book Shakespeare asked him to follow along with why people held university-wide spoken word shows a few times per semester. He was no actor, but it’s delightful to have tried it at least once in his life.

“O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?” As if the edge of the platform was the balcony of Juliet (or Cleopatra rather), he knelt as he ardently spoke his lines. He’s emphasizing this rush of uncontrollable desire for her, rambling whatever he would do to get the girl.

“What satisfaction canst thou have tonight?” Cleopatra questioned from her chair, inching closer to the young boy. Even outside character will she attempt to charm Jeno, but Jeno was quick to catch it and kept his distance.

“The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine.”

“I gave thee mine before thou didst request it, and yet I would it were to give again.”

“Wouldst thou withdraw it? For what purpose, love?”

“But to be frank, and give it thee again. And yet I wish but for the thing I have. My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep. The more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.”

Everyone was condensed by their top-notch acting, as if this was the actual play unfolding before them. Jeno wasn’t so sure how he got himself in character without preparation, yet he felt what his character felt. He comprehended the material a lot better now than when he was still in high school.

However, there was always that one killjoy to ruin the heartfelt mood.

“How dumb is it to say that you’re in love after the first glance?” You opposed, putting the spotlight on you. This book was said to be a classic in literature, but as you matured physically and mentally, you could no longer agree with it. “Isn’t love the same thing that killed Romeo and Juliet in the end?”

Remembering what Princess Diana told him, he wasn’t going to let this pass. He wanted to give a piece of his mind too, caring less if the show must be paused. “Love is an emotion we don’t ask to feel. It’ll come to us when we least expect it, even when the timing of it can be crucial.”

“Of all the people Juliet could’ve gone for, it just had to be the enemy.” In all the years you’ve been brought to life, no one dared to test your opinions because they were aware of your intelligence, from the streets to the books. When someone bark, you’d bite back. Hard. “With all due respect, I love your works, Shakespeare. Yet the fate you’ve given these two at a young age was grave, could’ve you given them a better outcome or another character to love instead?”

“Giving them extra characters to love won’t address the horrific life fact that love can be dangerous. Regardless of what status you’re in, you can’t stop the attraction towards someone. The heart wants what it wants.” Jeno pressed his hand to his chest, pumping it a bit. Unknown to you and him, the audience found more entertainment in your argument. Anne, who was munching on the popcorn Jeno gave her earlier, passed the snack to Katherine who just couldn’t stop watching.

If this man wanted a challenge, you’re all ears. Who was he to compete with you? Was he not intelligent to know who you are?

“So are you insinuating that we just go with the flow? Be a slave to our emotions too and let them dictate our next motives?”

“Slave is such a strong word to use, (Y/N). But it’s not like we can’t choose who want to love because we actually can. In this case, Romeo chose Juliet and vice versa.”

“But what happens if the person you choose doesn’t choose you in return?”

“At least you tried your best, right? It’ll hurt like hell though, but it won’t last forever.” From his kneeling position, Jeno strutted his way with confidence. Trying not to let it mess with you, your extreme stare at him as if they’ll shoot lasers. Inches away from you, Jeno declared. “Love always has risks, that’s a given. Romeo and Juliet still tried and followed their hearts despite the downfall. But it was a needed downfall to get the message across.”

“No one would be that foolish to risk their lives for love though, right? Life is so precious, why would they do such a thing?”

“Even if they knew what their lives were without each other, they still preferred living a life where they were both in the picture. Therefore, they tried all they could that time because the regret of not doing anything at all carries a heavier burden.”

Whenever anyone argued with you, their debating points they spat back would further piss you off because most of the time, it never made sense. Back when this rude man told you to go home and be a wife in your earlier years of exploring, you civilly told him to fuck off, kicking his balls because he cornered you in an alley. For the first time, a man who tried to challenge you actually made sense. Was it because he lived in a modern time, where minds were more open? Because of the amount of sexism you faced in the past, you’ve turned a blind eye to the current period.

But your high pride maintained, not submitting into anything he said. “I still think it’s stupid to risk your life for love. There’s no such thing as having only one true love anyways, and you have to be alive to see it.”

“Fair point, but again, the feeling of regret and carrying it your entire life doesn’t fade easily. It’ll make you reflect on the what-ifs, and it’s heart-wrenching.” Jeno digressed, walking around you in circles. He’s intentionally trying to drive you mad, but he could care less. He wanted someone to put you in your place and open your mindset. “The question stands: would you rather try and go for it even knowing its risks or regret not even trying for the rest of your existence? Quite ironic for me to ask you that, don’t you think?”

Past the information board, Jeno researched more of your life history online. Your whole life was grounded on risks, from breaking the standards of your society, leaving your family and home country, to fending yourself from disrespectful men. Rather than living the original life expected from you, you chose not to because it didn’t make you happy. Such a risktaker he knew you are, but with the topic of love, he wondered why you were on a fence with it. Though some records stated you’ve had rendezvouses with a few men in your journeys, love was never in the equation. The single life was what you chose and you were more than satisfied, plus your adopted kids filled that supposed void anyways.

This man may have studied your history, but so much he still doesn’t know. Information that never made the books because you chose not to write or tell anyone about it. Aside from the discomfort growing in your chest, everyone else felt the awkward tension when you were lost for words.

Never been defeated in an argument, until tonight. Your mind lost its drive and willpower.

“Touché, Lee Jeno.” Indeed, his name you’re acquainted with. Numerously passed around in your exhibit, mostly from the lips of Cleopatra, who’d fantasize all the graphic things she would do to him. Too much information, least of your interest. “Please excuse me. I’d like to work on my sketches to ease my mind.”

As you quietly exited the room, an all too familiar sculpture leaned against the railings overseeing one side of the museum. Just like you, she hated accepting defeat or compromises. She always rooted for you to win. With a faint chuckle, “Facing a loss for the first time, I see.”

“Don’t even lecture me about it, Athena. I’m still fired up, and I need to relax.”

“Jeno is a different breed, isn’t he?” She stuck to your side, strolling wherever your feet led you.

“Different as in he’s a man? Yes. What else is there to it?”

“Men these days aren’t as trashy as those back in the day though. Shouldn’t you give him a chance?”

“Last time I did, it destroyed my heart. I’m not allowing myself to let men in even as a friend, Athena.”

She knew exactly what you were referring to, not touching on it further. No way will you let heartbreak or disappointment from men bother you. Even Sanghoon’s sweet company took a while to tolerate. You really needed to sketch this out on your pad right now, excusing yourself from Athena’s presence. Isolation wasn’t new to you; it’s what’s protecting your entire being. Immortal as you are, you had to recover from the past pain so the next decades won’t feel as brash.

You hoped to return to your old self when you were a fresh new figure in the 70s. So naïve, only proud of your accomplishments, and purely happy.

While Jeno continued to finish his scene in respect to Shakespeare, he received a standing ovation for his mini-show. Cleopatra didn’t expect such talent from him, growing fonder of the younger male. Whether she seduces him or not, he was never afraid to try new things and she liked that about him.

“Bravo, love!” Princess Diana praised, clapping at him.

Although Jeno appreciated all this positive attention, his thoughts bounced back to your and your stance on love. The debate earlier was just out of being playful, interested to hear your opinions. Though, he’s worried that he might’ve offended you. It may have been time to finally witness something like that, but then again, he was sure he touched something personal to you. No matter how you tried to fight it off, your eyes can’t lie. Staring down at him, there was pain beneath it. Your eyebrows scrunched to the center, thinking deeply yet remained utterly speechless.

A win he didn’t feel good about.

“It’s time she encountered something new in the years she’s been here. Give her some space tonight, then try again to reach out to her. Kindly this time; I’m not in the mood for another brawl that could end up like the Greek gods’ past fights downstairs.”

These clever words shared by Katherine loitered his mind for the rest of the night, eventually going back to finishing his current plate since everyone was behaving well. As great it is to get the approval of the majority, he tried brainstorming ways to make you like him too.

He understood the whole “men are trash” concept in today’s modern society, but if he could prove it wrong to at least one person, it would be you. Whatever is holding you back, he only hoped that you’d let it go. Questionably unsure as to why he was so persevering, he concluded that it was so he could perform his job better as the night guard. Set higher standards than Sanghoon even.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Weeks passed, and his attempts continued to be unsuccessful.

The capability for you to ignore his efforts remained strong, whether he was pestering you over small things or debating with you again about anything. Life, books, morals, the two of you always head butt each other. Anything good he did, you searched for a flaw in it. Whatever acts he’s tried and continued trying, not one flinch from you ever.

Even if that’s his state with you, his job no longer felt stressful nor strenuous. He’d try to sleep more on days he was off-duty. Although the fatigue of staying beyond his usual sleeping time was inevitable, he compromised to take a nap lasting an hour or two when the art pieces weren’t acting frisky.

Plus, there have been multiple times they adapted to any alterations so his physical well-being wouldn’t fall sick. Per order of Princess Diana and Hera, who by instinct became his motherly figures here, only wanting what’s best for the kids.

He became accustomed to everything that went on at night, discovering things on his own without Sanghoon’s guide. Anne talked about how much she missed biking in her neighborhood, so one night, Jeno snuck his bike inside and let her use it around the first floor. With proper monitoring so none of the paintings would be unbothered or pieces wouldn’t tumble.

Hermes the messenger god was fluent in every language possible, so every so often, Jeno would freely speak to him in Korean because sometimes he felt he could explode by the amount of English he used every night. Bilingual things, you know. He knew you were multilingual too, but for obvious reasons, he couldn’t converse with you.

Because Jeno was heavily favored, that should’ve been enough to push through his night shifts before the end of the semester. In addition to that, the hourly rate was above the average of whatever Jaemin or Renjun was earning. For the past 2 months, Jeno paid upfront first, even paying back all his debts. It almost made Renjun want to switch jobs with him.

“Trust me, Renjun. You don’t want it, being the lowkey scaredy cat you are.”

Work no longer felt like work, and that’s what everyone aspired to feel. Nevertheless, he tended to worry over you mid-shift, glancing at you from his side view. Sketching, reading, and writing were your default actions. No matter how many times he said to himself not to let your dislike for him affect him, it’d always backfire.

Why were you so cold?

What made you lose your fire from all the research he did about your lively personality?

When morning arrived and he gathered his stuff, you’d be the last thing he’ll check on. Frozen in your standing pose, smiling as you held a book and a pencil, he detected how fake it was. Bystanders would only assume your happiness was from your achievements, though Jeno’s gut firmly pried that something grand overpowered that happiness. And definitely, not in a good way.

Out of all the art pieces, he investigated on you the most. Skimming through every material in the library, endless searching on the net, even asking professors from the History department thanks to Renjun, he did whatever he could. People may already think he was obsessed with who you are, but only little did they know.

Another plate was done and submitted, and he promised himself to look you up one last time before surrendering. For someone who’s rarely given up on a challenge, this one was really out of his control. Maybe he should follow Sanghoon’s footsteps now.

You lived centuries before him, and there’s limited material of you left. Rather than learning of your adventures again, he dug through what things you liked over your life. Maybe by giving one of them, it’ll lessen the tension from a 100 to 99. Maybe you preferred gifts over words, he’ll never know until he tried.

Boom.

According to one of your journal entries, there’s a fond liking you’ve acquired for lavender roses from Benjamin and Liam when they visited you in Paris in secret because of how much you missed them. It went both ways, praying your family ties could be recovered.

It’s a good thing he needed to refill his stock of items for the art pieces so he could pass by the flower store a few blocks away from his dorm. That night, without further words, he graciously offered you a fresh lavender rose in between your new sketching session.

“I may not know exactly why you’re spiritless around me, but with this rose, I hope we could work something out.”

Your frigid face of disdain, keeping your chin high and squinting your eyes with judgment, began to crumble down.  Of all things as a peace offering, he gave you that? Then again, it’s not like he knew that an item you liked so much became something you’ve grown to hate and why so. No history books could teach him that.

Vulnerability was a normal thing, yet feared by many. Once one uncovered your weak spot, they could harm you. You still couldn’t trust Jeno fully, not willing to show your helplessness nor were you ever going to tell him. Hidden from his knowledge, everyone else including Sanghoon were familiarized as to why this kind of flower tormented you.

You sprinted like thunder out the exhibit room to wherever it’s private to control your senses. You may not have a physical heart, but your emotions were just as actual as a human’s. You needed to regulate your panting breath. In the past decades, you’ve not shed a singular tear but the cycle broke when they streamed out your miserable eyes like a flowing river. Quiet sobs, an empty corner near the fire exit was where your wobbly legs faltered, the painful memories of the past replayed in your head. Once beautiful, but now an agonizing reminder of what could’ve been.

Katherine, Cleopatra, and Anne were swift on their feet to hunt you down, anxious of what you may do next. Seeing or the mention of these flowers still affected you despairingly. Sanghoon must’ve forgotten to write them down, or perhaps he didn’t know either about this fact during all the years he’s worked there.

It’s one of the biggest secrets of his museum. By the clueless face Jeno had with his eyebrows raised, mouth, and small eyes slightly open, he repeatedly asked what he did wrong and adding that he never meant to harm you. Indeed, they knew that yet what occurred involved a secret in the list of museum secrets. Confidential only between art pieces according to Athena, none of the male wax figures spoke a word, only pitying the boy.

“I wasn’t here yet that time, but they said that it was once beautiful, but now it’s a rough period.” With hesitation, Princess Diana chose to reveal it to rid Jeno’s misery. She didn’t mind having to argue about it with Athena later on, as this may further affect the two of you later on.

“A long time ago in the early ‘80s, there was a night guard around your age named Junmyeon. Also, a college student, trying to make ends meet. He did it for 3 years until he graduated. Though within his stay, not only was he such a delight to everyone, he broke a golden rule in the guide. I believe you do know the guide much more now, Jeno?”

“Yes, I do, Princess Diana. Memorized it even, but which one specifically?” Jeno’s desperate eyes pleaded, only hoping for the best and to fix what he messed up.

“You can form friendships with the art pieces, but nothing more.” Princess Diana replied bitterly. “Junmyeon was an aspiring painter, a different path from his business-oriented family. He was seen as the black sheep. She resonated with him, sharing the burden and lifting it by doing whatever fun they could in the museum. In time, they both fell in love with each other; they were each other’s first loves.”

“Why must something beautiful like love be broken? It’s not like you can control it. That golden rule makes no sense.”

“It does, unfortunately. Wax figures like me cannot age, while humans like you can. None of them could accept the reality, always pushing it away. Until Junmyeon’s last week in university, he broke it off with her unexpectedly. From there, (Y/N) was heartbroken for decades. With heartbreak, giving the cold shoulder and bitterness followed. Then with the lavender rose you gave that she used to love became a flower that she associated with Junmyeon too because he gave her one almost every night for those past 3 years.”

Things finally added up, and the guilt in Jeno’s gut expanded. His major lightbulb moment was a major failure.

“Has Junmyeon ever returned to try and win her back?”

“Well, there was one time he did come back for an art exhibition for his paintings in the 2000s. I was already here, then he had a woman around his shoulder with an adolescent boy holding his hand. He roamed around our exhibit and kept gawking at (Y/N). We may be asleep, but we remember the conversations exchanged in the room. So, his son then asked him if he knew who she was.”

“What did he respond?” Jeno attentively listened, on the edge of such a hurtful tale.

“He knew her name, praising her for historical achievements. However, nothing as a former friend or lover. From what I predict, he ingested one of Circe’s potions.”

“But I thought Circe isn’t allowed to make potions for actual consumption. She’s not even allowed to enter the Oriental Art Room.” Jeno pointed out, overwhelmed at the puzzling past. Princess Diana was mindful that she had to stop spreading too much information, so she had to end her discussion with the lost boy.

“There are a lot of secrets about this museum, Jeno. Unfortunately, I cannot reveal to you to protect our peace.”

With due respect, Jeno quit his follow-up questions and concerns. The only thing he wished to do was mend his relationship with you. As vague as to where you even stood in the first place, he unintentionally crossed a line due to his selfish intention to befriend you.

“What can I do now, Princess Diana? You know I’d never push her buttons like that, even if I’m a whimsical person.”

“Oh, my boy.” Princess Diana soothed, holding both her hand on his sweaty palm and cupping his cheek. “For the meantime, give her space. No taunting for a while, and just observe her from a distance. Though do not fret the slightest; I’m sure she’ll be okay again.”

During that interval, you were hunched on the wall, bawling and weeping like the wound was brand new again. While Katherine and Anne stood by your side, on the lookout for anyone who’d be spying on you, Cleopatra knelt in front of you as your infinite tears gushed down.

“My dear,” She tried to wipe some of them while holding your hand. “It’s been years, and Jeno didn’t know a single thing. He didn’t mean to do it.”

“I don’t care, Cleopatra! He should’ve stopped trying to socialize with me because I won’t ever live down my experience with Junmyeon.”

“As if crying like this will bring Junmyeon back to your life,” Cleopatra exclaimed, holding in her temper. Acquainted with heartbreak, it’s awful that it changed you entirely, but you should’ve found a way to heal. Throughout your attitude change, it’s mostly you in pain, not those you inflict it to. “My dear, I love you a lot. But this Jeno boy is different, and you know it.”

“He’s still a nightguard, for Christ’s sake, Cleopatra.”

“You shouldn’t generalize that all night guards are bad just because of one encounter that occurred at the wrong time.” Brushing some strands stuck by your wet visage, she professed to you bluntly. “You’re never going to know how good Jeno is unless you slowly open up again, (Y/N). Not forcing you the slightest, but healing started once you’ve acknowledged the past and move on from it.”

“But I’m scared, Cleopatra.” You restlessly admitted, hunching even more against the wall. Your poor, metaphorical heart could only take so much. You barely expressed sorrow towards others as you always held a strong exterior, only letting it out alone. Not holding back anymore, Cleopatra brought you in for a hug. The last time she did that was the first night after Junmyeon left, calming your intensified emotions so you wouldn’t do anything dumb that night. No violence, just pure sorrow.

“My dear, it’s alright.” She whispered while stroking your back upwards. “But you’re a risktaker; that’s how people remember you. Now, you must challenge yourself to move on from things that didn’t work out. Because once you do, it’ll put your heart and mind at ease.”

“Do you think I’ll be okay again?”

“Yes, you will be, my dear. You are not alone, and never will be.”

Acting like the dutiful son he always was, Jeno distanced from you.

He still cracked jokes, chatted with the art pieces, and followed the rules, yet never did he utter anything to you. You’ve proudly anticipated it since day one, not wanting him up in your business or teasing you ever. But this time, it felt odd.

On nights he didn’t report, you’ve unconsciously wondered what he may have been up to. A job like this at his age was just as Sanghoon once said: nothing in the regular.

Was he with his friends?

Was he resting well?

From the moment you chose to let go of your limitations and old thoughts, it included your grudge against past guards. Asking for forgiveness to Sanghoon when he returns was on the top of your list, however, that’ll take a while to happen. In the start, you’re baffled as to why he no longer picked on you like every night he’s been present. Somehow, it became a habit you’ve gotten used to, having so many comebacks planned to fend yourself. But you didn’t want to concede to it, maintaining what was left of your pride since that breakdown.

While on the subject, you suspected if anyone told him anything that night because that also indicated the last time he reached out to you. By anything, it would be your unwritten past with Junmyeon. A part of yourself in the museum that you didn’t want to disperse like rapid-fire again. It would be the last thing you wanted Jeno to know.

To your misfortune, Princess Diana came clean due to your growing concern over it. Although your attitude changed and people got used to it, you could only blame yourself that you were responsible for Jeno’s change.

“All he wanted was to understand and enlighten us with his likable presence. Then with you, you were his challenge because of your high walls. Out of everyone, he tried to learn everything about you. From my observation, whenever he has a goal, he’s determined to achieve it.”

“But I’m trying to be better now, Diana. Why did he stop?”

“He may have determination, but he knows where the boundaries lie.” Princess Diana patted the side of your arm, giving you a half-grin. “It hurt him when he hurt you, even if it was accidental. So he opted to give you space; that way, you could catch a breather and he wouldn’t harm you anymore. It was what you wanted from the start anyways, right?”

A hard pill to swallow, though it was a fact. It’s just that now, you’re slowly willing to release yourself from the dark. It’s been decades, and more to come. Nothing can move on unless you do.

“Where is he, Princess Diana?”

Just as she predicted right on the edge, Diana completed the grin on her face and led you to the entrance of your exhibit. She may be younger than you, but you’re reverted in your twenties while she remained in her mid-thirties. Gaping the wide museum from the railing, starting from the painting exhibit in the lobby to across the other side of the museum, Diana spotted the black hair of the boy in the Foreign Art Room.

“Over there.”

Observing where her eyes focused, you caught a glimpse of a recognizable side profile. The owner’s eyes were completely taken by whatever he was drawing on the fold-up desk he brought out from the storage room. By the tedious action of his right hand going up and down, you’ve gotten so used to his part-time identity as the night guard to entirely dismiss his current status as a university student.

Architecture specifically as he first introduced himself to you. The same path your oldest brother, Christopher, worked in. The look of tenacity Jeno presented as his eyebrows continuously scrunched, his crescent orbs hastily spied his work for any unnecessary details and his veiny hands brushed his already messy hair, you were profoundly reminded of Christopher when he was designing his possible future house. You were 8 years old, and he was 22, who just got married. He explained how many floors it’ll have, what rooms to put and what extra furniture he’ll place to make it feel more at home.

Seeing how exceptional his art skills were, you started to sketch like him. With flowers first, it turned into bedrooms and sceneries of your neighborhood. You felt your shoulders rise in accomplishment when you were able to accurately draw people. As much as you credited Benjamin and Liam the most in your works, it’ll only be within yourself to know that you also held a soft spot for Christopher.

Excusing yourself to Princess Diana, you bravely yet quietly ventured into the Foreign Art Room. Hiding first from one of the cement columns, you resumed watching him sketch. Instead of a pencil, he used a black pen with a tip as thin as a pencil. Your assumptions would be it was for a class, basing it on him informing everybody earlier that he’ll be inactive for the remaining hours of his shift to focus on his midterm requirements. That must be difficult to balance, yet he still does everything expected from him. Maybe the second cup of iced coffee beside him stimulated his bones and mind, letting his imagination free.

Through the limited space, you tiptoed whilst holding the side of the column to make up his work. There were 2 and a half rectangular shapes stacked on top of each other, the third one he was still tracing. A sign encrypted with tiny written words you couldn’t decipher, the beauty and modernity of Jeno’s plate cannot go unappreciated.

“That’s absolutely beautiful.”

Sweet words you didn’t think would bounce back in the room, Jeno’s pace ceased whilst you hid again. Art pieces capable of walking weren’t allowed here, he locked the door even beforehand! Or he thought as he was rushing to get his work done because one of his terror professors moved up the deadline to tomorrow morning. Not even 25% finished, he petitioned for everyone’s cooperation just for tonight.

He used up his 2 days of not having the night shift for other projects, and not wanting to ruin his perfect attendance, he proceeded to show up.

The voices from the foreign paintings around him hushed for him out of respect. So possibly someone snuck in, his head looking around for intruders. But only did he quit it when he saw your blurry reflection leaning against the column. The glass windows slightly mirror back what it sees, without you knowing that.

Not to mention, the small bit of your lilac dress was left out. Of all people, it was you?

“Do my eyes deceive me or is Miss (Y/N) (Y/L/N) inside when she’s not allowed so?”

To break the killing tension, he tested the waves with an innocent taunt. Never did you reach out to him, so least to say he was entertained whilst keeping his distance.

Fixing your proud stance, you responded in a low baritone voice you used to persuade numerous men in her adventures. “Uhm no, I don’t know who she is.”

As intelligent as you were, Jeno was a few steps farther than you this time. Educated about the risky ways you’d get around and one of them was changing the pitch of your voice, he heartily laughed at your unsuccessful attempt.

“Okay don’t lie, (Y/N). I can see a trail of your dress and your cloak. Oh, your reflection too.”

Damn, you peeked a little to realize that he was correct. Hauling your dress back in to readjust your outfit, you pushed your hair back before appearing to him. Though when you did such, you didn’t suppose that he was practically beside you the entire time. Bumping into his towering stance of 5’10 while the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up, your proud posture loosened up. He even discarded his blazer. A few more inches, he could’ve cornered you on the column if you didn’t take another step back.

Has he always been this tall or were you so used to your boots having high heels under? Oh wait, maybe because you wore flats this time because it’s making your toes sore. Your head bowed from struggling to maintain eye contact with him, your palms caressing your cheeks that suddenly heated up. Clearing your throat, you straightened your back again like nothing happened.

Jeno thought otherwise, shrugging his shoulders as he chuckled. He’s never seen you get shy, not that it was a bad thing either. The temptation to play around it more was there, but he was running out of time for his assignment.

“Come in. I’ll let you off the hook this time.” His arms opened up, allowing you access to such a wonderful exhibit. Paintings from different European periods, miniature versions of famous infrastructures inside glass containers, and replicas of Greek columns in the front entrance, no wonder it’s important to protect them all.

“Are you sure?” Watching him return to his spot, which was a bench in the center of the exhibit with a table in front, it didn’t process that you were gawking at his toned back. His broad shoulders and the evident muscles in his arms while he stretched, your eyes were speedy to look away when he tried to take a glance at you.

“I don’t think the paintings here and I mind.” Sitting down again, he tapped the vacant space beside him. “Feel free to watch me draw if you want to.”

Settling by his side, he recommenced where he left off. Now with a closer view of his piece, it did look like a building as you thought. He was sketching the remaining outline of the 3rd floor of this hypothetical place, continuously checking his ruler to monitor if the lines were consistent. Able to pick up on the words of the sign beside the building, you wowed with one hand on your lips.

“You’re redrawing Seoul National University Museum of Art?”

“One of my plate assignments was to visualize a renovation of a certain place, so I chose the museum.”

“Why so?”

“Well,” Jeno shook his pen so the ink could come out. “This entire place comes to life with the royal plate, so I think we should expand the space and bring in more art pieces to life if we add another extra floor. A rooftop area for visitors and events would be fun. And definitely, we should modernize the exterior and interior a bit because it looks outdated personally. That’s also what my friends think too.”

Noticing the minor details of his plate whilst removing any unnecessary pens so it wouldn’t smudge, “Huh, I quite agree with you.”

For the first time since his night shift, you, (Y/N) (Y/L/N), came into an agreement with him. He became so accustomed to clashing opinions that now, you had no contrasting points to make at all. A good change perhaps was what he’s witnessing.

“Woah, who are you agreeing with me and where’s (Y/N)?” He creased his brows whilst locking eye contact with you. This time, you didn’t wince away and just nudged him on his shoulder to get back to work.

“Hush, Jeno. Isn’t that due later? Get to work, I’ll roam around here for the meantime.”

After decades in this museum, you’re enlightened with the foreign paintings in which some you’ve heard of in your younger years and some that were created beyond your time. The Birth of Venus, Liberty Leading the People, Girl with a Pearl Earring, there’s an advantage of learning about their stories that humans couldn’t interpret. Logical that this section must be off-limits because these pieces were extra special, yet there’s so much more than what meets the eye.

There’s peace in silence while you wandered around, though it doesn’t hinder only at the art. Jeno hasn’t uttered a word since he got back to drawing, and once you asked him what’s doing now, still no answer back. Odd, he’s constantly awa-

Oh, my. You must’ve jinxed it.

Your eyes laid on Jeno leaning forward on his desk with his arms serving as his pillow, resting his head sideways. Soft snores and minimal movement in his upper body to shake the growing cold temperature of the room, he was sleeping like a log.

Putting into perspective, he hasn’t acquired enough rest specifically this past 2 weeks. The endless number of plates due making him work extra during his shift rather than sleeping in the slightest, exhaustion must be an understatement. Coffee no longer pushed him to his maximum for this week even.

But this was the path he chose, and it’ll have its challenges. Still, if you could relieve the stress in any way, you would. This would be one of the ways to repay for all the rudeness you’ve passed on him. Scurrying to his side, placing the plate on the side with his other things. You returned the caps of his open pens so they don’t spill. They must be expensive, recalling how Jeno shared the cons of being an architecture major to Princess Diana. One was the pens needed for sketching, and any tiny damages to them meant buying them again.

With his watch on clear display, he only had 2 hours left until his shift was done. Then, 4 hours until his plate assignment was done, and his current plate was far from done.

The blunt impulse to wake him up slithered your mind, though his calm state deflected your duty. As if you were on board a ship again for your explorations, you paid attention to the view with a relaxed mindset.

Lee Jeno specifically was the view.

His coffee-stained lips were parted and his sharp nose breathing in and out at a relaxing pace, he must be dreaming a happy moment the way half his lips curved into a smile. If he’s resting well, then you too would be calm.

Because of your past disinterest in him, only at this moment did you observe how sharp his jawline was and the cuts on his arms he sought refuge in. No matter how many times you tried to deny Hera’s compliments of him on the side, you couldn’t.

Lee Jeno embodied attractive features; both physical and emotional.

Back to his plate, it’ll put him at a disadvantage if he submitted the way it looked before he passed out. But you remembered all those extra details he mentioned and wanted to add to this project. Being an explorer, you documented all your ventures through words or drawings. You’re fast to adjust to anything new too.

For all the good he’s done for everyone, he only deserved some help in return.

Your version of help was sketching the remaining details of this plate, using other pens for more emphasis. It’s a risk also, but no way could you turn a blind eye on Jeno this time.

Around 5:30 am, Jeno’s eyes blinked open due to a brightening light from the outside. Stretching his limbs, he finds a velvet cloak wrapped around him like a blanket. But before he could question it, he pulled his arm in to see the time on his watch.

“Fuck!” He cursed, realizing that his so-called 10-minute snooze break aborted.

“Oh my, you’re awake!” From his frazzled state, there you were. So put together yet active, some strands of your hair falling down your face even with your hair up in a ponytail. “How was your sleep?”

This whole time he could’ve been woken up, yet you chose not to. You’re aware of his deadline, yet you let him rest entirely. He could’ve burst out in stress, yet he didn’t. You and he may have started on the wrong foot, yet it’s impossible of you to do such an evil thing. He’ll just have to tolerate the outcome later today.

“Refreshing. I really needed it.” Packing his things in his bag and closing the table, you trailed along as he exited with you. Locking up, he has 30 minutes left to accomplish the cleaning. A long good morning indeed.

But his worry of that vanished when you admitted that you had it all covered.

“Everyone helped out in cleaning, plus there are no damages made either.” From your hand, you returned one of his keys that was on his guard blazer. “I double-checked the Oriental Room and locked the doors again.”

“Why are you suddenly so nice to me, (Y/N)?” He questioned with confusion, wearing his blazer again and patting away any creases. He placed your cloak over you again like a true gentleman.

Without a word, you simply invited him to walk you back to your exhibit as parts of the sun began to rise. As you returned to your section, your fellow figures readying themselves to pose again,

“It’s my way to apologize for my very rude first impression and the succeeding moments after. I was too cooped up in my past that I was too afraid to let humans in again, night guards in particular.” You admitted, removing your cloak and placing behind your chair like always. “I’m so sorry, Jeno. Everyone was right about you and your kind heart.”

“About time.” Cleopatra’s sultry voice cut in, laying on her day bed.

Before you had the chance to flip off, Jeno mediated swiftly. With a gentle smile, “No worries about it. I’m just happy you’re okay, after all you’ve been through.”

“Can we start over then?”

“Absolutely.” With his free hand, he brought it out. No matter what kind of introductions, shaking one’s hand was the best way to start a friendship. “Good evening. I’m Lee Jeno, the new museum night guard.”

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N), explorer and author.” Sighing at his humor, you still replied by shaking his hand. “And I believe you’re mistaken, Lee Jeno. It’s a good morning.”

Seconds after, you imitated your typical pose and smile. Only now, the latter was more genuine. Finally, a fresh start to end your agony.

Once the sun fully revealed itself, every figure including yourself froze back to sleep. Something Jeno wished to catch up on if it weren’t for his damn plate. He was so screwed, already contemplating his next steps if he does fail this class. The possibility of getting delayed in all aspects, he dreaded it already.

Heading back to his dorm, where both his roommates completely passed out from soju on the couch, he sat by his work desk and turned on his night lamp for more light since the sun wasn’t strong enough yet.

With another cup of coffee, he cracked the joints of his knuckles and laid out his pens. He had 2 hours left to submit this plate, and at most he should accomplish 50% of his initial plan. However, he didn’t anticipate such a gorgeous outcome when he brought out his plate.

Picture perfect of every detail he desired, even adding a rooftop area with that he’d love to have if ever the museum does go under renovation one day. Rather than setting the plate during the day, it was at night as the skies were dark and bright specks of yellow inside the building symbolized light.

So much for wasting coffee, he’ll just give it to Jaemin when he wakes up later. Below the final product, a note written in cursive was stuck on it.

 I knew you wanted to get this specific plate done, but you mustn’t compromise your sleep for it. It’s your inhumane professor’s fault!

To make up for my faults, I wanted to help you out. I paid extra attention to the details you spoke highly about, so I only hoped that I interpreted it correctly. It’s risky, but as someone who researched so much about me, would you be surprised that I did such a thing?

PS: Get back to sleep. I’m quite sure your desk is laid out the same way in the Foreign Art Room.

Respectfully,

(Y/N)

 Turning off his lamp, Jeno jumped the covers of his bed to continue his lost sleep. Without an ounce of care that he hasn’t changed into cleaner clothes, he’s relieved that he won’t flunk his class.

Most of all, he’s relieved that you’ve melted the ice in you and allowed kindness to come in. Jeno may never understand how hard that must’ve been for you, yet he raved you for it.

“Oh, (Y/N) (Y/L/N). Surprise is an understatement when it comes to you.”

[catcze]

Getting inspiration from "shipping your moots with character" anon who got inspiration from "shipping your anons with characters anons", which characters do you think would ship themselves with your moots and or anons

HMMMM okay okay this is actually really interesting, and i actually had to work my brain a little bit to decide on this one bc whoaa i never thought abt this before... I decided to interpret it more as 'crush' rather than 'ship themselves w/' bc I dunno why but it felt easier for me to do decide on it if i worded it that way HAHA ALSO !! I tried to mix it up a bit instead of giving people their usual pairs, you know ??? So that it's more fun, too !!

Again, just going off who I think of first ! Nothing personal to the people I didn't include <3 ALSO LMAOO I laughed when I read the 'getting inspiration from... who got inspiration from...' line haskdnaj

I think that GOROU would have a crush on @bluexiao !! Because, like, Blue is super rational and hard working, and super good at what she does, right? Blue gets results babeyyy, but ae is also super fun and chill and easy to converse with when she wants to be, which I think are both things that Gorou would find totally crush-worthy in a person.

I also think that THOMA would have a crush on @awlumii !! Similar to Thoma, Mars is very easy to get along with, as I'm sure anyone who's ever interacted with faer can agree ♡ And and and Mars is super chill and funny, too, which I think would make conversations very enjoyable for both of them !!

Okay okay this one took some thinking, but I think that TIGHNARI would have a crush on my LUCID ANON. Listen !! Luce is super sweet, okay. Very sweet, makes super easy conversation, and is good at both listening to people talk while also still participating in the conversation, so that it’s obvi that Luce is listening to what you say! I really think that Tighnari would enjoy having someone around who likes to listen to him, and who genuinely makes conversation with him because they enjoy it, so he’s gonna be superrrr smitten with Luce 

Imo, BEIDOU would deffo have a crush on @sohyuki !! ! dunno how to describe it, but Mint give off a specific 'super sweet and nice but will go for ur kneecaps if anyone talks shit' kind of energy? And Mint is, like super cool and level-headed usually, so I totally think that Beidou would take such a shine to her.

MAN Okay okay Honestly speaking? I think that NINGGUANG might have a thing for my Beans anon 😳 LISTEN hear me out okay–– Beans’s personality is soooo super duper explosive in the best way. Goes fuckin feral whenever they feel like, but at the same time they can also be cool as fuck and totally a bad bitch, yk? Not to mention Beans isn’t scared to have opinions and to be honest, which is right up Nigguang’s alley.

HEIZOU would have a crush on @yonaraee change !! my !! mind !! Yona is super nice and fun, but she's also got the kind of personality that is so easy to get along with, and is always down for fun and hijinks! She's super endearing, and just very generally is good at keeping fun moods going, so I can 100% see heizou making heart eyes bro.

Dude !! I can 100% see KOKOMI having a crush on @kazeyu !! Listen listen, as the resident Kokomi whisperer, ik what she likes, okay? And Listen, Yoi is so incredible and sweet and caring and she's always so understanding :( Yoi is an absolute darling and is so good for helping people who are feeling down or low on energy to feel better and cared for, which is why I think that Kokomi would be smitten.

And lastly, listen listen listen I know i said I would switch things up and wouldn't name an obvious pair, but bro I have to say that hands down AYATO would have a crush on @seelestia . LISTEN OKAY Lia is very chill and easygoing, but is an absolute dear to hold a conversation with. She’s interesting and respectful, but also makes some fun banter and jokes that you literally cannot help but enjoy !! I genuinely think that afternoon walks between her and Ayato would have that man head over heels ASAP.

[hanmine]

🎉 NEW GAME: Introduce your mutuals to everyone and what do you think of them? 🎉

okay deep breath this is gonna take a minute damn

*disclaimer that i have a lot of moots and i can’t include all i’m sorry i love you all pls don’t be sad 😭*

@rindouphiliac RIS MY LOVE literally is my (real) boyfriend and ID KILL ANYONE THAT STARES TOO LONG like ris is mine if that wasn’t clear and i love love love would literally break up with hanma in a split second to marry ris

@maitani mich is the inspiration to every clap back to snarky anons on my page BUT ALSO she is too funny ong makes me cackle LMAO we get so heated together over the pettiest shit and also she comes up with genius ideas and i take her genius ideas and boom it all works in the end thanks to her so everyone go to mich for genius ideas except she’s not helping you bc you’re ugly and she only helps me so yeah

@kisakunt i see blair all the time bc they’re kisaki’s and i’m hanma’s and it’s unavoidable 🙄 but i’m glad blair got me into my gatekeeping agenda bc it’s liberating and thrilling and also they’re so funny and have a story for everything i kid you not this bitch got some crazy experience for every topic of convo never a dull moment with this one

@mitsuyahh is one of my first friends on tumblr ever and i love cypher so much like so much literally can say anything and she always either pick my side immediately or say something out of pocket and i love telling all my 3 am fic ideas that i’ll probably never write

@8kh hunter wrote the first haikyuu series i ever read and we all know i have a sakusa obsession well guess what their series was also the first sakusa series i read and it’s part of the catapult to my deep and canon love for him literally was like :O when i realized we were moots and is the talented moot that could literally be a novelist i just sit there like 😯😧🤭 every time they post

@mqtsuno chi is baji’s and chifuyus’s 🤚🏽and she claimed a whole drabble that i wrote for her anyway ?? i didn’t even know it at the time but i was like hmm this is for someone and i can’t put my finger on it and now i know and that’s some soulmate stuff right there

@mtsuyas mika is so hot and sweet and her selfship name is so cute like are u serious ?? mikuya ?? it’s an L that shutee can’t be that cute LMAO and rip teenma that was horrid too

@titsuya one of my first moots on my other secret blog ;) AND I LOVE SAR SO MUCH HELLO !?? so hot and we are texas buddies even though sar doesn’t rly like texas LMAO and i would like to give her a big forehead kiss so bad

@miykui waka’s princess 🤚🏽but also the sweetest ever romi baby ily mwah will think of them whenever i write for him bc that is his lover no questions comments concerns please and thank you

@fuenn SO SO LOVELY AND TALENTED omg i rmr fuenn entering my 5k event for a kita drabble as the first time we spoke and drew me a lil oikawa and kuroo doodle AND ALSO GIFTED ME A SAKUSA SELF SHIP ART AND IS SO TALENTED WHAT like blew my mind i love fuenn so so much

@chimielie omgggg lia is such a good writer like first of all i have actually gushed about her writing with like four different moots on multiple occasions like everyone can disagree on a lot of things but one thing we can agree on is that she writes sooo well and also sees me act a fool on dash all the time but still acts like i’m sane in the head and i appreciate that greatly

@luvbub BUB MY SWEET ANGEL omg i was a fan of bub when i was new to the fandom in haikyuu, lost her blog, later found her blog again after i had my own writing blog, followed her, proceeded to get followed back, and had a heart attack. also watches me act a fool on dash and sees me be a snappy little snark and picks my side every time even 😭 bubashi and bubtsuya for the win

@kairakeiji CALISTA ANOTHER SWEET ANGEL so cute >:( and now she writes for tr and i’m so excited bc she’s so talented and she stole hanma’s place so now it’s calistee for life so yeah rip hanma

@solarchuu OTHER TEE AND THATS SO COOL THAT WE’RE BOTH TEE and they’re soooo sweet and i love so much would kill for tee always make me smile on dash and always says the sweetest things and makes me laugh and if no one else loves me tee will love tee so tee x tee literally tee squared or tee^2 or tee the power of two

@kr3idz and @takemittchy MIMA AND CECI my cinnamon rolls i miss them :( we bonded over our love for nanami and then we rode out our haikyuu phases together and entered tokrev phases and i love love love them so much always make me smile on discord mwah cutest cinnamon rolls ever

[spaceskam]

could you do 32 with michael guerin?

tags: professors au, marriage proposal, fluff

32. come what may [ao3]

Work sucked.

Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. It was the best job Michael had ever had and it paid well and, objectively, he loved it. It was a good job. It was just also extremely mentally taxing and he couldn’t remember if he had been warned about that in school. Probably not. If they did, he wasn’t sure anyone would willingly become a professor.

Michael heaved a sigh and threw the stack of tests down on his desk. He couldn’t grade another thing. He knew it was a Physics I class and there were students from a slew of different majors that didn’t really give a shit about what he was teaching, but wow. He could only take so many comically incorrect answers.

Before he could throw the tests on the floor and bang his head against the desk, there was a soft knock at the door. Part of him expected it to be a student coming to ask questions. Which, technically, that was fine. He wouldn’t turn them away. He just didn’t want to.

“Come in,” Michael said, looking up.

He was pleasantly surprised to see Alex there instead.

Michael physically relaxed, sinking into his seat with a relieved sigh. Alex grinned and slid inside of his office, closing the door behind him. He carefully took his guitar off his back and made his way closer.

“I’m always happy to see you, but I don’t think I’ve ever been so thankful for your interruption,” Michael confessed, feeling a sick amount of joy whenever Alex pulled his chair out just enough to place himself on the desk. Michael couldn’t even see the tests anymore.

“Well, good thing I stopped by,” Alex said, reaching for him and tugging him back in.

Michael sat on the edge of his chair and craned his neck up, letting Alex be all-encompassing as he kissed him. He had his elbows on his shoulders and his forearms boxing Michael’s head in close. It was comforting. Michael put his hands on his thighs, sliding up until his waist and pulling him towards the edge of the desk. Everything was just Alex.

Technically, this was probably a bad idea. Anyone could knock on the door or barge in at any time and catch them in a rather compromising position. But Michael needed this. He needed him more than words could say.

Teaching at the same school as him had sounded a lot more questionable that ended up being. Michael remembered being terrified that they would be spending too much time together being on the same campus, but that turned out to be a moot point considering Michael was a science professor and Alex was a music professor and the head of the tiny classical guitar department. Their offices were, at minimum, a 15 minute walk apart and half the time they could barely get lunch together.

They were busy all the time. Sometimes Michael couldn’t tell which one of them was busier. Though, with Alex’s private lessons and masterclasses that were on top of normal teaching, he had to assume it was him. Michael did have much more grading to do, though, so it evened out to suck away all of their free time.

“How was your day?” Michael asked as they pulled out of the kiss, though he didn’t pull out of the sanctuary of his arms.

Alex hummed, combing his fingers through Michael’s hair.

“Fine. Ellie came to me crying because she has a piano exam tomorrow and still can’t get it without stumbling, so I spent, like, my entire lunch going over that with her. That was the only eventful thing, really,” Alex said, his long nails scratching the nape of his neck.

“You think she’s gonna pass?”

“She’ll do fine if she just breaths. She gets so tense and it messes her up. But Mariya gets it, she’ll go easy on her as long as she can tell that she’s trying,” Alex explained, craning his head to kiss his temple and then further to kiss his cheek. Michael could feel the tension bleeding out of him.

God, he loved him.

“How was your day?” Alex wondered, still pressing soft kisses anywhere and everywhere.

“Horrible. We should just run away and never come back,” Michael said. Alex huffed a laugh, adjusting to better rest his prosthetic leg on the seat of Michael’s chair. He always said it felt really weird letting it hang. Michael felt bad for forgetting and moved his hand to his knee, taking the brunt of his leg weight.

“What happened that was that bad?” Alex wondered. Michael sighed and just dropped his head to Alex’s chest.

“Nothing specifically, just a long day. I just needed you to distract me. Steal me away from my problems,” Michael murmured. Alex hummed, indulgent.

“What would we do if I stole you away?”

“Elope. Find a cave to hide in,” Michael suggested. Alex gave him a little squeeze in response, kissing the side of his face.

Marriage had been something they’d been speaking of for a while now. Casually, usually, because neither of them could actualize a date that it would work. Both of them were nervous at the idea of taking off of work for something like that. Alex usually had the summer off, but Michael typically picked up a summer class because he would fall apart without a schedule. So it remained something they spoke about in theory.

“Okay. Say we eloped. Would I take your last name? I don’t want you taking mine, fuck my family,” Alex said. Michael made a face, tilting his head up to look at him.

“Well, I don’t want to keep mine. It’s a dumb, meaningless last name that just stands for how I don’t have parents and needed a computer generated one,” Michael said. Alex rolled his eyes, putting his hands on Michael’s cheeks.

“Then what name are we supposed to use?”

“Something that means something. Something special,” Michael said. Alex gave a little gasp and sat up straighter, his eyes lighting up with an idea.

“Skywalker!”

Michael smiled and huffed a laugh, shaking his head as he reached up to touch his face. He was beautiful. Horribly, unrelentingly, perfectly beautiful. 

“We can’t change our name to Skywalker.”

“Why not?” 

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be made fun of by a bunch of kids every day,” Michael said, rubbing his thumb over his cheek. Alex pouted, overexaggerated and adorable.

“You’re no fun.”

“We’ll keep brainstorming,” Michael suggested. Alex sighed and leaned further in, a smile bleeding onto his face.

“Fine. We’ll keep brainstorming,” Alex agreed, “Maybe we can even start brainstorming about a wedding date?”

Michael hummed and tilted his head up at him.

“Are courthouses open on Saturdays?”

“I’d have to look it up.”

“If they are, let’s go Saturday,” Michael suggested. Alex stared at him for a while, just soft and sweet. It was hard to even remember why he was so angry earlier in the day whenever he was looking at him like that.

“Okay. And if they aren’t?”

“Then I’m just going to start calling you my husband and write a strongly worded letter to the state about how discriminatory it is to be closed on the weekends,” Michael said. Alex huffed a laugh, combing through his hair again.

“Husband,” Alex said, almost like he was practicing. It sent chills down Michael’s spine for some godforsaken reason. “If they aren’t, maybe we can take a Monday off in about a month and go get it done? Liz is off on Mondays and we can just give Isobel a heads up to make some time. Then we’ll have our witnesses.”

“Or we can take a drive up to some 24 hour wedding chapel this weekend and get it done there.”

Alex grinned, “You in a rush?”

“No rush. Just… hate waiting and having to go on other people’s schedule. Super unfair. I should get to marry my husband at 3 AM if I want to,” Michael said simply. Alex smiled even bigger.

“Okay. We’ll do some research when we get home then.”

Michael paused slightly, scanning his face.

“For real?”

“For real.”

Michael blinked once, twice before patting his thighs.

“Okay, then you should get up and let me finish grading this shit so I don’t have to worry about it,” Michael said, suddenly very inspired to finish up. Alex laughed and hopped back onto the ground, turning to look at the tests.

“You need any help?”

“You know enough about physics to grade?”

“Probably not, but if you’ve got an answer key I can help,” Alex said. Michael took a deep breath.

“Have I told you today how much I’m in love with you?” he wondered. Alex snorted and pulled up a chair, taking a few tests.

“No, but I love you too.”

Michael leaned over to press a kiss to his face before giving him the key.

One way or another, this man was going to be his husband soon.

It was worth the wait.

[welcome-to-the-cafe]

Lust, Caution (2007)

What a good movie. Very stressful, suffering watch though. I will never look at Tony Leung the same ever again. Not that I've seen that many of his works (I'm sorry), but going into Shang-Chi after those bedroom scenes....hmhmhm.

Let's get into it.

The setting is my favorite period of Chinese history, Republican Era, partially because elicits strong feelings from yours truly, and partially because it has great aesthetics. The dresses. The cars. The gap between rich and poor. The impending invasion and atrocities you only know about in retrospect. The intrigue. The nationalism. What an awful time for living, what a great time to make art about later.

The students and their patriotic play reminds me of the my own college life and my own amateur play. Of course, theirs had much more public appeal and impact...and darker inspirations. Wang Leehom (who I recognized instantly but could not name until much later), was phenomenal as the wide-eyed idealistic Kuang Yumin who yearned to make "real contributions" to his country. This was his natural undoing of course, and that of his friends, being sucked into his charisma, and love interest, the main character Wong Chiachi. They were all doomed the moment he came up with the naive assassination plot.

The crux of the scheme is Chiachi, who is a phenomenal actress in all levels of story and metatext. An interpretation of her skill is that she injects true feelings into her performances; when she acts as Mrs. Mai, she really thinks of herself as a young lonely socialite, not an innocent college student. This is also her undoing, I believe. As Mrs. Mai, Chiachi is not fully able to isolate her heart from her target's advances. When she tells Mr. Yee she hates him, she is telling the truth, because she does think he is evil, but what following seems also to be honest; that she hates him for being away.

This is one criticism I have of the plot; I do not believe the movie did enough to show how Chiachi and Mr. Yee bonded emotionally. Like, they fucked. They fucked kinda gruesomely to be honest, because it seemed mostly to be sexual abuse (though mutual). I guess that's the point, that it was just lust that bound them together, but at the same time, I felt it should not have been enough to infect Chiachi to the point of giving it all up for him. Maybe that is just my own disappointment in her.

Perhaps it's a combination of push and pull. Chiachi is pulled by lust toward Mr. Yee, but it may not have been enough without the push from her "allies". More strongly portrayed than the fucked up lustful affair, I think, is the growing resentment and internal feelings of betrayal that Chiachi felt for her allies. Mr. Yee used her body for rough sex, but the revolutionaries (or "terrorists" as we started out calling them) used her body too for murder. Whether it was justified murder or not is moot; murder itself was horrific, something that all these students all knew they would hesitate execute. They openly worry about this multiple times: in their initial planning, when practicing shooting, when their prey is almost in the clutches. The wide-eyed idealist tries to convince everyone that it is easy, because he know it isn't. During the fight with Mr. Yee's chauffeur confronts them, Kuang Yumin stabs him less out of practical necessity I think, but as a learning opportunity to take life; to "blood" himself, and the group, to push everyone over the edge of hesitancy. Each of the students took turns to stab the dying chauffeur in order to cross the murder threshold. Traumatizing themselves together, they would be more willing to take on Mr. Yee. Chiachi, however, is truly horrified and runs away. This was what she was being exploited to do, and she couldn't handle it.

Her exploitation by allies is honestly to me the most heartbreaking part of the movie. She joins the outfit because of her crush on Kuang Yumin, but it was Yumin's scheme that set her as the honeytrap. It was Yumin who let one of his friends take her virginity, instead of stepping up to the role himself (Bruh! You like the girl! Go fuck her! 我的天呀。。。). Yeah, yeah arguments for authenticity so need someone with more experience, but that friend only screwed a prostitute once. It just adds to the suffering, for Chiachi and for the viewers. And then it was Yumin who brought her back into the scheme. Of course, she consented, but he knew two previous undercover mistresses were killed, so if he truly wanted to protect her he would've left her alone...or like banged her properly. By the Heavens. We know this bothers Chiachi a lot too because she tearfully asks him about it after a heated exchange with the mission controller. Speaking of which, what an asshole. "We move when I say we move". Like sure dude, we feel for you that your family got killed and you want to make this scheme count, but can't you see you're betraying this woman again and again every time you let her get raped and don't make a move? Of course not, he's blinded by rage. And yet the wuss doesn't have the stomach to listen to her recount her trauma. What an asshole, jesus.

I think it is frustrating to think about, because it all makes sense in a fucked up way. It is like solving an equation that returns an unfavorable answer, and yet you cannot find sufficient fault in each step.

So yeah I believe Chiachi betrayed the cause more because of push than pull.

Although...I only now remember the tender moment at the Japanese geisha house, where she sings for him the sweet folk tune. Previously he commented on the Japanese being afraid of the Americans, suggesting that he's just a nihilist resigned to his job; the sweet nostalgia of her opera bit may have cracked him for real for the first time in a while.

The final shots of Mr. Yee being sad about Chiachi...yeah, I still have zero sympathy for him. My headcanon is that for consorting with mistresses so much, the Japanese betrayed him to the Republic and he is led into a trap, where he is injured in a brutal confrontation, but is successfully captured. He is then jailed until after the Second War, where he is released to work for the KMT's counterespionage. However, he is not as sharp as he used to be, and he is led into another honey trap, only this time, he is busted the very first time he tries to rendezvous with the girl. He is captured again, and when his past is revealed after the Liberation, he is paraded to the middle of Shanghai and shot in the back of the head.

Looking forward to Tony Leung once again in Shang-Chi.