#in any case. can we agree that one x-men story where it was literally just killing multiple charles was funny

[xxplastic-cubexx]

Ppl who say charles is "a piece of shit" doesn't understand that 1: characters can have NUANCE and 2: these comics have a million different writers for each run with varying degrees of quality for each character and storyline. Some writers fuck charles up bc they dont like him/dont know how to write him. And i dont count those characterizations of Charles bc the "flaws" they gave him are in bad faith interpretation of the character. Now i love me some hypocritical asshole charles but thats not the point of his character, which is that he always struggles with trying to have a peaceful outcome which sometimes in order to get that, you have to be a manipulative asshole to bring the peace. Doesn't mean you have to like doing it either (subconsciously is a different story for a different time)

(Also sorry for giving you a wall of text lol i love your art hope you're doing well)

its just especially Interesting with charles because it's not as if Every Other Character is perfect and saintly and has never made a mistake. like i think everyone understands these characters have nuance and they'll never act 100% in the right, its only really with charles that i see people blow up his mistakes (and sometimes misinterpret his actions if not outright make up Bad Things hes done) and act as if he's ONLY ever done wrong and EVERY action he's done was done with evil or misguided intentions

[possiblyimbiassed]

The lying liars who lie

Years and years late to the party, I’ve finally gotten my hands on all the DVDs of BBC Sherlock, and I thought it would be fun to watch the extra material carefully, one piece after another, and also listen to at least some of the show makers’ commentary of the episodes. But at this point, after S4 where DVDs seemed to be a constant lying device in general, I tend to look at them with a bit more suspicious eyes...

I still love the show of course, but now that I’ve taken this deep dive into all the special features, I find them a truly hard thing to try to wrap my head around. Even this long after the fact, I’m amazed by the amount of shameless, self-congratulatory BS in the DVDs, where the people involved can’t have enough of complimenting each other and their show, while they skillfully avoid to discuss anything actually meaningful about the plot line. ;) For example, Moffat claims in the S2 DVD that “In fact, you’ll never see a more obsessively authentic version of Sherlock Holmes than this one”. But if we follow their light-hearted commentary, which basically takes the show at face value, I’d call that not just hyperbole, but an outright lie. If you want to see the ‘authentic’ stories from ACD’s work in this show, you’ll definitely need to go much deeper into the subtext and meta levels - neither of which are mentioned on these DVDs of course. Here’s my own (rather subjective) ‘review’ of the whole thing, trying to pinpoint why I view most of the commentary of the show from its own makers as an advanced art of deception. 

(My musings under the cut)

Series 1 - a wealth of extra material

First of all - as many of you probably knew already - the whole of the Unaired Pilot is added to the DVD of S1. In the extra material about the making of the series, they (Sue Vertue, Mofftiss and others) talk about what things they changed between the Pilot and ASiP, claiming that many changes were necessary improvements once they knew that they had a whole series and a lot more time at their disposal. 

Which I can perfectly understand and agree with in general. But I think what’s missing in their discussions is more interesting than what’s actually there (”Mind the gap” ;) ). Things that I would expect from the show makers when they go to the trouble of comparing the pilot version with the aired product. There’s not a word, for example, about the fact that they added both Mycroft and Moriarty to the story in ASiP - two characters who later turn out to play major roles and appear in almost every other episode until the end of TFP. Or about the choice that one of the screenwriters would play Mycroft. 

Neither do they discuss why they chose to relocate the place where Sherlock was challenged by the cabbie from 221B to Roland Kerr’s School of Further Education. Instead they focus on the details, like for example the new design of the interior of 221B.

Not to mention the fact that almost every scene in the Pilot is mirrored in ASiP (as pointed out long ago by @kateis-cakeis X), but at Angelo’s in the Pilot Sherlock follows the events with the cabbie while looking in an actual mirror. I even noticed that in the Pilot the cabbie is offering Sherlock dark-coloured bottles with the pills in them, while in ASiP those bottles are transparent, as if the cabbie is offering Sherlock to play Black or White in the chess game that he is simulating. What’s with all these mirrors, though? Not a word on the DVD... ;)

Now, even though these rather remarkable choices are neglected together with a great bunch of minor ones, I still think that the most interesting fact about all this is that they actually included the whole pilot version within this DVD, which is sold by the franchise. Why even do this, when it raises far more questions than it answers? The only logical reason I can come up with is that they’re laying out a track of little hints that anyone with a deep enough interest in the show to actually buy the DVDs can try to follow. And it seems to me that lying by omission is one of the first steps in the long line of cryptic and misleading author comments on this show. But at the same time, they clearly want the fans to have access to it all, even the abandoned version.

Moving on to Series 2, time for bigger lies 

In the extra material of this DVD Benedict himself describes how his character "faces one of his deadliest enemies in the shape of Love, and it comes in the form of Irene Adler, who is this extraordinary dominatrix [insert here a bunch of superlatives regarding Adler]...”. And then we see how Adler whips Sherlock with a riding crop (without any kind of consent, I have to add) while he’s lying on the floor, and we have Lara Pulver telling us how it was to have a go at Benedict on set. So Holmes whips dead bodies and Adler whips living; seems like a match made in hell! :))

Gatiss claims, grinning with his whole face, that “they’re clearly, absolutely made for each other”. OK, so I think we can see Sherlock being intellectually impressed by Adler, and even trying to protect her from Mycroft, and we can see John acting jealously. We can also see her being dressed and styled as a perfect, female mirror of Sherlock. But I’m still at a loss what all this has to do with love on Sherlock’s part? Especially since he’s not even responding in any fashion to her various attempts at seducing him. 

And there’s more: Paul McGuigan, the director of ASiB, claims that the scene where Sherlock has a conversation with Adler inside his Mind Palace about the crime case with the car that backfires "is a part of a kind of love story, if you like...” No, I don’t. Maybe it’s just me, but if their aim really was to convey to their audience a love story between Sherlock and The Woman, I think they failed miserably. All I see is a guy ’mansplaining’ to a clever woman how to use her brain, while she’s trying to flirt with him by expressing her admiration (to no avail, though) and make deductions at the same time. Nothing new under the sun, really. John did the same thing repeatedly in ASiP (without making own deductions) and got far more attention from Sherlock, but I’ve never heard any of the show makers call that ”a love story”. But by ’lie-splaining’ the scene with Irene to the audience, they try to manipulate us all to see it as such...

In all the direct commentary of this episode, where Steven, Mark, Sue, Benedict and Lara are present, I get the impression that every time they even touch on the relationship between Sherlock and John, they hurry to add the term “friendship” or “man love” or similar words in case they forgot them at first, avoiding even the tiniest possibility that there could be anything more going on between them. They even explain that when Irene calls them “a couple” she does not mean anything romantic. This whole approach feels almost paranoic in the midst of all the laid-back jokes and light-hearted talk about the filming. It’s as if a sort of restrictive, heteronormative filter or blanket is being constantly applied, to teach the audience the ‘no homo’ lesson of it all. And the more I listen to this, the more tiresome it becomes.

In the commentary Moffat does reveal an interesting detail, though: that the ‘Flight of the Dead’ in ASiB was inspired by a cut out scene in the Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service. To me this is just one more reason to question the ‘authentic’ quality of this scene, as opposed to possibly taking place in Sherlock’s Mind Palace. But I digress... 

Listening to the commentary in general, it’s like it’s aimed to distract the attention from what’s going on at the screen rather than highlight it and try to explain their intentions. They do mention that Irene didn’t actually ‘beat’ Sherlock in the end of ASiB, but there’s no explanation of this obvious deviation from canon, where Adler does indeed fool Holmes, taking advantage of his prejudices.

The rest of the extra material of S2 is mostly about technical stuff, special effects and such, and also about filming techniques and Benedict’s delivery of fast deductions. But the part I really do love is the one where Andrew Scott talks about how much he enjoyed playing the scene where Moriarty dances before breaking into the Crown Jewels. That’s one of my favorite scenes of he whole show. :) Also, the takeaway message from this DVD is Moffat’s words at the end: 

“These are still the formative years of Sherlock Holmes, and the most important thing about this series is not that it’s updated; it’s the fact that those two men are still young and they’re still at the beginning of what they don’t yet know is gonna be a lifelong partnership”. 

And then comes Series 3... 

...and its extra material, with the most blatant attempts at deception so far, I believe. At this point Sherlock is called a “psychopath” by both the show’s characters, John’s blog, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as if it were true, which is a big deviation from ACD canon. That simply doesn’t happen there; while Holmes is sometimes described as eccentric, no one in the books is ever claiming that Sherlock Holmes has some kind of mental illness leaning towards cruelty and egotism - not even his enemies say this about him. In the show, however, they begin in ASiP with making him torture a dying man for information (something that is not included in the Pilot). And in S3, where they avoid discussing the reason why they turned Mary Morstan into a ruthless assassin, this major shift is glossed over by the fact that in the same episode (HLV) they also turn Sherlock into a murderer, who cold-bloodedly blows the brains out of a blackmailer for threatening to make said assassin’s crimes public. 

But without ever getting into the “why” of it all, the cast and crew seem overly happy and smiling describing these rather morbid choices as something positive; “fantastic”, "fresh and new” and "amazing” are their choice of words. Benedict claims that Mary, who has literally shot and almost killed Sherlock in HLV, is now "a new best friend of Sherlock’s”. Amanda claims that Mary “is protecting John” when she shoots Sherlock in the chest. Now they’re both psychopaths, and poor little John is forced to stomach them both because he’s addicted to danger. In Amanda’s words, Mary also “kind of gets in between the two of them, but she wants them to be together as well”.  Which is a load of BS considering that Mary tries to kill the protagonist of the story.

Lars Mikkelsen thinks it’s “such a good script” because “you’re mislead as an audience”. But he never gets the chance to expand on what the misleading actually contains, because then Mofftiss cut in to express how much they love playing with “what ifs”. As if this whole mega-budget project of a show were just a big experimental playground without any actual story to tell. 

Benedict repeats his line from HLV that Magnussen “preys on people who are different” and Moffat also says he “exploits people who are different”. Which is really confusing, considering what we can see Magnussen actually do in the show. Lady Smallwood and John Garvie are two well-established, powerful governmental politicians whom Magnussen blackmails by finding their respective pressure points. In Garvie’s case his pressure point seems to be alcohol problems in his past, but according to media he’s later arrested on charges of corruption. Lady Smallwood is blackmailed on the basis of her husband having sent compromising letters to a minor many years ago, in spite of later claiming that he thought she was older and stopped when he found out the truth. And then Magnussen is blackmailing an assassin who recently threatened to execute him but shot Sherlock Holmes instead, in order to try to get at Sherlock’s brother Mycroft, another powerful governmental figure. 

But what does media seeking out dirt on certain people in power and their families have to do with “people who are different”? Despicable as the method may be, isn’t this unfortunately how political power play usually works in our society? Or are TPTB somehow a repressed minority group now? Unless this whole “people who are different” accusation is actually about something entirely different, something that none of the show makers even cares to mention... ;)

In these DVDs, none of the involved persons is ever discussing the change of roles with regards to canon, though, or the (lack of) logics in this turn of events, or even a hint about the narrative motivation behind them. It’s all about the great Drama, the extraordinary visual effects and the aim to endlessly “surprise the audience”. Which is fine by me to a certain extent, but when this is all that’s being said, it feels extremely superficial, as if the audience is merely seen as a bunch of consumers that have to be triggered more and more by horror, special effects and cliff hangers to be able to appreciate the show. (“Warm paste” indeed, like Gatiss has later criticized some viewers of wanting...) While the "why”; the idea behind this surrealistic adaptation, made by self-proclaimed fanboys of ACD, is not even touched upon. Around this, the silence is total and therefore totally confusing.

Maybe I shouldn’t even go into Series 4...

...but why not, since I’ve already started? :) 

First of all, there’s a lot of extra material on this DVD and I particularly love the parts about the music and composing and Arwel Wyn Jones’ work with the design and build-up of John’s and Mary’s flat and the interior of 221B. Those bits are truly enjoyable. What I could live without, though, is the leading commentary that kind of instructs us, the audience, how we should interpret the show. 

Benedict is on it again on this DVD, telling us that in TST they picked up where they left off in S3 and “It’s a very happy unit of three people that then become four.” Why does he feel the need to make this statement, considering how S3 ended? Actually, if there’s anything I totally fail to see in S4, it’s happiness. The banter between the three  of them may seem entertaining for a while, but who could have a relaxed, warm relationship with someone who tried and almost succeeded to kill you less than a year ago? Without any sign of remorse? Now there’s a dark tone of discomfort and mean jokes that feels forced and not even a bit happy to me. 

But Martin tells us how excited John and Mary are about starting a family and Amanda mentions how much they’re looking forward to the baby. Again and again it’s repeated, as though trying to rub it in: “they’re in a good place, they’re a loving, married couple”. Yeah, right - a child that (judging by TSoT) wasn’t at all planned and now with an assassin for a mother... Twice we see the new parents complain that their daughter has the mark of Satan on her forehead and debate which horror movie she’s from. The clichéd hypocrisy of it all is sickening, and I’m willing to bet that it’s really meant to be. ;) 

But Gatiss chimes in, deciding for us all that the christening of Rosie is “a funny scene” and “they’re enjoying each other, enjoying being on adventures as a three”.

An interesting detail is that Gatiss also tells us that the working name of this episode was “The Adventure of the Melting power Ranger”. So this little blue guy was that important? :) And - even more interesting - is when he says: “Cake is now the code for violent death”. So how should we interpret Sherlock, John and Molly going out to have cake in TLD then, on Sherlock’s (supposed) birthday? 

These might be jokes, though, but when they tell us that Sue cries every time she sees Mary’s death I strongly believe they must be joking. How could anyone feel truly moved by this overly sentimental long monologue where far more efforts are put into reacting to Mary’s speech than saving her life? And John’s mooing like a cow, is that also moving? :)

One thing Martin says about TLD that actually disgusts me is regarding the morgue scene where John assaults Sherlock and Sherlock lets it happen: “From there, really, their relationship can only sort of rebuild, that’s the absolute worst it can get”. As if outright physical abuse would be something that makes you want to rebuild a relationship? Wow - just wow... How far can they go with this crap?

Anyway, when we finally arrive at the absurdity of TFP and Sherlock’s ‘secret sister’, everything is of course discussed as if she actually does exist on the given premises, and everything she does is ‘real’, no matter how impossible it would be in real life. The abandonment of any attempt to have the story line make logical sense is skillfully covered up by more distraction with fascinating technicalities of the film making process. This is where Gatiss makes his now almost classic statement that after Sherlock and John jump out of the window at 221B when a grenade explodes there, it’s just “Boop! And they’re fine.” 

Of course there’s no serious attempt at explaining this logically. Except perhaps Gatiss claiming that they both landed on Speedy’s awning - whatever good that would do to them, since the awning is leaning downwards, but never mind... But we never even saw that happen, did we? A great deal of time is then dedicated to show all the precautions to have Martin and Ben jumping safely at low level onto a madras supported by empty cardboard boxes.

Sian Brooke did say something interesting about Sherrinford, however, that got me thinking. She said that Eurus “wants revenge for the years and years that she has been held captive” there, isolated, and that in TFP the Holmes children are now “lab rats” and “it’s an experiment”. On a meta level, I think we can indeed see this episode - and maybe the whole show - as a kind of experiment, but maybe we, the audience, are also lab rats? Since Sherrinford is slightly shaped like a film camera (not commented in the extra material, of course), it leads my thought to all the adaptations through the years and years where Holmes and Watson have not been allowed to be together. A whole century when Sherlock Holmes has been held captive, restricted by the very same sort of heteronormative filter that all this extra material imposes; it’s like Sherrinford, isn’t it? Which gives all the more meaning to Moriarty’s arrival to the island, accompanied by Freddy Mercury’s “I want to break free”...

I think I’ll let the final words in this little exposé come from Mark Gatiss in The Writers’ Chat (my bolding):

“Moriarty is a fascinating thing in that in our sea of ongoing lies, one thing we’ve genuinely been completely consistent about is telling people he’s dead. But no-one believes it! And it’s a rather brilliant thing.”  Again - self-congratulatory statements. But instead of providing some actual evidence of the death of this character, who has kept popping up in almost every episode since his supposed demise, they think that the more a confirmed liar repeats something, the truer it gets? And the more we’re supposed to believe them? Well, all we can do is wait and see. :)

Tagging some people who might be interested: 

@raggedyblue​ @ebaeschnbliah​ @sarahthecoat​ @gosherlocked​ @lukessense​ @sagestreet​ @thepersianslipper​

My earlier meta on a similar topic (X)

[giotanner]

Art Theft and Bullying in The Old Guard Fandom

Hey TOG fandom! Do you know that stealing art is a crime? Do you have a problem with bullying (“because that poc muslim artist deserves!11!” based on a random tumblr post) within Discord servers? You do?... then read on.

Please grab some cookies and tea (and get comfortable!) and read on. This is a SERIOUS matter that I, as an outsider, was able to see WITHOUT being influenced by anyone else. I am not friends with any of the people involved here, although after these events I have empathy towards them.

I’m telling you this so you won’t be able to say to me "you are allied with/you are influenced by"... That is not the case. I have facts and evidence, so please read! I will be talking about ART THEFT, BASHING, REPOSTING, AND DISGUSTING BULLYING BEHAVIOUR towards a person who is not even in the server. As a fellow fanartist I feel so bad because  “this artist deserves it” in their mind. 

(Now: apparently there is a part of the beautiful The Old Guard fandom that thinks: the characters and people’s headcanons are more important rather than an actual person's well-being, and with every new illustration by the artist, they are badly spoken of. Because… ugh, why not?)

I talked about facts, so here’s one:

If you joined this server (there are a couple servers with this name, please don't get mad at the wrong one - note the icon!)  The first thing you know is: karanoidandroid is a racist and a homophobe… in their opinion. People and also these mods think this because of some posts on tumblr by white people. AH.

Why? Hearsay, bimbi belli. If you go to this artist's page you won't find a single racist thing (the artist is literally a POC who is brown and a Muslim. How? - you may say- What? Ah yes, she must be under "white influence! 11 !! bad POC !!" and who says that? Ah right, a white person. Or another POC with a different experience.  wtf we have so many experiences, how can you say ‘you’re racist’ to a POC about this? Just because this artist’s preference is a different sex position, and no one is trying to force you to like it, eh!)

And from here on out... hatred. Terrible and personal hatred that has spread like wildfire. EVERYWHERE. Even people who know nothing about this fandom know that this artist is "racist and homophobic". Only.Because.Of.Hearsay.

So what did this artist do, you ask? She created a safe place on discord, away from tumblr. For people who like top!Joe. Don’t you like it? GOOD FOR YOU. That’s fantastic. We should as a fandom respect everyone's preference. This server was simply made so people could get away from tumblr and the drama and bullying. That’s it.

But did they leave this artist alone? No. The gossip had infected this fandom by now. It is now a "fact": this artist is x and y, you know. Because a couple people spread that, knowing nothing about the artist other than she was making a server they didn’t like.

Because THEY decided it. Because this artist decided not to fight and leave and you weren't satisfied with that.

Let’s BULLY a Muslim POC because we disagree with their views IN FANDOM! Because someone’s views on a CHARACTER are more important than an actual person, right? (According to sources who wished to remain anon, I know for sure the mod is white. A white mod is bullying and stealing the art of a brown Muslim woman because their views on FANDOM are different)

How? 

READ these screenshots. They were posted a couple days ago. EVERY FUCKIN’ TIME this artist posted an art… they bully her. (So yeah, it’s NOT the first time)

No source, no link, no name. It was posted by a Mod (in blue) and the point is: a rule of this group is “don’t steal art/don’t put art without source” BUT HEY- WE’RE MODS and this artist deserves it!11!!1!)   

This poc muslim artist didn’t insist on “top!joe only”. It’s just her preference, you know? I don’t care about people’s preferences. If you want to read more about how racial issues have somehow gotten involved in sexual position preferences, check out this post by +lgbtq poc with a degree in Medieval Islamic History x (note: his blog is gone (bullying again!) so the link is to a reblog)

“Where is the source?’ a person asks. They don’t want to put the source and THEY’RE THE MODS, they made that the R U L E.

But you already know, again only by hearsay: “the artist is homophobic and top!joe is full of bullshit”. (A mantra - but they’re NOT IN THE SERVER to know. It’s an assumption)  What bullshit? I dunno. I’ve been on tumblr for the past few months and I read everything, and what I read is just a preference, not racism. But they went to the artist saying “you can’t”. Just because they have a different opinion. A ‘woke opinion’ against a POC Muslim artist. Well.

You don’t like her preference? Again: BRAVO. Amen, that’s okay. But it’s not “end of story kiss kiss”.

If you steal and you put a drawing without source… it’s not a joke anymore, do you know this mods? Even if you don’t like the artist or agree with all of her opinions, THEFT IS THEFT. There’s no excuse for it, especially if their excuse is saying the artist ‘deserves’ it.

Discord community Guidelines:

#1 Do not organize, participate in, or encourage harassment of others.

#17 You may not share content that violates anyone's intellectual property or other rights. 

 Anyway the artist deserves their art to be stolen ONLY BECAUSE OF HEARSAY everyone knows that she is..? (chorus: racist and homophobic!) And this was decided by white people and is now being used to bully a POC Muslim.

BRAVI! Have a biscuit!

You’re bashing and bashing and bashing and bashing for MONTHS, so now you don’t know the truth, but only this…  because /this/ it’s common knowledge.

Stealing art and trying to say that's okay because they’ve decided that someone they don't know is racist doesn't change the fact they stole is disgusting. Then saying it’s just a joke? wow, the audacity. 

The point of all this is clear: Since I hate this person/I have this immeasurable hatred towards this artist from posts that other people have made about her THEN I am a mod so I can do it, I am allowed to steal her art, bash the artist and mock her in other comments and every time this person just… exists.

THESE ARE THE FACTS. I have so many screenshots. Thanks to some people I know within the discord. This is only ONE day. It has happened before. 

Why “that artist and linking her blog would break multiple server rules and make numerous people uncomfortable?” Ah, yes, c’mon you know… I know you know! (Chorus: Because the artist is racist and homophobic… even though they’ve never spoken to her, and are literally bullying a POC Muslim and refusing to source art)

Well, yeah, Without proof. Just “common knowledge and the same old “by hearsay” on tumblr. By ‘woke’ people and then it was shared by people like me or you if you don’t know the story.

And how did this story end? They stole the drawing. They put the stolen illustration in a group of TWO HUNDRED and SEVENTY PEOPLE and said  “oops, i did it again” and they refuse to link the source. It’s stealing. And it’s serious. It’s terrible because they are bashing this artist all the time. 

TO REITERATE

1.They STOLE an artist’s work and laughed about it, which is bullying and against their own rules. This has happened more than once with this artist. 

2. When they were called out, they bullied the person calling them out.

3. When they didn’t like that they were called out, THE PEOPLE (yellow and green) CALLING THEM OUT WERE KICKED OUT OF THE SERVER, despite art theft and bullying being against the server rules. Again, the rules that they made. 

Regardless of what you think of the artist, stealing art sets a dangerous precedent for future fandoms. If someone doesn’t like your opinion does that mean they can steal YOUR art/writing/creations? Because if you think it’s okay for this person’s art to be stolen because you don’t agree with them, that’s basically what you’re saying.  

They were cruel. And TOG doesn’t deserve this. I love this movie so much. I love this fandom. I love to make fanarts of Joe and Nicky. Joe is so sweet, full of love, a true warrior and Nicky isn’t an Italian dramaqueen, he isn’t naive, he is kind and a bravo sniper. Two imperfect men, but perfect for each other. A Muslim and a Christian, a white and a brown man. Together. Not stereotyped. Wow, thanks at least for that 2020.

and I hope we can do better, in future. 

[whatifxwereyou]

The Oncoming Storm Part 27: Untangling

Liu Kang x Reader and Kung Lao x Reader (gonna do both, two paths!)

Relaxing(?) with Chen and taking some time for yourself... and things are uh... interesting, to say the least.

The choice is like 3-4 posts away- and I just wanted to give you a heads up that it won't be an overt "i choose so and so" choice. It will be a... seemingly monotonous choice that will lead you, dear reader, down a path to end up with one or the other! Do you guys want me to label which choice goes where? I mean it'll be obvious after the next parts are up which one is which SO I guess it doesn't matter?? Just figured I'd ask! Smooches.

Part 26 Part 28 Chapter Index

You left Kung Lao to rest and decided afterward to relax in the hot springs. Your body was sore, even more so after having gone toe to toe with a second monster. At least the second monster hadn’t tossed you around like a ragdoll the way the first one had. Still, you were sore. You made your way to the springs, rinsed off in the changing room, found a towel, and then walked inside. It was peaceful and there were only a handful of other people there.

You explored the pools a bit further back in hopes of finding some peace and quiet. Thankfully, your time in the springs in Huangshan hadn’t ruined this for you. They were so drastically different.

Peace and quiet were exactly what you’d been granted for a time.

Resting your head back against the natural stone formations, you let your sore body bask in the warmth of the water. It was enough to clear your thoughts of the word ‘monster’ being so frequent in your vocabulary and both the men that you’d left with fevers in their respective rooms.

It was no wonder that you drifted to sleep so quickly. Your sleep wasn’t restful though. You kept seeing flashes of the nightmare you’d had before you’d crawled into Liu’s bed that night. Then you saw the man with the horns, his white eyes staring into yours, and you felt the pain of his hand in your chest.

There was a splash next to you and you sat upright quickly, fists clenched at the ready for a fight. Chen was looking at you in surprise. You sighed with relief and relaxed. Chen and a few of the other women from the infirmary, as well as two of the cooks that you’d met a handful of times were getting into the water alongside you. You had tried to get to know the people you interacted with every day if not just a little bit. They worked hard and you wanted them to feel appreciated.

“It’s good to see you back, Y/N!” One of the younger girls chimed in and then went about chatting to the woman next to her animatedly. You greeted them politely and then rested your head back against the stone. Chen sat close to you. So much for peace. Even so, you smiled. Chen pestered you sure, but she was also a delight to talk to. Your smile faded quickly as you remembered the last conversation you had.

“How are you feeling?” Chen asked discreetly. You sat upright and covered your bruised neck as Chen made to poke at it. It was still sore. “I’m guessing that’s not from anything fun, huh?”

“Definitely not something fun.” You sunk down so that your neck was in the water, to hide, and Chen giggled. “I’m fine, by the way. Just tired. I haven’t been sleeping well the past few nights.” You hadn’t, you supposed. There had been nightmares and then you and Kung Lao had gotten about four hours of sleep before you’d had to roll out of bed to go and meet Raiden. The women stared at you with rapt attention as if expecting an exciting reason for you to have not been sleeping.

“Because…?” Chen urged you onward hopefully and you splashed at them.

“I am so not in the mood, Chen.”

Chen and the other women laughed. “It’s all in good fun, Y/N. I know that things were crazy for you in Japan. I’ve heard you had quite the adventure.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah! One of Raiden’s scribes overheard Kung Lao recounting your adventure with that tar thing.”

“Are you all gossips?”

“Look, it can be really boring here sometimes while those with the marks are off going on adventures and protecting the world. We’re here to protect you so I feel like in return we get to live vicariously through you. Is that so much to ask?” Chen had her chest puffed out proudly and you bowed your head and gestured toward her friends.

“My apologies, gossip away.”

“I was promised more information after you’d ditched Liu Kang. Define complicated please.”

The eyes of the other monks were on you, as curious but less forward than Chen. You bet it was so they could all update their little betting pool appropriately and you narrowed your eyes at them. “I will no gossip about myself. Especially not in front of everyone. No offense, guys.”

“Boo! You’re no fun, Y/N! There must be something steamy you’re not sharing with me. I swear that I interrupted something that morning with Liu Kang. I’ve thought about it on repeat since you left.” Chen poked your shoulder and the other women agreed with her, so you held your face in your hands to hide your embarrassment. Your skin was officially hotter than the spring water. They were whispering about what Chen had seen and it was much more dramatic than what had actually happened.

If they only knew that Chen hadn’t been completely wrong with her assumptions. Liu had asked you to stay in bed with him. Ugh, you wished that you had.

“Oh, stop picking on Y/N, guys. We have plenty to gossip about and she deserves to relax. She’s all bruised up, look at her.” One of the younger girls came to your defense and you were relieved.

They seemed eager to talk about whatever other gossip they’d picked up in the temple. You tuned most of it out as much as you could. You’d always struggled with gossip. Most of your life you’d been gossiped about, and it had never been in a good way. You didn’t like making other people feel like they were being talked about behind their back. You supposed it made you bottle everything inside which wasn’t exactly healthy either. No one was perfect. The kind of gossip that these monks were involved in didn’t bother you as much. It seemed harmless. No one’s feelings were getting hurt.

You listened to the hum of conversation. Apparently, one of the groups of monks who had gone into the closest town to pick up goods had gotten themselves into a bit of trouble with one of the women there. The story was ridiculous, and you wondered if this was how they talked about you when you weren’t around. It probably sounded just as absurd. It was funny. At least the gossip seemed distant from the truth. Unless this was the truth and, in that case, you felt terribly sorry for the woman and the monk who had gotten into trouble with her husband.

They were terrible monks.

The group drifted in the water until they were out of earshot, and you were grateful for the peace. You almost managed to fall asleep again but instead you felt Chen lifting your arm out of the water to check your pulse. You peeked one eye open and found Chen smiling at you.

“Still feeling okay? You’re pretty pale.”

“You can relax, Chen. You don’t always have to be on call. I’m fine. Really.”

“I work extra hard to make up for all the gossip.”

“I’m really okay. Just tired. I’m probably going to go back to my room and sleep soon. Less risk of drowning if I pass out there.” Only marginally less, you thought. You’d almost drowned yourself in ink the other night.

“Aww, not going to regale me with any stories of danger and romance?”

“I don’t know if I’m emotionally up to discussing the danger and romance, as you call it.”

“Why not?”

“It’s… a lot. It’s escalated in complication. I’m mixed up right now. I think my discussion needs to be more… mental.” You realized, suddenly, that Chen had weaseled you into talking about it.

“Oh? Going to make a decision soon?”

“You’re such a sneak. You know that, right?”

“Do go on.” Chen batted her eyelashes happily, resting her elbow against the stone.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s time to make a choice. I’ve got to… sort it out. I have to talk to them about it or just… make an honest move. It scared me for a while, but it needs to happen. No matter what happens next? I have to stop kissing both of them but there’s so much conflict in my heart…”

“Oh, hold on, excuse me? You’ve kissed them both? Y/N! You have been holding out on me!”

“Could you please lower your voice.” You sat up higher in alarm. “You’re completely missing the point that I was making.” You scooted further back from the other monks and Chen followed you. Your face was on fire again and the water was too hot.

“I need details immediately.” Chen’s eyes were filled with glee. “Which one of them kisses better? Are they good kisses? When did this happen? Has this happened more than once? Was there tongue? Did you do more than kissing?”

“Oh, for the love of all that you believe in, please stop!” You laughed and held your hands out in a panic to try and silence Chen. “I’m begging you to lower your voice.”

Chen cackled with laughter and pointed at your red face in amusement. You waited for Chen to get herself together. It took an awkwardly long amount of time. Chen cleared her throat and then straightened her posture as if she had to prepare herself to have a conversation. “Okay. Sorry. Yes, continue. That was delightful. What is it that has you so mixed up?” Besides the fact that they were both gorgeous? Besides the fact that their kisses and their touches literally took your breath away? That they both filled you with a deep and desperate longing that made you want to rip your insides out and offer them as sacrifice?

Liu Kang was the proverbial spark. You’d never once been drawn to another human being the way that you were drawn to him. It was like your bodies called to one another and as silly as you felt for thinking it, it was also true. Kung Lao, however, was your childhood love, but all grown up and while he was a complete mess, he was also romantic as hell. It wasn’t the same attraction you shared with Liu, but your attraction was different and just as wonderful.

“You’re just going to make fun of me.”

“You were quiet for a long time there. Getting lost in memories of kisses?”

“See?”

“Of course I’m going to make fun of you, Y/N, but I will also try to be a good friend.”

“You’re also going to just tell everyone else about it.”

“…true.”

“Ugh.”

“You could still tell me. I promise I’ll twist it enough that no one will quite believe me.”

“I’m… I just…” You sighed in frustration, mussed your hair, and then decided to just go for it. It would make Chen happy to get something of substance from you and maybe putting it out into the universe would offer you some reflection. Chen was hanging on your every word. “I have this crazy attraction to Liu. Plus, he’s so sweet and funny and smart. He holds me in such reverence and it’s going to sound so crazy cheesy but he’s made of fire in just about every way and… ugh he calls me beautiful and…” You whined and leaned your head back against the stone and felt your insides tighten up just at the thought. This hadn’t helped.

Chen was fanning herself.

“Hard to beat that. When was this steamy, fiery kiss…?”

“You are fishing for more information than I’m willing to give you.”

“You can’t blame me for trying. So, what’s the hang up with Lao then? I’ve seen you with Liu. You two are natural together.”

“Like I said, it’s complicated. I… ugh, I am bad at this. I hate this, Chen. I hate talking about it.”

“I know. It’s the worst. I wish you were drunk. You’d go on about it.”

“I kind of wish I was drunk too.”

“Raiden said no liquor for now.” Chen was disappointed. “Focus. Lao. Tell me.”

“We… it’s complicated, okay? We butt heads but he’s so damn nostalgic and surprisingly sweet when he’s not… trying to be. It’s hard to explain why I’m hung up on it because it’s… emotional? When he kissed me? The world disappeared. It makes me think that maybe if we hadn’t lost touch, if he hadn’t disappeared, then we probably would have been together from the beginning. It’s not any less magnetic, just different. Lao and I are very alike. Liu balances me out.” You sighed and briefly forgot that you were talking to the biggest gossip that you had ever met. “I care deeply for them both. I don’t want to hurt either of them, but I can’t take the emotional turmoil of bouncing back and forth between them anymore. And it’s not fair to any of us.”

“Wow, this is actually eating you up inside. I thought you were just being ridiculous to avoid telling me dirty details.” Chen seemed impressed and you turned your attention to her in surprise. Of course, it was eating you up inside! How could it not? “You’re really not going to just get them super drunk and then get spit roasted by both and have a wild night none of you will remember?”

You choked on your own spit and then coughed, leaning out of the water and onto the stone to escape the heat of the springs. Chen patted you on the back but laughed. “I have to look at and talk to them every day, Chen!”

“Have fun picturing that for the rest of your life.”

“Oh, I hate you right now.” You laughed, but the mental image was there, and Chen was right. It would live in your brain rent free for the rest of your life.

“You’ll be fine, Y/N. Just follow your heart and please get laid. Then get drunk and give me all those dirty details.”

“I’m so glad that I’m asking you for advice.” You managed to clear your windpipe, finally. “That was sarcasm. Sorry, choked up.” You shook the mental image away again. Your morning with Liu Kang hadn’t helped that mental image at all. “I’ll figure it out. I’m at a point where I’m ready to figure it out. But I think you’ve teased me enough. I’m going upstairs to get some rest because I am hotter than the springs now.”

“Good. Rest. You’re still pale when you’re not as red as I made you.”

“I plan too.”

“I hope you run into one of them and you can’t shake the mental image!” Chen called to you as you started out of the water, and you nearly slipped and fell back in.

“Goodbye, Chen.” You waved back to her and then bowed to the other monks before returning to the changing room, getting back into your clothes, and heading back to your room. Thankfully, you didn’t run into Liu Kang or Kung Lao. You hoped that they were still resting.

You threw yourself into bed and laid face down for a while, contemplating your options. It was kind of nice to think of how it might wind up. What were you complaining about? There were two incredibly attractive men chasing after your heart. Even so, it filled your stomach with anxiety and dread. You didn’t want to hurt either of them. You wished there were a reality where you could have them both but knew that would end messy too.

After changing into a nightshirt, you went to bed. You really were exhausted but your sleep wasn’t restful. You tossed and turned throughout the night, plagued with nightmares. When you opened your eyes, there was a silhouette of a horned man standing at the side of your bed. You struggled to move, to blink, but you were paralyzed by fear. Breathing was difficult and he leaned over you and reached for your throat. His face was shadow with the exception of a wicked white smile. You felt like he held you down, pinned to your bed, pushing you further into it.

Your body ached.

You were seeing spots, unable to breathe. No matter how you tried, you couldn’t fight it. It was like sleep paralysis. You’d read about it, but it also felt real. He was closer to you, inches from your face, and his clawed hand rested over your cheek.

Then suddenly you were free of the grip that held you prisoner, that had trapped you in bed. You were alone and gasped for struggled breaths. Panicked, you crawled out of bed, collapsing onto the floor and bursting into sobs. Ink spilled from your hands, staining the floor. You struggled to stop shaking and push yourself up, catching your breath.

Then you froze in horror.

Strands of ink were spread across your room from wall to wall, floor to ceiling, creating an elaborate and dangerous web.

What the actual hell?

What had you done?

How had you done it?

Reaching out with a shaky hand, you brushed your fingers over the thick web of ink and pulled your hand back immediately. It had been solid and sharp, slicing the tip of your finger.

You trembled with fear and leaned as far against the bed as you could press your body. You tried to get up, to will yourself to move, but instead it felt like your lungs were being squeezed by invisible hands. Your fingers were curling up and you pulled them close to your chest. Closing your eyes, you tried to take deep breaths to calm down but you could barely exhale.

You’d filled your room with ink in your sleep.

That had to have been a vision, but it hadn’t been the future or the past. It had been of that thing in your room with you, hovering over you. What, was this some Catholic-style possession? Maybe finding the artifacts had been a mistake.

You laid on the floor, stretching out into child’s pose to try and help yourself calm down, to breathe. This moment mattered. Not the nightmare. Not the vision. Not the fear.

Just the moment.

You would be okay.

After an agonizingly long time, you felt your heart finally slowing down. Your fingers uncurled and you were able to sit upright. Your head was spinning but you could at least think without the screaming adrenaline of panic.

You couldn’t get out of your room with the ink like this.

The strands were too closely knit together. Pushing your hair back, still shaking, you held it away from your face and tried to think. You’d trapped yourself in the room. But you’d made the ink so maybe you could unmake it too. Holding your palm close to the nearest strand of ink, you closed your eyes and focused. It wouldn’t move and your whole body was shaking.

Your brain was buzzing with panic still. You tried again and were thrown back against the bed, but the ink was gone in a blink. Your hands were aching like you’d been punched right in the palms. They were dark and bruised. But you’d done it. The ink was gone.

Wrapping your arms around your knees, you pressed yourself against the bed.

You had to get a hold of yourself.

What the fuck had just happened?

There was a knock at your door, and you whined, buried your face against your knees, and then took a deep breath. You felt like you could vomit but you managed to get yourself up, vomit free, and made your way to the door. Shaky on your feet, you recognized the monk on the other side. He kept guard outside of Raiden’s chambers. He bowed to you politely as the monks often did.

“Lord Raiden requests your presence.”

“I-I’ll be there in a few… few minutes. I just… I need to get dressed.” You tried not to sound like you had been hysterically sobbing only a few minutes ago. The monk didn’t seem to notice. He bowed and walked away to deliver your message. You leaned against the door after he’d left, taking shaky breaths. You had to calm down.

Liu Kang would have had you meditate so you decided to do just that. You sat on your prayer mat and closed your eyes. Deep breaths. Grounding exercises. You could hear his comforting voice in your head, guiding you along.

In truth, you just wanted to be held.

[storiesforallfandoms]

eternity ~ damon salvatore;the vampire diaries

word count: 1810

request?: yes!

“Hey honey😍I am loving your writings a lot. I have a request. Can you write where reader is a human and friends with both Salvatore brothers. Both brothers are in love with her and proposed her. She chooses Damon because she also love him. And consider Stefan only her friend. Damon is very happy to have her and lots of fluff and kissing and it escalates to romantic, passionate love making. Damon is very gentle with her since it's reader's first time. After sex, she's sore and he takes care ofher”

description: in which two brothers ask for her hand in marriage, and she decides to pick the older one

pairing: damon salvatore x female!reader

warnings: swearing, smut

masterlist

Stefan and Damon didn’t mean to fall for the same girl for the third time, decades after the second time they had with Elena. They were sure it wouldn’t happen again. She wasn’t another Katherine doppelganger, she was just a normal human being.

She had met Stefan first, then Damon when she visited their house. Damon fell for her first, shortly followed by Stefan, which resulted in yet another needless fight between them. However, they decided to end this one before it went too far like all the last ones had.

The two brothers decided to confront (Y/N) head on and to ask her one important question; to be with one of them for eternity.

“We have to promise that we won’t hold anything over the other,” Stefan was saying as they prepared for her arrival. “And if she chooses neither of us, we accept that.”

“Of course,” Damon agreed. “I’m sick of this bullshit between us.”

“Sounds like a long story behind that comment.”

Both men jumped and turned to see (Y/N) standing in their living room. She giggled at their reactions. “Sorry, I did knock but no one answered.”

“It’s alright,” Damon said.

She looked between them. “So, what’s this about? Why did you want me to meet you both?”

The brothers shared another look before Damon decided to explain. “You see, my brother and I have had a bad habit of falling for the same girl. It has happened three times throughout our very long lives, and...well, this is the third time...with you.”

(Y/N)’s eyed widened, but Stefan picked up the explanation. “I know neither of us are even with you romantically, and you may not even have feelings for us, but we both have one question for you to settle this fight between us once and for all.”

Damon took her hands in his. “Will you be with me for the rest of eternity?”

“Or me?” Stefan asked behind him.

(Y/N) looked between them. “Like...marriage?”

“Ideally, yes,” Damon responded, “but if you’d like, we can work our way to that. It doesn’t need to be now.”

(Y/N) pulled away to look between them. Damon could tell she was thinking over it a lot. There was so much to consider, and neither knew if she liked them. This could end so terribly, or it could end just fine.

When she turned to Stefan, Damon’s heart dropped. She took his little brother’s hands in hers and smiled at him. “Stefan, I care about you so much. You’re my absolute best friend, and I appreciate that you’d want to spend eternity with me.” She paused to look at Damon. “But I’m in love with Damon, and I have been since we first met.”

Damon took her into his arms so fast, she barely got to finish her sentence. He crushed his lips against her, making her feel dizzy but also excited at the same time. Forgetting that his little brother, who had just got rejected by the same girl, was standing there watching them, he lifted (Y/N) so that her legs were wrapped around his waist and he was holding her, effortlessly, against him.

(Y/N) lost herself in the kiss, running her hands through Damon’s hair and resting one on the back of his neck, keeping him close to her. It wasn’t until the events leading up to that moment finally caught up in her mind that she remembered Stefan had been there at all.

“Wait,” she breathed between kisses, pulling away from Damon. “Wait, Stefan - ”

She turned to see that he was gone, and it seemed as though he had been long gone.

“Fuck,” she sighed. “He won’t be mad, will he? I did mean what I said, he is my best friend.”

“He’ll get over it,” Damon insisted, moving to attack her neck with kisses. (Y/N)’s head lulled back with pleasure as she let out an involuntary moan. Pleased with the reaction, Damon continued to kiss her on that spot, getting as many moans from her as he possibly could.

He carried (Y/N) up the stairs and to his bedroom. He laid her down on the bed and immediately ripped her shirt off of her. Literally, the shirt was basically a mess of fabrics once he was done with it.

“Damon!” (Y/N) playfully scolded as he began to kiss down her chest. “You can’t just rip my shirts apart!”

“I’ll get you a new one,” he decided as he neared her jeans. He kissed over her stomach, just to teased her. (Y/N) couldn’t help but buck her hips, silently begging for him to take her pants off.

“Damon, wait,” she told him, taking his head in her hands. “Before we go any further, I need you to know that...I’m a virgin.”

Damon sat back on his legs. “Wait, really? Like...you haven’t had sex at all?” (Y/N) shook her head. “Are you sure you want me to be your first then? We can stop now, we have all of eternity to get it on.”

(Y/N) shook her head again. “No, you don’t understand how much I do want this. I want you to be my first, I just wanted to let you know in case...that changed how you felt about me.”

Damon took (Y/N)’s face in his hands. “Nothing could change how I feel about you, (Y/N). I do love you, and I want to be with you. If you want me to be your first, I’ll gladly be your first. I’ll be so gentle, I promise.”

(Y/N) smiled at him and kissed him again. Damon gently guided her so she was laying down again. He undid the button on her jeans and pulled it down her legs before sitting up to shed himself of his own clothes. (Y/N) tried not to look at his hard member for too long, but it was hard not to stare. Damon was definitely above average in that regard, and he definitely had enough experience over her with how long he had been alive.

Damon hovered over her, pressing his lips to hers once again as he aligned himself with her entrance. (Y/N) winced slightly as he began pushing himself into her, but soon felt the pleasure that came after the brief pain.

Damon laid down on her so that their bodies were pressed together. (Y/N) wrapped her arms around him and placed her hands on his back, slightly curling them into fists as Damon began to thrust.

Immense pleasure built up within her almost immediately. Pleasure beyond her wildest dreams. (Y/N) wondered if this was how all sex felt, or if she was only feeling this way because Damon was a vampire. Either way, it was a feeling she could get used to, and that she was excited to get used to with all the time they were about to have together.

A string of moans and curses passed through (Y/N)’s lips as Damon began to kiss her neck again, finding her sweet spot quickly. She moved herself in a way to try and feel Damon as deep inside of her as she possibly could, resulting in the two of them moaning together as Damon filled her up.

His thrusts began to pick up and before either of them knew it, Damon was thrusting so hard that he was nearly moving the bed. He gripped the bed sheets beneath them, trying his hardest not to accidentally hurt (Y/N) while also getting lost in the pleasure he was feeling.

An unfamiliar feeling began to build up in (Y/N), and, before she could even consider what it was, she felt herself hitting her climax. She dug her nails into Damon’s back. She was sure she would’ve drew blood if he wasn’t so much stronger and tougher than she was in every way. Feeling her walls clenching around him, Damon couldn’t help the slight stutter in his thrusts as he began to feel himself climaxing as well.

(Y/N) held Damon for a long time, her vision spotty from the orgasm but slowly coming back. She looked up at the ceiling above them until she was sure she could see again, and let Damon go. He wanted nothing more than to lay there, tangled with her for a long time, but he knew he should pull away and check on her.

“How was that for your first time?” he asked as he settled himself next to her.

(Y/N) rolled onto her side to cuddle into him, wincing as she did so. “I’m a little sore, but I’m assuming that’s a good thing.”

“You will be for a while,” Damon admitted. “We’ll lie here for a while, then I’ll run you a hot bath and you can relax for a while.”

They laid in silence for some time. (Y/N) felt Damon’s cold body against hers. She thought about the events of that day for a long time, about what her agreement to be with Damon for so long, and admitting her feelings for him, meant.

“Are you going to change me?” she asked him, moving her head to look up at him. “Into a vampire, I mean.”

“I would like to eventually,” he responded. “I meant what I said, I want to be with you for eternity. I know that’s a lot to swallow right now, so you can take your time to think about it. If you really do want to be with me, I will change you. If you’d rather it be a normal human relationship, than I won’t, but just know that eventually I will have to leave again, and you’ll have to find someone else.”

(Y/N) shook her head. “No, I want to be with you. I want to change into a vampire, and I do want to marry you...someday.”

“Why do I feel like there’s a but coming.”

(Y/N) smiled. “But, I want to wait until I graduate. I want to finish high school and live through all those milestones while I’m still human. I want to be with you as your girlfriend in that time, it’ll give us enough time to be sure that we both want this. Then, after I’ve graduated, I will marry you, and you can change me.”

Damon held (Y/N) tightly and kissed the top of her head. “Okay, I can agree to that. I’ll just have to make a mental note to propose to you on your graduation day.”

(Y/N) giggled and cuddled into Damon’s chest. She couldn’t help the overwhelming happiness she was feeling within her as she laid there with her boyfriend, the love of her life, and her husband to be.

[jaeminscoffee]

The midnight man | l.ty

Pairing- Lee Taeyong x reader

Mentions- Lee Donghyuck, Na Jaemin, Liu YangYang, Nakamoto Yuta, Seo Johnny, Kim Doyoung, Ten Lee, Lee Dong Wook.

Genre- Horror!au, angst, crack, part fluff.

Warning(s)- Evil entity!Taeyong, Manipulation, Major character death (lmao you'll actually punch yourself towards the end), sexual themes suggested, impulsive decision making, talks with religion.

Word count- 11.83k

Synopsis- 'Lust though pleasurable, innocent and vice, thee shall stay loyal to thy partner regardless of wants. To betray thy partner is to deceive thy people and hence the kingdom. Thou shall pay for thy soul shall remain wandering, driven by the desires but, shall not be able to feel the human love thou took for a grain of salt. And all who shall follow thy steps shall face the same wrath.'

@kpopscape

This story is pure work of fiction and therefore doesn't speak about the mentioned members' personality in real life. I, in no manner, am trying to encourage hate speech towards the members so please don't come at me. This story was written using a mix of a bunch of urban legends and few made up by myself and therefore it isn't going to be spoken about the same way as it is in google. I also worked really hard on this piece and it's by far, the longest story I've written so feedbacks would mean a lot!, also it could get a little boring since i took time to focus on the side characters too. Make sure not to repost my works and sign it off as your own because that's a little disheartening and mockful towards the writer. So all credits reversed to @jaeminscoffee 2020©®

If anyone here doesn't know the story behind the midnight game, then read on! Because I've described it throughout the story! Happy reading!

29/10, Thursday, 10:57PM

"We need to do something this halloween man, Y/n come on!" 

Your friends all collectively whined as you constantly kept rejecting their proposal. 

Halloween is bullshit. It's overhyped and in all honesty, childish. You'd rather prefer staying home than go house to house and make a fool out of your existence. Not to mention you were all past the age of trick or treating. And to add on top of that came all the sugar rush you'd all go through at the end of the day. "For the last time, Hyuck we're not dressing up like crewmates and going trick or treating. I've got other things to do for the love of god" you grunt, rubbing the scrunched up skin to soothe the pain at the temples. University has been acting up again and so has life. "If your 'other things to do' is binge watch high school musical then no, you have no other better things to do" Yangyang bites back. 

"It's just, I don't feel like it anymore, alright? It feels too weird going out asking for candies when we're all literally 19 and above. It's time to up the notch." you say, plopping down.

When Haechan called for an emergency meeting in pure 'among us' style back at the guys' dorm, you'd expected it to be about something along the lines of having to console Jaemin or someone for having been stood up on a date. What you didn't expect was to have the boys prepare an entire presentation on who'd dress up as what character from among us and who'd be the impostor, do a little play and then say 'red is sus' and then ask for candies. What made it worse was that you thought they were just pulling a prank on you when in all reality, they were dead serious which made you go, 'oh, oh they aren't pretending to be stupid, they're just in their original form.'

"It won't be that bad, doll. It's a genius plan if you ask me" Jaemim chirped in on the conversation finally after looking back and forth between you, Donghyuck and Yangyang caught up in a meaningless fight. "I don't see how any of this is genius, Jaem. If this plan's anything, it's stupid." You pull out your phone after making your way all the way to the headboard of Jaemin's bed. "How about we try out one of these creepy pasta games?" Yuta finally spoke up. Jaemin's brother, an early graduate, senior and of course a dear friend of yours. Yuta, despite the age difference between your classmates and you, had little to no trouble blending in with the tiny group of yours. Probably the only one who didn't behave like a toddler and the most sane one according to you. Yuta's been an amazing planner since junior year where you first met Jaemin, Yangyang and Donghyuck who then proceeded to introduce you to their senior friend group that consists of Yuta, Johnny, Doyoung; Donghyuck's cousin and Ten. You guys had a friendship the entire campus was envious of. But two year after you getting into the university, the seniors had to graduate. But that didn't stop all your bonds from staying as strong as ever. Not even after Ten got his posting in a town a little far away from the one you guys lived in. The distance didn't change anything between you guys and you were as close as you could ever get. 

"Creepypasta?" Donghyuck inquired, looking straight at the guy who aimlessly scrolled down the screen of his device as Yuta didn't even bother looking up while passing the confused boy a nod. Sitting up cross legged from his previous side sitting posture, Yuta showed his phone screen to Donghyuck, who immediately got surrounded by the other two while you stare at the oldest in the room, slightly intrigued by the idea. "Creepypasta's like these horror-related legends that have been copied and pasted around the Internet by people who're too bored for their own sake." you explain as Haechan took the phone out of Yuta's hand who agreed to your explanation. "I read some sick games that I kinda wanna try out and see for myself," he said, looking at you with expectations and then the rest who seemed too immersed in surfing the website. 

"Yuta, you of all people should know better than to think all these made up crap's real" you say nonchalantly. 

Yuta's a huge skeptic, and so were you. Which is why you got along really well despite the mentioned age gap. The night gatherings back at the boy's dormitory or the girls (in this case, girl, yours) would always end up in narration of on spot made up stories of all genre, mostly horror because apparently according to Jaemin 'Rom-com's overhyped, sci-fi won't be fun when you narrate it out loud, mystery can easily turn boring, comedy, meh i guess, but a good horror story narrated properly, -yes, like you, Haechan- while adding jumpscares here and there could actually result in y'all being too scared to use the bathroom on your own'. And yeah, you'd startle here and there but the stories weren't believable enough for you to actually be scared. On the other hand, Haechan and Jaemin were scaredy cats. Literal toddler's who're so gullible, you could literally tell them there was an alien invasion news flash two minutes ago and they'd be hiding under their bed. And then there's Yangyang, he just doesn't care. He goes along with the plans solely for the fun of it and for the other's' (Haechan and Jaemin) reaction. "That's the point. I don't" he shuffled around to shift closer to you,

 "Which is exactly why i want to try them out" 

Maybe it's the feline that crossed over his body, maybe it was the fact that his spirit just wasn't ready to leave the human realm yet. Maybe it's the mourning of his family or maybe it's him himself knowing full too well his potential was truly wasted due to the fast departure. Whatever it was, his spirit was definitely made restless. 

The world is a cruel place where harsh actions are always sugar coated by honey like words. It's how he knew the doings of his people were wrong that made him disappointed. The practices of the people, his people, were stupid, meaningless and only harmful to the human kind. They fend off the satisfaction of their almighty even if that means that there needs to be sacrification of their loved ones, their nemesis, or them themselves. And it was his ancestors fault for starting all these practices. 

Passed down generations from generations was the curse put on the first of their bloodline by the princess he'd defied to go out and be ruthless by disregarding his duties as a husband, a father, a member of the royal courts and as a human being.

Lee Dong Wook. The root of all evil, the main reason the males of the family line faced the same wrath as him, all cursing at him but one namely enjoying his role. The pagans, dating back to the roman times era had a very, let's say, interesting method of punishing. The said lords they'd worship, the people following the religions had a strong belief that nature is sacred and that the natural cycles of birth, growth and death observed in the world around us carry profoundly spiritual meanings. Gods and goddesses of life, or say, death or anything else that exists beyond life and death, they believed in all. 

The doings of his ancestors started off innocent. Sacrifices to the lords of goodness and tranquility, a peaceful life by the towns and outskirts, forgiveness for wrong doings and of course, happiness. It's how any religious rituals would go about and all were happy until the said betrayer of the group came in with that curse of his. 'The doings of his shall be repented for all the men following shall be the one paying it,' 

At first glance when the man returned back to his royals, there were little to no suspicions of a curse being casted on him. He seemed normal to his family, his people except for the occasional forcing people to do something they despised. And it wasn't just the men of the family instead, it was all. But mostly the men, unless the same sin were to be committed by the females. Obscure behaviors have been asked to follow starting exactly at midnight to the witch's hour be it hurting your loved one, your enemy, doing sinful things, allowing self to get manipulated and mostly, shortening their own life time in the human realm. It was all unexplainable. Why was he asking people to do things like this but most of all, why are they even listening to him? 

It wasn't until they discovered that Dong Wook, for one, was never the one who returned home. On a second note, he, 'Dong Wook' mainly only targeted the men whose doings were similar to his that was fueled by the same sin that had him going. Which only remained undiscovered. The curse was unbeknownst to all still, Dong Wook himself remained undiscovered. Or proposed by the elders of the community, his body remained undiscovered while his spirit roamed restless among the people. 

The pagan romanticists are, in most cases, ignorant of the “paganism” they praise—the redeemed paganism of Christianity depicted in the transfigured water of the True Well of Life. Wrestling with the Greek gods, however, leads us to see the hyper-anthropomorphization of the gods with one intention in mind—justification of sexual lusts and displays of power over the weak.

The oldest written account of the Greek deities is from Hesiod. His Theogony, literally “birth of the gods,” charts out the genealogies of the major and minor deities in two branches. The first set of gods come into existence without sex. The second set of gods come into existence with sex; often very graphic and violent sex and they continue to have violent sex after their birth. 

As Hesiod continues to describe the birth and death of the gods and great monsters of antiquity, the chaining of Prometheus to his eternal torment is described. So too is Hades’ rape of Persephone. Battle is depicted left and right, and “a terrible din arose from their dreadful wrath, and the work of power was revealed”. Lust, sex, and war reign supreme in Hesiod’s telling of the birth of the gods. Moreover, it is from this brutality and carnality that Hesiod gives them praise—only those with enough cunning and ambition are worthy of having the praise of the muses.

That the gods birthed through sexual lust are themselves lustful was not missed by Christians of the pagan community. Though St. Augustine received the Romanized version of the Greek myths, he goes to great lengths and laborious pains—using the pagans’ own prophecies —to highlight the moral depravity of the gods in Confessions and City of God.

His sin, after all the years, was lust and the want to dominate. 

'Lust though pleasurable, innocent and vice, thee shall stay loyal to thy partner regardless of wants. To betray thy partner is to deceive thy people and hence the kingdom. Thou shall pay for thy soul shall remain wandering, driven by the desires but, shall not be able to feel the human love thou took for a grain of salt. And all who shall follow thy steps shall face the same wrath.'

Oh, how lust was a dangerous feeling. 

29/10 continued. 11:28PM

It's how you all circled around in the living room like any other day that was comical to you. Instead of reading out your own made up story, it so happened to be the Creepypastas Yuta screenshotted for what he wanted to try out and see for himself. It wasn't even his idea to read them out. Haechan and Jaemin's 'too curious for their own sake' selves were the ones who wanted to read it out loud. "How about we sit in the order of who's gonna read out what and when?" Yangyang suggested, standing up from his seat. "Yuta read out the topics and we'll pick randomly." 

"No fun! Hold up," Haechan did some pretty exaggerated hand actions before getting up and heading to his room, well, Jaemin's room to do who knows what. "Okay? I'll get the candles!" Yangyang said, him getting out of his seat too, "And I'll go get the bible, jesus christ" and Jaemin was out of his seat too. You look at Jaemin in a funny manner, as though questioning him with your eyes if he's actually going to get a bible or not, "What? I don't want to die young, I'm too hot for that" he said, before following Haechan's steps to his bedroom, "Yikes, you aren't going to die dude" 

"Okayy, I'm back, make way bitches" Haechan dictated to which he earned a few groans and a smack on the ankle from Yuta, "Jaemin! I can't find the candles!" "It's beside the Reese's cups! Second rack inside of the refrigerator!" Jaemin says while walking back up to your tiny circle with an empyre comic in his hand and a cross pendant dangling off of his neck, "That's a bible?" you question. "Shush, do not question the power of avengers and fantastic four." Jaemin replies, holding the comic up close to his chest. You all collectively dismiss it with a concerned look directed towards the male, "Are we not going to question the fact that Jaemin keeps his candles inside the fridge?" 

"So here's what we're going to do, I've got these tiny papers which have numbers from 1 to 5,because we're five people and I've folded the paper into chits, once i toss it, we pick random sheets and the number you get is when your turn to read is, any objections?" Haechan explained, "Even if you have any, keep it to yourself because I don't care" he bites in again while juggling the folded sheets in a closed palm while the other supports his body by it being planted behind him. "Okay I'm back with the candles" Yangyang finally joins in on the circle, completing it, "You took that long to find one candle?" Yuta asks, "No i was eating the reese's cups" he replied, wiping his hand on your jean clad thighs earning him a loud whine of 'Eww that's disgusting man' and a little too far from soft smacks on his shoulder, "You piece of sh-" Jaemin starts, "Okay all, Focus!" Haechan cuts him off, ready to throw the bits onto the space between the five of you in front of the now lit candle (Thank you, Yuta), and so he tossed it a little high up from the ground, letting the paper fall of his palms and onto the floor while being cautious of not throwing it anywhere near the flame. 

"Now let's arrange ourselves according to the numbers, who's number one?" Haechan asks, Yuta raises his hands while pointing at where he's sitting, "I'm not getting up, y'all arrange yourself so that the person going second is to my right and the last person would be to my left", you all look at him nonchalantly, "What?" with a shake of your head, you proceed calling out numbers, "Number two?" Haechan shoves Yangyang back to take his place beside Yuta, "bitch." Yangyang seats himself beside Haechan, followed by Jaemin and lastly, you. 

"First, Yuta!" Jaemin slurs the elders name, receiving a death glare from his cousin. Nevertheless, Yuta cleared up his throat and switched his attention to his phone screen, "The first urban legend is from Japan, ironically." He states as a matter of fact, "It's called Aka Manto."

"Aka manto is an urban legend related to toilets—particularly those in elementary schools.-"

"Is that why you take a relatively long time inside of the bathroom? Are you, you know? Tickling pickles with Aka Mant-ow! Sorry!" Yangyang was wasted as he was tackled onto the floor by Yuta, while the rest of you cracked up, "Now let's get a little serious, come onnn!" Haechan whines. 

"This phenomenon is known all over Japan, with countless variations on the same theme. It usually takes place in a specific stall in a specific bathroom in the school. Usually it is an older or seldom used bathroom, often in a stall with an older style squat toilet.  Often the fourth stall is the cursed one, as the number four is associated with death." "I'm so glad our university has only two stalls," Jaemin chimes in, suddenly grasping the cross pendant. 

"Most stories follow this general pattern: while at school late in the evening, a student suddenly finds him or herself in desperate need of a toilet. The closest restroom available is one that is normally avoided by the students; it is older and less well-kept, separated from the rest of the school, and is rumored to be haunted. But with no time to search for a different restroom, the student enters. He or she does their business, and when they have finished, they reach for the toilet paper only to find that there is none. Then they hear a strange voice" Yuta looks up from the phone screen, "“Do you want red paper? Or blue paper?”" 

"None bitch, give me the classic white,"

With a roll of his eyes, Yuta continues, "If the student answers, Red paper, moments later, they're stabbed and sliced up violently that blood seeps out of them, painting the walls of the stall red and it soaks up into their body, making them appear red", "And if the student responds blue paper, then their blood is going to be sucked up dry, leaving them dead and blue-faced on the floor."

"But! If you try to outsmart Aka Manto, by replying to question with, i don't know, "Yellow paper" then too, dead is inevitable, you will be shoved onto the floor where the spirit is said hold your head down in the dirty toilet water until you drown and well, die" Yuta ends with a shrug of his shoulder, "Seems pretty bullshit to me" and you agree alongside, though, it could be a little creepy if the existing legend did turn out to be true. "Okay next!"

Yuta leans back a little more, pressing onto your side which you took as an invitation to lean on his shoulder. When you did so, all Yuta did was beam at you and wrap his arms around you to keep you close after handing the phone over to Haechan, "If you want me to start reading you have to give it up for me. Give me the grand welcome that i deserve" the lad said in a childish voice which again only earned him a few smacks and half hearted applauds. "So this one is apparently called, the one man hide and seek" though all narrations were being taken on a lighter note, the mood set in the room gave you enough space to picture the stories, added to that came the factor that Donghyuck knows exactly how to narrate what. 

"The "One-Man Hide and Seek", also known as the "One-Man Tag," is a ritual for contacting the dead. The spirits, which are wandering restless on the Earth, are always looking for bodies to possess. In this ritual, you will summon such a spirit, by offering it a doll instead of a human body." He lowers his voice while focusing solely on the screen.

"The warnings say that if you have any psychic abilities, you may feel unwell or be prone to accidents during the ritual." He raises his eyebrows, looking at all four of you in a curious manner. The things you need for this game seems lowkey sketch"

"One stuffed doll. It must have limbs, Rice, enough to stuff the doll full. One needle, and one crimson thread. One pair of nail clippers. One sharp-edged tool, such as a knife, glass shard, or scissors. One cup of salt water. Natural salt would be best. A bathroom, with a bathtub and some form of counter. A hiding place, preferably a room purified by incense and ofuda. There must be a TV in there." Haechan's face contorts with each requirement for the game. Letting out a defeated sigh, he hands the phone over to Yangyang, "Of all the stories i could've narrated, i got chosen for this and for what? Just to contact stupid poltergeists. Just play a ouija board and go" 

Giving Haechan a sympathetic pat on the back, he takes the device. Looking through the screen he cracks up a smile, "Alright, listen up closely. This is an Urban legend classic"

"The Slender Man-" a bunch of 'aahhs' of realization resonate through the room

"-is a supernatural creature that is described as appearing as a normal human being but he is described as being 8 feet tall and he has vectors or extra appendages that are described to be as sharp as swords. The creature is known to stalk humans and cause many disappearances. He is described as a shadow creature that has a missing face. The creature fits into many mythologies in legends from nations such as germany and celts which brings up the possibility that he could be real." Yangyang pauses to add in a little more life to his reading while all of your paid full concentration to him

"A man named victor Surge found this legend and made his own version of it which he called slender man. The slender man is not exactly evil according to mythology but victor Surge’s version shows him as an evil creature that stalks humans to kill. In mythology he was actually trying to save you from a painful death by taking you to the underworld early." he ends, placing the phone down in front of him, screen down. "Kills you to save you from a death and collectively shortens your lifespan? Seems legit to me" Jaemin chimes in while the rest of you chuckle whereas Haechan pouted at the device in front of his friend, "I should've gotten that story" 

"My turn!" 

"So, ahem-" Once the focus is all on him,Jaemin  looks down onto the device containing his part of narration. "- This is an urban legend about a girl named Daruma who was a young Japanese woman that died in the bathroom, which upon entering to take a bath, it stumbled and her forehead ended up against the edge of the tube, destroying it the brain, at the same time that her eye embedded in the tube , leaving it in consequence, one-eyed key and later , dead by bleed out."  "Oh god ouch" You hiss as though your forehead was the one that hit the edge, " Her appearance as described is apparently; black hair that is entangled, her clothes rotting and made shreds. She only has one eye. Her left eye is completely open and injected with blood." "That's gruesome," Yangyang adds, earning a nod from Jaemin who's eyes were still fixated on the screen. "And apparently there's a ritual that you can follow to summon her into your house for twenty four hours straight" At the silence, he continues. "I'll shorten it, so you have to begin it right before your bedtime, shed all your clothing and enter your bathroom, turn off all the lights and fill in your bathtub, climb into it while being seated facing faucet, close your eyes and start washing your hair while chanting "Daruma-san fell down" and keep chanting that until you're done washing your hair, and yeah don't open your eyes."

"If you did it right then you'll get this image of a japanese who'll slip and fall in front of you. Even if you hear a noise behind you, do not open your eyes, no matter what it takes, Ask out loud, 'why did you fall in the bathtub' and let that hang in the air. With your eyes still closed, get up and out of the tub and be careful not to slip and do not drain the tub. Go to your room, don't turn the lights on, shut the bathroom door closed and sleep. Wake up the next day and carry on with your day and you'll apparently feel her presence alongside you all day. She'll constantly try getting close to you, when she does, scream 'Tomare!',"

"That means stop," Yuta adds to which you all hum in understanding.

"To end the game, capture her gaze from over your shoulder and say 'Kitta' which means 'I cut you loose' while swinging your arm in a chopping motion. If you followed the procedures then you'll be rewarded but if not then, run. That's all it says here" He stops, looking a little shaken at how he created an image of it all in his mind. "They didn't say how to get rid of her if you fail following the procedure?" you ask

"No." Jaemin shrugs it off

"Alright boys, my turn"

30th October, Friday, 10:53PM

It's probably how you read out your part of story telling, or it was how he felt the game was a little too unrealistic that had Yuta hooked onto the urban legend. 

Yuta found himself at his dorm doing a little more research on the midnight ritual. A backpack already consisting of all the elements required for the game, 'could it really be played just by one person?'. Whatever it was, he really wanted to do the game. He wanted someone to accompany him, of course. But knowing his friend group, not many would be ready to play it alongside. Doyoung was probably busy preparing his resumes for his job interviews. Johnny's all the way back in Chicago for a little family time. Ten was a little too far from your town so he'd feel bad calling him all the way over just to perform a probably demonic ritual. Donghyuck and Jaemin are out of the question, they'd obviously say no. Yangyang has a company party to attend as the heir. And you had to study for your test on Monday so he didn't really feel like disturbing you though, he did inform you that he was going out to have some fun and that you could join him anytime. Closing his laptop with a sigh, he gets up and walks over to where his bag was sprawled across the floor, picks it up and makes his way out of the studio apartment like dormitory after grabbing his car keys. 

Not like he believed it was real, it's incase if the legend turns out to be even the slightest of reality, he wasn't going to get his dormitory haunted, instead opting to perform it at the house he grew up in, his childhood house. That was left abandoned ever since they moved out months before his younger brother was born after his father had an episode still unknown to him inside the place. It was convenient enough to perform the ritual in and no one lives there anymore, and it was just a few minutes from where his house was anyways. 

Reaching the place and swinging the backpack over his shoulder, he makes his way into the surprisingly still intact house. Not much time to waste, looking around, Yuta slowly made his way up the wooden stairs, the wood creaking with each step he took to prove the existence of this house dated long back. The guest room shut lock from lack of human souls even when they used to live there. The paintings still hung off of a single screw, nostalgia hitting him straight as he recalled the one time he was playing catch with a neighbor's kid and ended up breaking the glass frame. The wallpaper's adhesive seemingly had gotten weaker from how they had started coming out from nooks and crannies of the walls. The place, without doubt, looked a little creepy but nonetheless felt homely. 

Switching on all switches from the main controller that was in the control room right by the end of the hallway, the entire darkness was replaced with light as the bulbs shockingly still seemed to function. The warm white colour of the lights took Yuta all the way back to his growing up years, missing all the fun he'd had there and all the memories he'd created. He, though grew up mostly by himself from how busy his parents were on the weekdays and sometimes the weekends, missed them more now that they live far off in Japan with his mother's family. Especially now that he was in the place they spent the most time together in. Shaking his head, he had no trouble navigating his way to his childhood room. Where he set the bag down.

He reached out to his back pocket to get out his phone, switching it on as the screen illuminated, 11:28PM, the screen read. To kill the time, Yuta set up all the items required in place to proceed the ritual smoothly. He pulled his laptop out of the backpack once he was all set to maybe watch something on the internet. It being other peoples attempt at the ritual he was about to perform.

11:55PM.

Yuta inhaled, having only a few more minutes until he had to proceed. He recalled your words,

"Alright boys, my turn" You snatch the phone out of Jaemin's hand who seemed really immersed in finding out more about the legend he just read out about, earning a pout from him. "I was reading" he let out in a whiny tone immediately going stoic after receiving a 'do i care' look from your end. "Okay, so the story I'm going to read out is called the midnight man, or the midnight game" You scroll back and forth through the pages the oldest of the group screenshotted. "From what he's gathered, there's not much backstory, but apparently it's a ritual or mostly a punishment that the pagan's use to punish the betrayer of the group who failed to stay loyal to their lords or the group. One of the people of the religion will summon the midnight man to an abandoned house where they lock up the said betrayer who'll then be put through god knows what by the midnight stranger," You stop to look up from the screen to look at each of your friends before letting out a sigh. 

"My take on this though is that it's highly impossible since the rules here state that once you start the ritual you aren't allowed the leave the place until the game is completely done unless you want the midnight man to follow you around for as long as you live, so unless the midnight man actually favored the pagans, there's no way they could punish the betrayer without one of the loyal ones passing away along with the one being punished" you state, "But what if, it's the midnight man that they preach? You know, like, they could be praying the midnight man" Haechan adds in a point which seemed to make sense, "That's possible too" 

"Why would someone preach an evil entity? That's so sketch" Jaemin asks perplexed. "They did a lot of sketchy things back in the days, Jaem. I wouldn't question it," Yuta chirps. "Is there any other backstory given about the midnight man?" Yangyang finally speaks up, "Well not really, but when i was taking screenshots of this it apparently started with a curse on someone whose identity is unknown to most. There was no such thing as the midnight game or ritual until the said bewitched man came back into town. I only know up to there, but there are high chances that he's probably the origin of the ritual." Yuta explains. "Why does Y/n get the best always, that's so unfair"  Haechan's dramatic self whines while leaning onto Yangyang who rolled his eyes but nonetheless threw his hands around the latter's shoulder, "Anyways, the procedure for the ritual is given here."

"You need one candle, a lighter or a match box or anything that ignites fire, a piece of paper, something to write with, a sharp object, it could be a pin, it just needs to be something sharp enough to draw blood, a wooden door, and salt for protection-" You read out, "Now why the fuck would they need blood," Jaemin asks, shaken up. "That's for them to know and us to find out" 

"Here's how the invitation for the midnight man goes. Begin prior to midnight," 

Yuta stood up from his bed, and walked up to the backpack on the floor, picking out the papers he'd brought along and took out a blunt pencil. 

"Write your full name- first, middle, and last- on the piece of paper with your writing implement." He wrote syllable by syllable, Nakamoto Yuta. "Prick your finger with the pin and squeeze until a drop of blood appears. Dot the blood on the paper and allow it to soak in. Turn off every light in your home." He took out the small safety pin he brought along from his jean pocket, pressing his fingers hard and pricked into the skin as hard as he could, keeping in mind to not draw too much blood. Yuta let the droplet fall right in the space between his last name and first. 

"Place the paper with your name and blood on it in front of the closed wooden door. Light the candle using the matches or lighter and place it on top of the paper. If you are using a taper, make sure it is placed in a candle holder." He walks up to the door and places down the paper with his name and blood on it, with the half melted scented candle he brought along. Yuta took out his phone once again, 11:59. "Knock on the door 22 times. The final knock must occur precisely when the clock chimes 12am. Open the door; then blow out the candle and close the door. Relight your candle immediately." He starts to knock on the door, drumming on the dusty wood, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22.

He checks the time once again, 12:00AM.

He leans down to pick the glass jar containing the candle, relighting it, 

"I welcome you."

Taeyong loved the tiny creatures in the human realm. They were so naive and so, stupid but weirdly smart at the same time that made playing with them ten times more interesting. The callings from them, or the way they say it in the human realm, summoning the spirit was the only way he could gain access to enter the place. Summoning wasn't even necessary. Saying his name out was more than enough for him to go up to you. Midnight man, midnight stranger, midnight visitor, pagan's god, What not had the human's named him. 

The only one besides his ancestor of said curse that enjoyed the power of punishing people was Taeyong himself. The youngest of the bloodline and the freshest of pagan's spirit, he loved the power he had. Sure he had no access to love, instead besides lust and range he felt nothing, maybe amusement too, but none other than that and he seemed perfectly fine with that. Human's always seeked lust more than love either way so he found no problem in being void of feeling a vulnerable emotion. Instead, he found love pathetic. Watching human's from where he lived, he'd seen all from men and women seeking love by going to heights of trouble only to waste away your remaining life with one partner. Leeching off of pleasure at times when you had a significant other. He always got a hearty laugh from all of that. According to him, if you want someone, get them. Instead of tailing them and trying to be a goody two shoes, just make them yours in a way that's inevitable for them to fall for you. Control how they feel. Easier said than done since he was the only one with the ability to do so, 'how fucking pitiful'.

So when he saw you and your small group of friends discussing about him, laughing at all the assumptions you made along the way, he wanted each of you to himself. "My take on this though is that it's highly impossible since the rules here state that once you start the ritual you aren't allowed to the leave the place until the game is completely done unless you want the midnight man to follow you around for as long as you live, so unless the midnight man actually favored the pagans, there's no way they could punish the betrayer without one of the loyal ones passing away along with the one being punished" you're smart and that was intriguing to him. He liked the way you thought of things and the male beside you too, you both seemed to take tales of him as a grain of salt and that, besides angering him, made him feel the want to prove himself to you. Taeyong found the other three cute, seemingly scared of him just the way he liked it. 

His ancestor's who held the same power as him, the curse actually, came to be known as said lord because of their power of manipulation and to inject in their worst nightmare into their minds that had the people divide themselves into groups. One that believed the power they had was for the good and considered them to be their god, their savior. And the other being the one's scared of their power and the fear that the same faith would bestow upon them that had them pray for forgiveness for sins they never committed. So your friend had the point a little, but it was inaccurate. They believed him. Believed Taeyong and feared his power. He loved people bowing down in front of him, eyes trembling and body shivering. It gave him a sense of dictatorship. And he had set his mind to have both of you non-believers fear him. 

Having been brought up with little to no love, Taeyong followed down the same path as his great grandfather. Not having enough time to feel the vulnerable emotion, he chose to go down the path of pleasure and power play. His powers though, seemingly stronger than the past generations, probably due to the fact that he was young, ruthless and free of care. He could make himself appear physically in the human realm in any shape and form, though he always preferred to go in his original, but less scarier form. His visuals were out of the world. He didn't have to scare people to make them obey, instead all he had to do was pretend to be there and just be himself and that only made humans seem even pathetic to him. 

"Relight your candle immediately"

12:01PM, The main event. 

"Keeping your candle in hand and your salt and matches or lighter close by, begin to move about your home. Should your candle go out, you must relight it within the next ten seconds.  If you are successful, continue moving about your home. Do not stop moving until 3:33 am. If you are unsuccessful in relighting the candle, immediately surround yourself with a circle of salt.  Remain inside the circle until 3:33 am. At 3:33 am, it is safe to stop moving or to step outside your circle of salt. You may also turn on the lights. The game Is Over."* You conclude. Hissing slightly at the sudden pain by your shoulder that was exposed from the minimalistic clothing you'd adorned, the stranger looking over it all smirked to himself. 'Got it'

Yuta opened the door again, mindful to keep his phone back in his jean pocket along with the lighter and of course, the salt be brought along. Starting from the end of the hallway, nothing seemed to change except now, the eerie silence was starting to bother him, 'Just 3 hours to go,'. He didn't miss a single corner, walking room to room, corner to corner, mindful to stay inside all the way. The temperature of certain rooms seemingly lesser than others. A cold pocket. 

"There are few warnings too," you swipe the image to go to the next one, "At 3:33 am, the Midnight Man will leave your home. After he has left, you may safely end the game. Do NOT turn on any lights during the game.  Do NOT use a flashlight during the game. Do NOT go to sleep during the game. Do NOT use a lighter instead of a candle during the game." Check. He had a lighter on him just to relight the candle anyways. 

Taeyong, following the guy seemed to be quite impressed by his bravery. Not even the slightest of shaken up as he proceeded to walk about the villa. That's good, no slip ups and he seemed too good to mess anything up either ways, and that bored the entity. Where's the fun if he just succeeded? 

To avoid the candle from going off at the sudden flickering, Yuta covered it up the best he could with his hands and checked around whether any windows were left open. Darkness engulfed the surrounding all of a sudden, the lad being taken aback, 10 seconds. He rushed to take out his lighter, 9,  pressing the button repeatedly to ignite the flame only to get a small blue flame instead, huh? 8, running back full speed happy that he was in the premises of where his backpack is, he pulled the spare lighter, a brand new one out of the side pocket, 7, repeating the same process of flicking the button over and over, 6 until a bright orange flame engulfed the dark room, 5, he immediately grabbed his candle from besides the bag, 4 reaching in close by the wick, burning himself slightly in 3-, the process. Yuta heaves out a sigh of relief, while the spirit laughs at the frantic boy. 'He's cute.'

For a breaker, he took out his phone, looking at the time that seemed to pass by quickly throughout the ritual, 2:47 AM. A little more while to go until he'd finally get it over with. "Do not attempt to provoke the Midnight Man during the game." You ended for the nth time that night, "Which idiot would-" Yangyang asks "Haechan-" Jaemin pretends to cough while blurting out his best friends name, the mentioned feigning offence while tilting his head to the side, tongue poking at the insides of his cheek. "Seems like that's pretty much it." you shrug while the older guy beside you leaning back on both of his hands, "I kinda wanna try that out" Yuta raised his eyebrows at you. "Halloween night? We all go together" you chirp in, both of you whipping your heads to look at the three perplexed boys. "Uh, I have to water my fish on halloween? She'd get pretty thirsty". Jaemin's eyes wandered about, coming up with an excuse, "And I gotta walk my rock yo, physical fitness." Haechan adds, "Can I bring my fish along? She could use some exercising". 

"Come on guys, it won't be that bad, we'll stick in a group?" You pleaded, trying your best to muster up the cutest puppy eyes. "I'm down" Yangyang shrugs. You do a tiny seal clap, looking expectedly at the other two, Yangyang and Yuta doing the same. "We stick together?" Haechan asks, to which the three of you nod your head, 

"Alright then we're down too"

[3:04AM 30th, October. ]

A few more minutes left until he'd succeed, Yuta was starting to grow tired of constantly roaming. He'd usually not the one to wear out that quickly, but for a reason unknown to him, he felt utterly sleepy, tired, hungry and just wanted to lie down. He decided to take a small break, the candle still light, dangerously flickering but yet still intact. Yuta sat by the foot of the stairs as Taeyong looked at him with the same cocky smirk on his face, contemplating whether to pop out or not. 'Maybe let's make it subtle? '

Taking up the form of a black humanoid figure, Taeyong makes his way towards Yuta whose eyes seem to be dropping low with each passing second. Upon hearing the sounds of footsteps Yuta looks up, a hand on his forehead from the sudden throbbing headache. Letting out a loud yell at the figure in front of him that disappeared almost immediately, he rushed to grab his lighter again. The sudden temperature drop made him shudder. Taking out the new lighter, he pressed the button again and again as the time limit started to exhaust, 6, at a successful fire, he reached for his candle, only for the flame to go off when it neared the candle wick. "what the fuck.." 5, "come on.." he stated in a rushed voice, sure that he just saw whatever he saw once again. Finally flicking the button one last time, he succeeded in lighting the candle. 

Contrary to popular belief, the midnight man didn't always radiate death. Sometimes he just messes around with the humans because the underworld could get a little boring. And as the curse states death and wrath is only to be faced by those who sinned and the boy playing right now seemed to be of no threat. All Taeyong wanted to do was get the guy to believe in his existence. Skeptics were like an insult to him. So if he had to prove himself and his existence on his own, then so be it. He gets some pretty good experience out of it anyways. 

Yuta stood up immediately, remembering the warning's you'd stated, "Do not stop moving until 3:33am", walking back up the stairs, he took out his phone to check the time, 3:29am. Almost. 

The same sounds of footsteps resonated from behind him, Yuta took an immediate U-turn. Going back down the stairs and roaming the empty, dark hallways, making sure to enter each and every room, keeping a mental note to thank his parents for having a slightly confusing infrastructure. The wax was almost completely out in the glass jar, but he had to hang in there for a little longer than 2 more minutes when he felt something brush his shoulder, much similar to how a friend would drape their hands over his/her friends' shoulder. He could've brushed it off as anything if it weren't for the sharp pain he felt right after the feeling of someone touching him. He's getting the proof he wants. Almost as if someone pulled his hoodie, Yuta stumbled back, letting out a shaky scream, tripping on his own foot, landing butt down onto the floor, catching a glimpse of the same humanoid figure he'd been seeing. He needs to get out of there. 

Stumbling back onto his feet, Yuta bolted it upstairs, grabbing his phone once again to check the time, 3:32am. Reaching his room, he set the candle down right beside him, vary of the windows and doors, starting to back his backpack, the sounds of rushed footsteps running start to where he is ringing through his ears, hands shakingly packing his bag. Keeping the candle closeby, contemplating whether to draw a salt circle or not since there was only less than half a minute left when the same humanoid figure neared him with fast footsteps, reaching by the door frame with a loud agonizing scream only to disappear immediately. 

Not realising the stress of tears flowing and the tresses sticking to his forehead, Yuta looked at the door frame in a perplexed yet confused manner. What the fuck was that. 

Taking out his phone once again while grabbing his backpack, laptop and the car keys in the other hand, 3:34 am. He'd made it through. After reaching the front door, not even bothering to close it, he rushed to his car, starting it before pulling up your contacts, seeing the messages he'd never sent you. 

Yuta san 1:39am: The boys said they won't make it tomorrow, it's gonna be just you and i

Y/nleE 1:43am: Why not? 

Yuta san 1:45am: Dk, they said they aren't interested. So come near xxxx tomorrow at 11:30. I'll meet you there. 

Y/nleE 1:48am: Coolsies. 

Yuta san 3:38am: Y/n don't come here, gather the boys and meet me by Haechan's dorm tomorrow. The game's no fucking joke. 

And with that he started driving away quickly to his dormitory, not once looking back at the house to see a human. Or a human like figure standing there, A bright red hair standing out due to his blood drained looking pale skin. A smirk on his face

Message not delivered. 

31st October, 22:37PM, 2020.

Today was a weird day, 

Having all plan's set two days before, you'd make sure to keep yourself ready for whatever you and your friend group were supposed to do today. You finished up all your assignments earlier that day to keep yourself free from afternoon and on. 

The weird part was that, no matter how much you kept your phone for charge, each time you tried calling one of the guys to ask for the sudden bailing out on plan, which is a shocker because they've never done that, your phone kept switching off. You could've gone all the way to their apartment, well, dorm, but you decided to wait until later to do so. Maybe a few minutes before leaving to the place Yuta texted you so that they'd have no choice but to come along. Since your last time texting with Yuta, you hadn't heard from him. Granted, he did text you quite late at night saying he's going to do god knows what and to tell you of the sudden plan change, but you hadn't heard from him after, that being weird since he literally lives a floor below yours, he could've come any moment but nope. You kept a mental note to tell him off later. 

You took out your phone once again to check if they'd sent any messages or missed calls only to have an empty chat box, other than that of your other friends that is. Added on top of that came the constant pricking feeling on your shoulder blades from the last day you hung out with the boys. The pain would appear randomly and it would be hurtful enough to draw blood, which is weird considering the fact that you kept yourself away from all sharp objects and had a full sleeve covering the area. 

One stone, two birds. Taeyong's motto. 

After having interfered with your phone, your friends, trying to keep you away from them until you'd go through the same as your other skeptic partner, Taeyong made sure that Yuta would be sick enough after returning home to keep him from even getting up from his bed. Temporary paralysis. Your other friends, of course they tried reaching out to you, only for him to cut the service to keep you away from them for a while. They got easily distracted from you ignoring their texts as they were focused on reaching out to Yuta. 

Unknown: Hey Y/n, I'm Yuta's friend. He told me you aren't replying to his texts so asked me to do so. 

Y/n: Who's this? 

Unknown: Oh! I'm Taeyong! A close friend of well, your friend XD. 

Y/n: Nice to meet you, Taeyong. I'm Y/n but it seems like you already know that. 

Unknown: Yeah :). Yuta's on his way here and told me that you'd be joining us? Are you nearby?

Y/n: He left? No, actually, I'm just leaving my place. I guess I'll meet you there? 

Taeyong: Meet ya :)

[23:22PM, 31st October, 2020 continued. ]

Hailing a cab to the address Yuta had sent you with his friends, Taeyong's number saved on your phone in case the later won't pick up, you left your place. Still feeling a little eerie from how Yuta just decided to leave you behind when he could've just offered to go together, which is pure Yuta style. He probably wasn't in the best of moods but he could've at least texted you letting you know of his departure from the apartment building. 

The journey to the given address didn't take that long surprisingly. A little towards the outskirts of the town in a much aloof part but nonetheless, doable. It's not like you'd be alone there any ways. Paying for your fare, you took your purse, brushed your fingers through your hair to tame it a little from the ride, and turned towards the building, jumping slightly at the bright haired guy sitting by the front porch. Adorning the simplest of fit, a black knee slit jeans, with a graphic tee and a black leather jacket with a chain or two. He, in no doubts, was ethereal. His pale skin stood out the most in the street light if you could call it that and his lips seemed a little drained of blood, eyes hollow yet captivating when he looked up from the dirt below him to you who still stood yards away. Smiling, he got up, making his way towards after brushing off the invisible lint from his jeans, "Hey" he offered you his hands for you to shake upon reaching you. "Hey..? Taeyong, right?" 

Wanting so badly to smirk, he only looked down with a silent snicker, looking up immediately to not look suspicious, "Yeah, Y/n..?" you nod in response, shuddering from the coldness of his skin, "Have you been out for too long? You're freezing," you exclaim, looking at him with a guilty expression and taking a mental note to hit Yuta for not arriving earlier. "Oh no, i just reached a minute or two prior to your arrival." you nod in understanding, withdrawing your hands from his hold, "By the way, Yuta called me a few minutes ago, telling me that he wouldn't make it and to just carry on" Taeyong said, looking at you with his eyebrows raised at your confused, innocent expression, his humane form threatening to change into his original form. "What? Why? It's like,-" you look down at your wrist watch, "11:50! And he's bailing out now?", smiling at you in fake sympathy, he replied, "he said he had other things to take care of," "But you said he'd left the place and was on his way here?" you ask, hands on either sides of your hip, "Last minute plan changes" Taeyong shrugs, "Anyways, let's get inside?" 

He pointed towards the front door with both his hands, gesturing you to go forward first. And so you do. You offer him a smile before turning your back towards him and making your way towards the old house, the door seemingly open. Climbing up the stairs with caution, humming at the sound of dried leaves crunching up below your feet with each footstep. Taeyong stood behind where you two had introduced yourselves for a few minutes, a few more minutes. "Taeyong? Are you not coming?" you turn around slightly, looking over your shoulder at lad standing still, "Yeah, I'm coming" he replied soullessly, still standing his group until he saw you open the door ajar and then took his first step forward. Not bothering to go too quick. 

The insides were simple, very very simple yet magnificent. The flooring seemed to be that of wooden finishing that creaked with each step you took, implying that of how old the infrastructure must be. You look around in awe, clutching at the sling bag that you carried along. You go corner to corner, not bothering to look behind to see if the friendly stranger was hot on your trail, instead seemingly being captivated by the olden time-ish wallpapers and paintings and antique pieces that the wall adorned. Taeyong on the other hand was just growing restless, 4 more minutes until he could play his next victim, he was growing frantic. He did follow you inside, instead opting to walk the opposite direction as you, towards where he'd hidden the paper with your crimson blood and name written on it, contemplating whether to just tear it and carry on proving his existence to the female in the room. 3 more minutes, he bit into his lips, "Taeyong? Look, i found something!" He heard you scream.

Puffing out a breath of frustration, Taeyong replied "Coming!" and he walked out of the room, hands in his pocket towards where you stood by the bottom of the stairs, looking at the lighter in your hand that seemed relatively unused. "I found lighter down here" you look at him with a tiny pout evident on your lips, looking back and forth between the candle and the guy, puzzled. "It must be some thugs who came here to smoke or something" He shrugged it off, taking the lighter out of your hand. It must be you over analyzing things but without a single light turned on in the villa with only your flashlight acting as a source of light, but Taeyong looked even more lifeless than before. Eyes dark ebony and dangerous, somehow intimidating, lips adorning a bright shade of red in contrast to how you saw it the first time, and his aura had seemingly darkened. 2 more minutes. You shake your head and walk up the stairs and towards a room which has it's door wide open. Choosing to lay out your things there, you stretch out a few stiff limbs, "So, me and the boys were planning on doing the midnight game, you know. One of those stupid creepy pastas? I can't believe all of them bailed out on me last minute," you speak particularly to no one in the room, assuming that Taeyong was listening to you, whose ears only perked up at the words midnight and stupid. Midnight. 00:00Am. The devil smirked to himself. Midnight, at last. 

"I mean, Yangyang, Jaemin and Haechan came off as no shock to me- they're the other friend's by the way, but Yuta, it's weird for him to at least not let me know." You keep going, scrolling through your phone screen, only for it to load suddenly, No internet access. Sighing, you pull out offline downloads, "Did he tell you anything else? Like if he's feeling unwell or something?" you ask, letting the question float in the air, waiting for a reply. Getting known even after the passing of a few seconds, a minute too maybe, "Taeyong?" you stand up from the bed, well, the bed frame and make your way outside, "Tae?" you look left and right, searching for any moving soul when you feel your phone vibrate in your hands, and the sound of notification resonates through the eerie silence. You look down at the device in your hand, one new message from Yuta san and an immediate black out of the screen. Impossible. 

You remembered full well charging your phone to a hundred percent before leaving your dorm. Hell, you even kept it on airplane mode your whole cab ride. Shrugging it off, you keep your phone beside your bag and then proceed to go out to look for your new friend? acquaintance? You didn't even know how to classify him as yet. "Tae, if you're trying to scare me, I'll give you heads up, it doesn't work on me." you chuckle, walking to the room beside the one you were previously lounging in. "It's past midnight and we both seem too uninterested to try out whatever we were supposed to anyways, how about we just head out?" you start, looking down at your wrist watch which displayed 00:09 on the screen in neon green. "I mean, it was stupid enough that my friends and i even decided to try it out knowing it's some made up shit to scare some seven olds, probably" you continue, feeling as though you're talking to the walls at the lack of response. "Taeyong, come on. I'm growing bored." 

"Tae-" "You know, the way you logicised made it seem like you're smart enough. It was impressive," you hear his voice, a little too hoarse and plain for your liking, he continued before you could muster up a reply, "But seems like you aren't all that smart after all, seeing how you believed a total stranger and are even ready to spend time with him." you look around the place, only hearing his voice but his figure to be nowhere near you, "Taeyong, what are you talking about?" you head out of the room you currently stood in, jogging to catch his voice.

"It was a little angering you know? The way you spoke about me and my followers, it was disrespectful. And I could've taken you then and there, but what to do. You seemed too cute to take your soul without a small game? Is that what you humans call it?" You feel breathing fanning the nape of your neck and a cold air following it right after, making you turn back, "Your friend got his share of play" you whip your head forward, finally seeing the male in front of you, standing by the door frame of a connective hallway, you swore you felt his presence behind you though. His infamous smirk still adorning his features. Figure a little more towering and intimidating. If you thought he couldn't have seemed more lifeless a few minutes ago, then his appearance now only seemed to prove you wrong. "So it's only fair if you got your part of the play too, right?" 

"Taeyong, you're only making your existence weird for me, let's go if you're done." He only tilted his head in amusement, "Oh it's only about to get weirder, darling" You turn back to face a blood red shot eyed male, well, Taeyong, eliciting a gasp from you, you look over your shoulder to see the place where Taeyong stood a blink of eye ago. "How..did-" His chest visibly vibrated from the hearty laugh he let out, "How did I do that?," you step back as his voice dropped even lower, only for you to bump your back into something rigid, something cold, making you let out a yelp as Taeyong seemed to stand still in front of you, "I can do a whole lot of things," you feared turning back, the insides of your stomach hurdling around as whatever was behind you reached their arms up and held you still in a vice grip. "Y/n!" you hear a voice scream from downstairs, "Y/n! Come out! We need to get out of here!" you recognize the voice as that of your friends, Yuta's. 

You squirm hard to loosen the person's grip on your shoulder. Once succeeding, you bolt down the stairs, skipping a few steps, tripping now and then but nevertheless making it down without landing face first as you hear Taeyong's laugh thunder throughout the place. You take a turn to reach the front door, where Yuta stood in all his glory. You immediately run into his embrace, ignoring how his body seemed just as cold as the one you felt from whatever Taeyong was, "Y-yuta, he's sick, let's go, we need to go!" you try pulling Yuta's body a little closer to the exit, only for him to stand his ground, wrapping his hands around you even tighter as he caressed your hair, "Oh, Y/n.." your body goes stiff as your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, that sounded nothing like your best friend, "Yuta..?" 

You try pulling your head away from the nape of his neck to look at him, "No darling, it's 'stupid made up shit''," his body vibrated once again from the laughing against yours, as you feel yourself growing scared each passing second. You try mustering up all your strength to bring it to his sides and push him away when you feel a plush yet cold muscle press against your neck, only for it to go futile. "Still made up for you?" you feel a sharp pang of pain flow through your nerves, result of him biting the skin in a manner far too away from soft, "Taeyon-g- lord--midnight man, whatever you are.. I'm --sorry" you say in a hushed voice, scared that if you voiced out a little louder, he'd pounce at you. You feel him nibble at the soft skin, making you whimper, "Oh no, darling, do not apologize. Your doings really intoxicated me. Kept me entertained for a while." 

"But now, it's angering me to know a feeble creature as you kept poking fun at my people. At me. And I want no more than to turn you into something belonging to me. Who'd worship me the way 'my people' do." He whispered against the area, lifting his head up and leaning down, making sure not to let go of his grip on you, "oh no, pretty girls aren't supposed to cry. Tsk tsk, what is this, Y/n" His eyes bore holes onto the crown of your head. "Look at me." he acted on making you look at him faster than you could, "Could you beg for forgiveness? Give me a piece of yourself?" he inched closer to your face, a small snarl escaping his throat at your scared and trembling figure, "Or you could just be my queen and come below with me, and you'd not have to cut down your lifespan" 

"Are you turned on by all of this, Y/n? Or is it out of fear?" you let out a shaky breath as the tip of his nose touched yours, "Because i can smell you from here and oh," he let out what sounded like an animalistic growl, "Is it delicious.". "Taeyong, please let me go.. I'm sorry. I really am, just please don't hurt me,-" you let out a whine of pain when you feel his other hand knot his fingers in your locks and pull it back with much aggression, immediately planting his lips onto your trembling once, bearing his fang like teeth into plush flesh to draw out blood, earning a loud high pitched scream from your end as you try your best to push him away, futile once again. His hands tighten their grip at the waist while his other hand pulled your head further back, latching onto the firm skin of your neck, treating it with the same aggression, puncturing through the skin with his teeth as your hands go limp beside your body, nevertheless, letting out a whimper from the harsh treatment, which, in all your defense couldn't be help since you still are a human with all emotion any human would feel, that including lust. You feel his cold lips curve into a smirk against where blood flowed out, lapping it up with his tongue as you feel your vision blacken the more as time went by. 

"Oh darling you're no different than me.."

4th November, 19:48Pm, 2020.

"She's awake!!" you blink multiple times to get accustomed to the blaring lights in the room, a comfortable white filling your eyesight. You move your head towards the side to find all your friends sprawled out on each side. A drip connected to your hands making you squint in confusion, "Can you hear us, Y/n?" you feel your shoulders being shaken as jolt, "Hey? Yeah i can hear you, why won't i be able to?" you ask, confusion still laced in your voice, "Because you hadn't responded to us the last time we called you. And because you've been laying dead the past few days" Jaemin spoke up first, earning a smack from his elder brother 

"Why didn't you stop when we screamed your name the other day, Y/n? You literally weren't breathing the day we found you" Yangyang inquired and stated, "And why did you leave us all on seen??" Haechan added, "Most of all, where were you even??" Yuta spoke. You hiss at all the questions being thrown at you as you try sitting up by the inclined hospital bed, "Screamed? Didn't respond? I left you on seen? That's highly impossible and where was i??" you stare blankly at the plain wall in front of you, trying to remember any such episode. The more you strained your head, the more clueless you grew. Your throat starts to grow dry so you turn your neck to check if there are any water bottles nearby, only for a sharp pain to flow through your nerves at a particular spot in your throat. You yelp at the sudden pain, "I'll get the doctor," Haechan rushed outside, when you reached out to touch your neck, feeling it with the tips of your finger, feeling in the swollen skin, the dried up blood when it all hit you. Your eyes grow wide as you start shaking, for it to be first noticed by Yuta, "Yuta, that house! The game, it's all real! I saw hi-him, his name! I swear he's real!" growing concerned at your sudden frenzy behavior, Yuta kneeled down beside your bed, holding your non-injected hand giving it a comforting behavior. 

"Calm down, angel. Tell me point by point," he encouraged you to take in a long breath, as Haechan rushed in along with the doctor whose face was half covered with a doctor's mask, "Doctor, he-he's probably out for me, you need to get me far away from here! Please" you beg with your eyes stinging with all the tears, "No one's going to get you from here, Ms. Y/n, you're safe here" You pause your frantic actions for a while. That voice sounded a little too familiar for your liking, making you think you're over analyzing everything again. The doctor gestured to your friends to leave you up to him to have a doctor to patient talk. All of your friends nodded in understanding, giving you one last reassuring smile before collectively leaving the room. 

The doctor, once after making sure that everyone left, removed his mask to reveal the oh so familiar smirk and the hair protector, rustling the same, familiar bright red hair with the same familiar pale fingers of his. Your eyes widen, mouth falls wide ajar

"Oh wait, there's one last warning, Do not assume that the Midnight Man has left your home for good at the conclusion of the game. I'm for real done now" You laugh at your friend who snatched the phone away from you,

"Pleasure to meet you again, darling"

[ilooklikeaburntchickenugget]

Stalker

A/N: I got another random idea, so I wrote it! Pairing: Gerard Way x F!Guitarist!Reader Word count: 2,499 Warnings: Stalking, attempted kidnapping/assault, swearing

Every band member had their own identity that fans knew. Gerard was the frontman, Frank was crazy, Ray was known for his hair, and Mikey was known for being shy and behind the scenes.

But you had a pre-established identity being the only woman in MCR, which made you not only more identifiable but made fans love you more and more. There were lots of pros to that including the overwhelming amount of support you got from all the fans who were girls.

But that separation from the rest of the band through that identity brought its negatives too. Take for example how often your body was shamed online because you weren’t all that tiny. Or how some associated your personality with being a “closeted mean girl” when anyone who knew you personally would say just the opposite. There was always a label that had to be stamped on your forehead as a woman to remain relevant, and none of the guys had to deal with that, making it harder sometimes to deal with. But you had eventually learned to take everything with a grain of salt and brush it off.

But as soon as the band became a world wide phenomenon, things escalated for everyone, usually in a positive manner. For you it did too, that was until the worst of the worst happened.

The first time anything actually did happen was a stormy night, perfect setting for everything to go wrong. It was around 4 am and you were awoken by a flash of light outside your window. You brushed it off assuming it was just some lightning, closing your eyes again and trying to go back to sleep. But the light flashed a second time, this time remaining to stay through your window. You groaned, getting up from your sleepy state and putting on your slippers so your feet wouldn’t freeze.

You had a gut feeling, a bad one, so you crouched under the bedroom window where the light flashed through only letting your forehead and eyes look over it. Down below on the first floor was a figure you saw. You crouched back down again, your breath quickening. Maybe you were just seeing things, you thought. You looked back up and the figure became more apparent. It seemed to be a tall man judging by the build and short hair, in a long coat with a flashlight, the light that had shined in the window. You looked around briefly, seeing something in their hand that you could’ve sworn was a knife. Your breath stopped as you crouched down again and grabbed your phone, dialing 911 in the case anything worse happened.

You sat on the floor next to your bed for a few more seconds, clutching the device close to your chest. Then, the doorbell rang. Your eyes went wide as you took a deep breath, remembering that you had installed security. Checking the app on your phone, you saw the man in all black, but you couldn’t identify anything on his face, probably due to the ski mask, freaking you out even more. This time you knew it, there was a knife in his hand.

You went back to your phone app, this time actually calling the police. You stayed on the line with the operator in the case anything happened, but by the time the cops arrived the man was gone, leaving no trace behind. Only the security footage you had.

They only asked you a few questions, saying they would open a case since the person was armed. Then they requested you call someone to come pick you up while they investigated around the property and you agreed.

The first person you called was the most obvious. Your boyfriend of four months, Gerard (aka lead singer, obviously). You nervously put the phone up to your ear, he picked up at the second ring despite it being 4:30 in the morning.

“Y/N/N?” He asked through his groggy voice, “What’s wrong?” You took a deep breath.

“I’m, um, this is going to sound fucking crazy, I know.” You sighed, “Basically I need you to come pick me up. I’m at my house but the cops are here and-” “The cops?” He asked, this time obviously completely awake, “What the fuck happened? Are you okay?” “Yes, Gerard, I’m fine, just a little shaken up.” You admitted, “A guy came by the house with a knife and tried to get in. The cops scared him off but they have to look around the property and all.” “I’ll be there in 5.” And he didn’t lie, it literally took him 5 minutes to get to your house despite the fact you knew it was probably a 15 minutes drive. He rushed in, passing the police, as you gave them the clear that he was okay.

He grabbed you in a large hug, squeezing you tight as you hugged him back. “Are you okay?” He asked, looking you up and down as concern and fear was painted on his face.

“Yeah, just a little shaken.” You admitted, as he pulled you into another hug.

“Sorry to interrupt,” One of the police men came over to you two, “Do you have any idea what any motive could’ve been? A crazy ex maybe?” You shook your head.

“No, none of my exes would do that.” You admitted, when a lightbulb went off in your head that seemed to freak you out even more. Gerard seemed to notice.

“What?” He looked down and asked you.

“Both of us are in a pretty big band,” You explained to the officer, “So maybe it could’ve had something to do with that?” “Like a fan, you’re thinking?” He asked and you nodded, “It’s very possible. Most celebrities have had pretty bad encounters when it comes to stalker fans.” You nodded having heard other stories. Gerard’s eyes went wide. “I would suggest you stay out of the house for at least the next week to two, so if anyone does come back it’s empty. And here’s my card with my cell, so if you see anything weird just ring me up. We’ll have an officer patrol around the area 24/7 for the next few weeks so they’ll be there if anything happens.” He handed you the card which you graciously accepted, “May I ask what band you’re in?” “It’s called My Chemical Romance.” You began, “I’m one of the guitarists, and he’s the lead singer.” You looked to Gerard who smiled lightly.

“Oh, I’ve heard of you guys.” He said and you two nodded. “Well we’ll definitely keep an eye out, alright?” He said and you nodded.

“Thank you so much, officer.” You lightly smiled and he did the same back.

“No problem.”

You went back to Gerard’s place as it was now 5:30 am. “Are you tired, still?” He asked you, as you two walked in. You shook your head. “I’m not either, I’ll make us some coffee, okay? You just go sit back and relax. You’ve been through enough shit this morning.” He kissed the top of your head and you lightly laughed, walking over to sit on his couch. Gerard’s house was much bigger than yours, with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Granted you recorded a lot of your music there so the extra space was needed.

Your boyfriend came back a few minutes later with two mugs, putting one down in front of you and sitting besides you on the large couch. “Do you want to talk about it? It may help.” He suggested and you lightly nodded. You went through everything, like you had given to the police earlier. Talking about how you saw the knife, and the bad gut feeling, all of that. At this point you couldn’t tell who was more scared, you or Gerard. “What if it is a crazy fan?” You asked, “How would they have even gotten my address? I thought we all worked so hard to keep all of that super private.” “I don’t know.” He admitted with a sigh, “It could also just be a weird person. Or someone who may have mistaken that house for someone else’s.” You nodded understanding. “Why don’t we take the day off, okay? I can call the guys and let them know not to come over-” You shook your head.

“I think working will help get my mind off of it.” You admitted, “I appreciate your idea, but I need to distract myself. “Alright.” He nodded, “Well if you need a break, just let me know, okay?” You nodded.

You hadn’t heard anything for a week, but you stayed with Gerard for that time. Partially because you wanted to, but also because he insisted you do so for your safety.

That was until one night at 3 am your phone went off. You groaned, getting up and checking it only to see it was your security app. Your eyes went wide and you grabbed your glasses. You checked and there, again, was the person. “Shit.” You muttered, finding the card with the officer from the previous weeks number written on it.

“Honey?” You heard Gerard groan, moving towards you. “What’s wrong?” He was still half asleep.

“He’s there, again.” You sighed, typing the the numbers. Your boyfriend shot up immediately as you were speaking to the officer, and he promised that he had units on their way, though you clarified that you weren’t at the house.

Your emotions were a jumbled mess. Part of you was freaking out because your stalker was back, but you also felt safe because you were not there and with Gerard. Another part of you felt angry that this could happen, while hope seemed to run through your veins thinking about how you would finally figure out why you were being stalked.

The two of you were just sitting in his bed, duvet still covering you in anticipation as you waited for a call back. When you heard the ring you immediately answered. “Hello?”

“Ms. Y/L/N, we caught the suspect.” The officer spoke and you took a deep sigh of relief, “We’re going to update you actively on this, but first we need to interview him. My advice from here on out would be to contact your attorney, if you have one, and get a restraining order immediately. It can be done within the next day so if we have to release him on bond he can’t come near you or your home.” “Okay, thank you.” You sighed again, planning on calling your lawyer first thing when you woke up.

“If you have any other questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to me, alright?” “Yes, thank you so much.” You two hung up and you looked over to Gerard. “They got him.” You said, and he lightly sighed as well in relief. “The officer advised me that I contact our attorneys tomorrow to get an emergency restraining order, for obvious reasons.” “Sounds good.” Gerard admitted, rubbing your back a bit. “Let’s try to go back to sleep, okay? We’ll deal with all this in the morning.” You nodded, falling back under the covers with him, tucked under your arm.

-A brief time skip, as in like 8 hours later or something-

“He what?” You asked your attorney as you and Gerard were suited in her office.

“According to the police report, which I just received this morning, your stalker, James Horrow, thought in his mind that you two were married.” Your mouth was open, your eyes squinted in both confusion and shock as Gerard leaned back in his chair, wiping his hand over his face.

“Jeez,” He sighed, “So he’s crazy?” Your attorney nodded.

“Seems like it.” She sighed, “As much as I hate to say it, this happens pretty often with celebrities. What is most shocking though is he was armed and was planning on kidnapping you.” This time you leaned back in your chair, closing your eyes to let everything soak in.

“So he’s crazy. And violent.” Gerard added.

“We’re putting in an emergency motion today for a restraining order against him. He doesn’t come from any wealthy family and doesn’t seem to be very financially stable so there’s a good chance that if he’s offered bond by the judge he won’t be able to pay it, but you can never be sure.” You nodded in agreement. “However, there should be no reason the judge shouldn’t sign this. I’ve had a few cases in front of her. She’s very fair and good at her job, so I don’t foresee her not granting us the motion. But in the meantime, you two stay safe and probably at Gerard’s house. I’ll give you a call when I have any news.”

“Thank you so much, Patricia.” You smiled and she smiled back.

“Of course.” She shook both yours and Gerard’s hand before you two walked out of her office.

You got into your car, Gerard taking the driver’s seat and you taking the passenger, slumping down into the leather, sighing. “You alright?” Gerard asked turning to you.

“Oh yeah, I’m totally fine with the fact that a psycho dude managed to figure out my private address and showed up to my house with a knife to kidnap me because I’m his imaginary wife.” Gerard sighed, grabbing your hand and squeezing it. “I’m gonna have to get a full fucking security team at the house now because I don’t know how many people now know my address.” You closed your eyes for a few moments letting your internal anger radiate out of your body.

“Or you could just move in with me.” Gerard said next, and you looked at him strangely.

“Don’t make me move in with you out of pity.” You rolled your eyes.

“This isn’t out of pity.” He admitted, “I genuinely want you to move in, have for a while now, actually since like a week after we started dating.” He lightly laughed, “I mean, it’s ultimately up to you. But I know I would feel a hell of a lot better if you were with me so if this happens again at least you’re not alone. And if you feel the need to get some form of additional security besides just the cameras, we can do that too.” He gave your hand another reassuring squeeze.

“You sure you’d be okay with that?” You asked and he nodded.

“Positive.”

“Fine,” You lightly smiled back, “I’ll move in with you.” “Great.” He smiled, beginning to reverse out of the parking spot.

“Now will you redo your damn kitchen?” You asked him. He lightly laughed.

“It isn’t that bad-” “Gerard it’s atrocious!” You sat up defensively, “It’s a monstrosity to anyone who knows how to cook!” “Hey I can cook!” He defended himself.

“You made pancakes one, and they burnt. They were literally black.” He rolled his eyes, “It’s okay, I’ll teach you more. After we completely redo the kitchen.”

[chubbyreaderchan]

Technically No | Jacob Black x witch!Reader | Twilight/Buffy the Vampire Slayer Crossover| 2

The weekend passed by quite quickly. Sunday was spent organizing what (Y/n) did buy on that Saturday. That Saturday was truly life changing. Jacob even called her that Sunday to see if she needed any help getting he house put together, which she took. He spent the entire afternoon chatting with her about cars then he went on to learning all about (Y/n). It was nice to have someone outside of Xander actually care about her interests. 

The Sunday night, she may have spent too long on a three way phone call with Buffy and Willow telling them all about Jacob. Then finally, Monday came. Bright and early (Y/n) woke up putting on her nicest clothes and make up to her preferred taste. She was finishing up breakfast when a knock came from the door. There stood Jacob as well as two just as tall and just as muscular young men. “Hey” Jacob spoke, looking her over almost speechless. She was just so beautiful but one of the young men playfully pushed Jacob out of his slight trance. 

“Oh, sorry. (Y/n)... These are my friends Embry and Quil...” he nodded to them each. They both shook the young witch’s hand. 

“Thank you so much for doing this... If it wasn’t my first day on the job I would have stay--” Jacob shook his head with a bright smile still on his face. “It’s fine.” “I know but young guys like you would probably prefer not hanging out at a stranger’s empty house.” She moved to allow them in. At least they weren’t vampires, she couldn’t help but thinking. “You’re welcome to anything that’s in the kitchen... It’s not much but theres like snacks and drinks...” She began walking towards the door once she took note of the time. Jacob followed her out and nodded. “It’s really not a problem... I swear.” He looked her over, eyes wondered for just a second to her neck. A cross and a pentagram nestled together on a chain. He wondered about the for a moment before looking at her face. “Seriously... Though... I was wondering... if you’d want to go to the movies. I mean as a sort of payment...” He closed the door when he heard his two idiot friends shouting at him. 

“That’s what you wanted in return?” She laughed slightly. “I mean you don’t have to.” Jacob said quickly. “I’d like that...” She said before he could retract the date. Jacob’s smile jumped right back to his lips, then she leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. “Thanks, again.” She trotted off to her little rental and Jacob went back into her house to wait on the delivery truck. 

--

The first day on the new job went great, only one or two hiccups but nothing to damaging. When she pulled into her drive way at 4:45 the three young men were still there now shirtless as they were helping the moving guys bring in the last few boxes into the house. What caused (Y/n) more concern is she recognized one of her boxes that Jacob was carrying. Not only was it heavier than all hell it was filled with one of her cauldrons. She rarely used because it was heavy. He held it as if it were made of paper. It reminded her of Buffy who was the one who ended up packing it in the first place.

She hopped out of the car and walked up to him with a frown on her face. He had to be magical or something not ‘normal’. 

“Isn’t that heavy?” She didn’t know what to say but she was going to have to see if any of her books would tell what he was. Jacob didn’t seem bad, however. His aura was practically made of heavenly light. There was no way he was evil.

 His dark eyes widened when she asked. “I uh... work out a lot.” His arm flexed slightly, her eyes wondered to look at how muscular he really was she felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment. “Fine. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to... but just know you can trust me with secrets.” She walked into the living room now filled with the few boxes and furniture she owned. The two boys were chatting away happily. (Y/n) pulled out her phone as Jacob placed the heavy box down on the floor. 

“I’m going to order something in... What do you guys like? My treat!” She smiled at them. 

“Awesome!” Quill held a small smile. They told her the best pizza place they knew of in Forks that delivered, despite more or less knowing La Push better. “You’re awesome!” Embry agreed once the food was ordered. Not a moment later, (Y/n) phone rang and she wondered to the kitchen for a bit of privacy when she heard Willow’s voice. 

In the other room with the three wolves, they began a conversation about Jacob’s imprint. “She said something weird.” He said in a hushed tone, sitting on the floor with his friends. “She said that she could be trusted with my secret...She caught me carrying something heavy... she’s already suspicious ” “Sam did say that you can tell your imprint.” Quill said relaxing a bit. “I know but I thought I would have more time to like... become her boyfriend first.” He sighed. “But there’s something different about her.” “So tell her sooner.” Embry offered. “Or see what Sam thinks.” Then she walked in again, still on the phone talking to Willow. “I should still have that book” She began looking at all the boxes, looking for a certain one that had three letters. MBK. Magic books for long. It was under another box. “One sec, Will.” 

‘Will?’ Jacob frowned for a second. Was she dating someone back home? No, why would she accept his date offer if that was the case. She placed her phone down on a different box to get the other box. With a key she broke the tape and began pulling out what Jacob could only consider some of the oldest looking books he had ever seen. in fact he had no clue what language any of them were in. He glanced at his pack mates who also looked very confused. She found it and continued the conversation almost forgetting the three practical strangers in her living room. She flipped through the pages. “What kind of demon again?” she said softly, looking through the book again. “Thorganath demon. Right. Sorry.” Then she sighed softly. “Yeah, no that’s one of the pages that was ripped when I bought it used.” Silence. “Oh, yeah. How’s Tara? That good, send her my love Willow. Tell Buffy I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help.” She hung up and looked over at the boys still looking quite bewildered. 

“Why are you talking about demons?” Jacob spoke. He felt a bit of anxiety radiating off of his imprint. She looked wide eyed at them. “It’s... hard to explain.” “You can trust me with your secrets, (Y/n).” Jacob repeating her words from earlier. “I’ll tell you mine first...” He hated the feeling radiating off of her. This caused them both of the young wolves to look up in surprise. He was just telling them how he didn’t know what to say. Perhaps it was an imprint thing. “We can talk in the kitchen. They can grab the pizza if it gets here before we are done talking.” She simply nods, telling them where the money for it was and following Jacob back to the kitchen.

(Y/n) hopped onto the counter and he leaned against the kitchen island, trying to decide how to explain. “In my tribe we have these stories... “ he began going into the quileute legend of shapeshifts and the cold ones. “They aren’t really stories...” “You’re one.” She finished with a nod, not even remotely shaken. “Yeah, I’m a werewolf basically.” Then she started to laugh. “Oh, not technically no. Real werewolves are much more complicated.” That caused Jacob to take a second look at her. “What?” “My friend Oz is a werewolf. Like an actual light of the full moon werewolf.” Jacob actually looked shocked. Jacob sighed. “There’s another thing about us. When we shift... sometimes... we have what are called imprints.” She was smiling. Like these legends weren’t strange... as if they were comforting. “Basically it’s like soul mates... no... it’s deeper than that... Like... your whole world revolves around that person...and... I... you’re my imprint.” Now it was her turn to look shocked. She supposed soul mates or imprints rather weren’t entirely the weirdest thing. Especially from someone who grew up on top of a literal Hellmouth. In fact, it was cute.

“Well, I suppose you are pretty cute” (Y/n) smiled at him teasingly. Jacob’s grin returned to his face. “Well... now it’s your turn.” “Oh, I’m a witch.” She said simply, going into a few stories about Sunnydale, not going to into detail about each occurrence nor explaining the whole Hellmouth thing. “So, wait... are cold ones...” She paused unsure if he’d call her crazy, especially since a treaty with a vampire nest didn’t sound right. “Are they supposed to be vampires?” His eyes widened. “You’ve dealt with them too?” “Uh, yeah my friend is the slayer.” “The what?” “You know... Vampire slayer. She jabs them in the heart with pointy wooden sticks.” “That’s not how you kill a vampire. They are as hard as diamonds, only my pack can-” “That’s not any vampire I’ve ever met... They are pretty soft and burst into dust in sunlight... Or cutting off their head. Honestly, I’ve staked a few myself.” 

‘She is so cute’ Jacob caught himself thinking. “Do you want to meet one of the vampires? They live here in town. In fact Bella dates one of them!” “Are they busy?” “We are in Forks. So probably not.” Jacob laughed a bit. “Invite them over.” she paused. “Wait, can he come into a house without being invited in?” 

Jacob was very confused now. “Uh... I think so.” His thick eyebrows furrowed together as she shrugged. “Technically not vampires. I’ll call them cold ones though.” Her smile was triumphant. What did she win exactly? Their first argument? Maybe. She moved to Jacob’s side again, pressing a soft kiss on his cheek. “Introduce me to them.” “Maybe later. They aren’t exactly friendly with any other wolves... in fact Edward probably still hates me.” He ran his fingers across his neck. Then he smelled pizza. He lead them back into the living room where they began to eat dinner. “Actually, I’d rather you meet Sam and the rest of pack before you meet vampires.” “They aren’t vampires.” 

“So you guys are shapeshifters hm?” 

-- 

The relationship with (Y/n) and Jacob got stronger even within just a week of living in Forks. Jacob would come over after she got off work and help her unpack, slowly learning about how much darker the monsters were. 

It was almost instant when she called scoobies to explain, though she had a feeling she would be in trouble later but how could she keep something so insane from them? The movie date that Saturday turned into going to meet the pack quite quickly, since that seemed to interest (Y/n) more than seeing anything that was playing. Plus Jacob was asked to patrol that night since he had missed the entire week of patrol. He was glad Sam allowed it, though. They currently sat in front of the small house in Jacob’s truck. (Y/n) was ready to go but Jacob stopped her. “Just... don’t stare at Emily. Sam hates that.” “Why would I?” Jacob sighed softly. “You’ll see.” 

“So... when am I going to see your wolf form?” She asked as they began walking towards the door. “Tonight. I’ll let you see... When do I get to see magic?” he half joked. Then she frowned a bit. “When there is something dangerous going on... Magic... is dangerous.” She said as she walked into the house with Jacob holding the door open. “Hey, Jacob!” A woman a bit older said with a bright smile and a large scar along her face. “Is this her?” “The witch?” A young man said with a joking voice. “(Y/n)...” He introduced. “This is Emily. That’s Seth.” He looked to still be in high school, doing homework on the table. “Wheres...?” “They are on the way back.” Almost on queue, five very large men and one young woman walk in talking excitedly about how they were hungry. How the patrol was fun and so on. The oldest looking one walked over to Emily and placed a kiss on her lips. “Is this the witchy girl?” one said jokingly. “Yeah, ‘witches’. Probably just a weird goth chick.” 

“That’s Jared... and Paul. Sam is over there. Then you know Quil and Embry. That’s Leah.” Jacob nodded to the girl, after introducing the pack. “Ignore Paul. He’s got an attitude problem.” “Can’t be any worse than Spike.” 

“Who?” “Oh, vampire. Completely harmless. Has a chip in his head. Can’t hurt people if he wanted” she said casually, with a wave of a hand. “Oh, great. Another vampire lover, Jacob.” Paul huffed out grabbing a muffin that Emily had just placed on the table. “Oh ick no.” She shook her head. “No, he’s just a necessary evil... Unfortunately.” Jacob moved and grabbed a muffin for him self and handed one to his imprint. Paul and Sam seemed to give her both a confused look. “A chip?” Sam asked suddenly. “Oh, it’s nice to meet you.” He corrected the slightly rude behavior. He wanted to make sure he was a good influence on his fairly young pack. 

“Yep. Government issued.” She shrugged. That made them all look at her in confusion. “You have to be making this up.” Seth said, seemingly by mistake. She sighed. “Fine. Can I borrow the pencil?” She sat next to him getting annoyed. Why wouldn’t a pack of literal wolves believe her? A little small time magic shouldn’t do too much to corrupt her, right? The spell was learned with Willow in high school. It was no big deal. 

Her eyes focused on the pencil she took and laid down. Slowly it floated up and began turning slowly in the air. “All about emotional control” She quoted something that Willow once said to her and Buffy forever ago. It was silent as they watched the simple trick, that was until Seth said “Woah, that’s insane.” This unfortunately caused (Y/n) to jump in surprise and the pencil flew into the wall across the way getting stuck. 

“Oh no! I am so sorry, Emily.” She hopped up and rushed to pull the pencil out of the wall. “I can fix that!” Her hand ran over the hole and then it was gone. “Can you do anything useful?” Paul said sarcastically. “I mean when hunting vampires, floating a wooden pointy thing is pretty useful.” “That’s not how you kill a vampire. That’s a book thing.” Paul seemed annoyed. “No, no it’s not. It’s just your cold ones are calling themselves vampires without knowing what a real vampire is.” Sam sat down with Emily both interested in whatever (Y/n) had to say. Everything she spoke of was completely off of what their legends and experiences have showed them. Witches seemed real, that’s entirely possible in Sam’s mind since it was a form of magic that turned the pack into wolves. 

“She’s told me some crazy sounding things.” Jacob sat next to his imprint, in a way that he was able to touch her thigh with his own. His hand move to gently touch her’s under the table. “I’ll introduce you guys to the slayer. If the monsters could chill out by the time fall break happens for her of course. The scoobies should be coming out. Then you can meet some real powerful witches.” Her smile was bright as if this was completely normal.

“Slayer?” Sam asked looking her over. “Oh, right. You guys don’t know about that. Okay, so there’s this thing called the slayer. She is born with the power to kill all kinds of dark things but mainly vampires. A new one is activated every time the last one dies.” She explained more on the legend a bit. They were still very skeptical of (Y/n)’s vampire experiences however. 

“Have you even met the Cullens yet?” Leah asked confused. “No, but I’d be interested in meeting them.” “It’s dangerous.” Sam said calmly as Emily began serving dinner to the large group. “I mean... I went to high school on top of a literal hellmouth. Can’t be that dangerous...” “What’s that?” Seth asked taking a bit of his food. “It’s like... evil shooting out of hell.” 

Then her phone rang. Buffy flashed on the screen. “Sorry, I gotta take this.” 

"Do you still have that rare book on ancient artifacts?” “Used in rituals... yeah?” “Can you mail it?”

“Of course I can. Just send it back in one piece. Don’t let Xander speak latin to it. I can send it Monday after work.” “Thanks... so uh... are you still hanging out with that Jacob guy?” “Yeah... kinda am.. right now.” 

“Oh, sorry. Thanks. I might have to call you again later.” 

-- 

Dinner went well, surprisingly. Perhaps it was an ‘imprinted to a wolf in their pack’ thing but it really felt like she belonged in the group of La Push boys. “Don’t worry, (Y/n) I won’t keep him out long. I’ll send him to take you home in a couple hours.” Sam said with a gentle smile as they walked out to see the boys off. “Yeah, it’s fine. I’d like to get to know Emily.” She smiled at Emily who was watching from the door. The boys wondered to the tree line, Jacob had explained it was easier to transform naked than to go through a million shorts a day. 

Sam smiled to her again before following the others in. Then a large brown wolf walks out from the tree line. His eyes were large and brown. “So that’s what you look like as a wolf, Jacob.” Jacob couldn’t help but think about how smart she was, getting him a bit of teasing from his pack mates. Jacob slowly walked forward and her hand reached out, gently ran her fingers through the long fur. Then she paused. “It’s kind of weird to pet your head isn’t it? I mean imagine if I walked up to you in your human form and just... patted your head.” A noise came from him. A laugh perhaps? She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his muzzle. “Stay safe. Let me know if you need any help.” She waved as he ran off to join his pack. 

This was going to be fun to explain to the Scoobies.

[oureuphoria]

Liars, Humans and Werewolves, Oh My.

Synopsis: Your father (a werewolf) and your mother (a werewolf) were concerned about your friend-making skills so they made deal with Jungkook to befriend you (a human). He knew he shouldn’t have agreed, he knew from the moment he spoke with you that it would blow up in his face but he genuinely believed what you didn’t know couldn’t hurt you. It was a friendship founded on lies but to Jungkook it was the realest thing he knew.  or “I don’t study fictional characters for fake friends, Y/N.”

Genre: fluff, angst, crack

Pairing: werewolf!jungkook X  human!reader

Word count: 7.9K

Warnings: I don’t think there is any but lemme know if I’m wrong.

Note: Hiiiii!! Okay, so this oneshot was long overdue I am so sorry but I hope you enjoy. I’m not American and I’m not a werewolf so if any information is inaccurate I sincerely apologise. I proofread but there's a chance there might be some mistakes because I am a fool. 

 You approached your father as he was loading the car. “Why do we have to go?” You whined while also sluggishly lugging extremely large bags into the car to help him. “It’s a learning experience Y/N. Stop whining.” Your face fell at your his stern exclamation but the second he turned around you stuck your tongue out at him. “I just don’t understand the fundamentals of going to New York for 2-weeks just for a stupid party where you, mom and Miri have loads of fun while Henry and I suffer.” He ignored you as he closed the trunk and told you to get in. You were not making the car ride easy and your dad had to threaten to leave you on the side of the road to get you to stop complaining.  

You were fully aware that werewolves were often stigmatised and misunderstood but you couldn’t help but panic a little when you were stuck in a room full of them. Sure, your fear was foolish since both humans and werewolves had been at peace for centuries but for some unrecognisable reason, all knowledge of the peaceful history left your mind the moment you entered the huge hall. Your dad was a human but turned before your mom gave birth to your eldest sister, Miri. She came out a werewolf, you and your younger brother Henry, however, didn’t. Although your sister was considered a full-blooded werewolf (and thanks to your mother an extremely prestigious werewolf at that), you and Henry were outcasts. It was uncommon for human-turned-werewolves to reproduce humans ‘lacking the wolf gene’ and being dragged to this party with your family just reminded you of the fact that you were in retrospect, a failure. At least you had your 14-year-old failure of a brother by your side. 

While everyone coexisted in tranquillity, it was unorthodox for a human to know about werewolves unless they were a werewolf’s mate or in your rare case, a failed human child of two werewolves. You were sure you could never be any werewolf’s soulmate or anyone's soulmate for that matter, your heart was sworn to Netflix and 50 cats. The unorthodoxy of your situation meant that there was always an impenetrable tension between you and werewolves, one that made you extremely uncomfortable. 

Despite all the weird stares and snarls that were hurled your way, your dad was optimistic. He always thought that being a human was great and that these parties were just simply learning curves that you needed to get past. “Henry, if you eat one more cupcake you’ll turn into one. Slow down!” He mocked you before shoving the other half of the cupcake in his mouth. You rolled your eyes and walked away to find him a napkin before you were kidnapped by your father. “Dad, what-“ “Y/N, say hi to the Jeons.” You didn’t really remember the Jeon family that much. All you knew was that your father and Jeon Songwook used to be super close. You also knew that when Songwook later married his beautiful wife, he had 2 children. Junghyun and Jungkook. Junghyun was the eldest and graduated with your sister, he was standing there clad in an expensive suit next to his girlfriend who’d you’d met at the last extravagant party. Jungkook was standing there also clad in an expensive suit with his eyes trained on your sister. You mustered the best smile you could though you were sick and tired of being the family’s pity show and tell story. 

“Y/N, I’ve heard a lot about you, you’re the same age as Jungkook right?” You nodded subtly, unsure where this conversation was going. “I heard you got a perfect score on your SAT.” You saw Jungkook’s face morph into one of anger in the corner of your eye. “Dad-“ Before Jungkook could finish his father put his hand on your shoulder. “Walk with me, Y/N?” You looked at your father for help but he just shrugged. Your mother mouthing ‘don’t fuck this up’ at you as you walked past her. “Jungkook, he’s very athletically talented but he’s not the most academically inclined. He got into Princeton but purely on sports and I’m concerned that if he doesn’t get his grades up, he won’t have a back-up plan.” You nodded understandingly, he seemed like a genuinely nice man from what you could tell so you listened to him. 

“What are you asking me to do, sir?” He chuckled at your worried eyes. “Just call me, Songwook, Songy if you want, that’s what your dad calls me.” You let out a small laugh, fighting back the urge to yawn. “I know that you’re going to Princeton too and I also know you’re taking a class in photography. Your dad showed me a couple of your photos, they really are beautiful.” Before you could even begin to thank him he continued. “My son is majoring in corporate law, like you, and I just thought it might be easier for him to start off if he had the support of someone as intelligent as you.” “Sir, I’m really not that smart-” He cut you off with a wave of his hand. “Nonsense, every parent in this room wishes they had a child as smart as you.” You laughed a little harder than last time. You wished that was true but you knew it was quite the opposite. Everyone here was just glad they weren’t raising two humans. 

“So, do you want me to tutor him?” He nodded with a smile and you smiled back half-heartedly. You were already on bad terms with the werewolf society and now you were about to get on the bad side of the human one. Jungkook went to your high school but it was big and you never really talked to him. He was popular, naturally, and the attention that he generated was mostly from girls, also naturally. He was seen as untouchable though, he was nice, polite and a true charmer but he never stayed with a girl long enough to call her his. It felt weird to call him a fuck boy because he didn’t fit the image. He wasn’t reckless or cruel and he wasn’t a complete boneheaded idiot with a lack of morals. He was admirable, truly and from what you had known there was not a single person who hated him. You had a theory that he was emotionally unavailable because he was waiting for his mate but you never spent too long on it, you never really cared enough to.

Songwook walked you back to the cluster that was your merged families and once your family was alone you were bombarded with questions from your parents. “What did he say to you?” You gave them a pointed look to which they gave you a playful slap on the arm. “Hurry!” You took a deep breath creating suspense before ruining all their hopes in one sentence. “He just wanted me to tutor his son.” Your dad elbowed you slightly before letting out a long sigh. “We were worried he was going to ask you to marry Jungkook or something.” You started laughing uncontrollably before stopping abruptly. “What’s Miri doing with him, she knows he’s just into one night stands.” Your father shrugged before your mother interfered. “We warned her but your sister is old enough to make her own decisions.” You scoffed before turning to face them with crossed arms. “So, she can have sex with a guy that you know is going to leave after but I can’t buy a Nintendo Switch? She’s only 2 years and 7 months older than me!” Your parents just blinked at your outburst before they floated away to go impress another family.  

You went to find Henry but he was nowhere to be seen and you literally searched everywhere. He was probably hiding in the men’s room on his phone watching Netflix but you couldn’t just go in there. You saw Jungkook leaning against a wall on his phone so you approached him without really thinking about what you were going to say. “Jungkook!” He looked up from his phone and gave you a tired smile. “This might be a little weird but do you think you can go into the men’s bathroom to see if my brother is in there?” He looked at you with widened eyes, he nodded slowly before making his way to the bathroom, you trailing behind him, he turned around and scratched his neck sheepishly. “Uh…what’s his name again? Sorry, I forgot.” You let out a laugh that you were trying to suppress before letting him know that his name was Henry. 

Once Jungkook made it out, your brother next to him, you gave him a huge beaming smile. “Thank you!” He just nodded in return before making his way off to the bar. “Oh shit, you have a crush on Jungkook!” You turned around to look at your brother with a face of confusion. “What?” You gave him a good slap on the back of the head but he was undeterred. “You totally find him cute.” You rolled your eyes before putting your arm around his shoulder. “Everyone finds him cute. Now, I think I found a way to convince mom and dad to let us buy a Nintendo Switch.” 

You had spent hours with Henry, even though he was 14, you were closer to him then you’d ever be to Miri. That wasn’t her fault though, it just turned out that way. “So, are you going to buy the new Resident Evil game?” You already knew where this was going. “Yeah, so that you can play the entire game before me.” He groaned at your stubbornness, refusing to let that one incident go. “How many times must I say I am sorry?” He was swinging your arm back and forth while exclaiming dramatically. Eventually, though, your parents came back and let you know it was time to go back to the hotel. 

You were moving to New Jersey in 3 days and Henry did not like that. “Take me with you, I can fit inside your luggage if you make a little room.” Henry had been attached to your hip ever since this week had started. “I told you, I’ll kidnap you after I leave so it doesn’t seem suspicious.” He laughed, flopping down on the couch next to you. “I’m going to miss you. I don’t know how I’m supposed to survive as the only person of culture in this household” You furrowed your eyebrows at him. “Dad’s okay sometimes.” He gave you an all-knowing look and you sighed. “Okay so you’ll have to be the only person of culture for a bit but I’ll be back before you know it.”  

Jungkook had avoided you the first week there. Whenever you tried to approach him he’d pretend he was busy or blatantly ignore you. You called your dad for help and he just said he’d talk to Songwook about it but it had been 2 days and he still made you feel like a plague-infested rat. You were in the library, reading over your schedule and trying to make sense of it. You were horribly bored but there was nothing better to do so you sat there and played games on your phone.

“You’re a snitch.” The voice scared you so much you threw your phone and lost at the game. “And you made me lose a chance at beating my high score!” You picked up your phone and looked up to be met with an angry Jungkook. “Yikes, who hurt you?” You went back to your phone but he snatched it out of your hand. “I don’t need your help.” You put your arms up to ‘surrender’ though you had no idea why he was so angry. “I didn’t know, your dad-” “My dad doesn’t care about my grades, just my reputation. You’d know all about damaging your parent's reputation though so no wonder he asked you.” You gulped, that was unexpected. “Gee, thanks.” You packed up whatever you had out on the table as quickly as you could and left. “Fuck…Y/N wait I didn’t mean that!” You heard him yell after you but you didn’t care, this was the one place where you thought you could escape it but your image followed you everywhere as long as a werewolf was there. 

You rented an apartment alone, not wanting to deal with the havoc of dormitories or live with your sister and her chaos. You had saved up enough to maintain yourself for a while, doing small jobs at your dad's law firm sure helped but now you needed a real job. You weren’t too stressed about finding a job yet because you had some time and you were a master procrastinator. What really stressed you out was college. If anyone found out about your ‘background��� everyone would think that you bought your way in and that was the last thing you needed, all you had to do was avoid anyone you knew and remain unnoticed. Which would be hard considering your sister and Jungkook were around.

Thinking about Jungkook was starting to make you mad again so you got up and stretched, ready to unpack the few boxes that now contained your entire life. The apartment came furnished and you had already been up there to get the bulkier stuff settled with your family’s help so now you just had to sort through smaller things which you did with a frown. Once you were done, you expected to feel a sense of completion, excitement even, but you felt nothing. If anything you felt scared. 

It was a Wednesday in your second week of college. You desperately hoped it would go better than your first week though you can’t think of a way for it to go any worse. But of course, the world is full of surprises. “Y/N!” You turned the other way when you saw Jungkook jogging towards you. You tried to walk with as much speed as you could muster but he was an athlete, you should’ve known better. “Y/N, I’m sorry, what I said was horrible.” He stopped in front of you while you looked at your feet. “It’s okay, I won’t snitch. I already forgot about it.” You tried to reason but he clearly didn’t believe you. “Why’d you turn around the other way then?” You stayed silent because you had no good excuse. “Let’s meet for lunch, my treat, I owe you.” You shook your head quickly. “I already ate lunch.” He looked at you weirdly before laughing. “Y/N it’s 8:30, I believe we call that breakfast.” Your face morphed into an embarrassed smile as you wished desperately for the ground to swallow you whole.

“So, you’re an alpha?!” Jungkook gestured for you to quieten down as while he looked around cautiously to see if anyone overheard. “No way, you totally don’t seem like an alpha.” He looked at you with an offended face which you just shook off. “Come on, alphas don’t run after people just to apologise, Jungkook.” 

 “Well, they can.” He retorted with just as much spite as you. “Evidently.” You looked him up and down while you said it and he flicked your forehead in response. You tried to take a bite of your burger but parts of it started slipping out. “I don’t know why they say Miri is the better sister, you clearly have so much class.” He said this while you were trying to eat your now deformed burger but you were not enjoying the scrutiny. “You’re so funny.” You replied mockingly which just made him laugh in return. “So, why the sudden change of heart? You used to look at me like I ran over your dog.” He winced at the memory before putting his fork down. “It was embarrassing, I never asked for help before and it was weird for me. Besides, I didn’t actually need help my dad was just paranoid.” You nodded understandingly because you sure did understand, you hated asking for help just as much as the next guy but you weren’t as well-rounded as Jungkook was, you definitely needed help in some areas. 

“If I was a werewolf, I’d be an alpha, right?” Jungkook gave you one look before laughing obnoxiously, you put a hand on your heard feigning offence. “You’d be a beta.” You were now genuinely offended but pushed that back for the moment to provide room for your curiosity. “Why?” When he looked at you with a playful gaze you were prepared for a snarky comment. “Because people who want to be alphas are automatically betas. You don’t choose your role, your role chooses you.” You gave him a playful nudge into the wall as he was walking you home. “Okay Gandalf, when did you get so wise?” He laughed harder than he should’ve and you gave him a questioning look. “Who even is that?” Your eyes widened in shock. “Gandalf, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit?” When he still looked at you with the same blank stare you shook your head disappointingly. “Only a nerd like you would reference something from Lord of the Rings.” You nudged him a little harder this time but he was more prepared. “Y/N, I really am sorry about what I said.” You waved him off.  “Admit I’d make the best alpha and I’ll forgive you.” His eyes met yours in an annoyed glare but they still seemed so beautiful to you. You had to tell yourself to stop staring before it got awkward. Maybe Henry was right, maybe you did have a tiny crush on Jungkook, but in reality, who didn’t?

“You’re late.” You quickly sat down in front of him, 15 minutes after you’re appointed time. “I know, I’m sorry. The lecture ran over schedule.” He shook his head in fake disappointment and you sighed before playing along. “A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.” Jungkook looked at you blankly, blinking far too much in an attempt to make you realise how random your references were. “Gandalf, again.” He muttered ‘nerd’ under his breath and went back to his papers. You hit him with your pen. Despite his father’s word, Jungkook was doing well but you had to admit that he was trying a lot harder than he did in high school.

“Thanks for joining me, I didn’t want to study alone.” You peered over your shoulder to look at the group of girls that were staring at him and giggling. “Could’ve asked someone from your fan club.” When he looked up at you in confusion, you cocked your head to the side that they were on and he sighed heavily. “They do that to every guy, trust me.” You nodded your head with a teasing look which he didn’t find amusing but he didn’t say anything after and you grew worried. “Hey, do you mind covering for me for tomorrow’s 2pm class? I have a wolf thing I have to deal with, just tell the professor that I had a meeting with my coach.” You nodded hesitantly, concerned about what had been stressing him out so much but you didn’t press. It had been 2 weeks since your lunch with him and since then you’d found out a handful of things about Jungkook. He was a competitive swimmer, he had a fear of microwaves, he did not hook-up with your sister and he didn’t like sharing information about himself. 

When Jungkook showed up the day after the 2pm class he had to miss, he looked horrible. He had a cut on his lip that was healing and scattered bruises on his face. With how fast werewolves healed, you assumed this was far better than what it had been last night. “You look like roadkill.” You wanted to ask what had happened and if he was okay, but you knew where that would have gone so you skipped the small talk. “Shit, really?” He seemed panicked about what you said which made you even more concerned, it was obvious you were kidding. “No, you look fine just a little beaten. Are you okay?” He didn’t face you so you grabbed his shoulder to make him though when you did you felt a bandage through his shirt. He winced at the contact and you pulled your hand off like it was a hot stove. “Sorry. Jungkook, what happened?” He turned to you and smiled, pulling you by the forearm to your morning class. “There was already a pack here and you can’t have two alphas so I had to fight him. But I won and I’m fine. Trust me, he looks even worse.” You laughed but it seemed half-hearted, you were glad he shared this much though, it was more than you hoped for. 

“So, recap on the class. Professor lost his shit at Daniel because he kept swinging on the chair and fell. We discussed conflict of interest in workplaces so shit got gory and someone walked in drunk. Welcome to Ivy League, huh?” He chuckled but it seemed fake and you wondered if he was even listening. You didn’t press further, you thought he had done enough sharing for that day. “Anyways, I have my photography class now so I’m going to go.” He nodded absentmindedly and you walked away with a clouded mind and a heavy heart. You worry made you realise that you definitely liked Jungkook in a completely non-platonic way. You were royally screwed. 

You had made a friend in your photography class, his name was Berlin and he approached you for help at first which you didn’t really mind, you needed friends anyway. He asked if you wanted to join him after class to take some pictures around the college to help him with his new DSLR. You agreed with a little hesitation, unsure of how he got into the class with that little knowledge about cameras but you didn’t think much of it, his parents were probably rich. He had a black eye too but he told you it was from his martial arts classes and you believed him because it seemed like a genuine excuse. You had explored almost every surface of the giant campus and surprisingly had a lot of fun, it was refreshing to find someone with the same hobby as you. You called it a day at around 6pm, your class having finished at 4pm. You said goodbye and went home, determined to eat the cereal you had been craving. After saying goodbye, you went home to your eerily quiet apartment, you missed Henry. 

“So, how’s college going?” You were eating with your sister who had finally found time for you in her extremely busy schedule. “It’s fine, I hate Professor Golden though.” She laughed, almost choking on her food so you passed her the cup of water. “Thanks. I totally remember hating Professor Golden too, we all made jokes about his last name.” You laughed a little before returning to your food. A thick tension grew in the air, your talks with her were always silent and awkward. You had very little in common. 

“I can’t believe my baby sister is already a college freshman.” She cooed at you and you couldn’t help but laugh. She was almost 3 years older but sometimes she made it feel like 13. “Any college guys you find cute?” Your brain stopped working for a moment and you were unsure if you should tell her. “Come on, you can tell me.” She tried to pry it out of you while you just nervously smiled, trying to avoid her questions. Eventually, you gave up because it wasn’t like her to give up on gossip. “I think I like Jungkook.” Her face dropped dramatically and it made you panic a little. “Miri, what’s wrong?” She held your hand and looked at you sympathetically. “Y/N, he’s a werewolf.” She said something that wasn’t new to you. You’d repeated this to yourself far too many times to count. “I know. I’m not expecting anything to happen, I didn’t even expect this to happen it just did. Besides, I’m not in love with him, I’ll get over it.” You felt judged under her stare but you knew she meant well, no matter how harshly she came off sometimes. “Well, he rejected my advances so I really don’t think he’d be interested in you. I’m sorry, Y/N.” 

Miri said stupid things often. She lacked the emotional filter behind her words and offended people a lot. You grew thick skin thanks to her but this was where you drew the line. Your entire life you felt lesser than her and she promised you that she’d never do anything to make you feel that way and yet here she was, making you feel like you’ll never amount to her prestige. “Sorry, I need to get back I forgot I had a paper due by 5.” You left a $50 bill on the table and left before she could say anything else to potentially worsen the low blow she just gave you. You felt bad for walking away so abruptly, but you were not in the mood to argue with her, not again.

Unfortunately, your plans of moping on the couch all day were ruined when Jungkook had come over after hearing about the failure of a lunch with your sister, however, you spared him the details. “I bought a bag of junk food, McDonald’s and a whole pack of banana milk.” You smiled at him thankfully from your sad position on the couch which you were sure you were chemically bonded with now. “Did you get popcorn?” He was sorting through the bags before turning to you. “And risk dying via microwave? No thanks.” You laughed before getting up to join him. “Wait till I tell your pack that their alpha is scared of microwaves.” He gasped before clasping his heart dramatically. “You wouldn’t dare.” He started chuckling straight after, an adorable smile on his face.

You watched like 3 movies already and Jungkook was yet to feel sleepy, you, however, were seconds away from passing out. You were both on the couch, legs intermingled under the blanket, your head on his shoulder. It was your first time being this intimate with him and you hated how good it felt. “Jungkook, I’m sleepy.” You looked up at him and he smiled sweetly, forcing you to immediately look away. So, much for ‘getting over it’. “I’ll get going then.” He stood up to stretch, you following him. He grabbed his things off of your coffee table and walked to the door. 

“Jungkook, wait!” He turned around as he watched you come towards the door with the pack of banana milk. He fought back a smile as you dropped it into his arms. “Take it, you like them more than I do now.” He chuckled as he watched your eyes intently. “Thank you.” You smiled back at him before realising he was staring at you. Your smile fell as you stared back. “What? Is there something on my face?” You moved your hand to go over your face and he shook his head through hushed laughter. “Goodnight, Y/N.” He had just opened the door when you called out his name and once he turned, you kissed him. He didn’t pull away, just stood there in shock, you first to pull away actually and a flood of regret came crashing into your head immediately after. “Jungkook, I’m so sorry-” Before you could finish he was out the door and you cursed yourself for your spontaneous impulses. 

Jungkook had ignored what had happened miraculously, even during your apology he seemed unbothered. He probably felt bad for you but you were just glad he wasn’t mad or upset, besides, now you could truly focus on trying to get over him. You spent most of the day working on your study notes, trying to memorise stuff as best you could. By the time you stopped, it was already 8pm and you had skipped both lunch and dinner. You scavenged your fridge to look for something edible and settled on a pudding cup. College Y/N was doing great.

At around 9, you got a knock on your door which you cautiously went to answer, after seeing that it was Jungkook through the eyehole you opened the door to let him in, strangely, he was really angry. “What the fuck is this, Y/N?” He held out his phone of you to show a picture of you smiling, the sender being Berlin. “It’s a picture of me, how do you know Berlin? Are you friends?” Your lighthearted tone made Jungkook realise it wasn’t your fault that Berlin decided to get to you and that there was no way you could have known. “Y/N, Berlin is the alpha of the pack I took over, he’s messing with you to get to me.” You were mostly shocked but you also felt a little upset. You genuinely thought he was your friend. “I don’t want you anywhere near him, he’s dangerous.” You shook your head a little. “Sure he may be a little mad at you but we’re friends, I-” “I mean it, nowhere near him.” You held your hand out for him to pass his phone over so you could double-check that it was Berlin. You compared the number to the one on your phone to realise that it was indeed him. “You have his number already, fuck Y/N.” Your face hardened before you turned to him. “Sorry, I don’t have a ‘wolf’s intuition.’” You added air quotes for effect which he didn’t quite appreciate. 

You noticed his wet hair and his gym bag. “Did you just finish training? Jungkook it’s nearly 10pm.” He shrugged, grabbing his phone back from you and crash landing onto your couch. You couldn’t help but wonder how he could look so beautiful all the time. Sure, you always knew that he was good-looking but it felt like you were looking at a completely different man than high-school-Jungkook. He had endearing eyes, they could look so wide at moments and so closeted in others. His lips were soft, perfectly contrasting his sharp jaw, complementing each other beautifully. He was incredibly alluring in so many ways and it was impossible to escape it, no matter how hard you tried.

Jungkook held onto his shoulder, seeming like he was trying to soothe it from pain. You got up from your seat across from him and moved to stand behind him, taking over his hands and rubbing his shoulder for him. “Fuck, you’re good at this.” You hummed in agreement before laughing jokingly. “I am, right? They should call me Dr Bones.” He leaned his head forward to give you more access, ignoring your joke. You could physically feel how tense his muscles were and it made you worry a lot. Jungkook was the type who could work himself to death, stare at his dead body and still claim that he didn’t work hard enough. “Stop, or I’ll fall asleep. Thank you though.” He got up and grabbed his bag from the floor and made his way to the door. He turned around right before he left. “Y/N. I mean it, stay away from Berlin.” You nodded but you weren’t sure how you were supposed to just start avoiding him without seeming suspicious, besides, he was your only photography friend. 

“Hey, Y/N!” Berlin took the seat next to yours like he had been this past week, you didn’t say anything about it because you thought it would be fine but you did begin to regret it when he started whispering to you. “Why so quiet?” You gulped while playing with your camera bag. “I just didn’t get much sleep.” He nodded though you were sure he didn’t believe you. “Meet me behind this building after class. It’s important.” You probably shouldn’t have agreed and you probably shouldn’t have followed through with it but you did because you were an idiot. “You’ve been quiet. Jungkook told you, didn’t he?” You were playing with the sleeves of your jumper when you nodded, he sighed in return. “He took away my pack, my position, it seemed only right that I take something of his.” You gave him a pointed glare, staring at him without a wave of newfound anger. 

“I’m a person if you haven’t realised. Not a pawn in your stupid scheme for vengeance. Whatever you have with Jungkook is between you and him, don’t drag me into this.” You were about to walk back but he stopped you, blocking your way with his arm. “Y/N, don’t make me hurt you. All I want is for you to tell Jungkook to back down from my pack.” You smiled with feigned innocence. “Why don’t you tell him? I thought alphas were supposed to be brave…or did Jungkook take your balls too?” Berlin pinned you against the wall, his hands around the collar of your jumper. “You don’t wanna fight me, Y/N.” You pushed his arms off of you, straightening out your clothes. “You’re right, I don’t but since you so gracefully shared with me your perspective, I feel like I have to.” He laughed mockingly before leaning down to stare directly at your face. “And how do you plan on beating a werewolf?” You smiled again, so sweetly it made Berlin sick. In all honesty, you were terrified. If he called on your bluff this would turn into a complete shit-show, you had no fighting experience, you were all bark and absolutely no bite. 

“I’m going to fucking kill you.” Before you could decipher where the voice came from Berlin was leaning against the wall against you in pain after the fresh punch to his face from Jungkook. When Jungkook’s eyes locked with yours, he cocked his head to the side. “Go.” You would have protested but his face kind of scared you. You walked away, looking over your shoulder every few steps to make sure no one was dead. 

“What the fuck were you thinking? Y/N has nothing to do with this.”  “But she does, doesn’t she…?” Berlin started and Jungkook eyes narrowed. “She’s going to find out eventually and then she’ll hate you for not telling her.” Jungkook grabbed him by the collar while he was still against the wall. “If she finds out, it won’t be from you.” He let Berlin go roughly and glared at him before walking away. “She’s going to hate you, you know!” Berlin screamed but Jungkook continued walking away, unsure of how Berlin even found out about Jungkook’s secret.

“Stripes or no stripes?” Jungkook was making you choose between his endless collection of ties and you were so bored you started counting the dots on a polka-dotted one. “Y/N!” You snapped back into reality and faced him with a sheepish smile. “Sorry…no stripes, makes you look more mysterious.” He nodded before putting his stripped ties to the side. “Why are you so stressed about this dinner, anyway? It’s just my family and your family in some fancy restaurant talking about the same boring things over and over.” Jungkook desperately wanted to tell you what had changed but he couldn’t, not yet. “No reason, I just want to impress your parents.” You gave him a scrutinising look and he just avoided it. “Since when do you care about impressing anyone?” He sighed before snatching his polka-dot tie out of your hands. “Go get ready, we’re going to be late.” 

“Take the next left…and the destination should be on your right.” You spoke while mocking the navigator which just made Jungkook stare at you weirdly. “I’m bad with directions, I live off of this thing.” You held up your phone to gesture to the navigation app before getting out of his car. “Do I look okay?” He asked nervously and you looked at him, he looked much better than okay. He was clad in slacks and a dress shirt, no tie to your distaste. You remembered arguing with him after he had chosen to not wear a tie after all your efforts. His hair was getting longer but you loved it, especially the way he had styled it that night, not to mention the fact that he had his sleeves rolled up and his top few buttons open. You stopped yourself from staring too long by nodding. “Do I look okay?” Your eyes morphed into offended ones when he winced. You scoffed out loud but he just laughed at your reaction. “I’m kidding, you look great nerd, now move it, we’re already 15 minutes late.” You rolled your eyes, mumbling as you walked in. “Maybe if you didn’t make me spend 40 minutes helping you choose a tie…” He elbowed you slightly, reaching the reception desk and asking about your reservation, once you had taken a seat everyone, including Henry, had their eyes on the two of you. 

“Sorry, we’re late,” Jungkook commented, shaking your parent's hands as he sat down. “Wardrobe malfunction.” You joked as you secretly pointed at him. Everyone laughed a little and you were glad you had relieved some of the tension. You saw your brother the day before and boy did he have a lot to tell you, he seemed so excited about this dinner and you were still yet to know why. Now that you were here it seemed like everyone knew something you didn’t. 

“How’s college going, made any friends?” Jungkook’s mother asked, directing it at you. You choked because of the sudden question and scoffed down half the glass of water. “College is fine, I haven’t really been focused on making friends.” She nodded, Songwook laughing before joining in. “I wish Jungkook was the same. He befriended half the entire campus on the first day!” Everyone laughed while Jungkook shook his head jokingly, your mom suddenly called your name. “Y/N, could you grab me another napkin dear, I already spilled wine on mine. Clumsy me!” She giggled but it seemed fake, you wondered why she didn’t just ask a waiter to do it. You stood up to grab one from the desk nonetheless. 

The moment you left your mother leaned in. “Tell us, Jungkook, does she know?” He shook his head, his father joining in. “I’m glad you suggested we make Jungkook befriend her, otherwise we would have never found out.” “Found out what?” Your mom gasped when you were behind her, napkin in hand. The entire table was silent. “Wait...you forced Jungkook to befriend me? Do you think I’m that intolerable?” Jungkook rubbed his palms over his face, the inevitable was coming. “Y/N, we just know how you struggle with making friends and we thought it would be better to start you off with one,” Miri spoke this time with a tantalising tone. 

“So the whole tutor thing, that was a part of this as well? That’s why you were so mad at me about telling my dad that you were ignoring me? Because you didn’t want to fake being my friend?” You directed the question at Jungkook that time and he tried to apologise but you stopped him. “This isn’t about my social skills, is it? You still pity me for being a human so you gave me a werewolf to make me feel better!” You were speaking in a hushed tone so you wouldn’t warrant any unwanted attention but internally all you wanted to do was scream. “Henry, did you know about this too?” When he didn’t reply you scoffed, throwing your hands up in defeat. “Y/N, darling, we-” Songwook had spoken this time but you were quick to cut him off. “Forget it. I’m leaving.” And with that, you grabbed your bag and left. “Y/N come back, I’m your ride.” Jungkook tried reasoning but you were still walking away, your pride clearly getting in the way of your rationality because walking 30 minutes in heels was not rational. 

You stared at your sore feet in your Iron Man pyjamas as you cried to Spongebob, this wasn’t your proudest moment but you liked to think there were worse ways you could’ve handled the situation. Your family (Henry and your dad) kept blowing up your phone so you turned it off and sat not-so-peacefully on your weirdly comfortable couch. You heard a knock on the door and you didn’t open it, already knowing who was behind it. “Y/N, let me in please, I have your food.” The idea of opening the door to Jungkook seemed painful but you were also painfully hungry so you opened it anyway, snatching your food out of his hand. You tried to close the door but his foot jammed it and he pried it open with ease despite you using all your effort to keep it shut. You needed to start bulking. 

After he got in, you gave up and went back to your couch where you wrapped the blanket back around you and continued watching TV, now with food in your hand. “Y/N, I’m sorry but you have to believe me, I genuinely wanted to be your friend ever since we had that first lunch together, I promise.” You didn’t reply, in fact, your reaction (more so the lack thereof) had him thinking he didn’t even say anything at all. He grabbed the remote from your table and turned off the TV. You gave him a fleeting glare but didn’t say anything else. “Y/N.” You didn’t react once again, eating your pasta with aggression. “Y/N, look at me.” He grabbed both of your shoulders so he could turn you to face him. “I mean it, I’m sorry about how it started but I promise I wanted to be your friend.” You put your foot down, your sadness overpowering your hunger. “Wanted is past tense, should I be worried?” You joked but the tear that slid down your face taunted you straight after. You wiped it quickly but before you knew it more were springing down. He moved his hand to softly wipe your tears away and let out a breath of relief when you didn’t flinch away. 

“I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil. But these are so stop crying, nerd.” You darted your eyes up so quickly the blood rushed to your head. “Gandalf!” He smiled at how excited you were. “I don’t study fictional characters for fake friends, Y/N.” Your excitement fled a little but you smiled at him slightly. “There was a reason we had that dinner tonight.” Your smile fell and your face looked puzzled. “Why?” Jungkook took a deep breath before continuing. “If I tell you, you can’t get mad at me. I kept it from you because we all wanted to tell you tonight.” You nodded a little hesitantly, scared about what he was going to tell you. 

“Y/N, remember that night you kissed me and I walked out?” You nodded, wincing at the memory. “That night, I found out you were my mate.” You inhaled so quickly you started choking. Jungkook pat your back though it seemed useless. Once your cough calmed down, you punched Jungkook on his arm harshly. “You asshole! I spent that entire night sulking because of you.” He laughed but your glare made him stop abruptly. He took both of your hands in his. “I panicked, I wasn’t expecting it to be you.” You thought he was disappointed so your smile turned into an apprehensive one. “Oh…” He grabbed your face by the chin and made you face him. “I wasn’t expecting it but I was so fucking glad it was.” You started feeling bashful under his gaze so you tried to avoid his eyes. “Is that why Berlin was so adamant on dragging me into your issue, did he know too? I let that bitch use my good camera!” Jungkook sighed at the memory of him but he nodded nonetheless. You jumped up from the couch quickly. “Wait, that means I can turn and then people can stop looking at me like I’m an alien!” Jungkook nodded, laughing at your random outburst. “Only if you want to though, you don’t have to decide that yet, we have time.” 

He pulled you back to the couch, this time you landed on his lap. He wrapped his arm around your waist and you leaned your head on his chest. “You’re an ugly crier.” You sat up to frown at him but he just pulled you back to his chest. “I lied, it’s just because I never want to see you cry again.” You pinched his arm and he exclaimed loudly. “What was that for?” You laughed before cuddling into him again. “Insulting me for your selfish desires…wait I have pasta!” You sprung out of his lap to go back to eating your food, turning on the TV in the process and Jungkook wondered how he managed to get paired with someone quite as unique as you. 

“I think you’re half-fish.” You said once you saw Jungkook after the swim meet. “If I was would you still love me?” You stopped walking to ponder before shaking your head. He cocked his eyebrow at you before you nodded in agreement with yourself. “I hate fish so, no. Unless you were like a merman, that would be hot. Wait but what if you turn into an actual fish then how-” He pulled you by the arm to continue walking to his car. “I was kidding, Y/N.” You were still stuck in thought. “Yes, but the premise is interesting.” He pinched your cheek in a surprise attack. “Remind me why I’m dating a nerd?” You shrugged before interlocking your hand with his. “Remind me why I’m dating a fish?” He gave you an unamused look which you instantly matched before laughing at him. 

“Can I drive?” You asked, mustering the most convincing face you can create, already in the passenger seat. “No,” Jungkook replied sternly, hoping you’d let it go because his resolve was quick to disappear with you. “Please, I need to practice.” He frowned before whining childishly.  “Y/N, this is a Mercedes Benz can’t you practice on a Toyota or something?” You rolled your eyes at his dramatic rejection but you came up with a better plan. “I don’t know anyone who drives a- wait, do you think your friend Hoseok would teach me? He drives a Toyota.” Jungkook gave you an annoyed look before begrudgingly exiting the car. You got out excitedly as you rushed to the driver's seat. “You’re evil, you know that?” He asked angrily and you nodded, giving him a kiss on the cheek which forced a smile out of him. 

The second you started the engine he began tutting in disappointment. “What?” You turned to him annoyed but he just moved over you to grab the seatbelt, clasping it in place and giving you a kiss which you had to pull away from before it escalated. “I did that on purpose because I knew you would do it for me.” Jungkook just hummed in fake agreement but you paid it no mind. You always felt obnoxiously happy each time he kissed you and you were almost sure you’d never stop. “Jungkook?” He turned to expectantly before you gave him a beaming smile. “I love you, fish or human.” He turned away from you, annoyed at your random confession. “Just focus on the road, okay?” You nodded dutifully and about 5 minutes into your drive home, he randomly called your name. “What, did I turn 0.3 seconds too late?” You joked but he just stared at you. 

 “I love you too, nerd.”

[ziaxkawaii]

Worth more than some perceive (Victorian!Todoroki X F!Reader) Part 3!

Part 1 Here!         Part 2 Here!

~”You’ve got another one.” Your brother announced as he came into the back room, holding another white rose in his hands along with a card tied to it with the brown string.

~You stopped writing in your planner to first look at your brother and then at the rose. You got up.

~”I’ll go and put it in the vase, thank you.” You took the rose from him and carefully untied the string from the stem and threw it into a box on the table that had numerous pieces of the same type of string from the previous roses. It would be a waste of a perfectly good string if you threw them away.

~You went to put the rose into the vase, but then you realized that you should probably change the water in it as the other roses looked a bit whithered. You picked up the vase and brought it to the back to change the water.

~As you poured the water out, the old question resurfaced and you got curious. This has been going on for awhile, and at this point you’re not sure how you should be feeling about this anymore. Should you feel flattered or should you finally open your eyes and start to worry?

~You weren’t sure since you still don’t feel threatened or that you’re being watched, nor has William.

~”What do you make of this, William?” You questioned.

~”The roses? I’m honestly kind of vary of them, or at least the person leaving them.” He answered

~”I’m starting to doubt that these are not gifts of appreciation.”

~”Yeah, there must be a deeper meaning behind them.”

~You placed the roses in the freshly changed water and walked back out to put it back on the side table. Fixed the roses to look a bit nicer and then nodded in approval, ready to start yet another day.

~”But are you exactly worried?”

~”Not really since nothing else has happened yet, but I’m keeping my guard up. You can never be too careful.” You nodded at his response.

~”You’re right.” You agreed.

~Not long after you finished your sentence, a ding sounded through the air, signaling a customer has stepped into the boutique. You turned and immediately whatever worried thoughts you had previously washed away as you recognized the dual-hair-colored male. Seems like he has memorized the time you open the store, down to the minute.

~”Welcome back Todoroki!” You greeted Shoto.

~”How are you feeling this fine morning?” William joined your greeting. Then noticing he came alone this time. “Oh, roaming around alone today?”

~”I’m quite well, thank you. And yes. My butler has quite a lot of duties today, so I let him attend to them instead of coming here with me.” You both nodded in his direction. William nudged you on your arm.

~”Well, I’ll let you handle this one, I’ve got other work to do.” William called as he walked towards the backroom to finally start completing orders. You called him a quick goodbye and then turned to the other male in the room.

~”Well, how can I help you today? Last time you mentioned something about another commission?” You recalled his words from a week ago.

~”You are correct, so I’ll just get straight to the point.” You listened to what he had to say.

~”I would like for you to make a dress for my partner that will be attending the ball with me.” He said and your eyes widened from the request. Not only because he was ordering a dress without this partner of his, but also from the uncomfortable and unknown feeling growing in your chest.

~”I didn’t know you had a significant other.” You commented while trying to sound normal.

~”I don’t.” He said.

~”You don’t?” You lifted your eyebrow confused.

~”I’ll explain.” He breathed as though he was encouraging himself. “It might not seem like it at first glance, but the underlying purpose of this particular ball is for nobles to try and get their children to talk to other nobles' children, in hopes that the pair would get married.” He explained.

~”As the son of the steam train factory owner and founder, avoiding these balls are not an option. With the facts mentioned above, I’m bound to get many entitled women's attention if I come alone.” You started to understand where he was going with this.

~”To prevent this, I’m going to attend with a partner so I can avoid most of the excess attention.”

~You listened to him with interest but also you felt a bit bad for him, him having to go to such lengths to just be in peace. 

~As a child, you’ve always heard wonderful stories about extravagant balls and how they are for the rich to have fun, but as you got older you started to realize that those seemingly magical balls actually had more purposes to them than to just have fun.

~They were also the perfect place to snag yourself a husband or a wife if one was still unmarried, or a woman’s father would pick a husband for their daughter if he saw someone suitable.

~”I see. So I’m going to take a wild guess and bet that your partner doesn’t have a dress that would match your very attention-grabbing suit?” You’ve been in these situations more often than you could count, so you had a hunch why he came here.

~”It would be better if I and my acquaintance would wear similarly styled clothing.” You nodded along to his words. Agreeing that it would look kind of odd if his partner had a completely differently styled and colored dress than him.

~Of course it wasn’t uncommon for a pair to not match ‘at all’, but the ball Shoto described he was going to, indicated to you that the pairs should at least wear something matching, be it the pattern of the fabric, style of the clothing or accessories.

~”Of course, I’m sure I’ll be able to make a dress for your partner in a couple of weeks. Do you happen to know her favorite style of dress or her size? Then again It would be even better if they could come to the boutique and tell me themselves.” 

~You hated the feeling in your gut, the fact that you felt slight jealousy towards the unknown person who would have the pleasure to spend time with someone like Shoto Todoroki. Not because he was rich and handsome, but because he was genuinely polite and kind. He treated the noble and not-so-well off the same because he saw them all as people.

~You shouldn’t feel this way. It’s none of your business who he’s going to be dancing with. You’re just his tailor, nothing more.

~”Actually, I have not asked them yet.” He said pretty stoically but you could catch a hint of nervousness and embarrassment. You stood there for a moment, going over his words a few times until you found your voice again.

~”...You want me to make a dress for a woman,... who isn’t even aware that they’re going to a ball with you?...” You inquired, speaking every word clearly in case you’ve somehow heard him wrong and he would correct you. 

~Again, it’s not uncommon for people, most commonly men, to buy their partners dresses as a surprise. But those dresses were cheap summer dresses that were only slightly modified to the receiver’s liking, not perfectly fitted and sewn gowns that cost more than someone's whole month's rent!

~”Yes.” He confirmed. “You see, every time I attempt to build up the courage to ask them, I shy away like a small child behind their mother's dress.” He explained a bit bashfully. So that was the case, huh. “And the ball is only a short while away, so if we start the dressmaking process any later, it might be too much work on your end.” You silently appreciated his thoughtfulness.

~It was kind of hard to believe. Shoto, a very stoic man with power and good looks, felt nervous asking a woman to attend a ball with him. Then again, everyone had insecurities about literally anything one could imagine, he was no different you supposed so you had no right to judge.

~”I’m sure they would love to attend the ball with you. If they know you the same way as I do, I’m sure they’ll accept the invitation from someone as kind as you.” You reassured him, pushing down the feeling in your gut and focusing on helping, dare you say, your friend. He deserved it.

~He give you one of his rare smiles that made your heart melt for some unknown reason.

~”Thank you for the advice.” He bowed his head to you slightly. You shook your head.

~”No need to thank me.” You said with a smile. “Anyway, would you like to discuss more about this dress that you’re ordering?”

~”Yes.” He answered simply.

~”Alright, what kind of dress do you think she would like? Any references you can think of she might find appealing?” You asked, bringing out your trusty notebook.

~”I do not know what she would like.” He boldly said and you sweatdropped. This is going to be very hard…

~”Do you know her measurements?” You tried again but he just shook his head.

~”Not an exact number.” He said a little bashfully, it was improper for a gentleman to talk about a lady’s size.

~”Y-You must at least know something, I can’t do a dress with little to no information! I need references here!” You said half-panicky. This was already stressing you out and you have barely even begun. 

~How are you supposed to make a dress not knowing what the receiver wants? What if they don’t like the color or the style? Or what if the gown is too small, too big or the hem is too long? So many things can go so wrong here, it’s not even amusing!

~Just as your soul was about to leave your body, Shoto brought back your attention.

~”May I look at you for a moment?” He asked. You blushed slightly from the bold request.

~”S-Sure, but may I ask why?” You asked in return and he gestured for you to come from behind the counter. You walked to the front and stood in front of him and he started to eye you up and down. You felt slightly nervous under his gaze as he circled around you and compared your height to his, but you kept your unmoving stance. After a moment, he nodded.

~”Yes, your measurements are going to be perfect.” He announced and you took a double-take. Is this man serious?

~”Are you certain!? You want me to use my measurements for the dress?”

~”The measurements will do, you are the same height and size.” You almost wanted to tell him to reconsider so he wouldn’t be making a big mistake, but you figured he wouldn’t be changing his mind, so you relented.

~”If you say so. Then how about the style?” You inquired again, in hopes that he would now have something in mind, but you had a feeling he didn’t.

~”As I said, I know next to nothing about style.” He reminded you calmly and you thought for a second when you came up with a solution.

~”How about I show you different styled dresses and then you can see if one of them catches your eye?”

~”We can do that.” He agreed. 

~You asked if he was fine with coming to the backroom to look and he said he was fine with it. You said quick hi to your brother as you entered the room and brought Shoto to a clothing rack full of finished gowns that you have not yet mailed or given to the customers that ordered them. You skimmed through them and each time you explained to him what style it was and the price, which he didn’t seem to be too concerned about.

~”All of them are good in my opinion, I think I should just leave all the designing to you.” He spoke and you started to sweat again from anxiety. He can’t possibly be dumping this on you. 

~This wasn’t a discussion about his suit. Shoto had little references or wishes when he ordered his clothes, so it was fine for you to design them for him.

~Right now you are discussing about a dress that a woman was going to be wearing to a ball, and women tend to be very selective about what they wear even to the market. So you are basically screwed in this situation.

~”Todoroki, I understand that you are nervous about asking them, but I’m really about to faint from anxiety over this dress over here!”

~”You don’t need to take so much stress over it.” He hopelessly tried to help you.

~”Do you really think that’s going to help me calm down?...” 

~”What I mean is… No matter what kind of dress you sew, I know it’s going to be fantastic.”

~”Todoroki, many women are picky about their clothing. Even if one dress is pretty, they might still prefer a different one.” You explained. He seemed to be in thought for a minute. You turned back to the rack while you let him in his thoughts. ‘How am I going to resolve this?’

~”How about that dress?” You heard him ask. You turned around to look at him and saw him point at a draft of a dress that hung on the wall next to your desk, your eyes widened a smidge. You walked over to the draft and admired it.

~”I have never done this dress before.” You admitted as you traced your eyes over the simple but beautiful dress that you had drawn. “No customer has ordered it before.”

~”How come?” He asked again.

~”Well, they never come to the backroom for instance so they don’t see it.” You stated as you started to run your fingers over the worn parchment. Your dream dress. Your perfect dress to meet a kind prince in a flower garden at night, while the stars twinkle and bare witness to the two people falling in love, as they dance the night away under the moon light.

~”Do you plan on one day making it?” 

~”What for? It’s too expensive for me to make a dress for a chance that it would be one day bought. I never go anywhere where I would need to wear so formal clothing. It would only be a waste of perfectly good fabric.” You said solemnly as you looked at the drawing again. Which Shoto seemed to notice.

~It was pretty quiet for a moment, you went over your options in your mind briefly. Maybe you should just do one of your more popular styles and hope for the best. You were about to suggest your idea to Shoto, but he beat you to it, and boy were you speechless after that.

~”Would you be willing to make this dress if I ordered it?”

~Will this man ever stop surprising you? Probably not, but you’re pretty sure you’ll always react the same way as you do now, Staring him down and looking for any clues in his body language that he’s pulling your leg.

~”You want this design made?”

~”Yes, I think it’s a very beautiful gown and it would be a shame to just leave it as a draft.” He reasoned.

~”You’ll never cease to amaze me…” You breathed out, not sure if you, once again, should start to second guess his decision. “At this point I would be asking you to reconsider, but I have a feeling you wouldn’t be changing your mind.”

~”You would be correct.”

~”But why Todoroki? Why do you have so much trust in me?” You inquired.

~”Because you’re my friend,” He answered with no hesitation. “I would go as far as to say that I trust you more than some of my family members.” He admitted. Your eyebrows shot up in surprise. ‘Alright I was not expecting that.’

~”I literally have no words.” You said dumbfounded.

~”There’s no need for any, I’m simply trusting you because I see you’ve got a good taste, and it would be an insult if a customer didn’t trust their tailor.” He flashed you his million dollar smile, and you almost collapsed to the floor right then and there. Cheese… You swear you’re soon going to have a heart attack from how hard your heart was pounding.

~“R-right, then I’ll make this dress if that’s what you wish, Todoroki.” Damn you and your stuttering.

~”Please, call me Shoto.” You looked at his heterochromic eyes seeing nothing but certainty in them. Your cheeks grew slightly pink.

“Sure, Shoto it is.”

~~~~~~

~You eyed the dress on the mannequin probably for the millionth time as you circled it, brushed off non-existent dust, or rearranged the hem of the dress to look better, even though it was already perfect.

~Saying you were nervous was an understatement of the century. You just couldn’t stop yourself from fidgeting and pacing around the back room. You have been walking around so much that you swore there is a clear path marked on the ground from where you have walked.

~”Just calm down will you? He asked you to make the dress from your drawing and you did just as he had asked.” William followed your pacing form with his eyes, and has been doing so for 10 minutes when the clicking of your short heels on the wooden floor became too distracting.

~”I’m not particularly worried about his opinion and you know it.”

~”I know dear sister, but why should you worry about a one woman’s opinion when you have not even met them?” William leaned on his desk and folded his hands over his chest.

~”They could complain to Shoto of the design or fit and then I would get a mouthful from him.” You imagined horrified as you pulled on your hair.

~”My gods..” He breathed out. “Now that is ridiculous. If his partner does not like the dress then it is not your battle, it’s Shotos and he can’t blame you for it.” He attempted to smack some sense into you. “And I doubt he would be that kind of person.”

~You finally stopped your mindless wandering. Breathing in deeply, and then exhaling. William eyed you. You turned to him.

~”I’m still nervous.” You admitted.

~”I’ll be alright.” He got up to rub your shoulders comfortingly. “Why don’t we calm your nerves with a cup of tea before he arrives-” He was cut off by the ding of the boutique bell. You tensed up.

~”I guess not then.” Your brother hummed. “Good luck!” He gave you a shove towards the doorway and immediately went over to his sewing machine to pick up from where he left off. You sighed and pushed your way to the main area.

~Shoto stood at the entrance, and he smiled as soon as you appeared in the room. You admitted, his smile did ease your nerves a bit, who wouldn’t feel comforted by that gentle smile?

“Welcome back Shoto.” You greeted your friend.

“Hello (Name). It’s relieving to be back, my father has been driving me mad.” He expressed as he hung up his jacket. You laughed lightly at his words.

~”I can imagine. Didn’t you mention he has been pestering you about some matter for some time?” You recalled the last time you spoke, which was a couple of days ago.

~”Yes, however this day has to be the most annoying of them all.” He walked over to the front counter where you stood.

~”How so, did something happen?”

~”You could say that, my father and I got into an argument over the most foolish thing. But I won’t ruin your day by complaining about it.” You felt bad for him that he must put up with his demanding father so much. Anyhow, it was not really your place to snoop into.

~”Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” You inquired.

~”Definite.”

~”Then I will not pry.” You announced, defeated. “The dress is ready, you want to have a look?”

~”I most certainly do.” He answered, with what you could’ve sworn to be excitement.

~”Then I’ll go get it, just a minute.” You disappeared into the backroom to go retrieve the gown. You took a moment to admire it for the last time. It was your dream dress. The dress you dreamed you would own once you grew up. The perfect fairytale dress for a magical ball.

~And now it was going to be someone else's dress for a ball.

~You tore your eyes off it. Not wanting to get too attached to it than you already were. You gathered up the hem of the dress and started pushing the movable mannequin to the main area.

~At least you actually got to make it in the first place.

~You rolled the mannequin over the threshold and over to the mirror. Spread out the skirt once it was in the perfect spot. And brushed out any odd creases. You stepped back and looked at Shoto’s reaction. He was speechless. Eyeing the gown with the most careful and amazed look you’ve ever seen. Even going over every ruffle and gem sewn on it with a delicate touch.

~”What do you think?...” Your question snapped the man from his daze as he turned to you, still a bit blown away.

~”It’s...It’s gorgeous, there’s nothing else I could possibly say.”

~”T-Thank you Shoto, I appreciated it.” Why were your cheeks getting warm, you get acknowledgement from customers all the time.

~”I like it very much, can you pack it for me, please?” He asked.

~”Of course I can.” You playfully answered and he rolled his eyes. You skillfully pulled the dress off the mannequin and carried it to the front counter to fold it neatly and pack into a big brown box.

~”Here’s the exact amount.” He handed you a check, and you took it just as you finished tying a dark-green ribbon around the box.

~”Here you go, feel free to stop by whenever.” You said your usual line as you expected to see him take the box and leave with his usual goodbye, but to your surprise, he doesn’t.

~You questionably tilted your head to the side, wondering what he was up to. Shoto then pushed the big box towards you and simply said:

~”Here, this is for you.”

~You blinked… Then twice… and after the third time you did and he did not move from his spot or do anything, you allowed yourself to once again question this man’s actions. This occurrence is starting to become a routine… It probably already is.

~”What is the meaning of this?” You inquired dumbfounded, thinking this was one big joke. Staring at the just tied up box on the counter like he wanted to return it.

~”It’s for you. For you to have as your very own.” But it was the opposite. He wanted to give it to you. For you to have as your own.

~”Wh- what are you..?” You stopped yourself before you started speaking total gibberish.

~”I understand this may come as a bit straight forward and unexpected, but would you like to accompany me to the ball this weekend?” He inquired while he looked at you with hope and nervousness in his heterochromatic eyes. Despite this, you still had to ask.

~”Are you tricking me?” Shoto flinched a bit when you didn’t answer immediately, then again, why did he think you would? He breathed to calm down his own nervousness.

~”I am not, I assure you, I’m most definitely serious.”

~”But why would you… ask me? What about the partner you’ve been talking about?” You fired question after question. Did his partner turn him down? Are they unable to attend? Are you his last available option?

~”I will gladly explain myself… if you let me.” Shoto said meekly while fiddling with the giant ribbon of the gift box. 

~You allowed him to begin explaining, curious and, should you say, eager to hear what he had to say. Part of you still believing that whatever he was going to say, was going to hurt you one way or another.

~”When I first came into this boutique or rather was forced in here by my father, I thought that this suit tailoring process was going to be just like the previous ones I’ve been to. So bland and emotionless. Most of the tailors I’ve worked with were always driven either by money or leverage, not really caring about what or how they were sewing as long as they made the most profit.” He wasn’t looking at you, but at the smooth green ribbon between his delicate fingers.

~”When I came here, and we started the designing process, I was kind of taken off guard how much you cared about what you were doing. Always asking me if I was alright with what you had planned, in such a gentle way.” He squeezed the ribbon a bit more tightly.

~”I didn’t think too much of it at the time. By the second time I visited, I really started to see the passion in your eyes and hear the fire of enthusiasm in your speech. It showed on the clothes you made, managing to make so much more of the measly fabrics that you use, proving that you don’t need the best of the best to make something brilliant.” He let go of the ribbon, letting it slip from his grasp.

~“This side of you caught my attention like a shooting star on a cloudless night. I became interested in your passion and wanted to observe it more.” You tried your hardest not to blush, but your body betrayed you as your cheeks felt a tad bit warmer.

~“Every visit I would learn more about you and I couldn’t help but be captivated. You are so different from me that so many things you talked to me about were things that I have never even thought about. It’s refreshing to hear such things when you live the life I do.” He admitted.

~”Then… what was going on when you set the order for this gown?” You clearly could see his cheeks turn a shade darker.

~”At the time, I couldn’t build up the courage to ask you. So I made up an explanation that I had not yet asked my partner to the ball and needed the dress made before it was too late. Actually, I wasn’t technically lying.”

~”So… I… Was the partner you were planning on asking, this whole time?” You had a hard time wrapping your head around it.

~”From the moment I asked you to make this dress.” He confirmed. 

~‘Oh how romantic.’ You thought with a slight laugh. These types of occurrences only seemed to happen in fairy tales, it was unbelievable. You noticed the white rose that poked out Shoto’s breast pocket. It was exactly the same looking as the ones you’ve received for weeks now.

~”That rose!” You suddenly exclaimed, startling both yourself and the male opposite of you. Your demeanor then immediately changed back to your meek demeanor when you realized that it could’ve just been a coincidence. a Really, really weird coincidence.

~”You finally noticed.” He commented. “What did you think of the roses that I left you? Were they a bit too much?” He nervously scratched the back of his neck. Why did he feel so nervous this whole time?

~”So it was you who kept leaving these in front of my front door and not some random guy who kept on mistaking the address.” You made quite a bold move and pulled the rose out of its previous sitting place and started to play with the petals of the flower. Gently feeling the velvety surface with the pads of your fingers. What a satisfying feeling.

~”That’s what you thought they were?”

~”Well I didn’t know what else to think. I didn’t really consider that they could’ve been from you though.” You looked at the delicate bloom in your hands. “But I’m glad they were from you, they really made me feel special.”

~”Do you know what will make you feel even more special?” He leaned closer to your face, so close where both of your breaths mixed, but you did not pull away.

~”What?” You inquired like an innocent maiden as you bravely peered into his miss-matched eyes, no-longer with shyness but calm anticipation.

~Boldly, Shoto closed the already small distance between you and gave you the most gentle and affection-filled kiss you’ve ever had in your life. Your knees would have buckled from under you, had you not taken a firm grip on Shoto’s shoulders, and Shoto taking a hold of your waist. Rose falling from your grasp, and onto the floor.

~He deepened the kiss even more and you gladly accepted it, embracing him with warm and welcoming arms. Soon, the need for air forced you to pull apart but you remained in each other’s hold.

~”Well, what do you say? Will you come to the ball with me?” He inquired again. You smiled again.

~”Of course I will.” He smiled and leaned in to give you another, shorter kiss.

~You suppose William will have to manage without you for a while.

[newnitz]

Howl's Moving Castle & the Power Narrative Holds Over Reality

Like most 90s borns, my first anime was Pokémon. I watched the first three seasons diligently, and my tooth fairy gifts were always VHSs of memorable episodes. But like most Millennials and even Gen-X before us, my first real entryway to Japanese culture was Hayao Miyazaki. On the tiny TV screen, behind even for 2002, where my mother would watch her TV shows as she worked out, I watched Spirited Away. Chihiro/Sen's coming-of-age story and the movie's numerous themes deserves their own essay, and one I think better bloggers, vloggers and ordinary people have written before me. But after such a masterpiece, I jumped at the chance to see the next Studio Ghibli movie, Howl's Moving Castle. I rushed to the local library to read the book before it aired in the nearby city's bus station mall's small cinema. 18 years later, too nauseous for schoolwork and mooching off of my dad's Netflix account, I decided to rewatch this film. ***Spoiler alert for both book AND film*** The film itself is a staunch anti-war message, released around the same time as the invasion of Iraq, informed by Miyazaki's own childhood in the final years of Imperial Japan and the horrors inflicted on his home country to set the stage of the Cold War. The exposition includes a bombing of Sophie's hometown with...banners. The citizens of Ingary are terrified of the flying machines descending upon their skies, they expect bombs and destruction and untold death and unspeakable horrors. So when they instead get rained down paper pieces with pictures and words we are never privy to, they treat it with suspicion. They refuse to so much as touch them, since it's of the enemy. And the day after, when Ingary soldiers distribute their own country's propaganda banners, they drink it down without a second thought. Again, we are never privy to what they say. Perhaps it was meaningless. Perhaps, to the common contemporary viewer, the content would be incomprehensible. But for me, it got me thinking: What if this was the "enemy" spreading missing posters of their prince? What if this was a warning for the townspeople to evacuate, as they expect to take point there? And if it was, what the hell did it accomplish, outside of everything BUT what it tried to? The people are too scared. They see it as psychological warfare, whether intentional or not, and therefore the papers become a terrorizing presence, whether they were filled with graphic threats or pleas for cooperation, all it ended up doing is scaring the population into a deeper layer of hatred. I personally disagree with the film's apparent message, but I agree with how much of war is the matter of spinning the truth. No character represents a better allegory for spinning the truth than Sophie Hatter, the main character of the movie. The first thing we notice about her is how intricate and colorful all her creations are, while she sticks to a plain hat with minimal detail. We see her displeasure with her own appearance even when trying it on in front of the mirror. She dresses plainly for she thinks herself plain - wearing a mousy dress in both the source book and the film adaption. The book elaborates on this narrative and its subversion: In Ingary, fairytale tropes are accepted as divine truths. Sophie and her sister Lettie have had their mother die as toddlers, so when their father remarried and produced a third sister(briefly referenced in the film), Martha, Sophie and Lettie were doomed to be wicked, hideous stepsisters. But not only did their stepmother raised them as her own, but both all the Hatters were stated to be beautiful, with Lettie in particular having the entire town's male population vying for her affection in both book and film. In fact, the cunning one is the designated "Cinderella", Martha, who uses her guile to warn her half-sisters. See, another trope specific to Ingary was that the firstborn of three siblings will never find their luck - if they ever dare try, they will encounter disaster after misfortune and end up poor and miserable. According to Martha, her mother wanted to enjoy a life of luxury, so she sent Lettie to work in a bakery where she will surely find a man of her liking to start a life with, and shipped her own daughter off to be a magic apprentice far far away from her. Sophie is the only one she kept close, because she knew she buys into the tropes and will make her fortune for her, preferring the safety of her late father's shop to the dangers of the unlucky life of a firstborn. But in both film and book, this blissful avoidance of any exploration is torn away in a chance encounter Sophie has with the notorious wizard Howl. While her sister(s) are terrified for her safety, Sophie has no fear of the 'heart-eating monster' as "he only eats the hearts of beautiful girls", believing her plainness protected her. But oh, how she was wrong. Or was she? In both book and film, the Witch of the Wastes barges into the hat shop. In the book, she seeks Lettie whom Howl is taken with(like literally every man in town) and enters the shop where an overworked Sophie loses her temper at her, and mistaking the hatter for her sister, she curses the girl to become old. In the film, she's explicitly exacting revenge on Sophie, whom Howl is interested in, and follows her and invades her shop after closing time, cursing her to be ninety years old. This is supposed to devastate Sophie - rob her of her youth, beauty and health, ending her life before she started them. But in both versions, Sophie acclimates to the change rather well, constantly noticing the perks of living as an old lady - she can mumble to herself and be seen as normal, she can be assertive and commanding without being inappropriate and/or bossy, and since she has nothing to lose, she might as well go exploring the world, if only to lift the curse. To revisit this as someone who didn’t expect to have the option of growing old, this is an empowering message on its own - growing old is what you make of it. But despite subverting the Witch's narrative, Sophie remains a helpless victim of her own narrative. Book Sophie is explicitly said to be a powerful sorceress unaware of her own powers, even enchanting her hats into the client's shape with her words alone, while in the film it's only implied. But in both versions she Unconsciously Maintains Her Own Curse: She reverts to the eighteen year old in her sleep, or when something silences her insecurities enough. In the film, she's explicitly shown to de-age as she gains confidence in herself under the role of the household maid, going from the frail ninety-year-old into someone who looks and acts as a woman just past middle age - I don't think this is incidental, as many women are at their most confident at that age, when they no longer feel pressured to worry about trivial matters such as beauty and childrearing, and retreat back into the original cursed form when Howl calls her beautiful - a compliment she can never accept. In the book, Howl eventually comes to the conclusion that she likes being old and gives up trying to guide her out of it. The book takes narrative subversion even further. Remember cunning Martha? Turns out, the Hatters didn't conform to their mother's narrative either - Martha was bored by wizardry while Lettie craved it. The two concocted a plan to glamour as one another, which of course the mentor witch saw right though, and preferred Lettie's genuine interest to Martha ghosting the craft. This stings extra once Fanny is shown to be a caring mother who attacks who he thought cursed her stepdaughter - perhaps she fell for the same sort of thinking Sophie did, and wanted her stepdaughter to have the best life possible for someone doomed to fail, thought extroverted Lettie enjoyed the attention and choice of men and wanted Martha to be a powerful, self-sufficient young woman who led a life more glamorous than she did, as someone who lacked magic? That Fanny was a real parent - a well-intentioned woman who completely misjudged her children and their future? Is it possible Martha’s own narrative has poisoned her relationship with her mother, perhaps beyond repair? As for Sophie, in the book she breaks her own curse by breaking the contract between Calcifer and Howl. But the film gives it more nuance - Calcifer and Howl are clearly in a codependent relationship: In both versions Howl gave Calcifer his heart in exchange for magical powers (as well as saving the fallen star's life, depending on your interpretation of the character), but by the time Sophie employs herself at the Castle, Calcifer feels more like a slave than a powerful demon. Howl himself has his own internal struggles, and many online have made convincing cases for BPD being among them. Calcifer is an essential part of his support system. Each one of them believes that if Calcifer isn't fed properly, or gets dunked with water, they'll both die. And once Sophie does so to stop the wizened, depowered Witch of the Wastes from literally being consumed by her obsessive desire for Howl, she too believes to have killed them both with her rash actions. But they live, because Sophie's part in a time loop led her to think otherwise and refuse to give up on them. Within the film’s universe, this ties into Sophie’s innate magical powers talking reality into her perception. But I know real-life, ordinary people who’s own narratives have changed grim fates.  Now, I don’t live in Ingary. I don’t believe the world around me has literal, reality-warping magic. I’m not a spiritual person. But this is precisely why Howl’s Moving Castle appealed to me - because the characters’ thoughts don’t perfectly dictate reality, but the way they act on their perceptions does. I know a man who is alive because his (now ex-)wife changed the narrative of his deathbed to one of optimism and efficacy. When I stopped trying to have my self-image reflected in the eyes of others, I transformed into a more confident, capable person practically overnight. I’m not delusional - I’m well aware of the Dunning-Krueger effect, of how reality exists whether you live in it or not. I’d like to think I live strictly within the boundaries of what is proven beyond reasonable doubt to be real. 

But your spin on reality dictates your life. It can dictate parts of the lives of your close ones. But the message isn’t one of just changing your own view of a situation around you to become happy, oh no. Lettie and Martha didn’t just choose to be happy in apprenticeships they had no passion for. Sophie didn’t just relocate to some quaint cottage to live the few years that weren’t stolen from her as an old hermit. They acted to transform the existent reality within their means, but they could only do so because they felt empowered enough to question their life’s narratives. 

[tomspancakes]

This Way: Part 5

*not my gif*

Pairing: Tom Holland x Actress! reader

Word Count: 4557

Warnings: Dickhole Tom

Summary: Uncharted filming is postponed and Tom comes back home.

A/N: Please lmk if you’re enjoying this series or have any constructive criticism for my writing! Don’t hesitate to ask to be a part of the taglist (if i can even make it work lol) Enjoy part 5, loves :)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

+++

“What the fuck. She’s actually crazy! We have to do something about this. I mean she’s literally blackmailing Tom into staying with her!” Harry said loudly.

“Shhh, I don’t want the other boys to hear.” You said trying to quiet him down, “I know it’s crazy, but Tom and I said we’d figure out a way for her to stay quiet or something I don’t know. But the only thing we can do right now is let him stay with her.”

“But-”

“No, Harry, if you do anything she’ll expose Tom and I. E-even though we’re broken up I’m not ready for people to go digging into my past life. We’ll figure something out I promise.” He nodded understanding how much you cared about your privacy.

“Hey Harry and y/n. You guys down to-” Haz came into the living room and saw your puffy eyes and bruises forming on your left arm where Allana grabbed you. It was still a mystery that she was able to bruise you, “Oh what the hell happened, are you ok y/n?” He said very concerned and picked up your arm to examine it.

“I’m ok,” You laughed, “Just a little accident when we were coming into the house.” You said trying to not mention Allana.

“Oh it was definitely far from an accident. Allana came looking for Tom and she was-”

“Harrison! We have to go outside! Allana is going psycho on y/n and Harry!” Tuwaine came running down the stairs to show Haz the security footage, “Oh, oops… I thought this was going on now…” You all laughed.

“Anyway, Allana is way crazier than we thought, guys. She was trying to accuse y/n of trying to take Tom, calling her a ‘stupid whore’ and such. Well you can see it in the security footage. We can’t let her near y/n if she comes back.” Harry said and the boys nodded crossing their arms like they were your body guards and your heart melted.

“Aw you guys are gonna make me cry, love you guys,” They smiled at you, “but I can take care of myself. She’s just being a jealous girlfriend.”

“Uh no. more like a fucking psychopath.” Harrison said sassily and the boys agreed.

“Ok whatever she is, it doesn’t matter. You guys also can’t tell Tom what happened. We all know he’d come back in a heartbeat if he finds out.” The boys looked at you with a face like, ‘what the fuck?’. 

“He left to have some time for himself so we’ll give it to him. Plus he’s gonna start filming in a few days so we can’t distract him from his work.” The boys agreed because you made a valid point.

“As soon as he gets here though I’m gonna tell him to break it off with her.” Harrison said sternly and you got a little nervous about that.

-*One week before lockdown*-

It’s been a few days since Tom had left. Tom tried to reach out to you a few times, but you wouldn’t budge.

You were beginning to get nervous hearing about the restrictions of travel to the US and your manager, Stacy, called.

“Hey y/n how’s it going?”

“Well, I’m sad filming was cut short, but I guess I could use a break. I’m trying to find a plane ticket home, but they’re so hard to find since everyone is trying to go back to the states now.” You said nervously.

“Yeah, y/n, here’s the thing. I don’t think you should come back home.”

“What? B-but what about my family?” Your manager sighed.

“Look, you were gonna be gone from home for a few months already, if you stayed it’d be like the same thing. And who knows? You may even start filming in 2 weeks like they said. Plus it’s really not safe to travel at this time. I don’t want you to get sick and I’m sure you don’t want to get anyone in your family sick.” Stacy was making really good points, you sighed and nodded, “I’m sorry, y/n, just try to come to terms with it.” 

“Ok will do, Stacy. I’ll talk to you later.” She gave you an apologetic smile and hung up. You were upset, but at least you wouldn’t be alone right? Quarantining with 4 other boys was going to get real interesting… especially when one of them is your ex.

“Everything alright, Y/n?” Harry sat next to you on the couch. You shook your head and rested it on his shoulder. 

“I can’t go back to my family because of the virus.” He looked at you apologetically and rubbed your back.

“It’s gonna be ok you have me, Harrison, Tuwaine, and Tom will probably be home soon.” You nodded and felt a sense of comfort knowing Tom would be back soon.

- In Berlin, Germany-

Tom got a text from the producers for the entire crew to meet in the hotel lobby. Tom already had an idea of what was about to happen. As soon as everyone got there the director, Ruben Fleischer spoke. 

“Thanks for coming down everyone, I assume you already know what this announcement is about. We’re going to have to postpone all production of Uncharted until it is safe to return. I suggest that you make your way home soon since travelling restrictions are getting worse.” As soon as he finished talking Tom got a text from his assistant, Ben, saying that he already booked Tom a plane ticket last night because he heard the news beforehand somehow. 

Tom was sad that he’d have to leave doing what he loves most, but he was excited to go back home and see you and the boys. He thought of this as a nice little break, then he remembered he had to deal with Allana and he sighed.

He sent a text to a groupchat called, “y/n and divs,” (which consisted of everyone in the house) saying he’d be going back home now.

- Heathrow Airport - 

Tom tiredly tried to hail a cab until a familiar car pulled up in front of him. 

“Hey, Tommy.” Tom's eyes widened. How the hell did she know he was coming back? “Hop in, baby.” He gulped and walked into the passenger seat.

“How’d you know I was coming back?” Tom asked, a little freaked out.

“I had Ben update me since you weren’t responding to any of my texts or calls for three fucking days! Which we really need to have a chat about.” She said getting mad, then she breathed out trying to calm down and cleared her throat, “I’m just worried about you, Tommy.” She smiled at Tom and kept driving.

“Sorry I was really busy with work and they needed me to come to set early.” He lied, hiding the fact that he was trying to get away from her. He texted the, “y/n and divs,” group chat,

Tom: Hey, just landed. Allana picked me up. She's taking me back to her flat, I’ll try to be home before 8

Harrison: Oh shit good luck lol

Tom looked confused at the text. Did Harrison know something?

Tom’s heart sped up when he saw that you texted, but in a private chat. 

Y/n: Make good decisions… Be safe please x

It’s the only thing you’ve said to him in a few days. He knew you’d come around eventually and your concern for his safety made him smile. ‘Wait, why is everyone texting me like embarking on a dangerous adventure?’ He thought.

“Who’re the texts from?” Allana asked. 

“Oh uh nobody.” Tom quickly deleted his messages with you just in case Allana would see.

“Bull shit.” She said sternly and snatched Tom’s phone, “Ugh why does Harrison hate me so much?”

“Allana what the fuck you’re driving! What the hell is going on? You’ve been really cr- uh different since the dinner.” Her mood went from mad to sad in 0.0002 seconds as she pulled over. She sighed and said innocently,

“I-I’m sorry, Tommy. I-I guess I’ve just been so insecure ever since y/n showed up and I don’t want to lose you because you're such a great guy. And it really hurt that you left without telling me because it was our 5 month anniversary.” Tom’s eyes widened because he forgot about that and began to feel bad and sighed.

“Allana, why didn’t you just tell me that? You have no need to worry either, Y/n and I aren’t getting back together.” Tom hurt himself when he said that. He wished he could get back with you, but you just wanted to be friends. Allana perked up right away and leant over the console to give him a long kiss, but Tom cut it short, still not able to trust her. She cleared her throat and began to drive again.

-

“I’m going to use the loo really quick, then we can go pick up some dinner.” Allana said. Tom nodded and decided to check his security cams since he hasn’t in a while. He casually scrolled through the usual footage of the mail men and people coming into/ leaving the house, that is until he saw a video of Allana going to sit on the porch and noticed it was from the day he left. His blood began to boil when he saw Allana yank you back and say all those mean things to you. 

The driver door swung open, “Ok, ready to-”

“Allana what the fucking hell is this?” Tom hissed and showed Allana the footage. Her eyes went wide, 

“First off you left me without any warning. I’m your girlfriend, Tom! Second you didn’t answer any of my texts or calls on our 5 month anniversary. Third it really seems like you weren’t trying to stay away from y/n, don’t even think for a second I didn’t see what Tuwaine posted.” Tom looked at her confused, she groaned and pulled up the picture of you laying across all the boys. “Care to explain? Because I’m very close to exposing your little secret.” She said darkly.

“Allana, jeez that was before you started this insane ‘deal’ of yours. I swear.” 

“Hm, you got lucky this time Tom.” She snarled. Tom was getting fed up,

“That’s it. You called y/n really rude things and would have hurt her. I can’t do this anymore you’re insa-”

“Ohp stop right there, Tommy, if you’re trying to break up with me right now remember that the ball is in my court.” Tom furrowed his brows in anger, “If you do I’ll make the story worse. I’ll go straight to TMZ and along with your past relationship I’ll tell them that you and y/n were fucking behind my back. I’ll make sure to ruin both of your careers.” Tom stayed silent. 

“Oh, Tommy, don’t look so sad.” She said in a baby voice.

“I need to go. I can’t be around you right now.” Tom got out of the car and retrieved his luggage. She yelled behind him,

“Don’t forget about what I can do, Tom. I want you back at my flat tomorrow.” 

-

Tom walked to his friend Connor’s house which was only two blocks away and knocked on the front door.

“Hold on I’m coming!” The door swung open, “Tom? Mate, it’s been so long you ok?” They bro hugged before Connor let him in.

“No actually, I uh came here for some info…” Connor raised his brow, “about Allana.”

“Oh shit, Tom. I told you you should’ve left her as soon as possible.”

“Yeah I know. I-I don’t know why I didn’t listen to anyone. I guess I just wanted to be with someone.” He sighed and his mind went to you as he plopped down on the couch.

Connor patted his back and sat next to him, “It’s ok you’re not the first guy to have troubles with Allana. Well, what’d you want to know?”

“Every single detail of her last relationship.” Tom said sternly.

-

“Thanks for giving me a ride home and for telling me everything, mate. I owe you.” Tom said, giving Connor a bro hug over the console.

“Don’t even worry about it. You already got yourself in quite a pickle.” Tom laughed tiredly and turned to walk to the house. 

“Hey guys I’m home.” Tom said in a very unenthusiastic way. Nobody came to greet him or anything, he heard voices upstairs and decided to check it out.

“Bro, that’s sick! Do it again.” Harrison said amused. 

“Haha alright I will, give me a second. Y/n, are you recording now?” This time it's a familiar American voice that’s coming through the phone. Tom walked into your room to see all the boys huddled behind you at your desk. He knocked on the door frame and everyone turned around. 

“Aye look who’s back. It’s Tom!” Tuwaine cheered. Your heart skipped a beat with excitement.

“Oh, wait a sec not yet.” You said as all the boys went to greet Tom. You sat there afraid that Allana might be watching the instagram live.

“What’s going on here?” Tom asked, coming to look at your phone. He saw you were on an instagram live with Gavin Leatherwood. His heart dropped and his body began to heat up with jealousy. 

“Hey, Tom! Long time no see. I was about to do a double front flip. Did you just get back from filming?” Gavin asked nicely. Tom had a straight face the entire time. You could sense Tom was not happy and you watched him closely afraid he’d do something bad.

“Yep. Filming got cancelled for me.” He said seriously and stood straight up to walk away without letting Gavin respond. ‘Well that went better than expected.’ You thought. The boys looked at him apologetically, but went back behind you to watch Gavin flip.

“Uh, Gavin, why don’t you do that flip and that’ll be the last thing because we gotta go.”

He nodded and did the flip, sticking the landing perfectly. The boys cheered and everyone in the comments went crazy. 

“Nice, mate, you’re so good at that!” Harry said, clapping still. Gavin laughed,

“Thanks it took a lot of time for me to get that down. Alright you all gotta go now?” You nodded, 

“Yeah sorry, it’s around dinner time here now.” You said.

“No worries! It’s breakfast time for me anyway. Text me and send me the video.” You nodded and both said your goodbyes to everyone watching the live.

“Man that was dope. Y/n, you have to get him to hang out with us when this is all over.” Haz pleaded before speaking with Tuwaine. You giggled and nodded in agreement.

“Y/n, I don’t think Tom was very happy about that.” Harry said sticking with you as Haz and Tuwaine walked ahead.

“Yeah no shit, he had a straight face the whole time. Should I talk to him?” Harry shrugged.

“Maybe? I mean it seems like he’s already had a really rough day.” 

“Yeah I just don’t want to make his day worse-” Harry cut you off pointing at Tom sitting at the dinner table. He was drinking a beer and had an empty shot glass next to him,

“Looks like you should talk to him, hear him out or something. I’ll help Haz and Tuwaine cook dinner.” Harry sighed and walked to the other boys.

You nodded and made your way over to Tom rubbing his shoulder before sitting down, “Not even 20 minutes here and you’re already trying to get drunk?” You joked and he scoffed. Oof. “Wanna talk about anything?” You looked at him concerned. 

“Hm yeah I do. I’ve got a lot to talk about actually, but seems like you’d much rather drool over Mr. Leatherwood instead of listen to poor old Tom.” You sighed and gave him a sad look. 

“Tom, Gavin just joined my instagram live because he was bored. We were just entertaining other people.” You didn’t want to say anything more because you were worried Tom would only get more upset. 

“That’s fucking bull shit.” He hissed taking another swig of beer, “He was literally just trying to impress you with his stupid flip, which isn’t even that impressive. You know I could do that too, y/n. He’s not special.” His jealousy was beginning to show. You smiled a bit at him and nodded, 

“I’m sure you can do that and more, but he’s just my friend and he knows that’s all he is to me.”

“Does he really? Or are you just saying that to make me feel better? Who decided to break up first in the relationship?” His voice was raising a bit and Harrison and Tuwaine kept looking your way. 

“Maybe we should take this conversation to the liv-” You said already standing up. But Tom lightly pulled your waist back down to the chair.

“No we’re going to talk about this here and now. Who decided to break up first?” 

“L-like I said, it was mutual.” You said softly

“No that’s bull. I can tell you’re lying.” You shut your eyes stressed and sighed,

“Ok, I was the one that suggested it.” Tom sat back looking satisfied taking a sip of his beer.

“Ya, that’s what I thought. You don’t like staying tied down. Did you also tell him you still wanted to be friends so that you could fuck him when you’re feeling lonely?” You stared at Tom in disbelief.

“What the hell, Tom?” He snickered darkly and shook his head.

“Oh my god, you’re not even fucking denying it. You probably go around telling guys that you’d be their friend instead of straight out rejecting them so you can fuck around with their feelings and have some sex when you feel like it.” Your vision began to get blurry with every word Tom said, but you refused to cry.

“You of all people should know damn well that I’m nothing like that, Tom.” You spat

“Do I really though, y/n?” Tom said, his voice booming. The other boys all turned to you two now. “You couldn’t even tell me the truth about you and Gavin and then I see the shit Allana did to you a few days ago? Well actually none of you fuckers bothered to tell me about it.” He said turning around and pointing at the other boys. “Damn it this is my house as well!” You stared at him with apologetic eyes.

“Hey, Tom. We didn’t tell you what went down because you said needed to leave for space and we gave it to you. Don’t blame y/n for anything.” Harry said standing up for you now. Tom scoffed.

He turned back around and looked at you straight in the eyes, “What, are you getting into my friends’ minds now? I left for you, y/n. I left so that I could fix shit and all for what? Fucking lies. That’s all I get in return,  and you never even communicated back to me. You were probably being petty because I left. Which again was for you damn it!” He was beginning to turn red and getting angrier by the second. Nobody was prepared for what he was about to say next.

“You know what? You’re a manipulative snake and get everyone wrapped around your little fucking finger so that they can do your work for you. You never probably even thought about how I felt about this situation or how I felt when you wanted to hide our relationship.” Tears rushed down your face now, “And you know what? I’ve fallen under your spell, but I can’t do it anymore, I’m done with your shi-” 

“Tom! You fucking dickhead. You don’t even know half the shit y/n has been through after you broke up. You can’t blame her for anything when she reached out to you and you couldn’t even work up the damn courage to simply reply.” Harry walked over to you and pulled you up as he glared at his brother. “Let’s go y/n. I’ll have the boys bring us food later and we can start a movie marathon now.” He comforted you as you walked away from Tom. 

“See, Harry? You’re falling for her shit too!” Tom said and Harry flipped him off. That made your heart break even more.

“Fuck!” Tom yelled and slammed his hands on the table. Haz and Tuwaine walked over to him and sat him down. All the words Tom said to you replayed in his mind and he immediately regretted saying them. 

“I fucked up didn’t I?” He asked his friends with his head in his hands.

“Majorly.” Tuwaine said.

“That was really harsh, mate.” Harrison said, “Why didn’t you tell us what was going on? You never even told us how you felt after you guys broke up. You kept saying you were fine when we tried to reach out.”

Tom sighed, “That’s because I’ve never felt that much pain before. I didn’t even know it, but I’ve been numb the whole time she was gone. I-I think I stayed with Allana because she distracted me from my heartache, and look how that’s going for me now.” He looked up at his two friends with tears in his eyes.

“W-well mate I mean anyone who was born yesterday could even see that Allana was just there to keep you busy…” Harrison said and Tuwaine slapped his neck while Tom groaned.

“God, Harrison, you’re shit at this. Tom, don’t pay attention to him. The only way you can fix this is by confronting the pain, not ignoring it. No matter how painful the feelings and memories are you need to bring them out and come to terms with it.” Harrison nodded.

“Yeah, you’re not the only one who’s felt pain before. You know I’ve been numb after a bad breakup before, and you were there to help me heal. It’s gonna be difficult to get over it trust me on that, but you have us here and your family to help you. Now if you don’t mind, why don’t you tell us what you’ve felt the past 6 months so we can help now.” Tom cried more and hugged Harrison and Tuwaine. 

“I feel very vulnerable right now, but thanks, you guys are the best.” They smiled and sat across from Tom to listen to his troubles.

“It’s ok to feel vulnerable sometimes.” Tuwaine said.

-

“Wow, I feel like shit, but also a little free.” Tom said sniffling, his eyes were beyond puffy, and they were hurting a bit. Both Haz and Tuwaine cried a bit as well.

“Yeah that was pretty heavy, but I know you’ll get through it, mate. You’re strong.” Tuwaine said with a smile and Harrison agreed,

“I think you should talk to y/n about this though. She needs to know what you’ve been feeling. Oh and of course apologize for what you said to her.” said Harrison. 

Tom nodded and asked, “Do you think y/n will ever forgive me?” 

“From what I know I think she’ll come around eventually, but you know her the best, mate.” Tom agreed and hoped to a high power that you’d forgive him even if it takes weeks. Tom was determined to win your trust and friendship back.

“Here take this food up to her and Harry as well.” Haz said, handing Tom two plates.

-

Tom lightly kicked your door because his hands were full. Harry swung the door open and clenched his jaw a bit when he saw Tom, but his expression softened when he saw how puffy and red Tom’s eyes were. 

“Well you look like shit.” Harry joked, making Tom smile a bit.

“I feel like it too.” Tom said softly. 

“Is that for us?” Harry asked looking at the two plates in his hands.

“Y-yeah,” Tom handed Harry the plates, “I wanted to apologize to you for being a dickhead, I get now why you guys didn’t tell me what happened.”

“We’re a bit at fault too, we should’ve thought about how you’d feel.” Tom nodded in agreement, “But you shouldn’t be apologizing to just me. You really hurt y/n’s feelings.” 

“Yeah I know. I need to talk to her now.” Tom said sternly. Harry peaked back into your room and said,

“Sorry she doesn’t want to talk right now.” 

“Y/n? Please let me explain everything. I-I didn’t mean what I said to you down there.” Your heart began to beat faster. The door was opened wider and you saw Tom’s tired and sad face, your heart ached, “Please, y/n, I-I need you.” You wanted to give in, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to and you shook your head.

“Tom, I’m sorry. I’m not ready to talk yet. P-please leave.” You said as tears rolled down your cheeks again, his heart dropped.

“W-well then, I’ll wait out here until you’re ready to talk.” You watched as he began to cry again and sit against the wall across from your door. Harry gave his brother an apologetic look before coming back into your room and shutting the door. He set the plates on your desk and gave you a long hug. You sobbed even more.

“H-Harry, I’m hurting.” 

“Shhh, I know. I can tell Tom is hurting right now too.” He rubbed your back.

“I-I think I should leave.” You said and Harry detached from you. 

“What? No you can’t do that, y/n. It’s not safe to leave the country a-and Stacy said you can’t remember?”

“No, I mean leave this house. I know it’s gonna be hard to find a place, but I’ve only caused problems and I don’t want to cause anymore conflict.” You looked at Harry sadly.

“I’m not gonna force you to stay, but running from your problems doesn’t solve anything. Remember when you told Tom that?” You nodded your head sadly. He was right, but you felt like a mess and you didn’t want the boys to have to clean you up.

- Hour and a half later -

“Love, I’m going to go to bed now. I can stay and sleep on the floor if you want.” Harry said.

“No no. It’s ok I’m feeling a lot better now. Thanks for making me feel better with Harry Potter.” You smiled at him, your eyes hurt a bit.

“No problem, love. Don’t hesitate to come to me if you need anything later tonight.” You nodded and he kissed your forehead walking away with the two empty plates. When he opened the door your heart melted seeing a sleeping Tom with an empty plate next to him. 

Harry looked back at you and chuckled, “He really did wait. You want to talk to him?” You thought for a bit before sighing and nodding your head. Harry nudged Tom with his foot and he stirred awake. Tom looked surprised at you before getting up. He thanked Harry for taking his plate and walked into your room. 

“Y/n, I’m so sorry-”

“Tom, before you say more, I’m going to move out.” Tom’s heart broke. He couldn’t let you leave again, not after everything he told Haz and Tuwaine.

+++

Tag list <3 :  @averyfosterthoughts @thollandx @mrsjeffwittek @panicattheeverywherekid @racewife2004 @greatpizzascissorstaco @witchything @wheelertozier @runway-to-my-aid @rafficorn @jessirosebud @peterspideyy  @superstarchick @jackiehollanderr @astridcommings @mineymak712 @hollands-osterfield @inhumanwithpowers @aduky​ @thevelvetseries​ @twelfthnightorwhatyouwill1998​

[carewyncromwell]

The POTC AU is continuing, and with it, the reveal of the Brethren Court at Shipwreck Cove! Above we have six out of our seven Pirate Lords -- you’ll be meeting all of them in this section one by one, but to list them off, we have Merula Snyde; Arjun Singh (pictured with Aishwarya Mehra) @hogwarts9; Ellie Hopper @that-ravenpuff-witch; Jacob “Black Jack” Cromwell Roberts; Orion Amari; and Jae Kim.

Merula’s outfit is modeled slightly off of Angelica Teech’s from the fourth Pirates film, though with an oversized 18th century-style men’s undershirt rather than the “Renaissance Fair”-style shirt we get in the movie, while Jae’s most closely resembles Elizabeth Swann’s Pirate King ensemble from the third movie. Ellie’s is most closely modeled on Carina Smyth’s from the fifth Pirates film, though I did make some more period-worthy adjustments like the sleeve length and the light-weight scarf underneath the neckline, which were often worn by women of the time to obscure any deep cleavage and/or for warmth. Arjun and Jae, like the rest of the male pirates, I also gave facial hair because it was considered bad luck to shave while on board a ship, and so most pirates would invariably have beards of some variety, since they would be at sea much more than on land. In the 18th century in particular, beards were kind of “out of fashion” for men on dry land -- were you to have one, you were generally presumed to be eccentric, wild, uncouth, or just flat-out insane. (Which honestly kind of fits the traditional image of a pirate. XD)

The song “Hoist the Colours,” in the original Pirates films, actually refers to Davy Jones and the Brethren Court “binding Calypso in her bones” -- but since in this version of events, Finn McGarry/Davy Jones @theguythatdraws had no part in the Court binding Calypso (because seriously, OG!Jones?? Dick move), the “King” in the song is the original Pirate King, not Jones. It’s actually a rare case where one can take a lyric more literally than metaphorically. XD

A kumiho is a nine-tailed fox spirit from Korean mythology, rather like the Japanese kitsune. One of my personal headcanons for Jae Kim is that his Patronus is a fox. *grins at @kyril-hphm* 83

Previous part is here; whole tag is here; and also featured in this section are Jules Farrier-Weasley @cursebreakerfarrier (happy belated birthday, mon couer!) and Samantha O’Connell @samshogwarts!

x~x~x~x

Shipwreck Cove was a settlement made out of hundreds of wrecked ships, all stacked on top of each other inside of a dead volcano. It was an imposing fortress, lit by thousands of lanterns in the night. Even its location at the end of the treacherous Devil’s Throat gave it a sense of impregnability -- it needed no tall walls to keep its enemies out.

As soon as Charlie arrived on the island, his new First Mate Barnaby Lee cheerfully showed him and the rest of the Phoenix’s crew around before he guided them to the Hall of the Codex, the room where members of the Brethren Court gathered, whenever they convened. Barnaby advised Charlie to make sure he stuck his sword in the globe before approaching the table -- it not only signaled his status as Pirate Lord to the other gathered Lords, but it also was a sign of respect to the others, indicating that he would not incite violence at the meeting.

“You can bring other weapons to the table, though, so you could still start a fight if you really wanted to,” Barnaby added rather brightly.

“Hopefully it won’t come to that,” laughed Charlie.

“CHARLIE!”

The new captain of the Phoenix looked up, and his face lit up at the sight of a familiar freckled face racing towards him.

“Bill!”

The two Weasley brothers latched onto each other, squeezing each other in a giant hug.

“Thank God, Charlie!” Bill mumbled as he clutched at the back of his brother’s coat.

Jules ran over too so she could also bring an arm around Charlie, resting a hand on the back of his head as she and Bill both hugged him tight.

“We were so worried about you,” said Jules, her voice a bit more level than Bill’s but no less relieved.

She glanced curiously at the new hat and coat his new crew had lent him.

“...Is there a story behind the new clothes?”

Charlie grinned a bit sheepishly. “Uh...aye! Actually...”

“Can we send Weasley and her crew out so we can call this meeting to order already?” came a rather impatient female voice from the table.

“Captain Farrier-Weasley and the crew of the Revolution are my guests,” said the level, patient voice of Orion.

“This meeting is for Pirate Lords, Amari,” said the impatient voice irritably. “You can’t just invite non-Lords to it -- ”

"Jules’s father is the Governor of Port Royal,” said the logical voice of McNully. “Since Port Royal’s the current base of operations for Cutler Beckett and the Navy, there’s a 65% chance she’ll have some good insight about how to approach this whole thing.”

“And considering we’ll likely be missing a member of our Court, I thought it might be helpful to have another captain present who could fill in for our seventh Lord,” Orion added calmly.

"You can’t decide that all on your own, Amari!”

“He’s not trying to!” snapped Skye’s voice. “At least Orion’s trying to bring something to the table besides tantrums -- !”

“Skye, please,” Orion soothed quietly. “Samantha, is it against the Code for Pirate Lords to invite other captains to meetings?”

Charlie’s ears perked up. Samantha O’Connell was there too?

Jules beckoned Bill and Charlie with a jerk of her head to follow her into the Hall of the Codex properly.

There was a large, stained, circular table set up in the middle of the room, around which two women and two men --  presumably four out of the seven Pirate Lords -- were already seated with Orion. One of the Lords -- a young man with tanned skin, bright blue eyes, and a black ponytail -- had a dark-haired woman who closely resembled him standing behind his chair with her arms resting on top of the back. Charlie guessed they must be related.

“...The Code does state meetings of the Brethren Court are to be attended by the Pirate Lords and their crews,” said Samantha. She was sitting with her legs slouched over the right arm of a high-backed chair in the corner of the room, a gigantic, dusty, leather-bound book open in her lap. “But it doesn’t say that it can only be attended by those people...so any dispute to the rule could be settled by popular vote. If any other Lord wished to co-sponsor your guests, Orion, they could stay.”

Samantha then flashed a beady look at the brown-haired female pirate -- likely the one who’d been arguing with Orion -- across the table.

“What is stated, though, is that all active Pirate Lords must be present before a meeting starts.”

The blond female captain sitting closest to the door nodded in agreement. “And we’re still missing one Pirate Lord.”

“Technically we’re missing two Lords,” the tanned young man pointed out in a rather charming, amused voice.

“I doubt the Lord of the Pacific Ocean will show up, Arjun,” said the woman leaning against the back of his chair. “I mean, there hasn’t been one since the first Brethren Court...”

“You’ll have one for this meeting.”

Everyone turned around in surprise as Charlie strode forward toward the globe, stabbing his dragon-hilted blade into it just as Barnaby instructed.

“Charlie?” said Bill, perfectly stunned.

Charlie walked up to the table, the crew of the Phoenix following along behind, and stopped in front of the empty chair beside Orion’s. He shot Samantha a smile and a little wave, before he glanced around at the other Lords more more seriously.

“I’ll second Captain Amari’s sponsorship of Captain Farrier-Weasley and her crew,” he said firmly. He tapped his hat to indicate the S-and-anchor-trimmed “Piece of Eight” button he’d sewn onto it, before removing it and setting it down on the table as he took a seat. “The crew of the Revolution is welcome to attend this meeting.”

He shot a cheeky grin over his shoulder at his brother and sister-in-law. Bill’s mouth had dropped open in shock and disbelief. Jules looked rather stunned too, but she recovered more quickly and soon smiled broadly herself, coming up to stand between Charlie and Orion the way the woman with Arjun stood behind him.

Orion gave Charlie a muted, but still very pleased smile.

“Captain Charlie Weasley...allow me to introduce Captain Merula Snyde of the Blackbird, Pirate Lord of the Adriatic Sea -- ”

He indicated the impatient pink-eyed brunette, who was now slouching in her seat and crossing her arms irritably.

“ -- Captain Ellie Hopper of the Treasure, Pirate Lord of the Mediterranean Sea -- ”

The blonde pirate wearing the thigh-length teal dress and brown tricorn hat nodded politely to Charlie and smiled. “A pleasure to meet you.”

“ -- Captain Arjun Singh of the Naga, Pirate Lord of the Indian Ocean, and his cousin and co-captain, Aishwarya Mehra -- ”

The man called Arjun and the woman behind him both smiled and inclined their heads respectfully to Charlie.

“ -- Captain Jae Kim of the Kumiho, Pirate Lord of the South China Sea -- ”

A pirate with a long black braid dressed in a beautifully patterned gold silk tunic, who was slouching casually in his seat, raised his hand in an off-hand wave. “Hey.”

“ -- and last but certainly not least, Samantha O’Connell, Keeper of the Code.”

“We’ve met,” said Charlie with a cheeky grin.

Samantha’s lips were tugged up into a broad smile too as she closed the large book in her lap and got to her feet.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “And of course you already know Orion -- Pirate Lord of the Caribbean Sea.”

“So the last Lord is for the Atlantic Ocean?” said Jules after a moment, once she’d mentally listed off all the seas she’d heard.

“Aye -- that I am.”

Everyone looked up as a man with a long mane of dark curls and hollowed-out, almond-shaped blue eyes strode up to the round table.

“Black Jack!” said Barnaby in relief.

The rest of the Phoenix chattered happily at the sight of the Tower Raven’s captain. Charlie was relieved too, seeing that Carewyn’s brother was all right after all. Unlike the rest of the captains present, Jacob only had Ashe accompanying him instead of a full crew, and both men were also missing their hats and dressed in sopping wet clothes.

“Apologies for my tardiness,” muttered Jacob as he sidled into the seat next to Merula’s. “Ashe and I had to swim most of the way here, as that twat Rakepick decided to blow up my ship -- ”

“Swim?” repeated Merula, sounding both perfectly scandalized and disbelieving. “How could you have swam all the way here from...wherever the Hell you were?”

“Very strong lungs and muscles,” Ashe said in such a cool voice that it put an end to the train of conversation. He stood over Jacob much the way Aishwarya stood over Arjun, draping his arms around the back of the chair so as to hug Jacob from behind, and shot beady looks at the remaining Pirate Lords. “Seems they’re all in attendance, Jack.”

“Aye,” said Jacob. “Shall we begin, then?”

“Aye,” agreed Samantha. “Now, as per the Code, we can call this meeting of the Fourth Brethren Court to order.”

“Finally,” growled Merula.

She immediately shot to her feet and addressed the others.

“All right -- for those of you who aren’t aware...the Flying Dutchman, cursed ship of the damned, has been impressed into service by the British Navy. Then, under that arse Cutler Beckett’s orders, it attacked Tortuga.”

Jacob looked stricken. “Tortuga?”

Merula nodded. “Two hundred people have now been hanged in Port Royal, all for supposedly aiding and abetting pirates -- men, women, and children.”

Ellie looked back at her crewmates, visibly disturbed by the news. Arjun and Aishwarya exchanged a grim look.

“Both of the Captains Weasley and I were on Tortuga at the time of the attack,” said Orion, indicating Charlie, Jules, and himself. “I’m afraid the Flying Dutchman has burned the settlement to the ground. It’s no longer safe to return to.”

“It’s worse than that,” Charlie said lowly. He glanced from Jacob to Orion. “...Commodore Carey Weasley...warned me that Beckett is on his way here, to Shipwreck Cove.”

Orion’s dark eyes widened. Jacob stiffened sharply.

“You saw Carey?” said Bill, his voice strained with desperation.

Charlie glanced at his brother uneasily. “Yeah. ...He’s aboard the Flying Dutchman.”

The pronouncement made Jacob lunge to his feet so violently he knocked his chair over with a clatter.

“What?!”

His face was as white as a sheet as the rest of the Pirate Lords and their crews muttered amongst themselves. Ashe squeezed his lover’s shoulders that bit more tightly, his own brown eyes narrowing in concern. Bill had also blanched, his freckles sticking out sharply on his face. Orion’s gaze dropped onto his hands as he clasped them together on the table in front of him.

“Sh -- he can’t be on that ship!” Jacob shouted. “I explicitly told him to stay in Port Royal, away from the sea -- !”

“Carey had to have been ordered to go,” Jules cut Jacob off as gently as she could, even if she looked just as anxious as Bill and Charlie were. “If he got the order, he wouldn’t have been able to disobey it...not if he wanted to keep his position as Commodore -- to protect all of us.”

She glanced at Bill and reached out and took his hand, squeezing it empathetically.

Arjun exchanged a confused look with Aishwarya.

“I’m sorry -- but I think we’re missing something here,” said the Pirate Lord of the Indian Ocean with a bit of a sheepish smile. “Is the Commodore of the British Navy our ally now?”

“Of course not!” scoffed Merula. “Beckett’s been puffing his chest out for weeks, crowing about how he’s roped ‘the great Carey Weasley’ into his anti-piracy campaign. Rumor has it that the Commodore himself was the one who suggested sacking Tortuga in the first place!”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” said Jae.

Everyone turned to look at him, startled.

“Amari here captured Carey Weasley to send a message to the British Navy and the East India Trading Company, didn’t he?” said the Lord of the South China Sea. “Yet Weasley escaped him. Then, only a short while later, Amari got arrested in Weasley’s hometown of Port Royal, only to be ‘liberated’ by Weasley’s own brothers and the Governor’s daughter, who has now become his sister-in-law.” He nodded curtly at Jules, Bill, and Charlie. “...It seems clear to me that all of it must’ve been planned. There’s no reason I can see for Charlie, Bill, and Jules Weasley to break Amari out of prison unless he and the Commodore were allies.”

The Pirate Lords’ crews excluding Orion’s starting muttering again. Charlie glanced at Orion, but the Captain of the Artemis’s gaze was still solidly on his clasped hands on the tale.

“...That’s true,” the second eldest Weasley said at last. “Captain Amari and my twin staged the escape. That was the reason Jules, Bill, and I helped Captain Amari escape prison, so he could help us rescue Carey from Charles Cromwell. Carey may be with Beckett...but he’s only agreed to it so that he’ll be in a position to protect us, now that we’ve been branded pirates.”

“Your twin’s smart,” said Jae with a nod. His black eyes then flitted over to Jacob. “What I want to know, though, is how you know the Commodore, Black Jack?”

Jacob’s skull-like blue eyes narrowed very coldly upon Jae’s face. “My history with the Commodore is none of your business. Nor is it relevant.”

He turned his focus back to the rest of the Brethren Court, his eyes blazing. “If that bilge rat Beckett does know where Shipwreck Cove is, then we’ll need to make preparations.”

“What preparations?” said Jae. He looked oddly unconcerned as he slouched back in his chair. “Shipwreck Cove is a fortress. It would take ages for anyone to penetrate our defenses.”

“The British Navy has broken out their Man O’ Wars from the War against the Spanish,” said Jacob grimly. “No pirate I know of has a ship that large and heavily armed.”

“Even so,” said Arjun bracingly, “it would take at least a month for them to reach us here, even if they found Shipwreck Cove. Would Beckett really want to waste that much time?”

“And money too,” Ellie pointed out. “That’s always what men like him worry about most.”

“Not to mention all the lives of the men he’d lose,” said Aishwarya.

“I’m afraid those things mean little.”

Everyone looked at Orion. He slowly raised his gaze from his clasped hands at last to look at them all.

“Cutler Beckett may be a man of business,” the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean murmured, “but he’s also a vengeful, close-minded, and ambitious person. He seeks status and wealth, and he has no compassion for those who might stand in his way of achieving them. And right now, in his eyes, what stands in his way -- in the way of the East India Trading Company’s profits and his own personal ambitions -- is every person who sails under a pirate flag or who shows any sympathy for our plight. Beckett may be crafty enough to manipulate others rather than just using his own physical strength...but he only acts like a gentleman when he doesn’t have absolute power over another person’s life. When he does have that level of control over someone...he can be as ruthless as the Kraken itself.”

Despite the calm, serious expression on his face, there was an odd flash of cold emotion that crackled through his dark eyes. No one doubted Orion’s testimony.

“If the fleet Beckett’s assembled does contain Man O’ Wars,” said McNully, as he rolled his wheeled chair up beside Orion, “then there’s a 73.2% chance this could turn into a siege.”

Jules’s dark eyes became a little smaller and she set her jaw tightly.

“...Then we’ll just have to assemble our own Navy and fight back,” she said firmly after a moment.

The other Pirate Lords’ crews started to laugh.

“‘Navy?’” repeated Arjun. He wasn’t laughing, but he did look a little incredulous. “Captain Weasley...we pirates may have a Court and Lords, but we’re not a country. Even those of us who have fleets -- or had fleets,” he gave a nod toward Jacob, “don’t answer to anyone else.”

“Even Shipwreck Cove isn’t a military fort or town,” said Aishwarya. “People stay here, and it’s very well-protected...but it’s no one’s home.”

“No pirate has a home,” said Samantha solemnly from the sidelines. Her emerald green eyes had drifted off toward the wall absently. “Just a ship, if we’re lucky.”

Charlie’s eyes lingered on Samantha’s face, clearly struck by how grim and oddly sad she seemed, saying this.

Jules, however, didn’t falter in her conviction even slightly. If anything, her dark eyes grew sharper as she put a hand down on the table and leaned over it.

“Cutler Beckett is an ally of my father’s, so Beckett hates pirates just as much as he does -- likely more, if we take Orion’s word -- and we’re all pirates. There’s no way any of us could defeat Beckett on our own, and if he reaches Shipwreck Cove, it’s likely he’ll treat it the same way he did Tortuga. If that happens, where else will anyone branded as pirates be able to go? Where else will we be able to go, if we decide to run instead of standing our ground? Even if you don’t have a home, we all need a safe place to rest and resupply...”

Bill nodded in agreement. “We all need a sanctuary to escape to, now and again.”

Jacob rested his head in his hands on the table, interlacing the fingers over his lips thoughtfully. Ellie Hopper placed both of her hands on the table so as to hoist herself up and out of her chair to her feet.

“You bring up a good point, Captain Weasley,” she said to Jules, “but it’s as Captain Roberts said -- none of our ships are comparable to a Man O’ War. And although there are pirates who were once soldiers...” she inclined her head respectfully to Bill and Charlie, “...there are quite a few of us who never were. Most pirates who were once in the Navy were privateers -- sailors who only ever attacked merchant vessels, not war ships -- and others, including both you and me, have no military experience at all. We don’t have the strength needed to defeat an entire fleet of Man O’ Wars.”

“We don’t,” said Orion very softly. “But there is someone who does.”

He glanced at Charlie. “Charlie Weasley...is Chia Dalma still with you?”

Charlie blinked. “Aye...she didn’t seem to like the thought of meeting the rest of the Court, so she stayed behind on the Phoenix.”

Orion nodded, but seemed unconcerned -- likely he’d presumed as much.

“You all recall, I hope,” he said, “that the Brethren Court was first formed when the original Pirate Lords decided to steal control from the goddess Calypso?”

Most of the people in the room nodded and murmured in assent. Charlie, Bill, and Jules did not.

“I’m afraid I’m not familiar with that story,” said Jules.

“I’ve heard of Calypso,” said Bill slowly. “She’s supposed to be a goddess of the sea, isn’t she?”

“She was, once,” said Orion. 

“There’s a song that tells the tale,” Skye added.

They both glanced at Merula, who straightened up in her seat and sang in a rather lovely voice,

“The King and his men stole the Queen from her bed

And bound her in her bones --

The seas be ours, and by the powers, where we will, we’ll roam.”

The tune immediately sounded familiar to Charlie, Bill, and Jules -- it was the same one Carewyn had sung for Pearl, just before she died.

“You see, the original Pirate King, Henry Morgan, and his allies were buccaneers who were scared of how dangerous the sea was,” said McNully. “Because their livelihoods depended on their ability to sail, they all decided to tame the sea enough that it’d be safe to travel on, without them needing to appeal to the whims of a ‘heathen goddess.’���

Jules’s eyebrows came together tightly.

“And how did they ‘tame’ her, exactly?” she asked, her low voice betraying some cold disapproval.

“They ‘bound her in her bones,’” said Jae, “or, more simply, trapped her in human form. The transformation restricted the use of her powers significantly, making the seas less turbulent to sail on and therefore making it safer for the Lords and other pirates to evade the Navy and ‘ply their trade.’”

Jules looked furious. “So they cursed a goddess, just to help themselves?”

“To protect themselves,” Merula shot back a bit defensively.

Skye nodded in passionate agreement. “Calypso was terrifying at full power. She could create maelstroms out of fat air, send wild sea creatures to attack ships. She was the one who created the Kraken and the Flying Dutchman in the first place. Davy Jones was her lover, so they say...”

“The decision is more complicated than you think, Captain Weasley,” said Jacob, and his skull-like blue eyes drifted absently off toward the ceiling as his voice grew more thoughtful. “The Pirate Lords, much like us, could only support themselves and their families through their buccaneering. They did not come from wealth as you have. There was no other good way for them to make a living or a better life for themselves and their loved ones, as they weren’t land-owners and didn’t have any financial collateral. Not to mention many of them were God-fearing Christians who were intimidated by what they thought must be a servant of Satan, since there can be no other God before Him. What they did was cruel, of course -- no question...but it was made out of self-preservation and fear, not just greed.”

Jules crossed her arms, clearly unmoved. “It seems to me that people who so clearly value freedom shouldn’t try to justify why someone else should be denied theirs.”

“I agree,” said Orion, and although his voice was much softer and more level than Jules’ was, his eyes twinkled with something like approval in response to her words. “And that is why I propose that we reverse the First Brethren Court’s decision, from all those years ago...and release Calypso from her bonds.”

There was a silence. Then, very abruptly, all of the other pirates started shouting and arguing.

“Are you insane?!”

“That’d just make everything worse!”

“Cut out his tongue!”

“Calypso has no reason to help us -- she’d no doubt hate pirates, for what we did to her -- ”

“Give him a good shot to the head!”

“We’d be fighting both a sea goddess and the entire British Navy, if we did that -- !”

Even Skye and McNully looked at Orion with notable trepidation.

“Orion, I’d say you might want to pull back on that idea a bit,” McNully muttered to him.

Even if the volume and anger in the room did take him aback slightly, Orion kept his cool. He rose to his feet, holding up a hand for calm, but many ignored him and instead shouted louder. Seeing this, Charlie got to his feet too and, pulling his pistol of his belt, pointed it at the air and shot at the ceiling. The loud BANG scared everyone enough that they fell silent and the Lords who were standing all returned to their seats.

Orion nodded to Charlie in mute gratitude and addressed the rest of the pirates again, his hands clasped in front of him.

“We currently don’t have the force needed to overcome Cutler Beckett and his Company. We do not have the force needed to defend Shipwreck Cove, or even to ensure that we all escape this storm alive. We could hole up here for a month or so and hope that the Navy tires themselves out -- but as McNully stated, that could easily become a siege, at which point this place would become our tomb. We could all evacuate the island before the Navy arrives -- but as Captain Farrier-Weasley said, we’d lose the last sanctuary we have remaining in the world, as well as the last place from which we could plan a counterattack. We would all be out for ourselves at that point...leaving us to be picked off one by one by Beckett’s greater forces.”

His dark eyes grew a little smaller and more solemn.

“Therefore...the only path remaining to us is to stand our ground. And if we don’t wish to die on that path, we’ll need to gather whatever strength is available to us. Uranus and Saturn are set to collide in the Heavens...hinting to a climatic battle between order and chaos. We cannot know what the outcome will be unless we decide not to fight at all...but if we did that, then we’d only know the outcome because it would indisputably be failure.”

The other Pirate Lords exchanged wary looks among themselves. Jacob then gave a loud sigh and gave a reluctant nod.

“Amari’s right,” he said lowly. “Regardless of what your positions on releasing Calypso are...we don’t have a choice in whether to fight or fly. We will have to fight...and it’d be stupid and pointless to try doing it on our own.”

He glanced at Ellie, who nodded in agreement, and Merula, whose pink eyes narrowed disapprovingly.

“We can’t declare war,” the Pirate Lord of the Adriatic Sea pointed out in a rather arrogant sort of voice. “Only the Pirate King can do that.”

Orion actually blinked in surprise. “Really?”

He turned to Samantha. “Is that true, Samantha?”

The Pirate Dragon’s emerald eyes narrowed slightly as she reopened the large leather-bound Codex in her lap, flipping through the pages and scanning each line to find the proper section.

“...As per the Code,” she said lowly, “‘the Pirate Lords shall select a captain by popular vote to serve as Pirate King, who shall represent the entire Court when all cannot be present. The Pirate King alone can declare a state of emergency; declare war; take custody of the eight Pieces of Eight; take governorship of Shipwreck Cove; and give commands to ships that he himself does not sail.’ Looks like Merula’s right.”

Charlie frowned and turned to glance back at Barnaby, who’d been standing on the opposite side of him as Jules.

“The Pirate King is the leader of the Brethren Court, right?” he muttered to him.

“Aye,” Barnaby whispered in his ear. “Only, there hasn’t been one since the first Brethren Court.”

“Why?”

“Everyone from the other Courts just voted for themselves...so there was always a six-way tie and no one could decide on a winner.”

“I call for a vote,” said Orion serenely.

A lot of the other pirates in the room sighed in frustration or covered their faces and shook their heads. Jae himself plopped his chin down on his hand and rolled his eyes.

“Amari, are you serious?” he said tiredly.

Orion looked perfectly nonplussed. “Captain Roberts, would you start us off, please?”

Jacob raised an eyebrow at Orion and exchanged a suspicious look with Ashe, before he shrugged and nodded.

“I vote for Black Jack Roberts,” he said coolly.

He glanced at Merula sitting next to him.

“Captain Merula Snyde of the Blackbird -- most powerful ship on the seven seas,” she said, her lips curled up in a dry smirk.

“Ellie Hopper,” said Ellie uncomfortably, exchanging looks with some of her crew members.

“Captain Jae Kim,” sighed Jae.

“...Arjun Singh, of the Naga,” Arjun said after he’d exchanged a bemused shrug with Aishwarya.

When it was Orion’s turn, the Pirate Lord gave a quick sweep around the table with his eyes, before they shifted to his left, twinkling with something almost like mischief.

“Captain Juliette Farrier-Weasley.”

“What?” said Jules.

“What?” said Charlie and Bill, just as taken aback.

Orion’s lips actually spread into a full, broad grin seeing how much his choice had blindsided everyone.

“The Pirate Code said that the Pirate Lords must select ‘a captain’ to be the Pirate King,” he said airily. “It never said that captain had to be a Pirate Lord. So I vote for Captain Juliette Farrier-Weasley of the Revolution to be our Pirate King.”

He then nodded to Charlie. “Captain Weasley -- your vote?”

Charlie grinned broadly from ear to ear and he shot a glance over his shoulder at his sister-in-law, who had flushed a dark shade of red and looked very stunned.

“Captain Juliette Farrier-Weasley,” said the Lord of the Pacific Ocean.

The other Pirate Lords and their crews all started chattering at once.

“What?”

“If I’d known you could pick any captain, I would’ve voted for Aishwarya -- ”

“Choosing your own sister-in-law -- ”

“I call for a recount -- ”

“How long has she even been a pirate?”

“Pure nepotism, that’s what it is -- ”

Orion raised his eyebrows very coolly. “Am I to take this to mean you all will not be keeping to the Code?”

Everyone almost as a unit turned to look at Samantha, who was glaring very pointedly at them as she rotated a pair of grenades in one hand.

Ellie, the Pirate Lord who had reacted with the least hostility to the decision, turned to Jules with a solemn look.

“The votes have it,” she said. “So Pirate King Weasley -- what say you? What shall we do?”

Jules, her face still very red, glanced hesitantly at her husband. Bill looked at her with pride, his eyes sparkling fondly as he squeezed her hand. Her lips spreading into a comforted smile, Jules raised her head and faced the Court with new confidence.

“Gather together and arm every vessel that floats,” she said firmly. “At dawn, we’ll prepare for war.”

With the meeting having come to a close, the Pirate Lords departed one by one to begin their preparations for the battle to come. Jules (knowing that, even though she was now Pirate King, she lacked military experience) immediately asked Bill, McNully, and Charlie to help her with figuring out what strategy would work best to defend the Cove. Orion himself seemed very pleased with the final outcome -- Charlie had asked him why he didn’t vote for himself, but Orion merely smiled and didn’t reply. Bill, however, thought he could guess.

“I don’t reckon Orion’s the sort to want to rule over anyone,” he said with a knowing smile. “Guide them, yes -- lead them, maybe -- but not rule.”

Orion looked at Bill, his eyes as calm and unreadable as ever.

“Interesting conclusion. What made you draw it, Bill Weasley?”

Bill’s smile faded, but his brown eyes lost none of their warmth. “Because Carey’s the exact same way.”

There was a strange spark in the back of Orion’s eyes -- something almost like surprise, which then morphed into something warmer and softer...fonder.

“...True,” he murmured. “Although she may have the heart of a queen, and all of the grace...Carewyn Cromwell would never choose a crown for herself.”

Bill’s gaze softened. Before he could say anything, however, there was a very loud WHAM.

Jacob, who was still in his seat and had been talking to Ashe, had abruptly slammed the large table across the floor with all of his strength, nearly knocking it over as he barreled over.

“YOU!”

Out of nowhere, the Pirate Lord of the Atlantic seized Orion by the collar with both hands.

“Jacob?” said Bill, completely taken aback.

“Jack!” said Ashe, his eyes narrowing in concern.

But Jacob didn’t seem to hear either of them. His blue pupils were dark, irrational slits of rage.

“IT WAS YOUR VOICE! YOU’RE THE ONE WHO CALLED MY WYN BY HER NAME! YOU’RE THE ONE WHO SPOKE OF HER IN THAT SOFT VOICE, YOU MAGGOT-INFESTED BASTARD -- !”

“Jacob, let him go!” said Jules. 

Orion amazingly didn’t look the least bit scared -- instead his expression was rather tense as well as a bit confused.

“Captain Roberts,” he spoke quietly in an attempt to soothe the other man’s anger, “I understand what Carewyn means to you -- what you mean to her. I would never harm your sister. I could never hurt Carewyn, nor could I ever wish to -- ”

Bill was reminded of when Orion was trying hard not to fight him, back in Port Royal. Jacob, however, was just as unmoved as Bill had been.

“STOP CALLING HER BY HER NAME!” he roared.

Jacob yanked Orion around by the collar, slamming him roughly into the wall.

“IT’S BECAUSE OF YOU THAT JONES IS AFTER WYN! SHE WOULD BE SAFE NOW IF IT WEREN’T FOR YOU -- I’LL KILL YOU, YOU SCABBY, BILGE-SUCKING SON OF A -- !”

“Jacob, stop!” Charlie bellowed.

“Get off Orion NOW!” yelled Skye.

Samantha, Barnaby, Skye, Jules, and Charlie had all grabbed onto the back of Jacob’s coat and onto his arms, trying in vain to pull him off of Orion. Jacob, however, was ridiculously strong, and his grip tightened around Orion’s collar and throat, making the taller man wince.

Bill, his expression darkening more than anyone had ever seen before, very sharply skipped grabbing onto Jacob and instead stepped right between Orion and Jacob, taking his pistol out of his belt and pointing it right at Jacob’s temple. The move prompted Ashe to make an angry move toward Bill, but the eldest Weasley put out his other hand to hold him at arm’s length.

“Jacob, Carey’s not here, so I’ll say this for her,” Bill said very icily. “‘I’ll never forgive you if you hurt him.’”

Jacob gave a sharp flinch. His mad, hollow, slitted pupils never left Orion’s face, but they seemed to lose some of their focus -- almost as if he was looking right through Orion.

Ashe, furious at Bill having held him back, grabbed the red-haired man’s wrist and twisted it painfully out of the way so he could run over to Jacob himself. He brought both of his arms tightly around his lover’s neck, his face resting in the dark curls over Jacob’s brow as he hummed something under his breath. The sound seemed to calm Jacob little by little, making his shoulders loosen and his grip slacken. Light gradually returned to his eyes as he slowly removed his trembling hands from Orion’s throat, breathing shakily.

Jules immediately moved to Bill, bringing up a hand to his wrist to make sure it wasn’t too badly hurt. Once she’d confirmed he was okay, she turned to Jacob with a fierce look.

“Jacob, what do you mean Jones is after Carey?” she demanded. “Why is she in danger?”

Jacob’s gaze had fallen to the ground, throwing his eyes into shadow as he continued to take heavy, labored breaths. Ashe, still holding Jacob tightly, turned around, a very hard, grim look on his face as his eyes flickered from Orion to Jules.

“Jones aims to force someone into servitude on his ship,” he said lowly, “and he’s decided that person is Jack’s sister.”

[mila-dans]

Spells Out Trouble: I Wanna Know What Love Is

This is chapter one of “Spells Out Trouble.” Masterlist Here!

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Word count: 4770

Summary: You have been with the Winchesters for several years now going through all the literal trials and tribulations with them. What happens when Dean gets hit by a love spell and becomes head-over-heels for you? Will your pushed down emotions finally rise or will you get in over your head? Find out what happens when your best friend's hard exterior becomes mush whenever you end up in his eyeline.

Just so you know: This is my first Fanfic so sorry if there are aspects missing. “Spells Out Trouble” is a series with about ten chapters. Again, sorry if this isn’t perfect! If you have any suggestions or tips, I’d love to hear from you. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it! (Also, not my gif!)

“Y/N!”

You could hear your name being called as you adjusted your position on the bed. “Five more minutes,” you mumbled out as you buried your face even deeper in the pillows. 

“Y/N, wake up!” Dean said, agitated. He was still mad that you won the coin toss for the bed. Thanks to you, he got a restless night on a two-seated couch. But as of right now, you were way too tired to care.

Sam was in the bathroom getting ready first like always. Spending so many years with the boys, you learned each other’s habits, quirks, and how long they needed to get ready in the morning. Sam took the longest for some reason and after him was you, who only took maybe eight minutes to get fully dressed which always seemed to impress the brothers. Dean was after you, taking only about five minutes to get ready for the day which seemed accurate based on his minimal appearance.

“We got to go,” Sam said from behind the door.

“You hear that? We’re gonna leave without you.” Dean said as you could imagine the smug smile on his face. 

“You wouldn’t,” you replied as Dean’s taunting caused you to wake up. You, Dean, and Sam were set to go to the coroner's today and as good a day as any to see a dead body, you were especially excited because this hunt involved a witch. And you hate witches. You have a past and a very bad one at that. The boys know your strong feelings when it comes to the bottom dwelling hags. This remark on Dean’s part as to threaten to leave without you was just enough to make you sit up from your comfy position in bed and prepare to start your day. “I’m up.”

“Finally,” Dean said, throwing your weapons bag with full force right at your chest. It hurt but of course he did it on purpose. Dean always liked to pick on you, even more so whenever you were just waking up and you had your defenses down.

“Ow,” you said, glaring at Dean with only a sly smirk from him in return.

Sam exited the bathroom as he finished buttoning up his white dress shirt. “All yours,” he said to you. You nodded and rolled out of bed pushing off the sack of weaponry from you. You grabbed your FBI getup and headed to the bathroom where you got cleaned up and dressed.

You could hear the boys from behind the closed door talking about the latest victim, John Chase. You listen all while thinking about the case. So far, six men have been found dead with their insides turned to goo. You all had been at this for days and have yet to catch a break. Hopefully the new body would lead to something. Anything.

You finished getting dressed and like clockwork, just as you opened the door to let Dean have a turn getting dressed, he stood in the doorway just about to knock. His hand, merely inches away from your face, you gulped as you realized how close you were to receiving a hit to the face, courtesy of Dean Winchester. “That was close,” he said smiling.

“Yeah, close enough. Watch it next time, Winchester.” You shoved him as you walked out and towards your bed.

“Y/N,” Sam called out as you turned your attention towards him, “Which one?” He had held up two different ties in his hands, weighing them up and down as to signal to you which one was better. “Pick one. Blue or red?”

“Hmm... blue brings out your eyes but red makes you look sexy!” You said with clear sarcasm making Sam smile. 

“Really? Cause I would’ve thought it’d be the opposite. But what do I know? You’re the sexy one,” Sam retorts, raising his eyebrows.

“True, but you do come in at a close second.”

“Wow, and here I thought Dean would’ve been second.”

“Oh no. You know you are my favorite Winchester.” You say puckering your lips, blowing him a kiss.

Yours and Sam’s relationship was very different when compared to yours and Dean’s. Both of them were your best friends but Sam was able to let his guard down with you. You always had admired his sass whether it was directed towards you or not. It was fun to play and joke with him. When it was just him and Dean, he often had to be what would be called the “mature one.” Dean on the other hand liked to mess with you too but he never let his guard down like Sam does. Sam was still the only person who saw the full version of Dean. You wished Dean would let you in but you were just happy that you got Sam to. Besides, he was way easier to talk to when it came to deep stuff. You’d always go straight to Sam without giving it a second thought if you ever needed to talk and he often did the same to you.

----------------------------

You sorted through your bag as you placed all the weapons on your person that you deemed necessary for a trip to the coroner’s office. The boys always thought you had an overabundance of weapons even when attending the simplest of places. You however thought it was better to be prepared and when riding with the Winchesters, it’s best to be ready for anything. You rummaged through your bag even deeper. “Where’s the demon blade?” You asked, still continuing your search.

“It's in my bag,” Dean said as he loaded his gun with your favorite type of bullets.

“Can I have it?” You asked him as he stuck your hand out waiting to put it in the back of your belt.

Dean tucked his gun in the back of his pants and looked at your eagerness to have the blade. “Um, no.”

“What do you mean no?”

“I mean no, sweetheart. You already have a whole armory on you. You don’t need the knife too.” Even though you knew Dean was probably right, you couldn’t help but want it even more now that he had felt so inclined to call you “sweetheart” which he knew bugged you. The truth of the matter is, you didn't mind him calling you it so much as you minded him calling every other woman sweetheart too. You hated thinking that he had grouped you with every other one night stand or valentine adventure.

“Give it to me,” you said, holding your hand out even further only to have him push it away.

“No.”

“Yes,” you demand.

“Dean, let her have the knife,” Sam said with his “It’s too early for this” tone.

“Fine,” Dean said, taking it out of his bag and holding the edge about to place it in your hand.

“Really?” You said surprised he had given up so easily.

“No,” he said as he showed you that smug grin of his. He took the knife away and walked over to the edge of your bed, about to place it in his weapons bag once again. 

“Give it,” you order as you hop on the bed trying to grab it out of his hands.

“You're gonna hurt yourself, sweetheart,” he said with his once again taunting tone. You only tried harder to grab it as his arms went all around you causing you to get closer and closer to the edge of the bed. You reached over the edge as he dangled the blade in front of you. You almost had gotten it but instead lost your balance.

Thump.

“Told you, sweetheart.” And with that remark, Dean had left the building with the blade placed in his bag.

While on the floor, you try to convince yourself that he is useful and it would be best to not kill him yet but you believe the topic to be debatable.

Sam came over to help you off the floor. “Your brother is being a jerk again,” you said while brushing yourself off.

“Yeah, well, what else is new?” Sam holds out your bag.

You snatch the bag from his hand, “You are enjoying this because you think it’s better for him to pick on me instead of you.”

“What?” Sam said sarcastically. “That is so not true. I never find enjoyment when I let my pain in the ass older brother bully you just so he wouldn’t bully me,” he replies with a big grin on his face.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t be so sure,” you glare at him.

You both grabbed your coats and shut the door behind you.

------------------------

You three had just come back from the coroner’s and discovered, thanks to some hex bags found in the victim's pockets, that your witch was very old and very powerful. You also found that she continued her hot streak of leaving attractive, middle-aged men’s innards boiled.

“Great,” Dean said as he shut Baby’s door. “What is it? Five dead now?”

Sam got in beside him, “Seven, actually.”

“Make that eight,” you said as you tossed your phone on the seat in front of you.

“What is this?” Sam asked, picking it up, examining the news story.

“It’s yet another kill where some attractive guy has his insides deep fried.”

“Great, again,” Dean said, starting the car. “Where was it at this time?”

“North Crow street,” Sam replied.

“That’s only what? Two miles from the last victim?”

“I’m pretty sure,” you said, thinking about the pattern of the attacks.

“We go back to the room, map out the attacks, get our gear, and we kill this son of a bitch.” You nodded.

“Agreed.”

-----------------------

“Okay,” Sam said as he marked the final spots on the map, “We have North Crow street on here twice. Then there’s this neighborhood right here where three of the victims were and over here is Goodman park where the remainder of the victims were killed at.” The map was spread out on a section of the wall above the sofa with a whole lot of red thread and pushpins covering whatever blank space remained.

“So that’s a two mile radius around,” Dean gets up taking the marker from Sam, “This street. Mary’s Ave.”

“Great, now that we’ve narrowed it down, to what? One-Hundred houses? What’s our next step?” You asked as you felt the weight of the deaths on your shoulders and it became even worse as you knew you weren’t the only one.

“I've got no freaking clue.” Dean let out a huff as he ran his hands through his hair in aggravation. Dean was getting more angry by the second and it didn’t help that he had been cooped up in a room with you and Sam. Sure, it was fun to mess with him but it tends to get old real quick. Dean threw up his hands, “It's not like we can just hit all the houses on the block knocking on the door and asking, ‘Hey, are you a witch? Cause if you are, we need to kill you.’”

Sam gives off a tired laugh. “We’ve been at this for a week and we have got nothing except a pile of bodies.”

You take in the sight of the tired brothers and know that it’d be best if you didn’t push them over the edge. “Hey,” you said with a calm voice, trying to get them to ease up, “We will find her and kill her. Okay?”

“How Y/N?!” Dean yells looking at you as if you were crazy to somehow have any sort of hope.

You sit down trying to make up any connection or pattern you can. You see the boys and their exhaustion and anger radiating off of them. You push yourself even harder to find something, anything. You think to yourself about all the information you have: A trail of good looking dead guys, a witch, messed up insides, and a hex bag. A hex bag which you have found nothing in the lore about. You have yet to figure out how this hex bag kills or much less hurts someone. What kind of hex bag doesn’t kill you but still leaves you dead. It leaves you dead... Leaves you dead... “Leaves you dead!” You mutter under your breath.

“What?” Asks Sam as he sees you jolt up grabbing the hex bag and his laptop, clicking away on the keyboard.

“Y/N, what are you doing with the hex bag?” Dean asks.

“Shush,” you demanded as you continued your search online.

“Don’t ‘shush’ me,” Dean replied silently.

You ignore the duo as you search deeper in the online lore. You search every ingredient in the hex bag. Instead of lethal hex bags, you search for non-lethal ones that use the same ingredients. “Okay, hear me out: What if the witch wasn’t trying to kill guys?”

“Sure, she accidentally melted the victim’s insides,” Dean says as he rolls his eyes.

“Shush!” You again told Dean trying to explain your train of thought. “We searched all over for a hex bag like this that kills someone, right?”

“Yeah,” Sam replies reluctantly.

“But what if the hex bag wasn’t meant to kill the men, but instead lure them to our witch.” You turn the screen around showing the list of ingredients for a spell that can lure anyone to the user. “See? This spell and the hex bags use the exact same ingredients.”

“I guess that’s useful information if we wanna make hex bags but how does this help us try to find the witch?” Dean again says with his annoying sarcasm.

You turn the computer around again and start typing away once more. “Well, sweetheart,” you look at Dean and show a sarcastic smile, “These ingredients are extremely rare and even more expensive.” Dean looks at you mad and you smile even bigger assuming that he doesn’t like being called “sweetheart” either. “Since the ingredients are so rare, when you search where they are found, you discover they are only found in a very small part of Ireland.” 

“Okay,” Sam says, trying to follow.

“Now, since the items are expensive, the witch must be rich. And when I search the most expensive houses on Mary’s Ave, I come up with fifteen different ones which all belong to an array of people.”

“Yeah,” Sam nods in agreement, still unsure of your thought process.

“The Fifteen names of the owners are: Smith, Jackson, Thompson, Brock, Jones, Marshall, James, Evans, other Smith, Parker, MacAulay, Watts, Cooper, Jefferson, and Holiday. Tell me, which one of those names sounds Irish to you?”

“MacAulay,” Dean says as the wheels in his head visibly turn.

“Right, and when I pull up the records for the house, you will find that one Alannah MacAulay lives in that house alone. And it just so happens that she paid upfront with cash.” You look at Sam and Dean and notice their shocked expressions. “That name is indeed Irish and is one of the founding families that basically built the town that grows these ingredients. Guys, I’d say this is our witch.”

“How in the world did you get all that from a hex bag?” Sam asks with an amazed look in his eyes. You shrug your shoulders trying to hold back a smile of accomplishment. “Good job, Y/N,” Sam says, giving you a pat on the back.

“Thanks.” You look again at Dean knowing that a compliment from him was as rare as a unicorn sighting, but in this job the latter would be more likely to happen.

Dean stands up and cocks his gun, “Let’s go kill a witch.”

-------------------

You all had arrived at the house. You and Sam took the front door entrance as Dean went around back. Sam opened the door slowly as you went under his arm through the doorway scoping out the place. The door shut gently behind him. He signaled for you to go upstairs as he took the first floor. You nodded in agreement as you cautiously and quietly walked up the huge set of stairs that were before you.

The house was gigantic and magnificent. If you weren’t so worried about the status of your life, you might’ve actually enjoyed it a bit more. When you came to the top of the steps, you saw three doors ahead of you. Thinking it might be a while till one of the boys came upstairs to help you search, you went right ahead entering the rooms as stealthy as you could.

The first room didn’t have anything that looked witchy and the same went for the second. But just as you turned the knob on the third door, you heard a muffled sound. You pushed the door open finding a middle-aged man tied to a chair with a gag in his mouth. Only the man and a whole mess of stuff was in the room. You passed by what seemed to be a miniature cauldron filled with an assortment of goods or more accurately, bads, and soon made your way to the man. Holding your gun with such focus and intensity, you searched every square inch of the room just to make sure it was only you and him.

You went over to him, undoing the ropes and removing his gag. “Are you alright?” You asked quietly.

“I think,” he said with an uneasy tone. You signaled for him to get up and get a move on but he still remained glued to the seat.

“What are you doing?” You whispered worried that if you stayed any longer, you wouldn’t be alone.

“I can’t move!” He says with a terrified tone.

“What?” You look to see if you missed a rope.

“I can’t move!” You tried to pull him up or out of the chair but he wouldn’t budge.

Suddenly, you could feel another presence in the room. You slowly reached for your gun, switching your attention from the man to what you thought would be the witch.

You quickly aimed your gun as you turned around only to find the room as empty as you had seen before.

“Tell me, Girl” a voice echoed with a strong Irish accent, “Have you ever been in love?” You aimed your gun in every dark corner of the room trying to find a face to the voice. “Have you ever really been head-over-heels for someone?”

“Sorry, I can’t say that I have.” You continued the conversation stalling in hope of a rescue from one of the boys.

“Oh, It’s such a shame. Surely you must love someone or like someone at least?” She asks as if wanting you to understand.

“I don’t know about that but I appreciate your concern,” you laugh as this is the last conversation you’d expect to have.

The voice laughs back. “My, I can see that you do hold a torch for someone. You might try to hide it but I can see your feelings and they are strong.”

“I don’t know what you're talking about, lady. But how about you come out here and maybe then we can swap crushes.”

“Oh, no. I need to finish my work,” she says matter-of-factly.

“Your work? You mean killing innocent men? I have to say, not a fan.” Your gun gets pulled out from your hands. “Dammit,” you mumble. You stay moving around the room keeping your senses on guard.

���You simple minded fool. My work is work of passion and love, not death.”

“Whatever you say, Witchy.” You try to look for another sort of weapon in the room.

“I just wanted to be loved. It’s not my fault that accidents happen.”

“Well, I just want you dead and like you said, accidents happen.” In the corner of your eye, you see a dagger and you move closer to it trying not to draw attention to yourself.

The witch finally appears out from the dark corner she was hiding in. “If you wanted that to happen, maybe you shouldn’t have come alone,” she says looking you dead in the eyes like a lion would do to its prey.

The door quickly busts open causing the witch to change her attention. You rush towards the dagger and then try to find if a hex bag is on the man.

“She didn’t come alone,” Dean stands in the door and aims his gun directly at the witch but before he can pull the trigger, she flings him past the cauldron and only feet away from you and the man. She sees you and immediately, light radiates from her palms and you prepare to be on the end of a fatal blow. But suddenly, Sam comes from the door, tackling the witch to the ground.

Dean gets up and takes notice of a huge gnash on his hand and finds his blood on the rim miniature cauldron. But before he can think anything more of it, he searches for his gun. You still try to find what holds the man in the chair taking off his shoes, jacket, anything that could have a hex bag inside. Sam gets thrown to the other side of the room and you see now that the witch looks even more pissed than she originally was. “Just let me do my work!” She screams as you too get tossed to the side, leaving a wide-open space in between her and the man. “I will do my work! I will be loved!” She screams and starts to mumble Latin causing the cauldron to rise and spark. Dean sees what she is about to do and before you or Sam have a chance to react to the ready to fire spell, Dean jumps in front of the man and the surge of energy from the cauldron fires right at Dean. “No!” The Witch screams. Sam runs to his gun and shoots her right in the head causing her to fall to the floor.

With the witch killed, you and Sam rush to Dean who is surprisingly still alive from the impact of the blow. “Hey,” you ask him, examining him, “you alright, big guy?”

He mumbles in return, “Peachy.” You help him up as Sam checks on the man who is no longer glued to the chair. Sam gives you the nod that he is alright and both you and Sam walk out, each helping a man down the stairs.

-----------------------

Sam starts the car back up as you leave the hospital where you dropped the man off at. “You sure you alright, Dean?” You ask leaning over the seat taking notice of his face to try and get a read on him.

“I’m great,” he replies with his ever so sly smile.

“You sure?” Sam asks.

“Yeah. I’m good to go. In fact, I say we go get some beers because we deserve it.” You and Sam look at each other quizzically both thinking of how you’ve never encountered a witch blast that came with no side effects.

“You sure you’re good?” Sam asks again with an unsure tone.

“Dude, I’m fine. I just wanna get drunk. Can you blame me?” He looks at Sam and he shakes his head while letting out a tired laugh. “Come on, let’s go have some fun!” He looks at you and hits your shoulder. “Yeah?”

“Dean, I’m exhausted and I’m surprised that you aren’t. It’s gonna be a no from me,” Sam answers.

“Y/N, what do you say? Wanna get drunk and laid?”

“Um, you sure you’re okay Dean?” You ask again.

“Guys, what the hell is with all the questions?! I’m fine. Nothing is wrong with me. Now Y/N, you wanna join or not?” Dean looks into your eyes and you look at him still concerned.

“I guess so.”

“Perfect!”

---------------------------

You and Dean pull up to a bar called “O’Malley’s” looking dressed to kill or in this case, dressed to get laid. You always carried a little black dress with you whenever you went on hunts just in case you needed to use it to work a more flirtatious angle. And from time to time, you did. You both walked inside keeping your distance from each other just to make sure no one would think the two of you were together. You have been to this rodeo before. Every now and again when Dean was a little too eager to get out of the bunker or some crap motel room, you and him would always wind up going to the nearest bar to find a little fun. Sam would always be researching something or sleeping. Tonight, Sam was doing the latter.

You took a seat at the bar leaving an opening on both your sides and ordered a strong drink. Dean, following behind you, had immediately found someone he liked and took a seat right beside her. You could hear their laughter and imagine what cheesy pick up lines Dean would use on her this time. Even though it seemed like you couldn’t stand him at times, he's your best friend and you know him better than he does himself sometimes. Dean, Sam, and Cas were all that you had. It’s been like that for roughly five years. And all you could think about right now was just wanting to go home and lie in your bed. Well, thinking about that and the stupid witch. You glanced over at Dean again seeing him even closer to the girl than before. You ordered a refill and quickly gulped it down.

-------------------------------

The stupid Witch. You couldn’t stop thinking about her. You recall what she said, you remember all the talk about love and how she swears that you love someone too. “No way,” you say under your breath. You look over your shoulder again to view Dean and his lady for tonight. You watch them get up and leave. You laugh to yourself and feel the drink getting to you as you order what you think is your fourth. “How could I love someone?” You think.

You don’t even like anyone. I mean, you love the boys but that’s completely different. Cas, he’s like your guardian angel and Sam, come on, he is literally your brother. And Dean? Dean. Well... Dean is Dean. 

You order another drink putting it down the hatch even faster than the last.

Dean is annoying. You couldn’t ever like him. He’s annoying and like totally over protective and he’s way too hot to not have an ego. He’s sexy and gorgeous and way out of your league. Sure you like him but that doesn’t mean you love him. He’s annoying and so bratty. Okay, so maybe you love him a little bit but it’s just because the witch put all these thoughts in your head. You have only been in love with him for like three years, that’s all. Not even four. You push these feelings deep down and always have, I mean, It isn’t like Dean Winchester is gonna wake up one day and be in love with you.

“Miss? Miss?!” The bartender asks you.

“What?” You snap at him.

“You’ve been talking to yourself for quite some time.” The bartender says with a polite smile.

“Nu-uh.”

“Yes, you have. I believe you're drunk and in love with whoever this Dean is.”

“Pft, no I’m not.” You try to point at the bartender but somehow manage to fall off the stool. One of the men a few seats over helped you up and guided you outside. 

You stumble down the steps of the entrance, “You don’t know what love is!” You yelled at the bar. “I wanna know what love is, and I want you to show me!” Your words slowly changed from an angry fit into lyrics from a Foreigner song. You pulled out your phone as you fell to the ground and managed to call Sam.

“Hello?” Sam said tiredly.

“Do you wanna know what love is, Sam? Cause I want you to show me!”

“Are you drunk, Y/N?”

“No!” you shouted, “I don’t like how people keep assuming things about me.”

“Y/N?” Sam said, trying to get a straight answer.

“Okay, so listen, I’m drunk and Dean took Baby to probably make a baby. So I need some assistance. Hey! I’m like one of the AARP people.” You laugh, amused by your own words.

“Where are you at?”

“I’m at a parking lot outside of uh,” you look up at the blurred sign, “Old Mufasa’s.”

“That’s not a place, Y/N.” Sam sighed.

“Well then I don’t know!”

“Your phone says you're five minutes away. I’ll be there in five minutes. Just stay put.” Sam hung up.

You could hear that Sam was tired and angry which was not a good combo but you were just worried that the ant that you saw climbing a rock in the parking lot would get run over. You went over and tested your depth perception seeing if you could get the ant to a safe spot. As you nudged the little bugger on your finger, you trudged over to a patch of dirt on the side of the building. You let him go and smiled, “At least you love me, Ant.” 

You moved back to where you and tripped causing you to face plant into the ground and drift off to sleep.

----------------------

The next morning was... interesting. You had woken up to find Dean even more hungover than you, spread out on Sam’s bed and Sam on the way too small couch. All you remember from the night before was a whole lot of alcohol and Sam coming to get you, picking you up from the ground, placing you in a car, and finally onto your bed. You couldn’t rack your brain for any more information or you might end up with an aneurism. You figured that the best thing you could do for your massive headache and the boys was to go and get coffee. You left a note on the door and headed out.

---------------------

In the room, Sam changed his clothes out in the open not minding because it was only him and a semi-unconscious Dean. The same Dean who was spread like a starfish with blankets and sheets wrapped around him. He tried to move but was unable either from the entanglement or extra motion that made him seem even more dizzy.

“Dean, you alright?” Sam asked as he pulled on his shirt and finished getting dressed.

“Hrmp,” Dean, sort of, replied. He moved a little on the bed seeming like even a construction crew couldn’t affect his state.

“Dude, I thought Y/N was bad last night. I think It’s safe to say you take the gold.” Sam laughed and hit Dean’s feet trying to get him to move.

“What?” Dean pulled his head away from the pillow and rubbed his eyes.

“Dean, you good? I know you wanted to celebrate but I think you went a little too hard on this one.” Sam tossed a bottle of aspirin on the bed beside Dean.

“I’m--I’m uh, good?” Dean sat up slowly trying to gain some sort of balance.

“Good. Cause we have a twelve hour drive back home to the bunker and since you refuse to let me or Y/N drive--”

“Y/N?!” Dean interrupts Sam and darts up from his bed.

“What?” Sam looks at a now wide awake Dean who is staring at him right in his face.

“Y/N,” Dean says with a very excited tone, “Is she here? Where is she? She’s okay right?” He asks as his joy starts to change to worry.

Sam looks at Dean very confused but replies, “Yeah, Y/N’s out getting coffee. You okay, Dean? You don’t look so hot.”

“I don’t?” Dean asks. He looks at his appearance almost disappointed in himself. Dean is still wearing his black-tee undershirt from last night and a pair of boxers.

“Dean, you are acting like someone gave five shots of five hour energy. What’s going on?”

“I...I...I just need to see her!.” Dean paces around the room starting to panic.

“Who, Dean?” Sam goes to Dean putting his hand on his shoulder trying to get him to calm down or at least relax for a moment.

“Y/N,” Sam looks at Dean like he’s crazy, “I’ve got to see her. I just gotta.”

“Okay, how about you sit down and we figure out what is wrong with you. Alright?”

“There’s no time, Sam!” Dean yells at Sam shoving his hand away. “I’ve got to get my suit on and I need some of your cologne and uh, flowers! I need to get flowers!”

“Dean! Something is really wrong with you. You are acting crazy and I don’t understand what your new obsession is with Y/N. So please, just take a deep breath.” Sam again tries to go over to Dean getting him to calm down.

“You’re right, Sammy. I need to calm down for Y/N. I don’t want her to be frightened or--or panicked like I am.” He unconvincingly smiles at Sam but nods along with his plan.

“Good,” Sam says slowly, “Good. Now take a deep breath.” Dean takes a huge deep breath in and holds it in his puffed out cheeks. He exhales and shakes his body trying to loosen up. “Okay, Dean, what’s going on?” Sam sits on the bed with Dean who still appears to be hopped up on some kind of energy drink.

“I don’t know. I just know that everything is so clear and like this huge burden has been lifted off of me.” Dean smiles crazily at Sam.

“Okay,” Sam tries to understand why his brother is acting like an energized maniac. “When did you feel like this, ‘burden,’ was lifted?” 

“It was this morning, when I woke up and you said her name.” Dean hops up and down nodding with his whole body.

“Right, uh, Y/N’s name?” Sam tries to stop Dean from moving so much by holding down his shoulders.

“It’s the most beautiful name in the world,” Dean says while he waves his arms trying to mime the whole wide world.

“Uh-uh. Listen, Dean. I’m gonna call Cas and we are gonna figure out what’s going on.” Dean nods his head and looks at his brother with a big smile, leaving Sam’s emotions a mix between scared, creeped out, and concerned.

-------------------

You had just stood in line for almost an hour trying to get the coffees only to have them get your order wrong. You would’ve been more upset about it but you were just eager to get away from all the noise and bright lights that made your headache ten times worse.

You reached for your room key and inserted it into the door all while trying to balance the uneven amount of coffees. You opened the door and glanced over at the boys sitting on the edge of the bed. “Good, you guys are up.” Dean stood up so quickly that his movement caught your attention. You set the cups down on a nightstand and looked towards Sam and Dean. Sam stood up beside Dean with a worrisome look. And Dean looked at you with such glee and excitement that you turned around to see if there was someone behind you. “What’s going on?” You asked as the more you looked at them the more terrified you got.

“Um,” Sam mumbled and tried to find the words, “Dean’s uh...”

“What?” You ask as you become even more worried.

“Dean... he uh... something is wrong with him.” Sam kept looking at you and Dean. You all stand still, unmoving.

“Dean?” You ask and as you do so, Dean gulps as if you managed to take his breath away when calling his name. “Dean?” You ask again and this time, the biggest smile comes on Dean’s face like an excited puppy. “Dean, wh...what is it?”

“I’m in love with you, Y/N.”

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Hope you enjoyed it!

Tag list is open!

Chapter two: Take It Easy

[singingunderthecurtain]

God, Is That You? | 20190320

Author: @julietsoddeye​ Genre: Angst | Fluff | Fantasy AU Pairing: Xiumin x Female Reader (ft. Taeyong) Warning: Language | Mention of ONS

Plot: Dear Diary, hopefully this is just a dream because this is not how he said it should be!

A/N: This one is pretty long lol D:

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﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎

~A table, a very long one, ahead of you.

A grand flower centerpiece in the middle of it.

Layers of plates right to your front and millions of cutleries at the sides of said plates.

A lot of yummy-looking Chinese food is served, yet not a single strand of noodle is on your plate.

You noticed you are seated on one side of the “power seats”, in the middle. You look to your right and your department bosses are there with your immediate manager nearest you and on your left side sat your colleagues and, of course, Taeyong the closest.

Everyone seems to be in fun conversations, eating and drinking alcohol. But they do not make a sound. You can hear none of their cackles or the silverwares scratching the surface of the plates.

You tried picking on your ear and nothing happened. You called out to them and no one seems to hear you, yet you’re screaming bloody murder.

You tried standing up, but your butt is literally glued to the seat. You touched your behind and–holy shit!–you’re actually one with the gaddamn chair… —WAIT, no, your actual lower half IS the chair!!!

“WHAT IS HAPPENING, AAAAAAAAAAA!?!?!” you scream once again. 

Are you deaf all of a sudden, but you can hear yourself… Or do you just hear yourself in your mind? AAAAAAAAA

“Dang, you don’t have to yell— Can you please pass the chili oil?”

You suddenly hear something other than yourself.

“What?!” you called out again.

“I said… Pass me the gad-dang chili oil!”

You crank your attention to the direction of the voice, on the other side of the table across from you. It looks like he is miles away but you can see him crisp and clear. 

This… delicately ethereal-looking being has soft rosy hair, he’s wearing a creamy pink and white bomber jacket and a pair of cream pants. His–pinkiness–compliments his snowy skin.

Gosh, you haven’t seen such gracefulness in your life.

Wait, no, that’s a lie. Taeyong is handsome too. But /he/ is different...

“I can’t move, I’m a chair,” you said with a small voice.

“Haha, sorry about that!” he stood from his position and up in the chair he previously occupied. 

The aura suddenly changed and beams of luminescence suddenly shone behind him as he ascended slowly into the air.

“HOLY FU—” you stopped yourself from cursing, noticing that no one is paying attention to what was happening to him but you.

“God, is that you?”

“Silly, I’m not God. I’m just…” he started with a laugh as he forwards closer to where you are, still floating in the air like a divine being, “Well, you can say I’m a guardian. Your guardian.” he continues when his bare feet touch the ground in front of you.

Looking behind him, everything and everyone is gone. Not Taeyong, not a single one in sight. You’re now in a field of pink rose petals, several butterflies of different shapes, colors, and sizes flying around the both of you.

You see you have your feet back, barefoot just like he is. You wiggle your toes and giggle when the flower petals tickle your pads. You’re wearing a sabrina-neckline amaranth lace ball gown, the hem just a few inches above your knees.

You look up from below and he is just a few feet away from you, smiling serenely, watching your every action. Gosh, his beautiful monolid eyes are much, much more appealing up close. He’s not reacting any more than him smiling, probably waiting for you to talk again first.

“So… You’re an angel???” you carefully ask, your eyes narrow at him, brows raised waiting for a response.

“Ah, you’re so adorable,” his cheeks bunched very cutely when he grinned and expressed his adoration.

“Uhh…”

“But to answer your question, no, I am not an Angel.” he grins once again.

You can totally see his gums, but it's so cute and his teeth are so cute and he's so cute. UWU

“BUT!!!” before you can even react he exclaims, “I will give you a gift.” He continued.

“A gi—”

He suddenly plunks his right pointer finger on your lips, stopping you from talking any further.

“Shh, shh, shh. Stop talking, you just listen, okay?” he widens his eyes at you and you have no other choice but to widen your eyes as well and bob your head as a reply.

“When you wake up, you will be in a much better time… Or at least the beginning of a better life for you. A life you always wanted.”

His hands are holding your shoulders tightly. Not tight to a point that it causes discomfort for you, but just tight enough for you to have a hint, a little taste, a tinge of his excitement. You smiled when his smile widened.

“But be careful of men… Some men.”

And just that, his elation dips. You dare not reply.

“Okay?” he asks and you just nod again.

“Okay.” and his smile is back.

“I am going to wake you up now, okay?” he slowly pushes you back and when he stops, his hands leave your shoulders and you can already feel the dreariness of his absence.

The cute, pink-haired angel, God, celestial being, guy—inhaled and then exhaled—before suddenly giving you a quick peck on the lips.~

As you opened your eyes, you thought, ‘holy crap!’

“When you wake up, you will be in a much better time… Or at least the beginning of a better life for you. A life you always wanted.”

Those words flutter in your mind. You can still hear a trace of his voice ringing in your ears.

And he kissed you, he said he will wake you up and then kissed you… And then you wake up, and…

“Damn,” you rub your eyes to wake yourself up and then grab your phone to check the date.

Of course, it’s still the twentieth. It was just a weird dream. Did you honestly believe that?

Although, last night, talking with that guy from that dating app definitely took your boredom away.

You messaged each other nonstop for three hours straight, no joke. If you haven’t fallen asleep, you probably have texted longer.

He sent you pictures of his cat and you sent him pictures of your plants. He said he wanted to start taking care of plants too, but he’s suddenly become busy with the family business. 

Something about his dad wanting to suddenly retire and wanting XiuMin to take over as soon as they possibly can handover everything. You forgot to ask what business it was, but it’s probably a restaurant or a cafe of sorts ‘cause he said he and his dad bond over food a lot.

In that span of three hours, each of you has shared a lot about the other and connected so well. You feel like you already know him just by those tiny details he shared. 

Like that time he told you he was at the park drinking his afternoon coffee and some pigeon decided to invade his space, wanting to steal his pastry. He said he hates birds, but by the sound of his story in your mind, he’s probably afraid of them. Cute.

The thing though is, you don’t know what he looked like yet.

You never asked him what he looks like so he never bothered to ask you for selfies either. You do have pictures on your profile, but all of it has animals or cutie, kinda kiddie, filters that alter your face.

Well, that doesn’t matter, for now, you’re just bored. You’ll probably stop talking with this guy after you come back to work.

But when you woke up the next morning, you had about twenty messages from him. Two of which he realized you probably fell asleep as it was pretty late, but the rest are random things he asked your opinions about.

Of course, you replied. One apology for the non-reply from last night and then one answer for each thing he asked about. Gosh, you finally found it! The thing, or in this case a person, that will occupy you for the rest of your unwanted break from your routine.

BUZZ!

Wow, your shuttle food delivery is early. That’s kinda suspicious, but eh. You’re hungry now, just in time. You thoughtlessly open your door without peeking at your security monitor first and Taeyong’s face pops out.

“What are you…” you started.

“Doing here?” he chimed. 

You finish each other's sandwiches, apparently.

Taeyong pushes in, carrying three bags of food. Wow, more food. 

“You weren’t answering my texts and calls, I thought you died, dude.”

You told him you were embarrassed by what happened. By your temporary termination. He said it’s nothing to be ashamed of, it’s ‘part of growing up’, like what he usually says to you about, well, almost everything. Which kind of makes sense a lot, weirdly.

Not like you have control over what the management decides on, he said. And you agree. You don’t even know why you previously felt that way, especially with Taeyong? The Taeyong who has heard you burp like a man but still chooses to be your friend? 

But he said it’s cool and he forgives you, he said that very smugly when you didn’t even ask for forgiveness. You roll your eyes at him and playfully hit his shoulder.

You both spent the rest of the night eating and playing your favorite game on your console.

And right after your head hits your pillow, you realize you completely ghosted XiuMin for hours!!!

You quickly type a small sorry and explanation as to why you were M.I.A all day, which you know is not necessary, but you wanna do it cuz you enjoy talking with him and don’t want to make him feel like you’re finally done with him, or whatever.

Not bothering to wait for a reply, you instantly fell asleep.

﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎

WEDNESDAY | 20190320 — 3 things happened: 1.  Had a super weird dream. 2.  Met this XiuMin guy on Thunder last night and we connected??? 3. Taeyong visited me.

WTF OwO

[jinmindeulle]

valtameri | jwy (3)

moon

word count: 2.2k

pairing: jung wooyoung x reader

genre: pirate au, mermaid au, pirate!wooyoung x mermaid!reader ∣ angst, fluff

warnings: minor swearing

a/n: if you wish to be part of my tag list for future updates please do not hesitate and let me know! i’ll happily add you! ♥

if you haven’t yet, i highly recommend you to read the introductions first, as the story will make more sense for you with that information! read here:

ATEEZ crew

the mermaid world

link to valtameri’s masterlist here

happy reading!

The young woman was nearly dead.

By just looking at her, the pirate knew that she had little time left. Her lips were the deepest shade of purple, her pale skin was literally freezing under a long light linen shirt that barely shielded her from the cold and the rain.

The girl’s pulse was barely there. She wasn’t shivering, and her shallow breathing seemed to be slowing down with every passing second. Seonghwa took that as nothing but bad news. Really bad news.

“Jongho, we need to get her into my cabin right now.”

“At it.”

The youngest pirate easily lifted her off the wet sand and firmly took her in his arms. He frowned at the unpleasant sensation of her freezing body against his, but he pushed it aside and quickly made his way back to the Destiny, Seonghwa following close.

“What’s happening?” San asked, green hair soaking wet and glued to his forehead. After realizing that the dark spot was actually a person, him and Wooyoung had quickly gone down the ropes and informed their Captain, who had ordered both the strongest member and the doctor to go out while they kept an eye on their surroundings, just in case something happened around them.  

“She’s not okay” was all that Seonghwa said while running to his cabin, widely opening the door for Jongho to enter and closing it shortly after. When the doctor locked himself out, every crewmember knew that they weren’t allowed in unless they were needed. Seonghwa worked better alone and inside his own cabin; that’s why he had one for himself.        

“I need you to help me here, Jongho. She’s under hypothermia and just by the symptoms I can tell it’s severe. Bring every dry blanket and cloth that you can find and please tell Yunho to get started on a soup, the one he knows how it’s done.” He mumbled while the maknae carefully placed her over the doctor’s bed.

Jongho wasted no time and left, Seonghwa quickly getting started on his patient. He got rid of the soaking wet long shirt — the only piece of cloth that was covering her body — and rapidly threw his fluffy blankets over her form. He gathered some hot packs and after shaking them eagerly, he placed them on her torso and groin areas, as well as under her armpits and neck. Hoping for them to be enough until Jongho’s return, he took her now not-so-frozen hand and felt her pulse. Contrary to what he had felt some minutes ago, it was now constant and a little stronger. Seonghwa knew that she wasn’t going to wake up any time soon. But she was hanging on, and that was good.

He intertwined his fingers with hers in order to heat them up a little bit more and took a sit next to her. Her soaked dark blue hair was all over her face, so Seonghwa used his free hand to shove it out of the way and take a look at her features.

Damn.

He knew that woman. All of them knew her. But one of his crewmembers knew her better.

“I brought every warm blanket I could. Yunho-hyung’s already — oh my fuck…”

“Call Wooyoung now, Jongho. We need his confirmation.” Seonghwa interrupted Jongho with a mumble, unable to take his eyes off of her. He felt Jongho placing the blankets by the end of the bed and silently leaving.

How was that possible? What was she doing in a deserted island, all by herself? And most importantly… how is it that she had a pair of legs instead of a mermaid tail?

“Hyung, what do you need me fo… zeemeermin? How…?” Wooyoung’s eyes were as big as two plates. He was overwhelmed, shocked, astonished. He was certain that they were going to find her, but not in those circumstances and in that state.

“I don’t know, Wooyoung. I didn’t know she could do that…” Seonghwa snapped out of his trance, forcing himself to stop staring at her and got to work once again, covering her with the warm blankets Jongho was able to collect.

“She can’t, hyung. She can’t. She told me that no one except her father could, but just for short periods of time just as we saw.” The boatswain couldn’t move from his place. He was still cold and soaked, but he forgot all about that as soon as his eyes met her beautiful face.

“What if it’s not her?” Seonghwa murmured, carefully tucking her in “Maybe there’s a young woman who looks like her but it’s not actually her.”

Doubting was not an option right now. Not for Wooyoung.

He took a deep breath and approached his hyung’s bed, finally looking at her closely. It had to be her, and he was sure it was her. But there was only one way of confirming it to his crewmembers.

“y/n has a birthmark on her right shoulder that resembles a crescent moon” Wooyoung mumbled, slowly lifting down the — at least — six blankets over her collarbone area.

Wooyoung loved that birthmark. Every time a crescent moon was hitting the night skies, it reminded him of her. It was like they were meant to meet at night, like that birthmark destined them to get together under the moonlight.

And it was there.

“Captain needs to know this. There’s so much to discuss.” Seonghwa’s voice was low and it showed nothing but shock.

“Take care of her, hyung. I’ll go and tell him now.”

Wooyoung had never been so confused and happy at the same time. They had found her. She was with them, safe. Almost dead if it wasn’t for San’s great eyesight, but into recovering process by now.

However, she was a human being. One that could — apparently — walk and run, and there was no need for her to go back to the sea anytime soon. And that’s what she had always wanted to be, ever since she was a little mermaid, according to her stories.

Where was y/n’s astonishing tail?

“There’s no way”

“Actually, yes. There’s a way.” Yeosang stated, standing up from the dining table to get more stew out of the pot and in his plate. “If her father could make a deal with the Sea’s witch, then y/n could have made the same.”

“She ran away after Havelock told her she was going to get married off to that disgusting merman…” San intervened, quickly gulping down his glass of water afterwards.

“And we all know by now that she wanted to be a pirate like us. She was really vocal about it with Wooyoung-hyung, and once told Hongjoong-hyung so.” Jongho added.

“I still don’t get how is it that she literally traded her trail for a permanent pair of legs.”

“Is not that easy, Yunho, but y/n’s powerful down there and she may had had resources to find that Sea witch. It is known that she’s not an easy being to encounter with and even if you do, she would always want something in return.” Yeosang explained.

“We’ll have to wait for her to wake up for explanations. Until then, we need to completely change our schedules.” Hongjoong declared, firm voice, no hesitation in his eyes. “Mingi and I thought it was convenient for us to stay for at least three days in Bay’s port. It’s been a while since we’ve been there, so the Royal Navy won’t be looking for us there. I still believe it’s a good idea, but we can’t wander there for that long as we had planned to. We need to be more careful from now on. As soon as the Royal Navy finds out that the heir of the Sea’s is missing, they’ll go for her head. We used to stay in one place for as long as we could, but now that has to change. If she stays with us, that is.”

“She will stay.” Wooyoung nodded, eyes sparkling and full of emotion.

“We don’t know yet, Wooyoung. She may have wanted to before all of this, but we don’t know the reason why she’s a human being now. Our theory makes sense: she ran away and gave something important for her in exchange for a pair of legs because she wanted to be with you and live as a pirate. However, it’s still a theory. Maybe the witch of the Seas found her and cursed her for some reason. Nobody knows how bad or evil she is. And we still don’t know what is it that she sacrificed.” Yeosang’s gaze was intense, and that made Wooyoung hesitate. 

What if she hadn’t done that because of her own decision? Was she under a curse?

“We also have to bear in mind that her father is still looking for her and he’ll send messengers to report on her status. They’ll probably show up by tomorrow or the following days. We know we’ll keep her safe until she wakes up, but after that, we can’t choose for her.” Mingi added, sighing in defeat.

“That makes it clearer, at least.” Hongjoong broke the ice that took place right after Mingi’s statement. “We have been on the King of the Sea’s side for long because it gave us an advantage. Both of us against the Royal Navy. Now, however, our position is not the same. Us versus the Royal Navy versus the Sea entities. At least until y/n wakes up.”

“We agree that we cannot let Havelock know we have her until she explains everything to us, right? The reason why she’s a human being now, and more importantly, what was she expecting to do after turning into one, if she ever was expecting it in the first place.” Wooyoung eyed his crewmembers, looking for their confirmation.

“Yes, that’s for sure. No need to vote that.” Hongjoong reassured him, making the young boatswain sigh in relief.

“And if you ever notice something off with the Sea, please let me know. It is normal for the Sea to be rougher now because of the storm, but that is simply Mother nature. However, if Havelock receives our bad news when the skies are clear and no thunderstorms are around, and the sea keeps calm even after that, he’s up to something. He may know we have her or that she’s alive but up here. We need clear skies and rough seas. That is good news. Got it?” Yeosang asked the six men, all of them instantly nodding. “He may show up after three or four times we send his messengers back with nothing, so be aware of that if she ever wants to go out of the cabin once she gets better.”

“I’ll go check up on her so that hyung can have dinner.” Wooyoung announced, standing up from his place on the dinner table and waving goodbye. He quickly left the room and jogged down the corridor passing down every crewmember’s cabins: his and San’s, Mingi and Yeosang’s and Jongho and Yunho’s, to finally reach the last one of the Destiny’s second floor: Seonghwa’s. He knocked on the wooden door, patiently waiting for his hyung to open it.

“She’s no longer in danger now.” The doctor said as soon as he let Wooyoung in. “Her body temperature is around 95 degrees, which is good in comparison to her previous state. It’s still hypothermia, but it’s better. It should be averaging 98.6 by tomorrow morning.”

“How can I help?” the young pirate asked, carefully plopping down next to her and slowly caressing her now slightly colored cheeks.

“Body heat can help her more than anything else.” Seonghwa sighed, returning to his seat right next to her. He took the small bowl of soup that Yunho had prepared before heading off to dinner, and took the last drops of it with a spoon. Just like he had been doing the past hour, he carefully wetted her lips with it and slowly poured the rest under her tongue, feeding her like that. He had to make it that way if he didn’t want her to choke with the liquid.

“Can I sleep here then?” Wooyoung asked, already taking off his newly changed linen shirt.

“I was hoping you did. You are usually warm even in cold days, so your body heat should be perfect. We cannot risk it though. She still needs those blankets and hot packs.”

“There’s no problem for me, hyung. I’d do anything for her.”

“I know.” Seonghwa gave him a reassuring smile, nodding when he hesitated in wrapping his arms around her. “Do it, Wooyoung. She needs you.”

The pirate lifted the covers up and carefully took her in his arms. y/n was still a little cold, but he could bear that and anything just to save her. She was his little moon after all.

“I took some of your clothes for her to wear for now. We can get her some when we reach Bay’s port.” Seonghwa told him, taking with him the bowl and the spoon.

“I don’t mind, hyung. Go and have dinner. I’ll take care of her.”

“Let me know if you need me.”

Wooyoung nodded and closed his eyes shortly after he felt the door closing. He decided to shift a little so he could give her more heat, pulling her to his naked chest, her nose touching his collarbone. She was still unconscious, so he didn’t want to do anything more than just help her. He kissed her forehead, lingering there and smiling a little.

His love was in his arms now. His love was protected and wanted. His love was finally going to experience what she had always wanted to. And he was going to be right by her side.

next ↬ chapter iv — green and lilac.

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