#it’s been ages since i’ve drawn and i’m not the most talented in the entire world

[nonbinarywille]

saw a post about drawing fanart for your fave fics and ….. i’m thinking thoughts

[robininthelabyrinth]

Hi :) For prompts, do you see any situation where Wen Qing and Lan Xichen could genuinely fall in love with each other? Like, not just political marriage of convenience or whatever. Would it be a thing of being drawn in by their fellow older sibling-ness? Or maybe lxc's competence kink meshing well with wq noticing that he isn't as much of a vanilla peacemaker as his usual front suggests? I think it could be quite an interesting pair but I've never seen it done before, I'd love to see your take!

“Xichen,” Lan Xichen’s uncle said. “Show Young Mistress Wen around.”

Lan Xichen smiled the way he’d been taught to smile, bowed the way he’d been taught to bow, and offered his arm the way he’d been taught.

The little girl in front of him did not seem especially impressed.

To be entirely honest, he thought he might like her just for that.

“So,” she said as they walked through the garden. “What did you do in a past life to deserve this?”

He sniggered, then tried to stop. Levity wasn’t disallowed, to be precise, but it wasn’t really encouraged, either.

“It’s bad for you to restrain laughter,” Wen Qing said. “Venting of emotions is a key part of maintaining a stable mind and a healthy body. Trust me, I’m a doctor.”

“You’re seven.”

“Says the eight-year-old. And anyway, I’m going to be a doctor. I’ve already started reading books and taking lessons. Just you wait!”

-

“Xichen,” Lan Xichen’s uncle said. “Show Mistress Wen around.”

“How’s the doctor thing coming?” he asked her as they walked along the pier by the river. “Still taking lessons?”

“Yes, of course,” Wen Qing said, and made a face. “I live in the Nightless City now, you know. Not just visiting sometimes – Sect Leader Wen insisted, saying it was a better place to develop my talent.”

She sounded wistful. Maybe even regretful.

“Sect Leader Wen probably wants you to be a good role model to his sons,” Lan Xichen said.

“You mean Greed and Malice?”

“Malice and Greed, I’d say,” Lan Xichen said. “Wen Xu is older, after all.”

“I thought your sect had rules about talking behind other people’s backs,” Wen Qing said, but she was smiling again, as he’d hoped.

“There’s an exception if it’s both true and helpful to know,” he said. “You have to be able to prepare yourself for dealing with people, after all. I think you’ll be a wonderful doctor.”

“I hope so,” she said, and looked a little downcast. “I can’t even heal my own little brother.”

“Neither can I,” Lan Xichen said, thinking of Lan Wangji’s grief – his silence and solemnity, so uncharacteristic for his age. He had never quite recovered from their mother’s death. “Maybe we’re just too young.”

“I’m going to grow up as fast as I can, then,” Wen Qing said. “Race you there?”

-

“Xichen,” Lan Xichen’s uncle said. “Show Doctor Wen around.”

“Congratulations,” he said to her as they walked through the crowded streets. “I understand that your paper on the development of the golden core in early stages was extremely well received.”

“It was,” Wen Qing said, looking pleased. “It’s a difficult area of study, but I wanted the reception it would get – there aren’t that many women practicing as doctors, you know, so we have to try harder.”

“I would think the opposite would be true, with novelty acting as a draw..?”

“Novelty is novelty, but with doctors people want to feel reassured. They don’t want something new.”

“I suppose that’s fair.”

They walked in a comfortable silence for a while, browsing through the stalls in search of presents for their younger brothers. Lan Xichen occasionally wished he had Nie Huaisang as a younger sibling – so easy to shop for – and when he mentioned it to Wen Qing she laughed and agreed.

Sometimes, nothing more needed to be said.

-

“Xichen,” Lan Xichen’s uncle said. “Show Lady Wen around.”

“I heard you’re going to be competing in the archery competition later,” she said as they walked along the edges of the competition grounds, a dirt path that twined through the foothills of a desolate mountain chasm.

“I am,” he said. “I’m still counted as part of the younger generation since my uncle is acting as sect leader.”

“But soon it will be you,” she said, and her gaze was fixed firmly in front of her, not looking at him at all.

It surprised him how much he missed it – her frankness, her cheer, her solemnity, her pleasant silence.

She reached out abruptly and he stopped, looking at her.

“You should hide some of your family’s books,” she said, still not looking at him. “Whatever you can, and quickly. Just in case.”

And then she started walking again, the same casual stroll, and it was as if she had never said anything at all.

Lan Xichen added bravery to the list of her qualities and followed.

“I’ll do what I can,” he said, thinking of the trouble it would cause with the Lan sect elders. Thinking of the trouble something like this – a warning – could cost her. “In the meantime, tell me about your planned course of study in Yiling. Are you focusing on any particular type of medicine this time?”

Wen Qing looked at him then, and her eyes were grateful.

“Actually,” she said, “I was thinking of designing my course around whatever illness were most prevalent in the region –”

-

“Xichen,” Lan Xichen’s uncle said. “Take charge of the prisoners.”

Lan Xichen very nearly handed off the work to Meng Yao – no, he was Jin Guangyao now, and he ought to remember that. He was tired after that final battle, after all the work they’d done, the losses they’d suffered, and he knew Jin Guangyao would do the work efficiently and well the way he always did. Anyway, the Jin sect was less damaged than they were, and could afford it, and Jin Guangyao wanted the opportunity to do something well to show his father his merits.

But then by happenstance he’d seen Wen Ning’s face in the crowd and realized that he couldn’t.

Jin Guangyao had been disappointed, but Lan Xichen had insisted, and as one of the heroes of the war Jin Guangshan couldn’t exactly refuse him. In the end, the Wen sect remnants came under the control of the Lan sect.

He set up the new village they would reside in himself – fenced in, but on good land, ready for growth – and soon enough other Wens came drifting out of the darkness to take shelter with their remaining kinsmen, just as he’d hoped.

“Any chance you can show me around?” Wen Qing asked, and Lan Xichen turned to face her with a widening smile. She looked tired and was too thin, the marks of the imprisonment that Jiang Cheng had reported on not yet faded, and yet he had never been happier to see her. “If you’re not too busy, Sect Leader.”

-

“Uncle,” Lan Xichen said in a tone that brooked no argument. “I’m going to show my wife around now.”

[still-a-morosexual-help]

OBEY ME! LESSON 58 DETAILED SUMMARY + DISCUSSIONS/THEORIES

*I wrote this days after the lesson was first posted and never bothered to go back and edit it so meaning there will be me theorizing about the next lesson as well

*I write a small para for each chapter and I write it immediately after finishing that chapter so there’ll be theorizing about the next chapter too

*I swear more than usual here

*Some of the dialogue is heavily plagiarized and a few is lifted directly from the story, the game is to figure which is which.

*Summaries and Discussions/theories for all the other lessons can be found on this blog under #obey me spoilers or #my theories or #my headcanons

This has two locked chapters. So I usually play one chapter and then write a summary for it and then play the next and so on, I don’t come back and edit the summaries or theories I write but this lesson is special enough that I had to come back and write a special intro to it. Hoo BOY! is this something! You think it’s gonna go the usual way with MC solving the problem demon by demon with each of them having some wacky fear and it is like that for a while until it nosedives into TRAUMAtm and ISSUEStm territory and becomes surprisingly dark. And for someone who loves speculating and coming up with theories this whole lesson was a goldmine, Enjoy!

Black mist swirls around the hall, Mammon & Levi shriek and the hall starts rattling until the mist forms pissed off demon Lucifer which makes Asmo yelp (and this is what I mean, the greatest common fear in this group (if you don’t consider Simeon and Lucifer) is probably pissed off demon Lucifer but on their own they’ll probably have different fears.) Levi stutters out that it’s lucifer and real lucifer tells him to calm his tits cause the he is actually with them. MC identifies it as the bogeyman (genius) and it starts shrieking for Mammon and Levi, which leads to Mammon screaming and Levi closing his eyes and chanting ‘no’ as they cling on to Belphie as the entire hall rattles again. Solomon happily tells MC ‘Welp there’s your exam, deal with it.’ Simeon’s slightly more helpful and tells them staying calm is the key. MC says they can do that. Solomon laughs and says that’s the answer he’d expect from his talented apprentice. MC uses a spell “light born of shadow” to repel the spirit, the spell and the spirit makes the wind howl and the hall shake and the spirit growl/groan. To escape the spell it flees into one of the hotel rooms and the hall suddenly becomes eerily quiet. Mammon collapses to his knees and Levi, with his eyes still closed, says he lost 500yrs of his life. Neither of them have still let go off Belphie. Lucifer calls them pathetic for being demons scared of a bogeyman (bro they’re scared of *you* akjdvkdfjjjkdn) Mammon snaps and says he ain’t scared of the bogeyman and Satan asks how he can say that after what they all saw. Levi says it’s not the bogeyman it’s a fully pissed off Lucifer he’s scared of. Mammon still insists he’s not scared. Levi tells him to shut up cause he was so scared he couldn’t stand, Mammon says he just wanted to sit down for a bit. Lucifer calls them pathetic again and Levi protests. Lucifer then says they must find a way to get rid of it for good cause it’ll start to come after each one of them individually. MC says maybe they can admit what they’re all afraid of so that they’ll know what they will be facing ahead of time. Solomon agrees with this plan and tells them to start with the oldest and work their way down, listing their fears. Asmo calls Solomon out on using this as an excuse to find Lucifer’s weaknesses to use later. Solomon smiles and says he’d never do that, Belphie says the look on his face suggests different. Beel says that there’s probably nothing that scares Lucifer and Lucifer says that nothing comes to mind (and this feels like when you’re a child and think your parents are all knowing and invincible only to get a sometimes painful reality check later). Mammon says he doesn’t get scared, Levi calls him a liar and says pissed off demon Lucifer scares him and then he goes on to list fears based off being an otaku (eg: the final ep of a series he loves and etc). Simeon cuts Levi off as his list grows and asks Satan. Satan straight up says “Nothing scares me.” And Simeon smiles and says it takes a lot of confidence to say that (yeah even Lucifer said that in terms of a greatest fear “nothing comes to mind” implying he’s felt fear before and probably had moments of ‘greatest fear’ too. Satan just straight up says nothing at all scares him and I think that shows his age and experience gap compared to Lucifer. Even the way Simeon smiled and said the confidence line felt like he was indulging Satan rather than believing him). Asmo jumps and says being ugly scares him. Beel says he thought about it but he really doesn’t know (with the saddest expression on his face) but he also says a pissed off Satan and Asmo are also pretty scary. Asmo yells at Beel for calling him scary (didn’t Asmo very seriously threaten to rip MC’s heart out in S1? I feel like a lot of people forget this… I’ve seen people say Asmo and Mammon were the only ones who didn’t attack or seriously threaten MC and I’m just like no??? Asmo was definitely ready to kill them and he gets even more pissed if MC says they don’t think he’s the most attractive person. MC doesn’t get the chance to talk back when Asmo threatens them either which makes it seem all the more serious. When Mammon first threatens to eat MC after they first meet he says it in that same over the top way he said he wasn’t scared in this lesson – completely unbelievable. And MC probably catches that too cause they get to talk back and tell him that they literally give no shits about whatever he’s talking about.) Belphie says he used to be afraid of the alarm clock satan gave him which wouldn’t snooze or stop, which he threw away (I feel like they’re greatly underestimating what ‘greatest fear’ means…) Solomon asks MC what scares them the most and the chapter ends. (I HC MC as having heavy abandonment issues, of waking up and finding out this was all a dream and that they’re alone but I doubt OM!’s gonna let them say that)

Asmo’s very excited to find out about MC’s worst fears but Levi says when MC came face to face with the bogeyman and chased it away it didn’t transform which means… Levi smiles and Mammon laughs and goes ‘holy shit you’re scared of Lucifer too!? Asmo points out that Mammon said ‘too’ implying… Mammon vehemently protests. Simeon says that that Luke’s blessing is still active despite it being given some time back and it makes the Bogeyman have no affect on MC. Asmo’s shocked and asks if that isn’t really impressive. Simeon says it is and that Luke’s blessings are so powerful that it even rivals some angels’ higher up in the hierarchy (do you think that’s why Michael has such an interest in Luke despite him having no ranking?) Simeon says Luke himself doesn’t realise how special his power is and MC’s amazed by what a bright future he’ll have. Simeon says he’s looking forward to it. Belphie says once that once Luke grows up he’d be able to banish Mammon with a snap of his fingers (and ansknvjbkdc BELPHIE!? Isn’t this also a self burn you fucking idiot???? Considering Mammon’s the 2nd most powerful and you’re the 7th?????? They really do genuinely forget Mammon’s ranking don’t they?) Mammon asks why Belphie had to pick him to shit on and Levi laughs and says Mammon will totally deserve being banished by an angel. Mammon goes to murder Levi but Lucifer cuts them off saying Barbatos just messaged him saying ‘don’t fucking stand there like fucking idiots kick out the bastard that you lot are responsible for unless you’d rather me come there and rip your fucking innards out you fucking assholes’ MC picks up on a very key fact and says “He’s fucking spying in us!???” Satan says he’s probably watching them at that very moment which creeps Asmo out. Solomon says they should go after it then which has Mammon yelping and Levi protesting. Lucifer says if they all go barging in everything will devolve into chaos and that just a couple should do. Levi laughs about MC being OP cause of Luke’s blessing (love the self awareness) Solomon tells MC to pick who’ll go in with them.

Asmo’s demanding why he got picked and Mammon, smiling happily, says Asmo should consider getting hand-picked by MC an honour, Asmo says they just happened to make eye contact and MC picked him and he can’t help it if MC’s eyes are naturally drawn towards his beauty. (I just realized considering Mammon’s the one MC usually picks for stupid, dangerous adventures so he probably thought he’d get picked and he’s so smiley rn cause he’s relieved). Satan tells Asmo to suck it up and Asmo says it’s easy for them to say since they aren’t been made to go in the room. All sparkly and teary eyed Asmo cries about how his beauty ended up being his undoing. Simeon wishes MC luck and says that should anything go wrong he’ll come in. MC tells Asmo they’ll protect him, Asmo throws himself into their arms and calls them the best. Lucifer tells them to keep their guard up, even with Luke’s blessing. The hotel room looks like someone has used a negative filter on it. Inside Asmo screams and says he can’t take it and that he knows what he’ll see and that an ugly version of himself will be so bad that he’ll have a heart attack and die adding on “I’ll DIE, MC!” at the end for emphasis (wait so bullets won’t kill them but heart attacks are a possibility? Or is this Asmo just being melodramatic?). With tears in his eyes he says he gives up. MC tells him nothing will change how beautiful he is, he agrees but still struggles to argue with it. The black mist then starts forming and Asmo squeaks. With a rumble it shakes the room and transforms. Asmo starts screaming and sobbing about how ugly he looks and how it hurts his eyes. To stop Asmo’s oncoming mental breakdown MC shows him a mirror and he starts cooing over how beautiful he really is but he still says he can’t take it and runs out the room (I like to imagine the bogeyman had to do the bare minimum to make Asmo see a hideous version of himself, like anything less than perfect flawlessness would freak Asmo out.) Back outside Lucifer sounds disappointed that these are some of the most powerful demons in the devildom, Satan calls the whole thing pathetic, and Levi laughs about how they should have known not to trust Asmo with this (..I mean you wouldn’t have done any better either), Mammon mocks Asmo for calling himself a demon, Beel says he’s hungry. Asmo tells them if they’re so much braver than him they should go in. Solomon tells MC to pick the next one. MC happens to make eye contact with Belphie. Without MC even saying a word Belphie realizes what has happened. About Asmo’s fear maybe I’m making it too deep but in S1 and in other places too Asmo talks about how beautiful he was in the Celestial Realm and I always wondered if part of his obsession with his beauty now is because it’s a way to cling on to that, the last thing that he can keep unchanged after his whole world was turned on his head. I think in the very early drafts of OM!, back when the brothers had canonical demonic demon forms as well the writers said Asmo hated his, so it’d make sense after how even his actual form changed he’d cling so desperately onto the human form he shared with his past angelic self.

Belphie asks if they really need him to come, Satan says it’s not like they can let MC go in alone, Belphie says they have Luke’s blessing so they may as well throw them into the sharks (I want to say I really like sharks and am always somewhat upset by the misconception of them as these ruthless killing machines when at most they’re just idiots with bad eyesight) Lucifer says that there’s always the possibility things won’t go as planned, Belphie says then Simeon will just step in (Belphie’s trying so hard guyssss. And like I imagine a majority of it is cause he’s lazy and doesn’t want to deal with this but I also feel like a small part of him knows that something worse than an annoying alarm clock could be waiting in there. I mean your greatest fear can be very personal and for emotionally constipated idiots like this who’ve lived millions of years and fought two wars? I imagine they’d be very private about it.) Simeon says that though that’s the plan it would but an end to MC’s exam. Cause he isn’t part of their additional materials the way the brothers are, says Solomon. Beel begs Belphie to do it for him and that he wants Belphie to keep MC safe. YO! Mammon brings up my point immediately. God I love him. Looking smug, he asks if the truth is that Belphie’s trying so hard to avoid something other than an alarm clock. Belphie looks shocked, then looks to the side and says “No…”. Mammon says then Belphie should be just fine, that it’s an alarm clock and it’s not a big deal (You know and I know that Mammon knows well that it’s not gonna be just an alarm clock, what a shithead picking up on Belphie’s weakness like that and manipulating him when nothing else worked. I love him so much). Belphie agrees to go. Inside the Bogeyman is already forming and a shrill alarm clock starts ringing, until it suddenly stops and everything goes black. Belphie makes a small noise and MC calls his name. He starts asking what’s going on and where MC went, sounding more and more distressed with each question. The wind keeps whistling through. MC says they’re right there. He can’t hear them. He’s now screaming for MC to answer him. Then he starts screaming for MC and Beel. Then for Asmo, Satan, Mammon and Levi. Then for Lucifer. When he gets no reply he says, “This can’t be happening…it can’t be…I…I…” He screams that he can’t take it and that he’s scared, asking where everyone went. MC moves towards his voice and hugs him. He screams for MC and Beel to help him. The chapter ends. This whole scene is haunting. From the bitch black screen, to the whistling wind being the only thing you can hear, to hearing Belphie who’s usually so unaffected start screaming for his family just? How it all started with the shrill screams of the alarm clock which just abruptly stopped. It came outta nowhere. I honestly didn’t think they’d do something like that and I’m shaking imagining what the others might see. I’m 100% sure that Belphie used all his energy to focus on the alarm clock so that the bogeyman wouldn’t pick up on this darker fear and that’s why the alarm clock went off at first. I initially thought Belphie’s real fear will be something directly related to the second war but this makes so much more sense, it makes sense that after losing Lilith his biggest fear would be losing the rest of his family and being alone and just wow I’m??? I love that they did this. It hurt to see but it was desperately needed.

Back outside Asmo and Belphie are both silent and depressed. Beel quietly calls Belphie’s name, saying all the colour has drained from his face and asking if he’s okay. Asmo whines about how Beel only cares about Belphie and hasn’t even checked up on him. Mammon says they both do look pretty awful and Satan says they look like Levi and Mammon did after seeing Lucifer’s pissed demon form. Levi says not to even bring it up. Beel asks what happened inside the room and Belphie says nothing. Beel orders (the key word here is ‘orders’ and it’s so different from his usual self that it was great to see what he becomes when the people he loves are hurt) that MC tell him what happened (and look on one hand it’s important to keep Belphie’s privacy and to not say anything without his consent, on the other hand he will NEVER tell anyone this, something he’s been bottling up for thousands of years, and he really should talk it over with them. Personally I think they should take him aside later and talk it over with him and then if he wants let him approach the others). MC can say “the truth is that…” or “…”. For the first he gets really pissed off and yells at MC to stop. He then takes a step back and apologizes and says he doesn’t want them telling the others anything. For the second Belphie quietly thanks them. He then says it wasn’t a big deal and something happened that he wasn’t expecting. He smiles and tells Beel not to look at him like that. Beel still can’t get over it and still looks furious, saying that he doesn’t know what happened but he knows it really messed Belphie up and he’s not letting it get away with that. He says he’s gonna destroy it and calls MC after him. Inside the room it’s dead quiet. Beel says again he’s not sure what he’s scared of but even if it turns into an angry Asmo or Satan they need to attack it without any hesitation. He says that whatever that thing did to Belphie it terrified him and that they need to make it pay. All of a sudden there’s a flash of light and long groans as the room shakes and the mist forms. Beel tells MC to attack it using his power before it can transform and MC commands him, Beel says his power is theirs to command and everything he does is for them and Belphie. Beel uses a spell to send a bolt of light towards it and for a second it seems to shrink into itself before it comes back stronger and holy shit holy shit holy shit GUYS!!!!! There’s a flash of light and they’re in front of the Celestial Palace except everything is on fire asdjkjdfjcusjosdsjdj FUCK. The bolt Beel had previously sent to the bogeyman instead pierces through the chest of angel!Belphie (FUCK!!?) Beel screams and then screams for Belphie. “Don’t take away my brother too! I can’t bare to lose anyone else…!” MC tries to tell him he hasn’t lost anyone but Beel protests saying he’s attack hit Belphie and now he’s… Beel’s unable to finish that sentence. He then looks at MC and starts pleading with them not to go, again saying that he’s begging them not to go anywhere. They tell him that they’re right here with him. He tells them he’s scared. The chapter ends. AND WTF!!!!????? They really went there huh? I’ve been screaming about the trauma Lilith’s death would have lead to since maybe Mammon & Luke’s train lesson but they really are bringing it up now huh!? I’m just holy shit.

They’re back in the hotel room with the mist swirling around them and at the screams Belphie comes running into the room and tries to span Beel outta it (and isn’t it sweet given how reluctant he was to go in and how shaken up he was after that he’d come tunning in for Beel). Levi comes in next with his eyes closed and stuttering but wanting to be there for Beel, then Asmo with tears in his eyes saying they’re not gonna abandon their “adorable little brother” despite how scared they are. Mammon comes in next, red faced and also with his eyes shut and asking Beel where he is, Lucifer comes in after telling Beel to focus and stay with them. (guys they’re all such good brothers I can’t deal). Beel seems genuinely touched that they all came for him. The Bogeyman flares and seems to grow again and Satan puts himself in between it and the others, angry that it had messed with his brothers and saying it was up against him now and he wasn’t scared of anything. The think groans and the room shakes and they’re in the coliseum like place in the Devildom (the place where Diavolo said he found Lucifer with Lilith after they fell) and everything around them is on fire again. Mammon asks if it’s turning into Lucifer again and Belphie says it looks like it is. It turns in to angel Lucifer (oh boy…I actually stood up and walked away. Satan…….dude….holy shit?). Satan gasps as the reveal and I genuinely think he didn’t know it was coming unlike Belphie. The name reads Lucifer (?) and I’m gonna just directly quote what he says. Also Angel Lucifer surrounded by fire and this pale purple aura with a kinda blank yet pissed off and judgmental expression while tense lowkey creepy music plays is actually kinda scary? I think it’s the fact that he’s supposed to be an angel but he looks genuinely scarier than when it transformed into demon Lucifer… Anyway: “…Satan, you fool. It’s time you learned your place. Because in the end, you’re nothing more than an inferior copy of me. You must already realize that.” Satan growls at him to shut up but he continues, “I know you, I know how you think. Because you were modeled after me. I was the original.” Satan says, “…Stop it.” It laughs and says while smiling, “It seems you don’t want to admit it, do you? You don’t want to but you have no choice. You hate it and you hate yourself. You’re consumed with self-loathing, aren’t you?” Satan screams at it to stop. Screaming that it’s not true and then screaming shut up over and over at an increasing volume. Lucifer, real Lucifer, tries calling Satan’s name, telling him to get ahold of himself. This shocks Satan out of it for a while. Lucifer goes up to him saying, “Satan, I need you to listen to me. You and I are not the same. You’re not me, and I’m not you.” He says his hobby is music while Satan prefers reading and that Satan loves cats but Lucifer would pick dogs. “You’re not a copy of me. No… You’re my brother.” He says he’s the brother to Lucifer, the avatar of pride and that he’s Satan the avatar of wrath. He asks if that isn’t his name. Satan is speechless after that. He turns to MC and asks them to tell him who he is. “You’re Lucifer’s younger brother, Satan.” This makes him laugh. He agrees with them. Saying he’s Satan. “No one else, just Satan.” He tells MC to use their pact. MC uses a spell to lend power to Satan and he uses that for a spell to banish the bogeyman. There’s a bright flash and everything turns white. (Holy shit Satan….the fact that it was angel Lucifer who was his worst fear and not normal Lucifer, that it was angel Lucifer’s judgment he feared? And I think I said this in two of the other summaries too but Satan’s the only brother Lucifer didn’t choose. Lucifer as an angel chose all his siblings and practically adopted them into his growing family. Satan was the only one who just came along and who Lucifer had no choice but to keep. Do you think that could be one of the reasons why it was angel Lucifer he specifically feared? Everyone else was with angel Lucifer in the celestial realm and fought by his side except Satan, Satan was never even an angel. He was always a demon who angels were taught to hate. Do you think it’s possible that he thinks that if angel Lucifer had the choice he wouldn’t have chosen Satan and brought him t the family? And that’s why the fairies thought he needed to meet angel Lucifer and hear him say he wished he had a brother like Satan. Also is it just me but does Satan have imposter syndrome vibes? Like the feeling that everything he achieves is cause he’s a shade of Lucifer and Lucifer’s just naturally perfect so he always has to work even harder to be better than Lucifer to prove he’s his own person.)

They’re back in the hotel room, except now all the colours are back to normal. Mammon asks what happened, Beel asks if it was destroyed and Belphie tells Satan his last spell was really impressive, Asmo tells Satan that he’s amazing and that he made his heart race, Lucifer says it was excellent and says well done. (lowkey disappointed we didn’t see Lucifer’s greatest fear but whatever). Satan dismisses all of it, saying it wasn’t a big deal and trying to move on and turn attention on how he’s gonna convert all the leftover emotion he has after having his vulnerabilities forcefully displayed in front of everyone into anger so he can murder Levi and Mammon. The two yelp and make a break for it. The other 3 also give chase, with even Beel saying he wants to take a bite outta them, while Mammon and Levi scream about how they’re gonna get eaten (…what would the other guests think…). Solomon follows the 6 of them happily to watch the carnage. Simeon asks if Lucifer wasn’t going to chase after them and he says he’d run himself ragged if he chased after them each time they fucked up. The two of them then congratulate MC and they say they couldn’t have done it without a.) Satan. Simeon says it was them who was able to draw such immense power from him and that their talent was impressive. B.) all of them, Lucifer laughs and says that some of them weren’t any help at all. Lucifer’s smile then slips and he tells them to wait a minute and sike that bitch is back! It has barely any strength left and is making one last attempt. Everything flashes white and it transforms into a bright light streaming from the window. The next two are direct quotes. Simeon: …! That light- Lucifer: Simeon, calm down. This one’s “mine”. Lucifer transforms into his demon form, saying something that transforms into your deepest fear is something he could live without. He says, “And here I’m thinking we would never meet again.” And I feel like he’s talking to the ‘light’ and not the bogeyman they thought they killed. He tells MC to use his power. They do and Lucifer uses the same spell as Satan and the bogeyman is finally killed. Simeon is silent and looks upset. Lucifer says they killed the last of it and they should be safe. He says it’s a good thing MC was there next to him or it might have ended very badly. Simeon’s still silent and Lucifer refuses to make eye contact with him. He says he’s going to check on his brothers and says he’ll see them later. Simeon’s silent and now looks thoughtful and MC can ask him a.) If something’s wrong. He apologizes and says he’s fine and then sighs and says “Oh, am I?” b.) they wonder if Lucifer’s okay. Simeon says he’ll be fine because Lucifer is strong and then quietly adds “…unlike me…” C.) they ask what that light was. “Not what.” Says Simeon, “who…”. Okay there’s so much to talk about I think my brain died. 1st – Simeon is stunned when the light first appears and Lucifer has to tell him to calm down that the light was his fear. Which meant Simeon thought the bogeyman was reacting to him and showing him his own fear and that means Simeon and Lucifer’s worst fear is the same thing and Lucifer knew this as well. Now you could say Simeon thought this light was the real deal and not the bogeyman and that’s why he reacted that way and that’s why Lucifer told him it’s just his fear BUT Lucifer said beforehand that the bogeyman had not been killed an they all see the mist forming and the room shaking and the thing groaning before the light is formed so it’d be hard to make that mistake. Plus simeon’s “unlike me” line seals it and pretty much confirms that Simeon and Lucifer share the same greatest fear. And I said earlier that I believed the bogeyman acted on the common fear of everyone it could affect but both Simeon and Lucifer were sure it was their own fear that was taking shape, plus the bogeyman only had enough strength for one last target, so yeah the ‘light’ is definitely both of their individual greatest fears. 2nd – who was it. MC’s being talking with a voice in the light every once in a while and I always assumed it was Michael cause he seems to have the same position in the celestial realm that Diavolo has in the Devildom. But why would Michael be Lucifer’s greatest fear? It’d make more sense for Lucifer’s greatest fear to be his Father but that’d mean MC’s being chatting with God this whole time and that’s absolutely fucking insane and I’m not even gonna consider that further. So Lucifer’s greatest fear is (probably) Michael but why? Because of what he represents? Because of what happened with Lilith and their Fall? Because he could threaten Diavolo’s plans for harmony? Because of some other unknown trauma? 3rd – What happened to Simeon? We know he was a seraphim who was demoted for some reason. We know he stole from Michael and was caught and Michael called him back to face some sort of consequences. We know after this he was stationed semi-permanently in the human world for some unknown reason. We know he’s meeting with angels (probably raphael) here in the human world. But what happened that made the angels or Michael his greatest fear? What did he mean by Lucifer being strong unlike him? Personally I think despite the Celestial Realm saying they cast the brothers out, the brothers actually fled after Lilith was struck. I think Lucifer asked Simeon to come with him and I think Simeon denied him and instead helped them escape and this lead to his demotion. We know from that one devilgram that after meeting Diavolo for the first time Lucifer realizes the Celestial Realm nor his Father particularly care for peace with the Devildom, while Diavolo’s actively seeking it and that demons and the devildom are not like what he believes they are. The more Lucifer meets with Diavolo the more he learns about the Devildom and the rest of the world, as Mammon said about Luke, he learns about the real world, how the angels aren’t always right and how there’s more to everything than the Celestial Realm and so the more disillusioned with the Celestial Realm he becomes. As Simeon was his closest friend he might have relayed this all to him, or at least given a vague idea of what he’s starting to see and Simeon in turn starts seeing things from Lucifer’s perspective or more accurately he starts seeing the whole picture (and this is what Barbatos means when he says Simeon is likeable because he’s different from the other angels) unlike Lucifer though this doesn’t make him angry at or resentful of the celestial realm – it just opens his eyes up to its faults but that doesn’t mean he loves all the good parts of it any less – So when Lucifer offers him the chance to leave (the way Simeon himself sees it) he’s never strong enough to take that leap. Or that’s at least my theory of what happened till the next lessons clear it up.

Simeon is still silent and looking upset and then he laughs and apologizes because he can’t seem to stop trembling (and okay first wtf? Also so the theory about Lucifer and Simeon sharing a greatest fear was right. But also what the fuck did Michael do that’s made Simeon tremble? Though the first time the brothers spoke of Michael Mammon said he still shook thinking about his punishments… But would Michael do anything like that to someone who used to be a fellow Seraphim? Was that light really Michael or was it the Big Guytm cause that’ll be terrifying I don’t want to deal with that…). MC asks him if he’s okay. He says he appreciates their concern ands says it’s just that the light was just a sight he hadn’t seen in a long time AND WAIT!? SO IT WASN’T MICHAEL!!??? IT ACTUALLY WAS GOD!!!??? I’M WHEEZING AND NOT IN THE LAUGHING WAY WTFFFF HOLY SHIT SERIOUSLY!!!??? AND WAIT SO MC’S TALKED TO A VOICE IN A LIGHT ABOUT THRICE NOW??? WHO THE FUCK WAS THAT!??? PLS TELL ME AT LEAST THAT WAS MICHAEL!? I’D LOSE MY SHIT IF IT TURNS OUT MC’S BEING COMMUNICATING WITH GOD HELP-  I’m okay. I’m good. I took a walk. Simeon’s still trembling and MC hugs him. Simeon blushes and says humans have a strange warmth to them. He says that sometimes he wonders if MC would make a better angel than him (which supports my ‘not strong enough’ theory in the previous paragraph). He holds them back tightly. He says there’s something he wants to tell them and says I- before Asmo screaming for MC to come watch them torture Levi & Mammon cuts him off (would he confess to them again? He did it before and it seemed done when they rejected him and he backed off. I guess emotions are more complex than that). He looks upset at the interruption but covers it with a smile and says it seems like they’re wanted. He asks them to drop by the café later and says they can continue the discussion then. The two of them are hung up upside down, Mammon’s screaming to be let down and Levi’s sobbing and screaming at Mammon not to throw a temper tantrum right next to him. Diavolo says they make an interesting chandelier but that they don’t fit with their interior design. Mammon screams at him to then fucking let them down. Barbatos suggests a muzzle. Satan suggest shutting them up with their fists and Belphie says it’s too much work and that they’ll juest wear themselves out. Beel says there’s a style of cooking in the human world like this. Lucifer says these two don’t look appetizing and that he’d rather have actual churrasco. Solomon welcomes MC back and gives them the star of humility. He says they are now officially a sorcerer. Diavolo and Barbatos both congratulate them. Asmo says they’re amazing and that he’s even more smitten with them. Belphie says he’s really impressed and says good for them. Beel says he’s really happy for them and says nice going. Satan says “MC the Sorcerer” has a nice ring to it. Lucifer says well done. MC thanks them all. Solomon says nothing makes him happier than seeing his apprentice become a full-fledged sorcerer. Mammon yells that he wants to be part of the celebration too and to let him down, Levi says he’s going to be sick. And the chapter and the entire lesson ends.

[stillebesat]

Wanted

Sanders Sides: Remus, Roman, Logan, Janus  Blurb: Remus knew one thing for sure. No one would ever want to Want him.  Inspiration: from This Post by @recipe-for-thomathy  Fic Type: Hurt/Comfort, Medieval!AU  Warnings: Fire (mention), Throwing things, Breaking things, Captivity/Slavery, Weapons Taglist in reblog. 

The door slammed open with far more force than even Remus was willing to use on it. Mostly because he knew from past experience how difficult it was to rehang that door after striping out the screws in the wood and snapping the hinges more than once.

“What did you do?!” Roman demanded, striding into his work space in his full regalia of King’s Guard. 

Huh. Come straight from the palace? That was different. Remus smirked, keeping his attention on the furnace in front of him, slowly spinning the rod and its molten glass load within to keep it from dripping. “Do?” He shifted his feet to get a better angle, the iron chain around his ankle that kept him from wandering away from the shop clinking softly as he moved. “Plenty I suppose.” 

It was him they were talking about, but to his credit he’d actually been pretty productive today instead of destructive. “Made six vases just this morn--”

Roman took out a scroll, letting it fall open. “You’re on a WANTED poster!” 

His heart skipped a beat at that, though thankfully, Remus didn’t drop the rod. He actually liked the neon green glow the glass was giving off this time. Maybe he could use it to create something far more interesting than a boring stagnant flower holder. Maybe he could make another pair of---no. It would be best to stay with creating the same old same old for a few more days at least. No need to draw any attention to himself.  

Remus drew in a shaky breath he hoped his twin didn’t notice as he glanced to the poster held in his brother’s hands.  

It would be best to not think about what he’d done last night. 

A once in a lifetime opportunity. 

A breath of freedom. 

A dream come true. 

His one and only Cinderella moment where it had felt so right to do what he did. 

Like he’d finally found his calling in life.

And if Remus had any dignity or common sense left he’d stomp down on that siren call and wouldn’t seek to draw any further attention or be anything more than a boring humble glassblower’s apprentice from here on out or he was sure his heart would actually shatter if he ever saw that particular smile again. That particular spark in the eye. That-.  

Remus pasted a smirk on his face, forcing the memory away. 

A dream should remain a dream. 

He raised an eyebrow at the figure on the paper as he pulled the rod out of the furnace. “Ehhhh. That’s not me.” He said, moving to the bench so that he could grab a block to continue shaping the glass. 

If it weren’t for the moustache -drawn a little larger than the little bit of hair he currently had on his upper lip thanks to a small accident with fire earlier in the week, Remus would have thought it was a portrait of Roman since the figure’s hair lacked the tell tale silver streak that marked him as an evil twin.  

No. Roman was the one with the muscles. The one with the handsome smile. With the knighthood. With his star rising insomuch that even foreign dignitaries were falling over themselves to stay in his good graces.

Remus...was just…himself. Stringy hair, crooked smile, multiple scars criss-crossing his entire body from previous beatings and accidents in the forge. Who only had enough strength in his limbs to work glass instead of far more durable, sturdy, and useful materials like wood or iron. 

After all, Glasswork was quite the useless skill when they were in the middle of a war with the neighboring country and needed blacksmiths to create more weapons rather than glassblowers to make pretty cups for parties.

No. Remus let out a slow breath, placing the block back as he returned to the furnace to ensure his current project didn’t harden before he was finished. 

There was a reason why the silver streak had marked him instead of his twin as the evil one. The bad guy. The one who could do no good despite the very obvious proof that Remus could accomplish some good or else no one would be buying the glass objects he created. 

No one seemed to mind that he’d been marked as evil so long as he didn’t go too crazy in front of the patrons when they came to get their stupid little paperweights, flower vases, dinnerware, and sun orbs.

Of course the cursed chain around his foot did a lot to assuage any of their fears of him running rampant. 

If only they knew just what he had done last night. Just where he’d gone. How he’d freed himself from the stupid chain for a few hours to bring--to bring---a gift….to---

“Not--” Roman took a step forward, armor clanking. “It looks JUST LIKE YOU!” 

“Looks just like you too, or did your big fat egotistical head forget we’re identical?” Remus shot back.

Mostly identical. Even if he didn’t have the moustache, Remus was certain people wouldn’t ever mistake them for each other. As kids...probably, but he’d never know for sure since his--their mother chose to leave him out in the woods to die and be found by slavers instead of doing the sensible thing and dropping him off at the orphanage with all the other rejected evil halfs. 

Roman had only been a thorn in his life for the past six months or so after stumbling into the shop while breaking up a brawl that had started at the pub up the street. That was hardly enough time for them to even begin to get to know each other, let alone their quirks. 

Even then, with their on and off brief interactions, Remus knew that Roman only kept coming to see him more out of a morbid fascination of how his life could have been different if he’d been the one born with the silver in his hair rather than wanting to form a genuine familial connection with his long lost twin.

Roman scoffed, resting a hand on his sword. “You know it can’t be of me! I know better than to risk interrupting the peace talks going on at the palace!” 

Remus rolled his eyes, returning to the bench. Peace talks. A freaking ball was now considered a part of those never ending peace talks? They might as well parade the visiting Prince and his entourage around the streets again every day for a month instead for all the good those peace talks were doing. 

At least the foreign Prince was someone different to look at when he did come through town.

And…despite the rather accurate portrayal...Remus couldn’t see why a Wanted poster would be created for him. It wasn’t like he’d hurt anyone. It wasn’t like anyone knew who he was. Not when he’d come in disguise! He hadn’t even talked to anyone beyond---and that was only to explain his--the...gift. 

Unless showing someone how they could see far more clearly was now a crime. No. Remus had had his moment to shine and then he’d returned to the forge like a good obedient mutt to his hovel and destroyed the evidence--most of the evidence--without anyone being the wiser.

“Remus. I know--”

 “No you don’t!” He snapped. “For all you know, maybe we have a third twin brother running around because why would you think it would be me on that Wanted poster, Oh Highly Favored of the King, when I obviously can’t go anywhere?” Remus purposely kicked his foot so the chain trapping him in this place rattled, the sound echoing through the air as he picked up his second favorite tweezers in a shaking hand. 

Not that he intended to use it. No. Not now.

Wanted. 

His brother had managed to...emotionally compromise him and that wasn’t good for working with glass. No it was only for destroying it. A pity. He truly had liked the color on this one.

Remus kept his head down, acting like he was still working as he rolled the pipe back and forth to keep the shape intact. “When, unlike a certain free born goody-two-shoes, I’ve never been wanted in my entire life?”

The Master Glassblower didn’t even want him. Remus had only ever been considered a tool to be used until it wore out. A slave brought in to be worked to death and only taught glass blowing because the greedy old miser wanted more product on his shelves and had to admit as he aged that he couldn’t keep up with demand nor stay near the heat of the forge for as long anymore.

Lucky him, Remus had actually shown a talent for the craft. He could only imagine the sloppy blobs that would be on the shelves now if the Glassblower had bought any of the other slaves on the auction block. 

So long as it meant more gold in his coffers the Master hardly cared whose work was selling. And when the war happened, he’d allowed Remus to keep the shop open while he was off aiding the war effort in the forges nearer the front lines. 

And with him left in charge of the shop...it meant that Remus had finally been able to create what he wanted to create. To experiment. No one was there to stop him. To tell him what to do. To care. 

“What do you mean you’re not wanted?” Roman took a step forward rolling up the poster. “I--”

Remus snarled, hurling the molten glass like a spear in his twin’s direction, watching as the glass on the pole shattered upon impact with the wall, before focusing on the way Roman had stilled, hand flashing to his sword, eyes wide.

Give him a break. He knew better than to throw something directly at his twin, not if he didn’t want to die on the spot for attacking the King’s own personal guard. 

He turned away, tossing the tweezers onto the bench. “If YOU wanted anything to do with me brother you wouldn’t have left me chained here when you first found me!” He clenched his hands as he crossed his arms, resisting the urge to continue destroying things. “You wouldn’t keep coming back to stare at me like I’m a freaking circus act while you pretend you want to get to know me. You. Don’t. You Never Did. So DON’T YOU DARE TELL ME THAT I’M WANTED.” 

No one had truly wanted to see him. Not even with that particular unbelievable encounter last night. It didn’t mean a thing and would never happen again. A shooting star only ever shown for a blink of an eye before going out. 

“Remus.”

Roman had no right to sound so--soo pitying!! If he’d wanted to change things he could have. But he hadn’t. 

“No need to rub it in Mr. Perfect. I know I’m not wanted. How could I ever forget when Evil Twin has been my label my entire life?! So take your stupid Wanted poster and Get. OUT.”  

Get out before he lost the remaining shreds of his self control and actually hurt him. 

The door behind him creaked as it slowly opened. 

“Remus, please. You have to know that wasn’t--”

So Roman did want to see the forge destroyed today. Fine. FINE. He snatched up another rod with a snarl and whirled only to drop to his knees, rod clattering to the ground as he pressed his face into the dirt, heart pounding harder than a hammer to an anvil in his chest upon seeing just who was standing behind his brother.

In retrospect the uniform should have clued him in that his twin hadn’t come for a social visit. Or alone. 

“Ah.” Roman cleared his throat. “My High King Janus. Visiting Prince Logan.” He said formally. “May I present to you...my twin brother, Remus, apprentice glassblower to Apollos, a Master Glassblower who has gone to the front lines to assist the other Smiths there.”  

Remus closed his eyes, pressing his lips tightly together. He was so screwed. No wonder the portrait in the poster had been so accurate despite his disguise. The High King could see deceptions around him as easily as a bird could fly. Of course he’d see an evil twin in disguise and keep an eye on him. Especially after what he’d done--but Remus had been sure he’d escaped notice right after---after----

And to have the Prince--Prince Logan...right here...in his shop---he hadn’t expected to ever see those glorious green eyes again, let alone see the Prince still wearing the glasses that Remus had created and gone to the palace to give him last night.

“So.” 

Remus flinched as footsteps approached him, the silky voice of the High King ringing in his ears. 

“This is our little forge rat who disrupted the ball last night?” 

Disrupted?! Remus fought back the protest rising in his throat, fingers digging into the dirt. Sure he’d stolen the Prince away for a moment to ensure the glasses properly fit. That the Prince could see through them. But he hadn’t disr--He’d been very careful to be good! Even created a fashionable enough garment with colored glass in order to blend in with all the nobles decked out in gemstones so large and heavy it was a wonder the richies could move at all. 

He jumped as warm fingers trailed down his cheek. 

“I would hardly say he was disruptive.” Prince Logan remarked as he lifted up his chin, the corner of his mouth twitching when he met Remus’s eyes, his own no longer narrowed in a squint but wide open with wonder as he traced the lines of his jaw. “Nor would I say that you’re not wanted either, Remus.”  

Remus gulped, heart pounding even harder in his chest. It wasn’t fair how his name on the Prince’s lips made fuzzy embers spark in his chest.  

Logan gently tilted his head back, his thumb running along Remus’s moustache. “There was a reason why I stayed up all night with the royal painter to ensure that your portrait was accurate. And that was so I could find you as soon as possible. But I see,” His green eyes sparked with delight, his other hand raising to adjust the thin wire frames sitting on his nose. “That I was not quite as accurate as I wanted to be, but I suppose that can be forgiven considering my distraction at how clear the world has now become for me thanks to you.”

“You are certain.” High King Janus asked, hands hidden in his gold silk robes, head tilting to study Remus like a hawk studies a mouse as Roman came to stand beside him. “That he is the one you seek, Prince Logan? That he is the one who gave you...sight?” 

“He is.” The Prince confirmed without hesitation. 

The High King raised an eyebrow. “I find it hard to...believe that one born with silver in their hair could be--”

“Remus is the best glassblower I’ve ever encountered, my King.” Roman said, raising his chin as the High King turned to him, unafraid to look him in the eye. “If anyone were to create the ability to see from blown glass, it would be him.”

More fuzzy embers fizzled around Remus’s stomach as he side eyed his brother. Roman...actually thought he was good? At glassblowing? He’d never said anything before--

High King Janus hummed, waiting until Roman broke eye contact before again returning his eagle stare on Remus, golden eyes glinting in the light of the forge. “Considering your own skills, Sir Roman, I would be unsurprised that your other half would be just as creative in his own right. Even more so if he is to be the bridge that finally brings peace to our kingdoms.” 

Remus blinked, fidgeting in place, his fingers digging into the dirt so he wouldn’t try and touch the Prince because he liked his hands too much to lose them. “Bridge?” He asked before he could also tell his tongue that talking was a very good way to get it removed with a hot poker. “What bridge? I can’t--” Surely they didn’t expect him to build a bridge from glass! How would that even work to bring peace? The thing would shatter with one wrong strike of a horse’s hooves! 

Logan smiled. “You can, Remus.” He said before gesturing for Roman to come forward. “Free him.” He commanded.

Surprisingly, his twin didn’t hesitate, quickly moving forward with his sword drawn as he focused on the chain around Remus’s ankle. 

It really wasn’t fair to hear his name spoken like that! Like he--like the Prince actually cared about him. 

Remus fought to hold still, to not look away from Prince Logan’s forest filled eyes to see what his twin was doing with the lock and if it was the same method he himself had used last night to free himself.

“I want you to come with me.” Prince Logan said softly, stroking Remus’s cheek as he maintained eye contact. “To my kingdom. Let me show you how much we want you there. Need you. Your gift with glass, there are so many of us, so many who would fall to your feet to see as you’ve shown me to see. Come with me, Remus.” He dropped his hands again to Remus’s dirty ones, squeezing them gently. “And I will guarantee that you will not regret it.”

Remus made a noise of disbelief, frozen in place, unable to comprehend that these...that the Prince---No one wanted to be around an evil twin!

And yet.

Prince Logan had yet to draw away or show disgust or revulsion upon discovering that he was the evil half.

“If you go with him, the war will stop.” High King Janus intoned. “Both sides will withdraw. Peace will finally be reestablished in both lands.” 

The war would stop? Over him? It didn’t--

Remus drew in a shaky breath as the chain around his ankle that had been his constant companion the last four years fell away with a soft clank for the second time in the past twenty-four hours as Roman took a step back with a faint smile his eyes shimmering with--was his twin actually about to cry? Over him?!  

“But you--you don’t even know me.” Remus whispered as the Prince pulled him to his feet, guiding him outside to the waiting royal carriage. To--to dare he say it? To freedom if he so chose to take it.

“No.” Prince Logan agreed, giving him another smile as he once more adjusted his glasses, the lens flashing in the sunlight. “But I want to.”

[hotpinkhoshi]

kiss it better | one

pairing: mark tuan x reader

genre: angst, smut, brother’s best friend au (sort of)

warnings: age gap (nine years), cursing, explicit sex, slow burn

summary: you were off limits for more reasons than mark could count. but everything changed for him the day you walked into his tattoo shop with those big innocent eyes and a laugh like his favorite song. he couldn’t. he wouldn’t. and yet…

*a/n*: hiiiiii! so here we go. i don’t have much to say except that you’ll probably notice this chapter is a bit shorter than they usually are for my fics. with this story, chapters may or may not be shorter in length. this is just easier on me, and helps me to keep a regular posting schedule. now, i’m not going to say i won’t post longer chapters, but i just wanted to get it out there. i have a tentative posting schedule in mind, which i’ll make a post about later, but i’d say you can probably expect a new chapter every two weeks. 

also, just want to say- i hope everyone is staying safe and healthy right now. stay home, wash your hands, avoid contact with your face, and if you have to order food tip your delivery drivers a lil extra! and to those that don’t get to stay home and still have to work, i’m right there with you. we’ll get through this and all we can do is take it day by day ❤️

✩ index here ✩

make sure you read the prologue first! 

Today had started just like any other day. Mark got up and went about his morning, brushing his teeth, eating his breakfast, and taking his usual ten minutes to sketch the ideas in his brain before heading off to work. 

It’d been slow, but Mark wasn’t worried. There were enough appointments on Saturday and Sunday to make up for a slow Friday. The temperature had reached an uncomfortable high, so he’d dressed himself in a black muscle tee to offer some relief from the sticky air. 

The early afternoon went smoothly. Mark took the opportunity to work on some new designs and do some organizing in his tattoo room, while the other guys opted to sit around showing each other funny videos on their phones. 

By the time lunch rolled around, he decided to sit outside with his iced coffee, scrolling through social media on his phone while relaxing in the shade of the awning. He glanced up mindlessly, his eyes drawn to a figure standing across the street. 

A girl holding an ice cream cone. Mark’s breath caught in his throat because, no, it wouldn’t be you. You’d be back home, attending some tiny college where your parents could keep a watchful eye on your every move, not here in the great big city. 

Then the girl dropped her ice cream cone, her whine audible even from where Mark sat. He couldn’t help the laugh that fell from his lips. He shook his head, just as there was a knock behind him on the glass of the door. 

Dahyun popped her head out. “Youngjae needs help grabbing some boxes from the back, can you help? Jackson and Yugyeom are being assholes.” 

Mark nodded, one last glance across the street before he stood up, heading back inside.

-----

You took in a deep breath, squeezing your eyes shut as Mark pressed the tip of his tattoo gun to your skin. Just the constant buzzing of the tool was enough to set your nerves on edge. 

Once you felt it, though, it wasn’t so bad. It hurt, but you’d been through worse. It was comparable to a thousand tiny kittens scratching you with their claws, over and over again. 

“You doing alright?” Mark asked, once one long minute had passed. 

You nodded, your arms squeezing the back of the chair you were straddling. It was an uncomfortable position, but it was the only way Mark would be able to access the back of your shoulder. You’d also had to strip down to just your bra, so at least you were given some modesty. 

“Yeah. Just... how long will it take?” 

Glancing over your shoulder, you noticed how hard he was concentrating. His tongue was stuck between his lips, peeking out the corner. He was entirely focused on the art that he was tracing onto your skin. 

“Not long. The shading is what will take the longest, but it’s small, so I should have you out of here within the hour.” 

You exhaled slowly and pressed your forehead into the cushioned back of the chair as he went over the same area a few times. Though he muttered a ‘sorry’, you found yourself wincing from the pain. 

Yerin had left to get ready for work, as the stenciling and position process had gone on longer than either of you had thought. You’d made Mark move the stencil several times until you liked the positioning. Admittedly, it had been a stalling tactic to delay the inevitable pain that was coming. 

“How’s Taehyung?” Mark asked, just as he took a break from tracing onto your skin. You opened your eyes to see him reaching for a cloth to wipe across your skin. 

The question caught you off guard. Just the name of your brother was enough to rub salt into the wound you’d been holding closed for the last two months. You gulped, turning your face to press your other cheek into the chair, hiding your expression. 

“He’s good. He’s been in Japan for two years now, I think. He’s happy there.” 

You barely even noticed Mark returning to your tattoo, the pain less noticeable while your mind was occupied. 

“That’s good. I saw on Facebook he has a girlfriend now?” 

You nodded. “Mhm. Her name’s Jennie--she seems nice.” 

Mark didn’t need to know that you hadn’t spoken to your brother since the week before you moved to Seoul. He didn’t need to know you’d been avoiding his calls, texts, and e-mails. Most of them you deleted without even opening. 

From what you knew, Taehyung and Mark had simply drifted once they both moved out of your tiny town and started creating a life for themselves. Taehyung spent his years after college roaming the world, taking photos and putting on exhibits until he secured a steady photography job for a Japanese magazine. 

Mark moved before that, though you hadn’t known he’d moved to the city until today. You hadn’t ever been close to him besides the casual greeting when he’d be downstairs playing video games with Taehyung while you were doing homework. 

When you were younger, you’d had an innocent crush on him, only because he was one of the few boys that paid you any attention. You’d only ever had a handful of conversations, but he was always polite and even helped you with your math homework once or twice. It really hadn’t taken much to impress you back then.

“So, how long have you been in the city?” Mark asked. 

You were grateful for the slight change in subject. It was only a matter of time before he started asking about your parents, and you wouldn’t have been able to pretend any longer. 

“A couple of months. I just… wanted a change,” you told him honestly. 

Maybe you’d gotten more than you’d bargained for… but regardless, you were grateful for your newfound independence. 

“I get it,” Mark replied. “Alright, outline is done. Now we’ll just have to shade. I’ll give you a few minutes, okay?” 

You lifted your face from the back of the chair and sat up straight. “Can I see it?” you asked. 

It took a moment for you to realize Mark’s ears were turning red because without the shield of the chair, your entire bra-clad chest was now on display for him. It didn’t help that you’d chosen a pink, lacy bra just because it was the first one you’d grabbed out of your laundry bag. 

Quickly, you leaned forward again to cover yourself with the chair, biting forcefully onto your lip. You could feel your cheeks burning with embarrassment.

“Sorry…” you said.

Mark cleared his throat and turned around, reaching for a handheld mirror on the table behind him. “It’s okay… I’ve definitely seen worse. Not that it was bad, or, well-” 

It was obvious he’d put his foot in his mouth. You found yourself giggling, bringing your hand up to cover your mouth. Mark looked as if he was desperate for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. 

“Sorry,” he said, shaking his head at himself as he turned back around. “Here,” he said chuckling softly as he held up the mirror behind you so that you could see the work he’d already done. 

You managed to stifle your giggles as you turned your head. It was no wonder Mark was known for pieces like this--his lines were crisp and clear, flowing in such a way that it looked as if your skin was born with this intricate design. You couldn’t wait to see how it looked when it was complete.

“Good?” he asked.

“I love it,” you said, smiling wide. “Makes the pain worth it.” 

Mark looked pleased with your answer. He set the mirror down and got up, switching out the ink on his pen for the color he was going to use for the petals, a soft cool toned purple. 

You resumed your position against the chair after a few more minutes, fists clenched as you prepared for the pain. 

-----

It turned out not to be so bad. Mark kept you distracted, asking you questions about your experience in the city so far. When he sensed you avoiding the topic of home or your parents, he didn’t push. 

Once he got your tattoo bandaged up, you sat around talking for another half an hour while he showed you photos of his drawings, as per your request. You’d never known that he was so talented. 

“I guess I should be going,” you said after a lull in conversation. If you wanted to get back to your room before your roommate began their daily music blasting and loud video game routine, you’d need to head back. 

“Where are you staying?” he asked, pulling off his gloves and washing his hands in the miniature sink against the wall.

“Just… this little place,” you answered. Little was an understatement. 

When you’d moved out, you’d only had a suitcase and a finite amount of cash. It hadn’t exactly been planned, so your options were limited. You stayed in the first hostel you could find, and you were disappointed to find that the wages you received from serving couldn’t provide you with anything better. 

You shared a room, currently with a Russian girl a few years older than you that seemed to only be staying in Seoul to play shooting games and blast ear-piercing rock metal. Your last roommate hadn’t been nearly as bad, but you weren’t having great luck. 

“Here, I’m just finishing up for the day. Why don’t we grab a bite to eat, then I’ll take you home.” 

Your efforts to refuse his offer were basically ignored. He gave you no choice as he led you out to the front room to pay for your tattoo, whispering something lowly to Dahyun as she wrote up your bill. 

“Mark,” you said in protest once you saw the total. You didn’t know much about tattoo pricing, but you were sure this was significantly lower than it should have been.

“What? It’s a family and friends discount.”

You sighed. As much as you wanted to refuse his help, you had to admit you could take whatever discounts you could get. Tattoos were expensive and you certainly didn’t have the budget to get one as impulsively as you had today. 

“I’ll get my stuff ready, then I’ll meet you outside, okay?” Mark asked and you nodded, watching as he walked off to his room. 

“Family and friends, huh?” Dahyun asked, eyebrows raised as she watched you sign your receipt. “You must have gotten really close back there.” 

You laughed, sliding the receipt back over the table. “It turns out, he used to be best friends with my older brother. So… family, I guess,” you said, though you never really saw him as such. No matter how many times your mother acted like he was her second son. 

“Wow, small world,” Dahyun said as she handed over a sheet of paper with a list of bullet points on it. She went over the aftercare process, recommending the creams and ointments that she preferred, and ways to help it heal faster. 

After thanking Dahyun over and over for her kindness, you gathered your things and waited outside of the front door for Mark. 

When your day began, you never would have thought you’d be having dinner with your brother’s old best friend, bringing back memories you hadn’t quite been ready to revisit. But he was so sweet to you, so easy to talk to, you couldn’t bring yourself to say no. You didn’t want to say no. 

You’d always admired Mark’s choice to move to Seoul straight out of school, with no plan and no connections to the city. And he only came back for holidays and special occasions. While you were hastily packing your clothes into a duffel bag, you remembered thinking briefly of him. 

“Ready?” Mark asked from behind you as he exited the shop. The sunlight hit his skin, bringing your attention to the swirling designs upon his shoulder. The way his shirt was cut allowed you a peek of his ribs—you could see loopy cursive etched on his skin but you were unable to make it out.

“Yeah, let’s go,” you replied with a smile, tearing your eyes from his bare skin. 

[curiosityjams]

re: iz*one

first of all, i wanted to say i didn’t plan on writing something about the disbandment. the past few months have been incredibly rough on my mental state to the point where i feel as if i’ve lost all sense of self. shit has been so rough for me, their disbandment being confirmed made that even worse for me. however, i realized i need to learn how to be okay with like...being open about my own emotions in a time of uncertainty and writing them out helps me in a way even if a lot of those emotions i’d rather keep private. i’ve also been going thru a time where i’m currently reevaluating this past year and everything i’ve done/felt in the past few yrs (2.5 of those years being izone’s run), so i thought i’d write something about the disbandment and what iz*one means to me, esp during this point in my life. i’d write more about what led me to this point, but if i did, i’d end up writing a whole novel, so i’m just going to keep this as short as possible.

also if this is a jumbled mess, i’m sorry!!!!

since we’re here to talk about the inevitable, i just wanted to say that i’ve probably had a harder time accepting them being gone than i thought. i knew they were gonna disband eventually bc lol produce group, but also, knowing what happened with the voting scandal and the panasonic, it makes it even worse for me. i hate that they didn’t even bother to handle their disbandment in a way that wasn’t complete horseshit. i hate how the pandora screwed everything up. i hate how we didn’t even get a proper goodbye from the girls. i knew that this was going to happen, but i fucking hate how it all turned out. i can’t say i’m 100% happy with the ending and honestly, don’t think i’ll ever be able to fully accept that they’re no longer a group. 

that said, i’m not here to vent.

while i’m obviously upset that they’re gone, the fact that they were ever a group to begin with--i’ll forever be grateful. i avoided getting into them for the longest time because of my own trauma from being involved in the 48 fandom (smth i’ll talk about at a later time bc it’s a lot), but the moment i decided to watch their “up” performance and actually give them a chance beyond looping la vie en rose, that’s when i fell in love. i fell in love with the music. i fell in love with the visuals. i fell in love with the bond between the girls. most of all, i fell in love with the fact that during a weird transitional period in my 20s, i found a group that gave me the closure i needed in a time where it felt like the world was against me while also giving me the strength i need to move on. 

while we’re on that topic, let’s talk about kwon eunbi.

as you already know from my url, eunbi is obviously my bias. she’s the leader of the group, under the company my ult group, lovelyz, is also in, and THE absolute all-rounder. she’s extremely talented, super fucking funny, a babe of THE highest order, and the best single mom you could ever ask for. every time i watch a video of iz*one’s or look at any of their pics, i’m always in absolute awe of her. while i love all of the girls (j-line has a very special place in my heart bc of my time in 48 fandom) and do consider the entire group to be one full of bias wreckers, it’s eunbi that instantly caught my eye and the one i’m incredibly proud to call my ult.

“now, drea, why is it that you’re taking so much time with talking about how special this group and that girl are to you?” well, it’s mainly because that eunbi and i are the same age (both 95-liners, but i’m older by 2 months) that i’m so drawn to not only her, but the group as well. yeah, it’s normal to be drawn to members born in your birth year, but for me and esp in this case, it’s far more complex than it seems.

around the time i got into the group, i was (still am) going thru a quarter life crisis. i had just finished my a.a., was a few months away from turning 24, and had pretty much decided i was going to take an indefinite hiatus from twitter due to the amount of harm its done to my mental health over 10 years. i felt like shit knowing that so many people my age were living their lives, getting married, having kids, etc all that shit while i felt as if i was frozen in time and like i could never accomplish any of those things because according to society, my time was up. as a woman on the autism spectrum, i never felt like anything i did was enough and knowing that even after years of trauma, the feeling that if i don’t have my entire life sorted out by 24/25 scared the living shit out of me. knowing that a panini happened made those feelings even worse. 

i know it’s weird to like...feel so many emotions over this esp since 23-25 is young and starting your career out at that age is normal. that said, knowing how eunbi was already in a group prior to joining iz*one that ended up disbanding months after they debuted, the road she took to get to where she is now, and the fact that she’s 25/26 and will get so many chances to start over is what gives me hope after such a shit year. i can finally get to where i want to be, i’ll graduate from university, i’ll hopefully get a job that will earn me enough money to move out of my mom’s house, i’ll find love, etc who the fuck knows what’s going to happen? i hate that after years of hating myself and being afraid of getting older because people often have this mentality that you should abandon all sense of yourself once you hit your mid 20s, it’s taken me THIS long to actually start accepting myself for who i am and living my life for myself, but i’m excited to see where the fuck life takes me after years of self-hatred, trauma, and trying too hard to please ppl that don’t give a shit. seeing eunbi just have a fucking blast on stage, take care of her members, and overall be the amazing person she is gave me the strength i desperately needed to actually get to the path i want to be on as someone that’s a few years away from turning 30.

as i said earlier, i’m not ready to just outright accept iz*one being gone. i’ll probably spend the entire month of may just watching their content since there’s still a shitton of stuff i have yet to watch and i’m lowkey embarrassed that as a fan, i’m admitting this, but also: there’s no time limit. i can always watch that video at another time, i’ll like that pic later, etc. i wish iz*one was one of those things that had no time limit because i’ll always cherish them, but in the 2.5 years of their existance, i achieved some big things and survived a pandemic. i left twitter, got closure in chapters i needed closure in, finished my a.a., etc among many other things during that time and it’s partly because of iz*one that i’ve pushed myself to do all of those things. it’s hard esp since it’s easier to just write smth like this on tumblr than actually do it, but the girls and their music were part of the reason why 2020 wasn’t a complete dumpster fire for me. 

most of all, i wanted to write this because i wanted to shout-out the amazing folks at @izonetwork​. i joined super late in the game, but the convos i’ve had, the laughs we’ve had on discord/among us, etc i’ll never forget it. meeting all of you was one of THE highlights of an otherwise shitty year and i’ll always credit you as one of the reasons why i wasn’t completely emotionally distant during such a dark time. all of you keep me grounded and i’m forever grateful. super honored to call you guys my friends. <3

so yeah, thank you iz*one. thank you, eunbi, sakura, hyewon, yena, chaeyeon, chaewon, minju, nako, hitomi, yuri, yujin, and wonyoung. i don’t speak korean or japanese, but know i’m eternally grateful for all the joy, strength and bops you gave me in the past 2.5 years. i’m even more grateful for the friends i’ve met thru my own fandom of the group. i’m excited to see what every single one of you does next regardless of what it may be. 

now if you’ll excuse me, i have to go catch up on all the enozis i’ve missed. 

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

[yourcoffindoor]

Bulletproof Heart Pt. 3

Pairing: Gerard Way x Reader

AN: Without further ado, here’s part 3! Sorry if there’s any typos that I missed, I kind of speed edited this one. I have one more part planned for this series, so the end is coming up soon. Hope you enjoy!!

From city to city, crowd to crowd, the tour continued on, and you went on with the show, your unwelcome encounter with Alex only making you more tenacious, more determined to outperform every band there.

You put on an unaffected front, making it seem as if you couldn't care less that he was playing Warped tour as well. Gavin was the only band member who knew about your history, and he fluttered about you like a mother hen ready to offer comfort or homicide at the drop of a hat. He would regularly attempt to gauge your feelings, but it only served to make you withdraw deeper into yourself, denying that could ever be shaken by his presence.

But the truth was you were shaken. You were scared.  Scared that you would one day see that face smirking at you from a crowd and freeze, unable to ignore a presence so heavy and halting like a storm cloud threatening a downpour.

And then there was Gerard. You hadn't seen him since your first show, but your thoughts turned toward him again and again. What must he have thought that day, when Alex forced his way between you? When you stormed off alone? If he had tried to come and speak to you since that day, you hadn't heard anything. Did he think that there was still something left between you and Alex?

It was that thought that caused the most pain every time it crossed your mind, and you hated yourself for it. At night when you were alone your thoughts went around and around in the same infuriating cycle, from not caring what anyone had to think about you, to anxiously wondering if Gerard had someone else he was sharing that crooked smile with. You never let the words cross your mind or leave your lips, but your heart beat constantly with the hopeful thought: Please don't think that I could have feelings for anyone else.

Meanwhile, the Parties never ended--in fact they seemed to grow in boisterousness, picking up attendees like a tornado gathering wind. Your band mates went every now and again to socialize, but They held no value for you. Primarily because the chance of running into Alex was far too high-- You knew he would never miss an opportunity to get shit faced, and he would probably be skulking around in hopes of seeing you there, ready to latch on and torment you further. But beyond that, the chance of running into Gerard was likely to be less than zero.

That didn't stop your band mates from encouraging you to loosen up, hoping to pop the contemplative bubble that you'd encased yourself in for weeks.

"I'm gonna head out. What are you up to tonight? You should take a break from everything." Gavin suggested before heading out one night, despite knowing full well you'd die before you'd agree.

"I'll find something to keep me busy."

"I'd tell you to come with, but I know a certain someone you're crushing on won't be there."

"Oh really?" You flipped through a book on the table in front of you, playing dumb and failing miserably at it. "I do not know to whom you are referring."

"Yeah poor guy. Frank told me that there's too much pressure to drink here, so he's always in the bus alone. Bored. Desperate for human contact."

You gave Gavin the side-eye. "Alright alright, we get it."

He laughed. "Their bus is five down on the left. Y'know, if you feel like it. Thank me later." He said, darting out the door before anything could be thrown at him.

You rolled your eyes and flipped through the book, trying to read and forget the information that was just dropped in your lap. You remembered when you and Gerard had last spoke, how shy he looked when he attempted to invite you over before being cut off by Alex's sudden arrival.

Maybe a quick stop wouldn't hurt, you thought to yourself. He was in the middle of asking me to anyway...

Before you knew it you were on your feet, flinging on a jacket and taking a step outside. It would be the nice thing to do after all, since he can't leave the bus...

It took a bit of searching, but you finally found a bus with My Chemical Romance painted on its side in large black letters. Your heart did its familiar flutter as you walked up to the door, raising your hand and giving a rapid succession of knocks.

You heard a slight shuffle from inside, and after a few moments Gerard answered, his face changing from one of confusion to a soft smile as he shook the hair from out of his eyes.

"I hope this isn't a bad time," you said sheepishly, "I was told I could find some good comics here."

He flicked his spent cigarette to the ground, blowing smoke from the corner of his mouth. "Is there ever a bad time for comics? Come on in."

You followed him inside, and he stopped suddenly. "Aw shit." he muttered.

"What is it?" you asked, concerned.

"I just realized we're fucking slobs."

He wasn't wrong, you observed with a laugh. The interior of the bus was divided into piles of organized chaos; clothes tossed into piles on the floor and empty chairs, makeup left open and scattered amongst soda cans by every available counter space. A few stray guitars sat soundless, happily resting until their next performance.

Gerard was obviously a bit embarrassed by the state of the place, as evidenced by the faint red blush that clouded over his nose and cheeks.

"Yeah, so its not exactly Buckingham Palace in here..." he joked, one hand anxiously running through his dark hair. His bashfulness only endeared him to you further.

"Well my bus actually IS Buckingham Palace, and it looks just about the same so don't feel too bad."

"Perfect. Anything to make you feel more at home." He mused, relocating some crumpled clothes from a small sofa nearby. "Have a seat, your majesty."

"I haven't seen you around in awhile." You noted as he hastily shoved things into cupboards.

"I've basically turned into a hermit when I'm not performing. Since I can't step outside without seeing a bottle, I don't really have much choice."

So Gavin was telling the truth. Hm.

"Well, the hermit lifestyle is probably underrated anyway."

He laughed softly. "Oh for sure. And I'll show you whats been keeping me busy this whole time."

Gerard shuffled to the back of the bus for a moment before returning with an armload of comic books, laying them proudly on the table in front of you. "These are some of my current favorites," he began after taking a seat beside you, close enough for you to admire the look of sheer happiness in his expression as he spoke. He was clearly in his element. "This one here has some of the best coloring I've ever seen."

You must have stared at him for a bit too long because he caught your affectionate glance and paused.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," you said, immediately breaking eye contact as heat flooded your cheeks. "Its just nice to hear you talk about them. You're so passionate about it."

He laughed. "Well its also nice to talk about them with someone who gets it."

You felt like you could fly right out of your skin. Everything about him made you feel a sense of belonging that you hadn't found with anyone else before.

"Hey when do I get to see that comic you said you were working on? I think you mentioned that the last time I saw you."

"Oh you remembered! Uh, one sec, I'll pull it out."

He wandered back into the unknown void that was his bunk, and came back with a folio filled to the brim with concepts, sample panels and character sketches.

"I'm pretty proud of this. Its a work in progress so uh...be gentle."

You knew Gerard was talented, but you were taken aback at the skill and creativity that had gone into this endeavor. Here he had created a world entirely his own and you were drawn in immediately.

"Gerard this is fucking fantastic! Seriously I need a full length comic right now."

"Right now? I'd rather talk to you."

You and Gerard talked as if you'd known each other forever. You found him to be witty and charming, but most importantly sincere; and the conversation flowed with ease.

"You know I'm a little surprised. I wouldn't have expected a guy like you to be alone in his bus on a big tour like this."

He laughed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean there's a lot of bands here that seem like they're only motivated by the attention they can get from girls. You're not like that."

"Its never been about that for me. I find those guys just as annoying as you do." He paused for a moment, hesitating as if he was unsure if he should continue. "Speaking of annoying...That guy, Alex--"

"Oh, yeah, sorry about him. I didn't even know he was gonna be on this tour since I haven't spoken to him in ages. I'm doing my best to avoid him."

"You seemed pretty upset when I saw you last. Just wanted to make sure he wasn't bothering you or anything."

You paused for a moment, replaying his words in your head to process them. Gerard not only noticed your reaction to Alex, he remembered and was concerned?

"So you guys aren't like...a thing anymore?"

"NO," you said a bit too eagerly. "I mean no, definitely not. I'd have to be crazy."

"Good," he replied softly, "I mean, I'm glad as long as you're happy."

You realized you had been making eye contact with his lips, the pair of you inching closer to each other with every syllable.

Your breath slowed, and you tucked a strand of stray hair behind your ear. "And...there's no one that you're involved with?"

"No," he confirmed without missing a beat, "but there is someone I have in mind."

If there was a speed limit for heartbeats, you would have been violating the law. Your next words came out almost as a whisper. "And who would that be?"

Hazel eyes flashing, Gerard cupped the side of your face with one hand, and you instinctively moved closer to meet his lips. The kiss felt like it was part dream, too good to be true as endorphins flooded your veins, a heat kindling in your stomach. You couldn't begin to tell if it lasted seconds or minutes, but still when your lips parted, it felt too soon.

"Oh." was all you could say, and the pair of you merely grinned, satisfied to be silent in the aftermath.

You caught a glance at your watch. 1:05 AM.

"I can't believe I have the willpower to do this," you began reluctantly, "but If I don't head back now I'll end up living here."

"I don't see the problem." he remarked, and you punched him in the arm.

"Thanks for a great night." you pecked him on the cheek, and before he had time to react, you jumped up and made your way towards the door.

"Come back anytime for more talk about comics!" he called after you with a laugh.

Your cheeks were buzzing and a warmth spread through your veins, giddy from your night with Gerard. You paused outside of your bus door, taking a deep breath to try and steady your heartbeat. You didn't want to rouse any suspicion from your band mates-not yet anyway. You just wanted to keep this moment to yourself for awhile.

After you cooled down, you quietly opened the door, hoping nobody would notice you sneaking in and that you could hop straight into your bunk. Instead you were met with Gavin and Liz sitting down on the sofa, looking very concerned.

"Hey," you said with hesitation, "Everything alright?"

They shared an uncomfortable look.

"Y/N, I'm not sure how to put this..." Liz began, fumbling with her fingers in an attempt to find the right words.

"What's going on?" you felt the blush from only moments ago drain away into cold dread.

"Its Alex," Gavin explained, "He and his band have been going around with a camera getting girls to flash them in exchange for backstage passes..."

You rolled your eyes. "So he's still trash. What does this have to do with me?"

"Well, the thing is, he's been telling people he has video of you. And him. Together. And that its gonna be included with the rest of the fucked up footage they're recording."

Your pulse started racing, erasing your giddy buzz from only moments before. You slumped into the nearest chair, trying to gather your thoughts.

"I never even knew I was being filmed..." you said softly. Nausea bubbled in your stomach as you were unwillingly dragged back into your intimate memories, a place you had successfully moved on from in recent years but whose impact you could never truly erase.

"Are you ok?" Liz asked, her voice low and gentle as though she was afraid you were about to shatter. Those words were all you needed to be set off.

"No. No I'm not fucking okay." You stood up suddenly from your chair, pacing. "Do you know how hard it was to leave that situation? Do you you know you much I struggled to make a life an a name for myself? How I had to rebuild myself after him? And now this?" You were shaking, your voice trembling with pent up emotion. "This was supposed to be an amazing, once in a lifetime experience. The beginning of everything for us. So why can't I just be left the fuck alone!"  

Your band mates called after you as you stormed to your bunk, pulling the curtains tight behind you and burying your face in your pillow. For the first time in a long time, you let yourself break down, your unhindered sobs turning your pillow into an ocean.

[motherlifesucher-archives]

The Connor Situation l Shawn Mendes Imagine.

(a/n): this is super different from what I've written before and it’s kinda long (3k+ words!)

summary: Shawn is Camila’s boyfriend, (y/n) is Connor’s girlfriend, but they’re drawn to each other.

warning: mentions of drugs, sex and cheating.

A faint smell of weed lingered on the luxury Malibu house Shawn rented to celebrate the end of the tour. 

Shawn wanted to spend time with the closer part of his team without the urge of moving from city to city and putting on a concert every night. Of course, no one from Shawn’s inner circle wanted to spend more time apart from their loved ones, so the house was big enough to host at least fifteen people. 

You had met Connor back in high school, where he easily was one of the most popular kids because of his work with famous people and undeniable talent, so it was a surprise when he asked you out and everything went on from there. Of course, after he was admitted into UCLA it wasn’t expected that he’d take a break to tour the world with none other than Shawn Mendes.

You couldn’t deny it had been hard, especially after Shawn hired him for the entire tour and not just a part of it. You made it work, somehow.

Shawn, on the other hand, had been in love with Camila for ages before he mustered the courage to put a name on their relationship and go public, driving people around the world crazy, for better or for worse. 

You carefully removed the covers from the bed, wanting to get something to eat since it was 9 AM already, but an arm draped over your waist prevented you from moving. 

“Where are you going?” Asked the sleepy voice of your blue eyed boyfriend. 

“To grab something to eat, do you want me to bring you something?” You whispered, not wanting to disturb his post sleep haze.

“Mm’no, I just want you on my bed.” He tried something that resembled an adorable pout, making you laugh. 

“I’ll be back, don’t miss me too much.” You left a kiss on his messy hair before grabbing your silk robe that was thrown on the floor. 

“You’re leaving under protest.” You heard Connor mutter before he went back to sleep, his soft snores flooding the room. 

You carefully made your way to the kitchen, not wanting to wake anyone up. Everything was quiet until a tall figure leaning on the kitchen counter almost gave you a heart attack.

The person chuckled. “Good morning, I wish I had known I have that effect on you.” Shawn joked while sipping on his green tea. 

“I didn’t think you’d be here, everybody else is asleep and I think I just died of a heart attack.” You dramatized, making Shawn’s eyes crinkle. 

He was going to add something when a faint moan and the sound of a bed crashing softly against the wall, as if they had put a pillow on the corner to muffle the sound, flooded the house. You noticed a shudder run through Shawn’s body, but you didn’t know if it was because he was disgusted or turned on. “Well, at least someone’s having fun.” Shawn said with his eyebrows raised. 

“My oh my, should we put a ‘no sex in the house’ warning?” A female voice entered the kitchen before you could respond. Camila had her hair tied on a messy ponytail and her outfit matched yours. “Hey baby, figured you’d be here.” She kissed Shawn’s shoulder. 

“Yeah, I got hungry. I think there must be leftover jet lag on my body.” 

Camila just then noticed your presence, and you didn’t blame her; you wouldn’t pay attention to anyone if Shawn was your man. “(y/n)! I’m so sorry I didn’t see you, guess I'm still sleeping,” She chuckled. “Is Connor still asleep?” 

You nodded while taking a sip of water. “Yeah, he was snoring when I left the room.” 

Just then, Connor’s voice could be heard from your room screaming “SHUT UP!”. Immediately after, the soft moaning and bed crashing stopped. 

The three of you stared at each other before exploding in a fit of laughter. You couldn’t breathe, especially when Shawn placed a hand on your naked leg as he couldn’t contain his laughter. 

Shawn was an attractive man, there was no denying that fact. He was desired by millions around the world, but what made him the most endearing was his personality; his timid yet extremely cheeky and mischievous demeanor was what made him a good catch and almost irresistible. 

That didn’t make him better than Connor, though. 

But it still didn’t make sense why his warm hand left a tingling feeling on your leg after he removed it, only to continue laughing along his girlfriend. 

“I think I should go check on Connor, I’m not sure he took this morning sex thing very well.” You joked. 

“I don’t think he’s unfamiliar with morning sexual activities, he loved calling you early to start the day.” Shawn said with a suggestive tone, looking for your eyes. 

“I think I'm just gonna walk away now.” You narrowed your eyes playfully before walking away with your glass of water. 

The image you found in front of you was equally funny and adorable. 

A shirtless Connor was pouting with a pillow covering his ears, but you could still make up strands of his messy blond hair. 

“You love making a scene, don’t you?” You put the glass of water on the night table before sitting on Connor’s legs. 

Your boyfriend placed the pillow under his head to have a better position to admire you. He placed his hands on your waist while still pouting. “I swear to God it’s Brian and that Portuguese girl he sexted during the entire tour.” 

You giggled. “You should be happy your friend is getting laid!” 

“He can get laid quietly if he’s sharing a room. I swear during tour everyone got laid and I could hear them all, I didn’t think I'll have to relive my nightmares during our relax time.” He slowly moved his hands from your waist to your hips. 

You carefully climbed from his legs to his lap so that his hands could reach your body more easily. “Are you mad because you didn’t get any during tour?” You leaned in to peck his lips. Connor nodded, still pouting. “You’re just a big baby, I did visit you during tour and, if I recall correctly, had sex.”

“It was not the same!” He protested. “And we had sex yesterday, but were careful to be quiet because Shawn stayed on his room while everyone went to the beach.

It was impossible to keep a straight face when your boyfriend was basically a big baby, so you opted for the easy way out; you carefully reached for his hair before kissing him. A low moan erupted from his throat before quickly and eagerly responding your action, transforming a sweet kiss to a passionate one as his hands wandered lower on your body.

Just as you noticed Connor’s hands trying to untie your robe, the door opened abruptly, making the both of you jump. 

Brian didn’t notice your position at first. “Dude, you fucked my... Fuck! How dare you call me out when you’re fucking with (y/n) as well!” 

Brian’s loud voice gathered some unwanted attention, especially Shawn’s that couldn’t help it but walk towards your room. 

“Fuck, man. Don’t you knock?” Connor let out a deep breath while running his hands on his har, as you hid yourself under the blankets deciding whether this was funny or mortifying. 

Brian left the room while quietly cursing your and Connor’s name, but Shawn stayed there, quietly eyeing the situation. 

When you resurfaced from under the covers, you noticed his hazel orbs on your opened robe. 

No, your mind was just playing games with you.

-

The incident had taken place two days ago and there wasn’t a person in the house that hadn’t made fun of you, but especially Brian, since he had actually been heard by everyone. 

The weather was warm, perfect for a day on the fancy lagoon pool on the backyard.

Everyone tried to make a dish for lunch, but it ended up being a disaster since no one really thought there would be no space in the kitchen, but it was part of the fun. 

Connor couldn’t help but bring his camera to never forget a moment of the incredible time you were having. You were lying on your stomach with your your swimsuit, not caring about anything until you noticed a pair of prying eyes on your figure. Shawn was sipping on a cold beer while talking to Josiah and Andrew, but his playful gaze couldn’t help himself. 

You quickly turned around, knowing his girlfriend had just dived into the pool while joking with Dave and his wife. Meanwhile, your boyfriend was teasing Zubin as he zoomed on his mouth while he ate. 

Suddenly, your body felt warm, too warm. You made eye contact with Connor, who looked at you worriedly as you made your way inside the house, but you made a kissing face at him to make him laugh. 

The kitchen had become your favorite place on the house, especially because the sound of the waves crashing was calming and made the mess on your mind seem less important. 

Shawn had always been flirtatious, it was part of your nature, so the whole freaking out act from your part was pure nonsense, but that wasn’t the reason why your mind was spinning.

No, it was because the love of your life was right outside looking out for you. The man of your dreams, Connor Brashier knew you like the palm of his hand and so did you. This whole infatuation with Shawn was because he was a world famous singer, not because you actually wanted something with him, because you knew he could never amount to the man who owned your heart. 

Still, you jumped when his hand made contact with your naked skin, again. 

“Hi Shawn, did you need anything?” You asked him in a fake, high pitched voice to mask your nervousness.

“You know I have a girlfriend, right?” He asked out of nowhere, making you almost choke.

“Yes, you know I have a boyfriend, right?” You retaliated, making Shawn chuckle. 

“Oh, trust me, you don’t let me forget that.” He shook his head. You couldn’t bare to look him in the eye so opted to focus on the swallow tattoo on his hand. 

A surge of courage ran through your veins as you mustered the courage to face Shawn. “Is it all in my head or have you been checking me out since we arrived?” 

Shawn chuckled nonchalantly, which you couldn’t decide if it was annoying or incredibly charming. “Oh, it’s been way longer than these couple of days,” His confession took you off guard, you were about to ask him what was going on in his mind but he continued. “This is not a confession about loving you, I wish I never laid my eyes on you. But I can’t help this fire that you ignite inside me.” 

You were taken aback as your body trembled with desire at his low voice and confession. “What about Camila? What about Connor?!”

“I love them both, that doesn’t mean I can’t want you.”

“Am I supposed to jump your bones now because I want to sleep with you? Have a one night stand and betray Connor?” 

Your tone threw Shawn off since it was tainted with hostility. “I’m not expecting you to sleep with me, I was answering your question.”

You turned around, not being able to look at Shawn anymore. Your breathing was picking up and you knew he had taken a step closer to you. “Stop with the touches, with the glances, respect your girlfriend and your friend.”

“Likewise.” Shawn hit back. 

“I’m not the one making suggestive comments or ogling you like a piece of meat!”

“Don’t play victim! You can cut the tension with a fucking knife so get off your high horse.” 

Both of your breathings had picked up, your eyes closed and didn’t realize you had taken two steps forward. 

You were standing so close to Shawn you could feel his breathing, but if you paid enough attention the voice of everyone in the backyard could be heard as well.

His head moved around, taunting your lips that were close enough to touch, but neither of you made the move. Your hands carefully found their home on his damp curls as his warm skin met yours. 

You knew you were too wet to resist him, but in that right moment you heard footsteps, indicating someone was on their way to the kitchen. Swiftly, you pushed Shawn and turned on the tap to throw some cold water on your face, trying to calm your breathing and hold back the tears that were threatening to spill. 

The person you least wanted to see appeared on the kitchen. Connor was standing with a worried look on his face, especially when he noticed the distressed state you were in. 

“Babe, are you okay? You have me worried.” Connor walked towards you and tenderly placed his palm on your cheek.

You faked a smile before answering. “Yes, honey. I woke up a bit dizzy, but everything’s okay now.” 

Shawn cleared his throat. “Yeah, she was a little pale when I found her, but she seems fine now.” His eyes were fixated on yours. 

“You wanna go lay down?” Connor asked fixing your hair, placing it behind your ears. 

You wanted deny his suggestion, but you didn’t have it in you to see facing Shawn and see Camila. “Yeah, I think it’d be best.”

Connor lovingly kissed your forehead. “Let’s go, we can catch up with Modern Family.”

“You don’t have to, you should be having fun with your friends.”

“I’ve seen them for months, I just want to be with you.”

You didn’t notice when Shawn left the kitchen. 

-

It was the last day on the Malibu house and the end of the trip couldn’t come soon enough. It was the last night before going home, since Shawn and Camila would be headed to Toronto while you and Connor stayed in California since both of you wanted to spend time with your families and had to get back to school.

Connor couldn’t help but notice something was off with you and it was easy to tell he wasn’t buying the whole “I'm not feeling good” bullshit. But it didn’t matter anymore, because chances were you would never see Shawn again, you wouldn’t cross paths with him or Camila, and you’d be able to focus on Connor, love him, cherish him and get rid of the guilt pooling your gut every time you saw him smiling at you. 

Everyone headed to the bonfire on the private beach of the house, but it was the last place where you wanted to be. 

Excusing yourself saying you were cold, you left a kiss on Connor’s hair before heading back inside. 

It took Shawn ten minutes to excuse himself saying the big lunch had taken a toll on him. 

It took him seconds to find you on the kitchen, quietly admiring the dark night. 

And you didn’t process when his arms were around your waist, turning you around to face him. 

This time you didn’t jump when his cold hand made contact with the inside of your thigh.

He didn’t hesitate to make you jump and walk you to the room he shared with his girlfriend. 

There wasn’t time or intention for soft touches or sweet kisses to build the atmosphere. No, the atmosphere had been building for days and you didn’t want to give your mind any second to doubt your actions when you knew your boyfriend was right outside laughing with his friends, not knowing he was being betrayed by two of the most important people on his life. 

A moan ripped trough Shawn’s throat as his tip made contact with your warmth. You didn’t waste anytime in start moving on top of him, placing your hands on his firm torso as he aided your movements. 

Shawn tried his best to not make any sounds, all the noises wanting to escape his mouth were muffled by your hand and yours were being trapped by your own teeth biting on your lower lip so hard you could taste the blood. 

The bliss was ethereal and both you and Shawn were sure you were able to touch the galaxy with your fingertips as an unremarkable high took over your sweaty bodies. Your body collapsed on top of his, both of your breathings were rapid and uneven. It took a minute for your mind to start spinning and realizing what had happened, but it wasn't enough to keep relishing the spasms still washing over your bodies. 

It took a few minutes for your legs to regain its function and that was the moment you stood up and without sparing a second glance to the person lying on the bed with a fucked look, both mentally and physically. Your body hastily removed itself from the comfort of the bed, completely ignoring the female clothing scattered on the floor and the open suitcase. 

You grabbed the first thing you saw in order to cover your naked body, but you didn’t realize it was a black Champion hoodie, impregnated with Gucci’s easily recognizable Made to Measure fragrance, otherwise known as Shawn’s smell that was known by everybody who had contact with him. 

He didn’t ask any questions, he just watched you leave the room and close the door. 

You knew the tears were coming because your vision became blurry, only reaching your room out of habit. But you didn’t expect the sight in front of you. 

Connor was sitting on the edge of the bed, somber look decorating his soft features and the puzzle he had been trying to deny and convince himself was on his head, made sense. All the weird behavior and awkward encounters clicked. 

And he didn’t need to look at the black hoodie to know it didn’t belong to him. 

[okayoonoh]

MARK’S FAMILY

a/n: i have a bit more time now since school is out! i hope to get as many things out as i can!

here’s the masterlist to all things nct dad related! go and check it out!

MARK LEE:

he has 2 kids, both boys. ethan lee is the oldest, 2 years later, eli lee was born.

ETHAN LEE: >> as a baby <<

a giggly little thing

he was honestly just a lowkey baby

like he wasn’t super energetic

he wasn’t super fussy

he was just lowkey

mark honestly was so nervous the entire first couple months of ethan’s life

he genuinely felt like he was doing everything wrong and was so scared that he would do something that would eventually hurt ethan

but you would reassure him that every new parent just needs to figure it out and everything will be okay

mark was still pretty nervous tho

ethan is the oldest of the kids born in his year

there’s only three of them

ten’s second son, shawn leechaiyapornkul and jaehyun’s daughter, jung lani

all three dads would come together as a joint baby sitting project

but honestly, ten and jaehyun went over to help mark and ease his nervousness

like shawn is ten’s second son, so even if ten doesn’t have it completely figured out, he at least has the experience

on the other hand, jaehyun has read a ton of parenting books and such so he knows a lot about the facts of the matter dealing with temperature of baby food, the right type of crib, the material of the baby’s clothes, etc.

jaehyun and ten would go to mark’s house a lot to help him out and teach him the ropes

(omg i have scenario ideas haha)

but a little snippet:

mark: okay, ten-hyung, he’s been crying for the last hour and i already fed, changed, and burped him and i’ve been trying to get him to sleep for a while now... what do i do?

ten: stop bouncing for a sec and hold him. *walks over so his face is level with ethan’s face* ethan look! *takes out a toy to distract the baby*

ethan: *gnaws on his fist but stops crying, his attention on the toy now.*

mark: how did you know?

ten: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  all experience, dude.

(another scenario)

mark: okay ethan, time for your bath!

jaehyun: waIT STOP

mark: ???

jaehyun: did you check the temperature??? you can’t put ethan in the same temperature that you bathe in... babies can be sensitive towards this... *puts his hand in the water* oh my goD! mark! this is way too hot!! turn down the temperature!

(oh man imma have fun with these three haha)

ethan was born first 

shawn was born next

and lani was born last

they were all born rather close to each other tho

like coincidentally, they were all born like within 30 days of each other lol

ethan was born 2 weeks late (i know... poor you...)

shawn was born roughly on time

and lani was born like 2 weeks early

since they were all around the same age and such, jaehyun, ten, and mark found that as a reason to all get together and help each other

(it was more mark freaking out and ten and jaehyun helping him out haha)

just give mark sometime with ten and jaehyun and they’ll make sure he knows what to do :)

>> as a child <<

started to become a little more active

he’s so lovable

like he’s so magnetic

so many of the kids are just so drawn to him it’s weird

like even he doesn’t really know why but people just always want to be his friend

he���s so talented and so dedicated when he puts his mind into something

ethan is such a hard worker

he’s best friends with ten’s second son, shawn leechaiyapornkul and jaehyun’s daughter, jung lani

they all remain best friends basically for life

the three of them are pretty clever for kids

like they make really good decisions

they won’t go and buy the high quality toys that are expensive

they’ll buy the budget toys bc there’s more of them

the three of them all play well together

shawn is really shy and was really scared to try new things

he wasn’t really adventerous

ethan and lani decided it was their life mission to make shawn more social and adventurous

most of the things they all did together was to try and get shawn to try more things and be less scared of not scary things

and he loves it!

ethan is like the leader of the group

as the oldest, the other two tend to just follow him

ethan is the same way towards his little brother

like at first, he was awkward like mark was

tbh ethan is super awkward around babies lol

like he doesn’t know the right way to talk with them

he’s okay with his younger brother

he didn’t really know how to interact with eli when he was an infant

ethan gets better when eli is a toddler

he starts to gain an interest in rapping and stuff around this age

mark shows him some of his old videos and such

and he’s honestly so entranced

he thinks mark’s rapping is the coolest thing in the entire world (bc it is)

mark starts to teach him as much as he can

and ethan is just so interested in all of it

ethan spends almost all of his free time writing lyrics and such 

mark helps him out

ethan most definitely can speak english too

like mark made it a point that he wants his kids to be bilingual lol

ethan is just as passionate about canada as mark is

honestly? ethan looks like a mix between you and mark

but his personality is all mark

when he hits puberty, his voice is squeakier than average lol

he still raps through it tho

he doesn’t let the squeaky voice make him feel insecure at all lol

>> as a teen/adult <<

becomes such an amazing rapper it’s crazy

he doesn’t join a boy group

he becomes a solo artist

he’s honestly just as busy a someone in a boy group tho

like not only did he get his personality from mark

he also got his busy schedule :,(

this was unintentional

but ethan is such a good rapper that they just filled up his schedule

lani becomes a solo artist herself and they collab together a lot

like they collab together so much that at this point, they should just say that their in a group together lol

ethan is so multitalented

like his rap style isn’t limited to just one

like he can do all kinds of different styles

he can spit bars

he can deliver a super strong rap

he can even rap in a chill way

ethan’s voice is honestly so calming too

like he has one of those voices that you can just listen to for hours on end

his on stage persona is so intimidating 

but his normal personality?

he’s soft™

around lani? even softer™

tbh

like lani and ethan just decide that they’re together one day

they both probably danced around that topic because they both were scared that getting together would ruin their friendship

like lani didn’t want to confess because she didn’t think ethan liked her like that

and ethan vice versa 

ethan would probably be writing a song and he would call lani to be there bc she was his muse

and like they found themselves super close with each other and stuff

then they were like “look, let’s just start dating, wth.”

and they do

and they become the power couple of the century™

lol they probably were super scared to tell shawn

but when they did he’ll be like “FINALLY”

and lani and ethan were like ???

and shawn was like “y’all. I’m hella dense, but even I WAS ABLE to see that there was something going on between you two.”

ethan and lani were both hella relieved and their status as a couple didn’t mess with their friendship with each other and with shawn at all

anyway

ethan gets really famous bc he’s just such a good rapper and such

and he maintains his relationship with his best friends

and he also supports the heck out of eli

omg eli would like make a dance cover to every single one of ethan’s songs

and ethan and eli would dance together a lot

they were super good siblings

if ethan needed choreo, the only person he would go to is eli. periodt.

ethan is honestly such a good and awesome person :) 

ELI LEE: >> as a baby <<

he was so chic as a baby

like he would give you guys smiles and stuff

but the smiles only lasted a quick second

then his face is straight again

everyone was lowkey like “why is he so mad at us all of the time”

eli wasn’t mad

that was just his face lol

he was a rather bouncy baby

like he was definitely happiest when he was in his bouncer

mark was better this time, dw

he definitely wasn’t perfect

but the training ten and jaehyun put him through prepared him for this

eli also tended to smile a lot when ethan’s in the room

and mark is definitely happy to have a little helper

even tho ethan was still a little young when eli was born

he was still a huge help

like if eli was crying

ethan would walk over and hit him reassuringly

and eli would stop crying!

but it was out of shock and not comfort lol

it’s okay bc it gave mark enough time to get over there :)

eli honestly was the biggest momma’s boy

like the first day you were gone the whole day

eli couldn’t take it

he cried basically the entire day

eli loves mark, but he just loves you so much more for some reason lol

even tho he looked mad 25/8

he was such a pretty baby

like he was all you with mark’s eyes

those rare times eli did smile, oh man

the universe stopped when you saw that precious smile

he was a really sweet baby regardless of what people would say :,)

one of the quickest ways to make eli really happy is to put him in his bouncer

turn on some music

and boom

happy baby right there

mark is really good at playing with his boys

like both ethan and eli had such an active imagination

and mark was right up there with them

when eli was stomping and walking around, that’s when mark shined as a dad haha

eli is happy sunshine even tho he has one of the most severe cases of rbf lol

>> as a child <<

still pretty chic

like nothing really phases him

he looks scary or mean

but he’s honestly really sweet and nice

people would be really scared to approach him tbh 

bc he just looked so mad

but the second he opened his mouth?

happy boy™

omg but if someone was talking crap about eli?

ethan would have none of it

ethan will defend his brother until the day he dies. 

he’s best friends with yangyang’s oldest son, ryu wei

they’re born the same year

eli and wei both love love love hip hop

they also both are so talented at dancing

like when you watch like those dance company things (like the MILLENNIUM DANCE COMPLEX) and you see the little kids?

that’s eli and wei

their personalities compliment each other well

like their both goofballs

and they both work really hard

and they both have a huge passion for dancing!

omg eli is definitely the shy one between the two

okok imagine

it’s eli and wei’s first super huge dance comeptition

and they both have major solos / a duet part of the dance together

the entire family is there

(including all of nct and their kids lol)

(they totally take up half of the theater but that’s besides the point)

wei is HYPED

but eli is super duper nervous

to the point where eli doesn’t want to go onstage anymore

and even tho wei reassures him, eli is still nervous

wei knows exactly what to do tho

he goes and grabs ethan and takes ethan to eli

and after a quick pep talk and such, eli is all ready to go out

eli and wei both KILL it

they do so freaking well so like ofc they won :)

(without a doubt nct would be so freaking loud lol)

but it was genuinely so good!

eli is full of so much talent

but even so, he’s not lazy

both ethan and eli have such a good work ethic

they work hard to see their goals and it pays off :)

>> as a teen/adult <<

his face remains the same

like his stoic exterior is what makes him so popular

his facial expressions are honestly 10/10

he becomes a dancer

and he’s oh so good

he is another one of the instructors at youngchul and kaleb’s place

eli and wei are the freestyle teachers

like eli can do practically any style

but he feels like freestyling is the purest form of creative expression in dance

lol probably with his stoic expression, everyone thinks he’s the “bad cop”

but it’s the other way around

and like wei isn’t really the bad cop

eli is like “okay! good work guys! let’s take a quick break then start again!”

wei is like “okay! love the energy so let’s all keep it going with no break. we’ll take a break when our legs feel like their gonna fall off, okay?”

eli was probably casted a lot since he’s been in the dancing scene as soon as he could walk

and like he genuinely considered joining a group

like he knew how to rap a bit from practicing with ethan and such

and tbh, eli thought he would do it bc he thought that it would make mark “more” proud of him

but mark would tell him to do whatever he wanted!

like regardless if he joined a group or stayed as a dancer or heck, even get an office job

mark would be so proud

so eli decided (probably on a coinflip lol) that he’ll dedicate his time as a full time dancer

and honestly? he’s living his best life

like best best life

he gets to do his favorite thing everyday

he’s surrounded by family and friends?

eli is thriving

he also is super duper supportive of all of the other dancers in the group

like if a kid wants to dance for fun, eli and wei will teach them!

omg eli for sure inherited mark’s flexibility lol

if eli is really feeling the vibe of a song and wants to go off he’ll throw in the splits 99% of the time teehee

like all of his talent and hard work is shown through every performance

eli is honestly pretty awkward tho lol

like onstage and in front of a camera? he looks like the most confident person in the world

then offstage and someone compliments him? 

poor baby gets so shy haha

he calls you everyday

he’s still the biggest momma’s boy lol

eli is honestly just thriving :))

---

and there’s mark’s fam! i hope you guys liked it!

i have a ton of ideas for a joint baby sitting project between mark, ten, and jaehyun! it should be a ton of fun to write!

let me know if you have any requests! my request box is open :))

- amy <3

[yukiwrites]

Mages, Sensitive about their ages

Thanks for the support as always @xpegasusuniverse! This was so much fun to write, I hope you like it!

Summary: Back in their home worlds, Lysithea, Hayato and Ricken all had to deal with similar circumstances regarding their ages. That didn’t stop after they arrived in Askr, but now, perhaps, things could go differently...

Commission info HERE and HERE!

______________________________

The order of Heroes was easily the most diverse part of Askr -- with what amount of Heroes hailing from all sorts of backgrounds who also bore strikingly distinct personalities. There was always something interesting happening; be it new discoveries, friendships or even conflicts.

However, Heroes with similar personalities and circumstances were bound to be summoned and drawn to one another as well, though through different situations that were not always pleasant to witness.

At that very moment, three similar discussions were happening at the training grounds’ vicinity. On one side, Claude was using Lysithea’s head as an armrest, snorting at the girl’s squirms as she tried to push him away.

“How many- ugh, get off me- how many times must I tell you NOT to use my head as an armrest! Could it be that you can’t take this whole situation we’re in seriously?!” Lysithea used all of her strength to push her classmate’s arm off, but he was much stronger than he looked -- and even if he did look the part, physical strength wasn’t Lysithea’s forte.

“C’mon, what’s there to be mad about? I thought you were a mature lady who wouldn’t mind lending a helpful hand -- or head -- to an exhausted ally in need.” The taller boy muffled a laugh as he peeked under his arm to Lysithea’s increasingly red face.

She puffed her cheeks and pointed her index straight to his nose. “Look here, you- I know what you’re trying to pull here and-”

On another side, another pair walked and bickered -- or one should say, one was bickering while the other was laughing.

“You know the BEST part of having been summoned to this strange, strange land, Hayato? I’m free from your magic! You can’t throw anything at me with the intent to hurt or push me away due to the summoning contract.” Azama threw his head back in laughter, enjoying this new freedom of being able to pester Hayato whenever he pleased without worrying about being blown away by a tornado.

The boy covered both ears with his hands, groaning loudly. “Who’s the kid here now, Azama? Between the two of us-”

“AHA, you said it!”

“No, wait-”

Yet on another side, another boy threw a complaint to his ally.

“Robin, I’m telling you stop pestering me!” Ricken stomped across the training grounds, being followed by an amused yet worried tactician. “Yes, I had breakfast, yes I brushed my teeth and- wait, why am I even explaining myself to you? I’m a full fledged Hero and I’m gonna prove to everyone that I can hold my own!”

“Wait, your hat’s all crooked, Ricken. Here you go, let me help.” The tactician patted the young mage’s shoulder before stepping in front of him to adjust the comically large hat as the boy grew increasingly redder.

“For the last time, I’m not a child!” Three different voices resonated at the same time, echoing one another to the point of startling their companions into looking around and noticing the similar situations happening around them.

The first one to react was Azama. “Oh, oh, ohohoho! So you had your little young’un friend and your widdle girlfriend here too, Hayato? Oh, this is a field day.”

“Oh my, that boy really does look like you, Ricken. Look, he even has the same hair colo-”

“BOY? Am I to be insulted by those whom I don’t even know?!” Hayato hissed, much like a kitten being cornered by two bigger animals, as he looked from Robin to Azama.

“What did you just say?! Widd- Girlfri-” Lysithea stuttered, pointing a shaky index at Azama, completely forgetting Claude’s arm on top of her head. “I’m going- I’m going to-” Magical energy started to gather around her, startling her classmate a step away from her.

“Wow, her hair’s floating- her eyes are getting all glowy-” Ricken narrated, enjoying the frankly obscene amount of power coming out of a single girl.

Robin flinched, immediately pulling Ricken back and yelling to Azama. “Duck! If this hits you, you’re toast!”

But the monk was unfazed. “What can she do? The contract is absolute! Believe me, I’ve been in much more dangerous situations than at the other side of a little girl’s wrath, hah!” He sneered, slapping Hayato’s back right after. “You two sure suit each other, don’t you? ‘Magical prodigies’ is what they’re calling these days, right?”

“Oh, buddy, that one wasn’t cool,” Claude muttered as cold sweat ran down his back. Azama had just pressed two very dangerous buttons on Lysithea.

“Prodigy? Don’t mock me!” The girl’s feet floated off the ground as she lifted her hand, entirely able and willing to shoot the strongest of her Dark Spikes magic on that man, if only as a warning. “The contract prevents us from DIRECTLY harming each other, yes, but it says nothing of falling debris, does it now?” She smirked as she looked up to the place Azama was standing under -- a column that held part of the ceiling of the open grounds.

The color left Azama’s face. “Whoops-”

“Hold your staff, priest -- you will need it!” Lysithea moved her hand to release the magic, but something caught her from behind -- from under her armpits -- and lifted her like one does a misbehaving kitten.

“Make a run for it!” Claude held Lysithea back, breaking her concentration as the power swirling around her popped as though a mishandled balloon.

“No need to tell me twice!” Azama held his staff and dashed away with a speed Hayato had only seen a few times.

“Let me- unhand me this instant, Claude!” Lysithea kicked her feet and struggled as Claude simply lifted her up like an infant, though he wore a disapproving frown.

“Alright, I’ll put you down, but I need to be straight with you, Lysithea.” His tone suddenly changed as Lysithea’s feet touched the ground. “I know that guy went overboard and all, but if I hadn’t stepped in, you would’ve destroyed half of the training grounds! If you don’t want to be called a kid, then don’t act like one when someone does something you dislike.”

“What do you know about acting properly?! That man offended me and I am in my entire right to demand reparations!”

“Hey, arguing while your head’s hot will only make you yell nonsense, young lady.” Robin approached beside a bewildered Ricken, taking Claude’s side. “Azama can be a difficult character to handle, but I must agree with Claude on this: you have no right to destroy a facility that not only everyone uses but that also belongs to a completely different kingdom than yours.”

“Well, not that it would’ve been okay if it were back home, either, but the Monastery does get pretty beaten up sometimes from the magical explosions and stuff…” Claude scratched his cheek, shifting his gaze from the tactician to his classmate. “Anyway, food for thought, kiddo. Don’t go exploding anybody here, you hear?” He ruffled Lysithea’s hair before jumping away under her increasingly loud hisses.

“Get away from me!” She took two steps back, panting in rage. “How dare both of you lecture me on something you have no understanding of! I have complete control of my magic and I would have only used it to scare that annoying man! I’m not some stupid child that destroys things in the middle of a tantrum, I’ll have you know!” She shouted, the volume of her voice not really matching her short size. “And you don’t even know me, so refrain from directing your words to me!” She pointed to Robin, who immediately raised both hands in defeat.

“Maybe we’ll be the targets this time. What do you say about a tactical retreat?” Robin snorted under a smirk, stealing a glance at Claude, who nodded while wearing a similar expression.

“Couldn’t have said it better! Bye, children, don’t break anything without adult supervision, alright?” He winked before sprinting out of the place with Robin in tow, their chuckles echoing through the corridors.

“COWARDS! Come back here, you- you- ughh!” Lysithea stomped her foot on the ground to release her frustration, breathing heavily.

“Whoa, that was so cool!” Ricken approached without restraint, his eyes sparkling with respect. “You made all three of those bullies run away with their tails between their legs with only your magical energy! How did you do that? You seem to be the same age as me, but you have so much more magic…”

“If you are about to say that I am a prodigy, I suggest you swallow those words back!” She lashed out at him without missing a breath, her eyes still burning with rage.

“Why would you say that? Being called a magical genius isn’t an insult.” Hayato crossed his arms and lifted his chin.

“It is an insult to all the hard work I put into acquiring my knowledge!” She huffed, shaking her head to put her thoughts in order. “I won’t allow people who only see me for my age to tell me I’m ‘talented’ and call it a day! I worked hard to be where I am and if anyone tries to disregard that, they’ll face the pointy end of my Dark Spikes!”

Hayato scratched his chin, pondered on Lysithea’s words for a beat and nodded. “Well said. I can certainly relate to those feelings, though I am naturally talented on top of a hard worker.”

“Humph, good for you, then.” She looked away from him to the eager Ricken beside her. “What’re you looking at? Are you also ‘naturally gifted’ and snobby?”

“Snob-” Hayato flinched as Ricken shook his head and smiled.

“Uh, not at all! I’m actually fairly ordinary, so knowing that you got that strong by hard work alone is amazing! Especially since I can understand how it feels to be treated like a kid despite being able to hold my own.”

Lysithea let out her breath, finally calming down. “That’s good. I’m sorry for speaking harshly to you just now, I was still a bit on edge.”

“That’s completely okay!” Ricken smiled broadly. “Hey, can I stick with you from now on? I wanna learn more magic to prove myself to everyone, and you’re a shining example I want to follow!”

“As long as you don’t hold me back, I don’t mind helping you here and there, sure.” Lysithea nodded, then looked at Hayato. “Are you gonna keep staring at us or do you have something to say?”

The young diviner frowned deeply, but then shook his head instead. “... No, I was actually going to ask the same thing as Ricken -- since the three of us all share similar circumstances on top of being mages, I figured we could learn from each other.”

“That’s not a bad idea as long as we’re all bettering ourselves.” Lysithea threw her hair back as she started to walk out of the training grounds. “Merric’s magic class is about to begin, so shall we head out?”

Hayato and Ricken exchanged glances before nodding. “Yeah, let’s go!” 

[shoyodon]

Extras

𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐔! 𝐒𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐱 𝐟!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Words: 1.6k

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: None

A/N: My first piece, enjoy 🥺❤️

Finding work fresh out of a college for the performing arts was never easy. Your resume was decent considering you had a good relationship with your directors during that time and they were able to slip small opportunities to be in plays or movies to you, but they were all small parts. Extras in the background to fill space, and as grateful as you were for those opportunities to grow your resume until the role of a lifetime fell into your lap, it was starting to get tedious. Another role, same as the others, had been offered to you, “Girl 6” they so gracefully named you. You were to sit in the background of a scene where the two protagonists finally share their first major moment together, the scene where they finally realize their feelings for each other just to run in circles around them for another hour, then to confess. Your job was easy, talk idly to the other extras to make the scene feel busier. The thought of having to share conversations with other actors aspiring to be in the positions as the title leads, makes you cringe internally. Wrapping a scarf around your neck and flinging it over your shoulder boredly, you let out a huff, grabbing the small purse that rested on the coat rack near the door and tugging its strap over your head, leaving it to lay limply across your chest. You open the door, heading out and locking it behind you before finding your way to the train station before the shoot started. 

As you arrived the hair and makeup team got to work, not much was changed from the way you had arrived and they pushed you off to the costume department. After you were dressed appropriately, in “20 year old university student” attire, you were escorted along with a group of people to the filming location. It was outdoors, shabby metal picnic tables were scattered around. Everyone was quickly assigned a location to sit and a role to play. You took your place under one of the large trees situated closest to where the leads would be settled, everyone else scattered amongst the tables and trees. You were handed a messenger bag with two books inside, to make yourself seem busy you pulled one book out to pretend to read, long beyond the book was empty and nameless. An airy chuckle left your lips as you flipped through cover to cover to see if the prop team had put any notes in it, but there was nothing but white pages. As you flipped through the sound of crunching grass and leaves got louder and a figure covered up the sun that you once bathed in. “A good read?” the figure asks softly. His voice was like honey, sweetness oozing off of his words. “If you're blind, I suppose.” sarcasm laced your tone and he smiled, taking his place next to you under the tree. As he sat you were able to get a good look at him. 

He had short grey hair, a tuft of it sticking up and flittering as the wind blew, his eyes were wide and had a beautiful hazel color in them that made your knees weak. A mole was placed under his left eye, and he had a wide smile on his lips, which, out of all of his features, looked the softest. One of his eyebrows cocked at your silence, “You okay? Do I have something on my face?” he asks, placing his hands on his cheeks. “A-Ah-No you don’t, sorry..” You whispered, fearing if you had spoken any louder your voice would crack. “Hm..Okay...well i’m Sugawara-I’m supposed to be your boyfriend in this scene..Is this your first time doing something like this?” he inquires, to which you shake your head. “I’m Y/n and...No-actually..I’ve had quite a few of these roles.” “Really? That’s so cool! This is-” “Positions! We’re starting!” a voice yells, he gives a small, bashful smile and scoots closer to you, in his own bag he pulls out a notebook and pen. As he settles his things in his lap he scoots closer once more until your legs are touching, and wraps a firm hand around your waist.

 As an actress, physical contact between your cast is a common occurrence, the first couple times you had to initiate any type of contact between your scene mates was embarrassing, but since then it’s become comfortable, intimate scenes were like a breeze for you, however, something as simple as Sugawara wrapping his arm around your waist made your face heat up, the tips of your ears dusted a light pink, and your body tensed. Suga felt your body tighten at the contact and leaned down a bit. “If you're uncomfortable I can scoot away and we can just hold hands or something..” he mutters, his breath fanning the shell of your ear. You simply squeaked out a no, and inwardly bashed yourself over the head for getting so embarrassed over something as simple as this. He nodded and rested his back against the tree, seconds passed before the directors called the scene and, swallowing down this seemingly new sense of nervousness you’ve never felt before, initiated a conversation. That was what you were here for anyways. You just needed to talk to him for five to ten minutes maybe, if the actors were able to get this down in one take, then you’d leave and never see him again. That thought, even though it was meant to comfort you, made you feel an uncomfortable sense of dread. Mentally sighing you turned to him, changing up your body language and smiling softly. “So this book is really good.” you giggle, causing him to snort in response. “Oh yeah? What's your favorite chapter?” He asks, amusing your attempt at forming a conversation that the two of you could maintain the entire scene, Mindlessly you flip through the pages onto another, identical blank page and point to it, your face lighting up as if the most interesting thing was written amongst the paper. 

You begin to speak to Suga about how great it was, but the cute expression spread over your features made butterflies fill his stomach. It was his turn to get flustered. His cheeks tinted a lighter, barely noticeable shade of pink as he took in the look on your face. He hadn’t even noticed you stopped talking to stare up into his eyes. Silence overtook the two of you until he cleared his throat, “u-uh...anyways...the chapter..” he mutters looking at the blank book, and you nod, turning to the book. “So it's about some kids with crazy superpowers and some old guy that's really buff but only sometimes.” “Only sometimes?” “only sometimes.” he laughs and takes the pen out of his lap, with his free hand he draws in his notebook, you lean over to see but he nudges you playfully. “Not yet!” “fine fine..” you murmur, still trying to peek subtly “I can see you, you know..” he says, setting the pen down before picking up the notebook to show you the terrible, poorly drawn semi stick figure man, hes old, a long disheveled beard being used to symbolize his age, hunched over with a cane in one hand, however half of his body is super buff and detailed. 

You cover your mouth to muffle the laugh that escapes it, he snickers at your reaction, taking the time to drink you down all over again while you laugh. He pulls his eyes away reluctantly, not wanting to make things awkward again. As you compose yourself again you take his notebook and pen, scribbling on it “Whatcha drawing?” he asks softly, trying to peek just as you had before. “Patience..” “You're one to talk.” he jokes. With an eye roll and a small huff you ignore him, continuing your work, looking up at him every so often to notice him staring back at you, then to immediately snap his head away as if he wasn't. You set the pen down as he had before and turned the paper to him, his eyebrows lifted a bit and he cocked his head to the side slightly. “Is that me?” he asked. You bobbed your head and he let out a breathy laugh in astonishment. “That's so cool! You’re really talented..” he praises, taking the notebook from your hands to admire it. “You should teach me how to draw eventually-I mean I’m pretty good already but a few tips wouldn't hurt..” He teases. “Mmm...I’m not sure lessons are expensive..” “Name your price,” he replies confidently. “Take me to lunch after this?” you propose quickly, before the confidence you had in yourself falters. He nods quickly, his faux confidence he had seconds before melting away at your request, stuttering out a quiet, “Y-yeah of course- s-sure..” you shoot him  a sympathetic smile and hesitantly rest your head on his shoulder, mumbling “Perfect.” under your breath. 

As you settle in your spot, you finally notice the deafening silence surrounding the both of you. Nervously your eyes shoot towards the director, who has a hand clasped over his mouth to suppress his cackles. “We had to call a cut- you guys aren’t supposed to be the one looking like you're falling in love for the first time!” he teases, laughter lacing every word, the cast and crew now laughing along with him. You and Suga both apologize profusely, the director waving it off as nothing.

After that day, Sugawara took on his favorite role yet. The role of a doting, supportive boyfriend, who made every day feel like you were the lead role of your own romance film.

[melancholicumsomnia]

[FIC] A Little Miracle In The Volume Part 2

A/N: Here’s the second part of my fic contribution to PEDRO PASCAL APPRECIATION WEEK 2021! Part 2 focuses on the #ppaw2021 theme of the day, Favorite TV show Pedro starred in. Obviously, I still loved Pedro best in The Mandalorian, but his performance as Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones was absolutely exquisite!

Thank you to @pedrohub​ for the incentive to write this little fic. To @pedrocentric​, here is Part 2!

PREVIOUS PARTS

Part 1

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A Little Miracle In The Volume

By

Rory

Part Two

Pedro was limping back to his trailer, struggling against the urge to massage his aching groin. He had just come from the Volume to film a scene with Gina Carano, who plays Cara Dune, and Misty Rosas, who was playing the Ugnaught Kuiil. It was a simple scene actually, requiring their characters to ride through the rugged terrain of Nevarro in order to make their rendezvous with Carl Weather’s Greef Karga. In the pre-vis, they were going to ride blurrgs. In reality, the blurrgs turned out to be mechanical bulls, but with a wider girth. 

Brendan and Lateef had seen the dubious looks he was throwing at the machine and they couldn’t help laughing.

“Come on, man!” Lateef said in between wheezes. “There’s nothing to worry about. That thing won’t buck.”

“Hey! You can’t be Mando just by wearing the armor,” Brendan then goaded him. “You must ride the blurrg. Both Lateef and I have done it, so can you.”

Pedro let out a groan and gritted his teeth at that memory. Even his back was starting to ache in sympathy with his groin. “I guess I’m starting to feel my age. I really need to work out more.”

With his trailer looming not so far from him at last, he quickened his pace, wanting that ice pack he had his assistant prepare for him in the fridge. 

Before he could reach it, however, Pedro’s eyes were drawn to Werner Herzog’s trailer nearby. The German director was seated in front of his trailer beneath a beach umbrella, the Child on his lap. He was watching something on his iPad, which was propped up on its stand on top of a small table. Pedro heard snickers and he whirled to see the puppeteers Tamara Woodard, Kan, and Trevor with remote controls in their hands, hiding behind the crates. 

Deb Chow happened to be passing by and, when she saw the trio, she remarked, “You guys are the worst! You should really stop feeding that old man’s fantasies!”

“We just want to keep him happy,” Kan answered, flicking a knob so that Pedro saw Grogu’s ears go up. Sagely, he added, “We all know the stories about him and Klaus Kinski. We’re not taking any chances.” The others nodded in grim agreement, causing Deb to roll her eyes, mutter “I give up!” under her breath, and march off.

Curiosity getting the better of him in the end, Pedro cautiously approached that imperious figure. “Hi, what are you guys watching?”

Werner glanced briefly back at him and said dryly, “Oh, it’s you.” Going back to the TV show playing on his iPad, he replied, “Since you are playing our stoic bounty hunter, I thought I should explore your previous works. The Child and I were going to watch Narcos, but since it’s about Pablo Escobar, it might be too violent for the little one. So I figured the best option would be your episode in Game of Thrones.”

“Uhm, I don’t think Game of Thrones is also appropriate viewing for a kid that young,” Pedro commented in turn, only to realize what he just said. Wait! I’m talking about a puppet, not a real kid. Oh my God! This delusion is contagious! Grogu looked up then and gave him a sweet smile. But, then again, he’s so cute! Awww!

Werner’s lips pursed in a disapproving pout. “Yes, I know. I was pouring myself some iced tea when that scene of you in the brothel came on. I couldn’t cover the baby’s eyes fast enough, so he was able to catch an eyeful of ample bosoms and buttocks.” He glanced down at the baby sitting on his lap, wagging a finger. “Remember what Grandpa Werner told you. When you see a scene like that, you must never watch, you must never listen.”

Great! Pedro couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes, just as Deb had done. Now, you’re quoting Grizzly Man at him. 

At Werner’s remark, Grogu gazed up at Pedro again. There was no mistaking the now lecherous, toothy grin on his little face and the enthusiastic bobbing up and down of his brows.

Scowling, Pedro turned to the mischievous puppeteers. He mouthed out to them, “Guys! What the fuck?”

In reply, the puppeteers gave him thumbs up and wide, conniving smirks. 

“I should say though,” Werner then began thoughtfully, “I am very impressed with your performance here. Oberyn Martell, a proud, head-strong, and seductive prince desiring revenge for his poor sister… In other actors, the arrogance would overwhelm their performance, making him a figure to be detested or, worse, a caricature of similar characters in past films. But, no, behind that façade is kindness and gentleness. It’s because of your eyes, I think, and your voice. You’re speaking with a Latino accent in this one. You are from Mexico?”

“No, Chile actually.”

“You have a splendid way of expressing your emotions through tone of voice. Very few actors can do that. Brilliant performance, young man,” Werner gave that reluctant praise. “I can see why they chose you to play the Mandalorian. Even if you are not wearing the armor, you can still carry the character on your voice alone. How old were you when you did this?” “

“Uh, 38, 39, I guess.”

“And how old are you now?”

“I’m 43.” Pedro was not sure where this line of questioning was going.

“And it is only now that Hollywood has taken notice of your talent.” The German director shook his head ruefully. “Hollywood has become too reliant on the so-called ‘star power.’ I dread to think about the other precious little stars who are going unnoticed.”

Pedro was touched by Werner’s words. “It’s okay, sir. I’ve paid my dues, done my share of waiting on tables as a struggling actor. In fact, after working on Game of Thrones, I couldn’t find a single job. It took months before I got a recurring role on another TV show, The Mentalist.”

“Now, you have made it at last.”

“I’m not letting this current success get to my head. I know just how fickle Hollywood can be. To be very honest, I still don’t have that confidence. All this…” He raised his hands to the media campus surrounding them. “…All the work that I’ve been doing in the past few months, it still seems like a dream to me.”

“And that’s a very good attitude to have. Always be true to yourself. Show people who you truly are.” A wry, fond smile formed on Werner’s lips. “I suddenly remembered Klaus Kinski. He had been extremely difficult. He was a man with serious mental health problems. But he never sought to disguise his true self. It made it very hard for people like me, his family, and other people around him. Despite his foul temper, his brutality, it is that frank, straight-in-your-face honesty, I think that’s what I admired most about him.” 

Pedro chuckled. “At least, I’m not hot-tempered like Klaus Kinski.”

A towering hulk of a man marched onscreen on the iPad and Werner gasped. “That is no man! That’s a grizzly bear!”

“That’s Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, one of the world’s strongest men. He played Ser Gregor Clegane, aka ‘The Mountain Who Rides’, in Game of Thrones.”

At that moment, a bright idea suddenly came into Pedro’s head. Should I dare ask him now? He did just praise me after all. Maybe he is already starting to accept me. Okay, I will!

“Uhm, Mr. Herzog?” Pedro began shyly. “Since you liked my past performances and appreciate my worth as an actor, may you please allow me to spend more time with the baby?”

Werner turned to him sharply, his eyes flashing like daggers. “I appreciate your worth as an actor, true. But it absolutely has nothing to do with caring for this baby.”

Pedro was crestfallen. Still, he persisted, “Sir, please. I promise you that I will and can take good care of the baby. My sister Javiera…she often entrusts the care of her kids to me.”

“But they are not your children! You are a bachelor.” Werner looked him straight in the eye. “How could you be a father to this Child when you aren’t one?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, sir, this Child is a puppet.”

“Then how can you commit to playing a father when you cannot immerse yourself in the fantasy?”

“But how can I commit when you’re keeping the Child all to yourself?”

“I have only three episodes to do in this TV show. I want to make the most of this time I have with him. We have just started filming. You have an entire season to bond with him!”

“No, I don’t! I still have to finish my commitments with Wonder Woman 1984. I only have a single episode with the Child this season, so my time here is short!”

Because the two men were arguing heatedly, none of them noticed that the Child was still watching the episode on the iPad. He was staring enrapt as the trial by combat between Oberyn Martell and the Mountain commenced. Many times, Grogu would look closely at Oberyn’s face and then gaze up admiringly at Pedro.

But then, the Mountain struck back with a vicious blow, knocking out Oberyn’s teeth. As the Child watched in growing horror, the Mountain placed his fingers over Oberyn’s eyes and pressed down.

Both Pedro and Werner were shocked when Grogu let out a high-pitched scream, his eyes wide and waving his little arms frantically. A quick glance at the iPad and Pedro realized why Grogu was in a state of mortal terror.

Before Werner could stop him, Pedro scooped the distraught Child up and started rocking him, patting his back. Grogu kept shaking his little head, rubbing his brow over the soft cloth of the cape hanging above Pedro’s collarbone.

“Sssh! Don’t cry, Grogu,” Pedro whispered soothingly in his ear, being careful that Werner did not hear the Child’s name. “It’s just a TV show. As you can see, I’m okay. He never hurt me.” To his relief, his gentle reassurances gradually calmed the Child down.

Still stunned to silence, Werner could only watch with mouth agape as Pedro placed Grogu back on his lap. To his credit, the Child raised his arms to him, wanting more hugs. Despite his longing, Pedro just gave the little one a gentle smile and a pat on the head.

“Stop watching my past works with the Child,” Pedro scolded the German filmmaker. “None of them are appropriate for kids, except for that one Touched By An Angel episode. I wouldn’t even recommend The Great Wall because he might get scared of the Tao Tei monsters.”

Having given the final word, Pedro limped off to his trailer to get that ice pack and some much-needed rest.

Neither man noticed the perplexed group of puppeteers behind them, all of them staring down at their remote controls. Kan even took to giving his controls little shakes.

When their fellow puppeteer Jason Matthews came over, Trevor asked him, “Hey, Jason! Were you controlling the puppet just now?”

“No, I was in a meeting with Dave.”

Tamara interrupted, “Did you install a mic on the kid because we just heard him scream?”

Jason stared back at them. “What mic? You know that any baby noises will be added by the sound guys later.”

Kan gripped a startled Jason’s arms. “We saw the Child move…by itself! And he also screamed, like a real baby!”

Jason grabbed Kan’s hands and slowly lowered them. “Get a grip, will ya? It’s probably just a minor malfunction. Get the puppet from Mr. Herzog and we’ll check it out.”

“But…but…”

“No buts! You shouldn’t have been playing with it to begin with. You AND Mr. Herzog.”

The puppeteers then walked off, leaving his confused crew behind. 

“But…but…we did see the Child move by itself!” they argued back feebly.

TO BE CONTINUED

[screensirenfic]

The Grandest Of Sins - Chapter 1 - Where It Begins

“Basque Grand. The Iron Metal Alchemist.”

Harsh words in a raspy tone echoed through the night like a herald’s call and a death sentence both; though either would be a fair description for the soon-to-be-late State Dog. 

“I remember his face…”

A softer voice replied, slender fingertips running over the smooth print of a severe moustache over an even harder face.

“Weapons expert. Proficient at hand-to-hand. He won’t go down easy.”

She listed in what was almost a warning; pale lavender eyes flashing violet beneath the shadow of a hood so thick, even the moonlight struggled to peer beneath.

Still; her scarred companion didn’t threat, offering her a chuckle and the closest thing to a smile she could get from the usually stoic man.

“None of God’s work ever is. It’s our duty to do it just the same.”

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“The City that even God forgot…”

Captain Roy Mustang half-muttered to himself as the red sun rose over Xerxes; the crumbling towers almost appearing like teeth of some long dead beast rising up from the desert.

It was said to be a cursed place, where even God had feared to tread, abandoned by its people long ago through death or some other misfortune.

Over the centuries, the sands had begun to reclaim what was theirs, flooding the streets and devouring buildings and landmarks alike till only ruins remained.

Witnessing it first hand, he could almost believe nothing living had been here at all; the sheer stillness of the place making it feel frozen in time for the weary and foolish traveler.

“Are you certain it came from here and not Xing?”

He asked, one eye keeping watch of his unit as both Havoc and Breda “investigated” the arm of a skeleton rising up from the dunes, only to rip it off completely.

The two young Sergeants were inexperienced and about as different as fire and water.

Jean Havoc - tall and blonde with a strong fighting spirit and an even better combat ability; though his overly trusting nature may get him into trouble later on down the line.

Heymans Breda - stocky and red-headed with a talent at covert ops and the intelligence to pull them off; though his unassuming appearance hardly marked him as a soldier. 

Yet despite all their differences; the boys had known each other since the Academy, and he was glad to have them serving in his Unit.

“Reports from a couple of Xingese travellers passing through all say it emanated from here…”

Replied Lieutenant Hawkeye; their reports now memorised as they passed by crumbling cathedrals and destroyed statues alike, to the centre of what once was meant to be the Greatest City on Earth.

First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye - Daughter of his once mentor and perhaps Roy’s oldest friend.

Though not an Alchemist despite her bloodline; Riza’s skills with a gun and sharp eyesight more than made up for it. She was one of the best marksmen he had ever witnessed, though she had little love for bloodshed, and Roy knew that he had her loyalty more than anyone else in his Unit.

“But for the sky to turn black, even if there was an eclipse…”

Mused Mustang, reaching a hand down to soothe his horse as they rode gradually closer to the centre.

The animals had been growing increasingly skittish ever since they entered the city, flinching at the smallest of sounds, even trying to bolt on several occasions before their riders could get them back under control.

It’s clear they sensed some sort of unusual presence; something that set their nerves on edge.

Roy couldn’t say he felt much different.

“Captain; up ahead…”

Called out Specialist Abrams from the front of the group, drawing his attention to what should’ve been the very heart of the city.

Specialist Anthony Abrams - Big enough to rival The Strong Arm Alchemist himself; Abrams had hands as large as a man’s head, and Roy had seen those same hands crush men’s skulls like grapes in battle, though as the Unit’s medic, he was just as capable at a gentle touch.

“What in the world..?”

Gasped Hawkeye; voicing the astoundment they all felt as they stared down into the colossal hole where Xerxes Royal Palace once stood; now reduced to nothing but a pit of rubble and destruction, the sand stained a deep black as of burnt, despite no sign of fire.

“Whoa; whoa!” 

Yelled Breda; his horse choosing now to play up, tossing the Sergeant off his back and onto his ass, as the creature fled back the way they came from at bullet speed.

“Lieutenant Hawkeye; assist Sergeant Breda in retrieving his horse, before he ends up walking back to Eastern…”

He commanded; the slender Lieutenant already off her horse to help the most likely bruised Sergeant off the ground.

“Specialist Adams; try and make sure the rest of the horses remain this side of Amestris…”

He continued; the bulky Medic taking his Captain’s reins whilst Roy dismounted off his horse with more dignity than his subordinate had.

“Sergeant Havok; you’re with me…”

He finished; the tall Soldier a good bet in combat if whatever lay in the centre of this crater turned out to be unfriendly.

“Let’s see if we can find out what caused this hellhole…”

He couldn’t say exactly caused this level of devastation. 

He’d heard of perhaps some bombs made in Xing that could demolish entire buildings in seconds, but what would the Xingese have to gain blowing up a lost city?

“So, do you think Alchemy could’ve caused this, Captain..?”

The young Sergeant asked the most obvious question; his fingertips playing with the strap of the rifle he had slung over his shoulder; the man clearly sharing his uneasiness in entering the ruins.

“I’m not quite sure…”

Mustang admitted, using his boot to kick a stray piece of rubble out of his path as he pondered what he’d been taught in his training.

Alchemy was the art of deconstruction and reconstruction; to destroy alone seemed out of the grasp of the Alchemic arts.

“If so; I’ve never seen something like it…”

He finished; trying to remember if he’d even read about Alchemic destruction on this scale in the history books.

“Well; if you’ve not seen anything like it in all your years of service; then I guess we really are screwed…”

Havoc drawled almost cheerfully despite the apparent uneasiness in the air; clearly drawing on the nearly insignificant age gap between the Captain and his men as a thing of humour.

Roy would admit he was younger than most in his position; perhaps the youngest in living memory, but what he lacked in experience he more than made up in ambition, and the gumption to deliver upon it.

“What the fuck-!”

Havoc was drawn to a stop as they reached the middle of the crater where the terrain dipped into a deep indent that seemed carved out of the stone from sheer force, revealing the cause of this devastation.

“Is that… a person..?”

Muttered Havoc, jaw dropped open as both their eyes fell upon a blackened, skinny form curled up dead centre of the destruction.

A woman 

A woman lay where it all began.

[lady-plantagenet]

Ship bingo: Anne Boleyn & Henry VIII (I know, I'm not the most original person in this site); and Eleanor Cobham & Humphrey of Gloucester

Hey hey sorry for answering this shipbingo so late hh. Hope you’ll still be interested in my odd and headcanon-y analyses. Since you requested 2 I will write shorter comments if ur ok with that :) x

Anne Boleyn & Henry VIII

‘I broke England from the Church yeah I really am that secksy’ or something along the lines is said by Anne’s character in Six: The Musical. I sorta resent that. I’m not very passionate about this ship nor do I take any ‘sides’, but I must admit I’m more partial to Catherine of Aragon and consider her to be Henry’s true love. The odd thing is, this is also cause a part of my feels like Anne was in some ways to good/evolved for him?? We all know the whole seductress Anne trope or poor set-up pawn Anne, we don’t know which are true but one thing we know for sure is that there was ‘pious outspoken religious reformer Anne’ and that’s what I am more interested in. My admiration grew 1000x when I realised she was heavily critical with where the desolution of the monastery funds were going - how they enriched ministers and lackeys of Henry as opposed to going towards schools. I say all this because my mental Anne Boleyn might be a bit different from most people’s and that will influence how I also see this ship.

I guess the above paragraph explains the ‘I’m picky about it part’, I hate anything that is major baby drama. Delicious and intrigued are oddly left out because I don’t really feel that myself though I understand why others would. It is perhaps because it’s such an overportrayed relationship and because by the time it became a thing Henry was already kind of obese I believe. Sue me, I like both my ship parties to be attractive XD. I would read fic for it just like I would read anything provided it is well written enough. I’m currently reading ‘Chained in War and Love’ by Lady Perserverence on AO3 (you know that one really famous fic in the Tudor fandom) which I suppose counts but since it’s a Francois I of France/Anne Boleyn AU I guess it doesn’t count (and I much prefer this pairing). This ship is one of those historical pairings where it’s hard to deny it was not romantic and sexual, one must remember that there must have been something about Anne in particular that attracted Henry and her educational background was unusually worldly for a woman of minor English nobility, given the fact that she could very well have been 32 (and age which is considered old for motherhood even by our times) by the time she married Henry simply put there must have been a romantic/sexual attraction beyond just her being fertile. She, herself, may have also had reason to feel attracted to him (despite his fatness) because he appears to have exuded the character of a Renaissance Prince which I feel she could have been drawn towards.

To be honest the ‘it’s complicated and unhealthily’ kind of speak for themselves. I feel like a part of the breakdown went beyond her not being able to hear a son because he does not seem to have properly tried like he did with Catherine of Aragon - the marriage was only three years long. I also feel like he was a bit too set in the past for her and she may have felt disillusioned with how he carried out the reformation. I also feel like Henry thought he would find a woman with Catherine’s brand of strength but with an ability to bear children, but despite both women having education in common Anne’s Protestant beliefs made her someone entirely different. Their feelings were strong but they clearly were not made for each other. With that said, theology fasincates me so to an extent I am more interested in the consequences (the reformation and how it changed the fabric of England) then even the ship itself - that is not to say the ship doesn’t interest me. And yes. I could/want to be convinced that this ship is interesting but if anyone wants me to get on board you will have to first throw off ‘seductress Anne’ or ‘poor maligned pawn Anne’. Only mercurial Henry and reformer Anne will do for me. With that said, I really wouldn’t mind the unrequited love trope thrown in there but with Anne accepting him only because Cromwell and co convince her that this is the only way England’s religion can change. I also liked the ‘Anne of One Thousand Days’ spin where it’s unrequited on her side and then turns unrequited on Henry’s side. Now that’s super tragic and would grab my attention. Overall, I like Anne Boleyn but I don’t ship them because I don’t think they were compatible, I don’t like Henry and I hate how the reformation was carried out and how the knock-on effect was the death of the Tudor figures I care the most about: Cardinal Fisher, Thomas More and Margaret Pole.

Eleanor Cobham & Humphrey of Gloucester

I love ships where both figures were described as intelligent by their contemporaries because there’s also a meeting of minds there. It also gives this partners in crime vibes which I really like. This connects to my whole ’delicious’, ‘romantic’, ‘best friends’ and ‘I’m intrigued’. A lot of fun things could be done with this ship and so I would read fic for it but I remain unpicky (except for , you know, prose as per usual). As it happens I also already read fic for this pairing and unless you are her, I would recommend @nuingiliath who writes loads for this couple and is the resident shipper - I believe this is her OTP. On Ao3 she is ‘heartofstanding’ she has plenty of stuff both on her tumblr and on that site so just follow the tags. Also all I know about these guys is from her pretty much.

The thing is, Eleanor Cobham is like Jane Shore for me, she brings out very weird feelings because I am very traditionalist and boring and hate my infidelities and tend to have an aversion towards mistresses. However, like Jane Shore, Eleanor Cobham appears to have had some virtues and was more than a pretty face (apparently Jacobia herself was quite dull and that’s one of the things that turned Humphrey off her but I’m not sure if that’s hearsay). So just like that, I don’t get an ‘ugh’ feeling like I would with people interested in the Bourbon mistresses in the 18th century or such because I much feel like it wasn’t that physical. This is where ‘softly’ comes, the age difference makes me imagine Humphrey as having that dad-aura Idk (and btw no I’m not pleading daddy issues at all - I feel like it quite undermines this couple), his incredible level of learning further feading into this wise persona but obviously his skirmishes with the administration give me an impression of this grand daring man as well. He seemed the picture of true aristocracy and in all the way he falters from those expectations (eg lack of martial talent) I also like to see. As I said, Eleanor also being described as intelligent makes me feel that she was at his level and while I am satisfied that the necromancy charges were shams it does indicate that she was considered bright enough by her contemporaries in order for such charges to be levelled in the first place. While it is true that the whole affair was targeting Humphrey, I really feel like Eleanor herself possessed (or at least was perceived by others as possessing) a certain dangerousness and this course of action was pursued by their rivals in order to kill two birds with one stone. After all, we have seen how easy treason charges can be conjured against magnates who though not technically speaking guilty have acted against the wrong faction eg Clarence’s case. With that I also put ‘best friends’ because I feel like like all those traits derived from the facts I’ve been privy to point to the fact that the two were friends as well as in love and attracted to each other. They really give me a partners-in-crime vibe and I’m always all for that. Not to mention I’m also a sucker of one part of the ship dying (preferably the woman) with the other following not late after or at least never living a fulfilled life as a widow-widower. It’s cruel but I love my doomed couples. So yeah, I ship it, I really do. I also have a great admiration for Humphrey as I have a soft-heart for scholarly people, I also admire how he was not blindly loyal and quite brazen. It’s a personality that intrigues me.

[myfriendscallmecoelophysis]

The Fears of a Goddess Pt 2

Part 2 of my Dark! Ianite fic

Part 1 

Part 3 

Enjoy and as always

Find me on Ao3:

Selenejessabelle12626 for the tame stuff

Lady-Spieroles for the less tame stuff ;)

~

“Hey Karl?” 

“Yeah?” 

“You seen Jordan around?”

“Not today I haven’t. Don’t think I saw him yesterday either. Why do ya ask?” 

“Just haven’t seen him. Bit weird. Lemme know if you see him.”

“Will do.” Karl replied as Tom emerged from his mine, pickaxe slung over his shoulder. He hadn’t seen Jordan in a few days, hadn’t heard from him either aside from one passing message about anyone knowing a librarian who traded rare books. He and Karl had both responded with negatives and heard nothing from Jordan since. 

Tom nearly fell over when he stepped into his house because Dianite was there, waiting for him. He’d not seen Dianite in weeks, maybe even months (he’d lost track of the days ages ago). In an instant he inclined his head to the God. “Dianite.” 

“Syndicate. I am glad to see my trust in you was not misplaced.” The God greeted, sounding pleased. “And you did as I asked?” 

“Yes. They think I serve Ianite. Jordan wasn’t happy about it but Ianite didn’t seem to mind. Did you find something about her? She’s possessed by the Shadow thing isn’t she?” 

“Unfortunately no, my sister has done far too good a job at hiding her motivations. At least for now. I have no idea about the Shadows, Mianite has taken it upon himself to lead the charge on that research. But that is not what I’ve come to speak to you about. Have you seen The Captain recently?” 

“Haven’t seen him in a while, neither has Karl. Why?” Maybe it was time to start worrying about Jordan if even Dianite was trying to find him. 

“Hmm, I was afraid you’d say that. I think it’s time we find him.” 

Tom led the way to Jordan’s island, searching the entire tower for the Captain. There was no sign of him but there was evidence that he’d been there recently. His cats all had food, the brewing stands had bottles and actively burning blaze powder, the extra food in his chests was still fresh. He’d possibly even been home today and had just stepped out for a moment. 

“I’ll go check the temple.” Tom suggested, assuming Dianite either couldn’t or wouldn’t set foot in it. As Tom swam to the temple entrance he realized it’d been a while since he’d been here, not since ‘swearing his loyalty’ to Ianite. It looked mostly the same except that now, there was a doorway in the back corner. When had Jordan done that? And what was it? A secret room? If so it wasn’t very well hidden. He’d seen better from Jordan before. 

Curiously, Tom approached. Beyond the veil of water, he saw a hallway that went in and behind the temple. A glow of light came from around the corner and as he stepped through the door he could hear the murmur of voices. There was a button set on the wall just inside and he realized that this was indeed a secret room, the door just had not been shut behind the last person who’d entered. He wasn’t surprised by the existence of a secret room from Jordan, Gods knew the man could be paranoid about people stealing his stuff, but they'd established somewhat of a gentleman’s agreement in this world against blatant thievery, so it didn’t really make sense for him to have one anyway. 

Tom kept his steps light as he went down the hall, listening carefully. “...was the author of a lot the books in Ruxomar, in that world he was-” when he rounded the corner Tom was surprised to see not a vault but some sort of library. Sparklez was sat at a desk with Ianite leaning over his shoulder, both looking at something on the desk, their backs to the door. “-their Father. If I’m right, he has a counterpart here, like we did there.” 

Tom backed away into the shadows when Jordan looked up. “My vision.” Ianite said and Jordan nodded in agreement. What were they talking about? Tom admittedly hadn’t paid much attention to a lot of what was going on in the other world but he did vaguely remember what Jordan was talking about. Some bloke whose name they’d heard referenced pretty often when it came to the history of the realm. World Historian or something like that. But he could have sworn that World Historian had been the guy that had attacked them after they’d revived Dianite. Jordan surely knew that, why was he looking for him? 

“We just need to find where he is.” 

“You never cease to amaze, My Champion.” Ianite said, squeezing his shoulder as she stood up fully. “I’ll see what I can find and bring back to you. Thank you.” 

“Of course Milady, anything.” She disappeared a moment later without any fanfare. This was Tom’s chance to talk to Jordan alone. And maybe figure out just what the hell was going on. 

He backed down the hall to the doorway, ducking through the veil of water quickly then back in once more. “Eh Jordan? You in here?” He called down the hallway, as though he’d only just found this. He heard the fluttering of paper and the scrape of the chair on the stone brick floor. He pushed the button to seal the door, the sound of pistons firing echoing down the hall. “Whoa.” He said, loud enough that Jordan would be able to hear. 

“Uh, yeah.” Jordan replied, maybe realizing that Tom wasn’t about to just leave. At his acknowledgement, Tom ventured down the hall. When he rounded the corner he poured the appropriate amount of awe and teasing into his expression and voice.

“Jordan you sneaky Jordan you, what is this? Fancy little secret library?” Jordan was honestly quite a talented builder. He stuck to basic builds most of the time but when he went all out, boy did he go all out. The temple was right pretty and this little study library thing was something out of a wizard’s castle. 

Sparklez didn’t look too happy to see him, his expression carefully neutral. Clearly this was intended to be something Tom wasn’t supposed to find. “Just something I built.” 

“Why put it here? Did Ianite ask you to?”

“I’m working on something for her. It just made sense to put it down here.” He replied with a shrug. 

“What’s she got you working on?” Tom asked as he looked around, highly aware of the way Jordan hesitated in replying. 

“Just some stuff about the prophecy and all that.” 

“C’mon Sparklez, you can tell me. We’re both Team Ianite.” 

Jordan scoffed a bitter sort of laugh. “Yeah, you Team Ianite.” 

Tom frowned “I am. I swore it and everything.” 

“Sure Tom, whatever you say.” He rolled his eyes and turned back to the desk, pushing papers aside. 

“I am. I told you. I want there to be balance.” Something in Jordan’s posture stiffened for a moment, his hands pausing in their search for whatever he was trying to find. “That’s the point isn’t it, us coming back here? To get the Gods all balanced and strong or something like that?” 

Jordan turned back but something in his eyes had hardened, instinctually Tom took a step back. “And how are we supposed to do that if you’re trying to join my team? Each of us has to help a God, that’s what the prophecy said. Karl with Mianite, Me with Ianite, and you with Dianite. So stop this stupid game and just admit you’re up to something!” Tom took another step back, he’d not seen Sparklez angry like that for a while. Not since a prank he and Karl had pulled had gotten a bit out of hand and set his chicken pen on fire. But Tom had never been one to back down, he could give as good as he got. 

“Me up to something?! I’m not the one that’s been hiding for a week doing all sorts of shady stuff.” 

“It’s research!” 

“For what?! There’s no magic in this world Sparklez.  Research is not an excuse! What’s she got you doing?!” He didn’t mean the reference to Ianite to come out as sharply as it did, suspicion accidentally leaking into his words. Sparklez was far too clever to not pick up on it, his eyes narrowing beneath his glasses. 

“I am doing the job we are supposed to be doing, helping the Gods become as strong as possible.” His voice was as cold as ice, his eyes boring into Tom’s. If Tom were a different man he’d have bit his tongue and held back the scathing remarks he so badly wanted to say. He would have taken a deep breath and calmly deescalated this entire thing. Unfortunately, he was Dianite’s Champion for a reason and defusing conflict was simply not something he did.

He took two steps towards Jordan, getting entirely in his personal space, something he knew the man hated and let his words spill like lava. “Fat lot of good that will that do when Dianite locks her up anyway.” He was shocked when Sparklez shoved him back, his feet slipping under him on the damp stone. He fell on his ass and Jordan wasted no time stalking over and looming above him. He’d drawn his bow, leveling a nocked arrow at Tom. He always forgot how scarily quick a draw Sparklez was. 

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” 

“What are you talking about? You can’t change the future! We agreed we wouldn’t!” He wouldn’t dare. Sparklez had been the one to bring it up in the first place, what damage they could cause if they weren’t careful. He wouldn’t just do it anyway, not after he was so adamant about just letting things happen as they should.  

“Plans change.”

So that’s what they were planning then. He wanted to change the future. Keep Dianite from locking Ianite up if Tom had to guess. The real question was, who was the mastermind behind the plan? It was certainly in Sparklez’ character to stand up for Ianite but he’d known what would happen to her when he’d told Tom to abandon any ideas of changing the future. But already Dianite and Mianite both had their suspicions about their sister. Maybe she’d managed to convince Sparklez to help her change her fate? Either way he had to talk to Dianite. 

“Sparklez-” 

“I think it’s time for you to go Tom.” He interrupted, taking a half step back so Tom could get to his feet. He let his bowstring slacken but didn’t remove the arrow. 

“Jordan.” Tom pleaded. “Please. Think about this. You said it yourself, we were sent back to help the Gods.” 

“And I am. With my help, Ianite won’t have to suffer. Now, leave. Go back to Dianite.” 

“Jordan please.”

He drew back the bowstring once more, the tip of the arrow pointed directly at Tom’s chest. “Leave Tom.”

‘What are you doing Sparklez?’ “Fine.” He raised his hands in a show of surrender then backed out of the room, only turning his back to Jordan once he rounded the corner. The moment he was out of Jordan’s sightline, he broke into a sprint, smashing the button to open the door and all but diving into the water. He had to get to Dianite and tell him what was going on before Jordan could inform Ianite of their argument. 

He swam as fast he could back to the surface, shouting for Dianite the moment his head was above water. His God appeared above the water a fraction of a second later. Before he could say anything, Tom was already speaking. “They’re doing something. Trying to change the future, find a guy called World Historian, or at least his alternate self in this world. He was bad news when we saw him before, can’t imagine he’ll be much better now. And-”

“Calm yourself Syndicate. You’ve done well to learn this.” Dianite interrupted. He gestured and then they were both standing back on Tom’s island. “It’s not what I expected of her but unfortunately I can’t say I’m surprised. She’s never been particularly happy with the fate our Mother prophesied for her.” He put a hand to his chin in a thoughtful expression. Tom wasn’t sure what to do, he couldn’t do anything to a Goddess and Jordan was clearly off the deep end along with her. “I must confer with Mianite on this development. For now, collect the other one and see if you can do something to keep the Captain occupied and away from my Sister. We will handle her.” 

Tom nodded and then fell to one knee, inclining his head. “I request to return to your service My Lord.” 

“Very Well.” Tom felt the sudden heat of a flaming blade above his shoulder. “Syndicate, do you swear your loyalty to me?” 

“I do solemnly swear my fealty, mind, body and soul to you and your cause My Lord Dianite. From this breath until my last, I am yours to command.” He did not need the prompting of the ceremony, he knew the words by heart. He felt the touch of the blade upon each shoulder and then the strange, shimmering void like feeling that was the hallmark of Ianite’s influence disappeared. In its place, the comforting and familiar heat of Dianite’s infernal fire returned, rushing through his veins like wildfire. 

“Rise my Champion. In return for your loyalty, I present you with this blade.” Dianite said, presenting the hilt of the blade he’d used to Tom. The moment he took it, Tom could feel the strength it was imbued with. It shined with enchantments, he did not even bother asking what they were, the power that poured off the weapon was plenty to assure him of its strength. 

“Perhaps with this, you may stand a chance at surviving a confrontation with Ianite’s Champion.” 

And then Tom was alone. 

Ok. Somehow he had to keep Jordan’s attention as long as possible, after the huge fight they’d just had. Jordan, who was highly unlikely to want to see Tom, let alone spend an extended amount of time with him especially now that Tom knew what he was planning. The friendly option wasn’t going to work this time. Tom took a deep breath and entered his home, opening the chest that contained his valuables. If the friendly option wasn’t going to work, he had no choice but to go with the nuclear option. From his chest he pulled the stack of TNT he’d been slowly adding to for weeks in case it ever was needed. Now seemed as good a time as any. Nothing like a classic rampant bit of destruction to get and keep Sparklez attention. 

He couldn’t do it alone though. Jordan would certainly catch him far too quickly for the risk to be worth it. He needed Karl’s help. 

“Karl If I asked you to help me do something extremely dangerous and stupid, would you?” He asked on a private communicator channel. 

He began to sort through his inventory, putting his weapons in easy reach, removing useless blocks and items. He had a few leftover potions that he pocketed and made sure he had plenty of food. There was a chance he could be on the run for days if he got Sparklez mad enough. It’d happened in the old world, after Tom had set fire to Sparklez tree. It'd been a terrifying and anxiety-inducing few days. But he’d do it again now if that’s what it took to stop him and Ianite from changing the future. 

“Uh, possibly. Depends on what it is.” Karl replied. 

“I’m going to blow up Sparklez island.”

“Why the hell would you do that?! Aren’t you the one who told me not to mess with him like that? Something about us not standing a chance if he ever really went after us?” He was right. Tom had warned Karl early on against pranking Jordan too badly. 

Tom knew when he was outmatched and Jordan made it a hobby to make the strongest weapons and armor just in case something ever went down. He’d been that way since the Modestep siege. His philosophy had quickly gone from neutrality to being the most geared out once he realized that they were reluctant to attack someone with the bigger weapons. It’d only gotten worse in Ruxomar. With all that technology, Jordan had become practically invulnerable within a few days. Tom still to this day wasn’t sure how he’d managed to make his ‘Bow of Balance’ as strong as he had. Not to mention that force field or the ‘Price of Betrayal’ sword. At least in this world he didn’t have access to any of those but still, who knew what enchantments his weapons had? 

“I know. And that’s why I need your help. He and Ianite have gone mad. Dianite needs me to keep Sparklez busy while he and Mianite take care of Ianite but if I go alone he’ll probably kill me in minutes. I need you to help me run interference.” 

Karl said nothing for a long moment and Tom sighed. He was asking a lot of Karl, risking his life to help him do this, but what other choice did he have?

“And you’re sure about this?” 

“No.” Tom admitted “But I really don’t have a better plan.” 

“Alright then. What do you need from me?” 

~

They flew over to Jordan’s island fully decked out in their strongest armor and weapons. It may have been a bit overkill because c’mon, it’s Jordan, but right now Tom wasn’t sure Jordan wouldn’t attack them outright. He’d threatened him seriously enough before. He was behaving out of the ordinary for sure, oddly enough that Tom wasn’t willing to say he knew what was going through his head. 

“You go in through the top, I’ll go in from down here. Place the TNT but don’t light it. I don’t want to destroy more than we need to to get his attention.” Karl has a less than stealthy running stop of a landing on the roof but it’s leagues better than smashing into the wall. He waved down to acknowledge he was ready and with sword drawn, Tom entered the tower. 

They clear the tower without a sign of Jordan, meeting up on the floor he’d dedicated to potion work. “Anything?” Tom asked. He’d placed his TNT sparingly, but strategically. Aiming for structural damage over actual brutality. 

“No sign of him. But the upper floors are mostly empty, not sure why he built them to be honest.” 

“He builds preemptively. Decides what to do with a room after he’s already built it. He might be down in the temple still, not sure if he’d even hear it if he’s in that secret room.”

“Outside then? I don’t really want to be the one to blow up his temple.” 

“Won’t work underwater anyway.”  They head outside and scatter the leftover TNT around his farms. It’s possible Jordan isn’t here, thought Tom’s not really sure where he would have gone. The Nether wouldn’t do much for him and the End was just, the End. There was nothing there to begin with. 

Tom dove down into the Temple but again found no evidence that Jordan was still around. He returned to the surface as Karl was climbing up onto the chicken pen. 

“I don’t think he’s here.” Karl commented after laying the last piece he had.

“I don’t think so either. But where could he have gone?” 

~

Jordan had always had nothing short of an impeccable sense of direction. He’d placed no markers in the End to point in the direction of Ianite’s study, he just knew which way to fly. He’d not been the one to make it, presumably she had at some point in her life. All he’d done was contribute a handful of rare books he’d traded wandering traders for. This was her domain entirely, he was just visiting. He glided through the doorway and gracefully came to a stop behind her desk, falling to one knee without hesitation. 

“I didn’t expect to see you so soon. What happened?” She asked, standing without pause and pulling him to his feet. 

“Tom found my library.” he confessed, Ianite’s expression darkening. “We got into an argument and-” she put a finger to his lips, meeting his eyes with great seriousness. 

“I don’t care what was said but tell me this, does he know of my plans?” Perhaps in another life, with another Ianite, Jordan might have noticed the way her facade had dropped ever so slightly when she spoke not of ‘their plans’ but of hers when as far as he knew it had been his idea. 

“Nothing more than preventing Dianite from locking you away.” 

Her eyes softened and her hand shifted to cup his cheek “Then you’ve done well.” Ianite stepped back to her desk. “I suspected that at least Dianite had his suspicions, it’s why he sent Syndicate to our side in the first place. It’s no matter if they have an idea of what we have in motion. Even if they knew everything, it’s far too late for them to stop us. With what you uncovered I revisited one of my Mother’s old journals. In it is detailed the location of the temple where my Father was imprisoned. That is where we need to go.”

“Tom’s probably told Dianite by now, or at least Karl who would have told Mianite.” “I agree, we must move quickly. But that is also why I have a gift for you.” 

He watched as she pulled something out of thin air with a great sense of purpose. She turned back towards him with a single arrow between her fingers. It was made of materials in shades of purple, he would expect no less from her, but the arrowhead itself was a deep, otherworldly amethyst color. She held it out to him with a warning of “be mindful not to touch the arrowhead.” 

“What is it made of?” The only materials he knew that would give this color besides dyes were not in this world. There was no manyullyn or purple wood or gemstones besides diamonds and emeralds.

“It’s a tainted arrow.” She said calmly and in an instant he was wary. 

“How did you make this?”

“With the wisdom of my other selves. But more importantly is what it is capable of. It’s stronger than any poison. A single scratch will permanently cripple a mortal, while a full strike will kill so thoroughly that there is no chance of rebirth or revival.” His mind jumped immediately to the only mortal in this world who would not be a part of the future he and Tom knew. Was this the reason Karl never arrived in the Land of Mianite? 

“And to a God?” he asked, knowing she would not have specified the effects on a mortal if it only affected them.

“It won’t kill us. There is nothing that is capable of killing a God without further assistance or intervention. But it would weaken us to the point where we are hardly capable of anything, let alone accessing our powers.”

“You want me to use this on one of your brothers.” He stated, looking down at what could very well be the single most powerful weapon he’d ever held. All the talk of the Kikoku, the sword that could strike an immortal being, in Ruxomar and only Tucker had wielded it. In the end it hadn’t even mattered. It had been Jordan’s own arrows augmented with Ianite’s power that had brought World Historian down.

“Ideally. Though I leave it up to you as to where you think it will be the most useful. I cannot make another. So choose wisely. I trust you to make a good choice.” She said sagely. With a nod, Jordan carefully slid it into his quiver. It was enchanted so that it never ran out of arrows but that only applied to the most basic kind. He’d made his own as well. Arrows of poison, arrows of harming, and now the tainted arrow. 

Ianite had said little of what they were to face upon finally finding her Father’s temple. Only that within it was a book that contained the spell she would need to reach her full strength and that they must find it before either of her brothers. Even with his earlier confrontation with Tom, it was unlikely Mianite or Dianite would get to the book first. That did not, however, mean they wouldn’t try to stop him and Ianite. He’d taken to carrying most of his most powerful weaponry and armor on him in some capacity. Between his inventory, the shulker box and the ender chest, he had access to his more important items at all times on his person. 

“We’ll have to go through the Overworld to get to the Temple.” Ianite commented. “I expect by now the others will have rallied in some fashion to stop us if not slow us down. If your friends are waiting for us, will you be able to fight them?” 

He took a deep breath and nodded. “I swore to you My Lady. I’ll do what I must to make sure we succeed.” 

She smiled in return, a pleased glimmer in her eyes. “Thank you Captain. You have no idea how much your loyalty means to me.” Ianite extended her hand to him. The moment he took it the End blurred before his eyes. When the haze cleared they were in his tower next to his bed. What immediately caught his attention were the blocks of TNT scattered around. There was only one possible culprit. 

“Tom.” He all but growled, pulling his sword from its sheath. A quick swipe of the blade broke the bundle of explosives, rendering it inert. As he stepped out from behind the stairs, he saw them both outside the window. 

Tom and Karl stood on the path between the animal pens, both dressed in full enchanted diamond armor. Tom held a shimmering diamond sword while Karl had a shining trident. Jordan had hoped, in some deep seeded part of himself, that they wouldn’t be stupid enough to do this. Karl didn’t know any better. He didn’t know the reputation Jordan had built himself among the others. He was the weaponsmith, the artificer, the inventor, the one who pushed the very limits of what was possible with tools and weaponry. Tom however, did. Tom knew better than to challenge him like this. 

“Remember Jordan,” Ianite murmured, laying a hand on his shoulder “From the depths and death of Balance arises Justice.” Then even quieter, so that her voice was no more than a whisper “It is their Gods who want me in chains.” 

Jordan took a steadying breath and steeled himself, then stepped from the safety of his tower.

“Really Tom? Resorting to your old tricks?” He called out, twirling his sword in preparation for a fight.

Tom adjusted his own grip on his sword. “Until they stop working on you Sparkly pants.” 

“Are you really sure you want to do this?”

“I’ll do what I have to so that you don’t change the future.” 

“You mean the future where Dianite is evil? The future where we spend weeks hiding and hunting each other down like animals? Where we spend our time devising more and more complicated ways to kill one another? Building secret base after secret base and not trusting anyone? The future where You kill Dianite? That’s the future you want?” 

Karl’s eyes widened, clearly Tom hadn’t told him much about the future they were fighting to defend. At first Tom said nothing then, slowly he said “If that’s the future that is supposed to happen then so be it.” 

“You may be willing to live through that but I am not willing to put Ianite through that future again. I will not be the one who sentences her to a millennia of imprisonment.” 

“You’re supposed to be the balanced one Jordan! The guy who doesn’t choose sides! That’s what you said Ianite was! Don’t you remember?” 

“I have always chosen a side. It just wasn’t yours. I chose Ianite even when you had no idea who she was because I was always meant to choose her. It’s my responsibility to prevent her from suffering any more, in this world or any others.”

“I didn’t want to do this Jordan, not really. But you’re not giving me another choice.” Tom said, shaking his head in disappointment. He pulled a redstone torch from his inventory and it was only then that Jordan noticed the thin trail of redstone dust that spread from near Tom. 

“So much for Team Ianite then.” Jordan sneered. 

“We both know the price of loyalty has always been high. But right now, it seems like yours is just a bit higher.” He dropped the torch, diving into the ocean with Karl right behind him, relying on it to protect them from the worst of the blast. 

Jordan barely had a moment to react before his farm exploded, scattering dirt and wheat across the island and the surface of the surrounding ocean. The rest of that half of the island went up seconds later, the blast strong enough to throw him against the tower. The enchantment on his armor protected him well enough but still drove the breath from his lungs. He struggled to get to his feet before the tower blew but then Ianite was there. 

His ears were ringing and his eyes were blurring but he could still make out the hand that was reaching towards him to help him to his feet. Her lips were moving but he couldn’t hear what she was saying, nodding in hopes that she had asked a question. “I’m fine.” He managed, blinking through the disorientation. She’d kicked the redstone trail apart he realized, scattering the dust enough to prevent it from reaching the explosives in the tower. 

She was saying something as she helped him stand, slinging his arm around her shoulder while putting an uncorked healing potion in his other hand. The last thing he heard before she teleported them away was Tom and Karl, screaming his name.

[asianfighter]

Sooo I found another Lucci fan girl on Insta and subsequently remembered an AU I started. The premise is my OC, Tahlia, is the daughter of the man who runs the largest security firm in the world. Needless to say, threats are ever present and she goes through body guards like nothing. Enter the man who clawed his way up to the top of the chain.

This is a brain chills I’ve neglected but I will have to get back to soon. Read at your own discretion. It’s not blatantly explicit but it is definitely suggestive and borderline NSFW. If you’re not 18, keep scrolling. If you’re of age and you like Lucci, well, I hope you enjoy.

MORE THAN HUMAN TEASER: THE FIRST NIGHT

Rob Lucci’s footsteps were quiet, even on the antique wooden planks. Just as he had been commanded, he showered and even changed into a fresh suit. Roman Espinosa always expected his guards to be well dressed; he could only assume his daughter had similar expectations. Lucci could hear the faint sound of music seeping through the walls, sliding beneath the crack below the double doors. He gave a light knock.

“Come in,” Tahlia said from the other side. He turned the handle and slipped through, making sure to close the door just as silently as he had entered. She was freshly showered as well. Her straight hair was still slightly damp and she was dressed in a silky little gown, all black, with a low neckline and lots of lace.

“Hello, Lucci,��� she said with a smile. “Lock the door, will you?”

He did as he was told and walked towards the table and chairs in the center of the room. Tahlia fussed with her phone and turned up the music, low quality hip hop beats accompanying an instrumental melody. Occasionally, audio bits of a female singing in French were thrown into the mix.

“Have a seat,” Tahlia told him. Lucci unbuttoned his blazer, this one black, and sat on one of the couches. In front of him, there was a small serving tray with a curvy glass of red wine and a straight little glass that held whiskey on the rocks.

Instead of sitting on the couch across from him, Tilly sat on the wooden table directly in front of him and crossed her legs. She handed him the whiskey before scooping up the glass of dark red liquid.

“Did you like my performance?” Tahlia asked with a smirk. “I know you heard most of it.” She took a slow sip, eyeing Lucci the entire time as if she could unnerve him. He didn’t blink. “Seems like I’m still stuck with you for now… but Daddy’s convinced all it will take to make me happy is a brand new building or two. For how sharp he is in business, he can be a very easy man to deceive.”

Lucci gave her an emotionless gaze and took a sip of the cool whiskey.

“He’s talked a lot about you,” she said, staring at him. “Nice to finally put a name to face.” Lucci withheld a comment about how incessantly Roman talked about her.

“The first time I had ever heard your name,” Tilly told him, “I was 10 years old. Daddy flew in just for my birthday party…” She looked down at her glass of wine. “...and all he could talk about was how successful Rob Lucci’s first field mission went.”

An amused smile played across her face. “I honestly thought you’d be older, considering your history. You’re only three years older than I am… but I suppose that’s why you were such a success. A killing machine at the age of 13. Quite a feat.”

Rob Lucci watched her face and slowly sipped on his drink. “Did you know they call you ‘Massacre Weapon’? Quite a heavy moniker, if you ask me.” Tahlia’s eyes turned downward as she sipped on her own drink. “From simple soldier to my sole security guard,” Tahlia said. “It’s quite a leap.”

Tahlia smiled coyly. The man simply gave her the same, stoic look during her monologue.

“To your promotion,” she said, “and new beginnings in a new city.” Tahlia held her drink up. They clinked glasses together. “By the way, you look dashing in white. I liked that suit much better than the black.”

Lucci nodded, taking a mental note, then took another sip as Tahlia sat back and swished her drink with one hand. He knew others found his gaze was unsettling… but there was something slightly unsettling about hers, too.

“Since you insist on playing silent, I’ll do the talking,” Tahlia said. She took a sip of wine, her lips slightly tinted red. I have big plans, Lucci. Big plans. The only thing is… I need someone I can trust… and some serious muscle to help see them through. If my intuition is correct, you might be able to wear both of those hats well.”

Lucci tilted his head to the side ever so slightly, silently prompting her to tell him more. He was slightly curious to know what her “big plans” entailed.

“I’m not a slave driver; I won’t force you to work for me. But if you do decide to stay, I will have plenty of opportunities for you to paint the town red. I think we could have a very mutually beneficial relationship. All I need you to do is what you do best. You get to have a little fun and I get… well, whatever I want.”

A dangerous look flashed in his eyes at the promise of “painting the town red.”

“Until now I’ve been given regular men. Lackluster soldiers with lackluster skills… but you’re different, I can tell.” She looked him over slowly, like she was trying to find the secret that made him special. “You are the last piece to my puzzle,” Tahlia told him. ”With you by my side, I will have everything I need. Together, we could sit back and watch the world burn. So what do you say?”

Very slowly, Rob Lucci gave the smallest of smirks, one corner of his mouth twisting upwards ever so slightly. His eyes were focused on hers, and try as she might to read his expression, Tahlia couldn’t quite decrypt what was running through his mind. She leaned forward and, with one finger, beckoned him to do the same.

“I know you can speak,” she said in his ear. “And I actually want to hear you say it. Are you in… or not?”

When he spoke, his voice was deep. Dangerous. Just as she had with him, he leaned in and spoke in her ear. This was her father’s house, after all. They could never be too cautious. Though there was no one else currently listening, he spoke in a low voice so that only Tahlia could hear him say, “I’m in.”

“Good. I was hoping you’d say that…” She gently placed her glass of wine back down. Tahlia leaned back on one arm and said, “...because I have a little test for you.”

Lucci placed down his own glass, mirrored her posture and leaned back as well. He rested one hand on the back rest of the couch.

“How far are you willing to go to prove your loyalty?” Tahlia asked him. Lucci’s brows pulled further down. Even rookies knew there was only one way out of Espinosa Inc. and it didn’t involve a 401k.

“I wonder,” Tahlia mused aloud, leaning forward and intruding upon his personal space, “if your loyalties lie with my father… or if they lie with me.” She searched his eyes but found no answer there. “I suppose it’s all the same,” she said quietly, “for now.”

She grinned and gave him an uneven smile that looked especially dangerous in the low lighting.

“Let’s see how well they trained you to listen,” Tahlia said. There was a dark mischief to her. Lucci simply looked back, stone faced. What could she possibly do to him that men hadn’t already done before? He had been shot, stabbed, beaten, burned… the more annoying methods of “pain resistance training” had included drowning simulations and extended immersion. Despite the large burns on his back, he much would have chosen fire over water torture any day.

Roman constantly bragged about how his girl was such a talented artist. Would she use one of the traditional methods or come up with something a little more creative?

In answer to his question, Tahlia leaned forward and slid onto the couch, her legs straddling Lucci’s waist. He leaned backwards at the sudden contact, the soft seat of the couch pushing against him. Tahlia placed her cheek against his and whispered, “I want you to sleep with me tonight.” Lucci’s posture stiffened as Tahlia loosened his tie and began to unbutton his shirt from the top down. “They didn’t cut out your tongue, after all. I’ll make sure it goes to good use.”

She used her left hand to continue unbuttoning while her right brushed against his face. She liked feeling the smooth of his cheek and the rough of his sideburns, his tidy beard. She could smell his mouth watering cologne. He had an ever present steel gaze that quietly drove her crazy. Tahlia leaned in to kiss him, and though his lips moved in sync with hers, he still had the same, cold expression when he opened up his eyes.

“They say you can’t feel pain…” Tahlia said, more to herself than him. His eyes were deep and dark, so brown that they looked completely black. They were eyes that held countless unspoken secrets. She pulled him towards her, slid her hands beneath his polo, helped slide his shirt and blazer off. Tilly squeezed his biceps (deliciously tattooed, she noticed, with a modern, minimal design on his shoulders) and massaged his strong forearms. She could hear him take a slow, steady inhale and a long, drawn out exhale.

Tahlia’s hands trailed down his arms and she placed both of his hands on her breasts. She pressed her hips into his and made slow, grinding movements. She could feel the bulge in his pants hardening. Tahlia moaned and nipped his ear. Lucci’s dark eyes flashed a dirty gold for just a fraction of a second but it went unnoticed. Tilly’s voice was a low, seductive purr as she said, “Let’s see if you still feel pleasure.”

—

Well if you like it, let me know! I have some scenes written that I’d love to share if there’s any interest!