#i paused at this moment in the dialogue and captured this Look

[robo-dino-puppy]

horizon zero dawn | nil 1/?

[donkey-hyuck]

¡MASTERLIST!

WORD COUNT - 10.146

GENRE - angst haha | fluff | established relationship!au | CEO!au | slowburn?

CHARACTERS/PAIRING - CEO!jaehyun x orphanage caregiver!fem!reader | nct/wayv

INTRODUCTION - getting into a relationship when you were at the lowest point of your life dragged you down to the bottom. but it dragged the ones you loved as well.

WARNINGS - adoption/being an orphan | profanity (like a lot) | insecurities (major imposter syndrome) | being poor/poverty | panic attacks/anxiety/depression | alcohol consumption | (prescribed) pill intake | lots of dialogue | pet names 

TAGLIST - @xxvaelinxx @bbhmystar @actuallynarii @gfksz @jenosbliss

A/N - yikes this one’s a deep one :( the song is track five on the album and track three on the playlist. have fun breaking your hearts :’) (also hi ik it’s been literally centuries but it’s finally here pls don’t kill me (for the rushed end.))

DISCLAIMER - read as you please!! i don’t want to trigger anyone and please lmk if i missed any warnings! i don’t want to be insensitive to anyone's feelings. thank you <3 p.s. this is not proofread and im so sorry for the immense pause.

It wasn’t too far into your relationship when you broke down in front of Jaehyun. You didn’t know why but opening up to him just became natural.

To be fair, you were also a little ways past tipsy. 

In fact, you were a bit deep into the soju bottle you had bought while sitting outside of the convenient store when you first met Jeong Jaehyun, himself. Of course, you didn’t know he was the CEO of Jeong Peach Corporation at the time. 

Jeong Peach Corporation. A fragrance and personal hygiene corporation company whose audience consists of he’s, she’s, and they’s. The brand as a whole has this certain aesthetic that is appealing to those people. But Mr. Jeong Jaehyun himself also had a certain aesthetic that definitely matched the brand name he built from the ground up. His striking looks and simply the way he carries himself has men and women falling on their knees for him. But it was a little too late for them to capture his heart the way you did.

“Hey you! I can see you looking over here. How ‘bout’chu come over here and I’ll show you a piece of my mind,” you slurred and held up your fist. 

He was almost taken aback. Not because he was Jeong Jaehyun and you had the audacity to speak to him like that (again he carries himself in such a humble way that that would never be the option), but he was simply minding his business, walking to his car until he heard the sound of your drunk voice. He was definitely not expecting a drunk voice while he was ready to go home right around midnight. 

He chuckled to himself, too amused at the mere thought of you. But it was midnight and this was the darkest the sky was going to get. It was dangerous for you— for anyone— to be out this late, by themselves, downing a bottle of soju. Well, two and a half bottles of the infamous alcoholic drink. 

“Who are you? And why are you out here so late? Drunk?” He laughed, tucking his phone into his pocket, slyly grabbing a chair and sitting by you. 

“Suffering. It’s tough out here,” you took another shot.

“Hello, suffering. Why are you out drinking soju so late?” He teased. It was easy to get along with you it seemed, the alcohol brought out the extrovert in you.

“Hey! My name is Y/n. Not suffering…. I’m just saying I’m suffering because,” you paused. And he subtly leaned closer to you, wanting to hear the reason why you’re here by yourself, downing the whole damn bottle.

“…. Just because, okay. Now can you please go so I can drown my own sorrows by myself? I don’t need another pity party,” you sobered up for a moment, then went back to pour yourself another shot. 

But before you could take the shot, Jaehyun grabbed it from your loopy hands and took the shot instead.

“Hey! You don’t just take someone else's alcohol! That was the last shot too! Now I have to go buy another bottle!” You pushed yourself up from your seat only to be met with the hard concrete ground. 

“You shouldn’t be out here this late, miss Y/n,” he said, his voice laid with concern. 

“Who are you to tell me that? I don’t even know who you are,” you pouted, still sitting on the ground. He sighed to himself, showcasing his deep dimples, and got up from his chair to help you up. He was going to try and take you home.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing?!” He wrapped his arm around your waist to keep you up.

“Stranger danger! Stranger danger! This man is trying to kidnap me!” You yelled out. Of course, no one would really hear you. Besides Bong Cha— who was a goodie-two-shoes for Jeong Jaehyun and Jeong Jaehyun only— who walked out of the company right after her boss had. She saw the whole thing go down.

“Stop it! I’m trying to help you!” He struggled, since you were kicking and flailing your arms around in order to prevent him from taking you. 

“Help me, my ass. What do you want from me? Taking advantage of a poor, drunk, girl just trying to get in my pants? Get off me fucking psycho. My car is the other way,” you kicked some more. And he gave up, placing you on the ground once more.

“Please, Y/n, you have to work with me here. I just don’t want you staying out late. Who knows? You could actually get kidnapped if I don’t help you.”

“How can I trust you? I don’t even know your name. You may be handsome but it’s always the hot ones that are fucked up. More fucked up than me!” You exclaimed.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. Maybe he should have just left you at the seven-eleven. But Jaehyun just sat on the ground next to you, a good distance away and observed your ridiculous, drunk, figure. 

“I’m Jeong Jaehyun,” he started, “now can you please cooperate with me? I’m trying to help you, here.”

You looked up and squinted your puffy eyes at him. “In your damn dreams, you’re Jeong Jaehyun. Like I’d believe that. I may be drunk but I’m not fucken delusional.” Oh, but you were delusional. 

You slowly raised from your seat on the ground and walked your way back to your car, which wasn’t actually where you parked it. The man followed you— sorta like a creep— just to make sure you were safe. But on the way to your car (which was not the right way at all), you bumped into Kim Bong Cha herself. 

She hadn’t seen her boss behind you because it was a little too dark but she lashed out at you anyway, “Hey! Watch where you’re going dumb bitch.” You were about to pounce on her until he caught you before you had the chance. 

“Let me go! Let me at her!” 

The girl was shocked to still see her boss shielding her from you. And she felt embarrassed to let him hear the rude words come out of her mouth. Karma’s a bitch.

“I’m sorry, Bong Cha. Please, go home. And don’t discuss this to anyone. I’m just trying to help her,” he explained to his secretary. Ah, so she was his secretary. That makes a lot of fucking sense.

Quietly, she speed-walked to her car leaving the two of you alone again. 

“Why didn’t you let me at her? She was being a rude asshole.”

“Y/n. She’s my secretary. And she’s always been like that. But don’t worry about her, okay. Please just let me help you,” he begged. It was too late for him to just leave you on the road. 

You sighed, the dizziness was now getting to you. 

“Fine. I need to get to my car, though,” you pushed him off of you.

“I don’t think you’re capable of driving right now,” he retorted.

“Then what the hell am I supposed to do?” 

And that was how you ended up sitting in the passenger seat of Jaehyun’s luxury car (the one he drove that day was his Aston Martin DB11.) 

That was how you first met Jeong Jaehyun.

So much for first impressions. 

—

When you woke up the next morning (with a massive headache), you found the CEO asleep on your couch. All in your shitty apartment. And when last night's events finally hit, you felt like the biggest asshole on planet Earth. 

Jeong Jaehyun was sleeping on your couch. In your shitty apartment that could definitely not even compare to his lavish lifestyle. You felt embarrassed all over again. God, what the fuck were you thinking?

You tried to clean up a bit before you woke him up but nothing would fix the slightly stained walls and the old furniture he was definitely a foe to. 

After you cleaned up the place, he still seemed to be fast asleep, so you decided to cook up some type of breakfast for him. The rusty refrigerator only consisted of greens (that were about to go bad), a carton of eggs, and a gallon of water. Sunny side eggs, it is. 

This was for sure nothing he was used to. He was a CEO after all. The CEO of one of the most popular global brands, might you add. Which made the whole situation so much more humiliating.

Whilst you were cooking, you looked over your shoulder because of the squeaking of the couch Jaehyun fell asleep on. You wanted to fall off the face of the Earth. 

Quickly you set the eggs into a plate and placed them next to his water you had already set on the table in front of him. He had only been awake for five seconds and he was met with the hospitality of you. 

“Mr. Jeong Jaehyun,” you started, “or— no, yeah. Mr. Jeong Jaehyun, sir, I’m so incredibly sorry for the inconvenience I left last night. You did not have to take me home. In fact you didn’t have to stay the night, which was kinda stupid on your part, not that I would ever call you stupid, even though I just did but-” he cut you off. You definitely rambled a bit too much. 

“It’s okay, Y/n,” he slightly laughed, picking up the chopsticks from the plate and eating the egg. 

You sat in front of the table, too defeated to say anything. Too defeated to even look at him— even in the few minutes he had been awake, he was more prestigious than you’ll ever be. You didn’t care about who he was. You really did, of course, but after the whole mess, you didn’t even want to be in his presence anymore. 

“Why are you so quiet, angel?” The pet name made you feel even worse. Why was he being so nice?

You gulped and looked at him. 

“I’m just- I’m so sorry about last night. I was just-”

“Suffering?” He cut you off once more.

The fact that he answered you and finished your sentence made you want to crawl up in a ball and never come out. Last night definitely placed number one in your list of horrible nights. 

“Uhm… yeah, that. But-”

“Why don’t you eat, love?” This was the third time he cut you off and the second time he referred to you as an endearing person. He acted as if he knew you for his entire life. 

“I’m uh- it- it’s okay. I’m not really that hungry so,” you trailed off, looking down at your hands while you played with your fingers. Just then, he shoved his chopsticks in your face. A piece of egg sat on it. He motioned for you to eat. 

You quickly turned your head and shook it, pushing his hand back, “No!” You cleared your throat, “it’s really alright, Mr. Jeong.” You really don’t know why you called him that but it just came out. It was probably the nervousness.

“Jaehyun.”

“Jaehyun… It’s really okay. I mean this is also the least I could do- uhm- especially after last night. Also, my house is a bit of a mess, I'm sorry about that.”

Jaehyun noticed the neighborhood and apartment complex you lived in. Of course, Jaehyun was a nice person so he wasn’t going to comment on it but it was obvious he noticed the living situation you were in. But none of it mattered to him. He just wanted to make sure you got home safely. 

“Don’t apologize about that, Y/n. Now eat.”

“I have more eggs in the fridge. I can make my own, don’t worry about it,” you felt your face flush with heat. He caved in and shoved the piece of egg into his mouth, still worried about you.

It was awkward for a long time until he finished his food. You took his plate and cup and put it in the sink. 

“I’m sorry. Do you want to wash up? Or maybe-” he laughed.

He had a habit of cutting you off, and you’ve only met this man all of eight hours. Most of those hours you were out cold.

“Stop apologizing, love,” he smiled at you, dimples on full display.

“I’m sorry-” you cut yourself off this time. He laughed again. You were cute. 

“I actually need to go to the bathroom. Could you show me where that is?” He asked. You nodded and pointed him down the hall to the left. He quickly thanked you and made his way.

Right when the bathroom door closed, you ran into your bedroom and plopped, face first, into the sheets. How degrading that was. 

When Jaehyun was done using the bathroom he got out and called your name which made you scurry out of your room to meet him from behind. You forcefully smiled and waited for what he was going to say.

“Your car is still at the convenience store.” Your fake smile dropped as you scrunched your nose, remembering how he drove you home. 

“It’s alright. I’ll walk there later. It’s no problem.”

“But-” this time you were the one to cut him off.

“You’ve already done so much for me. I owe you my life,” you joked.

He playfully scoffed and walked toward you, now directly in front of you,“Just let me drop you off. It’s a far walk.” 

“I can Uber or take the bus. Really, everything is okay. I don’t need you to help me anymore. You helped me more than I needed last night and I owe you everything I have.” You were so stubborn. He wouldn’t give up, though.

And there you sat in the same passenger seat as last night. 

“I’m going to wash up at my house first. Is that alright?” He looked over to you while at a red light. You had been looking out the window before he said that.

“Of course. Take all the time you need. I’m in no rush.”

—

You underestimated the home Jaehyun lived in. It was pure luxury. Fenced-in house with a security system (that, alone, probably costs more than your apartment), green upkept grass, and a beautiful white exterior and interior that screamed majestic, mature, and regal. It made your home feel like a shit-show. It made you feel completely horrible about yourself. 

“Please, come inside,” he opened the passenger side door for you.

Shakily, you unbuckle the seatbelt and exited his car. And he just sweetly smiled at you the entire time. It made you want to cry.

He led you to the front door with his hand hovering the small of your back. You could feel the heat of his hand through your shirt. You took off your shoes and followed him inside.

It was very bright and very aesthetically decorated. With plants (which you weren’t sure were fake or not), paintings that you had never seen before, and knick knacks that seemed too expensive for you to even touch. But he led you past everything in his house and went straight into his bedroom. He had a whole couch and side chairs as well as a fireplace. It was just as grand as the rest of his home. 

“Uhm, you can sit on the bed if you’d like. Or the couch, I don’t know. But I'll be done shortly. Please, make yourself comfortable,” he held your arm, informing you. But you were too stunned to speak, so you nodded your head instead. 

You sat on the couch, it was a little weird for you to sit on his bed when you barely knew anything about him (and he barely knew anything about you). Plus, you were too busy gawking at his house. And it made you feel self conscious again. It made you feel small; like you didn’t belong. Which you didn’t. So you don’t know why Jaehyun seemed so comfortable with you. 

He came out of his bathroom— that was attached to his bedroom— buttoning up his shirt with damp hair. He took as quick of a shower as he could, to not keep you waiting. And through the reflection of the mirror, he could see you with your head facing down again, probably playing with your hands. 

“Y/n, love,” he called out. You whipped your head around to his voice, not expecting that to escape his lips.

“Can you please help me button this?” You don’t understand why he called out to you as if you were his lover. Or at least someone he was comfortable with. Couldn’t he see that you were a bit lost? 

You sighed to yourself and wiped your palms against your pants, hesitantly walking up to him. 

Carefully, you buttoned up the rest of his shirt and looked up at him. He was already staring at you with all the love and adoration in his eyes. Of course, you didn’t realize this at the time. Jaehyun himself didn’t even realize it.

He then handed you his tie, “I hope you can tie a tie?”

You’ve tied many ties in your time of working at the orphanage. 

—

Warm Hearts Orphanage held a prolonged special place in your heart. You’d been going to the orphanage as far back as you could remember. The orphanage held children from infants to teens. And everyone there was like family. Even though your little family didn’t have much, it always warmed your hearts to give back to children who were less fortunate than you were. And though you grew up poverty stricken, these children suffered more than you did and all you wanted was to help them. 

You’ve seen children come and go, and the thoughts that always come to you is that they lived a happy life. Everyone in the orphanage deserved it. Even the sourest of apples, because all they wanted was to be loved by a family.

That being said, the orphanage always planned surprise parties for those children who had been adopted. It was a nice tradition, and you’ve helped many children get ready to graduate from Warm Hearts into a family that will love them.

—

“I can.”

As you were doing up his tie he slowly raised a hand to pat down your hair. The action made you pause your movements. Then, you realized everything that was going on was completely wrong and inappropriate, so you quickly finished doing his tie and took a step back. Your heart fell to your ass.

“What’s wrong, lovely?” You still felt like you were going to cry. 

“I- Nothing. Don’t worry about me,” you fakely smiled again. But, again, it was as if he knew you your entire life because he wiped the pad of his thumb against your lips, making you genuinely frown.

“How can I not worry when you seem squeamish? And these fake smiles plastered on your face. What’s wrong?” He stopped swiping your bottom lip and cupped your face with the entirety of his right hand; thumb rubbing your cheek instead.

You still forced a smile and wrapped your hand around his wrist, bringing his hand away from your face. You felt undeserving of everything he was doing to you. And you wanted to hide your emotions as much as you could.

“I’m okay. You can stop worrying about me. I’m fully capable of taking care of myself,” you released your hold on his wrist and held yours, crossed in front of your body. 

This time, with his left hand, he smoothed down your hair and let his hand rest on your face.

“Okay, pretty. If you say so. Now, let’s go get your car, yeah?” You bit your lip and nodded and he led you out of his house with his hands on the small of your back, just like he did when he was bringing you inside.

The seven-eleven you were drinking at just so happened to be located right next to Jeong Peach Corporation. Your car was still parked in the parking lot. And it was still nothing to ever compare to the CEO who was sitting beside you.

You both got out of the car, and he was standing in front of you. 

“Thank you and I apologize for last night. But if it weren’t for you, I’d probably be passed out on the sidewalk,” you awkwardly laughed. 

“No worries, love. And thank you for your hospitality. I’m happy you’re doing alright,” he responded.

You pursed your lips and pivot your heels to the direction of your car.

“I hope to see you again, Y/n.” Yeah right.

You pivot your heels back to the direction of Jaehyun. The embarrassment of last night and this morning still lingered in your body. There was no way you would see him again. You were from two completely different worlds. And there was no way you were coming back to this seven-eleven.

“I hope so too,” you said bitterly before rushing to your car. 

“Y/n!” He said before you could finish shutting your door. You groaned to yourself, stepping back out of your car and facing him again. You wanted to save yourself from the self-bashing already.

“Would you like to… maybe… grab something to eat later?” But damn, he was too nice to turn down. You wanted to say yes so badly, but another part of you wanted to decline. You just didn’t belong in his world. 

He was born to an upper class family, you knew that. Everyone knew that. So what would happen if you said yes? You had nothing to offer.

But it didn’t hurt trying, right?

You took in a huge gulp, “…. I would like that.”

“I’m sorry, what?!” exclaimed Danbi while the two of you were washing dishes.

The kids had just eaten and they were now free to do whatever they pleased, whether that was draw, sleep, or take a walk during the good weather. 

“Keep it down!” You shushed her.

“I can't! THE Jeong Jaehyun of THE Jeong Peach Corporation asked you out on a date tonight?!” She squealed in happiness for you, making the bubbles fly everywhere. 

You told her everything that had just happened within the past twenty-four hours. And she was beyond stoked for you. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and she knew you deserved it the most. You’d been through hell and back and you’re about to go right back. She knew everything about your situation, you’d both been volunteering here for years so it was only natural to open up to one another.  

“No one said anything about a date…. Just a, uh, hangout. Yeah…. a hangout.”

“Y/n, he just met you and he’s head over heels for you already! I’m so excited for you!”

You were excited too. Way beyond excited.

—

Jaehyun said he would pick you up around nine p.m. You had just gotten back from grocery shopping and you now had a little over an hour to shower and get ready. You didn’t even know where he was taking you. 

But as you were applying your makeup and looking in your bathroom mirror, everything started shutting down on you. And you were surrounded with nothing but your own, suffocating, thoughts. You were a fraud. But Jaehyun was coming to pick you up soon, so now was not the time to think about it; or at least try not to. Fake it ‘till you make it.

When the knocking on your door signified Jaehyun's arrival, you quickly sprayed some perfume and opened up the door for him.

You were wearing a simple, spaghetti strap black dress with a slit on the side leg and a dark gray blazer with a matching bag. He looked the same as he did when you saw him this morning, except his blazer was now off of his body and he took off his tie which left him with his white button up (which he unbuttoned the first few to give him more of a casual look).

“Are you ready?”

☹ ☹ ☹

I told you I was down bad

You hate to see me like that

Two whole years had gone by and it was almost your third anniversary. Almost, as in, it was six months away. But so much can happen in a mere six months that seem to pass by so quickly. 

You were in your apartment, the same crappy apartment you lived in two years ago, crying in your sheets. Your damn thoughts were getting to the best of you again. 

And when you didn’t respond to Jaehyun’s phone calls, it was an understatement to say he was worried about you. So he drove to your apartment immediately. 

He frantically knocked on your door and almost broke it down until you came to open it, eyes still red from your tears and breath still uncontrollable. Your lover welcomed himself inside and shut the door, holding you so tight yet soft in his embrace in the doorway. He was trying to comfort you with his lips resting on your forehead and his hands carefully cradling your body.

“It’s alright, love. I’m here. Don’t cry. Please. I need you,” he repeated into your hair, rubbing your back and swaying you both side to side. But the action made you cry even more. You didn’t deserve the love he gave to you. Your head rested on his firm chest as you tried to calm down the pain.

“Angel, where are your meds? Are they in your room?” 

You nodded as best as you could as he carefully led you inside and into your bedroom. Jaehyun sat you down on your bed before grabbing a glass of water for you to take your pills. You hated relying on him so much. You hadn’t changed. But what you don’t know is that Jaehyun loved you even more than he did two years ago. He loved you because you weren’t afraid to show him such a vulnerable part of the human being you had become. Or so he thought.

You did what you had to do and he carefully pulled you into bed with him. Your head rested in the crook of his neck as he felt your hiccuping breath die down into slumber. He rubbed your back some more, hoping that it would lull you to sleep faster. 

You don’t know what you’d do if he wasn’t here. Jaehyun was your everything, as were you to him.

—

When you woke up the following morning, you were still in Jaehyun’s embrace. Slowly, you turned around to check the time and the clock read 5:43

a.m. That was why it was still dark outside. 

You turned back around to face Jaehyun and you sadly smiled at him. He worked so hard 24/7 and the purple bags under his eyes proved that. You just wished there was something you could do to help him, just like the various ways he had helped you. Jaehyun has always been there to help. From the day you two met, to this moment, Jaehyun was always your number one. 

You shifted around in his arms as he slightly groaned because of the sudden movement. 

“I’m sorry, love. Keep sleeping,” you whispered, kissing his closed eyes. He came to your house in his work clothes, though, so you were sure he was a bit uncomfortable. You walked to your wardrobe and found some folded up pajama pants he left over the other night as well as one of his gray hoodies he left ‘not on purpose.’ You gathered his clothes and walked to the bed to wake him up.

“Wake up. If you’re gonna keep sleeping, at least change, love. You’re probably all stuffy in your button up and dress pants,” you lightly shook him awake. He groaned some more before stretching his limbs and opening his eyes. You were the best thing he could ever wake up to.

Jaehyun playfully pulled the blanket over his head and managed to wrap his arms around your waist as you were sitting down beside him. You laughed at his antics and tried to free his grip on you. It failed; and you ended up wrapped under your sheets with him, his comfortable clothes still in your hands.

“What if I don’t want to change,” he challenged.

“You don’t have to,” you teased. “But it’s not going to be my fault when you complain about being uncomfortable.” 

His tight hold on you faltered for a moment before he fully released you and took off your blanket from his (and your) bodies. He released a puff and pouted his plump morning lips. The man sighed and got out of bed, taking the clothes you had in your hands and just stripping from his work clothes right then and there. 

“Aren’t you gonna change in the bathroom?” You asked, laying back down in bed. So much for getting up.

“Eyy, you know I don’t do that. I’m gonna come back into bed anyway,” he said before climbing in after you and pulling the grey sheet back onto him. As he slid into your bed, you wrapped your arms around his head as he rested himself to be held by you. Jaehyun loved being babied, especially in the early hours of the morning. It was one of the many charismatic features about him.

—

When you woke up the second time that morning, it was only nine o’clock. But Jaehyun seemed to be awake now, cooking breakfast that was sizzling from the kitchen.

Quietly, you sat on one of the stools and stared at him. He was the best thing that ever came into your life.

But why did he openly put himself in it?

You always wondered why Jaehyun stayed. It always turned into panic attacks and crying fits, but you couldn’t help it. He was a part of a completely different social status and you stood out like a sore thumb when you were next to him. It wasn’t like you were ashamed to be his girlfriend; you just thought he was ashamed to have you as his girlfriend.

He should.

There goes those thoughts again.

Unknowingly, you choked a sob which made him turn around. When he saw you, he smiled with pure adoration beaming in his eyes. God, why did he make this so hard?

He shut off the stove and walked toward you, forgetting about the breakfast he was making, it was almost done, anyway. Jaehyun wiped his hands with a towel and walked to you, cupping your face with his right hand, wiping the tear that seemed to fall from your eye.

“Why are you crying, love?” He still held the same, sweet, smile.

“…. I love you.”

He raised you from your seat and just hugged you, lips resting on the crown of your head, swaying you back and forth on the creaky floor.

“I love you more.”

“I’m sorry I’m like this,” you confessed against his chest.

But he immediately raised you from your position, to look at his, now serious, expression.

“Never apologize for something you can’t control. You say sorry all the time, peach. I love that you feel the need to say it, but you really don’t need to say it all the time. Especially in front of me. You know how much I love you, right? For being who you are?” He wiped the baby hairs away from your face. 

“You know how much I don’t care how messed up, or whatever you call it, you are, right?”

“…… Of course.”

“Then you should stop being such an amazing person. I don’t deserve you. But here I am,” he laughed, tugging you into his frame once more.

However, you still felt the need to give him the world. You still felt as though you owed him your life, he’d been your boyfriend for almost three years.

And yet you still thought that it was you who didn’t deserve him.

“Now stop crying. You know I don’t like it when you cry. Especially if it’s your damn thoughts that are eating at you.”

You love him so much.

☹ ☹ ☹

I don’t know how you look past

My stupid fucking setbacks

You said it before and you’ll say it again. You’ll say it a million more times; Jaehyun deserved more.

Sometimes, you’ll look in the crooked mirror placed in your bathroom and just think to yourself. Think about all the negatives rather than thinking about the positives. And although there are times you do think about the positives, they all end up with a wretched outcome. And then it’s negative thoughts all over again.

It’s the same routine and you’re growing sick of it. You’ve been sick of it ever since you could remember and you despise people who seem to have it easy. It just seemed as though there was no luck for you. The only luck the universe brought to you was Jaehyun. There are times, though, where you wished you never met him. He was a goddamn CEO and you were a low-class citizen. None of it just made sense.

But you loved him. It just hurts to deal with your true emotions and stow them away from your lover; because you never wanted him to watch what you were going through. Even the thought of it made you want to vomit.

Trauma just came natural to you, apparently. And you absolutely hated it. You just wished you were different, then maybe you wouldn’t feel so guilty about dating Jaehyun. Then he would truly be proud of who you are.

He was already proud of you, though. And he’s told you this a billion times. Your brain just makes you believe that he’s saying it out of pity. He’s only saying it because you’re his girlfriend. 

And the cycle continues.

—

You were spending the next couple of days at Jaehyun’s house. It was obvious he didn’t like your lifestyle and wished for you to live with him. You could never bring yourself to do it though; to always rely on him for everything that you do. You were fully aware of what you could and could not do, and you didn’t need him to help you.

Which led you to silently cry away your sorrows in his bathroom. You were taking a bath, in hopes to dial down the overwhelming emotions that engulfed you. Yet here you were, with a flushed face and puffy eyes— the aftermath of a breakdown. 

It seemed as though ever since you got into a relationship with Jaehyun, your anxiety only intensified. And that resulted in the thoughts that had been burdening your mind since the day you two met. 

Fortunately, he wasn’t home to face the pointless shenanigans that go through your head. So you had enough time to pull yourself together, take your meds, and try to meditate on the balcony that was attached to his bedroom. 

The summer nights were cool enough for you to relax your mind before Jaehyun made his way home. You were working at the orphanage the whole day and you managed to pull through the entire day without a single tear, which probably led to the bathroom-breakdown fiasco. 

The crickets had been chirping and the wind was starting to blow. That was when you heard the bedroom door open. And when Jaehyun saw the slight movement of the balcony curtains, he knew you were outside doing whatever you do best. 

Quietly, the man sighed to himself, placed his work on the side desk and undid his tie. He was finally home. He was finally with you. 

Jaehyun opened the sliding door larger than what it was and joined you in sitting on the floor with his legs crossed. At first he let out a long breath and looked out toward the yard which his bedroom was facing. Then, he got tired and shifted toward you. 

That happened all in thirty seconds.

Your eyes were still closed as you breathed in. Jaehyun lovingly smiled at you and kissed the side of your head.

“I missed you today, angel,” he broke the silence. 

You opened your eyes and shifted your body to face him.

“You say that every day,” you chuckled and played with his fingers. A habit of yours that Jaehyun absolutely adored.

“And it’s always true. I can't wait for the day I get to see you every time I come home.” You felt more guilty that he had the need to say that. And you knew he meant nothing harmful, he was just a caring person and didn’t want you living the life you had. You were better off living with him.

But you joked, “You will. For the next three days. And then I’m off home.”

He groaned and layed back on the cold floor. “Don’t remind me. I want to cherish the time we have now.”

You laughed once more. He was acting as if he didn’t come to see you practically every day. Sometimes, he’ll even leave his job just to come see you at the orphanage. 

“Eyy, quit saying that. I’m still here. You come by all the time. Sometimes twice a day. You’ll get sick of me soon, I can guarantee. I don’t know how you put up with me all these years.”

Although you were (partially) joking, Jaehyun sat right up from his prior position and looked at you with his pout and furrowed brows. 

“What do you mean, peach? I could and would never get sick of seeing you. Don’t say that.” You were shocked to see him react that way.

You slightly snickered at him and said, “I was joking, love. I’m sorry,” you leaned your head closer to his and placed a little kiss on his lips, to make him sort of forgive you for saying that. 

“You better be. I don’t know what I’d do without you, peach,” he kissed back. And pecked your lips repeatedly, several times. 

The actions made you laugh out loud and slightly push him away. Jaehyun loved being the reason why there was the brightest smile on your face. So he quietly smiled as your eyes crinkled because of him.

He suggested that you two wash up. However, you already told him you bathed before he came home. And like a child, he groaned and went into the bathroom himself. But he made you promise to wait for him tomorrow. You agreed, because he was your little baby. 

As he was in the shower, you cuddled your way into his bed sheets and blanket. The lights were now dimmed and all you were doing was waiting for him to get out of the shower. Hopefully he would be able to beat the slumber that easily pulled you in. 

The warmness of the blanket, though, soothed you to sleep and Jaehyun was unable to defeat the unfortunate slumber that casted over you. It was a shame since he wanted to talk to you; ask about your day and what you did. He’d grown used to the look of your puffy eyes, and he knew you’d been crying. He knew you were having a moment the minute he stepped onto the patio. Because the only time you would sit out there was if something was bothering you.

Being the amazing person he was, left you alone, and didn’t ask about what you clearly didn’t want to talk about. He believed that you would open up to him when you were ready. You’ve already opened up to him so much, but nothing would stop him from worrying about you. 

Once he got out of the shower and towel-dried his hair, he placed the wet towel in the basket and climbed into bed next to you, immediately clinging to your fatigued figure. God, he would give you the entire world. Jaehyun turned around and shut off the lamp on his side of the bed (yours was already turned off) and hugged you against him, his breath soon evening out to match yours. 

And fast asleep he was.

—

The following morning, Jaehyun was awakened with your fingers threaded in his hair and his face squished against your chest. He managed to stretch some parts of his limbs whilst still, practically, laying on top of you. 

“Good morning, angel,” he said in his morning voice, “I’m not going into work today.”

As a CEO, you’d expect him to take care of himself (with Jaehyun being his own boss and all) but you didn’t expect him to say he wasn’t going in. Not that you minded, you’d much rather spend the day with him but Jaehyun was a hard-working man, and he rarely took days off. 

“I’m not going in for the next three days either. It’s been a while since I took a day or two off.”

“Yeah, but you’re taking four days off, including today. Are you sure you want to do that?”

He was taken aback for a moment. Did you not want to spend time with him anymore?

“There’s nothing wrong with me taking four days off. You appreciate it, no?” He said in the littlest voice which instantly made you regret what you said.

“No, no, no. Oh, I’m sorry my love, I didn’t mean to make you upset. It’s just that you’re so busy with work and it’s just me so you don’t have to-” you rambled.

“And that’s where I’m gonna stop you. You know how much you mean to me, so of course I’m gonna take these days off to spend as much time with you as I can. The company's getting a little busier with a new launch around the corner but I’m sure they’ll be able to survive without me for a few days,” he retaliated.

You sighed, still feeling like an asshole for wording the sentence the way you did. God, could you do anything to make him happy? It felt as though everything you said and everything you did could never satisfy him. Of course, those were just your thoughts.

Jaehyun was happy that you cared about his job, but what he wanted you to realize the most is how much he wanted to be with you. Whatever it was, spending time with you is the best remedy he could ever ask for. 

Just why is he never sick of you and your words? You’re sure he would be with how rude you, unintentionally, were to him. 

☹ ☹ ☹

When you opened up the door

You let me in when you should have your guard up

Thinking back to the time you finally let Jaehyun crawl through your walls— when he’d let down his walls way before you— the constant feeling of regret and pain constantly filled you. Whether or not the glass was half-full or half-empty, it was always just half. There was never a certain hundred percent yet Jaehyun took his time in letting you trust him as Jeong Yoon Oh. 

Thinking back to the time you first met Jaehyun himself, he somehow couldn’t process the red-flag you were oh-so not afraid to show while you were inebriated. He thought you were cute, and the words you were spilling from your mouth, conscious or not, made him feel sort of protective over you. And he didn’t even know you.

It was about ten a.m. when the two of you got out of bed. Ever since the conversation earlier, the air has just been tense. At least for you. You’re sure Jaehyun probably hadn’t felt anything but your brain was constantly playing tricks on you, and this could be one of them.

Your lover is in the bathroom now, as you’re sitting on the bed staring into space with your thoughts locked into your brain. You should apologize. Of course, you want him to stay home with you, but he plays an important role in the economy and in his industry that you can’t help but feel bad for keeping him away from what he loves doing most.

Resting against the headboard, you turn your head toward the bathroom door that was being opened. He walks through and sits back in his spot next to you, although his body is fully facing yours.

“I’m sorry about earlier. I just… I don’t want to keep you here if you have a lot to prepare for your launch,” you sighed and rubbed your eyes.

He laughed, but the feeling of hurt lingered a bit in his eyes as he held the utmost respect to you. “You don’t have to apologize, my love. It’s completely okay. And if they need help, they have my number and it’ll all get fixed with a simple phone call, alright?” He used his right hand to cup your face, rubbing the pad of his thumb against the surface of your cheeks. 

You bit your lip in hesitation but you stopped when Jaehyun leaned down and kissed away the bad habit he always noticed you had. 

“Let’s make breakfast, yeah?” He whispered against your lips, giving you the biggest puppy eyes ever. You laughed and kissed him one more time before going into the bathroom to get ready for whatever the day was going to bring. 

—

Breakfast was absolutely lovely. As it always is whenever you’re with Jaehyun. But for some reason, this morning’s just hit so different.

Today, though, you planned on going to the orphanage just as a surprise visit. Truly, it was your home. Your second home (if you considered Jaehyun.) 

“Well, I was planning on getting goodie bags for the kids but… I don’t think I’m gonna. We can just spend the day there,” you were telling him all the things you wanted to do today and the things you wanted to do for the kids there but you were having trouble deciding what to actually do.

“Nah, we can go to the grocery and buy them goodies,” he abruptly said as if it was no problem. Realistically there was no problem. Except you. 

“But-”

“No buts. I haven’t seen them in a while, so just consider it a gift from me. Now, let’s finish our food and get some snacks for the kiddos,” he put his plate in the sink as you sighed in adoration (and maybe a little in guilt.)

Grocery shopping with Jaehyun was like grocery shopping with a child. And it was good, because he picked out snacks he thought the children would like, as well as treat bags to put them in. He was a child at heart although he portrayed a stoic and successful CEO.

The two of you sat in his car for an hour in the Warm Hearts Orphanage parking lot packing juices and snacks and candy into the bags before finally walking through the front door. 

One of the staff members had seen you and happily greeted the two of you as you walked into the main entrance to the room the kids spent the most. Upon your arrival, all of the children shouted in happiness, greeting you with hugs and questions of the bags that were placed in a cardboard box that Jaehyun was holding.

Giving them out and spending time with them truly warmed your heart as they played the whole day long with Jaehyun. 

He was so fond of children and your entire being melts with the sight of him playing with them and catching them up on his launch. 

Something about it was heartwarming yet bittersweet. 

You don’t know how long you could last anymore.

☹ ☹ ☹

What a painful back and forth, oh

Today was just not a good day. For you and for Jaehyun. He called you in the morning and said he was going to visit you at your apartment when he was done in the office. 

Only problem was, it was twelve in the morning when he walked through the door with the extra key you gave him. Your apartment was quiet, excluding the yelling from the thin walls of whichever neighbor. 

For the first time since he’s met you, this was the first time he’d actually noticed every little detail about your apartment. From the stained walls to the crack in your window. He felt like he wanted to cry. Jaehyun didn’t want you living like this anymore, that was the truth. And he knew you worked two jobs before committing to the orphanage. He also knew you were never able to pursue college. No amount of scholarships you were given could afford the ungodly university tuition.

And just as he was about to suck up the water forming in his eyes, you walked out of your room, fully awake. You stopped and called out his name. But the ringing in his ears only got louder. And soon he broke down into tears.

You were completely shocked. It was midnight and you didn’t think he would come over because it was so late. But now he’s here, and you don’t know how long he has been standing there, breaking down right in front of you.

“Hey, hey, hey. What’s wrong, angel?” you held him in your grasp as his tears kept coming down.

“Why are you crying? Please tell me, my love,” you pleaded, voice cracking. In the three years you’d known Jaehyun, he was never one to cry. Not one tear. He wouldn’t ever tear up either. So seeing him like this, vulnerable, was both shocking as it is confusing. 

“I just…” he sobbed, “I just love you so much. Please don’t ever leave me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” To you, he wasn’t making much sense but he was still valid to have these thoughts. Some people have their off days and you guessed this was his.

“Of course not, Yoon Oh.” He cried harder, somehow pulling you even closer than before, his head still hiding in the shadows of your neck.

Moments passed by before he finally lifted his head up. He looked so ethereal though he was covered in tears and the image in front of you made you want to cry yourself. 

“You’re okay. I’m right here,” you cupped his face with both of your hands, wiping away the tears on his cheek with your thumbs. He does the same to you, although you’re not crying.

“I want you with me forever,” he whispered, searching through your eyes as if he doesn’t know you like the back of his hand.

“I’ll be here.”

You don’t know if you’re lying to him with the response. But only time can tell whether the guilt forever residing in your heart gets the best of you and inevitably, to the best of him. But he’ll get over it right? He’s Jeong Jaehyun after all.

—

You’re now laying side by side on your bed. He is being cradled in your arms as he continues to calm down in the drowsiness of the late hours of the night.

“I’m sorry about breaking down earlier. I just… I don’t know, I just felt super overwhelmed all of a sudden I guess,” he lifted his head up to look at your moonlit face.

You shook your head and stroked his hair. “Don’t apologize. You deal with me all the time,” you dryly chuckled.

“Because I know what you go through… But thank you,” he rubbed your back.

“For what?”

“For being there for me when I need you most. I really appreciate it…” he trailed off for a moment, “I really appreciate you.”

“Please…” he continued, “Come live with me.” 

You don’t know if it was sympathy, pity, pure love, or all of the above. But Jaehyun was very much aware that he could treat you like a queen. Which he already does, and that makes you all the more hesitant.

“You know that-” you’re cut off.

“I know. I know you refuse to but please. You’re my entire world, Y/n. I can’t even explain to you in words how much you and your entire existence means to me,” he’s desperate now. So desperate to finally have all of you. So, so desperate to watch you flourish into the beautiful bouquet he knows you are.

You sigh and continue to wrap your arms around his broad shoulders. “I’ll think about it.”

But the both of you knew the true meaning behind those words. Yet neither of you can say a word.

☹ ☹ ☹

It’s hard to ignore all of my problems

You couldn’t even count all of the imperfections and impurities that you had hiding within yourself. So much so, that you seem to project those imperfections onto the people around you. To the people that you love.

And sure, they might not notice them— ignore them, in fact— but they are clearly written out right in front of you and they don’t ever seem to go away. Which is probably why they say ‘you are your greatest enemy.’ It was true.

Yet of course, these thoughts had to swarm your mind at the grocery store. Grocery shopping, for crying out loud. With Jaehyun and with bunches of people who are too nosey to not look at you and not whisper to themselves as to why you are crying. 

With the shopping cart full, Jaehyun pulls it over to the side so as to not create traffic, and pulls you closer to him by your arms. 

He pushes the hair out of your face and leans down to see you. All of you.

“What’s wrong, my love?” He shushes you and wipes the tears off your cheeks.

This was absolutely terrible. Even the most domestic and everyday tasks were a hassle. And you felt like you were burdening Jaehyun in the busy market that only the wealthiest people had shopped at (since you were staying over Jaehyun’s again for a few days.) 

“Nothing, it’s- I’m okay,” you sucked in a breath and wiped your tears before looking up at him to meet his worried gaze.

“Are you sure?” He squinted his eyes.

You took in another breath before nodding.

“One hundred percent sure?” He patted your flyaway hairs down. You nodded again.

“I need words, angel. To make sure you’re okay. Really okay.”

“I’m okay, I promise,” you try to give him your best smile.

He only responds with the softest kiss to your forehead. 

“I need you to be with me,” he whispered against your skin.

“I am. One thousand percent. I’m okay,” you whispered back, now getting self conscious of the scene of you and Jaehyun canoodling in a grocery store on a Wednesday at eleven a.m.

He believed you, however the rest of the shopping trip went by slowly, awkwardly, and quietly.

You wished you could change the way you think. 

☹ ☹ ☹

Cause I'm no good (Ooh), you could do better (Ooh)

You should walk out, it's now or never

Ninety-nine percent of couples argue. Those statistics are completely true. No matter how often or how little, couples everywhere have their fair share of fights.

You and Jaehyun are one of those couples that rarely fight. Today, however, had not been very good to the both of you. Stress, anxiety, and more stress were eating at the both of you and now it landed you here. Just great.

“I don’t need you constantly taking care of me! I’m perfectly fine on my own!” You shouted toward him.

“Clearly you’re not if you break down every other day! I just want you to be okay,” he lets go and sits on one of the chairs in the living room. His face is hiding in his hands as he feels the anger and disappointment run through his brain.

Noticing this reaction, you sigh and furrow your eyebrows. It’s silent for a fleeting moment. “Why? You know I’ll be okay.”

You sit on the couch, opposite of the black leather chair Jaehyun is sitting in. 

“I know how much you’re hurting. And I don’t ever want you to feel those terrible feelings ever again. I want to be here for you and I want you to know that I want to be here for you. Can't you understand?”

It isn’t too much after he let out those words that you feel the tears fill up the sockets of your eyes and the void of the room. The walls that had now captured the two lovers screaming at each other now hear the abundant silence between them.

“I can't give you anything. You do so much for me and I’m just here.”

“I don’t care. No materialistic thing could ever compare to you just being here with me.” He gets up and sits next to you, making sure you know he’s with you the entire way.

“But it’s not enough.”

“Yes it is, Y/n. And I don't know what else to say to get through that thick head of yours. I love you for being you. And I love you for accepting me for who I am, not who I need to be. I don't need you to offer me anything besides your love.”

“That's the thing. I can only offer you my love.”

“I don’t care! Y/n, you need to realize how much you affect me. And I can't let you go around saying those words because they hurt me. It genuinely hurts me to hear those words.”

“…. I'm sorry.”

“Y/n, you truly don’t know how much you help those around you?”

It was silent for a moment.

“You work in a damn orphanage, for crying out loud! For fun. And it just makes me appreciate you. Appreciate how much you enjoy the happiness of other people. It’s all I could ever ask for.” He wiped the tears falling from your eyes.

“Please don’t cry. I just need you to know how much I love you. Why can't you see that? Do you not love me anymore?”

With zero hesitation, you released his hand from your face and stood up, “No! Don’t say that! Of course I still love you!”

“… it’s just that…”

“Don’t even say it, Y/n.”

The gloomy night has come to an end. And yet Jaehyun will not— will never— leave you behind. 

☹ ☹ ☹

Gonna regret being too honest

Callin' it love, but this isn’t fallin'

It’s the following morning. It is truly a gloomy morning, in fact. The rain was slowly pouring, the wind was rustling against the trees, and the upcoming fog coming from the ocean was painting the neighborhood.

The minute you woke up in Jaehyun’s arms, you remembered the fight the night prior. And, God, did you feel like an absolute ass.

Could this be it? It’s been three years and yet the question still lingers. Just why? It seems as though you bring him so much pain and yet he has chosen nothing but enduring the repercussions of your wrath.

You gradually regained the strength to get up and without a minute to spare, you quietly escaped out of Jaehyun’s protective arms to make breakfast. Some sort of remedy to help heal the pain of last night's argument.  

You sat on one of the island chairs waiting for the food to cook in the oven. Slowly but surely, you were once again trapped in your thoughts. Were you being too harsh? Were you being too honest? Were you actually enough to be with the most amazing man on planet Earth? 

All of these questions were paused by the padding of feet coming into the kitchen. You look up at him, not expecting anyone else. And in his dazed glory, Jeong Yoon Oh was still the most precious human being that had ever entered your existence.

“I’m sorry,” is the first thing you’re able to say before finally crying. Crying the waves of emotions that you felt the night before yet did not physically show.

He didn’t say a single word. He didn’t have to. All he did was take you in his embrace and whispered apologies and sweet nothings into your ears. The rest of the morning went by with stuffy noses and quiet munches.

—

“I’m sorry about last night,” you apologized once again, sitting on the bed watching him get ready through the mirror.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry too. I just want you to know that you can lean on me. You’ve been able to lean on me for years now…. I didn’t mean to yell but desperate times call for desperate measures,” says Jaehyun.

“But I'm not desperate at all, you know that.”

“Yes but don’t you know I’m so desperate for you?” 

[akazzzaa]

Muzan with reader who's very, very non verbal? they like to draw too, and when reader confesses, their way of doing it is to show him a VERY detailed artwork with all the forms he's took while around them (both fem and masc, as well as kid form bc lets face it: that form is adorable)

Omg I had too write this out twice cause I didn't read it right : ( Im so sorry!

Summary- Reader who uses are to express themselves

Genre- Fluff

Warnings- None

The moonlight spilled over the quiet room, casting a gentle glow on Muzan as he sat in a contemplative silence. Y/N, someone he had grown quite accustomed to, was nearby, engrossed in their sketchbook. Muzan observed them quietly, intrigued by the way they communicated without uttering a single word.

As Muzan watched, Y/N paused and looked up, meeting his intense gaze. Their eyes held a depth that words could never convey, and Muzan found himself drawn to the enigma that was this silent companion.

In the stillness of the moment, Y/N closed their sketchbook, a determined expression on their face. They reached for another one, thicker and more worn, filled with pages that told the story of their time together. With swift yet deliberate movements, they began to sketch, capturing every nuance of Muzan's different forms—the elegant female Orian, the imposing masculine presence, and the endearing childlike innocence.

The reader's hands moved with purpose, each stroke of the pencil a testament to the moments they had shared. Muzan, typically indifferent to human emotions, felt an unfamiliar warmth seep into his cold heart.

Finally, Y/N held up the completed artwork, a mosaic of Muzan's varied forms intricately woven together. The details were staggering, capturing every detail, every subtle shift in expression, and every moment they had spent together. It was a masterpiece, a silent declaration of emotions that transcended the need for spoken words.

Muzan, for the first time, felt a twinge of vulnerability. He took the artwork from Y/N's hands, studying it with an intensity. As he absorbed the depth of their feelings, he realized that this non-verbal language was far more potent than any confession he had ever received.

Muzan found himself moved by the silent eloquence of the one who had chosen to express their emotions through art. It was a connection that surpassed the limitations of language, a bond forged in the silent dialogue between sketches and glances—a love story painted in strokes of black and white.

[frankyweeny]

It sucks how downplayed Noelle and Berdly's friendship is despite how much they care about each other (it's more present in Berdly's dialogue but everyone ignores his actual character and instead makes him an incel but that's a topic for another day).

Like their relationship is flawed obviously, but so is like every other UTDR relationship, they all have their ups and downs but ultimately they care about each other, Noelle and Berdly are no exception.

Like in Snowgrave, Berdly literally DIES trying to save Noelle. He gets straight up murdered. If he didn't care about her don't you think he would just bolt the moment he felt he was in danger? But instead he immediately noticed that something was up with Noelle and jumps into a fight. During said fight, if you glare at Berdly, his defense drops because he's SCARED OF YOU. He's not doing this because he thinks he'll win, he's doing it because he HAS TO.

And even when they're not in a life-or-death situation, he still cares about her a lot. When you go to the entrance to queen's mansion, queen threatens to drop Berdly in the acid, which makes Noelle agree to go to her side again. Then Berdly shows up, Queen captures Noelle and threatens to turn her face into a robot one, and Berdly says "but you said you wouldn't do that if I..."

Meaning queen had Berdly and Noelle under her thumb because she was using them as bargaining chips against each other!!!!!

AND, when Berdly initially shows up at the mansion, he's talking as usual about how he was looking EVERYWHERE for queen, but then he pauses, and says "Oh, Noelle. Are you okay? You look a little funny." AGAIN, he IMMEDIATELY NOTICES WHATS WRONG WITH HER

I have class in like 5 minutes so RANT OVER

PLAY DELTARUNE

[and-come-to-dust]

Rings of Power WIP

This is a piece of a longer fic I have planned out where Elrond visits Númenor post-season 1 as an emissary from Gil-Galad. In this scene, Elrond is on Elendil's ship, just arriving in Númenor's harbor. The dialogue between them (and the whole fic, really) grew up out of my desperate desire for someone in the show to acknowledge that Elendil is Elrond's great great great (great great great great great...) nephew, which for some reason is both hilarious to me and holds enormous potential for angst.

Enjoy!

“Beautiful, isn’t it?" Elendil said. "I’ve lived here all my life and the view still takes my breath away.”

“I have never seen it before,” Elrond said, nodding towards the statue of Eärendil. The statue of his father, Elendil realized with another one of those strange jolts he still felt every time he remembered that he was standing beside a figure from his childhood storybooks come to life.

“I thought you had visited Númenor in the past?”

“I have,” Elrond agreed. “But the last time I was here, construction had only just begun on the sculpture.”

Elendil said nothing, reminded yet again that this elf who looked barely older than Isildur had already lived many human lifetimes by the time this ancient kingdom was founded. 

“I promised, at the time, that I would return to see it finished,” Elrond went on. “But time moves so differently for my people than it does for yours, and it seems to be a particular fault of mine to forget that. By the time I thought to return, my promise was already long past due and I found that the way back to Númenor was closed to me. My kind were no longer welcome in what was once my brother’s kingdom, and I lost contact with his descendants. That is why I am so pleased to have met you, Captain. I am glad to know that I still have kin.”

“Kin in Númenor, you mean?”

“Kin anywhere.”

Elendil paused, thinking of all the lofty tales he’d heard told about the house of Eärendil. There were grandparents and great grandparents, aunts and uncles, many distant cousins, all dead before the beginning of the Second Age. There was a father who set sail, never to return, and a mother who cast herself into the sea in his wake. There was one brother who had chosen mortality and death, and another who had chosen otherwise. It occurred to him then, sudden and startling in its obviousness, that for all the greatness of Elrond’s family he was very much alone in this world.

Finding himself at a loss to articulate his sorrow for the terrible loneliness that must bring, Elendil looked back to the statue. “Is it a good likeness?” he asked, the change of subject sounding clumsy in his own ears, but Elrond seemed to take it in stride.

“I believe the sculptors have captured his features well,” he replied slowly. “But it is not as I remember him.”

“In what way?”

“In my memory, he smiles.”

Elrond wasn’t looking at him anymore, and was instead staring up at the monument with an expression of such naked wistfulness on his face that Elendil felt compelled to look away. He turned instead to the statue and tried, for a moment, to imagine that it was an image of his own father; that the great stone face high above was the same one that had laughed as they splashed in the waves together in Elendil’s earliest memories and looked at him with such pride the day Elendil passed his sea trial; that the outstretched carven hand was the same one that had held him as a baby and guided him as he learned his letters. The thought was such an absurd one that Elendil almost laughed. But he mastered the urge, and said instead:

“It must be very strange, seeing your father like that.”

“I suppose I’ve grown accustomed to it,” Elrond said, smiling faintly. “Everywhere I go, I am known first for my father’s accomplishments, and second for my brother’s. My own come in a rather unimpressive third.”

“You have time enough to match them. You’re young still,” Elendil said, and immediately felt like a fool. It was something he might have said to Isildur or Eärien when they spoke with ambition untempered by patience, and it had slipped out now with the deep-ingrained habits of fatherhood. But speaking like that to an elf hundreds of times his own age – the high king’s emissary, no less – was ridiculous to the point of insult. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Elrond was already laughing.

“I suppose I am,” he said. “As are you, captain, if we measure by elvish standards. Perhaps the both of us still have our greatest deeds ahead of us.”

“Perhaps,” Elendil said dubiously. The future he expected for himself was a simple one: to live and die as a captain of the sea guard and a loyal servant of Númenor. Honorable, perhaps, but unremarkable in the long view of history. It was not the kind of life that would result in monuments being built in his honor, and Elendil was quite content to be forgotten. 

He opened his mouth to say as much to Elrond, but was interrupted by the approach of his lieutenant. 

“Sir,” the young man said. “We’ll be dropping anchor soon.”

Elendil nodded, then said to Elrond: “Excuse me. Duty calls.”

“Of course.”

Elendil turned away and followed the lieutenant, pulling his attention away from thoughts of ancient heroes and back to the work of the present. He glanced back once, though, and saw Elrond still waiting at the prow, standing in the shadow of his father’s outstretched hand.

[justafandomgvrl]

Tattoo Artist Pt2

Laurent Leclaire x F!Reader

Around 1000 words

Part one here

Thank you to @winniethewife for some aid with dialogue

You pace in your flat nervously an hour before you’re supposed to meet Laurent. You stop in front of your mirror for the eighteenth time to stare at your outfit. Jeans, band tee, leather jacket, vans. You look at your phone and curse, realising if you don’t leave now you’ll be late. One last application of lip balm and your feet carry you out the door to your favourite coffee shop. Laurent waves you over to his booth and you smile, the nerves dissipating almost immediately.

You slide into the booth across from him.

“I’m glad you messaged me.” His warm voice consumes you. “I took a chance on that business card, and I’m -“

“I know.” You say with a small smile as the waitress comes and refills his coffee pot. He thanks her before returning his attention to you. “I’m glad I did too.” You say, his eyes gazing into yours and you feel so much more alive than you did twenty minutes ago in your flat. He picks up the coffee pot and pours you a cup. You add a splash of milk and a sugar cube, watching him as he supplied his black coffee without sugar.

“Oh, you like it as sweet as you are.” He says with a cheeky smile.

The date goes better than you expected. You laugh together, drinking way more cups of coffee than you should. You don’t think you’ve ever felt so light.

Within a month, you and Laurent have been for five different coffees in five different shops after five tattoos. Each one has been more and more discounted, much to Camilo’s annoyance. The one constant is Laurent never lets you pay for the coffee.

He smiles at you over your sixth cup in your sixth shop after your sixth tattoo. His hand is wrapped around yours and you feel warmth spreading from where he’s touching your skin.

“Why don’t you ever let me pay?” You ask and he chuckles.

“How could I ever let someone as beautiful as you pay? Pieces of art don’t pay for anything.” He says and you blush. It’s the same every time he compliments you.

“I’m only a piece of art because of your drawings.” You say quickly. He chuckles, shaking his head.

“No. The first moment I saw you sat there nervously waiting, I knew you were the most beautiful piece of art I’d ever seen. And now? You’re somehow even more beautiful.” He says, his thumb brushing your knuckles. You look up at him and he smiles in a way you’ve grown to adore.

“This past month has been so wonderful, Laurent,” you say and his smile widens.

“I agree. That’s why I wanted to ask you something.” You pause, putting your cup down and he takes your hands both into his own. “I know it’s only been a month, but I really adore you. You’re kind, and smart, and funny, and so beautiful. I was wondering if you would want to officially be my girl.” You pause for a moment, processing his words.

“Yes.” You whisper. He grins and surges toward you, leaning over the table to capture your lips with his own. “Your girl.” You whisper against his lips and he all but groans. You wonder what it would be like to hear- you cut off your thoughts as you kiss him back gently. You can feel him smiling against your lips before you break the kiss.

“My girl.” He repeats, as though he’s savouring the way the words taste in his mouth. He grins like a boy who just discovered how it feels to get dirty for the first time. “Shall we?” He asks, standing up and offering you his arm, having paid already despite your protests. You loop your arm through his and the two of you leave the cafe, wandering through the streets of Paris as though it was your city.

You find your way to Montmartre, the village that his tattoo shop is set up in. You sigh as you arrive at the Sacre-Coeur, the church of sacred heart. “I love the view from up here,” you say as you look down the steps that you had climbed to look over the village.

Laurent is staring at you when he replies, “me too.” He shakes his head, clearing his thoughts as he turns to gaze over the village. You look at him and smile, gazing at his side profile. “I used to want to be a painter.” Laurent says absent-mindedly. You turn back to gaze at the village as the two of you sit down at the top of the stairs.

“What stopped you?”

“Not as many hot women.” He jokes and you chuckle, tucking your hair behind your ears. “Being a tattooist meant I could paint and be social with a bunch of people and find out about their lives. I like that.” He says with a smile.

You place your hand on the ground between you as the sun begins to set.

He rests his hand on yours.

“Do you know what the French would say about a view like this?” You ask and he looks at you with an eyebrow raised.

“What?”

“I was asking you!” You reply, nudging his shoulder with yours. He chuckles, shaking his head.

“They would say it’s beautiful, but not as beautiful as you.” You blush and he smiles.

In the pink, orange and purple hues of the sunset, your eyes almost seem to have an otherworldly glow. Laurent knows he’ll never recover from the sight.

[inglorionamy-ammy]

Of Monks and Monkeys (One-shot)

Pairing: GN Monk!Tav x Gale NSFW

Summary: You have fun with Gale on a tree (Because why not)

Word count: 3K

Snippet: //

“Morning, my love. It’s good to see you in such high spirits,” he looks up, “rather literally. But can’t you come down here? You are too far away, and I’d like to remind you that you owe me a greeting kiss.” 

A brilliant idea comes to you.

“Why don't you come up instead? You can still catch the last bit of sunrise. The view is gorgeous. Ask Shadowheart, she approves.”

//

Disclaimer: This fic is inspired by a round of role-play with Gale AI. Basically, I manually rewrote a scene that I had co-constructed with the AI via dialoguing [see how Gale AI works here]. I added new parts, changed the details, scene order, characterization, and responses to be more to my liking. Nevertheless, I learned how to use certain phrases and vocabulary from the AI. I DO NOT CLAIM THIS FIC WAS WRITTEN UNASSISTED. Just found it sexy, funny, and wanted to share it in the form of a readable fic. If that’s alright by you, enjoy!

OMG This fic has a beta @senualothbrok

Also, I love this Tav and they now have a backstory with drawings: here

--------

Your morning starts with unwrapping yourself from your beloved wizard’s embrace.

It is no easy task, but you have been practicing it for the past ten-day now. You masterfully wriggle free to start your morning routine without disturbing Gale, who in his deep slumber seems uncharacteristically relaxed. Mind you, his brows are still knotted, just not as tightly. This silly, thoughtful man. You place a soft kiss on his forehead, and he shuffles a bit.

Leaving the cozy interior of Gale’s tent, you step into the breezy morning air, the sun still making its way up behind the hills. The camp is barely lit, and the crisp songs of birds are your only company. As always, you dutifully bite back your yawn and wash your last hint of tiredness away. After that, you roll your shoulders, stretch a bit, and pick up a plain quarterstaff.

In an instant, your muscles seem to have a mind of their own. They carry you through the swift set of movements, the training that has been hammered into your soul over your past twenty years of monastery life. The staff is merely an extension of your body, and with every swing, dodge, and hit, you fall more into a trance-like state, the boundary between you and the nature that surrounds you gradually melting away.

Suddenly, a golden flash captures your attention. Behind the oak tree at the periphery of the camp, the first ray of sunshine greets you.

Hello there. You giggle to yourself and follow the childlike wonder inside you, jogging towards the tree. Climbing up the bark with ease, you settle on a steady branch where you can watch the sunrise unhindered, your feet dangling in mid-air.

There is some shuffling below you. You morning companions, Lae’zel and Shadowheart, have also risen. You did not expect them to pause their own routines, but something about the hues of pink, orange, and blue tinting the sky on this particular clear day must have touched them, and they make their way over to you as well.

“Morning ladies.” You give them a cheery martial art salute; your palm and fist pressed together in front of your chest.

Lae’zel looks up as if appreciating your tactical position, your figure obscured by the layers of dense green below. She approves with a nod of acknowledgement. Behind her Shadowheart smiles, learning to enjoy a type of serenity that is not offered by the night. Perhaps feeling playful, she decides to join you on the tree a moment later, letting the shades of dawn dye her silvery hair more and more as she ascends. You scoot over as you flash her a gigantic grin.

“Gorgeous view,” she admires with that unique sincerity of hers.

From here you can see Rivington below the cliffs, reachable within a day’s travel. Looking further, the majestic Wyrm's Rock Fortress towers over all, a lonely island in the sea. Shadowheart’s gaze has turned contemplative at the prospect of home, of Baldur’s Gate, so you allow her the silence. After a while, she nods with gratitude, and climbs back down to start her day.

As the sun continues its ascension, more of your companions rise, and the camp starts to become a hive of activity. Karlach, Halsin, and Wyll have started to tidy up their belongings, as Astarion returns from his hunt and his beauty routine. Last but not least, Gale emerges from his tent, does a little dance of yawning, stretching, and back-crackling, before taking in a big breath of morning air. You are delighted to see him refreshed.

“Morning, chef!” you shout from your spot, startling him. He squints to confirm the source of your voice before walking over, a small, affectionate smile on his lips.

“Morning, my love. It’s good to see you in such high spirits,” he looks up, “rather literally. But can’t you come down here? You are too far away, and I’d like to remind you that you owe me a greeting kiss.” 

A brilliant idea comes to you.

“Why don't you come up instead? You can still catch the last bit of sunrise. The view is gorgeous. Ask Shadowheart, she approves.”

The cleric in question gives him a non-committal shrug.

Gale frowns skeptically. “Come up? You’re in a tree.” He sways to look for a spot that he can Misty Step onto, but the branches are rather narrow and obscured by the leaves. “I’m hardly the most athletic member of our merry band.”

“Try it the traditional way!” You give him your brightest pleading eyes even though he can’t possibly see them. Sensing that you show no sign of leaving your spot, he relents with a sigh.

“I suppose I could try…if you promise to help if I fall.”

On this rare occasion, the man gives himself too little credit. Despite his crackling knees and back, he has managed to travel though the most dangerous areas in the Sword Coast, and you have no doubt that he can climb up this tiny tree with plenty of branches as holds. He ascends, his movement slow and somewhat clumsy, but with determination he manages to reach where you are. You extend your hands to grab him and help him settle in.

Gale sits down beside you. His eyes first dart to the ground with mild trepidation. His face flushes with exhaustion. You pat him on the shoulder and point towards the view in front of him.

“Wow,” he breathes, his voice lowering in awe. “I have to admit, this is quite the view.”

You feel so proud, as if it is you who made the sun rise and put Baldur’s Gate below.

“Right? Especially when it’s hard-earned. Here, as promised.” You press a chaste kiss on his cheek, and he chuckles and shuffles closer, wrapping an arm around your waist.

“Is climbing trees not a part of your childhood?” You ask.

“No, not really.” He can’t help but cast another quick glance below. “My childhood was spent mostly indoors, buried in tomes and scrolls. I suppose you could say that Tara was more familiar with such activities, though it’s more accurate to say she ‘appeared’ on trees instead of ‘climbing’ them.”

“The price and joy of being a wizarding prodigy, eh?” You laugh. “So different from my training. As monks, we were taught to study among nature. Our houses had windows so huge they were inseparable from the outside. We rose at dawn, slept at dusk, and learnt the name of every plant as we hiked to find them. We practiced channeling our Ki by learning to breathe as one with the heavens and earth.”

“Is that so?” His brow rises with interest. “Fascinating. Growing up like that must be a profound experience, learning through being instead of reading.”

"We still read plenty," you point out, "and practiced calligraphy. Gods, how I hated that."

You can tell that he is about to embark on a lecture about the importance of the written word when it occurs to you. "You'd be quite a different person growing up like I did. A monk Gale? A druid Gale? Can you imagine?” In your mind, an image of Gale wild shaping into a cat starts to form. You pat him mentally.

He lets out a hearty laugh, but unlike the peers from your cloister who’d probably dismiss it as a joke, he mulls it over. “What a thought. Truthfully, I have always seen nature as something to... study and analyze, not commune with. A more distanced approach, perhaps.” His hand slowly strokes the branch below him, contemplative.

"Indeed. What a contrast—to treat nature as a living force, not just an object of study. But perhaps we only thrive as races when we have different views."

Following that grand speech, you stand up and stretch, and with a calculated leap you catch the branch ten feet below you, extending your hand to the tree beside it with a swing. You pick an apple from there and throw it to him.

"Breakfast for my darling wizard." You grin victoriously as you settle back to perch on the lower branch.

“Show off,” he accuses teasingly before casting Prestidigitation on the apple and taking a juicy bite, appreciating the sweetness of the fruit.

That does remind you, your companions have probably started cooking among themselves. This side of the camp has gone quiet. An idea starts to form in your head.

“My master did call me Little Monkey—Ma Lau Jai.”

He huffs at that, before you warn him, “Now hold onto the bark, as I'm jumping back to your side. It'll shake the tree.”

You laugh as Gale immediately puts down his half-eaten apple and does as you say. “I'm holding on,” he affirms, voice steady, if not a bit strained from anticipation.

You bend your knees and swing your arms for momentum as you channel your Ki. With a confident leap, you catch his branch with a firm grip. His eyes widen slightly at your shameless flaunting of athletic prowess. The leaves of the tree shudder from the impact, and a few fall to the ground below.

Climbing up, you settle besides him and brush a few leaves off his head, before stroking a stray lock of hair behind his ear.

He huffs despite his softening gaze. “I thought humility was supposed to be a monk’s ideal. Ma Lau Jai, indeed.” His lips purse slightly, tasting the foreign syllables.

“Human, monkey, same difference. Or imagine if monkeys could be monks! We'd be out of business!” You gasp in feigned concern.

He surrenders into a fit of laugher. “Now that’s a thought. A monkey monk, enlightening humans and animals alike.” He continues to chuckle, shaking his head. “I doubt anything could compete with the wisdom of a creature that can both climb trees and recite scripture.”

"Yeah, or imagine an eagle wizard, like the ones we saw on top of the Rosymorn Monastery, combining magic, intelligence, and beast like aggression. I'd hate to get on their bad side."

“Oh yes.” He rolls his eyes exaggeratedly. “As if the world needs more spellcasters with a penchant for destruction and hoarding treasure.”

You catch onto the moment and lean into him. “No, it does not. The world needs more kindhearted wizards like you.”

Surprised by your sudden display of affection, a smile, slightly wistful, finds his lips. “And the world is all the better with kindhearted monks like you in it.” He turns to face you more fully and places a hand on yours. He gently squeezes it, his fingers intertwining with yours.

“Stop right there, my love,” you wink, “or we'll have to figure out how to make love on a tree, in mid-air.”

He grins, a blush blossoming on his cheeks. “Oh, a menace you are, tempting me like this.” He tries to shuffle closer, a nearly impossible task on the narrow branch.

You cannot resist the challenge. You dart out your tongue to take his earlobe into your mouth and nibble on it. Your hand slips to his inner thigh and gives it a firm squeeze. His eyes flutter closed as he groans in pleasure, legs widening to give you space.

The apple on his lap rolls off. It falls all the way down, and after a few seconds, hits the ground with a soft thud. Gale stiffens, startled.

You stop him before he panics. “I'll have you know, I do have experience doing it on a tree. And if you adhere to my words, I can make you reach your peak on top of here.”

For a moment neither of you say anything. You watch as a million thoughts course through Gale’s face before it settles into aroused determination. He swallows his hesitation and nods his consent.

Unsurprising, given this man’s propensity towards danger-inspired desires.

“Lean back against the bark. Open your thighs and straddle the branch.” You direct, and he follows dutifully, settling into the steadier position. “Now, stay still, my dear wizard,” you tease. “Or you might fall down.”

A shudder runs through Gale’s body. “I'll... try my best,” he murmurs, his head lolling back against the bark of the tree as his hands reach back to grip it tightly, his knuckles turning white from the effort.

“That's my boy.” You turn towards him and straddle the branch as well, before rewarding him with an open-mouthed kiss. He reciprocates hungrily and groans deeply into your mouth as your hand slips under his robe to palm his groin. The adrenaline in his veins is your ally here, and you chuckle at how eager his body responds to you. You decide, then and there, that this morning is about his pleasure. With some fumbling you manage to open the front of his trousers and release his hardening length.

You start to stroke him, savoring his increasingly ragged breaths as you trail kisses along his neck. “Do you like this? Hiding here among the leaves, knowing that people below have no idea what kinds of naughty things are happening right above their heads?” You drawl, lips brush against his skin with every syllable.

Gale pulls back slightly to stare into your eyes,his eyes dark and wide. “You're absolutely maddening, you know that?”

“You gave me a mind-blowing night of astral sex. I'm only returning the favor, monk-style." You wink, then use your free hand to pinch his nipple through his robe.

“Gods,” he gasps, his fingers digging deeper into the bark as he tries to stay still and keep balance. You almost applaud as he manages to squeeze out a retort. “In all my years of study, I don’t recall ever coming across anything with ‘monk’ and ‘sex’ in the same sentence.”

“Oh, my darling wizard,” you now focus on torturing his sensitive tip as you assert in an authoritative tone, “many people have the misconception that monks are prudish about sex. Not true at all. We just do it where you can't see.”

Your master would have knocked you on the head and sentenced you to clean the toilet alone for an entire year for making that up, but he is not here, and Gale is far too gone to challenge your bullshit. Your words send a shiver down his spine, and he whimpers, forcing himself still to receive the pleasure you are drowning him in.

How delicious.

“You are doing great, my love, staying so still and pliant for me. Now, if you hold on for a while longer, I may be able to suck you off."

Gale has given up conversing with you, which is a victory in itself. He takes a deep, shaky breath as he sits a bit straighter, his muscles taut.

You lower your head to give him a long lick as he watches helplessly.

A strangled moan is torn out of him. He shudders as you suck on his tip for an extra bit of pre-cum, before swallowing him whole. You manage to steady yourself by clenching the branch with your thighs as you bob your head in fervor, your free hands holding his base and fondling his balls respectively. With this combined effort the man is now a babbling mess, his praises and pleas mixed into nonsense, a sweet melody that urges you on.

Soon, you cannot resist grinding against the branch, the heat between your legs overwhelming. Sensing the shift of movement, Gale opens his eyes slightly and murmurs the beginning of an incantation, but you stare him down. “Sit back and allow me.” You warn before swallowing him whole again, sinking him back into the sea of lust.

Both of you are sweaty and glimmering under the morning sun now. His thighs shivering as his balls slip from your hand, pulling him closer to his release. You grip his ass possessively and he keens, as nothing arouse this man more than being wanted, loved.

"That's right, come for me."

In one swift motion his throbbing length hits the back of your throat. Fighting back the urge to gag you increase your speed, and your thumb finds its way below his scrotum, pressing firmly to hit his prostate.

He comes with a desperate shout. His back arches, his grip on the bark so tight that you worry a nail might break. A stream of heat fills your mouth, and you still your movement to both spare him from overstimulation and to savor your fruit of labor.

When he slowly recovers from his peak, heaving, you sit straight and watch him with silent pride. But before you can swallow, Gale surprises you by letting go of his lifeline-bark and pulls you in for a deep kiss, opting to taste himself in your mouth. As your tongues dance his spent dribbles down your chin, and he breaks the kiss only to lick it off, before urgently sealing your lips once more.  

A moment later, he whispers against you. “You... you are... incredible...” he gasps as he tries to catch his breath, voice still ragged from ecstasy.

"Why thank you." You rest your forehead against his. In a loving manner, you buckle his trousers and tidy his disheveled hair, coaxing a contented sigh from him. The man is still coming back from the experience, and you wait with a patient smile on your face.

Eventually, you beckon him closer. “Now, darling, let me tell you a secret.”

“Yes, my love?” He leans in, curious.

You flash him the brightest grin. “The most difficult part about climbing a tree is figuring out how to get down.” You say in one breath before pushing yourself off the branch, jumping to catch another, and swinging your way down. His dumbfounded face now etched into your memory.

“Wait, that's it?! That's your secret?” he exclaims, voice muffled by the distance. “How to get down from a tree? Love, we're 50 feet in the air!”

You know your clever wizard can figure this mystery out once he finds his wit again. You, for one, can’t wait to taste his revenge.

THE END

Notes:

Little Monkey—Ma Lau Jai—is Cantonese. It also refers to someone witty, playful, energetic, and generally a menace.

More Cantonese Tav & Gale: Here

[the-darkestminds]

Autumn's Shadow: Chapter 4

Azriel x Eris (Azriel POV)

Summary: A covert meeting between Azriel and Eris to exchange valuable intel leaves Azriel reeling—and questioning everything he has ever felt for the Heir of Autumn. Azriel finds himself inexorably drawn to Eris, unable to resist his captivating allure. With the threat of Koschei and Beron looming ever closer, can their forbidden love endure in the face of such danger?

a/n: The plot is not canon compliant. Took some dialogue directly from acosf for this chapter.

Let me know if you want to be added to a tag list!

Read on AO3!

Full Chapter List

Chapter 4:

Azriel winnowed directly into Rhys’s office, not bothering to waste time knocking. He found it empty, and it took less than a minute for his shadows to determine that only Elain was home. Where the hell had they all gone? 

Rhys. RHYS. He felt like a fool, trying to yell inside his own mind, but sometimes it worked at getting the attention of his High Lord.

Come to Windhaven, immediately. Emerie’s house. Rhys responded in his mind, voice grave. Seconds later, Azriel stepped into the small guest bedroom of Emerie’s home and took in the varying looks of dismay and fear on his friends’ faces. 

“What is it?” Azriel asked, afraid to hear the answer. Cassian sat on the bed with his head in his hands and didn’t look up. 

Rhys answered him instead, “It’s Nesta. And Emerie and Gwyn. Last night they were snatched from their beds and entered into the Blood Rite.” Rhys glanced at Cassian, regret and pain shining in his eyes. He knew it must be killing Cassian not to go after Nesta. Azriel felt sick at the thought of the three females surrounded by so many Illyrian warriors, intent on killing their way to victory, or for sport. He shoved the feelings down. Didn’t let himself think of Nesta and the danger she was in. 

He knew there was nothing he could say to comfort Cassian, so he addressed Rhys instead. “Eris has been captured by Briallyn. He was dragged into her castle last night.” He paused. “We have to get him out.” Only Rhys seemed mildly concerned by the news. No one moved or said anything. “Are you all hearing me? We have to get him out.” When, still, no one answered, Azriel said a tad too forcefully, “We can’t just let him die.” He took a deep breath to steady himself.

Cassian looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “We?”

Rhys mastered himself and stepped up to Azriel’s side. “He’s right. And I can’t go.” That had Azriel and Cassian both turning to him in disbelief. 

Cassian glared at Rhys. “You can be in and out in an hour.”

“I can’t go,” he insisted. Azriel furrowed his brows, not understanding the refusal. He was inclined to agree with Cassian. Rhys was powerful enough to retrieve Eris without much difficulty. 

“Yes, you fucking can,” Cassian snarled at the same time Azriel said coldly, “You'd leave him to die? He's our ally.” They needed to go now, before Briallyn decided Eris was more trouble than he was worth.

Feyre interrupted and spoke for them both. “We made a bargain. After the war. To…only leave this world together.”

The words floored him. “You made a bargain to die together?” And with Feyre’s pregnancy, the birth only months away—one they were not sure she’d survive…

“Fools,” Amren hissed. Rhys’s eyes were bleak. Azriel stood frozen to the spot. 

“If Rhys dies, I die.” Feyre’s voice trembled as she spoke.

“And if you die, Feyre,” Azriel said quietly, “then Rhys dies.” They were all silent at the realization that they might lose all three of them in a few months' time.

Azriel tried to wrap his mind around how the two of them could be so foolish. So selfish. They had both known they’d want children some day. And yet they’d still agreed to this bargain, one that could potentially leave any child of theirs an orphan if one of them passed. It would also leave the Night Court in the hands of someone unknown. He resented them both in that moment, but he pushed the feelings down.

“There’s nothing we can do for Nesta right now. We need to get Eris out. Cassian, I can’t go alone. Please.” He tried to make the words sound aloof, but knew he had failed when he beheld the icy look on Cassian’s face. Azriel added, “It’s dangerous to leave him with Briallyn, considering all he knows about us.”

“Since when do you give a fuck about Eris? Let him die.” He knew Cassian’s temper was riding a dangerous edge. Azriel said nothing as panic swirled through him. He looked at Rhys, let him see some of the urgency in his eyes. He was the only one who could truly make Cassian obey, and they were wasting precious time. 

“You will help Azriel retrieve Eris, Cassian. He’s right, there’s nothing we can do for Nesta right now.” The words were laced with dominant command. Cassian growled but didn’t argue further. 

***

They sat on their asses for two days waiting for Eris to emerge from the castle. Azriel tortured himself with thoughts of what might be happening to Eris inside the fortress, though he suspected deep down that Eris was likely not Briallyn’s intended target.

A loud sound drew his attention and he elbowed Cassian and nodded towards the opening gate of the castle. And surely enough, a hunched figure rode out on a black horse, surrounded by several guards, with Eris following closely behind them. There were six guards at his back as well. 

Azriel and Cassian shot into the sky to avoid detection. They followed overhead for a time until the caravan was blocked from sight by the thick canopy of trees. Azriel jerked his head and Cassian swept left as he went right. They landed silently several dozen yards behind the group, hidden behind the thick trunks of the towering trees.

Azriel’s eyes locked onto the back of Eris’s head and he silently willed the male to turn around so he could see his face. He didn’t. Azriel cloaked himself in shadows and kept close on their trail. He could spy Cassian creeping from tree to tree across from him on silent feet. Azriel paused behind a particularly large oak and tried to figure out his next move. He could appear beside Eris and grab him, but he wasn’t sure what manner of weapons Briallyn bore. When he peered out from behind the tree, the entire group was gone. Azriel blinked in confusion. What—?

“Over here, shadowsinger,” Eris crooned.

Azriel stiffened as he felt a dagger press against his ribs from behind.

“Eris…” Azriel’s words were laced with violence. Had this all been a trap?

“I knew you were a lying bastard,” Cassian said through his clenched teeth as he stepped out from behind the tree a half dozen yards away. Cassian approached slowly, but he could do nothing more, not with the knife pointed into Azriel’s ribs. Azriel’s heart had iced over, and he let the cold flow through his veins, steadying him.

“I’m disappointed in Rhysand,” Eris said haughtily. “He’s become so bland these days. He didn’t even try to look into my mind.” The sneering derision had returned to his voice and it gave Azriel pause. Had it truly all been a ruse? The words, the secret touches? To what end?

“You can’t win this,” Cassian warned. “You’re a dead man walking. Have been for a long time.”

“Yes, yes, all that old business with the Morrigan. How boring of you to cling to it so.”

Azriel blinked. The Morrigan. Eris never referred to her like that. Cassian realized it at the same time.

“Let him go, Briallyn,” Cassian growled, scanning the dense woods. “Come play with us instead.”

A withered voice said closeby, “I’m already playing with you, Lord of Bastards.”

Azriel felt the Made dagger drop and didn’t wait a second before throwing his head back against Eris’s face. He heard the crack as his skull connected with bone, though Eris didn’t so much as wince at the pain.

Azriel whirled and lunged for Eris, grabbing him tightly and rocketing himself off the ground as fast as he could, leaving Cassian alone to fend for himself. Fuck. How had they screwed this up so badly? He couldn’t risk Koschei or Briallyn seeing the Made dagger at Eris’s side. That was why he had grabbed the male without a second thought. At least that’s what Azriel was telling himself. And he’d left Cassian there, alone. Fuck. His heart was pounding as he flew west as fast as his wings would carry them. 

“Eris, what the fuck happened?” he shouted over the wind in his ears and scanned Eris’s face. The male didn’t respond. He had a dazed look on his face, like he’d been knocked over the head with something heavy. Blood poured from his nose where Azriel had clocked him. “Eris!” He shouted his name, but there was no recognition in his eyes. Azriel cursed and kept flying. When he could finally see the coast, he wrapped them both in shadows and winnowed them to the Moonstone Palace above Hewn City. 

***

Azriel set Eris down and scanned him for injuries. He couldn’t see any obvious hurt aside from some minor bruising along his sharp jawline, and the nosebleed, which had already begun to slow.

Eris blinked rapidly and looked around the opulent guest room. His eyes landed on Azriel and widened in surprise. 

“What…?” He glanced around, seemingly bewildered, “How…?” he trailed off. Eris brought his hand to his face and stared at the blood that came away on his fingers.

Azriel studied him, trying to determine if it was an act, or if the influence of the Crown had finally worn off. He appeared genuinely confused to find himself in the Night Court, but if this was all a ruse…if Eris had truly betrayed him, had lied to him, and Cassian wound up dead… Azriel unsheathed Truth Teller from his back and held it at his side as oily betrayal coursed through his veins. Eris paled at the sight of it and stepped back, hands raising slowly. “Whatever you think I did, I’m sure it’s merely a misunderstanding,” he said weakly. But Azriel was beyond words. 

He had left Cassian, had left his brother, and had chosen to save Eris and flee. For all he knew Cassian was now dead. Truth Teller burned in his grip as he let himself sink into the icy pit of hate deep within him. Mostly hatred for himself, for being such a fool, for letting his emotions cloud his judgment. Eris blanched at the look he beheld on Azriel’s face.

Before Azriel could act, Rhys winnowed in beside him with a loud crack. Eris jolted at the sound and the High Lord now standing before him. Rhysand’s face was brutal, the true ruler of the Court of Nightmares, and darkness swirled around him like smoke.

“What. Happened?” Rhys snarled viciously, echoing Azriel’s question. His voice was laced with cold fury. He turned to Azriel, “Where’s Cassian?”

Azriel opened his mind to Rhys instead of speaking, afraid of what might spill out of his mouth. Rhys stiffened as he watched it play out, and then he turned his wrath on Eris. Azriel could tell he was shredding through his mental shields when Eris flinched and recoiled at the intrusion. Azriel took an accidental half step towards Eris and Rhys shifted his eyes towards him in question. 

It was over in seconds. Rhys relaxed slightly and blew out a deep breath, rubbing his hands over his face and through his hair. 

“He doesn’t know anything. The dagger didn’t protect against influence from the Crown the way we expected. The soldiers she had in her thrall grabbed him from Autumn,” Rhys said to Azriel, warily. Azriel resheathed his blade, already feeling guilty for having drawn it in the first place. His head was dizzy with relief. 

Rhys looked back at Eris, the fury now gone, and said, “I had to be sure you hadn’t betrayed us. I apologize for the mental assault.” Rhys sounded tired and miserable. “You are to remain here until we come back,” he added firmly. Eris seemed too stunned to speak. Perhaps Azriel had hit him too hard?

“But Cassian—” Azriel started but Rhys interrupted. 

“Azriel. It’s Feyre. I need you.” His voice broke on the last words. The despair and fear in his voice had icy dread pooling in Azriel’s stomach. He nodded once and Rhys winnowed away. Azriel turned to Eris, who looked so dreadfully confused that Azriel’s heart squeezed painfully. 

“Just wait here, I’ll be back soon to explain everything.” His shadows swept him away before Eris could so much as nod his head in answer.

***

Azriel shuffled out of the room along with Cassian, Nesta, Elain, Mor and Amren and stepped out into the main hall of the river manor. They all collectively released sighs of relief. Feyre and Nyx were resting, with Rhys watching over them protectively. That they had almost lost all three of them…Azriel blew out another deep breath. Cassian clapped him on the back. 

“They’re okay, Az.” Azriel was sure Cassian said it to reassure himself as well. Cassian followed after Nesta who had already begun walking down the hall. Azriel knew she was eager to see Gwyn and Emerie. She hadn’t discussed what had happened in the Rite, but from the distressed look on her face when Mor had asked, he knew it had been bad. She had saved Cassian, and yet she seemed more determined than ever to keep him at arm’s length. 

He heard the front door slam a few seconds later. Amren nodded to Azriel and saw herself out as well. Elain smiled and muttered something about sitting in the garden and excused herself, leaving Azriel and Mor alone in the hall.

He and Mor walked quietly towards the front entryway of the manor. She sighed and playfully bumped his shoulder with her own. “You okay? I feel like I haven’t seen you in months.”

“I’m alright. Better now that Briallyn’s not our problem anymore.” He knew she wasn’t asking about his duties as spymaster, but he’d always had a hard time opening up to her. “And you? How’s Vallahan been treating you?” he asked. His mind was elsewhere, and he struggled to pay attention to her response.

“I’ll be glad to finally be back home for good soon. Politicking gets old quickly,” she smiled grimly. He grinned in return. “Want to get a drink at Rita’s?” she asked, sounding hopeful.

“I have to go deal with Eris. He’s locked in a room at the palace. Has been for two days now.” He scratched at the back of his neck, suddenly uncomfortable. He hadn’t seen or spoken to Mor for more than a few minutes since she’d returned from Vallahan to help Feyre. But now he found he didn’t know what to say to her.

Her face shadowed at the mention of Eris, but she snickered and said, “Well, what’s a few more days locked in a tower? I say let him suffer a bit.” She smiled conspiratorially at Azriel and he tried to mirror it, though he was sure it looked more like a grimace. 

Rhys had told him to deal with Eris however he saw fit, and then quickly reminded Azriel not to damage their fragile alliance. Not that Azriel needed the reminder. His feelings towards Eris had changed. When he’d asked Rhys what, exactly, he wanted him to do, he’d just waved his hand dismissively, eyes focused on Feyre who held a sleeping Nyx in her arms. 

“Another time?” he suggested, eager to leave. She was clearly disappointed but did her best to hide it as she nodded and smiled sadly. Azriel kissed her cheek and left, his mind already on the male waiting for him at the Moonstone Palace.

***

Azriel knocked twice on the door to the guest chambers Eris was residing in and entered without waiting for a response. As he closed the door behind him, Eris stood up quickly, the book he’d been reading discarded on the small table beside his chair. Azriel could see the anger simmering in Eris’s eyes. The blood was gone, though the bridge of his elegant nose was shadowed with a purple bruise.

“I was beginning to think you were going to let me rot here,” he sneered. Azriel rolled his eyes.

“It’s been less than two full days,” he sighed. He knew Eris had the right to be angry. He would feel the same if he’d had his memory tampered with and found himself a prisoner in a foreign court. “I’m sorry,” he amended, “the issue with Rhys couldn’t wait.”

Eris surprised him by asking, “Is Feyre well?” 

“She’s fine. It’s a boy,” he smiled as he shared the news, “His name is Nyx. Mother and babe are both healthy.” 

He briefly wondered if he should’ve kept the news to himself until checking with Rhys, but then Eris almost-smiled and replied, “Please extend my congratulations. I wish them all well.” The words sounded genuine. “Now will you tell me what the hell happened and why you’re holding me captive?” Sentimental moment over. 

Azriel began with the meeting Eris hadn’t shown up to and continued from there. He explained each item of the Trove, and how Briallyn had used the Crown’s power to ensnare Eris’s soldiers, and then had used it on him to draw Cassian in. He told him of what they’d learned of Koschei’s power. He finished with a very brief explanation of how Nesta had killed Briallyn, but left out some details of the magnitude of her power.

When he finished, Eris sat back down in the chair. His face was pale and his eyes were distant. “Gods,” he rasped. He cleared his throat and sat in silence for several minutes. Azriel waited for him to gather his thoughts. “This Trove…you have all three items in your possession now?”

“Yes,” he said, “and they will be kept somewhere Koschei, or anyone else, can never access them.” He gave Eris a pointed look to indicate the anyone else he referred to was Beron.

“Good. That’s good,” he nodded to himself, looking relieved. “I truly don’t remember most of it. I can recall seeing some of my men who had gone missing. I tried to help them, but there was something wrong, like they didn’t know me…You could’ve informed me of the Crown,” he said, sounding frustrated.

“And risk you sharing that information with Beron? Not likely,” Azriel replied. It was the wrong thing to say. Eris went rigid, eyes burning with rage. 

“Have I not done enough to prove myself to you and your ilk? Do I not risk my own life every time we meet? What more do you want from me?” he hissed at Azriel and the temperature in the room spiked with his temper. “You have no idea,” he snarled, “what I risk by allying with you. But I do it anyway, for the good of my people and your own.” Azriel already regretted the words. He hadn’t truly believed Eris would betray them to Beron, he’d just been echoing Rhys’s own thoughts on the matter. “Have you stopped to consider what I might face returning home now?”

He hadn’t. He cursed himself for not realizing the danger of Beron discovering Eris had been rescued by Rhys’s inner circle. “You’re right—” Azriel started.

“I’m leaving,” he growled as he shoved past Azriel and tried to exit the room. Azriel grabbed his arm before he could winnow out. 

“Would you stop doing that? Eris, I didn’t mean it, okay? I had orders not to tell you about the Trove,” Azriel tried to make him understand that it wasn’t due to his own mistrust that he’d been left out of the loop. “Will Beron...will you be alright?” he asked lamely.

Eris glared at him and ignored the question, but beneath the anger, Azriel could see the fear in his eyes. Eris shrugged him off and slid past him. Azriel was quick on his heels, but when he stepped into the hall Eris was already gone. 

***

Azriel cursed again as he slumped into the armchair in the corner of his apartment. He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought. He always managed to say the wrong thing. All he’d been trying to do was make sure Eris was alright, that there hadn’t been any lingering injuries from Briallyn that he had not seen…he stewed silently, hating himself. He’d see Eris again soon, and then he would make it right. He’d force the male to listen. All of this winnowing away in the middle of a conversation was beginning to drive him mad.

Azriel tried to think of something else but as usual his thoughts were filled with nothing but Eris. He said a prayer to the Mother for his safety. He feared what Beron would do when he realized that Briallyn was dead—and that Eris had been involved in some way. That fear hounded him through the night and as the sun rose he finally gave up on sleep and flew to the river manor to speak with Rhys.

***

Azriel walked through the grand entryway of the estate and swept his shadows out around him. He sensed the three of them in the nursery. His steps were quiet down the hall, and Rhys came out to meet him, his shields alerting him to Azriel’s arrival. Rhys tilted his head to indicate they could speak in his office and Azriel followed silently behind him.

“I take it you set Eris free, so to speak?” Rhys asked as he sat down. Azriel nodded. Rhys sighed deeply. “I suppose we should check in with him soon. Beron is surely pissed that Briallyn is dead. We need to find out what his next move is,” Rhys said, tiredly. Indeed, there were dark circles under his eyes, likely from getting up with Nyx at all hours of the night. “Give it a week, and then contact him again.” Azriel hesitated before voicing his thoughts.

“He seemed…concerned that Beron would learn of our alliance, that we were the ones to rescue him,” Azriel said. He’d been far more than concerned, but he didn’t want Rhys to think he cared either way. Rhys nodded solemnly.

“He’s right to worry. There’s very little chance Beron won’t find out. The question now is whether or not Eris will spin this to his advantage and throw us to the wolves in the process.” Azriel tried and failed not to scowl at the implication. He’d suggested the same to Eris’s face, but he knew they should have more faith in him. “Don’t worry, if he did betray us I give you full permission to finally tear him apart,” Rhys said mildly, misreading the expression on Azriel’s face as anger at Eris. “Perhaps Beron already has.” He shrugged, seemingly unconcerned at the thought of Eris being brutally murdered by his own father. Azriel’s stomach plummeted and he stared at Rhys in horror. His brother was too exhausted to notice as he blinked blearily against the morning light shining through the large window. 

“I’ll find out what he shared,” Azriel rasped. Rhys yawned, but then perked up and smiled widely.

“You’ll never guess what adorable thing Nyx did just last night,” Rhys began happily. Azriel sat in the chair before the desk and settled in to listen to Rhys gush over his newborn son. He tried to focus, to partake in Rhys’s joy, but his thoughts were consumed with worry for the red haired male he’d somehow grown to care for.

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

Next Chapter

Tag List: @unanswered-stars

[i-can-even-burn-salad]

OC in Fifteen Tag

I was tagged by @mysticstarlightduck a very long time ago, and I have 2 more of those, so I am just gonna leave this one an open tag 😅

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!

For this one, I am going with Laurent from Nuisance and Sweet Little Lies, and I am gonna put them under a cut, because well. They're from all over Lies, so obvious spoilers ahead.

“Erm. Hello! I’m looking for candy.”

“Uhm. It’s not for me, actually, it’s for”—shit—“my friend. He… His niece! It’s for his niece.”

“I fear I come with bad news,” he said, followed by a dramatic pause. Then, “She didn't like them.”

“I am aware you barely know me, but if there’s anything that weighs on your heart, you can tell me. If nothing else, I can promise you I’ll listen.”

“It’s me. Laurent. I need. Help.”

“Don’t be afraid to push. It feels different than fabric.” The effort it took him to keep his voice steady was obvious. “Do single stitches. Half a finger’s width apart. If you can. Cut off the thread after each one. If one fails. The rest will hold.”

“The sun’s rising. I think I should be going now. I put the boxes I pushed under the bed back next to the door. They’re probably in the wrong order, if that mattered? And I put the crystal back on your desk, on the right side next to that frame thing there. And I checked to make sure there’s no blood anywhere. Well, your bedsheet has blood on it. I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure where you wanted it, and where to find a new one, so…”

He raised his thickly bandaged hand. “I’m gonna need a healer or you’ll have to find someone else to forge your papers for you in the future.”

“Working on it.” Laurent said. “It’s looking good. It seems that in his attempt to obfuscate his affairs, he has involved a great number of relatives, using their names to dodge the thresholds for property and income taxes. I can’t prove it yet, but I think some of the paperwork was forged. Even if not, it means there’s either a dozen accomplices, or a dozen more aggrieved parties. Either way, he will pay. Big time.”

“A child got a bit too excited and ran straight into a shelf,” Laurent said. “Luckily, no one got hurt, but she’s upstairs now making a list of what she has to replace, and I offered to take over for the moment.”

“The jars aren’t labeled, but you told me there was a system to it. The shelf below has the same order four to the right, and the one below that four to the left.”

“First things first. You don’t have to face any of this alone. I’m here for you, okay?” He waited for her to nod before he added, “And the first thing I’ll be taking care of is Mathias Gabrel.”

“Hey. It was just an offer. I won’t lie and pretend I wouldn’t enjoy it a great deal, but I understand if it’s too much for you. Just. Think about it. Dress up like a princess. Listen to beautiful music. Eat incredibly lavish food in incredibly small portions from incredibly expensive plates.”

“I can take care of it.” He laughed softly. “I would ask of you to leave me the key for the till, though, so I don’t have to pick the lock again.”

“You know.” His forehead touched hers. “There’s one thing I still haven’t tasted.”

[technicallyverycowboy]

Top 5 BL scenes/moments? 👀💕

OKAY as soon as i sat down to think about this my brain immediately went "we have never watched one single show in our life" so it took me a couple days to mull it over. in no particular order (behind a cut because i got wordy and needed to include illustrative screencaps)

moonlight chicken - uncle jim pulling out that ear bite move on wen

for my money i think moonlight chicken is gmmtv at its best, in no small part because it's about two grown adults and has a much tighter 8 episode run. (my only real qualm is believing that earth, whomst was 29, was meant to be almost 40. drop the skincare routine, loong jim, the people need to know.)

so much of the show is about longing -- for people and places and times that are gone -- and this scene cashes in so well on the seven previous episodes of growing tension and comfort between jim and wen. you can't always get what you want but, like, sometimes you do and it's fuckin' great.

2. bed friends - king fully laying on top of uea after banging

obviously the cat sex scene was a close, close second to this, because i very much do often think about king's rapturous expression when he tells uea that he really does look like a cat. chase your bliss, king.

but something about the intimacy of this moment burned itself into my brain. it's partially the implication that uea was getting fucked from behind (which pretty much never happens in bls) and partially the bone deep satisfaction they're both radiating. most fade to black sex scenes don't really convince me the characters did fuck in the pause, but this one 100% did.

3. playboyy - nont putting prom in his place

OKAY truly i could have put the vast majority of the six aired episodes of the show so far and it would have been true. soong and first in the pool throwing cash around. zouey and teena's painting thing. phob and nuth's wildly romantic in an "i'm in danger" way sex scenes.

but i came back to this one because it was the moment when i felt like the show clicked a piece solidly into place. nont isn't nant and he's done pretending that he is. prom does not get to act like he knows nont and he does not get to tell nont what to do. this little exchange did so much to get me really interested in both these characters. prom's face journey from annoyed to so hard he might pass out is fuckin' divine.

4. only friends - top and boston

only friends made many, many mistakes and i won't relitigate them here. still, when episode 3 came out, my expectations were solid and there was a lot of promise in what we'd seen so far.

everything about this sex scene is fucking perfect. the fucked up relationship between boston and top. nick listening. the three second shot of boston blowing top. force and neo put their whole pussies into this and delivered.

5. i told sunset about you - a tie between teh and oh-aew's first time really touching each other and oh-aew trying on the red bra after teh shoots him down

this entire sequence -- after they've sat downstairs inching closer together on the couch -- is one of the most erotic things i've ever seen in any media. and literally nothing happens but them sitting together while teh runs his hands all over oh-aew.

there's so little dialogue here; the incredible longing they're both feeling is 100% told through their expressions and the way they touch each other. the first time i watched it, i probably replayed this scene four or five times. nothing has ever captured what it's like to really, really want someone for the first time, when it's the most consuming feeling you've ever had.

a gifset of this scene is actually what made me decide to sit down and watch itsay in the first place. pp krit is great in all of the show, but this moment of a particularly queer expression of heartbreak is devastating every single time i watch it.

"if i was x, someone would love me," is such a common refrain when you're queer. watching oh-aew go through that imagining if he was a girl and teh could actually like him back in the daylight broke my fuckin' heart. (i also think it's a really lovely way to foreshadow oh-aew being told he's not manly enough for acting later on.)

[dontjudgemeimawriter]

OC in Fifteen

Tagged by @pertinax--loculos thank you! I wanted to do there for other characters after doing Terran

(Edit: This has been sitting in my drafts fully done for ages. Whoopsies.)

Raymond's up next!

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!

"But if I hadn’t convinced Jesse that you were capable of being a decent person, you would’ve— [killed him], and you know what? That doesn’t make any sense.”

2.

“You’re trying to control everything and I don’t like that stupid spell, I can’t talk to you. You think it makes you so good at things but it just makes you a controlling jerk,” Raymond yelled back. “This is why I don’t trust you! Why I didn’t tell you!”

3.

“I want everyone alive. You just want me alive.”

4.

[Raymond] smiled slightly. “When you cast that spell you heighten the level of resources your brain has dedicated to a specific task. It’s heightening of a psychological phenomena. All I had to do was split up the resources.”

I thought that over. “I didn't know Nyps could do that,” I said, and somehow when he explained it it made so much sense. Like it was simple.

“I didn't know I could either. It was a theory. Until just now. But I shouldn’t’ve tried it. I wanted you to unfocus but I shouldn’t’ve forced it.”

5.

“I want the person who let me go. You weren’t focused then. Look. I know that spell is useful. I know we might not’ve pulled this off without it. That’s kind of the point of this, though. I want to get to know you. And if even you don’t know who that is… maybe you should.” 

6.

(Context: Raymond shared that he makes and sells Nyp whispers, which is like selling a mental health spell)

“It’s like going in blind. And because it’s freaking illegal we can’t do it right, y’know? Even if it’d be fine to tell people, no one wants a Nyp going into their mind, they’d much rather take a whisper because it doesn’t give access. But everyone’s different, everyone’s brain is different. I’ve seen these not work on some people, or even make things worse, and I hate it. If I could go in, if we could do research on these spells, I could find a way to actually help instead of giving this thing that works for some people. And it’s worse because like, sometimes I’m selling it to someone, and like, I don’t need much to get in, y’know? I’m giving them a memory-whisper and I’m like, I can sense how your mind works and I know this won’t work for you, but I can’t say anything, and if people would be okay with it maybe I could actually help them. But maybe I’m not helping, because there’s no research on Nyp magic, and honestly, I have no freaking idea if there's side effects to anything, or if I could do more harm. I hate it.”

7.

“There was just—” he paused.

“There was what?” I urged. Something was there, something he wanted to talk about, I could feel it.

“Some fear?”

“Of?”

He sighed. “You? Like I know you wouldn't hurt me and I trust you. But it—made it a little hard to sleep, I guess.”

8.

“Because you’re always so invested in my existence being secret, right? I’d convinced myself that if you came looking for me it was because you had to control everything again, make sure I was being safe and all.” The corner of his mouth tugged up in a slight smirk. “But you missed me, didn’t you?”

Was that really a reveal? Sure, I hadn’t thought about the implication of calling out his name (and fuck he was right, that had been risky), but… “Of course I missed you.”

“That’s not an ‘of course,’ okay? You’re hiding 90% of the time. I have no idea how you feel. I have no idea if you—no idea why you saved me. I have to trust that you won’t kill other people that matter to me but I don’t even know what guided that decision in the first place.”

9.

“Sorry,” I took a deep breath. 

He nodded. “Thanks.” he didn’t meet my eye for a moment, then asked, “Should I not try to touch you?”

My wincing had been my fault, not his.  “It’s fine.”

“Is it actually?” he asked, concern in his voice.

10.

“I know I was just insisting I go,” Raymond said. “And I’m still going to. But that doesn't mean I’m not scared. And the truth is…you are better at this. Maybe I’ve been stubborn, and maybe you’ve been right this whole time. Maybe if I hadn’t come back to go to Dante, then both you and Jodi would be safe. I don’t have any ideas, any solutions, and I’m terrified, and you’ve gotten me out of this before and I can’t do this myself. I’m not leaving Jodi. And I think you can figure out a solution.”

11.

“Yes, I understand how a hostage negotiation works, Abigail."

12.

“Understand now?” He asked, speaking up after a second, and his voice still had the bite, but I sensed some strain. “You’re going to give me access to a lot of people who have reason not to like you. You’re going to need me in their heads. I do that all for you, but my friends are safe, guaranteed. And I won’t kill for you. That’s the deal. You will not use them to get to me ever again.”

13.

“Not cocoa. Chocolate.” Raymond leaned against the arm of the couch, facing me. He gave me a smile.

“What’s the difference?"

“Cocoa is powder and hot water. This,” he took a sip, closing his eyes as he did, an expression of deep satisfaction coming over him, topped with a whipped-cream mustache. “Is hot chocolate.”

14.

“Did you leave a window open, too?” I remembered, vaguely, him opening it earlier.

“No, I—“ he hesitated as he unwrapped his damp scarf and looked around, just as both of us saw that I’d been right. There was a window open, just a crack, but enough to be contributing. He ran over to it and shut it. “Definitely no windows left open,” he smiled sheepishly.

15.

“That feeling? You know how you said you can’t escape yourself?” I nodded again. “That’s why I went into a burning building. I realized what I was doing faster, sure. But you were there your whole life, and it’s all you were taught. And still, you showed me compassion. You risked yourself so I could live when I didn’t want to and I didn’t even think you liked me. I forgave you then.”

My boy!

Tagging @crushedmodule @rosesonneptune @bookish-karina @thegreatobsesso @wildswrites & @blind-the-winds

[mayashesfly]

Imagine an AU where instead of Shinigami, Makoto was the Shinigami Yuma made a contract with.

I have no idea how this Roleswap AU would heavily affect the world around them and what will happen in canon.

Roleswap AUs aren't my Forte. (Pun intended)

But still, I think thinking of how they would interact with one another in this new dynamic would be fun!!

Some Shinigami!Makoto and Yuma dialogue ideas under the cut

(First time experiencing the opening of a Mystery Labyrinth and seeing Makoto's humanoid form)

Yuma: H-Huh?!! What's happening here?!

Makoto: Hahahaha!

Makoto: You humans first reactions never get old!

Yuma: Everything seems to be frozen in time.....

Yuma: Is this you're power?

Makoto: Well done!

Makoto: You're correct, you little detective. This is my power as a Shinigami

Makoto: The portal you see here is a portal to an alternate dimension where the mystery we are facing right now has been physically manifested into what is called a Mystery Labyrinth

Makoto: People say that the Mystery Labyrinth is a never-ending maze. People has been swallowed whole by these mysteries for eons to pass by without anyone else to help them escape the maze. Chains wrapping around their bodies before their souls are consumed by-

Yuma: Ngh....

(Yuma crosses his arms as he looks down on the ground)

Yuma: You... can stop joking around now Shinigami

Makoto: Hm?

Makoto: What makes you say that?

Yuma: Wait.... why do you look like me?!!

(Yuma jumps up, hovering his arms near his chest as he stares at Makoto's current form with a distressed look on his face)

Makoto: Oh this?

(Makoto points at himself nonchalantly before smiling)

Makoto: This is my humanoid form

Makoto: It's a crude manifestation of my current Master's form

Makoto: Essentially, my humanoid form is heavily affected by who my Master is

Makoto: I have no form besides this reflection

Yuma: I... see.....

Yuma: (Still, it's extremely strange to see my own face staring back at me)

Yuma: (At least he has a different hairstyle than me...)

Makoto: Hm...

Yuma: We're surrounded! Shinigami, I need your help-

Makoto: I see no reason why you should ask for my help here, Yuma

Makoto: In this situation, I can do nothing to help you

Yuma: But we have to do something! At this rate I'll be captured by the Peacekeepers- We need to go to the Mystery Labyrinth!

Makoto: Do you think you'll be able to solve the Mystery Labyrinth at this point in time?

Yuma: Huh...?

Yuma: Shinigami, now's not the point to give me a brain exercise!

Makoto: Hm...

(The screen turns into a cutscene as the Peacekeepers start closing in)

Yuma: C-Crap! At this rate they're going to take me away-

(Before Halara appears, busting their asses. Desuhiko following behind them in his signature style)

Yuma: Halara!! Desuhiko!!! You guys came to save me!!!!

Makoto: Oh, it seems like your friends has came to your rescue, Yuma

Makoto: How fortunate

Yuma: How did you two now I was here?

(The Master Detectives talk to one another for some time, explaining the situation to one another)

(Before splitting off yet again to investigate separately)

Makoto: It's quite lucky that they came just in time, right Detective?

Yuma: Yeah... you're right.

(Yuma stops walking for a moment to stare at Makoto)

Yuma: Wait... Shinigami.... did you know that they were coming?

Makoto: I had no guarantee that they would do. But it seems like we've stalled for enough time

Yuma: Huh.... I see.....

Makoto: You know, it's quite unlike for a detective to ask for help from others in times of need

Yuma: Well... I am still a trainee.

Yuma: I need the help of other Master Detectives to become a better detective myself.

Yuma: Without them or you, I can't really do anything myself....

Yuma: So... thank you, Shinigami

Yuma: You may be annoying at times, but you still help me

Makoto: Hahaha!

Makoto: You flatter me, Detective

(There's a brief pause in the conversation as Yuma continues running)

Yuma: Actually... do you have any friends, Shinigami?

Makoto: Oh? What prompted you to suddenly ask, Master Detective?

Makoto: Do you perhaps want to be my friend?

Yuma: Um..... well....

Yuma: You just seemed really surprised when the other Master Detectives came to my rescue

Yuma: Why is that?

Makoto: ......

Makoto: I'm a Death God Yuma. I believe that's explains itself

Yuma: Ngh....

Yuma: (You didn't really answer my question)

Yuma: (But... the way Shinigami said that.....)

Yuma: (He... really did sound lonely.....)

Makoto: Hrmp-

Makoto: .....

Yuma: .....

[queen-tashie]

OC in 15 or less

Thanks for the tag @mrbexwrites!

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!

Passing the tag onto @talesofsorrowandofruin, @ftmerriweather, and anyone else who'd like to join in!

Here's some lines of Dr. Amelia Roch's dialogue from Copper Frames! (Keep in mind I have not done re-wording edits, just major plot holes so far lol.) If you read them in order, you get a horrible but vague sense of what is going on >:)

“You’re not the first person I’ve seen with this,” Amelia said. “I’ll request a blood and urine sample from the lab down the hall. It's to the left before you exit. As for the skin irritation, here’s a prescription for an ointment that should help.”

“Sorry about that,” said Amelia, “I’m here for a letter. I received a notice today, here—” She checked her wallet for the notice she had received. Nothing. “I seem to have left the slip behind.”

“Loving it every day. How’s Mr. Shvets and the kids?” she asked as she rubbed her hand after he released his grip.

“Emperor Sirota,” said Amelia when the Emperor paused, “will you explain which illness you mean?”

“It’s a bacteria,” said Amelia, “and immune to the most popular antibiotics.”

“We're going to take good care of you here,” she promised each of them.

“Did you use any protection?”

"How? How do you go on as a medical professional, as a human being, after so much death? We're supposed to be taking on more patients next week? To watch them die, too?"

"That's it, then? We're not a hospital, we're a morgue. We're glorified morticians," she said, tears soaking her sleeves where her face was resting.

“I have to be,” said Amelia, rolling up her sleeves beside him. Inside, her blood turned cold. The hot water running over her hands was soothing, a ground she didn’t realize she needed. “Actually, I need a moment. I’ll meet you in there.”

“My apologies Dr. Shvets. I am now, yes, just a little left over anxiety.”

“They’re bleeding.”

“Let’s get a few extra samples of that,” she said, looking for other bizarre postmortem symptoms.

“Thatwas concerning,” she said, grabbing his gloved hand for comfort. “Have you ever had a patient wake up in the morgue?”

“Whatthefuckisthat?”

[operationslipperypuppet]

all prime numebrs for the fic writer ask! 💛😊

I will pretend you spelled numbers correctly lol. thanks for the ask!!

2. How many fics did you work on this year? (They don’t have to be finished or published!)

I want to say 12. I published 6, I’m currently working on 2 different ideas for the naddpod gift exchange so I’ve started both and will be making a full decision tonight or tomorrow (lmao), and then there are a couple I just decided to not publish and a couple I’m always working on but will never actually commit to finishing because I can’t come up with a satisfying ending.

3. What’s something you learned about yourself as a writer?

That I can allow myself to do the things I want to do and go back and fix the other stuff later. I had previously only done this with a fic that included a bunch of time skips and that was why I wormed around the document but I did this with one fic that I consider my magnum opus and it worked. (I like to write dialogue more than scene descriptors so I wrote all the dialogue back and forth and then went back and added names and descriptors and everything else and it was so much more fun)

5. What fandom(s) did you write for this year?

Naddpod. It was just naddpod. I’m thinking I might break into d20 next year but I make no promises, naddpod is so fun to write for.

7. What character(s) captured your heart?

Hardwon Surefoot. Moonshine Cybin. For some reason I find them easiest to write even though getting Moonshine’s voice right was incredibly daunting every time I wrote her. There’s just so much to play with and it was very fun. Plus the Hardwon being alive reveal rewired my brain.

11. What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

how to think about you (without it ripping my heart out). God that was a doozy to write. It was my first foray into doing something multi-chaptered and I did have it finished before I even began publishing it but doing the daily updates and my every chapter mini edits took so much time that it was so much fun to finish. Plus I thought about the idea for truly so long before I started writing it that it was very relieving to finally finish.

13. What fic was the easiest to write?

Fools Rush In (Idiots, However, Take 200 Years). This is the fic I mentioned for number 3. I wrote all the dialogue in basically one pass because it’s a long, drawn out conversation that lasts an entire day. I immensely love writing dialogue and the back and forth, hitting what Hardwon and Moonshine would say and how they’d react was easy. And then, even though I was dreading the descriptors, they came so easily because I could picture them so perfectly. It does feel weird to say that my longest fic to date was the easiest to write but it was.

17. What are your go-to writing snacks?

Doing that classic ADHD thing where you hyperfocus and forget to eat all day and then start shaking and put fistfuls of m&ms in your mouth while waiting for chicken to heat up. But when I remember to snack, Smartfood popcorn.

19. Share your favorite opening line.

“You love me?” (Fools Rush In (Idiots, However, Take 200 Years).) I knew I’d open this with that before I finished the previous work in the series. I enjoy getting straight to the point.

23. Share the final version of a sentence or paragraph you struggled with. What about it was challenging? Are you happy with how it turned out?

This was a hard goddamn choice but here goes:

“Look - “ She paused, took a deep breath, and started again. “Can I make a suggestion? You two know him better than I do, obviously, but this might be a time where you give him some space. I know that’s not really what you three do, but he’s going through one of the worst days of his life. And you are, too, but he’s incredibly in his head about it right now. I think maybe if you give him a moment to work out his own feelings, he’ll be able to articulate them to you. And you will then be able to assure him that you need him. Besides, your MeeMaw will take great care of him, Moonshine.” (The Void of an Absence)

Alanis is speaking here. And I wanted her to be pragmatic without seeming insensitive while also staying relatively true to the character she is in the show. I ended up with this slightly more emotionally aware Alanis than we’ve seen but she does switch straight to business afterwards, and that is kind of how Murph RP’d the scene with her and Hardwon. But I overthought it a lot. I’m pretty okay with its final version, but mostly because I got to sneak a “tell me your feelings and I’ll tell you that I need you” reference in there.

29. If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

Obviously the two crew for creating characters that so thoroughly destroy and entertain me, and the people who got excited when I said shit like “I have a terrible idea that’s going to hurt” and responded with “do it.”

Fic writer asks list - ask

[livums]

Hey! Pteranodon - share a peaceful scene and Apatosaurus - share some of your favorite dialogue?

Hello!!! Tysm for the ask!

(Ask game here!)

These ended up both being from The Marking Blood... who knew?

Pteranodon - share a peaceful scene

the way this threw me into a crisis because i searched everything and could not find one. so this is the closest approximation. i... there is no excuse....

Maja allowed herself to be pressed back against the railing. The wind tugged her chemise about every which way until Sonea pulled it upwards and pinned the flailing hem still with her body. She braced a hand against the railing on either side of the woman’s waist. As she leaned in to kiss gently around her cheeks and nose, Maja snorted. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were being romantic.” “You wish.” They shared a low chuckle. Sonea relished in the warmth of Maja’s body, supple and inviting against her own. A dreamlike quiet swaddled them both for a precious moment. “Yer freezing,” Maja said at last. Those eyes danced with plausible deniability over Sonea’s lips. Sonea leaned closer, flashing a wolfish smile. “I’ve been standing out here naked, dummy.” “You—” Sonea closed what little distance remained, silencing Maja with her lips. For a heartbeat, Maja was still, as if surprised. As the wind swelled once more, Sonea felt those soft hands capture her face. Maja’s lips met Sonea’s as a parched woman meets water, as a drunkard meets the flagon.

Apatosaurus - share some of your favorite dialogue

I WAS EXCITED FOR THIS ONE but then realized I had too many good choices...... it kills me, but i did pick just one..... 😭

The woman made no move for her drink. Instead, her lips parted. Zova caught a sliver of white teeth before words came out from between them. “Beg pardon, miss, I could not help but admire your perfume.” Despite the noise of the tavern, Zova heard the woman’s voice as clearly as if they were the only two people alive. She blinked, briefly forgetting how to produce words. “My thanks, miss. It was a gift.” Claret lips curled at the corners. “You seem the sort to receive a lot of gifts.” This tore a short laugh from Zova. A line so straight-spoken, she might have expected from a man seeking to impress her with his boldness. Not as much from a strange beauty. “I suppose I am. Well…” She paused to think for a second, and no longer. “The perfume is nothing—see this.” After Sonea had left, Zova had only raised her veil that evening in order to sip her various drinks. Now, she found herself flipping the length of the thing back over her head for a total stranger. She leaned forward, laced hand indicating the elaborate chain of pearls and silver clasped at her neck. A gift from—well, who remembered? The woman mirrored her lean. Zova felt a particular pride as the woman raised her fingertips to the necklace, holding a pearl segment closer for inspection. “You’ve a boyfriend of some means, then?” “I’ve had more boyfriends of some means than there are pearls on this necklace.” They looked at each other. When Zova burst into a fit of chuckles, she was delighted to see that the woman was not far behind her. Even in laughter, the woman radiated elegance. And something more that Zova could not name. Her laugh evoked in Zova a sense of woodlands in the nighttime. Looking up into the sky while the wind rattled the treetops overhead. She felt small by comparison. “You’re not from these parts,” she blurted. At the minute widening of the woman’s eyes, she knew that the polite thing would be to excuse her blunt observation. But she did not. “And you must not have come up the mountain for the funeral. I would have remembered hair such as yours.” It was a strange turn for the night to take, she thought, to wade through hours of entertaining idle conversation to be met with an investment in speaking with this one perfect stranger above all others. The woman leaned a satin-clad elbow on the bar. She turned her boundless eyes elsewhere. “You would be partly correct, miss,” she said, thoughtful. Her fingertip traced the lip of her cup. “I was delayed in my arrival. I thought I might pay my respects at the gravesite. After a drink or so.” “Oh!” Zova gasped. “I’d been meaning to go see him properly after the service. You are free to accompany me, if you like.” Her heart leapt at the prospect. She was drunk, and the woman was beautiful. “You would venture to the cemetery so late into the night?” The woman arched a sleek brow. “Well, it’s like to be empty, and I prefer it that way.” Zova raised her cup and let the final drops roll between her lips. “Oh, I hope you don’t believe all that buzz about vampires returning.” The woman’s lips quirked, as if she had just remembered something funny. “There’s talk of Vampires returning to Mont Estival?” “Aye, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds. But, honestly…who knows?” Zova slid from her stool, re-balancing on her heels. “Well, I haven’t got my gear on me, but a hunter’s a hunter, even unarmed.” She flashed a charming smile. “I’ll keep you safe, miss—?” “Cas will do.” When the woman rose from her stool, her pale cloak swept behind her. Her drink remained undisturbed. “You must forgive me, coming to pay my respects and not even knowing the name of the man’s daughter, standing right before me.” She felt a giddy blush rise in her cheeks. “Zova.” “That’s a lovely name.” “Thank you. I chose it myself.”

[will-the-psychic-type-elite92]

Ya boy woke up in the middle of the night so uhhhhhh

How's about he drops some Summer Stuff.

So what I need to preface with is!!! I write Summer in a pokemon discord server I'm in, and when replayed through GS back in/around September, I would pause at certain points to make a solo post, as my friends who hadn't played GS were excited to see me do it, even encouraging me to pick Summer as my protag in game. Below the cut are my three flashback solos. I had to stop after these because after that I couldn't really keep it objective due to ship bias and having a hard time writing without dialogue as I only had Summer and I obviously picked important story scenes so lmao on my part.

One day I may get enough courage to dump about my personal Summer. The biggest thing to note for the Solos is She's selectively mute and will only speak verbally if the situation calls for it, or she's like deadly serious. Otherwise she uses sign or a notebook and pen to communicate!

《☀ Summer: Memories, memories 1: 🎶 》

She'd been....content. The young girl pulling her along--Nema was her name, daughter to the Area Ranger, Rand-- she was energetic and had a spark in her eyes, one visible nearly immediately to Summer when she ran up to her, requesting help with getting one of the "UFOs" out of the water. That, along with her other requests, Summer took joy in doing. Playing along, she decided. She really didn't know how true the three requests thing was, but she couldn't find herself to care.

Besides, she couldn't let that fire burn out of control, nor could she allow Nema to look for her father alone. Really, she was extremely greatful she'd gone along with Nema, all things considered. The pokemon weren't dangerous, no. What she found herself most worried about looking back were the Pinchers there to block the way up to the Wireless Tower.

Now, she knows the extent of how reckless Nema could be, but also how much of a genius she is. While she couldn't doubt Nema's ability to get up to the Tower, shed be terrified to think what could have happened should things have gone awry.

However, one of the two or three the memories that sticks out the most of that day in particular was the conversation she'd had when she finally met with Rand.

The Ranger Union told him two rangers were coming. So, why was there only one? Now he wasn't harsh or angry in the slightest with his question, in fact she'd dare say he broached the topic rather gently for someone who she had just met.

However, something about the question....hit her. It hit her harder than she expected.

Probably because it just...cemented the fact Ben hadn't made it safely to land. Meaning she really had no clue what had happened to him.

In the few moments it took her to raise her hands and give her explanation, so, so many thoughts raced through her head. Had he gotten shot down to? Did they have him captive, tied up with ropes a smidgeon on the tight side? What if it had been worse?

Despite her racing thoughts, she raised her hands and took a deep breath.

I do not know. We had an encounter with the Pinchers in the sky. I had seen them trying to shoot down a pokemon, so I went to stop them. My partner came to assist me. He was going to be shot down, so I knocked him out of the way. I fell into....the ocean....

She had paused a moment, trying to recall. It had been...a blur.

The capture styler got disattached within the fall. I had to get it back. Then there was a strong current. I then awoke on D-O-L-C-E.

She took a deep breath a shook her head. From there, she recounted his she'd met Ukulele Pichu and Booker, before going to find Arley in Rasp Cavern, mentioning the monument being broken, and Raikou chasing the pinchers. Then whet she got to the point she met Nema, the young girl excitedly recounted from there.

Then, before long she had a new mission. Work with Rand, and free the Wireless Tower from the Pinchers

《☀ Summer: Memories, memories 1: END 🎶 》

《☀ Summer: Memories, memories 2: 🎶》

Raikou had been calmed down. Summer took a few deep breaths as she stared at the legendary beast, who stared back at her. After a moment, it stepped forward and roared loudly. What followed was a bright flash of light.

She heard the crackling of lightning as she stared unblinking, unable to move her hands to shield her eyes, at the light that now enveloped Raikou. She continued to hear the crackling as a shape came into view within the light. It looked…like an hourglass. Once the light subsided, her Styler beeped, which she barely managed to hear over the crackling in her ears, and slowly she lifted her arm, and barely managed to drag her gaze to her Styler.

"The Legendary Pokemon has shown you a shape. Please register the shape."

Slowly, she moved her finger over top her Styler. Start in the top right, making a backwards Z, then up in a diagonal line.

When her Styler beeped in satisfaction, her arm fell, and her gaze was drawn back to Raikou, who then left.

A hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality. The crackling died out as she heard Rand. He was trying to check on her, as she'd been staring off into space.

She blinked twice, and brought a hand to her head, before shaking it.

I am fine. Did you see it? The shape in the light?

///

He hadn't seen it. Had…. She seen it? Or was it really just a trick of the light? She didn't know. They made it down the Wireless Tower, where Leanne and Nema awaited their return.

A very brief conversation was interrupted when some pinchers were brought over and interrogated, at least until they pulled one over on the lot of them and made a mad dash away. At which point Summer and Rand gave chase.

Up until the Big Booker Bridge.

She heard him before she saw him.

Red Eyes.

She wasn't the only one to have that moment of recognition either. He knew who she was.

So, so many things wanted to fall out of her mouth. None of them related to the mission. Selfish as it was her only concern was if Ben was alright in this moment. Before she could raise her hands, Red Eyes expressed his shock that she had lived her fall.

And then Rand took the words from her: Where was Ben?

Summer stared at Red Eyes. A mixture of fear and worry in her eyes. She had every right to fear this man; he'd attacked and she went plummeting to protect Ben. The worry came from what he could possibly answer of what happened to Ben.

Would all her worst thoughts come to fruition? Or would he be okay…?

Then her world crashed.

He couldn't–no, wouldn't– tell her. All because she was a Ranger. Her fists clenched at her sides, and she shakily took deep breaths, trying to keep herself calm.

But, then he continued. One thing? He'd tell her one thing out of pity….? Fine. Whatever.

"He's Safe."

She nearly collapsed right then and there from the nearly overwhelming wave of relief that washed over her in that moment

She was so caught up in her own relief, she'd zone out the last bit of the conversation…mostly. She heard what was being said back and forth; the joke about the rope, that Ben put up a fight, even that he was being treated with some form of respect.

She only really came back to reality when she heard the Voltorbs dropped, and she moved back right before they exploded, leaving the bridge unpassable.

For now, with the knowledge that Ben was safe, she returned to Rand's house with him to think of a new plan to progress.

《☀ Summer: Memories, memories 2: END 🎶 》

《☀ Summer: Memories, memories 3: 🎶 》

Blue Eyes had been captured in the basement of the old mansion with the help of Pichu. Now she was aboard the Union, and Summer had to give Rand a report, and then give a written report to Murph.

Once the Report had been handed over, the next course of action was going to be decided. However, before plans could be made, Red Eyes showed up, expressing his surprise that they'd managed to capture Blue Eyes.

However, he needed her back, and so he proposed a swap.

Blue Eyes for Ben.

//

When she heard that sentence, she felt so many emotions. Rage that Ben was being used as a bargaining chip, but also hope. Hope and relief that she'd get to see her partner again. Relief that he'd be safe.

Would there be any repercussions for this course of action? She frankly didn't care. What she cared about was getting Ben back. She clenched her fists as she watched Red Eyes fly away, and then she made direct eye contact with Murph.

"Give me Blue Eyes."

Really, she was surprised at how easily Murph was swayed, really he didn't need to be swayed it seemed, he went to get Blue Eyes, and so Summer and Blue Eyes were off to the Daybreak Ruins.

Summer would get Ben back safely today, or she'd raise all hell until she did. Consequences be damned.

//

With Blue Eyes in tow, Summer made her way to the last room of the Daybreak Ruins. Along the way Summer had been stopped countless times by pinchers under Blue Eyes's command, doing all they could to get their leader back without exchanging their captive, however, Summer did push through them.

And at the end of the Ruins…. There was no Red Eyes in sight.

However, a monument was there, and when Blue Eyes went to investigate, a loud roar caused both Summer and Blue Eyes to step back and stare as Entei came down, breaking a rock on it's landing.

Quickly, Summer took to capturing it to calm it down.

Entei had stared her down then roared, and Summer could hear the roar and crackling of a blazing fire as a bright light engulfed Entei. Within that light, she saw Entei's emblem, and just like with Raikou, her Styler beeped.

"Please register the sign in your styler!"

Slowly, she brought her arm up, and over the top of her Styler, she made a straight line down, then crossed like an upside down, closed four, and continued the line over to mirror what she'd just drawn.

As the light faded, so to did the crackling and roaring of a fire. As she blinked a few times, she brought her hand to her her head and shook her head as Blue Eyes grabbed her attention and thanked her for saving her from the situation.

That's when she heard Z.Z. Flyers overhead and stepped back.

Red Eyes was here.

And she could have sworn her heart forgot how to beat for a few moments as she saw Ben. He really was okay. He was okay. She hadn't completely failed in protecting her partner.

Before she could properly respond to Ben. Red Eyes, Blue Eyes and the other pinchers were leaving.

And….of course Red Eyes left the two of them a goodbye present. Electrodes that go boom.

She pushed Ben down, and grabbed pichu and held the mouse to her chest as she threw her arm up to protect her head from the explosions.

She looked around after the ringing in her ears stopped. They were stuck. But that wasn't important.

She instead turned her attention to Ben, who thanked her for her help and mentioned how relieved he was when he'd heard she had been safe.

It was the two of them, the way it was supposed to be from the start.

Now, Summer knew she could handle whatever the future of this mission held for her, now that she had her partner back.

《☀ Summer: Memories, memories 3: 🎶 》