#it was supposed to be about realising that by choosing power you will keep yourself from any genuine and fulfilling emotional connection 🤌

[jeanmoreaux]

me @ everyone responsible for sacrificing good storytelling on the altar of fanservice and making the decision to undermine the thematic and emotional core of the og trilogy:

[tuliptic]

Horizon: I’m In My Big Dream

Henlo working adults here, this is a reading for y’all. There was an anon who asked me if I’d be making a career reading so here it is! Not sure about how this connects with those who are still in school/college, but y’all can still try it out.

And yes, we're back with Ateez now hehet OvO

Close your eyes, meditate on this topic and ask yourself the question: How am I supposed to manoeuvre around this adulthood that builds on the basis of status and career? Breathe in and out, make sure your mind and heart is calm. Then, open your eyes to see which pile talks to you the most/draws you in the most. Once you’ve found your pile, scroll down to the respective parts to see what are the messages for you.

Pile 1    -     Pile 2

Pile 3    -     Pile 4

Disclaimer: This is solely for my entertainment purposes. Take only whatever that you feel like it. If it doesn’t resonate, it’s okay to just drop it. That aside, I do not consent to my work or here to be used by third parties on this platform or other websites.

Decks used: Luna Cat Tarot Deck (Major Arcana), Linestrider Tarot Deck, Flower Petals Oracle Deck, Sweet Dreams Oracle Deck, Starcodes Astro Oracle Deck, self made lyrics deck.

Pile 1:

One card to represent you: The Tower

Weirdly, I don’t see you being that catalyst of change. Which could only mean that there’s some huge changes that are happening in your world. It may be people around you, people close to you, or you yourself. Those changes are very visible and impactful to the point you’d be able to feel it even if it’s just happening to acquaintances. Imagine how heavy it could be if you’re in the centre of the impact. This change may be happening in your workplace or any place that has authority in play, where there’s this high possibility of lacking balance, especially power balance.

1. What am I hoping to achieve? - Eight of Wands rx, Page of Wands

From the cards, I see that you want to achieve a steady and comfortable career life without rushing yourself. You probably have something else by the side, or you tend to have a lot of activities once your working hours are over. To you, work is just… Work. You’re not letting it get in the way of the little happiness in your life. It feels like quite a few people have commented on how you live, saying that you’re not expanding or focusing on your career, which probably made you wonder if you have a career goal or not. Although you may be inclined to start a side hustle that fulfils your interests. Say for example, you enjoy doing art and mayhaps want to accept commissions.You’ve been having those thoughts in your head and heart, wondering if you’re supposed to take that first step out.

2. What’s stopping me from achieving it? - Ten of Swords

There are a lot of past hurts that I’m seeing here, which you may be using as an excuse to limit your thoughts, to limit your options. The past hurt is not healed, and to some, it’s still far from being healed. You thought you have moved on from it but everytime you see hints of it, or bits and pieces of it, you remember those times that you’ve gone through that pain and you break again, in another sense. To some, you may even be having physical pain or discomfort in your bodies. A weak constitution, perhaps, stopping you from taking the opportunities offered to you, or making you question your capability in completing a particular task. You realise a lot of things are more than just the surface, and the underlying conditions that you have just keeps holding you down.

3. What do I have in me to counter those hindrances? - Two of Swords rx

I would say that you have a very personal skill/talent that not many have: you have the ability to see the truth. Quite a few of you are capable of immediately finding out the root cause of a problem. Some of you may choose to work around the problem, but for most of you, I see that you have the tendency to attack the problem and the ones who created the problem. There’s a certain… Anger? Resentment? Towards things that are unfair and unjust. With that, you won’t be able to hold those in you and eventually lashing them out to the people causing the problem. This may have displeased a lot of people in the past, and you’ll continue to think that you’re on the right path. Your uniqueness is lovely, but also, maybe… See the next paragraph.

4. How do I counter those hindrances? - Ten of Cups

Maybe be kinder to yourself, to build a family where you can select who the family members are. There is quite a lot of pain and anger in you, and most of all, you guys don’t really have a place to rest. This is the time for you to rest with your family, your loved ones. There is help around you, and what you need to do is to find them out and use them well. You’ll realise that the emotional connection you created with the people around you is your greatest asset. They’ll not only be able to help you through the lows and the hindrances, I’m also seeing that some of them will be clearing the path so that you can walk through them without difficulty. It took quite some time for the cards to fall out so there may be some stagnation, something else that's stopping you from this. Take your time to dissect what you're going through.

5. What should I focus on for now? - The Hermit

I’d say that you should tune into yourself. Take some time off and rest, meditate even. The fatigue is running on you. Make time for self-maintenance before your body and mind decides the time for you. There’s a lot of self-healing and introspection that you need to do. You can discuss this with your friends and family, or the people around you. However, you need to remember that the final call is in your hands, you need to make your own decision on what you want, how you want to achieve. It’s difficult when you’re standing in between the crossroads. Nobody said that you should pick only one path to walk, so just have faith and run towards where you want. Expand your choices, try as many things as you want.

6. What other suggestions for my possible career path? - Five of Swords

What I’m seeing here is conflict resolving, so probably a very specific job in HR or customer services? Customer service cuz that’s where most of the conflict rises, and you probably know how to look at things from both parties, or even from a third party point of view, and provide the necessary help and solutions to the problem at hand. HR cuz of the conflict between the employees and employer. For some reason, I do not think of you as the spokesperson of the company, but for the employees, where you phrase your words and make the top management agree with the point you’re trying to make. These career paths probably never crossed your mind but you can have a look at them and see if they can help you in your career growth, as stepping out of your comfort zone from time to time is also important, as it helps you to see the different sceneries, reminding you that you can go further.

Overall energy: The Empress; King of Cups rx

You guys (gender neutral) probably have a more emotional side to you, which is pretty fitting to be in fields that focus more on interpersonal relationships and interactions. Some of you are probably doing something similar at the moment, but not all recognise this skill of yours. There are a lot of themes of exploration here, so it’s best that you take your time and try, explore and expand your choices and views, welcome the limitless magic into your life and see how your life changes in wondrous and unexpected ways. You’re not alone. Your friends and families, your guides, and sometimes even strangers will be supportive of you. Take care.

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Pile 2:

One card to represent you: Judgement

Most of you feel like the angel blowing the trumpet, being the bearer of the message; being the one who’s siding with the judge who passes on the final judgement. However, there are also some of you who are the ones being judged; being under the eyes of many and not knowing how you should react. This pile gives me the feeling that you do know what you want/need to do, but it doesn’t stop that fear and anxiety you have when you are under the eyes and judgement of others. However, you guys have a community or a friend group behind you, supporting and fighting for you as you walk on the path you choose.

1. What am I hoping to achieve? - The Sun

Recognition is one of your main drives in terms of career. You don’t really mind people fronting a project or being the main speaker, but you mind a lot when your efforts are not acknowledged and you were not given the proper credit. In your point of view (and honestly speaking, most people’s POV), a group project is made up of many people with different tasks, and it irks you a whole lot when someone tries to take credit for everything, including your efforts. You want yourself to be seen, to be noticed, to be recognised for your skills and work. In a sense, you want to build your own brand, you want to be known for what you’re good at, and if possible, you’d probably want to join some team that is efficient and aligns with your career objective in achieving the best. Incompetency stresses you out a whole lot. It’s difficult but it’s not impossible, and eventually you’ll be able to find the abundance that your career can offer you.

2. What’s stopping me from achieving it? - Five of Swords

You’ve probably been disappointed for quite a long time repeatedly, making it difficult for you to have that faith again to do things with that fervour you used to have. Right now, there’s a high chance that the feeling of defeat you’ve been feeling is dragging you down, where you’re just doing enough to pass by the days. This can be due to the lack of boundaries that you have not set properly, or you couldn’t really stop anyone from overstepping your boundaries. You probably have been known to avoid conflict for the sake of harmony, which kinda lets people take advantage of this.

3. What do I have in me to counter those hindrances? - Ten of Pentacles; The Empress

Ten of Pentacles to me usually refers to family, but what I’m picking up from here is work colleagues and weirdly, a King of Pentacles energy as well. There’s something here that I can’t really put into words, as it’s like a combination of masculine and feminine energies here. It’s like these energies form you into an all-rounder, allowing you to connect to people easier. You can have a hard/tough exterior, yet still soft and gentle in the heart, able to understand the inner clashes of other people easier. Maybe this is why you tend to get involved in conflicts, as you’re very susceptible to the energies of others.

4. How do I counter those hindrances? - Temperance

I’m getting a feeling that you’ve probably heard this from a lot of people, where they tell you to take a step back and regain your balance, to not put too much energy on others and to focus on yourself instead. This is exactly what you should be doing to regain your sense of self back. Meditation is something you can try, but most of all, you need to give yourself ample time to return to your optimum state. You’ll probably think that hanging out with your friends or doing things that you like is something that can help you regain balance, but it’s more than that. You need to be at peace with yourself, to listen to what your heart wants to tell you, to analyse what your head is telling you. Dreams may have some meaning and messages, so do pay attention to them. If you’ve decided to try out meditation, you can try communicating with your higher self. You may get some inspiration and guidance from it.

5. What should I focus on for now? - Nine of Pentacles rx

Discipline is one of the main keywords, which gives me the vibe that you should be very aware of where you use your finances and energy, to not let anyone out there drain your energy. You may have an ideal self that you wanna be, but some of you are pretty content with where you are right now. Either way, you need to remember that you are still you, no matter what you’ve done, what you’re changing into. You’ll need to recognise your own strength and your skills, to not take them for granted. It’s time where you take some time-off to do some self assessment to see where you are standing in the path of life, to see where you want to go and which step to take.

6. What other suggestions for my possible career path? - Four of Swords rx

For some reason I’m seeing counselling which kinda makes me laugh as you’re probably in need of therapy currently. I guess it’s that thing where you understand the importance of therapy when you go through them, and you in turn would want to help those who need that help. But yeah, counselling or therapist, or anything that helps with relieving stress and helping others to sleep. ASMR? Yeah those. Jobs that can help yourself and others to let go of the tension in their shoulders, to be able to breathe again. They come in different forms, but that’s the ultimate goal.

Overall energy: The Star, Page of Swords

Overall speaking, I think this pile is called to remember who you wanted to be. There’s a lot of tension here, but know that hope has always been with you. The Star has been lighting your way as much as it can, letting you receive the messages that the Universe wants you to know, and in turn, asking you to be that messenger to spread the good news to those who are in need. I believe that there’s a calling in you, telling you that you’re not fulfilling your purpose yet. You need to remember that you’re the co-creator of your life and destiny, and you’re supposed to write the story of your life, you’re supposed to determine what’s your purpose here.

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Pile 3:

One card to represent you: Justice rx

There’s a lot of things going on in this pile, where there’s a side of them that wants to hold control or be in charge of some projects, yet there’s another side of them that knows they have no power over them as they can’t even do justice to themselves. This pile probably tends to self-sabotage themselves more than other people, and may have faced unjust situations lately. Also, there may be a certain past that has been catching up with you. Remembering a situation that happened a decade ago? Someone who’s no longer in your life kept popping up in your head recently? Yeah that.

1. What am I hoping to achieve? - Ace of Pentacles rx

Financial stability or a favourable financial situation is the first thing that came to my mind. You’re probably in a not-so-okay state in terms of finances, which is why this card popped up in reverse. To you, being in a decent financial situation is like a new beginning, where you can do the things you’ve wanted to do without worrying about the potential financial difficulty or backlash. This would probably be one of your main goals, and is something that is considered a huge personal achievement, almost like a dream. It’s best to not daydream about it too much but to take action.

2. What’s stopping me from achieving it? - Nine of Wands rx, The High Priestess rx

You’ve been stretched out, constantly pushing yourself to achieve whatever temporary goals you’ve set. There’s also some self limiting thoughts, and some of you may be neurodivergents, which makes you not quite capable of being not-stretched-out.  You have not been kind or gentle to yourself, and have been ignoring the gentle voices in you that’s asking you to rest. You probably have lost connection with your intuition and/or your inner voice, focusing too much on the external world. It’s time for you to work with your dreams and your spirit’s energy to reach your highest good. Stay still, breathe, listen. There’s always some messages out there, in the wind, in the flipping of pages, and in you. Be gentle and kind to yourself, you deserve them more than anybody.

3. What do I have in me to counter those hindrances? - Nine of Pentacles

You have the skills and abilities in you, and I’m also seeing some connection and network you’ve built up throughout the years. This card talks about self development, providing for yourself, and that’s one of your main strengths. You have them in you to achieve the independence that you’ve wanted. Sometimes, you also need to invest in yourself, so that you can level up yourself and to also enjoy the fruits of success. Self-control is also something this card talks about, so it’s time for you to put a knot on impulsive spendings. Show appreciation to the little things, the little success, and happiness shall follow.

4. How do I counter those hindrances? :- Seven of Cups, The Fool rx

One thing I’m picking up from this is that it’s time to wake up. Stop living in your fantasy and start taking charge of your life. Unlike The Fool, who goes on a new journey with the heart and mind of a child, you’re going through this second journey of exploration and growth with the heart and mind of an adult, and with it comes more responsibilities. Dreaming about success is fine, but actions speak better than thoughts and empty words. Spend some time to listen to your heart, break free from the illusions that your brain is painting, and to embark on this new journey. You’ll meet similar sceneries and similar people, but you have to remember that they are no longer the same.

5. What should I focus on for now? - Nine of Swords

First and immediate thing I’m picking up is that you need to rest, that you’re in a burnout right now. You may disagree with this, but you probably have been experiencing an extended period of burnout, to the point you see it as something daily and natural. No, it’s not natural. You can’t expect yourself to achieve something because others did as you’re built differently, and you need to adjust to your needs accordingly. You’re suggested to reconnect with your inner child. Find something that you used to enjoy doing, and maybe find a friend to do them together. You need to understand and accept that you’re built differently with different needs, and then figure out how to work around it.

6. What other suggestions for my possible career path? - The Chariot rx, The Hierophant

Hmmmmmmm. What I’m picking up here is that you’re not suitable to work on something that has a tight deadline, or sudden projects. Some may require a fast paced project with clear directions given, but most who are picking this pile are not comfortable in a fast paced environment, hence The Chariot in reverse. You would prefer to work out your schedule based on the requirements given and go through them meticulously. First thought was freelancer but at the same time, you’re someone who needs stability and a fixed job. Being in a project team would be good for you, but not as the project leader. At least, not yet. By being in a project team, you’ll continue to gain experience little by little from various roles, and you’ll be comfortable with your tasks as time passes because you’ll get used to it. But in short, just do what you want and run ahead. Trust and believe in yourself that you’ll be able to work things out.

Overall energy: Death, The World rx

There’s a heavy message on change and rebirth, and your cycle is far from complete. It’s like… There’s a lot more to go, and a lot more challenges that are waiting in front of you. To some, this may feel like a very difficult period to go through, but you’ll realise that you’re receiving powerful messages from your guides right now, and you know that you’re on the right path. It’s like you’re covered in scars from all the battles you’ve fought. But look at it in a different light, think of those scars as battle medals, cuz you’ve fought through and came out winning. Everything you’ve done, you’ve fought for, has made you who you are right now. And this will continue, where you’ll continue to change and learn and grow. Abundance will land on those who work for it, so stay strong and keep going!

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Pile 4:

One Two cards to represent you: The World, Justice rx

You’re probably arriving at your goal, achieving what you’ve wanted to achieve. However, you’ve been working yourself to the brim and may have outdid yourself in the process. You’ll need to regain your balance and do justice to yourself. Take some time to rest as you’re completing this cycle, lean in to what is easy and comfortable and use that comfort to renew, grow, and expand. Gently expand your world through compatible people, collaborative skills, and through doing what you love. The World is a lovely card to get in any reading, but you also need to be aware that this marks an end of whatever you’re doing. Take this chance to ease yourself as you prepare for a new journey ahead.

1. What am I hoping to achieve? - Wheel of Fortune rx

I feel that you’re looking to gain control over your career and your life. You probably have lived a life that… Doesn’t give you any chances to make decisions on your own, and you probably hated it a lot. Now that you have the time and chance, you’d wanna take things into your own hands and feel how it is like to make your own choices and to live the way you want to live. You don’t mind falling, failing, or even climbing up from that pit. To you, it’s a chance for you to grow and to see how far you can go without having people to pave a beautiful path for you. There are so many people out there that you wanna connect with, and it’s great to activate that part of you. Just remember to remain true to your intentions, and you can’t go wrong.

2. What’s stopping me from achieving it? - Knight of Cups

I hate to say this but I’d say your home/house/family have been pulling you back. Your family probably has been doing what they think is best for you without considering your wishes. It’s like… Forcefully spoon feeding you things that you don’t like, or maybe even things that you’re allergic to, which in turn, ruin your health or may have tampered with how you view things. Part of you may think that suffering is beautiful, and may have romanticised pain cuz that’s what you’ve felt growing up. It's as though saying that the pain you're experiencing right now is something well-deserved. Now that you’re your own person, you’ll need to find a way to pull yourself out of those uhhh… excess sentimentality. 

3. What do I have in me to counter those hindrances? - Ace of Cups rx

Yes, we’re talking about that excess sentimentality here too. You have to keep everything in check, to not let that cup of yours overflow. For those who have no idea how the Ace of Cups look like, go ahead and google an image of it. Generally, it is a card talking about an overflow of love, affection and happiness. However, this card in reverse talks about the opposite, how these emotions have turned from positive to negative, and how it has taken control over your life. You have it in you to recognise this pattern, to know that this is not helping you, and you’re ready to wake up from this. The process of awakening. That’s what you’ve gone through, or going through. 

4. How do I counter those hindrances? - King of Pentacles

King of Pentacles is practically the last card of the minor arcana, and to me, it embodies a wisdom that is very different from The Hermit or other cards that talk about wisdom. The King here talks about earthly wisdom, something that is learnt from age, failure, success and growth. You’ve learnt through so many things in life, and it built you to who you are right now. It feels like career and materialistic items give you the reassurance and stability you need, and you use your skills to attain those. You may feel scared as you try stepping out of your comfort zone (aka stop letting others to shelter you and start to voice out for yourself), but pay attention to your heart and mind, do not allow fear to distract you.

5. What should I focus on for now? - Eight of Pentacles

Focus on honing your skills. Find one or two that you like most, or you think that would help you in the long run, and focus on them. Work hard and improve, get better day by day. Do not wait until you’re good, only then you market your skills. Market them now and grow better along the way. There’s no better time to start other than now, because you know that once you start, you have no way out and you can only grit through it. Listen to your life, listen to your heart. They know what you want to do and you’ll be surprised at how much you’re capable of doing.

6. What other suggestions for my possible career path? - Three of Cups

First thought that came into my mind is PR. You’re more suited to be involved in fields that require interpersonal relationship skills, such as PR, corporate communication, emcee, being on a writer’s column, even doing interviews, etc. You tend to have a way with words (puns, maybe?), and you may be known for how your words light up someone’s day. You want to be the Sun, without knowing that you already shine. There’s a lot of themes about sunshine here, where you can be the light at the end of the tunnel. Cultivate this skill and you will be able to see a huge difference in how you view and handle your current relationships. From there, you’ll be able to bring it to the corporate world and put it to use.

Overall energy: Judgement, Two of Pentacles rx

There’s a heavy judgemental energy you have towards yourself, and there’s also a lack of balance. It’s as though you’re trying to find your own purpose and what you’re meant to achieve, career wise and personal life wise. There’s a lot of pent up frustration (and a little bit of anger) here, but you need to be kind to yourself. It’s alright to not be able to do things on your own, as you’re meant to achieve great things along with people. Remember, you are stronger when you’re not alone. Collaborating on projects doesn’t make you less important, as we all play our own role in everything. There’s this personal experience that I want to share as I type this out. I used to be in charge of doing the introduction and conclusion of group projects, and this made me wonder if I’m just terrible at providing pivotal points and arguments. My teammates told me that I play a huge part in it as they find doing the introduction is the most difficult part for them, and it’s important to have a good start to build up the inquisitive side of the reader. So yeah! You may see it as something small, but small things build up big success. Good luck, and get on your way to see the new you in the future.

[vesora]

3D Unfavourable Circumstances: Experience Ramble + Reminder

We have all heard that the 4D is the source reality which the 3D then projects.

What happens when undesirable circumstances occur in your reality?

The past few days I have been feeling incredibly shit because of some circumstances and I fell down a spiral of self-loathing, wanting to hide from the world and just leaving life. When something bad happened, I said to myself omg sora youre so unlucky, your life is so shit all the time, no one likes you sora, sora you will die alone and I revelled in that. I immersed myself in that feeling because it was so comfortable to me because pain was what I felt for a long period of time so I actually started chastising me for it. I didn't understand how I manifested these bad things to happen and I felt like a failure in manifestation because why weren't they going away? The thing about me though is I always had both a good view and a bad view of myself so my mind was in a constant fight with each other. With LOA, I now learn that I can choose to give power to only the good side until the bad side dissipates away.

As one of the unfavourable circumstances happened, I let myself feel anxious but in my head I also affirmed against it. "Wow I am so lucky. I am having such a beautiful day. I love life so much." Usually I wouldn't let myself revise because I felt that was important in my development but now I just let go and choose my happiness FIRST. I can learn lessons and still be able to revise any desired events.

when any circumstance happens,

the 3d looks to YOU for validation.

A misconception we have even if we know the law is that the 3d is indicative of our success or not when in reality its only job is to reflect what you believe. When you're in any circumstance, the 3d looks at you and sees your reactions whether you accept it or not and then reacts accordingly. If things don't rectify immediately, do not worry, KEEP PERSISTING. Its only job is to fulfill your beliefs, right or wrong.

What if you react to the 3d?

It's really okay if you do. Your manifestations are not going anywhere. If you can in the moment though, affirm against it. It's not easy, it can be hard even for me but you must only focus on the new story primarily. Dont worry if you think ab the old story don't worry at all, you're still manifesting everything!

When I went through a self loathing spiral, I realised people around me were more prone to picking fights with me because I was unable to let that shit go. I kept focusing on how people are mean to me and how people don't understand me, forgetting I am the cause AND the solution.

I opened a healing meditation and my body was rejecting it at first but I finally let myself relax. Once I got into a calmer state, I started affirming good things and things were back to normal again. Progress might not be linear so do not give up.

Tldr; the 3d looks to you for validation. you are the only influence for your reality, use this power to be happy. it's ok to react to the 3d, remember to revise later. Do something that calms your body. Remember not all thoughts are true, only accept the thoughts you want because you choose which thoughts are true so choose the good ones. Youre not a failure, your body and mind might be going crazy sometimes but that doesn't mean you're a failure. Just affirm against it, whether its at that moment or later.

Don't overthink things. If bad things happen, stop asking yourself why, just focus on the 4D and leave the 3D alone or know that it must change and your pain is temporary sweetheart. It will go away, it must. Life was not made for suffering. Life is supposed to be easy. I love you and hang in there.

[sorcerous-caress]

Sol’s no truly good ending feels a lot like Karlach’s as Karlach also has to give in and go back to avernus in the good ending and even Astarion’s to a lesser extent all three of them sacrifice some degree of power or freedom and being trapped without powers I’m sure feels a lot like being with out sunlight or in avernus for sol. The unfairness even in good ending aligns well with the tome of the game.

Ah this isn't what their good ending was supposed to convey.

Astarion was turned against his will, Karlach had her heart stolen from her. Both were complete people before their life turned around.

Sol was born with this, it's not something that happened to them. It is them, part of themselves. They never lost anything to begin with while the other two did lose something.

Karlach can leave avernus eventually and Astarion can find a cure to walk into the sun maybe. What I'm saying is both of these endings are temporary, they can be changed eventually. Their sacrifice is temporary.

Sol's is permanent. They are cutting off a limb that will never grow back, killing a part of themselves because the world wouldn't accommodate it. Because it was consuming them.

And it is still a happy ending despite it all, because they end up happy. The part of them alive is still happy since how can someone who's died be sad? Astarion can mourn the sun, Karlach can miss the surface.

Sol is the one hurting themselves, they are their own main struggle. There is no cazador for them, no Gortash to blame. Their family was shitty yeah but they did just want to keep them alive, Sol was the person being a danger to themselves and everyone around them.

Karlach and Astarion already lost a part of themselves against their will. While Sol needs to make the choice to do that in order to be happy, to willingly lose a part of themselves.

Because as much as everyone says to always be yourself, what if the person you are isn't loveable? What if you don't have empathy or what if you hurt everyone around you without realising it? What if being yourself was the problem? You were the problem.

I said before that I made them to deal with my struggles with bpd and it still holds true. A lot of their bad traits are exaggerations of my own past ones. I too had to learn not to be myself, to manage my anger, resentment and to develop empathy.

Because the world can't accommodate you sometimes, but the need to belong, the urge to be loved and a part of something will always be stronger than the urge to be yourself.

In a perfect world, Sol wouldn't have had to change or kill a part of themselves. But it isn't a perfect world, and they are still human who craves happiness, a beautiful lie rather than the harsh truth of them truly being a greedy red dragon.

In their bad endings, they grow wings. Actual dragon wings instead of using magic to fly or float. It's to resemble freedom, that they are unloved yes but finally free and their true self no matter how ugly they've become.

In their good ending, they will mourn the ability to fly. They will miss having scales that let them get away with wearing whatever they want and how they need to wear armour now. They are less free, more shackled to the ground.

But they are a part of a community, accepted by humans, not scaring animals and not settling things on fire. They're happy, because loneliness is a much worse fate in their opinion.

Tho the message is definitely not "lol don't be your true self you should just try to fit in" that's just stupid.

The message is "some people can't be their true selves because others will always deem them unsettling or demonize them."

That sometimes being your true self will hurt you, sometimes your own brain and body is your worst enemy and you need outside interference to learn to manage it.

That some people will choose community and love over individuality, even if that choice is wrong.

Sol is chaotic neutral, they only care about their own happiness not what's right and what's wrong.

Their bad ending is technically the morally correct one, but to them it's the bad one for not resulting in their happiness.

Their good ending is the morally wrong one for them choosing to cut parts of themselves in order to live rather than die free. But it made them happy and that's all that matters.

It is unfair yeah like Astarion and Karlach. But for completely different reasons. Their birth itself was unfair rather than their life going in the wrong direction. If anything they had a lucky life for surviving themselves this long.

Their family would've set them free after making sure they're in full control, they had good intentions but took their ways and teachings to the extreme.

Sol's both good and bad ending is opting out of that cycle, refusing to play by the rules, refusing to preform or control themselves.

They either die free or kill the part of them keeping them behind. Evolve or die. No more middle grounds or hiding or treating themselves like a soon erupting volcano.

[chill-that-ur-inmyhead]

How do you feel right now? I feel excited/ nervous. Found out today that I got an interview for a job at my top company in a couple of days. I'm trying to manage my expectations. Even if I don't secure it this time round, I am just pleased they invited me for an interview.

Are you sleepy? Yes, it is almost time to sleep. Hopefully I don't overthink the interview too much and my brain switches off. 

Have you ever cut yourself? Accidentally, yes.

Who do you dream about most? Friends usually. Sometimes happy situations but sometimes sad.

What do you want more than anything right now? To have secured the job at the company today and be telling all my friends and family that I am coming out of unemployment and my first job is at my no.1 company. It would be really great.

Do you have something you want to say, but never could? I feel like I say pretty much everything. I never let my pride or ego get in the way of saying how I feel no matter the consequences.

Where is your favourite place to be? Currently, my room, safe from judgement by potential future employers and colleagues - refer to interview mentioned above haha.

What makes you happy? Catching a pretty sky on my walk.

Who makes you happy? Friends and family!

When are you happiest? Getting a good nights sleep.

What is the funniest thing you have ever done? Too many things to count! I suppose it always felt great to make a group of people laugh.

What is the funniest movie you have ever seen? Honestly, the last movie I remember laughing out loud to was We're the Millers!

What candy/drink makes you most hyper? Maybe Fanta

Do you talk to yourself? YES best convo

Do you have to sing those catchy jingles on TV commercials every time? I hardly watch tv commercials now

Do you have more than 5 celebrity crushes? Hmmm not right now.

Do you find joy in making other people mad? No

Do you answer the phone by saying anything besides ‘Hello’? If it's a close friend or family I might mix it up with a joke etc

Do you get mad easily? I have gotten better. As a teen, I was quick to anger and annoyance and while things do still annoy, my reactions aren't as end of the world types.

Do you get jealous often? Too often, this is the next habit I need to kick.

What makes you mad? Anti-social behaviour in public spaces, especially public spaces where you are trapped, e.g., public transport.

Are there any people that often make you mad? I suppose it is whoever those you are closest to that have the power to make you really mad.

Do your friends comfort you when you’re angry? I keep to myself and try to calm down. Maybe I'll text them my frustrations and they'll send supportive words but I think physically I need to be alone. Really don't know what I would want a partner to do.

Do you like to cause drama? Nope, I am almost 25 and choose peace.

Where did you go today? Dropped my brother off at work, went for a drive and to the big Asda store for some snacks. Really should have gone out for a walk but my mind was too preoccupied by securing an interview and what it could mean - relocating to a new city, not seeing family/ friends as often, settling into a new environment, meeting new people.... both exciting and nerve-wrecking!

How late do you usually sleep in? Unemployed: 9am or 10am but try to have an alarm set for 8:30am more recently to have more of the day.

Do you like traveling? Yes, but I used to idealised travelling a lot more when I was younger. Now I realise it is an energy draining task. It's not all comfort and relaxation, in fact it can be stressful and hard work to get those moments of comfort and relaxation but usually it is worth it!

Are more of your friends girls or guys? GIRLS!

What is your favourite song right now? Bleachers "Tiny Moves" - excited for their album release.

What do you want to do right now? Brush my teeth! :D

[govindhtech]

AI Improves Pixel In 6 Ways Include Pixel Circle To Search

AI powers a few of the well-known and beloved Pixel features. Google covered seven instances last year, ranging from Magic Eraser to Real Tone include Gemini, Audio Magic Eraser, Pixel Circle to Search, Gboard and Google have come a long way since then. Here are six additional ways that your Pixel is made even more useful by Google artificial intelligence efforts.

Use your personal AI helper, Gemini, to swiftly summarise a webpage

Gemini can save you time browsing and skimming through webpages if all you need is the main content. Gemini can quickly provide a concise synopsis of the key talking points for you to read after scanning a full page of text.

How to use it: Gemini may be used as your mobile assistant on Android devices. Once your Pixel 8, Pixel 8a, or Pixel 8 Pro is configured, open a webpage in Google Chrome and press and hold the power button to launch Gemini. When the overlay shows on your screen, ask Gemini to summarise the article. Saying “Hey Google” will also activate Gemini by voice.

Record a video and use Audio Magic Eraser to edit the noises afterwards

Your favourite take of yourself wishing your best friend a happy birthday gets ruined by a dog barking in the background as you’re recording. You can send a video of yourself in the best possible light by using Audio Magic Eraser to muffle the dog and any other background noise.

How to apply it: Using your Pixel 8, Pixel 8a, or Pixel 8 Pro, record a video. After that, navigate to your Google Photos, pick the video, and press “Edit.” At the bottom of your screen, there is a row of options that include “Video,” “Crop,” “Audio,” “Adjust,” and more. To activate the Audio Magic Eraser function, tap “Audio.” It will recognise the many types of sound in your movie, such as wind, nature sounds, and human speech. Select “Auto” to let Pixel enhance the audio for you, or choose a sound and reduce it to suit your preferences. Once you’re satisfied, select “Done.”

Use Pixel Circle to Search to learn more about what’s on your screen

Suppose you’re using your phone to view a YouTube Shorts video, read an article, or study something on your screen and you’d like to know more about it. With the Pixel 6 and above, you can now get more information without switching apps by tapping, highlighting, circling, or scribbling anywhere on the screen.

Use it by holding down the navigation bar and then highlighting the text, image, or video that you want more information about, either by circling it or in another way. To get the best results, you can also add more context to the search bar at the bottom of your screen by asking questions like “where can I get a similar shirt?”

Use Gboard’s Proofread to ensure that your messages are error-free

If, like me, you type messages quickly and push send before realising a humiliating typo, Gboard, driven by artificial intelligence, can be of assistance. Before you send, proofread using Gboard to eliminate typos and punctuation or grammar mistakes with a single tap.

How to apply it: Draft your texts after installing Gboard on your Pixel 8, Pixel 8a, or Pixel 8 Pro. The “Fix it” chip will immediately show up on the suggestion bar if the feature detects any mistakes. You can make changes to your text by tapping the chip, and you won’t need to send a second text message asking for clarity. By selecting the checkmark-adorned icon located beneath the letter A on Gboard, you can also initiate Proofread on your own.

Use Document Scanner to scan and produce PDFs from documents with your camera

Simple digital document creation is possible from paper copies of contracts, receipts, or anything else you wish to distribute, share, or keep on file. This comes in rather useful when it comes to retaining a digital record of your receipts for tax season or even filing your travel costs.

How to apply it: First, on a Pixel 6 or higher, open Google Drive. You can now proceed by tapping +New, selecting “Scan,” or by just tapping the scan document icon. Use manual mode to adjust the distance between you and the paper to take a picture if you want greater control over how the document is framed as you scan.

Auto capture can swiftly recognise and scan the edges of your paper if all you want to do is fast snap a picture of that receipt. In addition, you can preview, remove, or add additional pages to a scan. You can even clean up your document if it has, instance, a coffee ring on it. After selecting “Done,” edit the file’s title and store it on your drive. You can then download, share, or send your scan from that point on.

Monitor your noises during the night with snore and cough alerts

Have you ever wondered if you snore and cough when you sleep? You can find out using your Pixel 8, Pixel 8a, or Pixel 8 Pro.

How to apply it: Locate and select Bedtime mode from the Digital Wellbeing and parental controls section of your Pixel Settings. Once there, information about cough and snore will appear beneath your weekly report. Select “Allow access” and turn on the snore and cough detection. Instead of storing the unprocessed audio, this feature processes the frequencies in advance and converts them into numbers that AI can understand. To get a complete picture of your sleeping patterns and habits and to find out how well you actually sleep each night, pair this with your FitBit.

Read more on Govindhtech.com

[sunniskyies]

𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 || 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞-𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭

𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭: - 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: You, a child of Demeter, have powers that unfortunately go out of control whenever emotions are involved. And don’t think Percy doesn’t notice !! 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: book!Percy Jackson  x Demeter!fem!reader 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Bad grammar today 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬: Fluff with a dash of fluff 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1.2k 𝐀/𝐍: I’m back at it again !! This was supposed to be a blurb, but ofc I got carried away. Pffsh

You're sitting on the edge of the lake, your fingers aimlessly running through the water. The gentle breeze plays with your hair, sending strands dancing over your face.

Under the water, you're manipulating native algae to creep over the pebbles. As the child of Demeter -and a head councillor no less- it's your responsibility to keep the plants at camp in good health. And even though you're off-duty right now, you find yourself tending to them.

You almost don't notice when someone approaches you from behind.

"Hey there, Petals," a familiar voice says.

You whip around to see Percy's sun-kissed face grinning at you. Your heart flutters at the sight.

"Hey Perce," you try to say, but it comes out more like a squeak. This just makes Percy's smirk widen.

Gaze suddenly averted from yours, Percy's eyebrows raise in surprise. You turn back to the lake to see what he's looking at. Heat rushes to your cheeks when you realise that around your fingers, half a dozen water lily buds have sprouted in the water.

You quickly pull your hand out, hoping that Percy isn't thinking about what a loser you are. You're used to your powers manifesting unexpectedly, but gods it's embarrassing when it calls you out in front of people.

You can't bring yourself to look at him, eyes averted even when he sits down right next to you. You busy yourself by clearing the lilies, causing them to brown and wither beneath your touch.

"Stop that, they look lovely," Percy interjects, quickly snatching the last remaining bud from your murderous grasp. He holds it delicately, stripping the leaf from the long stem.

You're still avoiding him, face flushed pink. So Percy rests a fingertip beneath your chin and turns you himself. His hands are tough and calloused from years of sword fighting, but he feels warm and gentle when he touches you.

With a lopsided smile, he slips the bud behind your ear. His fingers brush your temple on the way, and to your absolute horror, the bud blooms into a full white lotus.

"Oh my gods," you groan, burying your red face in your arms. You hear Percy laugh, a gentle thing that sounds like a breath of wind.

You're pretty sure everybody at Camp knows you have a massive crush on the black-haired boy. Unfortunately for you, unlike other girls, you don't have the luxury of hiding your feelings. You have little to no grasp on what your magic chooses to do when exposed to your stupid feelings. Especially not when Percy Jackson is involved.

You must be the most pitiful camp councillor Camp Half-Blood has ever seen.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed," he murmurs, his voice now so, so close to your ear. "It's just a flower."

You peek up at him, hoping your pupils aren't too dilated. "Yeah, and magic that blossoms every time I do anything," you mumble. Percy gives you the sweetest, most understanding smile known to man. You can't believe he hasn't run away in repulsion yet.

"I think it's cute," he laughs affectionately.

Your mind flashes back to a few weeks ago. You and a large group of campers were sparring on the large grass field. When Percy stepped forward for his turn and you were met face-to-face, the shorn grass around your feet sprung up into long, grassy seed heads. The entire field had turned into a paddock in seconds, so tall it obscured your mortified expression. But while the rest of the campers were laughing mercilessly, Percy's intent gaze through the grass-heads was soft and considerate.

Your breath catches at the identical look in his eyes now, deep and green and all-encompassing. He drops it for a second, looking down to gently grasp one of your hands. He looks at it for a moment, soft curiosity etched on his face as he traces circles onto your palm and wrist.

In the wake of his finger's touch, blossom petals sprout up from your skin. He smiles at the reaction.

"It's true then?" He hums, syrupy eyes meeting yours as he presses a soft kiss to your knuckles. You know that vines have started growing throughout your hair, petals and leaves adorning your locks until your hair resembles that of a willow tree's canopy.

"Is it?" He murmurs when you fail to answer, spare hand reaching up to brush a curtain of willow leaves from your face. Hesitant doe eyes look back at him.

You still don't respond, words stuck like sap in your throat. Percy lets out another breathy laugh.

"You do know that you're not the only one with uncontrollable powers, right?" He grins. Then his hand is back on your face, this time cupping your cheek. He gently turns you head to stare out at the lake.

Where the water was calm and still minutes earlier, the lake's edge now laps eagerly at both of your feet. Above you, a storm has rolled in. Soft droplets have begun to speckle your skin, and you realise with caught breath that they feel like warm kisses.

You look back at him, his gaze having never left you. "Is this you?" You breathe.

Percy shrugs nonchalantly. "Yes and no. I can't really help it," he grins sheepishly. "Water tends to respond to me, whether I want it to or not."

You can't help but laugh, your worries and embarrassment melting. That sure sounds familiar.

The rain continues to fall, surrounding the two of you in a gentle mist before growing into a steady patter. The storm's growth is mimicked in his eyes, unidentifiable emotions swelling in the green depths.

Percy leans closer, his lips now just a breath away from yours. "You know," he says, his voice barely above a whisper, "I think our powers are trying to tell us something."

Your heart pounds in your chest as you meet his gaze. The vines in your hair grow longer, rooting you in place and winding tendrils around the places where Percy holds you. He doesn't pull away though, instead putting his other hand around your neck and letting the foliage tie you to him.

He doesn't look at this curse like others do, instead leaning into it with fascination. At this moment, you realise that maybe your powers aren't a curse after all. They're a part of who you are, just like the water that bends to Percy's touch.

Your heart is pounding in your chest, and you wonder if Percy can feel it through the vines that tether you together. You comforted by the knowledge that Percy’s heart must be doing the same thing anyway, as the lake is far from quiet now, the waves rolling in strong and fast. You’re both surrounded by the churning water, but you can't tear your eyes away from each other. You finally distinguish the emotion in his eyes, as you recognize the hunger in yourself as well.

Unable to wait any longer, Percy finally closes the distance between you, his lips meeting yours gently but so eagerly. His thumb drowsily pulls at your lips, teasing your mouth open. You lean into his attention for once, hands curling around his dark hair.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he murmurs against you, barely pausing before kissing you again.

You remained locked in a tight embrace for only the Gods to see, your bodies drenched and overgrown. And around you in the passionate water, hundreds upon hundreds of water lilies have sprouted.

© sunniskyies 2024, do not repost or translate my work

[edenmemes]

witcher: the last wish starters

❝ oh, what’s the point of explaining? you wouldn’t understand anyway. ❞ ❝ don’t grin like an idiot. there’s nothing funny about it. ❞ ❝ you're losing your reflexes. ❞ ❝ they say the wisdom of ages is to be found in fairy tales. ❞ ❝ this sword can always be drawn again, faster than you can imagine. ❞ ❝ if i’m to choose between one evil and another, then i prefer not to choose at all. ❞ ❝ i don’t have anywhere else to run. i don’t know where i could hide. ❞ ❝ i’ll fill your evenings with tales of ever more astounding events from the past few years. ❞ ❝ i killed to avoid being killed myself. ❞ ❝ the world is changing. something’s coming to an end. ❞ ❝ are you really not frightened of me? ❞ ❝ talking and regretting won’t get you anywhere. ❞ ❝ don’t come back. never come back. ❞ ❝ how much of the rumours about you are true? ❞ ❝ people like to invent monsters and monstrosities. then they seem less monstrous themselves. ❞ ❝ it’s got nothing to do with you and that’s that. ❞ ❝ you need more than words to frighten me. ❞ ❝ what’s going on here? can’t i leave you alone for a minute? ❞ ❝ there’s something not quite right with you. i can sense that. ❞ ❝ am i supposed to give you advice and teach you how to live? am i your mother or something? ❞ ❝ evil is evil. lesser, greater, middling, it’s all the same. ❞ ❝ i’m not surrounded by any vortex or fate. ❞ ❝ i was beginning to worry. you didn’t regain consciousness for so long. ❞ ❝ the forest isn’t the safest of places at night. ugly things are heard and seen. ❞ ❝ there’s a grain of truth in every fairy tale. ❞ ❝ yes, i deceived you. i’ll deceive anyone if i have to, why should you be special? ❞ ❝ you’ve made your choice. are you sure it’s the right one? ❞ ❝ for some time now i’ve had hideous dreams. ❞ ❝ virtue is rarer today than a rock dragon. ❞ ❝ i haven’t got anything sharp on me. have a look for yourself. ❞ ❝ the day will come when people will learn, and get the better of you. ❞ ❝ it would be great if the cruelty of rulers could be explained away by mutations or curses. ❞ ❝ and to think that there are people who don’t believe in destiny. ❞ ❝ if you think i feel sorry for them, then you’re wrong. ❞ ❝ you’re talking nonsense while making wise and meaningful faces. ❞ ❝ i’ll confide in you, if you like. ❞ ❝ look at you --- ethics, codes of practice, morality. who are you to talk? ❞ ❝ now, that, should really be of damn little concern to you. ❞ ❝ you look as if you are already a corpse. ❞ ❝ there’s no shame in fear. ❞ ❝ what do you desire? immortality? riches? fame? power? ❞ ❝ you underestimate my strength. ❞ ❝ do you want to burden your conscience with blood and death? ❞ ❝ now it’s as quiet as a grave. ❞ ❝ i know that, deep down, you like me. ❞ ❝ don’t leave yet. stay. a few more days. ❞ ❝ don’t do unto others what you would not have them do to you. ❞ ❝ i know my fate whirls about me like water. it’s hard on my heels, following my tracks. ❞ ❝ i’d prefer you not to make any sudden movements. ❞ ❝ help me up, please. ❞ ❝ i’ve never run away from anyone and i’m not about to change my ways. ❞ ❝ it’s my problem. my life and my punishment. ❞ ❝ the fact that you’ve arrived here exactly at this time can’t be a coincidence. it’s fate. ❞ ❝ slaughter and bloodshed can be avoided. ❞ ❝ you’ve got the devil in your eyes too. ❞ ❝ nobody’s ever called me that. say it again. ❞ ❝ humanity. that’s what you want. that’s what you dream of. ❞ ❝ what’s it to you what happens to me? ❞ ❝ you do realise that a sword alone will not defeat destiny? ❞ ❝ no, nothing’s wrong. i’m fine. quite fine. ❞ ❝ stories, well, i’ve heard them too. half are either made up or exaggerated. ❞ ❝ i could go where you’re going. i could keep you company. ❞ ❝ mistakes? of course i’ve made them. ❞ ❝ enough of this, we should go. it’s already dusk. ❞ ❝ maybe it’s customary, wherever you come from, to threaten people with swords? ❞ ❝ if it goes badly, i will defend my life. ❞ ❝ go on, thrust the sword into me. ❞ ❝ has loneliness got the better of you after all? ❞ ❝ everything can be dealt with. it’s only a question of price. ❞ ❝ you know my principle: duty then pleasure. ❞ ❝ i’ve never killed people for money, regardless whether it’s for a good or bad cause. and i never will. ❞ ❝ love and blood. they both possess a mighty power. ❞ ❝ i’ve got some medicine. we both need it. ❞ ❝ you’re embittered, hungry for revenge and conscious of your own powerlessness. ❞ ❝ what’s happening to you? i don’t recognise you. ❞ ❝ do you take me for a fool? ❞ ❝ i always get what i want. ❞ ❝ i manage because i have to. because i’ve no other way out. ❞ ❝ you can’t stand in the way of my happiness. ❞ ❝ to hell with destiny, oaths and irony. ❞ ❝ they hunted me like a wild animal as long as they could. until i became the hunter. ❞ ❝ i understand your hesitation, but i need an answer now. ❞ ❝ there are offers you can’t refuse, that the consequences are so terrible, and this is one of them. ❞ ❝ true evil is something you can barely imagine, even if you believe nothing can still surprise you. ❞ ❝ i’ve seen too much to laugh at things like that. ❞ ❝ maybe i’ve not had enough to drink. ❞ ❝ you may kiss my hand. ❞ ❝ don’t pull that face. it doesn’t suit either your good looks or your complexion. ❞ ❝ if i want something, i don’t dream of it. i act. ❞ ❝ are you in pain? what’s the matter? ❞ ❝ i prefer to look after others. it turns out better in the long run. ❞ ❝ you haven’t got enough strength left. ❞ ❝ bravery isn’t going to be of much use to you. ❞ ❝ it doesn’t rhyme. all decent predictions rhyme. ❞ ❝ listen. you’re starting to get on my nerves. ❞ ❝ don’t do this. i want to help you. ❞ ❝ you’re a very interesting dinner companion. ❞ ❝ i’ll avoid that place like the plague. i’ll never go back there. ❞ ❝ you’ll soon see what i’m capable of. ❞ ❝ i do like you, although i don’t know why myself. ❞ ❝ it’s got nothing to do with me. i’m just asking out of curiosity. ❞ ❝ have you never heard of a sense of responsibility and plain honesty? ❞ ❝ you’re going there because you have to, aren’t you? ❞ ❝ we are what we are, you and i. ❞ ❝ did you see...did you see that? ❞

[artzee-bee]

End of all things [2] | Chat Noir x witch!reader

Fandom: MIraculous Ladybug (Adrien Agreste/ Chat Noir)

Request:”Hello good evening, could you please do where a witch!Reader who always tries to comfort Chat/Adrian when he is feeling down. Cuz you know in season 4 I noticed he’s getting sadder and sadder. The reader doesn’t like to get involved in all these weird happenings and just lay low. Whenever Chat/Adrian comes to the reader’s house they always make him feel at home. That's when things go off, at the final battle where Hawkmoth got the Miraculouses and the heroes thought they would lose. (Y/n) just landed in front of them looking so done with Hawkmoth.Hawkmoth thinks that (y/n) was just a weakling, but he was wrong. (Y/n) is far stronger than Hawkmoth even he will use the all Miraculouses he’ll still lose.”

Genre: Angst

Warnings: canon typical violence

A/N: It is incredibly late right now, I hope this piece makes sense and that you like it! It was a cool request, but complicated for sure :))

Part 1

~~~

You could have sworn that time stopped altogether at that moment. Somehow, even though the disappointment of having lost and the worry you felt for your best friend, you found a little power to look at Hawkmoth. You expected him to be joyful, restless! You expected him to have already put on both the miraculouses and yet, they were resting in his palm. His eyes weren’t even on them.

“Adrien?” he looked at the broken boy on the ground

“We’re not over yet!” he yelled, running towards Hawkmoth as fast as he could, but it didn’t matter how much will to fight he had anymore! Adrien’s body was going numb. It was giving up on him. And Hawkmoth was gaining more power and energy with every second that went by. The villain grabbed the boy by the shoulder, immobilizing him to his chest, the same way you had done with Marinette

“You are weak and powerless without your ring, boy. Stop it at once!”

“No!” the desperation in his voice made your heart crumble

You felt Marinette stir in your hold. You knew she must have been awake and watching by now, but you didn’t let go. You had been unable to protect Chat from losing his powers, from wasting his energy by squirming in the arms of the enemy. You’ll be damned if you let anything happen to Ladybug now! Because even if this was the end, even if they’d never get their powers back, Marinette and Adrien will always be Ladybug and Chat Noir. 

Tears fell from your face as you watched your friend kick and scream in fear and frustration. His hair was sticking to his forehead with beads of sweat

You weren’t sure what you could read within Hawkmoth’s facial expression, but you could tell it wasn’t the confidence from a minute ago. Neither the focus. You could still do something! Under your breath, you began to mutter a chant. You had never tried this specific spell before, but there was nothing left to lose. It was supposed to attract an object of your choosing, to you. Focusing on the image of the miraculouses, held captive in Hawkmoth’s iron grip, you prayed it’d work.

“I don’t want to have to kill you Adrien!” finally, the boy managed to escape and take a few steps back

“What do you care? Just a moment ago you would have done anything it took to get rid of me and Marinette!” 

Hawkmoth turned around to face you almost instantly, noticing the movement of your lips. 

“Stop that!”

You saw his fist tighten and shake slightly. His fear was all the motivation you needed! Your chants grew louder and louder, more confident and powerful. Hawkmoth placed both his hands around the jewelry in an attempt to prevent it from reaching you. Finally, there was a chance you could still win this!

And then there was a hand on your mouth.

And a kick on the inside of your knee.

You fell to the ground in pain, as the person behind you pushed you harder against the concrete. Right then, was the first time you heard Marinette say anything that day. 

“Rena?” her voice broken with despair

“I've never akumatized a hero before” you heard Hawkmoth’s taunting laugh “Can you imagine the possibilities Y/N?”

Tears were brimming in your eyes. Rena was forcing you to the ground with all her force. You heard Adrien call out your name, but you couldn’t bring yourself to look at him. You had to find a way out of this but exhaustion was catching up to you quickly. You weren’t used to fights! You weren’t used to such powerful spells within such a short period of time!

With all the strength in your body, you focused again on an imaginary spot, in the middle of it all. You closed your eyes and imagined the ball of energy growing bigger and bigger, somewhere between you and Hawkmoth. Winds picked up speed around you. You opened your eyes slightly, and all you could see was Marinette’s horrified look, but you didn’t care. Not anymore. As long as you were still conscious, the fight would go on. The ball of energy went off again, creating the same bomb effect as in the beginning of the fight. Rena flew off of you, allowing you to move just in time to see Hawkmoth fly into a tree, and drop not only the black cat and ladybug miraculouses, but the butterfly one as well.

It seemed like the magic brooch had come undone from the impact. All 3 jewels fell to the ground and Hawkmoth was swallowed by a purple light. As the detransformation came to an end, all that was left was an unconscious Gabriel Agreste

“Dad?” Adrien’s voice felt like a punch in the heart. You couldn’t tell if he was angry or sad. His eyes turned almost red and he took off running after his father, but you were faster and caught up to him before he could reach Gabriel. You tackled him to the ground to prevent him from waking up the villain and possibly causing more chaos.

“Wait, Adrien, we need the miraculouses!”

“No, what I need is to talk to my DAD!”

“Adrien please!” you could barely manage to keep him from squirming underneath you

“Of course” Marinette replied slowly before holding out her hand. You let go of Adrien, but he didn’t get up. He just placed his right hand on top of Marinette’s, as she carefully slipped the ring on his finger, back where it belonged. 

You heard rapid footsteps come your way and saw Marinette run towards the miraculouses, picking all of them in her hand and hugging them to her chest.You couldn’t even imagine the relief she must have felt! She looked like finally, everything in the world was right again. It gave you hope! Adrien visibly relaxed as he watched her too.

“Can I have Plagg back?” he sobbed

Plagg flew out, looking sacred and in distress, but he tried to smile for his boy.

“I’m sorry Plagg.'' the kwami didn’t say anything, choosing instead to nuzzle himself in the crook of Adrien’s neck, in a hug. The boy placed his hand on top of him and began to sob quietly. Your heart sank at the sight and you couldn’t help but let yourself fall on top of Adrien again and wrapping him in another hug. You could hear every beat of his heart and every sorrowful tear rolling down his cheeks. The noise was so loud, you almost didn’t hear Marinette transform back into her heroine self.

You opened your eyes to see her tying up Gabriel, alongside Rena. She gave you a nod, letting you know they got it from here.

“Adrien?” Gabriel whispered slowly. It seemed like he had finally woken up. The boy beneath you slowly raised his head to meet the glance of his dad. Immediately, he pushed you off in order to run to him

“Father. It’s ok! It’s gonna be ok! It’s a misunderstanding, isn’t it?” Adrien ran to him, hopefulness in his voice like he didn’t know he was merely kidding himself

“I did it for a good cause Adrien…”

“No...you didn’t” he insisted

“One day you’ll understand”

Adrien stepped away from the weak body of his father, suddenly horrified at the realisation that Hawkmoth was, indeed, no one other than his own dad. He turned around to see you and Plagg still on the ground where he left you. Tears were quickly making their way back into his eyes as he rushed to you, throwing himself into your open arms. Ladybug picked Gabriel up, and dragged him away, with Rena right on her tail.

Adrien’s cries were muffled by your hair, but his words were still audible, at least to you

“He was my father! All this time”

“I failed everyone”

“No you didn’t Adrien”

“You didn’t know”

“I let myself be vulnerable and gave him the opportunity to take away my miraculous! I could have lost Plagg forever! I let Ladybug down! She lost her earrings and got akumatized and I couldn’t do anything about it!”

“Stop Adrien. It’s ok. It’s all gonna be ok” you tightened your grip around his body “eventually…”

[hereforhalstead]

Showtime

*Gif not mine, credits to the owner*

• Pairing: Jay Halstead x Reader.

• Requested: Not this one! Just fancied writing a little jealous Jay piece as I thought it had been a while👀 hope you enjoy!

• Warnings: Swearing

• Summary: Voight asks you to go undercover with Adam in which you decide to tease Jay about it as the unit are unaware of your relationship.

• Words: 3083

****

You sat at your desk as Voight called everyone to gather round his office, he makes his way over to the whiteboard and swings it round to show the information on the other side, your eyes wander over the board and the sight of so much detail and CCTV stills. You can’t help but realise you never saw him write any that down, so dread to think the hours he was here until last night to put this plan together. 

He was clearly having one of his days where no options were wanted and or needed, he blitzed through the minor details and barely stopped to take a breath. You all stood watching as he reeled off information that you were all supposed to be taking in, you were secretly hoping someone else was paying more attention than you as it seemed to be going in one ear and out the other. You find yourself loosing concentration as you focus on a random spot on the board, you jolt as Kevin nudges your arm. You turn to see Voight raising his brows at you, jaw hung open with the corner of his lip turned in spite “Sorry, what?” you quickly straighten up and actually focus on what he’s saying. “Nice of you to join us again, Y/N” he shakes his head and continues to point out details on the board.

A few moments later you had pretty much got the gist of the plan but it then came to giving out roles “Halstead, you’re gonna be posing as a bar tender to keep an eye on movements inside”. He barked his order and Jay nodded in response, “Kim, you’ll be a drunk club goer who’s trying it on with Jay so you’ll both be near by”. She rolled her eyes at Jay who always seemed to be used in some form of flirtatious way during these things which suited him but didn’t sit well with you. You trusted your team and would never doubt their intentions but it still wasn’t ideal for them to throw themselves at Jay during these missions and you couldn’t even make a well natured sarcastic comment about how he was yours.

You and Jay had been somewhat of an ‘item’ for a few months, you found yourselves growing closer after becoming partners and soon one thing led to another. Unbearable tension built and Kim was the one to call you out on it, fed up of being put in the middle of your silly spats and childish arguments when it was clear how drawn to each other you were. You decided to keep it between the pair of you as Voight made it clear he wasn’t a fan of relations within the unit, Jay struggled at first but after seeing the way Voight laid into Kim and Adam he soon realised you had a point. It was all fun and games at first, sneaky glances across the room, little touches in the locker room but there was always going to be some negatives that you hadn’t planned for. For example, the way girls throw themselves at Jay was something you’d never get used to. I mean he truly was something else but the way they would do anything to get his attention made you cringe, what was even worse was how he would try and wriggle out of the situations but they would follow him around like a lost puppy. You’d watch as he’d get more frustrated with not being able to tell them he wasn’t single and how he looked to you for help but you couldn’t do much more. 

Jay found it equally as hard as he was quite a jealous and protective person, this was magnified when he was thrown into the deep end of men flirting with you and him having to just stand back and watch. He would step in every now and then if they really weren’t getting the hint but if he intervened every time he wanted, someone definitely would’ve caught on by now. 

Voight finished giving out instructions and demands of Hailey and Kevin taking roles of surveillance in the van parked outside the venue. He was quick to dismiss everyone which left you and Adam without direction, “What about us Sarge?” Adam questions and the group hang back, thinking they’ll be involved in a change of plan. “Oh yeah, how could I forget. The main stars of my show” he slings an arm round each of you as he pulls the pair of you to face the rest “Everyone, meet the new hot couple in Intelligence” he proudly announces and you see Jay’s face drop but you’re just as confused “Come again?” you question but Adam doesn’t need telling twice as he doesn’t seem to doubt Voight’s decision “Fine by me” he winks towards you. You look to Kim and cock your eyebrow with an unimpressed glance, she shrugs back at you and smiles which puts you slightly at ease as you didn’t want to step on any toes due to you knowing how it felt to be put in that position with a certain detective. “I’m putting the pair of you undercover, Adam as the big man and you being his not to clued up eye candy” Voight pats you on the shoulder as you notice Jay roll his eyes “Thanks Sarge, won’t take it personally” you sarcastically respond. 

“Go on, go get dressed up the pair of you.” he releases you from his hold as Adam receives a high five from Kevin followed by a “my man” in praise. “I sent Trudy out to pick up some outfits for you, go and get them from her and get your arses into gear. We leave in an hour.” Voight heads back into his office and shuts the door behind him, you make your way over to Kim’s desk and perch yourself on the edge “Why couldn’t he choose you? Surely he knows you have much better convincing power with Adam than me” you mutter but considering the room was in silence you knew everyone could hear. “You know what he’s like with me and Adam, he’s probably doing this in spite of me” she moans “Just remember to stay on his left side, he always favors his right” she adds and you laugh “he’s such a girl”. 

“M’Lady, shall we go and get red carpet ready?” Adam approaches and offers his arm out to you, you run your eyes up and down his body in judgement but he doesn’t move “Come on, it could be worse. You could be stuck with Halstead” he scans his eyes over to Jay who was already leaning on his elbow and watching the pair of you “Suppose you’re right” you respond to play along with his jokes. Jay tilts his head and a sarcastic grin flashes on his face before turning back to his paperwork “Let’s go you two, why are you still here?” Voight’s rough voice echoes through the room as he storms out of his office “Trudy picking outfits? If I come back in a bin bag just know it was better than whatever god forsaken mess she has picked” you whisper to Kim who chuckles as you take Adam’s arm and head down the stairs to Trudy. 

You’re taken by surprise as she pulls out the clothes from the bags, she’d picked out a nice white shirt for Adam with some tailored black pants and some black leather shoes. “A little magician like for me but I’ll take it” he comments as he takes the bag from her, she stares him down with her intense gaze and then turns onto you. You feel yourself dreading what she will present you with but your jaw nearly drops to the floor when she picks out a little satin black dress and when you say little, you mean little. The corresponding black heels soon get placed on the counter and you can see Trudy trying to conceal her smugness but failing “This the kind of thing you wear for Mouch?” Adam asks and laughs to himself but Trudy doesn’t mirror his humour “I rarely wear anything for Mouch” she winks and Adam clears his throat “I’ll leave that alone if you don’t mind”.

You take the bag into the locker room and slip into the dress, this wasn’t you’re normal attire but you were not mad in the slightest. The shortness of the dress would take some getting used to but once you got the heels on you felt incredible. Luckily, you always kept some make up in your locker due to plans within Intelligence being pretty last minute and you liked to make some touch up’s before you headed out to Molly’s for the evening. You took yourself over to the mirror and began applying your make up, a little heavier than usual as you wanted to match the aesthetic of your outfit but still nothing crazy and thanking yourself for washing and straightening your hair the night before so it was already good to go after a quick brush through. You studied yourself in the mirror and was quite impressed with the outcome and dare you admit, excited to see how riled up it would make Jay. You took out your phone and sent him a quick text message, simply saying ‘Sorry in advance’ so you could say you gave him some form of pre warning. 

Stuffing your old clothes back into your locker you head back upstairs and can feel your heart racing as you get closer and closer to the top of the steps. As soon as you come into sight, you’re met with wolf whistles and various comments to which you never know how to respond “Damn girl, didn’t know you had it in you” Kevin pipes up as his eyes roam your body “Not mad about it, not mad at all” Adam chimes in as Hailey coughs to interrupt “Keep it in your pants boys, you don’t see Halstead drooling over her. Be more like him” she adds and you laugh to yourself at the irony. Jay clears his throat and makes his way over to you, your heart thumping so hard in your chest that you’re sure everyone is bound to hear. He hands you a necklace and you stare at him confused, he picks up your hand from your side and places it in your palm with more force than you were expecting, taking you slightly aback “Voight wants you to wear this, something about how it can be a present Adam gave you but it will really be where your mic goes”. Adam peers over at the necklace and nods “I’ve got good taste, you’re very lucky” he suggests with a wink, Jay soon returns to his desk, avoiding all eye contact and turning his attention back to his monitor. 

“Are you not meant to have a bag of some sort?” Hailey asks and you check inside the carrier bag Trudy gave you but see nothing resembling any accessories “Nothing in here, might’ve left it in the locker room though”. You place the bag on Kim’s desk and head back down the stairs, passing Trudy’s desk as you go. She takes a double look as you stroll past and nods to herself “Not bad Y/N. You’ve got a great stylist” she compliments and you dramatically flick your hair in response, “What’s up with the mood Halstead?” she keeps her eyes on you despite her talking to Jay who makes his way down the stairs “I’m not in a mood?” he snaps back, regretting instantly as she widens her eyes at him “Tell your stompy feet that then” she looks him up and down and then smiles at you “Smash it kid”. 

You feel some sort of warmth from Trudy despite what people think of her, she always had a soft spot for you and you found comfort in seeing her as your ‘work mum’. God for bid she ever found out that you think of her that way though, she’d probably stop speaking to you all together.. 

You stand at Trudy’s desk and wait for Jay to leave but he doesn’t seem to be budging, you feel him staring at you as if he is waiting for you to make the first move “Sorry, did you want something or?” she asks and Jay shakes his head “Voight sent me down here to help Y/N look for something in the locker room” he is quick to respond but you knew it was bullshit, Voight couldn’t care less about you finding a bag let alone putting 2 people onto finding it. You push your thoughts aside and carry on walking to the locker room you had just been getting ready in. The sound of your heels clicking on the hard floor sure turned some heads and it was just your luck a drunk group of men were in one of the rooms to awaiting questioning. One of them leant against the door frame and wolf whistled, the other joined him and made some comment about how you looked but you didn’t give it any attention, Jay on the other hand couldn’t stop himself “Sit back down and shut the fuck up before I make you, we clear?” he slammed the door shut behind them but you kept walking.

“What are you really doing here Jay?” you question as you enter the room, holding the door open for him before walking over to your locker. You hear a loud thud as he shuts it behind the pair of you and leans his back against it, his knee bent as he picks off a bit of fluff from the thigh of his jeans “That dress new?” he asks, still not looking up at you and focusing on his jeans “You know it is, Voight only told the entire team that Trudy bought us outfits?” you huff as you fail to find any form of bag or purse that was intended for you to use. 

You begin to walk around to check other areas you had been within the room, the bathroom, the mirror but nothing seemed to jump out. Meanwhile, Jay was still stood leaning against the door and watching your every move intently “You gonna let me leave and do my job or?” you stand in front of Jay but he doesn’t budge. Instead he simply turns his nose up and shakes his head “Well then do something useful and help me put this necklace on” you hang the jewelry from your hand but he just stares at it “Or I’ll just do it myself then. Fuck sake” you mumble under your breath and walk back over to the mirror.

A few moments go by and it was no use, you couldn’t get the necklace on by yourself and Jay was still being as useless as ever and not moving to help, instead strolling over and sitting on one of the benches in the middle of the room. “Guess I’ll just get Adam to put it on for me, or Kevin. I’m sure they’d jump at the chance to help” you think aloud and strut past Jay who reaches up to catch your wrist before you can get any further “Come here then”.

He pulls you down onto his lap and you can feel his breath against the nape of your neck, a shiver run down your spine as he touches your skin and moves your hair to one side “Looking forward to being coupled with Adam? You look great together” he remarks and you roll your eyes at him for ruining what could’ve been one of your private moments that you were starting to crave. You stand from his grasp as he manages to fix the necklace round your neck and head for the door to leave but he is hot on your trail “Something bothering you?” you ask but Jay responds by looking down on you with that glint in his eye and mischievous smirk to try and divert your attention from how he is behaving “You don’t even have to say a word for me to know you’re lying if you say you don’t care" you chuckle but Jay isn’t amused. 

“Go and have fun, I’m sure I’ll have a great time watching the pair of you all over each other” he comments with gritted teeth “I’m sure we will have a blast, might even stick my tongue down his throat" you quickly add and curse yourself for not thinking before you speak “Go for it, gotta make it convincing” to your shock he agrees but the way his fists hang tight at his side and his nostrils are flared tell a whole different story “You really need to work on your lying skills detective”.

You can sense the rage running through him as the pair of you stand in silence, your eyes flick over to the clock and realise you’re meant to be leaving at any moment and they will be wondering where you are. You place your hand on Jay’s cheek and see him lean into your hand slightly, no matter how tense he is with you he can never stop himself from giving into your touch. “We best get going, I’ve got to see a man about a new boyfriend” you tease causing Jay to regain himself and straighten up “I dare you Y/N. I dare you to put on your little act as best you can because you know I’ll be watching and ready to remind you who you belong to when we’re alone” he threatens and you feel as though your legs could give way out of the weakness he causes you. You know him too well to know these weren’t empty threats and you were now set on going above and beyond to make him jealous “Enjoy the show, baby.”

***

Inbox and requests always open💃🏼

After popular demand, Part 2 to this is now up!

[lilysdaydreams]

Praise Bingus (No fucking way)

→  I do not claim to know corpse- therefore please don't think that this is what he would actually act like, or that any details about his life are actually true. this is fiction.

→ Pairing: Corpse Husband X Fem!Reader

→ Genre: Angst and fluff. (FLUFF IS COMING I SWEAR)

→ Words: 3.9k

→ In a world where everyone is born with a mark on their wrist, two souls come together over the power of bingus.

→ (this isnt crack lol)

→ Warnings: Lots of swearing, um self-depreciation? rejection (kinda) and negative thoughts overall. Sorry im new to warnings.

→ Authors Note: this is the first time im doing like angst so please tell me if I did well? Um also, I’ve already started on the part 2 so keep your eyes out for that. If you wanna be tagged for part two please comment and lemme know. Also check out my other fics if you want!

→ Buy me a coffee

Part two  →    

~~~

Soulmates were a phenomenon. They'd been there for ages, drawn into the Egyptian tomb paintings, seen in the cave paintings from millions of years ago, talked about in stories passed down from generation to generation. They could be matching drawings, first words, names; all black before the soulmates met and turning gold the moment they talked to each other. There wasn't a scientist in the world who could explain the phenomenon.

You'd received your mark at birth just like everyone else, a sentence running around your wrist,

"No fucking way."

Your parents weren't that happy when you asked at the age of 4 what "fucking" meant but it wasn't that bad. You were happy that you had something unique, something other than the "Hi," or "Excuse me," that was on every other arm.

When you were 13, a little girl on the train pointed to your wrist and asked her mom what it meant. Ever since then, you'd taken to wearing bracelets over it. This had turned out to be a good idea because a few years later you started making Youtube videos. At the age of 16, you started a Youtube channel where you focused on a variety of things; makeup, fashion, games, art, skits and a whole lot more.

At the age of 20, you had a steady following of a little more than a million subscribers, and you had moved to LA to be closer to all your Youtube friends. You hadn't just grown on Youtube, you'd also started a lot of side projects. You were known for the art that you did on the side, along with the makeup palette you'd come out with a year ago. Soon you were planning to release a merch collection, one that you had been working on for a whole year now.

You hadn't met your soulmate at this point but honestly, you didn't really mind. Balancing Youtube and study (along with all your other side projects) was hard. There was no need to add the struggle of love into it... Or that's what you told yourself anyways.

There were days though, days where you wished you had someone to hug, someone to cuddle in bed with, someone to go on long walks with. You didn't let yourself wallow on it that long though. Crying about it was gonna do absolutely nothing.

It started on a rainy day. The story of you and him. You were editing your soon to be uploaded video, an e-girl outfits lookbook, which had been requested by your followers. Your personal style was all over the place and your previous soft girl and cottage care look books had done well, so you decided to continue the series.

You eyes blurred as you looked at the same point of the video, and you sighed, removing your glasses and rubbing your eyes. Your editor was sick and had let you know that they wouldn't be able to edit it by the deadline so here you were, editing it yourself. You stretched in your chair letting out a yawn. You were contemplating on whether to make coffee or not when your phone pinged.

"Nooooo" you whined when you noticed it was on the coffee table that was just a little out of your reach. Stretching your foot out, you tried to grab it between your toes and then sighed when the phone fell.

"I have zero luck, I swear" you muttered to yourself, bending to pick up the phone.

The text was from Rae, asking you to join a game of Among Us. You and Rae had been friends for a bit now, which all started when she came across your art and decided to order something from you. You had chatted and clicked immediately, immediately becoming fast friends. Ever since the lockdown started, she often asked you to join in on Among us games and your friendship had really grown over these past few months.

You sent a quick "sure!" and then went to your table, waiting for the PC to turn on. Quickly tweeting out that you were streaming, you opened up Youtube and turned on the stream, saying a quick hello and letting them know what you'd be doing.

"Rae just invited me guys, I don't really know who's there," you mumbled, replying to a comment asking you who you were playing with.

You squinted your eyes, joining the voice chat and then opening your phone camera to quickly check that you didn't look horrible. Sure you didn't really care about how you looked but it was always good to check that you didn't have anything stuck between your teeth before you turned on the camera.

There was already a conversation going on, between who you thought was Corpse and Sykkuno, judging by their voices.

"Yeah I could totally do that. Get a cat and name it Bingus. I wonder if th-"

You gasped when you heard what they were talking about and unmuted yourself immediately yelling "PRAISE LORD BINGUS" and effectively shocking everyone in the chat.

A moment of silence and then Rae yelled: "OH MY FUCKING GOD Y/N, YOU SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME."

You giggled as everyone groaned and whined, saying hi as they realised who it was. You had played with Sykkuno and the others a few times before but you'd never met Corpse before. You'd heard his voice though, as he was trending on twitter constantly over the past few weeks. Once they all quietened down, you realised Corpse hadn't said anything. Since you knew everyone else in the lobby, you introduced yourself, wondering if you'd scared him a bit too hard.

"Hey Corpse, I'm Y/N from Y/C/N, its so nice to finally meet you," you said gritting your teeth at you awkward introduction. For a second there was no response and then three words were said that made your jaw drop to the floor.

"No fucking way"

He had whispered it, obviously still in shock, and your eyes widened in surprise as a tingle spread all over your body. So this was what everyone meant by "you'll just know," when you asked them about how you would recognize your soulmate.

"Holy shit" you thought frozen in your seat.

Never had you been more glad that you hadn't turned the camera on yet.

"Uhhhh-" you started, but stopped now knowing what to say.

What the fuck were you supposed to do now.

"Wha- Whats wrong?" Rae asked after a moment passed.

Corpse cleared his throat and started "Its um, shes my -" and you cut him off, heart beating in your chest.

"Nothing. Its nothing." you said talking over him. "Who else are we waiting for Rae?" you asked joining the lobby quickly and choosing red as your colour.

"Uh one more person," she said slowly, still a bit confused.

"Oh awesome!" you said fake enthusiasm prevalent in your voice. "So Sykkuno," you started, wanting to keep the conversation going. "How's Bimbus doing?"

Sykkuno launched into a story of Bimbus and you blew out a sigh of relief, mind still numb over the revelation.

Corpse was your soulmate.

The guy who had literally went viral the past few weeks was your soulmate.

You'd finally found him.

You heard Rae cut Sykkuno off, telling everyone she was starting the game and muttered a "Thank god" when the words "CREWMATE" appeared on your screen. You would not have been able to play imposter at the moment, your mind pretty much stuck on the fact that Corpse was your fucking soulmate.

Heading down to admin, you realised you hadn't said anything yet to the stream so you quickly turned on your cam, saying a quick sorry to the viewers.

"Sorry guys, I forgot to put the camera on," you smiled focusing on card swipe.

"I hope everyone's been okay, I know this was quite sudden, but Rae invited me and I was like why not you know," you said rambling as you moved to comms and did the task there.

Lights were called and you moved to electrical, arriving there just as Leslie fixed them. You moved into the back of electrical doing the three tasks you had there when Sykkuno suddenly came in and went straight to standing on top of the vent.

You giggled already knowing his trick.

"Okay guys," you mumbled watching Sykkuno wiggle on the vent. "do we trust Sykkuno or not?"

"You know what," you said making a split second decision. "Its the first game, we might as well."

Joining him on the vent, you stilled for a second and then breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't automatically kill you.

"See, what did I tell you guys huh?" you question smiling straight at the camera. "I knew Sykkuno could be trusted."

You decided to follow Sykkuno going into reactor with him and starting 'Simon says' and just as you were on the last part, a body was found making you let a whine out.

"Guysss," you whined to the camera as Rae started talking about how she had found Daves body in admin.

"Um, I havent been in admin since the start of the game," you said, "also I can clear Sykkuno, for the last part of the round, he's been with me since lights went out."

Sykkuno confirmed it, "Yup that's right, also I can hard clear Y/N cuz guess what? She stood on the vent with me and none of us died."

Everyone chuckled as he said "Thats good enough for me."

"Uh, I was in navigation mostly." said Lily.

"Poki, can I just ask what you were doing?" said Sean, an undercurrent of mirth present.

"Me?" asked Poki speaking for the first time. "What was I doing?"

"You weren't doing any tasks, you were literally just walking from one side of medbay to the other when I peeked in."

Poki started laughing, trying to get her words out at the same time.

"Okay so-" a giggle. "okay okay- I was just, I was trying to um do the beep test," she said finally breaking down and making everyone else laugh as well.

"What the fuck?" you said, laughing at the image in your mind.

"My chat told me to do it last game so I decided to do it now, I was literally just playing around," she said finally, adding "I swear I'm not imposter" at the end.

"Hmmm," you hummed, bringing a hand up to stroke your chin. "Are you sure it was last game Poki... hm...."

Giggling at Poki indignant "YES it was last game", you quickly skipped voting like everyone else as the timer went into the last ten seconds.

Humming a tune under your breath, you went back to reactor, taking a minute to carefully do Simon says and then moved to the other task counting out one two three as you pressed on the numbers. Humming, you moved out of reactor, only to come face to face with Corpse. You paused for a second, and then moved ahead, refusing to show anything on camera. For some reason he followed you as you went to storage, looking at you while you did the trash.

"Why is he just staring?" you mumbled, biting your lip. God, you really didn't wanna think of him right now. You started walking to shields, him still walking with you when lights were called and not a second later a body was reported.

Suddenly there was screaming your ears as Toast and Rae both started accusing each other.

"Wait- Wait WAIT" yelled Poki trying to get them to stop. "What happened?"

"I'll explain" declared Rae, not letting toast get a word in. "We were in navigation okay, me, Toast and Leslie. Lights went out, and suddenly a report buttons there. It's either Toast or someone came in just as lights went out and killed but that doesn't seem likely because I didn't see anyone anywhere near us at all. Anyways I'm fucking telling the truth guys, its Toast, he's the one who did it."

"Toast, do you have anything to say for yourself?" asked Corpse, his voice making your insides shiver.

"Holy shit, this is my soulmate", you thought for the fiftieth time.

"Uh yeah," replied toast. "I didn't do it."

Everyone laughed as he continued.

"Like seriously, I wouldn't do anything like this because it'd be a stupid move from my own part, and I think Raes smart enough to not do this as well. I think someone else came in just as lights went down and killed immediately, which to be honest, was pretty smart of them."

"Okay so I can clear Corpse," you cut in noticing the timer was close. "he was with me in weapons when it happened, he wouldn't have had time to go all the way up, or even vent there because we were literally walking in."

"Yup that's right," confirmed corpse.

"I'm in cafeteria" said Poki.

"Yeah, I saw her on my way to weapons," said Sykkuno, "and I'm in weapons right now,"

"I'm in lower engine" said Sean, and Lily said she was in reactor.

"I think it's Toast," you mumbled and then rose your voice to talk over everyone. "Look okay fine, maybe he said it was a stupid move and he wouldn't do it but maybe he did it for that exact reason. He thought he could get away with it because no one would expect him to do something like that."

As the timer started going down by 10, you voted for Toast and it turned out 3 had skipped the vote while five had voted for him.

damn.

"Guys you actually voted for him?" you said in a high voice, re-enacting one of Sykkunos most said lines.

You heard a "oh for gods sake" from Rae before everyone went silent and you giggled as you moved back down to weapons to do your tasks.

You finished all your tasks and decided to go to security to check where everyone is. Humming as you moved through the electrical hallway, you narrowed your eyes as Corpse came out of electrical and went towards storage. Quickly ducking in you didn't see a body so you headed back out, going into cams and gasping as you saw the body. Reporting immediately you were shocked to see the four kills that had happened. Now only you, Corpse, Sean and Rae were left.

"Oh my god," you mumbled confused. Either there were still two imposters, and Toast wasn't the imposter or the imposter literally killed and did nothing else. Now either that could mean that its definitely Rae if Toast wasn't the imposter, or that it was Corpse as the only imposter left. That was a bit weird though becuase he could have totally killed you at the start of the game. You didn't suspect Sean at all.

"What the fuck?" mumbled Corpse, and Rae made her animal noises expressing her shock.

"Okay," you said taking charge and relaying the kill and your theory to everyone. "So either it was Toast and there's only one other imposter, who is Corpse. Or Toast wasn't an imposter and there's two of them left. I-" you took a deep breath in at the end, very confused. " I don't know anymore,"

"I think its Corpse as well,"

Corpse who hadn't said anything up till this moment suddenly started stammering out "hey-hey uh let-lets not gang up on me okay. It's not-"

"No, wait, its because Y/N said you came out of electrical right, and I saw you in upper engine literally a bit ago and you went down. I went towards cafeteria so I don't know exactly where you went but its totally possible that you killed."

You voted form him after that, convinced it was Corpse, and the other followed quickly.

"Guys what the fuck, at least give me a chance to explain my self" he whined when his body was thrown off the ship seconds later. You cheered when the "VICTORY" sign was displayed across the screen, bringing up your chat and laughing at Toast as he pretended to be angry at me.

"That was a great round, good work Y/N"

"Thankyou" you mumbled staring at your chat. You were confused when you saw the absolute influx of messages on there, and you were barely able to read them because they were going so fast. You scrolled up, and read through the few of the messages;

"You've made corpse sad."

"Corpse has literally been so quite since you came in, can you leave."

"Omg stop with the hate messages, its not her fault if corpse isn't talking to you"

"are you his ex or something? What was that reaction at the start?"

"what did you do? Corpse literally hasn't said a word since you came in."

"Um..."

Corpse POV

Corpses heart stopped for a minute, his breath catching. The words on his wrist glowed gold, and he stared at the little red character standing there.

This person was the reason that he had "PRAISE BINGUS" stretched across his wrist.

They were the only reason that he had searched "Bingus" on google for all of his life. The only reason Corpse knew about the meme before anyone else was because he was constantly monitoring the word online. Ever since March, he had been waiting with bated breath, anxious that he could meet his soulmate at any moment. and here you were.

For some reason, he had never expected that he would meet you in among us, or while he was on stream. He always thought it'd be someone outside. It was a bit stupid in hindsight as all he did nowadays was play among us.

He heard you introduce yourself to him but the only thing that came out of his mouth was “No fucking way”.

Immediately after he wanted to slap himself.

“Idiot” he thought to himself. “At least try to make a good impression.”

When Rae asked what was wrong, heat sprung to his cheeks as he started revealing that they were soulmates, but Y/N cut him off, saying that it was nothing.

Corpse’s heart sank a little then.

'Maybe she’s just a private person,' he reasoned with himself.

'I shouldn’t have tried to say it on stream either. God, I’m a fucking idiot, if I said it, literally everyone would know and not only would I have hated the attention, she probabaly would have as well.'

Convincing himself that she was right, he reassured himself that it wasn’t because of him. She wasn’t revealing it because she probably didn't want all the attention.

For some reason though, his heart sank even more when Y/N didnt talk to him, instead talking to sykkuno about his dog. Like sure he could understand not wanting to reveal they were soulmates but shouldn’t she at least wanna talk to him? At this point he wouldn’t even mind if she talked about his voice like everyone else.

He groaned when the word "Imposter" came across his screen, his and Toasts character standing together. He was not in the right mindset right now to be able to be a good imposter. Breathing in deeply he continued in the game, with the first round passing by quick. The second round, he saw Y/N and stood with her for a bit wondering if he should kill her. Her red character moved to weapons and he sighed moving the mouse over the kill button. Just as he was thinking of clicking a body was found. Corpse swore as Toast flew off the ship. Deciding he needed to speed it up he killed four people in the round, hissing when the meeting was called. The moment Y/N accused him, he knew it was over. He didn't even bother defending himself much, just hoping the game would end soon.

When they were in the lobby, he quickly told everyone that he was going to leave because his internet was acting up. Turning off the stream after saying a quick thank you to everyone, he leaned back in his seat breathing through his nose.

What the fuck was his life.

Even his soulmate didnt want him. Honestly, he should have expected this. Abandoned at 12 with no one around him, why did his expect his soulmate to even give a fuck about him. Tears pricked his eyes and he blinked trying to get rid of them. He breathed in deeply, grabbing the water on the table and taking a big gulp. He had never hated himself more than he did right now. Why couldnt he have an easier life.

“Why cant I just fucking be NORMAL” he yelled throwing the empty bottle of water at the wall.

Throwing himself into bed, he scrunched up his eyes, hoping that sleep would come today, not noticing as his phone lit up with a single message.

Your POV

You stayed for another game and then ducked out apologizing and making an excuse up.

"Sorry it was such a short stream, everyone," you said pouting at the camera. "It was fun though so hopefully I get to do it again." Waving goodbye, you turned off the camera and leaned your head back staring at the ceiling.

What the actual fuck.

Grabbing your phone, you stared at it for a bit. Everything that you had pushed to the back of your mind in the game, was suddenly in the forefront.

The only thing you knew about Corpse was that he had a really deep voice, he narrated horror movies, and he maybe did music?

'Rae mentioned that once right?' you thought to yourself.

You unlocked the phone and then locked it again, too scared to actually do anything.

Unlocked.

Locked.

Unlocked.

Locked.

"Oh get a grip," you muttered to yourself, opening the phone and sending a text to Rae.

‘Hey Rae, do you have corpses number? Do you mind sending it to me, I need to tell him something.’

A reply came in a minute,

‘umm, why. he's pretty private so idk i don't rlly wanna give his number if he doesn't want someone to have it’

You sighed, and decided you might as well tell her. You knew Rae wouldn't betray your trust.

‘He's my soulmate’

Immediately a ‘AHDJHAKJKAGDAK’ came as a reply and you giggled at the string of emojis after it.

‘Don't tell anyone,’ you sent quickly, trying to calm her down.

‘Okay okay, its XXX - XXX - XXXX, ASHAGDH IM DYING OMG. GO TALK TO HIM.’

Biting your lip you added Corpse into your contacts hesitating before putting a small black heart next to his name.

"Already simping," you mumbled under your breath, hands hovering over the keyboard as you struggled to think of what to write.

You finally decided on 'Hey, its Y/N, can I call?' thinking that something short would be the best way to go. Hand hovering over the send button, you sucked in a breath and pressed it, waiting with bated breath.

A minute passed.

And then five.

And then, without you even you realising, it'd been half an hour of you just looking at your phone.

An hour later, you were slumped on your desk, eyes closed and snoring lightly, the phone still open, the message you sent lighting up the screen.

tbc.

[neonlights92]

GRACE: Chapter I

Kim Namjoon lost himself when he lost his hand.  Things have not been the same for him since.  When Taehyung tells him it’s time for him to marry - he isn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect of someone else having a front row seat to his struggle with himself.

That’s where you come in.  You’re a nurse, as well as a member of Bangtan, and Taehyung is never more sure about a match than he is with you and Namjoon.  Feeling like you’ve been chosen to help Namjoon on his journey back to finding who he is, you feel completely out of depth.

It’s only when you start to see the man underneath that you start to fall in love with Kim Namjoon.  And maybe after all, you might be his saving grace.

WARNINGS: Language, eventual sex and some violence

A/N:Namjoonie’s story! ENJOOOOY :D 

“Kim Taehyung wants to see you, Y/N.”

Your mother’s words dropped between the two of you, like lead.  Her eyes avoided your own - and you knew exactly what she actually meant.

Kim Taehyung has found you a husband.

Your chest tightened and you gripped the handle of your coffee mug for dear life.

Your eyes traveled over to your father, his face kind but stern.  This wasn’t up for debate.

“Okay.”  The word was quiet, “Do I - do you…” 

You took a deep breath and collected yourself.

“Who is he?”

The question hung in the air uncomfortably.

Your parents exchanged a look - the same look they’d exchanged your entire life when decisions were made for you and they were afraid you wouldn’t like it.

“I think we should let Taehyung tell you that.”  Your father’s voice was steady, “As Capo, it is his right.”

As capo.

You didn’t know Kim Taehyung very well at all.  Though the two of you were of a similar age - had grown up together in Bangtan - he had always been groomed for Capo.  You on the other hand, had been groomed like most other women in the mob: to believe that your most important duty in life was to carry on your family line.

You knew it was outdated.  And you hated it, though you’d never complain.

Life had taught you that complaints got you nowhere - and so you’d learnt to keep your head down and get on with it.

But that didn’t mean you’d never wanted more.  That you’d craved freedom and independence like no other.

And when your parents had allowed you to study nursing at university you really had thought maybe things were changing.  Until you’d realised that it had been a direct order from Taehyung’s father himself - the Capo at the time.

Bangtan needed their own nurse.  Someone who could take care of things quietly and efficiently.

Someone who could help those who were badly injured find some degree of normality.

And that’s what you did.

Still.  You loved your job - mob mandated or not.

“Okay.”  You whispered, feeling something like dread wash over you.

“His wife has invited you to dinner at theirs,” Your mother finally moved her gaze to connect with your own, “This evening.  Eight pm.”

You nodded, on autopilot.

This was what you’d done all your life, wasn’t it?

You listened to orders.  You never asked questions.  You never challenged Bangtan.

And if the Capo himself wanted to see you, then you knew it could only mean one thing.

He’d found you a husband.  And tonight, you would meet him too.

//

You stood outside Kim Taehyung’s mansion -- because that’s what it was, a mansion -- nervously fingering the hem of your blouse.

This was it.

You’d waited twenty-five years for this moment - the moment someone else decided who you would marry.

You’d always known it would be like this.  Your father was too powerful - he held too many cards too close to his chest - and Bangtan could never let someone like him choose his own daughter’s marriage.

He’d told you since you were a young girl to expect this.  An arranged betrothal.

And when you were little you thought it was sort of romantic.  Like some fairytale - a princess locked away in a tower and a knight who was destined to save her.

Except now you were older and it wasn’t all that romantic anymore.

It was stifling.

You knew your father had come to this agreement with Taehyung himself.  You hated that you lived in such a misogynistic world, but it was the way things had always been.

After a long moment and a deep, calming breath, you lifted your hand and knocked, once.

There was a beat and then the portal swung open.

And Kim Taehyung’s wife was smiling widely at you.  You forced your own lips up into a smile.

“Hi!  Y/N, was it?”

You curtsied a little feeling foolish straight after, “Yeah.  Hello Mrs Kim.”

“Ugh Mrs Kim is Taehyung’s mom,” She laughed, “You can call me ___.”

Her eyes were kind as she opened the door further and gestured you inside.

“Come in, please.  Dinner is almost ready and the boys are too.”

The boys.

Your heart skipped a beat.  For a moment you wondered if perhaps your father had somehow secured a marriage to the last available member of the Special Seven, Kim Namjoon.

But you shook your head.

Your father was important, of course… But surely not that important. 

Besides, from what you’d heard through the grapevine - since the accident that had caused Namjoon to lose most of his hand - he had pretty much become a hermit. The rumour mill was rife, of course, with people’s theories of what would become of Bangtan’s most eligible bachelor.

Could it be that Kim Taehyung wanted you to take up that mantle?

“I hope you like pasta,” ___ interrupted your thoughts and you looked up as stopped in front of a large dining room, “We hardly ever use this room anymore, but Taehyung thought it was appropriate for tonight.”

Your eyes widened at the opulence of the room you were stood in.  The chandelier that hung in the middle of the ceiling dripped with what you could only guess were the most expensive diamonds money could buy.  The long, mahogany table was ornate and rich - a dark colour that spoke of wealth and taste.

“It’s a little much,” ___ spoke up again and you turned to see her rolling her eyes, “But it was like this when we moved in.  Taehyung’s dad had a lot of money and apparently not a lot of subtlety.”

She laughed at the comment and you giggled too - relaxing a little as the tension eased from your shoulders slightly.  It seemed you’d found something of an ally in Taehyung’s wife and you were thankful for that, at least.

“I know we don’t really know each other,” She started carefully, a perfectly plucked brow pulling up slightly, “But I like to think of myself as a confidant of sorts… Especially when it comes to matters of the heart.”

You raised your own brow, “Matters of the heart?”

She bit her bottom lip and you noticed the pity in her eyes.

As she opened her mouth to answer you, somebody cleared their throat to your left and your head snapped round, finding yourself looking up into the formidable gaze of Kim Taehyung.

He was alone, you noticed immediately, and you tried to keep your expression neutral.

This was the game of Bangtan.  A game you’d grown up in.

A game you knew well.

“Taehyung,” You greeted, nodding gently, “Thank you for inviting me.  It is an honour.”

His handsome face was cold - barely responsive as he nodded back to you, “Y/N.  Welcome to our home.”

Our home.

The words warmed you.

It had been clear for a while now that Kim Taehyung’s only weakness was his wife.  He would burn the entire world down for her - and you’d been told of this time and time again.

They had started off as an arranged marriage - almost six years ago now - when Taehyung’s father and his wife’s father had worked so closely with one another they had promised their children’s hand in marriage in an act of loyalty.

But things had changed in the years since.

It was well established that Kim Taehyung loved only one thing more than he loved Bangtan - and that was his wife.

You tried to focus on that - on the fact that loveless marriages could turn into something else - as ___ nudged her husband playfully.

“Don’t be so formal,” She teased and you couldn’t believe you were witnessing this exchange, “Y/N is a friend.”

Taehyung actually rolled his eyes playfully and smiled down at his wife, “I’m still Capo, darling.”

She laughed as well and your chest tightened.  You wanted that.

The obvious love they had for one another - the way they seemed to be so comfortable with each other it was like they had found their home.

“Well dinner’s almost ready Taehyung so go and get cleaned up.” ____ said, slipping an arm through yours and leading you towards the ridiculous mahogany table, “Come sit over here, Y/N.”

You noticed for the first time that the table was set for four people.

Your heart pounded against your chest.

“Who is it?”

The question slipped out of you before you even had a chance to think it through.  ____ froze. She was slipping into the seat beside you when her eyes turned to your own.

“What?”

“The fourth person,” You whispered, darting your eyes behind you to make sure Taehyung wasn’t within earshot distance, “My future husband.  Who is it?”

____ looked genuinely distraught for a moment.

You clicked your tongue.

“I’m a member of the South Korea mafia, ____, I know how this shit works.”  You noticed your words were a little sharp and you tried to soften them with a weak smile, “Just tell me who it is.  Please.”

____ seemed torn.  Her eyes roved your face carefully and she sighed. 

“He’s a good guy.”  She told you carefully, “Really.   I’m not just saying that.”

Your heart dropped.  The look in her eyes - the trepidation….

“It’s Kim Namjoon, isn’t it?”

A throat cleared itself loudly from behind you.  You snapped your head to the side and watched as the man himself sauntered towards the two of you.

“You rang?”  The sarcasm dripped from his tone as he stuck out his prosthetic hand for you to shake.  You supposed he was expecting you to be disgusted - maybe to rebuke him - but you were made of stronger stuff than that.

You forced yourself to smile, “Hello Namjoon.  I’m Y/N.”

He narrowed his eyes as you shook his prosthetic.

“I know who you are,” He raised a dark brow, “The future Mrs Kim Namjoon.”

The words were like heavy bricks - weighing down on your shoulders.

You knew next to nothing about this man.  Despite what ____ had said about him being a good man all you saw was bitterness and anger in his eyes.

“You’re the nurse, aren’t you?” 

You nodded carefully and tried to calm your pulse. 

“Well now we know why Taehyung chose you for me.  The cripple.”

____ cleared her throat and stood up abruptly.  Her eyes were dark and angry and she shook her head at Namjoon.

“No.  You don’t get to do that to her.  Not when she had nothing to do with any of this.”  Her bottom lip trembled slightly, “Apologise.” Namjoon’s face was a perfect mask of nonchalance.  His eyes flicked between you and ____ and he shrugged.

“What for?”

____ squared her shoulders, “You know exactly what for, Kim Namjoon.”

“I think that’s enough now,” Taehyung entered the room sharply, standing between his wife and friend.  His gaze fell on you after a moment, “I see the two of you have met.”

You nodded wordlessly, wondering just what in the hell was going on.

Namjoon was seething apparently, as he sulked to the left of his friend, arms crossed and eyes dangerously black.   

“Was he not as welcoming as he’d promised he’d be?”

“This is ridiculous V, we both know that.  You’ve chosen her because she’s a nurse and because of this,” He stuck his fake hand in the air and you refused to look away.

Nobody else in the room reacted for a moment.

Taehyung took a deep, calming breath.

“That was part of it, yes.”  He said evenly, “Y/N is a trained nurse and therefore she can help you move forward with this.  But she’s also a good match.  Right age, right height… Her parents are wealthy and important like yours.  It is a good union.  I have told you this plenty of times Namjoon.”

“I will not marry her because of pity,” Namjoon spat the word out, “I’m not some fucking charity case-” 

“I don’t pity you.” The words flew out of you and when three sets of eyes turned to fall on you, you wondered if it was the right choice.  You chose to focus on Namjoon.

“What?”

“I don’t pity you,” You told him honestly, gesturing to his prosthetic, “What happened is awful, obviously.  And I may never know the full extent of it.  But I don’t pity you.  You are a man with an obstacle in life.  There are many men with obstacles in life.  That doesn’t make you worthy of  pity.”

Namjoon’s eyes searched your face for something - what you weren’t sure - and she sighed heavily.  He seemed so tired.  You noticed the bags under his eyes, the lines in his forehead.  He was young - just a little older than you - and yet it seemed he’d aged so much recently.

“So you want to marry me?  You want to marry a man who’s had to learn how to live - how to do normal every day things like eat with a knife and fork - all over again?”

You shrugged, “I want to do what’s best for Bangtan.  If Taehyung says that’s a marriage between the two of us, then so be it.”

A long moment passed between the two of you.

Namjoon seemed to be sizing you up, and you took the opportunity to do the same.

He wasn’t ugly.  Far from it.  Kim Namjoon was tall and handsome - and from what you’d  heard through the grapevine - he was also smart and kind.

People spoke about him of course - he was a member of the Special Seven - and what they said was normally very positive.

He wasn’t like other Bangtan men.

He was grounded.  He was softer.  A man who used brains instead of braun.

You had to admit, those traits were attractive to you.

Eventually, he spoke.

“Alright then.”  He nodded and gave you a strange look - somewhere between admiration and confusion, “I suppose that says it all.”

Namjoon turned to Taehyung and nodded.

“We’ll get married at the earliest convenience.” _____ gasped from behind you but you barely registered the sound.

It had all been well and good in theory… But now what?

Kim Namjoon stuck his hand out to yours - his real hand made of flesh and bones - and smiled sardonically.

“Welcome to the family, Mrs Kim Namjoon.” You smiled back.  Mrs Kim Namjoon.

You could do this.

//

Planning a wedding was easy when you weren’t trusted to do a single thing.

Kim Namjoon’s family had promised to take care of everything - and as a family higher up in the Bangtan hierarchy than your own - there had been no argument to be made.

This was the way things worked in your world, and you’d learned long ago just to accept it. 

You barely saw your husband in the ensuing months.  He dropped by once to meet your parents and officially ask for your hand in marriage, and once more since then to update you on the wedding arrangements.

But apart from that he was like a ghost - you even forgot sometimes that you were supposed to be marrying him. 

You rarely thought about the fact that by the end of this year you would be Mrs Kim Namjoon and despite the relatively long engagement - six months was a long time in the world of Bangtan - you were happy you had the time to get used to the idea of marriage.

It wasn’t until one evening when Kim Namjoon came calling for you that the reality of the situation truly sunk in.

You were leaving work - it had been a particularly difficult day so far, and absolutely nothing seemed to be going smoothly.  In fact everything today had felt like it was seconds away from falling apart and you felt like you too, were going to break down.

And as you made your way across the parking lot you found Kim Namjoon, leaning against your car.  How he knew which one was yours was beyond you - but you smiled at him questioningly when you were within earshot.

“Hi.” He smiled almost sheepishly, “Hi.”

“What are you doing here?”

He crossed his arms and squinted one eye shut as he stewed in your question for just a moment.  Then he sighed heavily.

“I’ve been an asshole.”

“Huh?” You raised a brow. 

Namjoon groaned and clicked his tongue, “Are you gonna make this difficult for me?”

“What? No!” You shook your head and shrugged, “I just don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The night I agreed to marry you I was a jerk.  And we’ve barely seen each other twice since we got engaged two months ago.”  He ran a hand through his hair, “I promised myself I wouldn’t be like that.  So I’m sorry.”

You cocked your head to the side, shocked at the show of vulnerability.  Namjoon was a Bangtan man - he should be cold and unforgiving - he should push away intimacy and hate the thought of opening himself up to anyone.

And yet here he was, apologising to you for something you’d assumed was just the way things were done when a marriage was arranged.

“Okay.”  You nodded slowly, “I forgive you.”

He smiled softly and you found yourself thinking he really did look handsome like that.

“I’d like us to be friends at least,” He shrugged, “If nothing else.”

You smiled back, “Friends sounds good to me.”

“Good.  Great.  Thank you,” He gestured to your car, “So can you give me a ride home?” You gave him a questioning look, “How did you get here?”

“My driver dropped me off,” He lifted his prosthetic hand, “I can’t really drive anymore.” 

There was a moment of almost awkward silence, but you refused to let something Namjoon couldn’t control, ruin the atmosphere.  He’d apologised to you - he was making something of an effort - and you owed it to him to do your part.

“I can help you with that,” You told him, pointing at his hand, “Getting used to it.  How long have you had it on for?”

“Half a year,” He looked away from you, “It’s still so uncomfortable.”

You took another step towards him and his eyes connected with yours.  

“I don’t care.”  You told him firmly, “I don’t care about the prosthetic.  I swear.  And I’m sorry it’s uncomfortable.  I’m sorry it happened to you.  But I’ll help you.  I will.  I promise.”

Namjoon’s eyes softened at your words and you were taken back by the way he was suddenly looking at you.

God.  He really was so handsome.

“Okay.”  He whispered, eyes darting across your face, “Yeah.  Thank you.  That would mean a lot.” The moment was suspended for another moment more, and you wondered if you might do something crazy like try and kiss him - before Namjoon cleared his throat and the spell was broken.

Jesus.

What was going on with you?

Your pulse was racing as you fumbled around your handbag for your keys and you told yourself the nerves were only because of the day you’d had.  It had nothing to do with the handsome man standing in front of you.

“You’re going to have to give me directions to your house,” You told Namjoon as the car unlocked and you both climbed in, “I’ve never had the privilege of visiting.” He snorted a laugh, “It’s a two minute drive from Taehyung’s.  If you drive that way I can guide you.”

“Sounds good.”

You buckled yourself in and tried to ignore the way your cheeks were flushing at the idea of you and Namjoon being in such a small space together, focusing instead on the feel of the steering wheel under your fingers, and trying as much as you could not to stare at him through the reflection of the mirrors.

That would be weird.

Weirder than you were suddenly being.

“How was work?” He asked you once you pulled the car out onto the main road. 

You groaned, “Awful.  Today was a bad one.  We have them sometimes but it really lowers your self esteem.  Some of my patients seemed like they couldn’t stand my face.”

Namjoon whistled lowly. 

“I can imagine that wouldn’t be a very comforting atmosphere to be in.”

“No, not very,” You shrugged and shot him a look, “But that’s the nature of my job.  Nurses are treated worse than doctors even though sometimes it feels like we do triple the work.”

Namjoon chuckled and you raised a brow, “What?”

“It’s  just…” Out of the corner of your eye you saw him shake his head, “It’s like that with us sometimes.  In Bangtan I mean.  Taehyung is treated with so much respect and reverence - and he deserves it.  Of course he does.  But the rest of us… We work our asses off.  And we barely get any recognition for it.”  He pulled a face, “So I guess I’m trying to say I know how you’re feeling.  Kind of.”

You let this information settle with you.

It made sense of course.

Bangtan was the biggest food chain of them all.  The Capo demanded respect.

And in the little interaction you’d had with him, you saw how intimidating Kim Taehyung could be.  Still.  You imagined that had to be annoying.

“Doesn’t it piss you off?” He scoffed, “Of course it does.  But that’s just Bangtan.  That’s the job.  We don’t do it for recognition anyway.  We do it because we love Bangtan.”

You smiled at that.

It was exactly how you felt about your job.

“Yeah.  I understand what you mean.  As much as it sucks that I don’t always get the praise I feel I deserve… I don’t do it for that.  I do it to help people.”

There was a heavy moment between you both.  Namjoon seemed to be taking in what you’ve said and you found yourself thinking that if it’s this easy to talk to him you might catch yourself falling for your own husband.

“That’s a lovely way to put it,” You felt rather than saw his smile, “My house is just on this curb.”

You slowed the car down and turned to your fiance, surprised when you saw him already smiling at you.

“Thank you.  For this.”  His eyes were gentle and shimmering almost and you once again had to force yourself not to flush, “It’s been…. Nice.” You grinned back, “Alright.  Don’t be a stranger.”

He laughed at that and shook his head.

“I won’t.” He gave you a warm look, “Goodbye Y/N.  I’ll call you soon.”

You nodded, “Okay.  Bye Namjoon.”

He smiled at you once more before climbing out of the car and waving goodbye at you. 

And as you drove away all you could think of was this:

Kim Namjoon might very well be the best thing that could have ever happened to you.

//

[impactmintsfresh]

Picking the Perfect Tree

You were supposed to leave five minutes ago! You were bouncing up and down on your toes wishing your Daddy would hurry up.

"Come on, come on Daddy they will all be gone!" He just laughed at your antics. Thor wasn't a strict Daddy, he punished you of course, but he was more relaxed than you knew some others to be. He was the perfect match for you, in the past you had always been too anxious to completely let go with other caregivers because you were so worried about being punished. But your Daddy understood. He was the best.

He wasn't a pushover though, and that's why you were late.

"Babygirl, I'm sure there will still be enough trees in the forest for you to choose from once you are dressed properly". He had taken one look at the outfit you had pulled together yourself and shook his head. You got to keep the dress, but on went some wooly tights and a big jumper. You didn't mind though, Daddy helping you step into your tights and pulling them up for you had made you feel so little and taken care of.

But now, he was taking the mick. "Daddy I can't see!" He had wrapped you up in a large scarf and a big hat that left you squinting out of the tiny gap. 

"That's fine Baby, Daddy will look for you." You giggled as he picked you up and placed you on his hip. He grabbed his axe and walked you both out of the cabin and to the car.

--

As soon as you arrived you were running off into the dense woods looking for the perfect Christmas tree.

"Stop!" You stopped dead in your tracks and turned around to see your Daddy walking towards you. Sometimes you forgot he was an ancient God.

Thor was walking towards you in all his Viking glory, he was wearing regular jeans and a dark sweatshirt but there was a cape of fur over one shoulder that he had promised was warm enough. He somehow seemed to walk as tall as the tree, welding an axe like he would his hammer. You were so lost in your daydream of imagining him walking into battle that you didn't realise he was standing right in front of you.

"You have to hold my hand, little one. I won't lose you." His voice was so soft and sweet, reminding you that no one else got to see him like this.

"Okie Daddy. Lub you." He smiled. Sensing how little you were feeling, Thor lifted you onto his hip again and took you walking through the woods. 

It took you 45 minutes to find the one, lots of inspecting tree after tree while you found fault with them all.

"Daddy! Wait!" He winced as you shouted in his ear, he almost considered giving you a warning but the smile on your face changed his mind. Your face was lit up with childish wonder as you stared at a tree in the distance. 

"That one, he's perfect." Thor was confused how you knew the tree to be him, but he didn't question it. In the same way he didn't question how this tree was any different from the other hundred you had looked at already.

Thor placed you back down on the ground and got to chopping. Most people who come to this place, simply wrap a ribbon and a tag around their tree. Most people aren't Thor.

You watched his muscles move and he swung the axe against the tree, wondering not for the first time if you would ever really understand how powerful he was. The tree fell with one hit.

Thor put the axe through a loop on his belt and picked you up again. He squatted and grabbed the base of the tree and began to drag it behind you all the way back to the car. "Let's get him home baby so you can decorate hmm?" You nodded already snuggling into Thor. You were starting to feel the chill slightly and were grateful for the layers your Daddy had put you. He always knows best.

[violettelueur]

— JUJUTSU KAISEN EPISODE NINE || SMALL FLY AND REVERSE RETRIBUTION

↳ featuring : gojo satoru + ieiri shoko (mentions of fushiguro megumi + kugisaki nobara + zenin maki + nanami kento) from jujutsu kaisen

↳ warnings : mention of corpse + mention of blood + EXTREME grammar issues

↳ form : story

↳ published : 09 march

↳ pronouns : she/her

↳ word count : 2.4k

↳ synopsis : within the jujutsu world, there were three famous clans to be aware of, the Kamo clan, Zenin clan and the Gojo clan. However, unknown to many sorcerers there was one last family that was known to be apart of the three, only for them to disappear after the golden era leading some to speculate that they had died in battle after the sealing of ryomen sukuna, but....

↳ previous episode : boredom

↳ next episode : idle transfiguration 

↳ barista’s notes : hi there everyone! right now i know i haven’t been the most active i have been but i really thankful on how patient you all are ʕ •ᴥ•ʔゝ☆ once again, thank you all for the birthday messages you have given me and the love that you all have for Y/N, i’m really glad that you love her character ╲ʕ·ᴥ·　╲ʔ i hope you enjoy today’s episode even though it isn’t that interesting at all to be honest...

BEFORE READING, I NEED YOU TO BE AWARE OF THIS:

1. the whole story belongs to Gege Akutami and the credits go to them and them only.

2. the spell curses used belong to Tite Kubo due to them being the ‘Kidos’ being used on the manga and anime ‘Bleach’ - but none is mentioned in this chapter.

2.5 for the ‘cursed spells’/kidos (bleach) i will link this video here and tell you the time stamp to check out what i am intending to show - remember i add a few twist here and there by adding the katana to link with Y/N’s cursed technique

no cursed spells used this episode..

3. if you are confused on anything, please don’t hesitate to message me since i know this whole thing is so confusing.

“At this point, I’m not going to get any sleep if I keep doing this,” you mumbled quietly to yourself, as you leisurely walked down the stone steps that lead to the familiar track field you had been going to for the past few weeks for training due to the up and coming Kyoto Sister-School Goodwill Event.

Currently, there was nothing more than a few mild wind breezes as well as the brightness from the moon keeping you company as you decided to come out of your room for the night - how many times have you done this? You wouldn’t even know the answer yourself, you just let yourself go outside to get some fresh air.

Finally reaching to the bottom of the steps, you casually made your way to the tree you always sat under during training with your classmates and second-year upper-classmen before taking off your black longline coat to place it on the ground like a cover as you processed to sit before laying right on top of it leading your view to change from the field to the sky that was slightly shielding by the branch and leaves from the trees.

“What...am I even doing here?” you questioned yourself while raising your arm slightly above your face as you stared at your hand absently like the answer you were looking for was at the back of your hand.

From what you have learnt at being at Jujutsu Tech for some time, you learnt that everyone had a purpose of being at the institution that you were currently residing in now. 

Everyone you have met and knew here at this moment in time had a purpose or a goal of being a jujutsu sorcerer.

What about you?

Fushiguro thought the world was unfair and the reasoning behind his reasoning of becoming a sorcerer was to be a tool within a system that ensured kind people were given more chances in living. However, unlike you, you weren’t really fond of his reasoning at all. 

What happens if those ‘good’ people you saved become the criminal you refused to save? What happens if those ‘good’ people you deemed ‘good’ become the most immoral and sinful person you ever encountered? What happens if those ‘good’ people you save that smiled at your actions for them lead that smile to fade?

Like you mentioned, you weren’t fond of his reasoning at all. There were too many risks.

Kugisaki's reasoning was humorous as she wanted to move out of the countryside without any worries of financial issues but you knew somewhere in your heart that there was another reason she wasn’t telling you when you asked her during your usual weekend shopping trip with her. On the other hand, you admired her in some way, she was the personification of not needing to choose between strength and beauty.

However, that wasn’t the answer you weren’t looking for at all.

Zenin (Maki) wanted to escape the ties of the Zenin clan due to her situation of not being able to possess any kind of cursed energy compared to the averaged sorcerer, yet with the heavenly restriction that was traded with the lack of cursed energy, she processed superhuman physical prowess that was more powerful than most sorcerers you come to know. 

Her reasoning? To become the head of the Zenin clan to irritate the other members.

When she mentioned her ambition to you, you were quite sceptical in the beginning but that slowly diminished once you saw the cheeky grin on her face, you soon came to realise that she wasn’t like any of them from whom you could recall due to your mother’s knowledge of them when she was still alive. Zenin was extremely strong-headed and straightforward which led to her motivation causing your respect for her to slowly rise up as each day went by.

On the other hand, you had escaped the ties of the clans, you had that advantage ahead of her since the day you came into this world, yet that changed the second you came into school that night. That wasn’t the answer you were trying to discover.

Then there was Gojo Satoru. A man that is known to be the strongest in this generation as he processed both the Limitless technique as well as the Six Eyes after 400 years assumingly and was the lone standing member of the Gojo clan unless your adoption made a change to that to which you knew it wasn’t likely at all.

To be honest, Gojo never told you his reasoning on becoming a sorcerer and it must be said that he didn’t really have a choice, to begin with. He was immediately placed into this world as the fate of the jujutsu world was resting on his shoulders while your clan was the maintenance of that order and if anything happened to the man himself, you were the next sorcerer to restore the stability of the world.

‘Ugh, what a drag…’

Although, without his words, you could predict what he wanted. Gojo seemed like he wanted a revolution. A change and actively collecting sorcerers that had the same mindset as him was one way of beginning it. You couldn’t deny that Gojo was a smart man but one with a hint of narcissist meaning to it. 

Slowly, you come to realise that you were a tool within his plan.

Something you slowly wanted to take advantage of for the time being.

However, as much as his plan was one you were tensely going to follow, that still wasn’t the answer you desired at all.

“Because I’m not supposed to exist Fushiguro, you’re a Zenin by blood, you should know that my clan shouldn’t exist after the golden age, we disappeared,” 

“That’s right...I wasn’t supposed to exist…”

Slowly you finally placed your arm back down to your side before closing your eyes allowing the darkness to consume your sight but you didn’t allow it to consume the whole of you since you weren’t willing to fall asleep outside in the world where you felt most vulnerable.

It was quiet.

From what you could sense around you at this current moment in time, there was no one around you right now, no sound of footsteps that were out of place and no lingering sense of cursed energy around you.

You felt free.

Completely free.

Even if it was for a couple of seconds.

“You know, instead of being a drag, maybe inform that you are here,” you stated, as you opened your eyes slowly to discover a well-known face staring down at you as their body towered over yours. 

“You can sense me that quick?” Gojo asked, with a cheeky smile painted on his face as he tilted his glasses down to reveal his crystal indicolite eyes that somehow looked as if they were brighter than the moon that was above the both of you right now.

“You have an immense amount of cursed energy, it’s quite easy to sense you to be honest...too easy,” you mentioned, before turning on to your side as if to avoid eye contact with him due to the feeling of him studying you like you were s subject - it was creepy.

“If you are going to study me about my ability, just go to the library in the school to read about my clan, I’m sure that is enough,” you informed your teacher, causing him to giggle at your comment before inviting himself to sit next to you.

“Nah, I got the real thing of the lingering L/N clan here and I don’t like reading~” Gojo amusingly stated, before placing a hand on the top of your head before gently ruffling your hair. “Besides, you and I both know that something is going on right now,” Gojo seriously mentioned, causing you to become slightly tense as you began to recall the unexpected attack against him that he was hinting to you.

“Do you know any curse users that are willing to work with the two curses that you encountered?” you asked Gojo in the same serious tone he gave you only for silence to fill the atmosphere leading you to turn your head slightly to see what was wrong with your adoptive father, only to notice him staring off into the distance with a nonchalant look on his face only for it to change instant with the usual playful smile he always showcased to you.

“By the way, I told Shoko to expect you tomorrow to practice your reverse cursed energy technique,” the playful teacher stated before removing his hand from your head as he stood up on his feet. “It might be difficult for you to understand since she’s not the best at explaining, but I know you’ll get it! Get back inside and get back to sleep~” he said with a teasing tone, before making his way back into the Jujutsu Tech building, leaving you alone again with your own thoughts as you stared at the direction that he had headed off to.

“What a drag…”

                                               ꕥ

“Shoko-san?” you called out, once the metal door slid open only to discover her standing between two metal tables with what seemed to be curse corpses resting there with blood splattered messily on their resting surface.

“Oh Y/N! Satoru said you were going to come by,” Ieiri mentioned with a small smile, as she turned to look at you while tying her hair back leading you to notice the very visible purple under eye bags she had.

Ieiri Shoko was the doctor within the Jujutsu Tech institution and was one of the only people that was able to use reverse cursed technique like you but more at an advanced level leading you to mentally thank Gojo for allowing you to learn from her since you had been struggling to use it to the level that she was. Even your mother was struggling to help improve your technique since the only time you were able to use it to your full potential was when you were in critical danger.

“What’s going on?” you curiously asked as you observed the gruesome sight in front of you while trying to ignore the horrible smell that was coming from the corpses as you gently placed your hand over your nose to block the scent.

“There was been an incident in Kinema Cinema and I have been asked to check out these since one of the sorcerers that were assigned to the mission stated there was something odd about them,” Ieiri explained before handing you a black elastic band leading to a confused look to invade your face.

“And I want you to help since Saturo said you have a really good sense of seeing residue of cursed energy, as well as sense, cursed energy itself,” Ieiri informed you leading you to take the hairband from her grasp as well as the other surgical mask that was needed in case you both needed to dissect something.

“Are you sure I’m allowed to do this? I don’t have a license,” you questioned, as you placed the mask over your mouth causing Ieiri to look at you before saying to not worry since she was here - which caused you to look at her with a sceptical expression before going on to the task at hand as you stood next to her to peer over one of the deceased curses that were laying on the metal bench.

While observing the gruesome sight, you began to steadily see a trail of the lingering residue of cursed energy from the whole body, yet for some reason, there was a connection to the brain as you continued to stare that the sight much to your dismay.

“Human?” you stated in a perplexed tone while continuing to look at the head as the most amount of residue was there for the most part. “There’s a connection to the brain, so I assume the brain stems have been tampered with to alter the formation of the body, but the person wouldn’t know any of that due to probably their now impaired consciousness...it’s as if the human has been transfigured in a way like the other one behind us,” you informed Ieiri, who seemed to agree with you as she lightly nodded her head.

“Though the relationship between the brain and the cursed energy is still a black box right now, they died because of the modification and not because of the sorcerer,” the doctor added, causing you to give a side glance in her direction as you continued to listen to her explanation.

“Do you think it’s to do with the soul?” you asked, as you fully turned to look at her while she looked at you in confusion.

“Right now, we’re looking at it in a biological sense but if we are talking about a cursed spirit like Sukuna for example that is doing this, it has to do with the soul rather than the body itself,” you informed the doctor, causing her to look at you with widened eyes as she didn’t expect her old schoolmate’s daughter to have such a high capability to come to different ideas since it was Gojo that was your parent after all.

“Kento will have to ask the culprit about their cursed technique to see if your theory is correct,” Ieiri mentioned, leading you to look at her confused once again as you threw your surgical mask in the bin, only for her to swiftly inform you that a grade one sorcerer by the name of Nanami Kento was the one to inform her about the situation.

“I have to make a quick call to him to explain the discovery we made. Can you step outside and wait for me before I call you back so we can proceed to your lesson?” the doctor asked you with a smile leading you to nod at her before making your way towards the metal door that had come through before as you took one more peek at the Jujutsu Tech’s doctor’s direction with a perplexed and doubtful sense.

‘What’s the reason for me to be out of the room if I got involved with the investigation? What are you hiding from me?’

However, you didn’t want to make a whole fuss about your suspicion since you really didn’t have the effort to voice out your concern leading you to leave the room with more questions plaguing your mind as the ringing tone carried itself in the air.

“This is such a drag”

© violettelueur 2021 : written and published by violettelueur - do not steal or repost

[messyyythoughts]

the temple, part 2.

marvel Moon Knight Khonshu x female reader

summary: you have agreed to the offer put forward by Khonshu. with nothing keeping you in London, you travel to Egypt to find the last standing temple that serves Khonshu, which will now become your place of living and learning.

warnings: nightmares (relating to events in previous part)

part 1

.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ ..·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ ..·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

Egypt was beautiful. you had been so glad when Khonshu revealed that the temple he needed you to care for was in the Egyptian desert. you were sick of London, as much as it had given you, it was definitely time to move anyway. so, you packed everything you thought you’d need, sold off everything else, and booked a one way ticket to Egypt. you considered posting a letter to your family, notifying them of your change of country, but then thought about the last conversation you’d had with them. you decided against the letter in the end. Khonshu guided you the entire way, and it wasn’t until you reached the hidden temple, which was carved out of a mountainside in the desert with no modern roads or signage to help navigate to it, that you realised just how serious this was. it was half buried in sand, and blended in well with its surroundings. if you weren’t looking for it, you would miss it by a mile. once inside, Khonshu simply told you to repair the place, clean it up, and then once it was fit for prayer to begin teaching yourself the ways of a priestess. there were ancient texts in the lower levels, and you were expected to read and understand them by the time Khonshu returned from his other business in London. your head snapped when he said this, it hadn’t been mentioned before, and he’d certainly hidden it well since you agreed to leave London and come here. “what do you mean you have ‘other business’ in London?” you asked, as Khonshu began to walk out of the temple. you were both stood in the grand hall that housed a decaying statue of Khonshu, it was meant to be a place of prayer, amongst other things. “I have an avatar to pester in London. I will be back, soon.” you couldn’t believe he’d made you come all the way out here, only to hop back to bloody London for this ‘avatar’ thing. your temper was rising, which it often didn’t do, but you’d had a long few days getting here from London, and Khonshu hiding his plans from you had hit the nail on the head. “what is an avatar, Khonshu?” your arms folded across your chest, and he turned to you. staff in hand, a cold breeze descended, and you were momentarily grateful for it. but, you didn’t let it distract you from your anger. “my avatar is a mortal that I lend my power to in order for them to do my bidding on Earth. my avatar is currently in London, and I have unfinished business there.” you both stood in silence for a moment, before you spoke again. “and I’m supposed to just stay here, on my own, unprotected in the middle of the desert, and tend to the temple?” Khonshu’s gaze was on you, and it irked you. he wasn’t seeing your worry, and that added to the list of frustrating things he’d done since getting to this temple. “this temple will protect you, it has a constant source of clean water and only requires some cleaning and repair work to bring it back to its former glory. it will be a worthy experience for you, mortal woman.” he was getting impatient, but you didn’t care. you knew that you wouldn’t win him over today, so you decided to annoy him one last time. he took your silence as you being done with the conversation, and had began walking out of the hall. “I have one question.” the God paused, but did not look back at you.

“ask your question, mortal.” Khonshu grumbled.

“if I’m truly the only mortal you have offered the position of priestess to before, what made you choose me?” Khonshu visibly straightened up, before answering.

“you did not indulge in the pain of your tormentors, and you rightfully punish the wrongdoers, yet you have so much past pain begging to be let out.” he was referring to your ex-coworkers. “you have demonstrated control over your feelings, you have a sharp wit that makes you unafraid, you have the physical capability to become a fighter. all of these things in one mortal is… difficult to come across.” you said nothing at his praise, his words. it all felt like lies to you. “it would appear that you are the first in a very long time I have deemed worthy of the position.”

“so I am not the first?” you interjected, which made him turn around to face you. the wind blew fiercely as to add to his dramatics. childish.

“do not test my patience, mortal woman. do not make me regret my decision.” he was inches away from your face, having travelled across the hall in a blink of an eye. you held that blistering eye contact he had established. you could always tell where he was looking. you let a tiny smirk escape, before bowing deeply and turning around, giving Khonshu the childish satisfaction of having the last words. you felt his presence dissipate, he was reluctant to go, but he was gone. your eyes scanned the hall, it had darkened hallways leading away from it. this place needed a lot of work, and you were the only person here to do it. well, you’d come all the way out here, and there was nothing calling you back to London anymore... time to start a new life. .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ ..·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ ..·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ . you slept on an ancient threadbare rug in your pyjamas, drowning in the thick heat. you’d swept all of the sand out earlier, and that had made you sweat enough to fill buckets. Khonshu hadn’t lied about the clean, cold water constantly available through pumps in the temple, and although it took a few buckets to fill a bathtub, you were appreciative of it. for this temple being so ancient, it had some rather modern furnishings, the tubs and pumps being just the beginning of the things you had found stored away in the temple. that following morning, you explored the dusty, dark but cooler, lower levels. it would take a lot of dusting to make these levels inhabitable. you found the ancient scripts and took several back to your room for reading and translating. although, you had found that quite a lot of the text was already understood by you. strange, considering you had little knowledge of what it was all supposed to mean. still, you weren’t complaining, and it made the nighttimes pass quicker. the days were spent dusting, dragging furniture around, clearing out rooms, examining any damage that had been done and trying to repair it. weeks passed, and there had been no word from the mighty Khonshu. not even a drop in to see you were still alive. kind of him, to leave you entirely to your own devices in one of the harshest climates on Earth, with no survival experience apart from what you’d picked up from watching TV over the years. not that you had paid spectacular attention to any of that, either. your new life carried on like that, until you found a rather interesting text. it was late at night, you couldn’t really sleep, and the candlelight was illuminating this one page... it held details about the powers of a priestess. you sat up, your attention finally snatched by something worthwhile. your tired eyes ripped that page apart for all of the details. you came to realise that the long and short of it was you had powers granted to you by Khonshu that you should be able to use. that was it. all of your problems had been solved in one page! you ran to the hall, where Khonshu’s crumbling statue was standing, watching over you menacingly. you placed the page down, and recited what you could make out from the text. as soon as you spoke the words, the sands outside rumbled, the wind howled, and it was as if the temple itself was responding to you. your words, your voice, your body. a simple sweep of your arm sent sand flying in that direction, along with the winds. a grin spread across your face, and you kept reading over the page. your powers were... strong, if used in the right way. you closed your eyes, imagining what this temple would’ve looked and felt like in its prime. when your eyes dared to open, you saw change happening before your eyes. it was you doing this. your mind was transforming this temple into what it once had been. with the slightest inclination of your hand, walls rebuilt themselves, furniture clattered into the right rooms, and settled exactly where you wanted it to. lanterns hung themselves from the walls, candles lit themselves where they sat on the stone. your grin split into a genuine, amazed smile. little old you was doing all of this just by thinking about it! Khonshu’s mighty statue had finally repaired itself, and it was grand. it was adorned in gold decor, the stone new and smooth, the details fine and expertly crafted. all around you, change was happening, the temple was becoming something to be proud of and to devote time and care to. you had struggled to love it when it was in such disarray weeks ago, but now? now, it was your life. you let your arms drop, and the temple rested. the winds died down, and the sands were no longer around you. you marvelled at the things you had done. every inch of this place was perfect. you only wished that Khonshu was here to appreciate it, see it, feel the energy of it. you loved the feeling of the sands obeying your every move, even when you barely lifted a finger, they were subtly shifting around you. it was as if this mystical place was secretly alive, and was protecting you at all times. this must’ve been what Khonshu was going on about with the protection and glory of the temple. you only wished he had instructed you on how to do all of this earlier, rather than let you potter around doing useless tasks like sweeping sand out and shifting heavy furniture from place to place. you went to leave, return to your room, but the sands weren’t done with you. they encased you, spiralling upwards, you were lifted from the stone floor of the hall. you felt that change happening again, but this time, it was you being changed. the sands felt kind, caring, the winds gentle and light. when you were placed down, you could feel the light cloth on your body, the refreshed sensation in your head and heart, your skin felt smooth and soft but firm, ready to take damage if need be. you felt stronger, faster, sharper. it was when you finally returned to your room that you saw what the sands had done. the tiny mirror you had been using was now a full body length one hung on the wall. clothing your body was the most elegant, yet practical, set of priestess robes you had ever seen. this was nothing like those awful video game ones where only the naughty parts of a woman’s body were barely covered, this was something else entirely. it was all a clean shade of white, with very simple gold stitching details relating to the moon, stars and Khonshu. the outer robe was heavier, thicker in material. there was a hood for protection against the sun and harsh winds, a light veil that could cover your face, long sleeves to shield your bare arms from the sun. underneath was the more casual item, a long dress with modest splits to allow the legs some freedom, a simple gold band around your waist, no sleeves and a slightly lower neckline to free the skin to the breezes inside the temple. you still had your own walking boots on, but you found a pair of sandals on the end of your bed– you had a bed. it was small, but it was a bed! a wooden frame, with a mattress and a pillow. oh, this temple wasn’t so bad after all. there were plenty of blankets to use too, they had been stacked into the corner of the room in a woven basket. you collapsed onto the mattress, and sighed happily. you felt complete for once, your strange life finally didn’t feel so bad. your gift for seeing the supernatural was nothing but an inconvenience in the middle of this desert. your eyes closed, and you slept soundly for the first time in a long time since arriving. ════ ⋆★⋆ ════════ ⋆★⋆ ════════ ⋆★⋆ ════

you were up bright and early that following day, exploring the rest of the temple to witness what it had been transformed into. you did some light rearranging and decorating of some rooms, but all in all, it was perfect. you ventured outside for the first time in weeks, and travelled to the nearby village. it had a bustling market that you had visited upon first arriving, but had neglected in recent weeks. you spent a few hours there, picking up food, odd things you thought could be of use in the temple. you soon realised that you had too much to carry, and thought of a solution. with a sweep of your hand, a wooden cart and camel manifested from the sands. you dumped the things in the back of the cart, and led the camel home to the temple. he was quite a friendly camel, maybe because he was like you in a way, and followed you all the way without any trouble. the temple looked simply gorgeous in the dying light of the desert. it was radiating with a soft golden glow from the various candles inside, and looked quite welcoming. you unloaded the things from the market, and let the camel roam free. he didn’t go far, to your surprise, he just meandered around the outside of the temple. the temple was really coming together with the additions you had bought. rugs in the priestess rooms, woven baskets for storage, more candle holders, and some better suited clothes for you. they were desert resistant, not as impractical as your clothes from London. with another day behind you, it was time for bed. you read over various scripts, but soon blew out the candles, and slept. echoing fits of laughter pulled you from your sleep. confused as to why you could hear such a thing, you got up, your blanket wrapped around your shoulders to ward off the nighttime chill that had settled over the temple. with a cold hand on your door handle, you opened it, centimetres at a time. even when it was fully open, you could still hear the laughter. who was in the temple at this hour? your heart began racing, had someone snuck in? were they here to hurt you for restoring the temple? countless thoughts invaded your head, it was hard to concentrate in the gloom and with the echoes bouncing off the walls. keeping silent, you followed the loudest echo, and found yourself at one of the entrances to the lower levels. the darkest and coldest part of the temple. a flick of your hand saw a candle appear in your other hand, lit and burning bright. another shrieking laugh made your heart freeze, and you debated if it was just a thing tricking you because you hadn’t yet met properly. no, this sounded too human to be a thing. things often found you and introduced themselves the second they sensed you. it wouldn’t have waited so long. it had to be human. your shivering feet carried you down the steps, one by one, slowly. the laughter was everywhere down here, different voices, different laughs. everywhere. you didn’t know where to turn first, it was all so strange. why couldn’t it all just stop? the laughter came up behind you, and you saw your ex-coworkers. except, they had no faces. just smooth stretches of skin. no eyes, no noses, no mouths. but they were laughing so loudly, they had to be down here. that was when they spotted you. the laughter abruptly ceased. they all turned to you, one by one, then they pointed. they ran. full speed at you. your dropped the candle, shed the blanket, and ran too. they chased you, manically laughing, but no words came out. just laughter. you knew the way around these passages well after so many weeks, and found the stairs that took you upwards in a few seconds. they didn’t follow, they just stood at the bottom step, watching, waiting. then, they turned away, disappearing back into the darkness. you caught your breath, leaning against a wall, and tried to calm your beating heart. you sensed something watching, and your turned your head to look. you wished you never had. the person who had snatched you as you left the bus that night was stood right there. without warning, they ran, charging at you. you couldn’t believe this. this temple had betrayed you, it had lured you in with special powers and protection, only to torture you within its walls. was this Khonshu’s doing? was this his petty way of getting back at you? you sure as Hell hoped not, because the second you saw him, you would rip him limb from limb. the attacker was still chasing you, their breathing heavy and right behind you. you entered the hall, and the attacker leapt for you, tackling you to the stone floor. you let out a pained gasp as your head came into full contact with the stone. the attacker struggled in holding you down. you thrashed, wondering why the temple wasn’t protecting you. the attacker almost had you entirely pinned, unable to move, when you let out a scream of desperation and the temple shuddered. cracks appeared in the stone ceiling, and the attacker looked up. stone then rained from the ceiling, falling freely and hitting the attacker on the back. they slumped over onto you, and you threw them off, scrambling to get up. the attacker was limp, no longer breathing. the temple stayed dark, and cold. you waved your hands, then your arms, but nothing responded to you. tears formed in your eyes, the shock of everything setting in. you closed your eyes, head tilting towards the statue of Khonshu. “I don’t know where you are, or if you even care, but please, save me from this.” your eyes snapped open, you weren’t in the temple. you were just outside, covered in sand, throat dry and head swimming. your eyes clamped themselves shut in an effort to ground yourself again from whatever it was you’d just experienced. a breeze from behind made you sit up on your knees, taking in the fresh night air. the sound of your name behind you made you open your eyes, and you watched as a shadow covered your form entirely. “your mind betrays you.” Khonshu said, not in a cruel way, but more of a matter of fact manner. “why do you fear your memories?” Khonshu knelt down behind you, you could feel him just mere inches away from your back. without meaning to, you leaned back, into him. he did not move away. he remained there, steady as the temple itself against the desert. “I thought it was real,” you replied, a hand hiding your face, the sands responded to your movement, and you stared at them accusingly, “and no one came to save me.” your voice was lost in the wind, almost. “I felt your distress.” he said, and you could feel every word from his chest. “I am here now.” “but you left me for London, why would you come back at all?” you said before you thought better of it. “my avatar is a bumbling idiot sometimes, and needs me there. you are capable of being independent, as I can see with the temple.” you looked up and watched as the temple lit itself up, a small smile appeared on your face, but it was soon replaced with nothing. “will you stay?” you asked, not daring to look behind you in case he was already gone. “I will stay.” Khonshu said almost immediately after. he held out a hand to you, and you took it, holding onto it as you both got up from the sands. he kept his word, he stayed all night, and only left when you were awake in the morning. as you slept, he watched, ever present in the temple. he wandered the halls, and inspected the lower levels, before returning to your room. there he stayed, perched on the end of your bed, or in the corner of the room. he did not leave, he did not disappear, he kept his word. though he would never admit it, he found you beautiful for a mortal. it wasn’t just your appearance, it was who you were as a person. he would teach you to have control of your fears, and you still had to master becoming a fighter and defender of the good against the bad. Khonshu had faith in you, though he would never openly admit it, but he did. there was a reason he’d been so enamoured with you back in London, and he secretly felt glad you weren’t aware of the things you could do with your sight for the supernatural, otherwise he was sure he’d lose you. no, making you his priestess was the best move, it meant you would be devoted to him and get power in return. he just hoped that you never figured out that the power you held was actually your own, and not his. .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ ..·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ ..·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

messyyythoughts © 2022 do not translate without my permission, give credit if you repost, support always welcomed <3

[fairyoftbz]

lavande | l. hyunjae

🥡 pairing: crush!hyunjae x fem!reader 🥡 wc: 3.2k 🥡 genre: fluff, university au, slice of life 🥡 tw: none? i think? 🥡 synopsis: as you are talking to Chanhee, your crush appears in the lecture room, leaving you with a hammering heart. 🥡 a/n: it's already Monday again, so posting time!! i wrote this because i kinda miss uni without covid, I had such a good time back in 2019 😩 feedback is always appreciated!! <33 🥡 requested: yes, thank you! i hope it's good enough!!

╰☆☆☆☆╮

“Have you done the readings we were supposed to?” Chanhee whispered in your ear as you turned on your computer, the screen remaining black made you frown as you quickly glanced at your friend, hand deep in your backpack to find your charger.

“Wait, let me guess. With the abandoned puppy eyes you're giving me, you want me to summarise what this was about, am I right?"

“Please Y/N, I didn't have time this week, it has been so hectic! I promise I'll buy you a coffee," you waved your hand in front of your face to let him know that he didn't need to, and you leaned your arm under the table to look for a plug while summarising what you had understood to your friend.

He listened intently until his eyes looked over your head, a smirk forming on his mouth. You frowned for a split second but continued your explanation, noticing that the smile didn't want to leave Chanhee's face. You deeply sighed, trying to make your friend pay attention, but it was to no avail. He was busy looking at something else.

“Are you listening to me, or am I talking to my computer?” you asked, and your friend returned your attention to you, his puppy look made you shake your head and roll your eyes. He looked behind you one last time, and you turned around in frustration, your breath getting stuck in your throat as you discovered what was amusing Chanhee so much.

You did a double-take when you noticed the man standing at the entrance, your pulse quickening as your hands became sweaty and hot. Every student around you, including Chanhee holding your arm to hear the rest of your explanation, disappeared from your field of view. You only had eyes for the one who stole your heart without realising it.

Hyunjae pushed the lecture door open and held it out for the group following him, politely nodding at the blushing girl that thanked him. He pursed his lips and scanned the auditorium, trying to find a familiar face to sit next to. The air was stuffy and odorous, the young man cursing the caretakers for not ventilate it more often as he was almost sweating because of his outfit. His white turtleneck and pants, as well as the lavender sweater, were thick enough for him to be warm to walk from his apartment since it was still quite chilly in the morning, but he felt like he was wearing winter clothes in the middle of a heatwave when he entered this room.

“Wow,” you murmured under your breath and looked down on your phone, trying to hide your attraction for him from your friends around you, your right hand holding your head up, hiding your eyes at the same time. You heard Chanhee mockingly exhale through his nose as he noticed you munching on your bottom lip, a habit of yours he had caught a glimpse of you doing when you were stressed or embarrassed. In this current case, you were both.

Tugging on the collar of his white turtleneck, Hyunjae sighed in annoyance as he walked down the first few steps. Cursing himself for arriving so late, he sighed as the only remaining seats were in the first few rows, where he had almost 99% of the chance of getting chosen by the professor to answer a question. He dropped his bag from his shoulder onto the table as he looked at the rows again, his eyes immediately discerning the funny stickers at the back of your computer.

“It won’t hurt anyone if I just check where he is,” you thought, but it was probably the worst idea you’ve ever had because your eyes met his dark, chocolate ones, his eyebrows lifting in relief when he recognised other familiar faces in your row.

“Y/N, you’re drooling, be careful,” your friend Chanhee whispered in your ear, teasing as you looked away from Hyunjae and wiped your mouth as quickly as possible, warmth flooding your veins as you keep your finger pressed on the power button of your computer. Your best friend laughed at your antics, but you turned a blind eye to him and mentally cursed yourself for not being as wary as you thought you were.

“Idiot, how could you be discreet if you made direct eye contact with him?” You shook your head at this thought and took a deep breath, inwardly praying that he would sit far from you as you mindlessly scrolled down through your notes.

“Hyunjae, over here!” Sunwoo stood up and raised his deep voice over all the hubbub of the auditorium, pointing at the empty spot between you and Chanhee. It was reserved for Eric who was running late, but you noticed the vacant seat next to Sunwoo and whined. You swore that the rest of the row was packed when you arrived, but it looked like a spot magically freed itself when Hyunjae appeared. It was as if your friends had planned this behind your back.

“Can I sit here?” A gentle, deep voice said, and you looked up. Much to your dismay, it was Hyunjae. “Uh, s-sure,” you stumbled on your sentence as if it were your first time speaking, closing your eyes and inner face palmed yourself at the mess you had just become in a matter of seconds.

You gathered your belongings and held them against your chest as you stood up and sat next to Chanhee, giving your crush your now empty spot. Placing your bag on the floor, you turned your head to the right and stared at your friends, only to find them laughing and bickering together. Changmin was imitating your bashful answer, and Sunwoo’s smug grin painted on his face as he cheekily winked at you, everything confirming your doubts that this situation was one of their playful plans. You sighed in exasperation and typed the title of your notes on a new document as if the entire situation weren’t bothering you.

“Thanks,” Hyunjae said as he sat down, and your heart skipped a beat when you heard his gorgeous voice that caused the hairs on your arms to stand up. His smile made him ten times more attractive, and your heart seemed to struggle to cope with his beauty.

You tried your best to ignore your crush’s presence on your left as you typed down your notes at high speed, but it was harder than you thought. He was close, too close for you to function properly and pay attention to the lecture, his presence and cologne distracting you. There were times where you could feel his gaze on you when you were typing or taking a sip of water, your hands immediately tensing and jolting under the pressure of his aura.

As the lecture finally finished, you quickly packed up your stuff and zipped your backpack before putting it on your shoulders. You didn’t even bother saying goodbye to your friends as you stood in your seat and jumped on the table of the higher row behind you to escape your group. Kevin tried to hail you by calling your name, but you were quick to pace towards the exit and vanish into the mass of the crowd.

You almost reached the library, your safe area where you always sought comfort and peace when a hand gently caught your wrist, your eyes immediately drawn to the familiar lavender knitted sleeve. You breathed heavily at the warmth of the slender hand, and you turned around to face none other than your crush.

“Gosh, you were walking so fast,” he chuckled as he finally got you, his hold still wrapped around your wrist blasting electricity through your veins. The contact felt pleasant, yet it felt so wrong to be this close to him. “I wanted to ask you something before the lecture ended, but you disappeared,” Hyunjae smiled as his cheeks became the prettiest shade of pink you had ever seen. You shyly smiled, muttering a soft apology, and you frowned, not letting him time to say another word.

He opened his mouth to say something when you drew him behind one of the colossal pillars holding up the second floor as you saw Chanhee’s bleached hair peeking out from an opened auditorium door, spying on you two. Hyunjae looked confused but let you drag him anyway.

“Sorry, what were you saying?” You tried to look unbothered, but your fidgeting hands betrayed you, making your crush smile. “Hum yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to have lunch with me today?” he asked, looking straight into your eyes, a big, bashful smile decorating his face. "I know a good café not too far from college, so I was wondering if-” “S-sure, why not?” you blurted out, and you heard muffled laughs coming from behind Hyunjae.

You both peeked out and noticed your friends piled up on top of each other, trying to listen to the conversation you were having with your crush. You sighed and shook your head in annoyance, tired of the lack of privacy your love life was experiencing every day because of them, Eric laughing even louder for getting caught eavesdropping like that.

A hand landed on your shoulder, and you felt a breath near your ear, making your heart skip a few beats in a row.

“Let’s go before they follow us, okay?” you glanced at Hyunjae, and he looked at you with something in his eyes that made your chest tighten, making the process of breathing troublesome. He grinned at your state and innocently grabbed your clammy hand as you two sped off towards the exit and ran past your friends into the mob.

As you slowed down in the streets, trying to look as civil as possible, you readjusted your backpack strap and caught your breath while laughing, Hyunjae smiling as brightly as you did. He found your laugh so pretty and light-hearted, he felt internally lucky to be part of the reason for it. You went down to the end of the street, still walking close to him, and he paused in front of a takeaway place. Holding the door for you, you shyly thanked him and entered the restaurant, the smell of Chinese food making your stomach grumble in hunger.

“Choose whatever you want, it’s on me,” you turned around and immediately backed up a bit, startled by the proximity of you two. Hyunjae only smiled, and you turned your attention back to the food. “Really?” you asked, and he snickered at your shocked state, nodding with a soft smile on his face. "Gosh, I am so hungry,” you muttered under your breath as your eyes roamed on the menu above your heads, heavily breathing as you were still trying to catch your breath back from the sprint you had just run to escape from your foolish friends.

Relief rushed through your veins when he took the reins and ordered for the two of you, your mouth uttering thank-yous like a mantra, only to have your crush waving it off.

“Y/N, it’s okay, don’t worry about it!” he said, and you stopped to look at him, Hyunjae beaming at you while grabbing the paper bag with your steamy food at the bottom. You quickly seized some napkins and disposable utensils and walked back to Hyunjae, who was already outside, waiting for you. “So, where are we going now?” he said, and you shrugged, looking around you, not knowing anything only outside from the library. “I know a good place, it’s not far from here,” you vaguely pointed to your right, and Hyunjae immediately started walking. “Let’s go before the food gets cold!” he exclaimed and let you take the lead.

It was a small park hidden a few streets away from your university, meeting other students since there was another park inside the campus. Bowing down to pat the grass a few meters away from the artificial pond, you sat down as it was dry, but Hyunjae handed you the food and took out his folded waterproof jacket from his bag. Placing it on the ground, he gestured you to come and sit with him.

“Here, come sit with me, you’ll be more comfortable,” he said, and you obeyed, your knees touching as you set the paper bag down next to you and handed him his food and drink. Your proximity didn’t leave you indifferent, but you tried your best to hide it as much as possible.

Hyunjae noticed your little change of behaviour and found you adorable when you looked away at each of his compliments. Your arms were now touching since his jacket underneath you wasn’t a picnic tablecloth, and you were slowly getting used to his body warmth surrounding you.

As the lunch break went by, you talked about your respective majors, and you joked about the shared lecture of this morning, getting closer and closer to each other. He was kind-hearted and became more comfortable when you were alone, gently nudging you in the elbow when you were about to lift your chopsticks to your mouth, the noodles falling back into your bowl. Wiping your mouth with a napkin, you were quick to nudge him back and laugh, still careful not to stain any of his clothes.

“You… look really nice today. I like those colours on you,” you complimented him, and he smiled at your hesitant voice, taking a sip of soda before answering. “Thank you Y/N, I appreciate it,” you nodded and started chewing on your bottom lip, eyes divagating towards the pond surrounded by plants and flowers. “You look really pretty as well,” he whispered in your ear, and you froze at his words, your heart skipping a beat as he had seized the opportunity of you letting your guard down as you were paying attention to the pond. You offered him a soft smile and took a sip of your drink as well to try and calm your racing heart.

He kept playing with it since he was having fun by making you embarrassed and shy with his compliments and proximity. Hyunjae knew that it was working despite your never-ending tries of hiding it, and he felt proud to have this effect on you. Although it was hard for him to see you chew on your lip like that, he had to force himself not to cup your face and tell you to stop, because he was really tempted to do so. However, when you started scratching your lip with your fingers, that’s when he grabbed your pitiless hand and held it in his.

“Hey, don’t do that,” he said and grabbed a napkin to dab the blood coming out of the little cuts on your bottom lip you had caused out of nervosity.

You guiltily avoided his eyes and searched for your lip balm in your bag before quickly applying some. The temptation of starting again was real when your hand was still cradled in his, your crush not giving a single sign of him being ready to let go of it. Alternatively, he rubbed his thumb over your knuckles as you both observed the pond and the people chilling around you.

Much to your dismay, your little romantic moment was interrupted by the church clock striking thirteen times, announcing 1 PM. You both didn’t pay attention at first, but it was when you couldn’t see a single student around you that you realised something.

“Oh god, Statistics! We have statistics in less than fifteen minutes,” you hurriedly said as you jumped on your feet, placing all your trash in the paper bag. “Oh shit!” Hyunjae imitated you and grabbed the bag from you, jogging to the trash can on the other side of the pond while you grabbed your belongings and quickly folded his jacket. He thanked you, and you left in a rush, under the confused eyes of your neighbours.

Even if it wasn’t too far from your college, you still jumped in the bus that was about to drive off from the stop right outside the park, the doors closing right behind Hyunjae. You sighed in relief as you both made it, and you tightly grabbed the metallic bar as the bus sped uphill.

“I’m glad this bus was here, I don’t think I could’ve walked back up there after our lunch,” you smiled at his words, his hand holding the bar above your heads, his lavender sweater going high enough for you to see his black Gucci belt keeping his turtleneck tucked in his pants. “I don’t know who had this marvellous idea of building the university on top of a hill,” you sarcastically mumbled and pressed the button next to your head as the screen announced the stop.

Hyunjae was the first to jump off the vehicle, grabbing your hand as you were quick to imitate him, the mass of students behind you forcing you out. Your crush followed you like a lost puppy through the different staircases and corridors, your great sense of orientation leading you quickly to the auditorium you were almost late to. You were out of breath when you finally arrived there, right before the clock struck 1:15 PM.

Surprisingly, the rows were practically empty, but you instantly spotted your friends in the middle, some of them still eating while the others were laughing or reading together. Hyunjae grabbed your hand for the nth time today, slowly getting used to this new feeling, and you dragged him towards them, but he resisted.

You looked at him, his eyes scanned the auditorium just like he did this morning and looked back at you with a smile before gesturing over a good spot, a bit higher and further away from your friends. Changmin, with his eagle eye, was quick to notice Hyunjae's lavender sweater and warned your friends, all turning around to observe you and your crush sitting together. Chanhee gasped as he quickly saw you holding hands, gossiping about it to his hyungs. Juyeon just shrugged, unbothered by the situation as he cracked his fingers and neck, getting ready to type.

You noticed your friends smirking at you and hid your head behind your computer screen, Eric leaning back in the vacant seats just enough for him to appear in the corner of your eye, his mouth transforming into a pout to mimic a kiss. You rolled your eyes and groaned, offering him a disapproving look, your antics sending him in a fit of giggles.

Hyunjae smiled at you before looking at your friends, who cooed and loudly gagged when he grabbed your hand and lifted it for them to see. You didn’t know what to do with yourself, embarrassment taking over your body as your friends cheered, drawing attention towards you and your crush, the latter replacing your linked hands on his lap, under the table.

“Why would you do that?” you dared to ask, and you shouldn’t have, your voice breaking mid-sentence made your crush giggle. “Let them be, they’re just happy that their best friend is getting out of their comfort zone. Plus, you look cute when you are flustered,” he said, and the professor started talking, preventing you from answering him.

He just sat there with a satisfied smile on your face, while you were trying not to pass out here and there with your heart beating this fast.