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jae-canikeepyou · 4 years ago

Text

| kismet | j.jh | part one

pair: jaehyun x fem!reader

word count: 10k+ welps

summary: his parents sends him for a month long vacation to the country side to meet his other half, which so happens to be you. and alternatively, your beloveds asks of you to be in your best behaviour while he’s around. disliking how things turn out, you both come up with a pact with each other before your two families gathers together for christmas eve dinner.

genre: arranged marriage + bad 1st impressions

a/n: happy new year ✨ and you know what that means? *wink wink* new layout for my oneshots hihi! ok you guys this took soooooo long to write ;-; i wasn’t satisfied with the first draft so i had to reboot everything! and i mean everything!! :3 so i had this specific genre in mind for a long time and i’m glad that someone requested at the same time while i was in the progress of writing it~ i should’ve posted this on christmas day but i was spending time with my family :D hope you understand hihihi anyway i’ll stop this here so you can enjoy reading! ~j

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| part two | part three (final) |

jaehyun never reacted so quickly in his entire life, simultaneously spitting out the drink he consumed and eyes growing at the news his parents suddenly brought up. his neck ache at sudden twist. “what did you say?” he wiped the drips of coffee at the corners of his lips. his breathing intensified the more the silence passed.

mr. and mrs. jeong playfully sighed & exchanged looks as their son shouldn’t be this surprised regarding the topic. they have discussed about this when he turned eighteen. now twenty-three, he shouldn’t be so surprised or over-reactive about it either.

“you heard your father,” mrs. jeong chewed her meal elegantly, yet giggles were still heard through closed lips. “you’re meeting her next week.”

he squinted with plenty of doubts filling his head, he was sure that there was still a year left. and to him that also meant he has exactly a year to convince his parents to call off the marriage he never asked for, let alone planned it. he still has a lot- correction, have yet to achieve in his mid-twenties and having a wife now would be slightly cutting his privacy short.

in other words, the path to leisure he wished for after years of academics would divert to spending a life planned out for him. he had a diary and planner, and

they were organised and well-thought out. but he had enough of his parents writing out his future for him, why couldn’t he write his own love story?

jaehyun was on his second last year of veterinary medicine, having some of the weight and pressure of academics lifted off his shoulders. of course he knew he still has to study, he just felt a little relaxed knowing that he would soon practice his dream career.

never had he expected that time flew and was going to meet his fiancé soon.

his phone blinked with along with a message from his friends— mark and johnny. he briefly looked at the wallpaper of his long-time girlfriend of four years; she was the one who was on his mind. “nononono, i can’t get married now.” jaehyun’s panicking voice echoed the dining area, shoving the phone into his pockets.

mr. jeong raised a brow, placing his cup of coffee on the glass table. “relax, you’re not putting a ring on her finger yet.”

“‘yet’?!” the dimples on his face deepened as his cheeks bubbled. “mom, dad, i haven’t even met her!”

“hm? that’s why you’re spending the whole month at the countryside!” mrs. jeong exclaimed excitingly, and to jaehyun it seemed she was enjoying herself as if she were the one going there too.

“a month?! what am i going to do over there?!”

“isn’t this great? we finally get to see you outdoors instead of a laptop and report papers! you need a break honey.” his mother clasped palms.

“ugh i can manage my time—”

“once you start working i’m pretty sure you won’t have the time to, jaehyun.”

since the love topic was brought up, his parents started to dig out their memories during their dating years. jaehyun groaned and massaged his temples, feeling uncomfortable with all the love stories he already heard or been told about. “did you forget that i have a girlfriend?” mumbling, he let out a deep, long sigh hoping they would hear him. and that failed miserably. his parents were in their own world.

he shook his leg underneath the table and grew impatient with the duration of their conversation. “please, i’m begging you. i’ll get married in my own time and pace. sue and i are pretty much going to settle once we graduate-”

a certain ringtone perked his ears and his hands quickly pat his pockets to search his phone. he let out a sigh of relief, that his girlfriend psychologically read his mind and knew how much he wanted to get out of the dinner table, not to mention his parents’ overly attachment to one another.

“sue you called! i was wondering if you want to hang out for a while.” his voice was high in spirits. but word has it when it reached its high, it would plummet to the ground shortly after. “hey, what’s wrong?”

on the other line, just a call away from his girlfriend, was her held-in sob and whimper. “where are you right now? i’m coming to get you.”

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jaehyun’s limbs shook in anger and slammed his fists onto the stirring wheel so hard that this time he promised himself he would move on. last week, she didn’t just break up with him— that was a call for farewell, something kept well hidden from him and all this time he didn’t know she felt the way she did for the years they’ve spent together.

for a minute he wished this was all a dream, that conscious world would wake his slumber mind. it wasn’t. the reality pretty much awoke him and kept him up all night. he blinked several times, her words still numbing his hearing, wishing it was a lie... but he heard her loud and clear that night.

“...you’ll always have a place in my heart.. but i’m really sorry..”

he grew speechless though his heart had millions of questions. the windows of his lips sealed closed no matter how much he wanted them to be answered. opposite from where he was at, he stared at the porch of her house, waiting for a silhouette to appear before him. instead a luxurious car pulled over and an unfamiliar man took his coat off to wrap around sue. that action didn’t hurt jaehyun, but it was sue’s smile of comfort that triggered his pain more. seemed like she knew this man given that she let him into her house, like nothing heartbreaking happened before this.

the door closed and jaehyun’s teary eyes never left her residence until loud slams of swinging car doors opened on both sides of the passenger’s seats. “tsk.” he hissed and quickly rubbed the tears meaning to fall. him being seen crying would really make him a target for his friends, for not moving on. couldn’t risk being the attention more than he already was.

“goodness mark it’s not like we’re on vacation that you have to pack almost everything,” johnny threw one of mark’s duffle bags at the boy, earning a so-what kind of look from him. “we’ll only bring jae to the y/l/n’s then leave afterwards—”

screw this, jaehyun thought. by now he shouldn’t look too swollen to his friends. but screw mark for renting and living across from his ex’s house.

“save your explanation john.” jaehyun growled and started the engine, fastening his while seatbelt the two continued their bickers. more of it was mark’s shallowness that pissed johnny.

“yeah, save your explanation john- ow!” mark gave the tall lad a death-gazing glare at the pain that stayed on his skin.

johnny leaned forwards, tapping the dimpled boy on the shoulder. “dude, you changed your mind?”

jaehyun scoffed, resting his left arm onto the window’s edge as he drove. “mom said i should be accompanied. i didn’t want you both to come but she’s so insisting it’s getting into my nerves.”

“actually mrs. jeong said you might need us after your sudden breakup,” mark pressed the button. the window rolled up and down whereas him and johnny exchanged looks to try to liven up the mood in the car. “what are friends for, hm?”

“o-oh yeah. you’ll need us.. as in.. ‘sue’pport.” he nodded with a fake sob. soon mark bursted out in giggles and joined the wagon.

“‘cause you lost your ‘sue’weetheart.” “she’s making you ‘sue’per emotional.” “we were ‘sue’prised she dumped you.” “but as your brothers, we ‘sue’wear we’ll be here—”

“ugh! i don’t know why mom suggested you to come but your side comments really aren’t helping at all—” jaehyun rolled his eyes regretting instantly at the pain afterwards.

his friends found him hilarious. they were laughing so hard that jaehyun couldn’t continue or interrupt their exploding voices. “since when did you need help, mr. leave-me-alone?” johnny took a huge leap from his seat to be beside the offended boy. “for all i know you’re the type who wants everything perfect, in control and planned.”

“nah dude, right now..” mark zipped his bag. “he needs help with love issues.”

“this has nothing to do with my love! and for the record, about the y/f/n’s? it’s arranged!” he lowered his cap and slid back slightly against the seat while the car was on idle. “do i need to spell it out for you?”

“that can change dude,” johnny slurped on his giant soda takeaway. jaehyun battered his eyes but was careful enough to not leave his sight off of the road. “who knows this fiancé of yours could meet your expectations. maybe more than sue could ever do.”

jaehyun’s mind clouded and still had the effects from the breakup. still so fresh. he didn’t want to believe it in fact happened; that it was all true. he was sure sue was the one for him. hearing his pals say it word per word only had it finally sunk in— she dumped him.

it terrified him in ways he couldn’t imagine, haunted him countless of nights because he failed her. he even bragged to his parents that he would marry her and slip a ring on her finger. thinking about it, how stupid was he to hold onto that hope?

he looked like an idiot, felt like one and his friends probably viewed the same. they said his fiancé could outstand sue? she was the perfect package! what more could he get?

he had her.

honks of the vehicles behind led jaehyun’s eyes trailing to the stoplight that emitted green. he pulled over and johnny knew he had to take his place.

“here, let me drive. you’re not fit for driving. now, just be comfy back there, okay?”

—

hours later violent jolts of the car hit jaehyun’s cheek, regaining consciousness from his slumber just to witness the beautiful sunrise peeking from the horizon. he sat up, his posture trying to straighten to denumb nerves that held long during his sleep.

his playlist blasted the speakers. johnny had his legs on the dashboard and hummed with the music. mark was still sleeping peacefully like he hadn’t had a care in the world other than his precious bag of unfinished chips in his hands.

he groaned at the discomfort of pulled muscles and the sudden break to the countryside. if johnny needed an hour intervals for the drive he could’ve said so, right? but now they were at the open road, greenery and fields merging together in one land.

“what time is it? where are we and are we there yet? i’ll drive if what you do delays the journey.” jaehyun gestured him to move aside. “johnny, stop eating.” it was quarter to two.

“wha-? i’m hungry. hey, you’re the one who didn’t want to come and yet you’re rushing to get to the y/l/n’s?” johnny unwrapped his second burrito. “besides, we’re only five minutes away—”

“tsk ‘cause i need to piss real bad.” jaehyun was fidgety and panned the view before setting eyes on his friend.

johnny felt a churn in his stomach as his cheeks bubbled. “oh gross! i’m eating dude! if you’re gonna piss then do it outside?!”

jaehyun shoved the burrito into johnny’s mouth to not speak anymore. “rather hold it in than for you to puke in my car!” he held his strength while johnny fought his way to breathe properly. “i won’t piss outside and there are cattles who feed on fields!”

“bruh stop lecturing me with your vet knowledge- ah!” johnny held his forehead from the sudden finger flicking.

“dude, it’s called common sense. now move aside!” he shooed the tall boy off the driver’s seat. jaehyun stepped on the gas, heading towards a small town entrance.

they finally reached a couple of stores & restaurants, surveying and asking its townsmen using your family name to locate your residence. maybe they would know which apartment or house you resided in. except that was the twist of their understanding.

jaehyun and his boys were shocked to know how your family name plastered in posters and brand products displayed at open stores, but were more shocked to see the gazes from the people.

a little over an hour, they managed to get hold of more information as they were told your house was ten minutes away from the town. jaehyun walked along the pavement to grab something to drink, only to be poked by a young man who was around the same age as they were.

“hi.” he greeted the unfamiliar man. “i take it you’re looking for the y/l/n’s?”

he took a squint as he observed jaehyun from head to toe, circling around him. “uh-huh, you look like m’lady’s husband-to-be in the pictures.”

“e-excuse me?” jaehyun cleared his throat, seemingly unwilling to have this conversation going.

mark held his laugh per usual, it would take time to get used to jaehyun stumbling his words.

because the engaged man really wasn’t ready at all.

“yeap he’s the guy.” johnny popped the ‘p’ with a lollipop in his mouth. jaehyun rolled his eyes, taking the candy stick and tossing it away. he didn’t care about johnny’s scoffs.

the new young lad wore his motorcycle helmet. “sweet.” he prolonged the word. and that was when both mark and johnny lost it. they recalled the pun they entertain themselves with prior to arriving here.

“oh, i work with the town’s famous family,” he showed his i.d. wrapped around his neck. “you can follow me since i’m heading there too.” the three quickly twitched at his quick paced movement. “i’m kunhang by the way, but i’d rather be called hendery. it’s my professional name, it just sounds cooler.”

jaehyun furrowed his brows at the praise. “okay hendery, uhm famous? they’re big time?” he pointed at the posters holding your family name. “how so?”

hendery swung his face shield downwards. “you’ll see.”

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gallops of horses were drumming the entire farm. dust and dirt swirled with the wind in the air and it took a while for the boys to adjust their sights at the distance. hendery dropped a couple of spare boots for them to wear. jaehyun was in awe. horses were majestic animals and though he got to study them, he never seen such a number of them on the fields.

“oh goodness me our guest is here!”

they turned around to voice of a jolly lady, an apron on and folded cuffs from her clothing. “hello there! welcome! you must be jaehyun! my soon to be son-in-law!” she shook his hands and later pulled him for a hug. “oh you look just like your mother!”

“hi mrs. y/l/n. y-yeah, i get that a lot these days,” jaehyun scratched his head. “thanks for having us.”

her eyes trailed at mark and johnny, and they too, were pulled in for a hug. “i see jaehyun brought along his handsome friends with him! do enjoy your stay here with us!” she caught a glimpse of a figure approaching the crowd. “c’mere baby and meet the boys!”

jaehyun looked over his shoulder, lips parting and exhaled a short breath. she seemed young, she has a pretty face but obviously still in high school. what the? oh g- i’m marrying you?

“pfft no ew. i’m not getting married to you. i’m only 17.” she let out a chuckle, almost sarcastic enough for jaehyun to explode.

crap i said it unconsciously.

your mother lightly slapped her arm. “marg, where’s your sister?” she asked. “i told her to specifically come at the barn 1600.”

“she took jet for a ride. ‘detour’ she said, but i guess she’s on her way here.” she replied and mark choked on his water bottle. marg rolled her eyes. “green minded ass-”

“language marg!” hendery flicked her forehead, the latter held the pain. “the rudeness. sorry, kiddo here is the family’s baby. you’ll see the eldest daughter soon- oh! right on time m’lady!” he waved his hands up high.

jaehyun didn’t know what pissed him off more; one was at himself for being starstruck and in awe at you after his breakup, and two?

the beautiful black horse you were riding on didn’t seem to be halting. it was trotting at first. you were on its saddle. he squinted his eyes, were you smirking? unbelievable. he thought you were doing this on purpose. no, you were really going to run him over.

he noticed a change in speed, trotting then galloping on dirt. the sounds of it matched with the beatings of his rising heart. jaehyun took a step back, then it became more than one, until he was worried that he would end up being chased. there were couple of gasps and reminders of voices. he fell on his bum with palms hitting the ground as he breathed heavily, eyes still on you.

the horse listened to your rein, it let out a loud neigh with its front legs heavenwards. your laugh merged with it. “whoa- hey, easy jet, easy.” you cooed the animal, soon removing your helmet and hair flowed like those in shampoo commercials. “i think he got the message.”

jaehyun sat there dumbfounded, his brows drew together. what message? you were centimetres from killing him- wait. he saw you turn cold and your smile disappearing.

bingo! he got it. he knew the reason why you did this.

you were against the arranged marriage too.

johnny leaned into mark’s ear, who had his hands cupping his lower face. “bro, jet’s a horse so stop giggling and clean your mind.”

“dude i’m not laughing at that. just look at jae. i’ve never seen him so helpless.” he cackled a laugh.

once your feet were on the ground, he finally got a better look on you. you were wearing a light wooled grey sweater with denim blue jeans. your hair now on one side and boots stained with dried mud. you took off your gloves to put your hand out for a handshake, one rested around your helmet. “hi, i’m y/n.” you greeted with a smile, ensuring it was fake enough for jaehyun to notice.

“quite of an entrance.” jaehyun dusted his jeans and groaned at the exerted strength as he stood. “jeong jaehyun. veterinary medicine student..” he was about to grab your hand until you shoved yours into the pockets of your jeans.

“y/n!” your mom exclaimed with warning. “your manners-” she clamped her lips when you put up a hand, eyes darting at her later at him.

“alright, okay. look mr. i didn’t ask for your field of study and i don’t need to know or do anything with you.”

jaehyun crossed his arms, a fake smile plastered on his face. what an attitude. “apparently you will? because i’m here for the next thirty days.”

“is that so?” you hummed and jaehyun didn’t like how you singsonged.

he knew something was coming and sometimes he thought it was best to keep quiet instead of letting his annoyance towards you spark up. “good, that means you’re helping me out with everything i do here.” he heard you say. “and do things i tell you to.”

“what?” his eyebrows snapped, and for you it was quite entertaining to see this reaction from him. following the trail of your footsteps, jaehyun stomped on wet soil as he stood before you. “hey you can’t just order me around like i’m your staff!”

“of course i can, you’re in my property-” you gestured the land.

“no, it belongs to your parents.” the tone of his voice irked you. he was grinning too.

“i can do whatever i want and choose whenever to help. i’ll only listen orders from mr. and mrs. y/l/n if they want me to do work..” he trailed off, your mother waving at him with admiration— typical as she saw him like an long lost son. “..but i guess not. my mom did say i needed a break from studying too much and she’s totally right. i must be pardoned from labour.”

it was your turn to cross arms and give him a lop-sided smile. the audacity of this man. you felt like ripping all your hair out. “you think staying here would prevent you from doing labour, your highness? sitting on your throne all dignified and at peace? well guess what, just because you’re a guest that doesn’t mean you get to be treated differently-”

you heard him bubble out a forced snicker. what was it this time? “of course it’s different! i am the guy you’re betrothed to-”

“i won’t allow it.” your jaw tightened with lips in a hard line. “a person like you is not worth my time and definitely not someone i’d want to marry.”

he pursed his lips. “wow do people ever tell you how bad of a host you are? you just don’t go shoving assumptions into people’s faces for your own entertainment. we’re humans.”

“i’m only rude to you. and yeah, people are humans. but you’re the devil’s incarnate.” you pulled jet’s reins and led him to the stables in which jaehyun observed how you gave that same smirk from earlier. “see if you’ll enjoy your stay here, hubby.”

jaehyun clenched his fists and was sure little crescent moons already indented his palms. he only wanted sue to call him that. yet that was useless, they broke up. your face remained in his head and anger filled him up, now boiling so much that he felt a little lightheaded arguing with someone like you.

he wanted to yell but johnny and mark sandwiched him between them with hendery walking in front. “tsk it’s only the first day and i want to go home.” he scrunched his nose.

hendery had his palms behind his head, lips jutting to hold his grin. “m’lady—” he corrected himself. “y/n’s not usually like that. it’s a first seeing her so cranky and hotheaded.”

“really? how is she usually like?” mark asked with curiosity. “she seems cool because she smiled at johnny and me before the tables.. y’know, turned.” he shrugged with implications towards jaehyun.

“not cranky and not hotheaded.” hendery opened the door to your house, showing them to the large living area. “a lil’ different today but i tell you, our y/n is a professional equestrian. she’s passionate with what she does and—”

“a horse rider?! passionate?!” jaehyun hissed as he took off his shoes and brown coat, kicking it slightly to the side and hung it on the wall respectively. “she almost killed me!”

johnny hit the back of jaehyun’s head and clicked his tongue. “snap out of it jae, you’re overreacting. we’re at your future in-law’s residence and i think it’s a bad idea to badmouth their daughter.”

only a low groan escaped out of jaehyun as he refused to listen. “look, first impressions don’t always hit off a good start. but thinking how you both don’t have a say to this arranged marriage, your feelings towards each other are totally understandable.”

jaehyun pressed the bridge of his nose as he took in his friend’s words. if what johnny said was true, was it right for him to begin holding grudge on you on the first day? you barely knew each other. clearly he knew you hated him, yet if his parents were here and saw the whole thing, they’d ask: why risk the chance of not trying? and again, he remembered he was told, people can change.

—

throughout dinner, he got to know what your family business was and why it was well-known. he didn’t ask questions, they were just told to him like they were comfortable with it. they weren’t bragging either. perhaps it was due to the fact jaehyun would soon be part of this family that they told him the entire story.

you didn’t show up during the hour and honestly it got jaehyun feeling so much relief since he wouldn’t have to deal with another useless argument. he disliked wasting time and preferred to do this schedule accordingly, so remembering it only made him rage inside. he was glad he wouldn’t have to deal with you tonight.

except that relief was shortlived. you had to appear right when he thought of you.

great.

he tried to fix himself in his seat on the sofa by the fireplace, averting his gaze upon you while your mother continuously slapped you light on the arms. you probably finished your bath, given that you still have a towel wrapped around your head and a.. robe.

“y/n! have some courtesy! we have guests!” your mother warned as she gestured in front to cover you, apologising to the new boys. hendery immediately stepped in as well, his eyes shutting to a close and pushing you back to the bottom of the staircase.

“but mom! i’m hungry and there might not have any cookies left if you keep giving it to them-” you were cut off with hendery’s pats.

he brushed his hair. sighing, he had to shoo you away because you were clearly attracting eyes, definitely not the decent kind. “i have a jar prepared for you m’lady so please.. get dressed!”

you quickly ran up as you were told, mumbling and complaining. jaehyun and his friends were definitely at a loss for words. because not only were you careless, you were oblivious too.

mark scrunched his nose to start a conversation with jaehyun. “looks like she called you ‘hubby’ too quickly.” he closed his lips to contain his laugh.

“pfft jae your ears really are honest huh?” johnny pointed at them as he held his chest, fistbumping mark for another win.

he wasn’t going to tell them that he in fact did find you pretty, and the thing was, he shouldn’t be giving a reaction too soon. “it’s the spicy chocolate cookie!” jaehyun defended.

“huh, i didn’t bake any cookie with those flavour-” hendery pondered, but he stopped since he spotted jaehyun begging to help him here.

“you know that we know if you’re lying right?” the two squinted eyes, putting more pressure to the boy to admit what he felt when he saw you earlier. “bet ya felt something.”

afraid that your family could hear them, jaehyun grabbed their shoulders to huddle them in close. he cleared his throat to catch their attention, yet his friends continued their giggles. “i swear if you both embarrass me in front of the y/f/n’s, consider the days with your precious.. phones.”

“ah c’mon dude. don’t do that. we bought our i12’s together-” mark whined.

“then at least help me out here guys. i have a reputation to hold-”

“oh for being her hubby?” johnny gave a playful grin and soon was replaced with a nervous smile. “okay i’ll zip it.”

he heard your mother facetiming his mom, voices loud enough for him to know that there would be a huge gathering at christmas eve dinner. great, another one i have to deal with.

jaehyun put down his beanie and crossed his arms to snooze for a bit. he had too much going on in his head the whole day that maybe sleeping it off would let him calm down from all feelings he felt tonight. on the sofa, the weight beside him lowered, the scent of freshly baked cookies along with lavender perfume got him peeking under his beanie.

it was you, who looked like a squirrel happily munching away with your jar of cookies whilst eyes glued to the television.

he smiled a little to himself. so you can have this cute side-

fragments of sue’s face appeared in his mind. right. he was supposed to be heartbroken. he still was. a week into the breakup had remains to his heart. bothered with sue’s ultimatum and your annoying munches, he grabbed your wrists and out at the veranda.

it pissed him because it seemed like he was the only one who cared about both of your futures or actually would do something to change your families’ minds, where as you were carefree with your cookies. “hey!” you held the jar tight in your arms as you quickly slid your feet into your slippers. “rude! i’m eating!”

the rest of the people in the dining and kitchen area grew voices of woohoo’s, jaehyun’s pupils flared at their cheers. “just come with me for a second!” he hissed, turning the knob and closing the door.

“seriously jaehyun you can’t just ruin my happy time! what do you want-”

he looked in between the curtains from the outside, where he could faintly hear his friends talking the embarrassing things about him— especially how he felt for this arrange marriage. “aren’t you pressured or angry at the situation our parents have put us into?” he leaned against a column. “even my friends are joining the wagon.”

you cackled whilst scrolling your phone. “here i thought you only cared about animals, dr. jeong.” hearing how jaehyun scoffed at your comment, you shoved your device in your pockets. “and yes of course i’m mad! what they decided is so against my will.”

jaehyun stared at you and surprised that he actually felt exactly the same. “really? then let’s make a pact. sounds good?” he offered with arms folded while you still were occupied with your phone. “well?”

“why would i listen to you? as far as i know, we already clashed and hate each other.” you rolled your eyes. “what makes you think i’ll agree?”

he sighed. “y/n, i know you don’t want this, i don’t too. at least there’s something we have in common. i’m just thinking that we have to show them we’re not meant to be together. we both have lives we want to live without the other.”

there was a change in his voice. you could tell he was serious and trying to suggest something he’d want you to agree on. “fine, what’s the pact?” you gave an uninterested tone. probably a bad idea, you thought.

“like you said, ‘clash and hate each other’. we have exactly twenty four days to convince them that you, me, us?” he pointed at his chest then yours. “is impossible. twenty four days, it’s until the night of christmas eve.”

actually that’s not bad at all. “hm, that’s easy since i can’t stand you.” you said, now standing up to face him. “even better if we can do this in less than 24.”

“cool, we have to make our fights as natural as possible. no signals or heads-up. full-on make me angry and i’ll do the same. the more we argue the more they’ll believe there’ll never be an ‘us’.” his voice a bit lively than before. “i want my buds to be fooled into this too. just be realistic and- nghf!”

you shoved a huge cookie into his mouth. “tsk, you’re noisy. i get you so shut up. i agreed with the pact, but i have conditions, okay?”

jaehyun nodded as he chewed angrily with his eyes closed, though the cookies’ taste might’ve simmered down his temper towards you. “ha, then i have conditions too-”

“see you in the morning.” he heard you say as the door slammed with the attached bell ringing his ears.

now that was one of his conditions; no interrupting while he talks. he sighed seeing you head up the stairs. he sighed. “ugh, i can never marry a girl like her.”

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stretching as high as you can, the muscles loosened in every part of your body from riding yesterday. the sun shone its brightest despite the cold weather. you remembered the pact and you knew you would not let a day pass without bothering him. somehow his existence annoyed you to the bone, not even words were enough to explain how you felt.

at the farthest point your peripheral could reach, you spotted jaehyun peacefully— and actually enjoying— the hammock whilst faintly you heard mark and johnny debating which pronunciation was the correct one. fixing your boots as you walked towards them, the two scurried off to the side, noticing the stomps of your feet getting closer.

“get up.” you wriggled the hammock, causing it to be lop-sided.

jaehyun managed to balance himself from the swings. “what the-” his voice hitched. “you’re ruining my relax time!”

you pretended to ponder as you looked up to the sky. “hm, sounds awfully familiar, doesn’t it?” referring to his sudden action towards you the night prior.

“seriously y/n what do you want? i’m in no mood to do work today and i clearly told you last night-” jaehyun fixed his eyes onto your finger that silenced his lips.

jaehyun raised a brow and rolled his eyes. what was your deal? he thought. “condition number one.” you started, bringing your voice down. “starting today you’ll do the work for me and with me. considering you’re taking veterinary science, i’m guessing you know your ways through equine husbandry. so in the coming days you can check the horses’ health while i practice my rounds.”

ah, so that’s what this was about. “uh-huh, but my condition number one is you shouldn’t make me do labour unless you really need it.” jaehyun got off the hammock, chugging his glass of water like it’s one-shot. “it’s the first light, y/n. my service starts in the afternoon.”

“i see. you’re not a morning person.” you checked your nails.

“i so am! but it’s my month long vacation. let me enjoy this before i experience exploitation from you.” he forced a smile that made you want to push him off the veranda.

you walked down the steps and straight to the barn opposite from your house. “it’s either exploitation today or exploitation for the whole month.” you singsonged while you twirled in your stance. hearing him growl meant your tactic worked. “i’ll let you experience the beauty of country side, city boy.”

jaehyun’s brows narrowed as he followed you anyway, later looking back at his friends who were stifling a laugh. “did you just compare me to feces first thing in the morning?”

“did you just boggle up my brain with scientific terms?” you hid a giggle when you heard his friends finally bursting out and losing it. because they too, experienced jaehyun’s sudden blabber of uncommon usage of words, especially conversational-wise. “i made a pun but it seems like you acknowledge the nickname.”

“i did not!” jaehyun pressed his temples. “i may have misheard you but i didn’t acknowledge it! you’re too assuming!”

“mhm sure.. but you are stepping on one though.” you whistled and gestured mark and johnny to the stables.

jaehyun grumbled as he checked the soles of his shoes. indeed he stepped on it and licked his lips in annoyance that it’d be hard to clean it off. the door opened and hendery’s morning face only turned sour at the unsightly view. he tossed another pair of spare boots for him to wear before they both headed to where you all were.

hendery introduced the things they do here; feed the horses, fix their saddles repair them if damaged. they were minor things since your family did hire people to do them. and since you and him were professionals in equine sports, he mentioned you both spend all days practicing.

good, if it was you who toured him around the area, he wouldn’t think lasting a day with your intentions of ruining his mood. though it was part of the pact, it seemed like you enjoyed this a lot more than he expected. hendery brought him to places your family owned, land properties that expanded until the mountains. it’s no wonder you were free to roam around and unafraid of getting lost.

you made him do a lot. and he was glad he was able to handle, thank heavens. however he didn’t feel much of a challenge from any of them, where you claimed they were ones he couldn’t do. jaehyun lost track of time, the sky was his only companion to tell the hours and probably lost count of the tasks too. all he could remember was the endless bickering, yells and frequent eye rolls.

in all those, he still let you off the hook— first day of work and all, he has to be patient. and he wasn’t bothered with what you tasked him to do, until his friends stood behind you as you showed them the rest of the horses.

after you told him to move the bundles of hay he thought was the last, you were currently trying to make mark pet the horses as they were bobbing their heads towards the young man while johnny recorded his reaction.

“isn’t she all well now.” jaehyun rolled his eyes as he helped hendery lift the infinite bundles. “my friends get the leisure and i have to work?”

hendery laughed as he unbuttoned his collar. “she was told by her mom that you’ll be in her care since you both will get married eventually. plus mrs. y/f/n said it’s a way to get to know y/n too.” he explained, seeing you walk towards them with a hay cart, hands signalling your childhood friend to get some bundles from you. the final bundles were finally fed to the horses, and you skipped your feet to fetch jaehyun.

jaehyun knew you had intentions to make fun of him because the way you walked really pissed him off. so he decided to have his fun too. ”are you that weak you’re unable to carry a small patch? guess my hourly pay needs an increase.” he low-key flexed his muscles. truthfully speaking it was a sight to look at, too bad his attitude didn’t match it.

you rested on one leg while you look at him. he was testing the waters with you, smile slowly resurfacing as you gave even the slightest reaction towards him. oh it’s on. he annoyed you yesterday and would be a lot more in the next coming days. jaehyun leaned forwards that he was towering over you. his body made you feel small but that didn’t stop you from getting back at him.

“the only thing increasing for you is workload.” you hummed, putting back the cart into its place.

he glared at you as if you were dead meat. you ignored him. “i’ve had enough for today. muscles are sore.” hands in his pockets, jaehyun kicked the remains of hay off his shoes before he was stopped by you. “ugh you’re so annoying.” he clicked his tongue.

“nope, you’re not done until i am. we have to find materials for christmas wreaths at my grandpa’s up north.” you pointed at the mountains as you took hendery’s hands and soon mounted on jet with him.

“oh and i’m supposed to walk there while you’re so relaxed miss bossy?” jaehyun shook his head in disbelief looking at the distance.

“uh yes?” you laughed to yourself. “i don’t think you’ve ever ridden a horse before, but if ever you did, it’s probably at a carnival.”

sudden outbursts of emotions evident on his face now. “was i born under a rock? of course i’ve ridden!” he took the reins given to him by hendery. “and it’s not a carousel!”

for a while he had a certain confidence, his soles stepping on the stirrup and dimples deepening with the strength he gave to put his right leg over. but once that was done and high up off the ground, his heart beat an army per second. cash, hendery’s horse gave loud neigh. jaehyun had done this before as a child and definitely felt like one now. he should be able to handle a 30-minute journey.

jaehyun heard you giggling, perhaps he knew how hideous he looked. despite hendery seated behind you, you led the way for the most part of the ride. you were surprised to see jaehyun have gotten the hang of it. it pissed you a lot because he was vlogging with his phone— sputtering out words to keep the diss battle going. johnny and mark hopped on the available bikes, cycling on your sides, and their laughter rather calmed you than annoy you.

it pissed you a lot more because you’ve practically ran out of ideas to tell him in return. keeping quiet wasn’t your forte, you were a young woman with plenty of things to say, even more so to jaehyun. going through the woods, you signalled hendery to halt the horse for you and the rest of the boys followed you to gather the materials needed.

“this shouldn’t be too long to take.” jaehyun looked at the trees towering meters above him, then straight to you who was shaking head in disbelief. “we’re just taking the materials at your grandfather’s and head back, right?”

“did i mention my granddad?” you balanced yourself on large wood log. the tone of your voice started to warm up with bickers you weren’t able to tell him.

“you did!” jaehyun anticipated this and somehow he didn’t. “now lead the way to his place and we can get the hell out of here.” his eyes grew squints of disgust at his surroundings, as if he hadn’t been into the forest before. his friends went on ahead with hendery around the woods to look for what’s needed.

“nah, we’re picking acorns, pine cones, berries and other leaves by hand. his cottage is just around here but that doesn’t mean the materials are from him. let’s go, whiney.”

“oh my g-” jaehyun pulled you on the arm and off you went towards him. “y/n i’ve had enough for today and i’m so tired of taking your orders- i’m physically tired of doing things your way and i can’t think straight-”

“pecans?” you said as his eyes crossed to see your palms full of the shelled nuts. “you’re hungry, aren’t you? that’s why you’re so cranky and agitate-y.” placing one but onto a flat rock, you smashed it strong enough for it to crack yet not totally destroying the inside. you popped one into your mouth and gave the most taunting grin jaehyun has seen from you all day.

he was about to grab the rest of the nuts until you swung your arm that he wasn’t able to reach them. “y/n! give me some!” he yelled and the rest of your friends look at you both after hearing you laugh in the most evil manner.

“never!” you scurried off deeper into the woods. jaehyun rolled his eyes not at how fast you were, but due to how slow he actually was because of the amount of disgust he had.

he knew this would take all day and he didn’t know how long his patience can take for another three weeks with you.

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jaehyun couldn’t describe in words with what he experienced since arriving. if he had to compare with school, it was similar to studying and cramming for hours non-stop. it gotten him mentally exhausted, physically too. but the only difference between being cooping up in his room and doing work outdoors was the continuous nagging from you.

it was far from quiet. he could handle his mom’s high pitched yells. but you? anything that came from you or done by you made him want to plaster a duck tape on your lips. you were as annoying as a five year old child who looked for someone vulnerable to bully. unfortunately he became your prey because he was in your lands. and though there were times he was able to banter back, he always felt you still had the upper hand.

it was all sunny and good days out in the countryside and jaehyun found that fact the only bright side. he enjoyed it every single morning. yet sometimes good sunny mornings meets its bad, that is, when grey clouds destroyed the beauty of the sky. in this case, it was you. you were far from his dream girl— sue. she was elegant, poised and had a heart of gold. you were the complete opposite who’d rather be rogue and do things your way. other than completing ten christmas wreaths and feeding the horses or more farm work, he couldn’t remember what he did for the past eight days because all that entered his mind was the dictator you.

but today he felt different, maybe things wouldn’t be as hard than last week. he felt good. he sat at the long dining table with all morning faces exposed. it was currently 7 a.m and your mom have already prepared breakfast. and per usual, you were the only one they waited for before they start the first meal.

“marg, is your sister still asleep?” your mother put down a large casserole to warm up everyone’s stomach in winter.

marg only shrugged because for one, she didn’t care, and two, she stated that it wouldn’t be her doing this since jaehyun was marrying you. “oh jaehyun. please do head upstairs to her room and awake y/n up.”

“and why do i have to do this?” jaehyun mumbled to himself and johnny nudged him on the arm. he groaned and got up, his stomps were heavy and unwilling.

once he was in front of your door, he knocked twice loudly so he wouldn’t have to spend so much time to get you. there was a small tune playing in your room, like it was from a music box. the door was already opened. he peeped through the thin gap, seeing you still sleeping soundly. goodness’ sake, he thought, and entered the room since your mother was asking if he woken you up.

your room was in fact, neat. all things were organised and arranged. if there was one thing he learned from you other than being an ass, was that you loved stuffed animals. not a hint of dolls or barbies or any toy displayed related to that spectrum. two lines of medals displayed and they all shone in gold. plaques had your names and young portraits of you with smiles of victory. hendery wasn’t lying when he said you were a professional. he wasn’t going to lie— you were impressive despite the little horns coming out of your head.

he stood next to your bed where you were all bundled in a huge blanket. he raised a brow, it was strange for you to have two thick blankets covering you. “hey y/n.”

no response.

“y/n. wake up, your mom is calling for breakfast and you’re usually the first one seated at the table.” he wriggled your body with the butt of the umbrella and you didn’t budge.

“she baked croissants and aren’t they your favourite? dipped in chocolate ganache and sprinkles?” he tried sounding happy. note that, he tried.

this girl.. he bit the insides of his lips, spotting the markers in a cylinder container and took one to begin drawing on your face. his soft giggles filled your room and the strong scent of markers met your nostrils, waking you from your slumber.

“what the he- jaehyun?!” you hissed at how close his face was to yours, failed to realising he was done drawing on your morning skin. “get away from me!”

everyone downstairs could hear the both of you, arguing like cats and dogs. each footstep might’ve covered the entire floor above them and the ceiling could give in.

“you ruined my morning with your ugly face!” “what?! you’re more ugly, ugly!” “you entered my room?! you have no rights!” “breakfast’s ready and your mom asked me to!” “well my nose could’ve smelled mom’s food but i smelled your stinky breath instead!”

“whatever, i finished your share of croissants!” jaehyun quickly head down the staircase.

“you dare eat my food?!” you still had a blanket from head to toe as you followed him down. “no one takes my food!”

“your loss since you’re still in bed you lazy ass!” jaehyun sat beside johnny and continued his meal. “and you were snoring loud too-”

“i did not- agh!” you grumpily sat and immediately eyed the last croissant sitting at the center of the table. all eyes were on you with black ink scribbled on your face.

there was an awkward silence then you felt jaehyun’s stare at the only food you wanted for breakfast. there was a back and forth battle of stares between you, him and the food. maybe it was the slow reflexes you have in mornings that jaehyun took the bread before you did. he stuck out a tongue as he deliciously ate half of it, chewing slowly just to let you imagine the flavours of sweet silky chocolate. you could feel yourself drooling and the cravings of your stomach rising up to your throat. every chew he did was a stab to your guilty-pleasure heart.

jaehyun stopped and gave a smug grin. “you wanted this y/n?” his question sounding a song rather than an honest one. “all you have to do is beg.”

you gulped, rolling your eyes. “shut up!” you kicked his knee out of jealousy and savoured the soup instead.

“ow!” he hissed through a laugh and looked at your mom. “mrs. y/f/n, i’d like to know the recipe for this. do you give lessons?” jaehyun licked the remains of chocolate around his lips, hopefully it was enough to cover up the violence you did under the table.

your mother giggled at his sweet talk. “why learn it from me when you have y/n to teach you?”

you choked on your soup and tear your gaze away from jaehyun to your mother, where she was already enjoying your shocked reaction. “oh give me a private lesson, bulldog terrier.” he propped his chin and mimicked clicks as if he was calling animal.

you quickly touched and rubbed your face to see the ink contaminate your fingers. the spoon reflected the dark circle around your right eye. “oh my g- you! this will be hard to remove!” the fork around your hand pointed directly at him.

“y/n!” hendery put down your wrists as jaehyun laughed loud. you took the wet wipes marg gave you and whined a little whilst you stood by the mirror behind jaehyun.

“don’t be so bummed out honey.” your mom assured, giving a wink to jaehyun. “it’s a small prank. marg did it to you before.”

checking yourself for the last time at the mirror, you rolled your eyes. “i have enough patience for marg,” with one hand you cupped jaehyun’s lower face from the chin spreading to the cheeks, soon pinching hard on his dimples with a pointer finger and thumb. “but none for the human bread.”

“ow don’t touch me!” jaehyun swifted his head to look at you and he saw you flashed a smile like you were satisfied.

“a human bread with molds. ew, i lost appetite so i’ll be out for a ride.” you stood up to grab your coat. “see ya ugly.”

“remember to you have to clean the barn house y/n!” your mom called out.

“yeah got that!”

johnny and mark bent their heads down and let their friends suffer from multiple dots on his faces. what made it funnier was that jaehyun munched happily on his meal, hadn’t gotten a single clue. he then eyed you when you passed the window and straight to the stables. “isn’t it too early for practice?” he drank his cup of hot chocolate.

“she can ride all day. sometimes she doesn’t arrive home and the next morning you see her sleeping in the barn house.” marg tied her hair into a high bun. “the amount of dedication is there, except the passion she used to have isn’t really there anymore- hey!” she glared at hendery who gave her a warning look.

what was that all about? jaehyun thought while his eyebrows met together and good thing it wasn’t obvious to your family. he was indeed curious, but he’d rather hear it from you than to look like a jerk who wanted to gossip about personal lives. the thing was, it’s you. though majority of the week was him suffering with workload, he liked to bicker with you until you gave up and had nothing to say.

so far he recorded as 5-11 in terms of owning the other. the latter was his score and he was proud of it.

hendery’s phone vibrated and slid it to jaehyun’s place. jaehyun blinked to adjust his sight to the brightness of the phone. a sigh came out of his lips and the rest of them could tell it was another order from you. “ooh that doesn’t sound good.” mark slurped his soup.

“it’s not.” jaehyun brushed his hair and hesitation slowly crept his body. “she asked me to clean the upper floor of the barn by the time she arrives.”

—

jaehyun massaged his wrists by twisting them. he looked at the barn house’ entrance because he noticed a figure approaching. you’ve had the best morning after jaehyun ruined it. as you rode, nothing beats the freshness of the cool wind. you love riding through the woods and grasslands. it sets you free from everything keeping you caged. your smile began to falter when you saw jaehyun who was not even halfway close to finishing. “you’re late. your mom had to apologise on your behalf because i’m doing the job for you.”

“ooh thanks! i’ll count on it!” you laid comfortably on a chair.

“hey!”

you leaned against the furniture, arms crossed where he was a floor above and standing at your 2 o’clock view. “dr. jeong it looks like you’re having a hard time. need help?” you stifled a laugh because he still has the ink marks you left on his face.

“on with the assumptions again, aren’t we?” he fixed his gloves and moved wooden planks from one place to another.

“yeah you make yourself too easy of a target, jaehyun. and i thought you’re the type to not take things seriously.” you tied jet’s reins to a pole.

“you’re forgetting my condition number two, you can only badmouth me if the others are around. now get your flat butt up here and move the tool box aside so i can continue what i’m doing.” he grunted whilst lifting.

dusting your pants, you were now standing a storey high. the sight of the height below you made you sick. jaehyun nudged your arm and you took the items blocking his way. you sighed and he noticed how fidgety you were. he put up a small smile. his entertainment from you didn’t end at the breakfast table.

he scooted closer to you, pretending to bump into you with the pile of tall wooden planks in his arms. he heard you hiss, and that was the signal to begin. “oops didn’t see you there shorty.” there was a change in his voice, a more aggressive type of approach.

“you’re doing that on purpose.” you checked the pained area of your forearm.

“what if i’m not? it could be an honest mistake.” he tilted his head away from the wood to see you.

a held-in soft disbelief laugh came out of your lips. “honesty doesn’t really blend in well with you.”

jaehyun gasped with arched brows. “wow i’m very offended— you think this face..” he largely gestured himself. “would ever lie?”

“if you want to hear me saying you’re handsome.. it’s not happening.“ you took the rope to hang on a nail.

“but you did say it.” he singsonged and you could push him off the loft but that could only happen in your head.

“then that’s an honest mistake.” you flashed a forced smile at him. you carried the boxes stacked upon one another. “if you have a huge ego like that i bet you never dated. no girl would ever date you.”

jaehyun fell silent, his mood to bash you suddenly changed. the shifts in his steps became heavier and as if he was putting his anger upon them. he didn’t like being reminded of sue, even if you unconsciously did so. “can’t you just keep quiet as you work? do you always have something to say? keep your damn mouth shut if you think all the fun you get is from belittling people.”

“okay sheesh sorry i didn’t know you have a heart for people too.” you removed your helmet to relieve the discomfort from it.

as time passed— two hours to be exact, the more your guilt begin to seep in you. jaehyun never spoke after that. silence was like death at this point. not a hint of sniffs and sighs from him. did you go too far that he actually chose not to talk anymore? all you thought about was the pact he suggested. what now? anyone could appear any moment.

this wasn’t like you at all. you hesitated to talk to him and to give the first move to bicker. you stood there staring at him piling boxes after boxes and sweeping the floor where dust accumulated like piles of sand. you bit your lips because screw this, you hated this atmosphere, you hated this silent treatment. “j-jaehyun?” you called out.

nothing.

“hey-”

“hm? guilt eating you up now?” you froze at his voice as he chuckled. “it has, hasn’t it? look at your face!” he was laughing, his hands holding his ballooning stomach. “y/n you should’ve seen yourself!”

your gaze followed his hands that quickly took his phone placed at one corner. he was recording and your obliviousness blinded you. “oh you have no idea how much i wanted to laugh! my cheeks hurt so bad! hahaha!”

“you’re not using that to blackmail me!” you strided towards him.

he put his arm high as you struggled to reach it. “i might as well do that thanks for the idea!” faintly you heard his friends coming to check as to why their friend had the laughter of the century, only to find you both bickering again like this morning.

“delete that video jaehyun! i mean it!” “not until you agree to clean the loft!” “that’s like telling me to do everything!” “then that’s exactly what i’m telling you to do!”

johnny put up his phone to recording the struggling you and jaehyun enjoying his time to take advantage of his height. “dude i’ve never seen jaehyun this happy since sue broke up with him.”

“yeah his dimples are legit showing it’s scary me.” mark squinted at the two of you.

jaehyun swung his arms to avoid your attempted catches. he scrunched his nose and although that was undeniably cute, you couldn’t afford to feel humiliated for another two weeks. “jaehyun please delete it!”

“it’s not convincing enough you know?” “stop joking around we could fall!” you hissed. “fall?! then stop trying to get my phone!” “then put down your ridiculously long arm!” “yours are just too short!” “i swear— delete the footage!”

“you have to sound like you beg for it—” he cackled and with a few stretches you managed to reach his wrists as you lunged forwards. “oi stop!” that one last reach only made jaehyun lose his balance and fell backwards.

and all you heard were yells of worry.

to say that you both gladly fell on soft pillows of hay was an understatement. at least that what it looked like to your friends. jaehyun was shocked, his arm felt numb. he took a good look at you and there you were laying on his arm with pale lips. “hey, you okay?” his hands were already out to help you. “y/n—”

“m’lady!” hendery rushed to you, causing jaehyun to flinch at the tone of his voice. he gently took your right arm, but you gritted your teeth and asked him to take the left. “painful?”

“not that serious.” you said, feeling the stares from jaehyun. “ew don’t look at me like that. i’m fine, really. let’s just call it a day.” you gave a small smile and he wasn’t buying it.

because jaehyun saw you clung onto hendery for dear life.

#jung jaehyun #jung yoonoh #nct jaehyun #nct 127 #jaehyun oneshot #jaehyun #jaehyun nct #jaehyun x reader #jaehyun au #jaehyun scenarios #jaehyun writings #jaehyun imagines

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mcheang · 5 years ago

Text

Secret Santa Clause

This is a rough draft but it is basically a salty Christmas fic...at least I think it counts as salty?

The class is holding a Secret Santa event on their class group chat. Knowing Chloe, Caline states the following rules:

1. The budget for each gift is 20 euros.

2. You must give a present once a week.

3. The present must be thoughtful. (This was aimed at Chloe since last time she just gave out her photos, hand me downs and autographs.)

Imagine Marinette’s surprise when she receives Lila’s name in her secret Santa email. Groaning, Marinette is silently grumpy for a while until she hits an epiphany. The presents have to be thoughtful, but the receiver doesn’t necessarily have to like them.

And Marinette can use this loophole to her advantage.

Marinette has Alya swear secrecy because she only hates Chloe and Lila so the suspects for who she has to give presents to were obvious once Alya noticed Marinette’s sour mood on the phone. In return, Marinette promises to give nice gifts and will even let Alya inspect them.

1st week: Lila received a commonplace but newly released Ladybug purse. She feigns joy but Marinette knows Lila hates Ladybug even more than her. So while Lila is cooing over her ‘BFF’ merchandise, inside she is really....

Lila suspects Alya, Ladybug’s #1 fan might be her secret Santa. She doesn’t suspect Adrien because he knows she doesn’t like Ladybug and is too nice to give her a gift she wouldn’t like. Lila doesn’t suspect Marinette because if she would give Lila a piece of clothing, it would be really cheap but the ladybug purse cost about 20 euros, so yeah.

Meanwhile Marinette receives colourful beads she can use for her designs.

2nd week: Marinette gives Lila an experiment of her Dad’s baking that she vetoed for Christmas sales because girls like Chloe would scream at the sight of it. It is a tin of one large, sinful fudge brownie stuffed with caramel and marshmallow.

Marinette gives Alya a small piece and the latter approves. Marinette knows Lila can’t trace the dessert to her bakery because they don’t sell it. Alya gladly provides Marinette with the nondescript brownie tin. When Chloe and Adrien smell the brownie, one runs away from carbs and fats while the other bangs his head on the table and reminds himself of what he cannot eat. Lila just munches on it without care. Again she doesn’t suspect Marinette because she thinks her rival would just get her cheap chocolates, not a rich dessert.

Marinette herself gets beautiful hair ribbons. Like seriously...are these really below the budget?

3rd week: a cheap silver pearl bracelet that matches her earring. It seems harmless but Lila is still irked at being turned into a clam. She hates seafood and pearls because it reminds her of her third failure and humiliation. This time Lila can’t hide her initial reaction. She shied away from the pearls. Upon noticing her classmates’ confusion, she claims she thought the pearls were real and didn’t want to be the cause of so much monetary loss.

Marinette receives Christmas roses and wonders if her secret Santa is a secret admirer.

Christmas Eve: time for the reveal. The class meets up at a party in the park. So when Lila looks around for her secret Santa, she turns around to see a smirking Marinette saying, “Merry Christmas, Lila.”

Lila is surprised and feigns pleasantness. “Oh Marinette, you're my secret Santa?” Lila starts going over her list of presents. Marinette knew she was a liar and somehow found out she hated Ladybug- probably via Adrien. And the brownie was super rich which meant now Lila had to work out like crazy if she wanted to lose the excess fat. Plus, everyone knew about the clam incident. All along it had been Marinette spitefully giving her those “nice” presents.

“Yup.”

“Where’s my present?” The grand finale that Lila would have to grit her teeth and smile over. Oh Marinette will pay for this.

“Look behind you.” Alya was beaming at her friend, so proud Marinette made an exception during the holidays. Lila is suspicious of Marinette’s wide grin.

“Hello, Ma Bella.” Mrs Rossi smiled at her Daughter.

“Mum?” Lila gaped. Uh oh.

“I managed to convince your mom to spend a few hours off work to spend more time with you. I hope you like your present,” Marinette explained, barely hiding the smugness Lila knew she was feeling.

After talking it over with Alya, Marinette learns Mrs Rossi is constantly absent. She also knew Mrs Rossi was the perfect person to expose Lila.

Lila was panicked, she had to get her mother out of here before her classmates started asking about her work. She can claim to want some alone time with her Mother. Revenge against Marinette can wait.

But before Lila could usher her mother away, the latter spots Adrien and goes “Oh you must be Lila’s Boyfriend. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Cue silence... then Chloe’s screech of fury.

“WHAT?”

Adrien looked surprised and horrified. “What?”

Marinette covered her mouth to muffle her laughter. “What?”

Lila laughs nervously. “I may have exaggerated that part, Mama.”

Mrs Rossi blinks. “Oh. Well then, thank you for keeping in touch with my Daughter when the school was shut down. Honestly, the incompetence of Ladybug and Chat Noir to have let the akuma run rampant for so long...”

Lila was aghast, silently plotting Marinette’s gruesome murder.

Caline was shocked. Shut down? What was Mrs Rossi talking about?

The classmates were furious. Incompetent? Their saviours? Who did Mrs Rossi think she was?

Adrien was denying the accusation of checking up on Lila, AND clarified he had only ever talked to her before her return to school via facechat, with the class, during school, when she was travelling to Achu with her Mother.

Mrs Rossi pauses, stunned, then turns to her Daughter. “Lila?”

Marinette: I should have brought chocolate popcorn.

After the whole exposure was revealed, Caline escorted the Italian Mother and Daughter to the principal’s office to discuss the ramifications of Lila’s lies. She asked the class to continue their festivities without her.

The class was silent from the event. Their Friend has been lying to them for months, had taken advantage of their kindness.

Marinette watched Nino comfort Alya, her face unreadable.

“Hey.” It was Adrien’s voice. Marinette turned to him.

“Hey yourself.”

“You planned this whole thing, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t plan Mrs Rossi to come at first. I was just going to ask Jagged to make a surprise visit.” And expose her for not knowing the rock star at all.

Marinette held Adrien’s gaze. She would not regret her actions. Lila had gotten her expelled, had gotten Kagami akumatized, and was a downright bully.

“Good.”

Marinette startled. She did not expect that answer.

Adrien rubbed his neck, “After she framed you, I made a deal with the devil. Either she got you back in school, or I end our friendship.”

Marinette felt a smile tug on her mouth. “You couldn’t find a way to prove she was lying either?”

Adrien shrugged. “I admit she is a master at lying, so I refused to play that game with her. I’ve been hoping she would slip up but that didn’t happen at all.”

Marinette grinned now. She kissed Adrien’s cheek on her tiptoes. “Well, thank you for helping me get back into school.”

Adrien cheeks were red. So cute. He stuck his hands out. In them was a worn sketchbook. “Merry Christmas Marinette, from your secret Santa.”

Marinette was the one blushing now. “You mean...you were secret my present? I mean, you were my Secret Santa?”

Adrien smiled softly at Marinette. “I was really happy to be the secret Santa for our Everyday Ladybug.”

Marinette’s smile was painfully wide now. She took the offered sketchbook, opened it, and saw rough sketches of outdated clothing. Wrinkling her brow, Marinette flipped through the pages, wondering why Adrien was giving her this.

Then she came to a certain page and saw a certain signature.

The shrill scream she emitted was louder than Chloe’s.

“An original Gabriel Agreste sketchbook?” Marinette looked at the old thing like it was the holy grail.

Adrien laughed. “Yeah, he didn’t mind giving it up. Of course, I had to find it in the attic first but the effort seems well worth it, given your reaction.”

Marinette took a deep breath, regaining control of herself. She looked up at Adrien again and, before her nerve failed her, asked, “Would you like to grab hot chocolate with me?”

Adrien beamed. “Nothing would make me happier.”

They walked out.

The class was left staring after them. In the previous silence, they heard the entire conversation. Marinette had been right all along and she had been a victim of Lila’s. Only Adrien successfully helped her get back to school.

Alya sobbed, guilt eating her alive. She was a terrible Best Friend.

The others were feeling horrible too. How could they ever make it up to her?

Nino took charge. He consoled Alya but said in a loud voice for them all to hear, “We’ll make it up to her. Someday.”

The rest nodded. Only Chloe was somehow silent before they realized that Alix had knocked her out when the blond looked like she was going to start screeching at Marinette for asking Adrien out.

Cue Sabrina starting to wake her BFF up.

Caline returns and informs the class that Lila has gone home. She does not mention the punishments the liar had gotten but insists they continue the Santa Claus event.

when school reopens, Lila is revealed to have been expelled.

Before that, Alya and everyone else but Chloe apologies to Marinette. She forgives them all.

Marinette finally breaks down the spite behind her gifts to Alya. Her BFF is so proud and even shrieks when Marinette admits her hot chocolate Friend-date yesterday ended in a mistletoe kiss.

Adrien meanwhile has a dreamy, rosy look on his face and doesn’t respond when Nino waves his hand up and down in front of him.

I kind of feel bad that their Christmas Eve was ruined, but oh well. For the record, the hair ribbons are costly because they use real silk and Swarovski crystals, but Adrien didn’t spend a dime on them because he just got them from free since their are Gabriel accessories. Gabriel doesn’t care.

For the record, Adrien’s secret Santa was Max. Lila gave pink stuff to Rose.

#miraculous ladybug fanfic #miraculous ladybug fic #ml fanfic #ml fanfiction #ml fic #adrienette #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #lila karma #lila bashing #lila gets exposed #lila is exposed #lila salt #alya salt #salt! mari #salty mari #salty marinette #ml salt fic #ml christmas salt fic #mrs rossi

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teriwrites · 4 years ago

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2020 Writing Wrap-Up

Something that I do every year on the 1st is go back through absolutely everything I’ve written throughout the previous year and compile it into one massive word document. Everything from outlining notes to unfinished short stories to my NaNo project wind up in that file, where I like to read back and reflect on what I’ve gotten done through the year.

Every year, I end up having written more than I expected, and this year was no different!

Total for 2020: 203,119!

This is the first recorded year (I think it’s year 4 that I’ve done this for?) in which I’ve cracked 200K! It’s also the first year I’ve ever actually followed through on my resolution to share some of my writing online! So as rough as 2020 has been, I still somehow managed to break some personal records in writing. Which probably has everything to do with the fact that I joined this community earlier this year, and it’s been incredibly encouraging and supportive!

I also branched out a bit more this year in a few ways. I worked on some poetry and prose, which is not something I’ve put a lot of time into before so tends to be a challenge. It’s nothing that I’ll be posting anytime soon, but it was fun to work on in the moment, which is especially important in such a wild year as 2020.

One snag that I definitely hit was the fact that I have a lot more unfinished work than most years. A majority of the short stories I started working on never got finished. But I can’t even be too upset about that, because I totally loved being able to read back on even the fragmented pieces I ended up with. And while I do think a large part of that (for me) is discipline over inspiration, I’m willing to accept that, sometimes, things will remain unfinished. And it’s okay to stop working on them.

My overall focus shifted a bit this year, too, which was interesting. I worked more on longer things than most years - started out the year by finishing my first draft of Castle on the Hill, continued making some edits and reworking its outline, did a large part of Beneath Alder Creek’s first draft in November. Right now, I’m working on what I expect to be a novella by the time I’m done with it. It’s a big contrast to the usual, short and snappy short stories that fill most of my previous wrap-up files. But I still definitely write those sometimes, and it’s nice to be able to try stretching and testing my own boundaries.

This is the part of my wrap-up where I go ham throwing in some of my favorite out-of-context quotes from a variety of different things I’ve worked on. Some of them might be familiar, a lot probably won’t. I’m going to post it beneath the thing so this doesn’t become even more absurdly long!

Some of the ~highlights~ of 2020:

First Thoughts in the Morning: wow the sexual tension between me and the alarm clock right now. Later Reflection: wtf? (a literal note on my notes app that I included because I Cannot remember writing any of this and it made me laugh)

Edriele’s gaze trailed down to the woman’s armor, and her stomach twisted. “Where did you find your attire?” The woman glanced down in surprise, as though she’d forgotten she was wearing it. “It was fitted to me when I gained my ranking. I suppose it draws attention, but after my confrontation at… you mean to ask me whether I’m impersonating a Knight!” “The thought had crossed my mind,” the Sister replied dryly. (novella WIP)

“Do you need to make a stop at your house before we head to the chapel?” Leslie asked as they started off. “What for?” Winnie asked. Leslie looked pointedly at the tip of her galoshes poking out from beneath her dress. With another roll of her eyes, Winnie sighed. “Oh, I suppose so.” (Beneath Alder Creek)

When the third meeting for the Society of the Hidden Immortal Tribe was called for the decade, I knew heads would roll. Gathering the entire society together took months. Everything had to be hush-hush; that was the entire point of spreading ourselves out. Plus, every time a letter arrived in the mail, it was a reminder of the idiot who had decided we needed a name change. Everybody agreed that being deemed the ‘S.H.I.T.’ was humiliating, but nobody could agree on a better title, so it had remained the same for nearly a full century. That was the problem with living forever. You always had more time to make decisions, and, in the end, nothing ever got done. (S.H.I.T.)

When she leaves, I’m not sure I remember a word of what she’s said. But as the stresses of the semester wash back in, and my mind clears like being pulled out of a dream, I suddenly understand how one could crash upon the rocks without realizing they’d ever changed their course. (A Modern Siren)

When Georg arrived later, he found Klaus leaning forwards onto the table, staring vacuously at one of his textbooks. "Studying hard?" he taunted as he approached and dropped into the seat Ingrid had been occupying. "I talked with Ingrid," Klaus explained. Georg's eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise, but he quickly recovered and looked pointedly at Klaus' posture. "Go that well, then?" "She said I'm arrogant and completely self-involved and that I never take what a girl says into account whenever I'm on a date." With a haunted gleam in his eye, Klaus stared up at his friend. "I think she's right." "Well then it's a good thing somebody pointed it out," Georg offered, and he turned to his work. (Castle on the Hill)

Takemoto Hana rested a hand over her face. She couldn’t see the swirling of darkness over her head, but she heard the whine behind its words. With a wry smile, she asked, ‘Do you not know how to brew tea?’ ‘Of course I know how to brew tea!’ The dark spirit’s voice boomed with a defensive defiance that rang false in the funny little woman’s ears. (The Funny Little Woman)

“None of us want to be here right now,” Edgar called out to the hall. “None of us want to go back through the handbook and listen to the steps of proper etiquette in immortality. But it seems that, once again, it’s necessary.” “Dammit, Dave,” muttered the man next to me. I said nothing, but I couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment. Dave was… how do I describe Dave? To call him an idiot would be underestimating his craftiness. To call him a genius, I’d have to ignore all of his dumb antics. Cruel was too strong. Misguided was too innocent. Mischievous fit best, but even that fell short. Dave was a trickster god, if ever one existed. (S.H.I.T.)

Ridiculous, he told me with a self-conscious laugh of someone who didn't expect to be believed. I smiled, but I didn't join in. (The Little Roads)

“Hey, where did Alina go?” Lorelai asked. Zoe shrugged, but Jaiden cleared his throat. “I think you crossed one of her boundaries, Lo. She specifically asked not to involve her girlfriend in this, and then you did anyways. I know we needed the help, but friendships have to be built on mutual trust, my dude. You should’ve at least let her know your plan before you went behind her back.” The two women stopped and shared a look. “Hey, Jaiden,” Zoe asked. “Do you know the capital of Canada?” He shook his head. “I dunno, Ontario?” “Amazing.” (Mirror, Mirror)

"We had a bet going over whether you'd make it in time," Hans told him. "Did you win or lose?" Josef replied. Hans flipped a 5-Deutsche Mark coin over to Peter, who grinned as he pocketed it. "I'm glad you have so much faith in me." Josef's voice dripped with sarcasm. (Castle on the Hill)

Taliesin reached over his head and grabbed at one of the low-hanging bows, picking leaves from it. “I’m not sure.” Winnie stopped. “What do you mean?” “I mean that I don’t know.” (Beneath Alder Creek)

While she attended to these, the man beside her began to stir. Ella could see him out of the corner of her eye, attempting to push himself up into a sitting position. ‘You may want to lie back down,’ she told him, scrubbing uselessly at her skirt. The man continued to sit up anyways, pressing a hand against the side of his face. ‘Am I killed?’ ‘No, but your savior may be.’ Ella threw her skirt back to the ground. ‘When the Madame sees the state of me, I’ll be spending my future afternoons off making a new dress out of the fabric scraps.’ A frown crossed the man’s face as he considered her words, followed by a scowl of understanding. ‘You work for them. The bourgeoisie.’ (Cinderella)

Ingrid took the seat and began digging through her bag for a book. As she did so, she explained, "There were no other tables open in the building - even in the quiet section upstairs - so I figured that I would just ask the first person I recognized if I could sit with them, and well... here we are." "Don't worry about it," Georg answered when Klaus found himself dumbstruck again. "Just ignore the oaf, he'll leave you alone." Ingrid shot a grin at Georg, and Klaus suddenly wondered whether it was a good idea to have the two of them sit together. (Castle on the Hill)

Up ahead, I could see the glass walls of the bus stop. Usually, I waited for the bus leaning against the metal frame of the stop, leaving the seats inside open for children on their way to school. But the seats were empty now. I still avoided them. (Flo’s Magical Emporium: The Pandemic)

Now, I ask that you do not feel too much self-pity. For as easy an error as it may be to mistake a visiting aristocrat’s son for the hired help, the true talent in such a display causing his immediate departure lies within you alone. And to think that the meeting was the work of your father’s tenuous sway over the court! Well, I am sure the time away will do him some good, lest you begin to consider that you’ve ruined his position as well as your prospects. (Dearly Detested,)

Edgar was at the front of the lecture hall, and standing beside him was Dave, smirking as though at some private joke that only he was in on. He was wearing sunglasses, despite the dim lighting of the room, probably because he thought he looked cool. I rolled my eyes. What a tool. (S.H.I.T.)

The work is different now. Countryside pathways winding through the forest lie forgotten for years without the familiar steps of a traveler. Off beaten paths in the city are never unknown for long, and sometimes streets that were once crossed by thousands a day fall back into obscurity. (The Little Roads)

“How much time will you give me to think on it?” she asked suspiciously, wrapping her arms around herself as though afraid they’d reach out to him if not kept in check. “You have all the time in the world,” the golden man said. “The boy’s, however, runs out with every passing second.” He extended his hand. (Beneath Alder Creek)

You ever met a rich person? Not comfortably wealthy. Not ‘my Uncle Kenny is a lawyer’ rich. Not even ‘widow answering the door to her manor on a hill dressed in fine silk’ rich. No, I mean proper, so-much-money-you-literally-can’t-spend-it-fast-enough rich. They say it isn’t worth Bill Gates’ time to pick up a $100 bill off the floor because he’ll have earned more in the time it takes to grab it. That kind of rich. They seem to be bred for times like these. Their houses are a source of endless entertainment – movie theaters, bowling alleys, personal gyms with a view of the sprawling landscape they overlook like cruel dictators. There’s no need for them to leave during a pandemic; they have access to the equivalent of a luxury resort most families have to save up month to visit. Necessities can be stockpiled in one of the useless extra spaces in the house. I mean, I once had to hide out in a luggage room for a contract. That’s right. An entire room dedicated to holding luggage, bigger than some of the apartments I’ve rented. I thought their residential labyrinths were my greatest source of grief. But social distancing? I’m one bad contract away from retirement. (Bounty Hunter During a Pandemic)

Shaking his head, Detlef pulled a new sheet from his notebook. “Look, I’m just saying, if we can get the satire right, we can be a modern Jonathan Swift.” “I don’t want to be a modern Jonathan Swift, I want to be a student actually passing his debate course!” Peter snapped. (Castle on the Hill)

Moonlight illuminated the German’s fair hair and pale skin, the effect more malevolent apparition than man. (Face on the Other Side of a Dark Window)

Back then, he’d been known for commissioning the exact same portrait of himself every hundred years, hanging them in a hallway in his manor and trying to pass them off as his line of ancestors to any of the locals. It had been a far less skeptical age, and Dave had earned himself a small band of worshipers before Jeff Goldblum himself had been forced to intervene. (S.H.I.T.)

Clara stood before the board of advisors assisting with her thesis. She was one, very intense paper away from her M.A., and she wasn’t about to risk it all by being too proud to ask for help. When she’d made the appointment to meet with them, she expected a series of questions surrounding her topic. Instead, they’d opened by offering her a job. “You want me to steal from the school?” Dr. Pye wrinkled her nose at the suggestion. Next to her, Dr. Pritchard said, “Don’t think of it as theft, dear. It’s merely redistribution.” Clara hadn’t amassed tens of thousands of dollars in debt to be lectured on the definition of robbery. “Either way, it involves me sneaking into the Chemistry department and taking a huge risk to get you some new toys to play with.” (Origins: The Ghost)

“Why is undermining Pryderi so important to Queen Ceridwen that she would risk breaking a timeless alliance just to dismantle them?” Her stomach twisted into a knot, protesting against the answer. “There are few members of the Dusk Court that we know by title.” A shadow passed over Enid’s expression. “The Lord of the Undernell is second only to the Queen.” “Great deeds build the reputation of one in their own court. Cruelty builds it in both.” Taliesin buckled under Winnie’s weight as she suddenly leaned against him. (Beneath Alder Creek)

“Why are all my friends so quick to endanger themselves?” I muttered as I packed up Midas’ crate. Natalie swiveled around from the candy aisle. “So you’re finally willing to admit that we’re friends?” “Save it.” (Flo’s Magical Emporium: The Pandemic)

#writeblr #writing #my writing #writers of tumblr #teriwrites #writing wrap-up 2020 #my wips #I forgot just how much I missed my boys from CotH until I was reading through it #wow I would die for those funky little dudes #also feel free to ask about anything for some extra context since I've never talked about half of these projects #anyways that's all folks

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mousehole5000 · 4 years ago

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wow i made this draft on november 1st i really took a break from this huh anyway tgcf chapters 121 - 142

i realize now this coffin scene was inevitable. feel kinda weird about hua cheng back and forth from Teen to Big Man but it is very funny that theyre having their “dude dont look at my boner” moment while in the jaws of a water dragon

pei ming: why didnt you guys make a bigger coffin so you didnt have to squish together like that? xie lian: haha yep!! anyways what brings you here?

“In the grand, spacious centre of the entrance hall sat a person. And this person, dressed in all black, its face snow-white—was a corpse! Instantly Xie Lian shut the doors soundly.” - king of minding his own business.

okay this is where i stopped putting notes here for a while but i did save some in my e-reader so here’s some of the highlights

“Guzi used to have a good sleeping form, but perhaps with his cheap dad’s bad influence, now he was also spread out on top of Qi Rong’s stomach like a dead fish. Lang Ying himself was curled neatly in the corner, and was covered by a few shirts. Xie Lian lifted the blanket covering Qi Rong, suppressed the urge to smother his face, and covered the two small children.” - xie lian funny moments. also it would be really funny if qi rong redeems himself by learning love through these misfit chiildren and it might actually endear me to him but i hope that doesnt happen

Every heavenly official was yelling, and even Ling Wen was throwing a fit. “DON’T THROW EVERY BIT OF USELESS INFORMATION MY WAY, HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK I HAVE TO GO THROUGH EVERY DAY? DON’T YOU ALL KNOW TO USE YOUR BRAINS A LITTLE BEFORE ASKING ME?!” - ling wen marry me right now

“An expression like “seen a ghost” that only mortals experienced was now showing on his face for the first time. Shi Wudu’s pupils shrank to the smallest they could, and he blurted, “You’re still alive?!” “I’m dead!” He Xuan said coldly.” - okay everythings going tits up rn but i did laugh

i did see spoilers re: ming yi/he xuan reveal + shi wudu’s fate beforehand so i dont have a genuine reaction other than oh shit

“He slowly enunciated each word. “I won’t touch your fate. But, here in this place, chop off your brother’s head for me.” CLANG! He threw a rusty blade onto the ground. Shi Qingxuan stared at that blade, his eyes wide. He Xuan continued, “Then, never show yourself before me again, and I will pretend you’ve never existed in this world.” - okay idk what else is going to happen but rn im concerned that this is like the 2nd biggest ship. i guess we’ll see?? i mean i am really curious whats going to happen to them. shi qingxuan keeps calling he xuan “ming-xiong” and i... sad

shi wudu im not really invested in you as a character but these next two bits... interesting

“If I don’t die but have nothing, then that’s truly a fate worse than death. If I’m not the Water God, I can’t take care of you. I won’t even be able to protect myself. I’m scared that we won’t even last two days…TAKE IT!” - damn. something about the wealthy losing everything and not knowing how to live without it bc thats their entire life and identity

“EVERYTHING I HAVE TODAY, I FOUGHT FOR MYSELF. I WILL FIGHT FOR WHAT I DON’T HAVE. I WILL CHANGE FATE I DON’T POSSESS. MY FATE IS UP TO ME AND NOT THE HEAVENS!” - okay so the whole committing spiritual fraud by tormenting a man and his family to get your brother a cushy title thing aside this was kind of badass. heretical? possibly. but still. also is he intentionally riling up he xuan so sqx doesnt have to kill him? if so damn...

also okay as long as im here im just gonna say it. the choice that he xuan gives shi qingxuan is fucking brutal but i actually think its probably as fair as it could be. sqx didnt know about or participate in what happened to hx but they did benefit from it greatly while hx lost EVERYTHING and i can understand he xuan’s thinking of “if you really feel bad for what happened to me then you have to make a sacrifice and understand the suffering and this is as clean as its going to get” and theres a bit where sqx is trying to beg for mercy but cant get the words out which im guessing is bc theres no good argument!! what happened was fucked up!!

“When Pei Ming saw that reinforcements had arrived, he didn’t appear particularly delighted; instead he threw the sword into the ground, then rubbed his nose and said, sounding grim, “You all just had to come just as I finished making these, what the heck.” - pei ming making coffins chopping down trees with his sword i love it #wastehistime2k17

“Xie Lian brought that basket of eggs along, and gave them away as souvenirs from the mortal realm. Many who received the eggs were overjoyed; some deciding to eat it along with their own blood, and some proclaiming they would hatch an eight-foot monster.” - GHOST CITY GHOST CITY

“Placing the brush down, he blew lightly at the ink and smiled. “If I like something, then my heart will not have room for any other, and I’ll always treasure it. A thousand times, a million times, no matter how many years, this will not change. This poem is the same." - thats nice and all but king... get therapy. i actually have further thoughts but tbh i dont want to put them into words bc they are simply too personal! moving on

didnt take any notes but somewhere in here was the bit with mount tong’lu opening and hua cheng losing it and kind of um. hm. that scene. thats another trope i really hate tbh i dont care for it as a way of including physical intimacy between characters and idk if it really ever adds anything but whatever moving on

The Half-Maquillage Woman - kind of interesting monster idea bc women and aging…. yeah. however i think this would be a lot stronger if there were a) more girls and this was b) discussed or illustrated at all prior to this moment. still interesting that its included knowing the author is a woman tho and there’s been comments on how ling wen is perceived vs pei ming. this book does keep giving me hope for interesting female character arcs i really want it to deliver something

quan yizhen..... i get u

lmao i have a note on a bit with lang ying that says “please dont be hc in disguise” and..... my clown nose was on but at least i knew that. for real this is bothering me how much he’s just. always. there. i know he’s a lead but we didn’t really need him around for a lot of this. oh well. okay now to my current notes

“Yet it was precisely because it wasn’t cooked that it had to be eaten quickly. Once Xie Lian cooked it, it wouldn’t be edible anymore” - fucking fantastic

“Xie Lian hugged his belly. “Of course! Only after having met you did I rediscover that it’s such a simple thing to be happy, hahaha…” Hearing this, Hua Cheng blinked. Xie Lian’s laughter quieted a bit, realizing what he just said was a little too revealing.” - okay i know i said what i said about being tired of hua cheng being everywhere but... the line…. the fact that theyre laughing together…. :pleading:

“It’s not,” Ling Wen said. “At least, I believe, there will definitely not be another in history who can create a dish called ‘Incorruptible Chastity Meatballs’” - and truer words were never spoken

“I, DO NOT WORSHIP GODS. “I, AM GOD!” - this was every bit as badass as i hoped but no one told me it was immediately followed up by a little bit of the ol dinner theater fjalkdsfjsd. also puqi shrine noooooooooo

“Xie Lian sighed as he thought, “Qi Rong has taken Guzi away, who knows if the poor child was eaten or abandoned. Wind Master...... ..... who knows if Black Water took him away. Pray they’re both safe.” yeah hey are we going to fucknig. find out what happened to the child???

and yeah i dooooont really care for the age regression? thing thats going on. i just dont like that trope tbh. but tiny hua cheng whipping out his fat ghost king wallet in the store was funny tho. it is really funny that hualian are just like wandering around some random towns while the heavens are in an uproar. i guess theres not much else to do but its funny

“Me too, me too. You all know of my shixiong, right? Talented, with an infinite future! He only had one small vice: he loved playing women. Decades ago, a little prostitute ghost seduced my shixiong and sucked him dry into human jerky, and that Hua, Hua, Hua, that ghost king dared shelter her.” - yes omg give me the forbidden hua cheng lore i love this for him for real it goes along nicely with xie lian’s principles about giving another cup. god i love shared values

“Hua Cheng poked again, and a small hole appeared on the wall, as if the wall was made of tofu.” - how’d he do that. why is this a ghost king power. its useful tho

*me shaking qi rong when he pops up* WHERE IS THE CHILD

mu qing fu yao is here okay im happy now. once again no one has a good grasp on their secret identity and i love that. this inn has descended into chaos and im delighted and im glad lan chang is back

“The good ol’ kitchen was suddenly squished and crowded, loud and noisy. Fu Yao was chasing that fetus spirit leaping up and down, Lan Chang was chasing after Fu Yao like she had gone mad. Half of Qi Rong’s face changed shape by the way Xie Lian was pressing him down on the chopping board, his back turning into a target for those yellow talismans Fu Yao hurled while being observed by a crowd, and Lan Chang would step on him from time to time.” - this is pure chaos. i love that mu qing was in that room when the mob checked and he didnt say a word didnt open the door just sent out a talisman as a warning. king your disguise is transparent

“Xie Lian remembered the way Feng Xin laughed until he was hoarse when he first heard that verbal password all those years back, and couldn’t help but feel nostalgic, even though it wasn’t the right time.” - awwwww omg im emotional about this... faithful friend feng xin laughing at xie lian’s stupid joke password and remembering it!!! ;_;

“They have, but they’re not effective,” Feng Xin said. “Usually they’re the most diligent in scorning the Palace of Ling Wen, like they could do the job way better if they had the position. Now that we need them to take up the task, not a single one can do even half of what she does.” - typical... typical typical typical

also emotional about the fact that feng xin contacted xie lian at all.....

also!! emotional about lan chang as a mom and wanting to help out sick lil guzi.....

xie lian forcing “fu yao” to let him help “his general” is making me.... what is friendship if not playing along with your buddies little shenanigans while also making them accept your help

“Someone like Mu Qing, even though he’s narrow-minded, petty, sensitive and skeptical, has a bad personality, constantly guessing, doesn’t say nice things, likes to nag, always offending people and has a lot of people who dislike him, has no friends, can remember small, unimportant details for a long period of time…” ”Xie Lian went on in one breath with a straight face, but in the end he concluded with, “...But I’ve known him since we were kids, after all, he’s still got principles.” - XIE LIAN PLEASE AFJDLKSFJDL omg ive seen this quote before but i figured he was talking to someone else not actually to mu qing himself fgjasdkfjsl. god thats amazing. hey im gonna help you out because i care but i will roast you first <3

waaaaaait so is lan chang aka jian lan that girl from book 2 we took a page to talk about and then disappeared? that has to be it why else would we have stopped to discuss her

“Jian Lan spat on his face, then choking his neck, she slapped him twice again. “WHAT SHITTY SUPREME! YOU SURE KNOW HOW TO BLOW YOURSELF UP! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, THINK YOU’RE EVEN WORTH TO BE THOUGHT OF AS EQUALS WITH THE OTHER THREE SUPREMES? WHAT ARE YOU EVEN GOOD AT? YOUR THICK SKIN? OF COURSE I DARE HIT YOU!” - oh this feels so good i cant lie. YES GET HIM!! CHOMPING AND VIOLENCE YES!!!!

okay this description of cuocuo.... im... that sure the hell is a creature

this book is so entertaining bc i already saw spoilers for the feng xin/jian lan/cuo cuo reveal and yet i could never have predicted the circumstances that brought it about. imagine being feng xin. the heavens are in an uproar and your only friend/enemy has been jailed for possible fetus spirit-related crimes but he escapes along with this female ghost who keeps causing problems. you figure “fuck it lets see if dianxia kept his old phone number” and he has but then he hangs up on you. you’ve got fuckall else to do so you go find him. mu qing is there but he’s in his disguise the two of you were using so you could watch over his highness while staying aloof. you think you see hua cheng only he’s a chiild for some goddamn reason but who knows at this point. the female ghost is also there and theres a fetus spirit climbing trees and biting your arrows in half. you realize the female ghost is your ex and the little demon is your son. it bites you. what do you do

amazing that despite everything going on everyone is still playing along with the “fu yao” persona when it would probably be easier to drop pretenses at this point. then again tbh if i could explain my actions to my friends while pretending to be a third party.... i probably would so.. carry on

“With all his devotees gone, only Feng Xin still treated him like the Flower-Crowned Martial God and His Highness the Crown Prince. ” “...his protection charms were all seen as trash. However, Feng Xin was still determined and tireless in handing them out; telling Xie Lian, look, you still have devotees.” “After all, he was the darling of the heavens since birth, high and mighty. Feng Xin so naturally spun around him like he was the world, so how could he possibly have his own life, his own heart” “Whether or not that fetus spirit was Feng Xin’s son, if it was that period of poverty that made Feng Xin lose the girl he loved, Xie Lian wouldn’t be able to forgive himself no matter what." ohhhh my god this relationship i. im...

oh my god i still have 30 more chapters until book 4............ its naptime now i think

#tgcf liveblog #so close and yet so far......#i keep hearing tell of this fabled book 4 i must press onwards......#but now im sleepy.....#mouse mumbles

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packernet · 6 years ago

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New Post has been published on https://www.packernet.com/blog/2019/04/24/2019-nfl-mock-draft-duel/

2019 NFL Mock Draft Duel

Over the last 2 years I’ve done 7 round mock drafts prior to the NFL Draft. I’m not sure I’m feeling quite that ambitious this year but what I am going to do is a dueling mock. The first pick is my prediction and the second will be what I would do if I were the GM of each team. Off we go.

Prediction Pick 1: Arizona Cardinals Kyler Murray QB Oklahoma

I’ve been pretty vocal with how silly this all is to me but I can’t honestly say this is a “what I think will happen” pick and not take Kyler. It’s certainly not 100% but it feels very real at this point. I wouldn’t sign off on it(their owner might not either) but as I’ve said, make it work and nothing else matters.

My Pick 1: Arizona Cardinals Nick Bosa EDGE Ohio State

Supposedly the Cardinals will either trade the pick or take Kyler so this isn’t very realistic but it’s my play here. The other option is to trade the pick but the risk of trading back and Bosa haunting us for the next 5-10 years is very real. Can’t let talent like this slip through our fingers.

Prediction Pick 2: San Francisco 49ers Nick Bosa EDGE Ohio State

The 49ers added Dee Ford and there are 2 ways this goes with Bosa. First, Ford is a bust in which case we absolutely need Bosa. Second, Ford gives us what we paid for and we have arguably the best pass rush duo in the NFL. Neither of those options aren’t awesome.

My Pick 2: TRADE Oakland Raiders 49ers Receive Picks 27 (1st) and 140 (5th) Kyler Murray QB Oklahoma

With Bosa off the board, the other blue chip is Quinnen but he really just isn’t what I want. We have a ton of 1st round DT’s on the team and have a lot of holes. After reaching out to find a partner it didn’t take long because the Raiders see Murray on the board and gleefully accept. Picking up another 1st and only dropping 2 spots is a no brainer.

As the Raiders GM I’m actually okay staying at 4 but when I hear the 49ers want to move and the QB of the future is staring me in the face, a guy I can pair with Antonio Brown and whoever we get with our 3rd 1st round pick is too hard to pass up.

Prediction Pick 3: New York Jets Josh Allen EDGE Kentucky

Josh Allen is seen as an elite player in this class and a fantastic fit as a 3-4 OLB with the ability to play the run, pass, and cover. I’m personally not sold on the value but I doubt this pick is a regret.

My Pick 3: New York Jets Quinnen Williams DT Alabama

Typically in this spot I’m looking as hard as I can to trade back. More than likely I won’t find a partner and would also end up taking Allen but with Quinnen on the board this is easy. Is it the biggest need? No. But similar to the Packers we have some good players but could absolutely use a guy like Williams and also have questions about players being available beyond this year.

Prediction Pick 4: Oakland Raiders Quinnen Williams DT Alabama

Word on the street is that the Raiders will take Quinnen if he’s here, otherwise they will take Devin White. Quinnen is here so this is easy both from a prediction as well as a “what they should do” standpoint.

My Pick 4: San Francisco 49ers Josh Allen EDGE Kentucky

It took me a while to talk myself into this pick but it really feels like the best of a bunch of options I’m not entirely comfortable with. First, I’m not sure I like the fit in a 4-3 defense. Not that he’s incapable but he’s less effective.

That said, he’s capable against the run and should be able to hold up. As for his coverage ability, if we want to get creative we can use him as a 4-3 OLB in situations and use the guys we drafted to be DE’s as DE’s.

Prediction Pick 5: TRADE Atlanta Falcons Buccaneers Receive 45 (2nd) and 2020 3rd Ed Oliver DT Houston

I was going to do something really bold as a prediction but decided to try and trade back and hope he’s still around.

The Falcons really really seem to like Oliver and there’s almost no chance in my opinion that he falls to 14. When the Bucs start calling around there’s no question what we have to do.

Great player, great fit, good value.

My Pick 5: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ed Oliver DT Houston

Oddly enough this is probably more likely to be the pick than my prediction which seems counter-intuitive but there is method to my predictive madness.

As for my pick, however, Oliver probably wouldn’t be my pick if it wasn’t for the fact that we clearly want to shove Gerald McCoy out the door. With Vea in the middle I want to be able to get a perpetrator and Oliver is it.

Prediction Pick 6: New York Giants Daniel Jones QB Duke

I guess this will be my first official bold prediction. The consensus seems to be Dwayne Haskins, including 5 minutes ago when I just read Matt Miller state the Giants really like him, but I’m not so sure.

The Giants have done a lot of work on quarterbacks but the 3 they seemed to be most interested in were Jones, Haskins, and Murray. Murray is gone and was reportedly too short and according to Dianna Russini of ESPN, the Giants don’t see Haskins as a good fit for their team and haven’t really put in a lot of work on him.

The only real hesitation I have is if the Giants feel Jones will be available at 17 but that seems silly. First, if he’s your guy waiting is always the wrong choice. Second, he very likely would be gone.

My Pick 6: New York Giants Brian Burns EDGE Florida State

I actually have a gut feeling Burns falls but not if I’m the Giants GM. We need a pass rusher really really bad and have done a lot of work on basically all of them including Burns who we had in for a private visit.

And no, for the record, I’m not even considering QB. I might take a flyer on Rosen but in this mock he’s staying with the cardinals. I’m stacking talent and will look for a backup later and our future QB perhaps next year.

Prediction Pick 7: Jacksonville Jaguars Jonah Williams OT Alabama

This might seem like a bold prediction but it just feels like good sense to me. The Jaguars desperately need OL help, not just for their new QB but for their run game which will be the focal point of their offense.

Jonah is a great fit for the Jaguars as a right tackle and as a guy that comes from a trenches kind of school that emphasized power over movement which should suit Jonah.

And lest you think it’s too early, Jonah made it know that he has been told he is the number 1 tackle on several teams boards including several tackle needy teams inside the top 10.

My Pick 7: Jacksonville Jaguars Jonah Williams OT Alabama

It seems strange that a bold prediction is actually the first to be predicted as well as what I would do but I just really like this pick and it makes a lot of sense to me.

It’s actually very reminiscent of the Mike McGlinchey pick by the 49ers last year which is also what I said I would have done in that spot.

Prediction Pick 8: Detroit Lions Devin White LB LSU

This was a tough call only because I think Sweat needs to be looked at here and supposedly the Lions really like him. I also considered Devin Bush as an option considering he may not be far from White and has the Michigan connection.

Still, the rumor is that Sweat may actually fall in the draft due to his heart issue. Beyond that, the Lions need a #2 pass rusher and a #1 LB making this more of a dire need as well as a better overall player.

My Pick 8: Detroit Lions Devin White LB LSU

Half of the reasoning in the last pick was my own so there isn’t much to elaborate on here. It’s a tough call and Sweat offers perhaps more upside but we need help here.

Trading is also an option but not really. Taking one of two good options is better than trading and getting neither.

Prediction Pick 9: Buffalo Bills Rashan Gary EDGE/DT Michigan

This wasn’t an easy call and I unpicked this twice but ultimately kept coming back to it. I wanted Gary to fall because I think his lack of effort at times with Michigan would cause him to fall further than we thought.

But then I realized this entire draft is about upside and potential. From Murray, to Oliver, to D.K. Metcalf, a lot of the first round picks will be about drafting upside and that’s what Gary is.

Beyond that it’s a fit. The Bills 4-3 scheme with needs in the trenches for both #2 pass rusher and interior help, Gary really does fit. The final piece was whether there was interest and the Bills have met with him twice including a private workout.

My Pick 9: TRADE Miami Dolphins Bills Receive 13 (1st) and 78 (3rd) Jawaan Taylor OT Florida

I’m assuming when the trade happens everyone is going to scream “Here goes Dwayne Haskins”. And then comes the disappointment. The fact is, I’m not going to reach for a QB and don’t think this is the year. I’m embracing the tank and looking to add studs.

With that said, whenever we do end up drafting a quarterback, we’ll need to have a much better offensive line because what we have is horrible.

We will still need help on the interior but with Tunsil at LT and now Taylor at RT, which was his position at Florida, we at least have a solid tackle duo.

Prediction Pick 10: Denver Broncos Drew Lock QB Missouri

I’m less that 50% sure this is going to happen but whatever the percentage is, it’s higher than any other pick so I’ll play the odds.

My Pick 10: Denver Broncos T.J. Hockenson TE Iowa

In general I’m hesitant to take a TE this early and tried to go elsewhere but this team is actually in pretty good shape. I considered Devin Bush but I think a bigger hole and a bigger potential help to the team would be a top tier TE like Hockenson.

Prediction Pick 11: Cincinnati Bengals Dwayne Haskins QB Ohio State

There might be bigger needs in 2019 and I’m not sure what the Bengals think of Haskins but I just don’t know how you hire and brand new offensive minded head coach and let a top QB fall right into your lap at 11 and not take him. So we’re taking him.

My Pick 11: Cincinnati Bengals Devin Bush LB Michigan

Haskins is definitely in consideration but the team in general just isn’t ready. Our defense isn’t great and our offensive line is straight trash meaning Haskins would just be the 2019 version of Josh Rosen.

Linebacker and offensive line are the biggest needs. Bush is the best option.

Prediction Pick 12: Green Bay Packers T.J. Hockenson TE Iowa

It’s interesting how in my prediction Hockenson, Burns, and Bush are all available and the “what I would do” they are all gone. Let’s hope this is the reality of the situation.

As for why Hock I think the Packers will want to stack the offensive side of the ball with talent and Hockenson is going to set the tone.

Also, as I’ve mentioned I’m getting a weird feeling Burns might slide a little bit and it’s hard to illustrate that if the Packers take him here at 12.

My Pick 12: TRADE Washington Redskins Packers Receive Pick 96 (3rd) Dwayne Haskins QB Ohio State

Losing out on Hock, Burns, and Bush is painful but we’re going to make the best of it and Haskins falling helps. A third doesn’t seem like much but we’re only dropping 3 spots and 1 team is taking a QB (Washington).

For context, pick 96, if paired with our other 3rd gets us into the 2nd round. If we use it with our 2nd round pick, it’s almost enough to get us back into the 1st. It’s a pretty big pick for only moving back a couple.

As for the Redskins, the temptation to roll with Keenum and see how it goes is there but I would like to have an actual competitive franchise and that means making moves for a franchise QB.

Prediction Pick 13: Miami Dolphins Clelin Ferrell EDGE Clemson

There was talk about Ferrell to Miami back in February but not much since. Still, the edge rusher position is an absolute mess and there is just absolutely nobody there. Ferrell isn’t my favorite prospect but he’s an absolute stud and should be a good fit for the Dolphins and a position of desperate need.

My Pick 13: Buffalo Bills D.K. Metcalf WR Ole Miss

This is somewhat of a high risk bet but I like the fit. Josh Allen is a big bodied QB with a rocket arm. Finding a WR that Allen can launch it up to and will have a hard time overthrowing is a massive asset especially for a team looking to build around their QB.

Add in the massive upside of D.K. and it moves the needle enough to roll the dice.

Prediction Pick 14: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jawaan Taylor OT Florida

Alright so Jawaan probably isn’t going to make it this far. In fact, I really wanted to have Tampa take him at 5, and if they do I expect full credit, but I thought a trade back in which they still get him makes sense.

Bottom line, the Bucs GM loves local players as well as SEC players. In his first year he took Mike Evans from A&M, next year was Winston from Florida State (ACC but local), then Hargreaves from Florida (SEC AND local), and then OJ Howard in 2017. Vea was the 1 exception to that rule since Licht took over.

I legitimately think he’s in play at 5 but in this scenario it’s beyond a no brainer.

My Pick 14: Atlanta Falcons Joshua Jacobs RB Alabama

I can’t say I’ve ever seen this mocked before but as I looked at our roster, I really don’t like our RB room. Freeman has been alright over his time but I’m not happy with a room captained by Ito Smith.

If Josh Jacobs has the ability to be a Alvin Kamara type player, putting him with Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu, and Calvin Ridley, there is no excuse for this to not be a top 5 offense again.

Prediction Pick 15: TRADE Arizona Cardinals Washington Redskins Receive Josh Rosen Cody Ford OG Oklahoma

Yes part of this is just for fun but I think it’s actually fairly realistic if we’re assuming Murray is a Cardinal. The Redskins have a better offensive line so hopefully Rosen will have a little better luck.

If we (Cardinals) are going to really do this we are going all in on offense. We need OL help badly and Ford is probably the best available player.

And no, the Oklahoma connection isn’t an accident. I’m dead serious about making this work and not only would I consider Hollywood in round 2, I considered him right here. Just call us the Arizona Sooners.

My Pick 15: Green Bay Packers Christian Wilkins DT Clemson

I hated having to pick here. I don’t really want Sweat but thought really hard about it. Otherwise I’m looking at Wilkins, Gary, Fant, Greedy… Dillard. Just not excited.

But the more I thought about Wilkins the happier I got. I really think he’s an underrated player that has Kenny Clark potential that will give us a 5th player along the front that can get after the passer as well as play the run.

It also helps us down the line if we choose to move on from Mike Daniels and/or Dean Lowrey.

Prediction Pick 16: Carolina Panthers Brian Burns EDGE Florida State

The Panthers are a team that likes to build in the trenches.

The trenches are trash right now

Burns had a great meeting with the Panthers

Burns’ brother played for the Panthers

Most of those facts are irrelevant but I like the pick because it sort of highlights where I think Burns could end up falling in the draft.

My Pick 16: Carolina Panthers Clelin Ferrell EDGE Clemson

Similar logic here but possibly an even better fit for the Panthers. Ferrell just feels like a Panthers DE being a long and physical type player.

Prediction Pick 17: New York Giants Montez Sweat EDGE Mississippi State

I wanted Sweat to fall with all the rumors about him possibly sliding out of the 1st round but the Giants need edge rush help as bad as any team in the NFL after losing Olivier Vernon.

Beyond that, the Giants now have the Panthers old GM who spent 5 of his 8 1st and 2nd round picks with the Panthers on players along the defensive front.

My Pick 17: New York Giants Montez Sweat EDGE Mississippi State

Again, it just fits. Even being a person that isn’t ultra high on Sweat I’m not sure how you let him pass you up.

Prediction Pick 18: Minnesota Vikings Garrett Bradbury OC NC State

This one seems all but etched in stone. It obviously doesn’t have to be but the need along the OL as well as the scheme fit with the new outside zone has everyone putting Bradbury with the Vikings.

I’m fine with this.

My Pick 18: Minnesota Vikings Cody Ford OG Oklahoma

The Bradbury thing makes plenty of sense and would be a fine pick but number 1, Ford is a better player and is athletic enough to play guard in an outside zone scheme.

Beyond that, Vikings fans seem to really like Pat Elflein who they drafted just 2 years ago. If they guys they already have can step it up a little and Ford slides in at LG in place of Brett Jones, I think that might be the biggest bang for your buck.

Prediction Pick 19: Tennessee Titans Christian Wilkins DT Clemson

0 people have mocked this which makes it a strange prediction pick but supposedly Vrabel, who is a defensive guy, Really likes Wilkins, tried to recruit him to Ohio State when he was there, and has met with Wilkins on several occasions.

It’s not seen as the top need but to say they don’t have a need at DT is silly. Beyond that, Wilkins is arguably the best player on the board.

My Pick 19: Tennessee Titans Drew Lock QB Missouri

Ya that’s right. Look, Mariota just isn’t getting it done and with another new OC, the odds that he finally figures it out is really unlikely. I’m not sure if Lock is it either, but if we don’t find a replacement, we’re going to have to pay $25M to keep Mariota around.

Let’s draft Lock and hope we can trade Mariota.

Prediction Pick 20: Pittsburgh Steelers Devin Bush LB Michigan

This is a dream scenario for the Steelers and if it didn’t just happen in this mock I’d say it’s a borderline impossibility. But here we are.

My Pick 20: TRADE Houston Texans Steelers Receive 161 (5th) and 2020 4th Andre Dillard OT Washington State

I really just don’t like my options for the Steelers here so I’m going to get a little draft capital to slide back a bit.

The Texans have what I believe is the worst offensive line in football. Dillard has a chance be be a legitimate left tackle in the NFL and I don’t want to miss out, especially with the Seahawks picking at 21.

Prediction Pick 21: TRADE Kansas City Chiefs Seahawks Receive Picks 92 (3rd) and 201 (6th) Byron Murphy CB Washington

Clearly I did the mock prior to the Frank Clark and since this is too hard to undo, this one is going to stick. I’m giving myself half credit for predicting and Chiefs/Seahawks trade.

The Seahawks wanted out of this spot badly for the sole purpose of adding picks. The good news is that they are now up to 6 total picks. The bad news is that the Chiefs kind of took them for a ride as far as value.

Either way, the Chiefs knew they needed corner help badly and Byron, who they seem to like a lot, isn’t going to last long. This isn’t a bad deal for them at all.

My Pick 21: Seattle Seahawks Rashan Gary DT/EDGE Michigan

I love and hate this at the same time. We need more picks and desperately need help on the offensive line.

On the other hand, Gary fits perfectly here, is a steal based on his projected value which some feel is top 10, and is a need especially with all the Frank Clark trade talks.

In other words, I wish he wasn’t available so I didn’t have to make the pick but he is so I do.

Prediction Pick 22: Baltimore Ravens D.K. Metcalf WR Ole Miss

I really have no idea what Baltimore thinks of D.K. and could go another route but looking at my board and their desperate need at WR it makes sense. I’ll put it this way, it’s the most obvious pick I could make at this point.

My Pick 22: Baltimore Ravens Garrett Bradbury OC NC State

My only question here was whether I was going to stick to my board (nflbigboard.com) or go with a need/rumor. I wanted interior offensive line and on my board Bradbury is higher but supposedly the Ravens like Linstrom.

Ultimately I stuck with the board and took Bradbury but either would be a great pick.

Prediction Pick 23: Houston Texans Andre Dillard OT Washington State

I already explained the reasoning and I’ll stand by it. Ultimately this could be Risner or any number of offensive linemen but it needs to be OL.

My Pick 23: Pittsburgh Steelers Chauncey Gardner-Johnson S Florids

Looking at the team, it seems like they’ve been doing a lot of work on DBs including CGJ. Ultimately I like the fit for him. He can be a single high safety which is a good pairing with Edmunds who they (over)drafted last year. On top of that, if he’s needed to help as a slot or against TE’s I think he has that kind of versatility.

Prediction Pick 24: Oakland Raiders Joshua Jacobs RB Alabama

I think the Raiders need a RB and although they can wait Jacobs is just different. He’s here so take him now rather than risk losing him and then settling for one of the 4th round running backs that everyone else is going to grab.

My Pick 24: San Francisco 49ers Nasir Adderley S Delaware

I’m absolutely stunned to hear people say the 49ers could win their division. I like almost nothing about their roster. I don’t like the WR’s, CB’s, LB’s, safeties… and the parts I do like are pretty iffy.

That said, the trade back is going to help and I think safety might be the biggest weak spot. Adderley with his sideline to sideline ability will hopefully be able to cover a lot of ground in the backfield.

Prediction Pick 25: Philadelphia Eagles Greedy Williams CB LSU

It seems like a slide and maybe it is a little but this feels about right to me. Either way the Eagles have a definite need and Greedy is probably the best players available at this point so it was a pretty easy call.

My Pick 25: Philadelphia Eagles Greedy Williams CB LSU

Same logic, the only difference is that I also had Byron Murphy available. Although I think Byron is probably a little better personally, I’m sticking with my board here.

Prediction Pick 26: Indianapolis Colts Jeffery Simmons DT Mississippi State

From the first time I heard this I loved it. The Colts are pretty solid and are likely headed back to the playoffs in 2019. Simmons should be back in time to help in the playoffs as well as give the Colts a top 5 player moving forward.

My Pick 26: Indianapolis Colts Jeffery Simmons DT Mississippi State

When I said I loved it, I meant it. It just makes perfect sense to me.

Prediction Pick 27: Oakland Raiders Noah Fant TE Iowa

We added maybe the best player in the draft at pick 4, got the top RB in the draft to fill a huge need on offense, and now added a scary receiving TE to pair with said RB as well as Antonio Brown.

I would say we got better as a team today.

My Pick 27: Oakland Raiders Noah Fant TE Iowa

Again, it just makes sense. They did really well with Jared Cook on the team and are able to replace him with Cook 2.0.

Prediction Pick 28: Los Angeles Chargers Nasir Adderley S Delaware

Yes they took Derwin last year and it worked out great but similar to the Packers, they have 1 and nothing else. They’ve brought in several safeties and not only is Adderley probably the best, he’s the best compliment to Derwin’s skill set.

My Pick 28: Los Angeles Chargers Dalton Risner OT Kansas State

The Chargers offensive line is not so great and Sam Tevi off the right side might be the worst of the bunch. The Chargers maybe have 1 more shot at this thing, we need to protect the QB.

Prediction Pick 29: Seattle Seahawks Dalton Risner OT Kansas State

Overall I’m not happy if I’m a Seahawks fan but I think this was navigated as well as it could have been. We traded back to pick up 2 more picks this year and still got a top tackle to help protect the highest paid quarterback in football.

My Pick 29: Seattle Seahawks Kaleb McGary OT Washington

Thanks to the Seahawks trade we get two chances in the first round and I can’t imagine anything better than replacing Clark AND addressing our need for OL.

McGary isn’t at the top of my board but fits the Seahawks love of east coast players and yes they had him in for a visit.

Prediction Pick 30: Green Bay Packers: N’Keal Harry WR Arizona State

I was torn between this and Chris Lindstrom here. I’ll be honest, doubling up on offense feels wrong but who wouldn’t be excited about the Packers potential if by the end of the day they added Hock and Harry. It even sounds cool.

My Pick 30: Green Bay Packers: Hollywood Brown WR Oklahoma

It’s a high risk play but I don’t want to be pretty good. I want to take a shot at greatness and the upside of Brown is insane. We can play him in the slot and outside. He’s a deep threat but can also terrorize the middle of the field and every time he touches the ball there’s potential for him to take it all the way to the house.

Rodgers has never had a player like this and I just want to see it.

Prediction Pick 31: Los Angeles Rams Jaylon Ferguson EDGE La Tech

The Rams added Clay Matthews and Fowler last year but this still isn’t a terrifying group. With Clay being a short term solution it would make sense to get someone in that can learn under the two first round picks.

My Pick 31: Los Angeles Rams Jachai Polite EDGE Florida

Ya I know, I know. Here’s the thing. I’ve said several times now that with Polite, either the interview stuff bothered you or it didn’t and if you can live with it just draft him. On tape polite is one of the best pass rushers in this class and never should have fallen this far.

The locker room in LA is incredible and that’s evidenced by the fact that they brought in several volitile players and went to the Super Bowl.

This will be mocked all the way up until the start of the season when Jachai is the #1 pass rusher on the team.

Prediction Pick 32: New England Patriots Dexter Lawrence DT Clemson

This is tough because all the talking points aren’t really available. Great players that are supposed to fall are all gone. There really aren’t quarterbacks here. The Iowa TE’s are gone.

With that, I’m taking a guy in the trenches to make a solid unit even better. Lawrence is wildly underrated in my opinion and is going to be a stud in NE.

My Pick 32: New England Patriots Hakeem Butler WR Iowa State

Which WR isn’t really the point here. If I’m making the pick I’m going to add a weapon and I don’t really want a big slot type guy. Just give me a solid boundary receiver and I think Butler is that.

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