#langues neat

[meimeikyu]

Hi so ive been thinking (tragedy)

so i dont think dust would use petnames often but i do think hed have like korean nicknames for all of the gang (plus red bcs. yes) and i needed to write them down b4 i forget

general im not korean n dont speak it n this is based off google rabbit holes so may be incorrect yeah 👍

Dust - Tokki (토끼) - Bunny

Horror - Gomdoli (곰돌이) - Cute Bear

Killer - Gil-Nyangi (길냥이) - Street Cat / Stray Cat

Cross - Gangaji (강아지) - Puppy

Nightmare - Mun-eo (문어) - Octopus

Error - Neoguli (너구리) - Raccoon (technically i think its raccoon dog but can be either)

Red - Jindo-gae (진돗개) - Jindo dog (breed of dog!! i thought it was fitting lol)

[saintsenara]

Are you a Voldemort (“more”) or Voldemort (hard “t”) girl?

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

i'm a hard t girly without deviation, and i have two reasons as for why.

the first is that - as i've expanded on a little here - there's no way that a child from tom riddle's background would ever have formally encountered the french language and its phonetic conventions, and there's no way this would have been remedied at hogwarts, since the school doesn't [appear to] teach modern languages.

but riddle could have taught himself [some] french from books, meaning he'd be able to read the language, but not necessarily speak - and certainly not correctly pronounce - it. that is, he wouldn't realise the "t" in "mort" should be silent, and would pronounce his new name according to english phonetics.

this is a very neat distillation of who voldemort is. someone who would seek out the linguistic knowledge which many of his pureblood peers - who would very probably have been taught french as children by their governesses - had by virtue of their births to create the french-inspired moniker he uses to demonstrate his blood-supremacist importance, but who is restrained by his childhood and his class background from getting it completely right.

poor thing...

except the second reason - which is my preferred explanation - is that the hard t pronunciation is both deliberate and correct on voldemort's part, because we aren't supposed to think of "voldemort" as a french name at all.

there seems to be a fanon tendency to assume that many of the pureblood families we meet in canon have close, recent ties to france - that is, that they have french cousins or second cousins, own property in france, and speak french fluently as a native or heritage language.

and i do understand why this is, since many of the pureblood surnames we meet in canon - malfoy and lestrange being the most obvious examples - appear at first glance to be french.

but here we have something that i suspect gets lost in translation for readers outside of britain and ireland - which is why the fanon of purebloods having recent french heritage has developed - which is that these names are not [contemporary] french.

they are anglo-norman.

this is term which stems from the linguistic development which took place after england was invaded in 1066 by william the conqueror, a nobleman from normandy in northwestern france, who overthrew the reigning king - harold godwinson - and took the throne for himself.

harold and his people were speakers of old english - a germanic language, from the same language family from which dutch would emerge - while william spoke old norman - a romance language, from the same language family from which modern french and other langues d'oïl dialects would emerge.

the crashing together of two peoples, speaking languages from different linguistic families, resulted in the strange mongrel language anglo-norman, which gave way to middle english, and then to contemporary english - and it's the direct cause of why english has such a broad vocabulary, with subtle distinctions between words with ostensibly similar meanings like "deer" and "venison", "sheep" and "mutton", "kingly" and "royal", "ghost" and "spirit", "hopelessness" and "despair", "woods" and "forest", and "thoughtful" and "pensive", where other romance languages [french included] do not.

[a point which borges made far better than i do.]

to secure his position on the throne, william elevated his fellow norman conquerors to aristocratic status alongside - and often above - the existing anglo-saxon nobility.

these parvenu families had names which persist in britain today - baskerville, beaumont, clare, courtenay, d'arcy, de vere, devereux, gascoigne, harcout, lacey, latimer, lucy, mandeville, percy, purfoy, sinclair, vincent, and so on - including among families which continue to hold aristocratic titles, and among families who are not titled but who are nonetheless rich and socially prominent.

[the common joke that the royal family are, by the standards of the aristocracy, nouveau riche upstarts is because they have a germanic name - saxe-coburg-gotha - rather than an anglo-norman one.]

and within the world of harry potter, many of the pureblood [or recently pureblood] families we meet in canon have anglo-norman names which were historically aristocratic or gentry - avery, burke, crouch, fortescue, gaunt, lestrange, montague, sayre, travers, and so on. malfoy is a name jkr invented, but it conforms to the same principles - since, it should be noted, it's a play on an existing anglo-norman noble surname, purfoy [which means "pure faith" where malfoy means "bad faith"].

so names like malfoy are intended by the text to communicate that the people holding them are from old, posh, and very probably wealthy families - but from families which are nonetheless supposed to be understood as historically and culturally british.

[although not necessarily english - burke is a name widely found in ireland, for example, due to ireland's own anglo-norman colonisation.]

and one reason why these names are understood as british is linguistic - they're not pronounced in english the way they would be in french, not because they're being pronounced wrongly, but because they're part of languages which have evolved separately over the course of a millennium.

[the best examples? beauchamp - pronounced "bee-cham" - and mainwaring - pronounced "manner-ring".]

we say "malfoy", rather than "malfoi", and "lestrange" rather than "l'étrange" for this reason. and so we would - if we want to think of it as an anglo-norman, rather than a french, word - say "voldemort" rather than "voldemore".

the canonical voldemort is, without a doubt, a sincere blood- and magic-supremacist. he genuinely believes that the malfoys and lestranges are superior to those with muggle blood [even if he doesn't consider himself to fall under that category], and that this should give them social importance and power over the muggleborn and mixed-blood underclasses.

but what he isn't is someone who is deferential to the wizarding world's established class system, which assigns social importance and power on the basis of name, financial status, and adherence to social custom - since, of course, he is directly disadvantaged by this because he's born "tom riddle" and he grew up in an orphanage, no matter the antiquity of his maternal line and the immensity of his magical talent.

blood purity and magical power is certainly a significant part of this class system. but we can draw out of the text that its significance is clearly not expressed in the way voldemort thinks it should be.

we see throughout the latter half of the canon series that voldemort loathes the death eaters - such as anglo-norman legend lucius malfoy - who pretended not to have served him post-1981. and we also know that what he particularly dislikes is the idea that these death eaters disavowed him in order to continue enjoying the comfortable lives the established class system afforded them, rather than committing to his clearly more radical vision for how power relations should work in the wizarding world by refusing to disavow him:

"Lucius, my slippery friend," he whispered, halting before him. "I am told that you have not renounced the old ways, though to the world you present a respectable face. You are still ready to take the lead in a spot of Muggle-torture, I believe? Yet you never tried to find me, Lucius... Your exploits at the Quidditch World Cup were fun, I daresay... but might not your energies have been better directed toward finding and aiding your master?"

a huge amount of voldemort's relationship with the death eaters is based in his distaste for the esteem in which they hold the established class system. but, above and beyond this, it's based in the pleasure he gains from mocking them for this esteem.

he squats in their houses, refusing to follow the social conventions expected of guests by commandeering their domestic space as he sees fit. he insults his hosts when in company. he emasculates the male head of the families he has insinuated his way into by behaving like he's the person in charge of the household. he fucks at least one of their wives. he regards their children as his to do with as he wishes. he has no interest in manners or deportment or "correct" self-presentation and behaviour.

he makes them call him - a half-blood orphan who could never hope to outrank them in the system they revere - "my lord", and bow to him, and kiss the hems of his robes, and debase themselves for his favour.

we know that - as a teenager - voldemort spent a huge amount of time researching wizarding genealogy. without a doubt, the etymology of wizarding names would have been mentioned by the books and documents he used to do this.

and so it stands to reason that - in becoming lord voldemort - tom riddle deliberately assumed a name he intended to be understood as having the same anglo-norman flavour as those of his pureblood servants. whether he knew how voldemort would be pronounced in modern french or not is irrelevant - even if the hard t comes from a poor boy's ignorance of french phonetics, it doesn't diminish the actual purpose of the name in the slightest...

because what calling himself lord voldemort signifies is his contempt for - and his mockery of - the death eaters. it takes something they're so proud of - that their names indicate antiquity and nobility; that they are conferred social importance on the basis of their names alone - and shows that he considers both of these things singularly unimpressive.

why - it croons - would someone like lucius be so proud of bearing the malfoy name that he'd lie to the wizengamot and pretend he never prostrated himself at lord voldemort's feet just so the family reputation didn't have to take a hit?

why would he bother? when lord voldemort can invent a name which alludes to exactly the same linguistic principles whenever he likes and have it afforded infinitely more respect [so much respect that people literally fear to speak it!] than any of his servants' names ever have been or ever will be.

a diva!

[walnutcookie]

Canon details about langue that i think are neat:

- they match clothes with their family. all of them wear red clothes. they wear the same suit as their dad and their mom wears a more feminine version

- they have the exact same green glasses as their family

- they make this face a lot

- their name is french for cat's tongue, likely a reference to the phrase "cat got your tongue" (which is clever since theyre a lawyer)

i still see people who dont know this and it surprises me because i looked up the translation as soon as they were released HELP

- theyve cried when they thought about their parents or called them

- they are the DEFINITION of a workaholic (quite literally, they seem to have an addiction to work and they dont know how to stop)

- they dont eat sweets (mentioned in an event)

- their family packs their lunch

[feudalconnection]

The Nomination Period for the 3rd Term 2024 Inuyasha Fandom Awards is now CLOSED!!

Hey everyone!

Below the cut you'll find a complete list of all of the Fanfiction nominations received for this term! You can also find it on Google Docs.

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Got a question? Check out our FAQ or send us an ask. You can also message one of the mods directly!

Thank you to everyone who nominated for making this 3rd Term absolutely wonderful, and happy voting!

Best Action/Adventure

"Nowhere With You" by Langus (AO3)

"Dear Sesshoumaru" by @ladydanitar

"In the Blood" by @dawnrider

"Wild Rabbit Chase" by @justafewsmallsteps / HelikaAkileh (AO3)

Best Alternate Universe/Reality

"Palmistry" by @classysassy9791

"Sense and Sensibility, An Inuyasha Retelling" by @ruddcatha

"i beg of you" by @thegoldenappleofdiscord / feudalreesespieces (AO3)

"What Happens in Vegas" by @rainandyarn

"It takes a friend to open your eyes" by @ruddcatha

"The Merrier" by TheMondayChild (AO3)

Best Canon Universe

"Whatever It Takes" by Emmyyasha (AO3)

"Sesshomaru: A Feudal Fairy Tale" by @acb6293

"Love Language" by @shikonstar

"Wishful" by @rileyoe1

"what she doesn't want" by @ssukidesu

"Without Regret" by PrettyWoofEars (AO3)

Best Angst

"Sacrifices" by @elkonigin

"Legacy" by @fandomobsessions016

"Held Up in the Rain" by @mrfeenysmustache / AshMish111 (AO3)

"Still a Fan" by TheMondayChild (AO3)

"Don't Buy Me Flowers" by ShyGuyVi (AO3)

Best Dark

"Lest the Past Haunts Me" by mauigurl808 (FFN)

"Legacy" by @fandomobsessions016

"Panic Mode" by @mitsiepitsie-blog

"Still a Fan" by TheMondayChild (AO3)

"Gilded Cage" by WickedNonProfitWhoreganization (AO3)

"Broken" by @my-inukag-fanfiction / InuKaglover69 (AO3)

"vampire empire, baby doll" by @lutelyre

Best Drama

"We Can't Be Friends" by Red_Spiderliliy (AO3)

"Inevitable" by @justafewsmallsteps / HelikaAkileh (AO3)

"Many Glowing Moons" by Woodrosia (AO3)

"Smoke and Mirrors" by flamethemightydragon (AO3)

"Nowhere With You" by Langus (AO3)

Best Humor/Parody

"Hack" by @timetravellingpaperbag

"the yakuza boyfriend" by @thegoldenappleofdiscord / feudalreesespieces (AO3)

"Sesshomaru Mer-made a Mistake" by @flowingsakura

"Wishful Chaos" by @inuyashamybeloved / InuScarlett (AO3)

"Breaking the Ice" by @pipistrellee / Pipistrellus (AO3)

Best NSFW

"Here With You" by SomeKndOfNature (AO3)

"Many Glowing Moons" by Woodrosia (AO3)

"Daddy, Please" by @fawn-eyed-girl

"What Happens in Vegas" by @rainandyarn

"The Office Party" by @inuyashamybeloved / InuScarlett (AO3)

"Satisfied" by @sereia1313

"Hot for Teacher" by LianaDawn (AO3)

Best One-Shot

"Whatever it Takes" by Emmyyasha (AO3)

"i beg of you" by @thegoldenappleofdiscord / feudalreesespieces (AO3)

"Pray miko, beg..." by Catzchen (AO3)

"The Office Party" by @inuyashamybeloved / InuScarlett (AO3)

"you, I thought I knew you" by DrPearlGatsby (AO3)

Best Character Portrayal

"Sacrifices" (Inuyasha) by @elkonigin

"Dear Sesshoumaru" (Sesshomaru) by @ladydanitar

"Wishful Chaos" (Inuyasha) by @inuyashamybeloved / InuScarlett (AO3)

"A Memory of Red Flame" (Sota) by @artistefish

"A Fleeting Moment" (Kaede) by Simply_ivy (AO3)

Best InuKag Romance

"Inevitable" by @justafewsmallsteps / HelikaAkileh (AO3)

"Here With You" by SomeKndOfNature (AO3)

"In the Blood" by @dawnrider

"My Brother's Bestfriend" by @keichanz

Best MirSan Romance

"More Than Enough" by @serial-doubters-club / hakomorebi (AO3)

"Sense and Sensibility, An Inuyasha Retelling" by @ruddcatha

"An Auspicious Fortune" by @fawn-eyed-girl

"Scars" by @skyelara

Best Romance

"time will tell" by @savethelastdan / Shespitsfire (AO3)

"For the Dancing and the Dreaming" by @flowingsakura

"Our Special Love" by @jeremymarsh

"Red" by @sagemcmae

"This is Unnecessary" by @jewel-shard

Best Fluff

"Home" by @witchygirl99

"Riding my Professor" by ValentineHeart14 (AO3)

"Boyfriend's Hoodie" by @classysassy9791

"Love Language" by @shikonstar

"Peony For Your Thoughts" by @sereia1313

Best Serial

"Hanyou Holidays" by @dawnrider

"Firsts" by @soliska / Evilillusions (AO3)

"Beneath Goshinboku" by Ldesu (AO3)

"Spiritual" by @rileyoe1

"This Is How I Show You" by @minakok

"Your Place or Mine?" by LianaDawn (AO3)

Best Ficlet

"From the Brink" by @serial-doubters-club / hakomorebi (AO3)

"The Western Lord's Dilemma" by @theshipthatgotaway / SimpforSessKag (the_ship_that_got_away) (AO3)

"Boyfriend's Hoodie" by @classysassy9791

"Shippo's Wish" by @heynikkiyousofine

Best Friendship Portrayal

"Hachi the Raccoon-Dog" (Hachi & Inuyasha) by @jewel-shard

"The Inquizition" (Miroku & Inuyasha) by @kstewdeux

"Coterie" (Miroku & Inuyasha) by @elkonigin

"Prayer Hands wear Cursed Gloves" (Miroku & Kagome) by @mrfeenysmustache / AshMish111 (AO3)

Best Completed

"Hack" by @timetravellingpaperbag

"Held Up in the Rain" by @mrfeenysmustache / AshMish111 (AO3)

"Nuts About You" by @shikonstar

[quibbs126]

I've been trying to figure out a design for the child of langue de chat Cookie and one of my ocs, nonnette cookie. Could you try to draw one? ( if you want to)

This was an old oc x canon I forgot to post but was meaning to (but I did message it out at least), this is Parkin Cookie

So basically Parkin Cookie here works for the police force, specifically in the crime division (note that I don't actually know how police work). As I recall, Cappuccino is supposed to have been somewhat of a mentor to him, but I don't think Parkin is lawyer, just an officer. I mean I'm told prosecutors work with law enforcement, but still. Anyways, he's not that high ranking, and he mostly just works in the station, but he does still do stuff

He also has little tolerance for the cold (or what he considers cold), so usually outside the station you will see him in his big knit parka (well that's what it's supposed to be, I don't actually know how to draw them). Outside of that he's a relatively normal guy, and he doesn't take insane stuff happening around him very well, he needs things to make sense

So I remember having trouble with his name specifically because I wanted to use something darker than Langue de Chat's hair and something closer to Nonnette. But eventually I came across parkin, which is this ginger cake, similar to nonnettes in that way but instead it's British (not much of a connection to Langue de Chat)

Parkin:

I swear, I look at Parkin's colors and I feel like I've seen a character that looks similar and with similar colors somewhere, but I just don't know where

Anyways, so I was able to keep the dark hair, and I was able to give him a blonde streak, so it's like the opposite of Langue de Chat's hair

I'm also quite proud of how I did his eyes

So one thing I planned to do with Parkin is give him a parka, since the two sound similar, and that's what he's supposed to be wearing. But as stated above, I don't feel like I did a very good job. I couldn't get the knit pattern on it, which frankly I feel like is my own fault more than anything. It takes up most of his design too, so there's not much to say

Looking at him now though, I notice that Parkin kind of just looks like a guy. Like that's just a human in Cookie form, he doesn't look like a Cookie. I mean I guess it's not his fault, the lawyer update gave us designs that were kind of just people, but still. I feel like my previous fankid for Amy, Purple Plum was much better. Though Parkin's still fine, I like how his hair and eyes look, and I think he looks pretty neat in the sketch

But yeah, that's Parkin, I hope you like him more than I do

[chewyjellycable]

Siblings but they're Pokémon because I think they're neat (please ignore how scuffed Langue's tail is).

[coquelicoq]

started on the french dictionary and so far i've only read the front matter and three pages of the A's and i'm already having so much fun. highlights:

the irony of the preface, which basically says, "this is an abridged edition. isn't that neat?", being at least three times longer than necessary

the list of 16 different symbols and their uses in distinguishing senses and introducing distinct usages within the same definition. because that seems like a large number of symbols, i have given myself permission not to comprehend the differences between any of them and just vibe

from the list of abbreviations:

"abusivt: abusivement (emploi très critiquable, parfois faux sens ou solécisme)" 😒 @ french lexicographers: have you heard the good news (of linguistic descriptivism)?

"recomm.: recommandation (dans recomm. off. « recommandation officielle » ; terme conforme à la loi française de 1994 sur la langue)" okay actually @ all of france: get well soon

"abdomen [-ɛn]" do you mean to tell me this vowel isn't nasalized??? sick. twisted. rebellious. can't believe la loi française de 1994 sur la langue has nothing to say about this !

"aber [abɛʀ]" this dictionary tells me when to pronounce the r in words ending in -er. my holy grail. crying and kissing its feet in gratitude

every time the definition includes a word i don't know i can just look that word up elsewhere in the same book i am currently holding!!!!

"abortif, ive adj. Qui fait avorter." told you b and v were related

"abreuver v. tr. 1. Faire boire abondamment (un animal)." this makes it sound like you're force-feeding animals water...on the previous page abondance is defined as "Grande quantité (supérieure aux besoins)" so like i'm getting the sense that you're leading a horse to water and not only making it drink but not letting it leave until it's drunk every last drop in the trough lol

"abribus [-bys] n. m. (nom déposé) Arrêt d'autobus équipé d'un abri" ok cute.

the example it gives for abruti is "Espèce d'abruti !" folks it don't get any frencher than that.

[moinsbienquekaworu]

Salut ma bien-aimée! I have a question about French and learning French stuff for you!

In one of your previous answers to me, you had recommended a site for translations that was better than google translate. I've managed to misplace that answer, would you be able to either link me back to that or re-say it?

And do you know of a site that's like dictionary.com but in French? Like, one types in the word and out pops all the definitions and the pronounciation and etc etc etc?

You said you're happy to be a free resource, so I hope you don't mind my asking too much! Have a good afternoon and I love you very much!

Coucou mon amour <3

The website is Wordreference, french to english or english to french (it's also good for spanish, and maybe German but I've never used it for that). The definitions have context & nuances, and you can look up some phrases, but it's not a super long completely unreadable page. Teachers often recommend it instead of google translate, and they're right to, it IS better. The other site I recommended was the Bescherelle, for conjugation, french kids have a paper version to use in class in middle school but there's a web version too!

For a dictionary, you can use the Wiktionary in french, it also has slang and it's neat, or you can look at the modern dictionaries page of the CNRTL, which links to the 8th and 9th editions of the Académie Française's dictionary (which, fuck the Académie Française, but it should be a pretty complete dictionary), as well as the Trésor de la Langue Française informatisé, which was finished in 94 and is therefore not up to date and never will be again, but is supposed to be pretty complete. The CNRTL also has a section of old dictionaries, if for some reason you want to read old french. Those are best accessed on a computer, they're really not optimised for mobiles. Otherwise, the online version of the Larousse is there, it has audio files for the pronunciation, it's one of the classic paper dictionaries in France, and it's updated every year (you often hear about x slang word entering the Larousse/the Robert and people whining about it because they're cunts)

It's fine, it's my area of expertise in a way so it's good that I can be useful! Thank you and I hope you have a good day as well!! <3 <3 <3

[reallunargift]

some months ago i was reading about the knights hospitaller, which led me to the langue of castille, león and portugal, which in turn led me to the aurberge de castille where their knights were housed together, which is now where the maltese PM works, which still has their coats of arms

and i just think that's neat :)

[sleepingdeath-light]

im gonna blow up. langue de chat has taken over my brain at this point

-solar anon

Oh dear! At least he’s a neat character? 😅

[secretconstellations]

The Kind You Could Grab A Beer With (Platonic!Steve x Sam)

pairing: platonic!Steve x Sam

warnings: slight swearing, mention of alcohol (no alcohol misuse)

synopsis: steve hasn't felt normal in a long time. he just needs someone to be his friend, someone he could grab a beer with.

a/n: this is my second post!!! thank you so much for reading and i really hope you enjoy it :) again, feedback/constructive criticism would be great and requests are open!!! just use the ask feature on my page

Steve ran. It was all he could do. It was his constant, his saving grace. The feel of the morning breeze caressing his face brought him back down to earth. The feel of his feet hitting the worn pavement gave him a surge of adrenaline that made him feel ready for anything. The sunrise, a painting of colour splashed across the sky, gave him a sense of nostalgia, of belonging that he couldn't quite place. The beautiful, long shadows of the few passers-by placated the ever-growing numbness that had formed in the pit of his chest the moment he woke up from being iced for seventy odd years. It made him feel okay, even if only for a moment. So Steve ran.

"On your left!" He huffed out to a (rather attractive looking) man he passed running on the same path he was. He had seen him a few times before, sometimes out even earlier than he was. They must have followed the same route or something considering how often they passed one another.

"Uh huh, on my left, got it." Steve chuckled at the sarcasm lacing the man's voice as he sped past him, glad to have a way to show off his abilities that didn't include fighting and killing. He looked back at the man, his expression sour but playful as he shrunk to a mere iota in the Captain's peripheral. Oh, it's on.

Steve ran around his route with ease and came upon the man again. This time, the man sensed Steve's presence approaching him.

"Don't say it... Don't you say it!"

"On your left!"

"COME ON!" He whined.

Steve sped away once again, a smile decorating his deep set features. He decided he liked this guy. He seemed nice. Funny even. Someone you could grab a beer with. How Steve longed for a friend he could just grab a beer with without the baggage of war and aliens and New York 2012 and HYDRA looming over their heads the whole time. That sounded nice.

--

"Wanna grab a beer?" Steve asked Sam, his now longtime running companion and member of the Avengers. So much for friends outside the field.

"Eh, I've got a couple in the back, I don't feel much like going out." Sam sighed whilst getting up out of his chair. He appeared to sense Steve's disappointment. "I can get a card game out too, if you like. You play solitaire?"

"Not my favourite but I play."

Sam grabbed a stack of cards from a cabinet as he headed to the back to grab two beers. Steve leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes in a desperate attempt to have a moment of peace away from the terrors of battle and missions and all that crap. That was why he liked Sam's place so much. It felt homely, like a family could live there. It was so far removed from the waking nightmare that was being an Avenger. Don't get him wrong, Steve loved his job and he loved the 21st century. The food was better, no polio was nice, the internet was so useful and, of course, the Troubleman Soundtrack was a godsend! Honestly, it was the best music he had listened to since... ever. Thanks, Sam. And not to mention, fighting for justice had been his life purpose since he popped out of the womb. But sometimes he just wanted quiet. He just wanted some peace. A sense of normality. Why was God so dead set against giving it to him?

"I got us two Stellas." Sam's voice broke his train of thought.

"Neat." Steve took one out of Sam's hands as he placed the cards on the coffee table between them. "Ready to play?"

"Oh it's on-"

!MISSION ALERT!

"Aw, shit, dude. Duty calls."

"Language." Steve slipped out.

There was silence for a moment. A really long moment.

"You did not just say language, Rogers. You have got to be kidding me."

"I didn't mean... It just slipped out!"

"Uh huh, it slipped out." Sam was giggling like a little girl. "I am never letting you live that one down, Cap."

Steve rolled his eyes but he couldn't help but smile, too.

"I'm taking my beer."

"Yeah, goddamn right you are!" The sarcasm was evident in Sam's voice, but he was still holding his. "Ah, fuck it. Let's take 'em. Let's see how much we can drink without spilling on those HYDRA motherfuckers!"

Steve had no clue how Sam could stay so chipper, so loose, after all he'd been through. It was a miracle. Sam really was the kind of guy you could just go grab a beer with. He was the kind of guy to lose a race by a mile and still manage to take it on the chin (after he had made a few dirty quips directed at Steve first). He was the kind of guy to make pop culture references that he knew Steve wouldn't understand and then explain them right after so Steve could make that reference around other people. He was the kind of guy to taunt you jokingly but always knew where the line was (whether he crossed that line or not was another story). He was also the kind of guy Steve could always count on to have his back in a fight, no matter what. Steve thought he lost all that when he lost Bucky. Gosh, it felt like Steve was making a real best friend again. Maybe God was answering his prayers.

[bronzetomatoes]

sorry just reading ur other posts mais ça me tue toujours comment le franglais québécois et le franglais de france sont différents !! genre tu te dis ça devrait se ressembler mais nn on échange pas du tout les mêmes mots… im not a linguistics guy but i think its neat

Huh, c'est intéressant ! Je n'ai jamais pensé à ça. Aussi je suis anglophone + je suis dans un program d'immersion dans l'école depuis la septième année (12 ans), alors les anglicismes pour moi sont comme. Si vous apprenez un nouveau langue au même temps de 20-30 autres adolescents chaque jour pour 6 ans

[walnutcookie]

thinking about how drastically different langue de chat and cappuccino are like .

langues office is neat and tidy and bright, cappuccinos is a total mess and dimly lit. langue enjoys coffee casually while cappuccino is a coffee addict. langue combs their hair neatly while cappuccino messily ties his hair back and doesnt shave. langue is a complete beginner while cappuccino is a veteran prosecutor. langue has a hard time relaxing while cappuccino wants nothing but to take another break. not to mention langue is a defense attorney and cappuccino is a prosecutor

thats only a small list and only covers whats canon girl

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Saturday 10 August 1839

8 20/..

11 50/..

very fine morning sun and F71 ½° at 9 ¼ am breakfast at 9 ½ in ½ hour – before and after till now 10 ¼ inking over pencil memoranda and S- came immediately –

for Roman history they (the students) read Niebuhr one the origins of Romans 3vols.

pour la culture Rotteck  3vols. 8vo. (in German Stuttgard)

pour les guerres et la politique Lassen Norwegian 3vols.

1 for the [ ?], 1 for the moyen age, and 1 for the modern history but not yet finished – in Norwegian

on the Literature 1 vol. in German by Ficker

on the antiquities une collection des Leçons d’un de nos professeurs laquell collection est imprimée (af Bukker) now directeur de l’école métropolitaine

Pour l’histoire des Grecs les mêmes auteurs

Bekkers’ universal history 17 or 18 vols. in German

Beckmanns’ technology is translated into Danish (that is, Norwegian) printed, S- supposes, at Copenhagen –

the grand ouvrage de Kraft in several volumes new edition on Norway in Norsk

Anchovies Anschovis pronounced Anshooser or Anshoovĭs

had S- till now 1 ½ (i.e. from 10 ¼ to 1 ½ = 3 ¼ hours) at the pronunciation of the Norsk alphabet and his written notice lè dessus, and reading p. 1 (work itself) of our little Norsk history bought yesterday– and talking over the map of the country etc .

Divided into 5 stifts  bishoprics

17 amter

44 Fogderie

Xtiania stift called Agershuns stift

from the old castle here mentioned in papers of the 11th or 12th century

the present Xtiania founded by Xtian iv. about 1642.

then till 3 ½ studying over what we had read – S- went to the Landlord to make sundry inquiries, and A- and I read on – I wrote while A- translated and read aloud till now 5 35/.. and then went out – sauntered along the streets past Kappellen’s and Dahls’ booksellers shops – and then to Jaegers –

SH:7/ML/TR/12/0023

August Saturday 10 – could not get the work on mineralogy for me to look at – had seen in Dahls’ window a cookery book S- knows nothing of this – all this left to the femmes – dames, all, the countess Vedel [Wedel] de Jarlsberg herself, who is the head arranges the table – fait la cuisine – Do the ladies dine at table – can they cook and preside? – yes! all is arranged before dinner time and the servants do the rest – we passed a nice looking lady – she acknowledged S- he coloured I inquired if she was de la plus haute société – yes! she was in the same house with him last winter – chez le Storthingman célèbre............ captain of artillery, whose picture we had seen in Dahls’ window – one of the 1st men here – the lady an actrice at the theatre! but very respectable – not publically known but it is said she is fiancée to the Captains’ son – he 24 she 22 – the captain objects but not because she is an actrice but because she does not understand cooking! But is it not easy to learn – oh! no! can she not learn in 6 months? oh! no! il faut cinq ans – comment? est il donc plus difficile d’apprendre faire la cuisine que d’apprendre une langue étrangère? on peut apprendre une langue dans 6 mois – mais oui mais si il faut parler bien etc. etc. il faut......... toute la vie (sad I) – yes! true – for the gents here are très difficile pour la cuisine! – poor S- afterwards explained that it was not only cooking but the whole science of le ménage – the husband provides the meat (earns the living) and the wife prepares it and if she cannot manage well, nothing no income can suffice – he spoke of his mother as très savante i.e.

August Saturday dans la science de faire la cuisine – and his fiancée is also I suppose savant after the same sort – came in at 6 ¾ and dinner immediately – anchovies 1st time very good – highly seasoned and spiced – 4 marks or more per barrel containing 200 to 300 fish – Dans la société, a little side table with anchovies, herrings, etc. with which one begins the dinner – says our Swiss garçon – had just written so far at 8 ½

neat, good, farmstead stand book says looks flourishing looks as if well doing – pretty little picturesque hamlets each generally on its little [looky] [?] and [?] orchards and wood – everywhere the wooden buildings with a charpente [?] in squares which are filled up with brick or plaster – cattle and houses and a few sheep – Rye the chief corn – [?] in sight at 3 25/.. and its pretty fjord – alight the Stadt Copenhagen at 4 40/..

then walked about the room with A- and finished inking over writing out at the other end of this book Saturday 13 July the pencil from my account book –reading over Norsk again till 10 40/.. – fine day – F67 ¼° at 11 20/.. pm

[mudskip-muses]

dont mind me, just expounding on what it would entail if gundham actually had real magic

@prophetrick i figured you may be interested in this uwu

gundham can ‘shadow walk’. basically hes not completely invisible, just makes himself less noticeable, but if you know he can do this, or know what to look for in terms of detection, you can pretty much make this moot. super sense of smell, sight, hearing and aura detection will help but other than that you either wont know hes there unless he makes himself known or if your character is astute, empathetic etc they may have the feeling of being watched

when he steps out of the shadows, so to speak, they fall off him like smoke. no real reason for this, i just think its neat. if hes getting angry or is trying to be intimidating he’ll ‘twist’ the shadows about him with the same effect

he can talk to animals, but only ones he has a connection with, and how effective this is can vary. his devas are a part of him in a way, he can understand them as if they were himself and vice versa. animals that are more trusting, ie. some dogs, cats, friendly animals in general, will have a ‘minor connection’. he can communicate ideas to them and they can do the same in turn, but its not a complete connection and will have its limitations. its more of a suggestion if he issues some sort of a command. animals that have a mistrust of people are less receptive if not completely out of tune with this, but it is very very rare the later happens. less receptive animals are anything wild, he can convey his intent and its up in the air if they’ll truly listen to him or not depending on what he is asking of them. any animal that has been severely abused will be unable to be swayed unless calmed or its proven they can trust him

animals ‘speak’ in the language they were raised with, and he can only understand those that speak Japanese or English. anything else is based on sensing and sharing their emotions instead of direct thoughts. there are some exceptions to this, ie. if the animals or gundham happens to know a singular word or phrase is a different langue for whatever reason

some of the animals he care for are magical in nature, though are hidden either though illusion magic of their own power or of his creation. the later is often held in a near indestructible collar or other such band, like that on a birds leg or a temporary ear/fin tag only able to be removed by him. if your character is also magic, there is a chance to see through this, or at the very least feel as if something is different about the animal. any sort of magic the animal posses is unable to be used or is severely negated form the collar to avoid detection

because the devas are a part of him in a spiritual sort of connection, they have a higher intelligence, close to that of a young child. they can carry out basic tasks and ‘speak’ to gundham, but they are still hamsters and thus have limitations. they also dont always realize not everyone can understand them, and can get frustrated if theyre trying to convey an idea and it goes unheard. they will have a general idea of where gundham is at all times because of this connection. they also have a longer life span, connected to gundham. as long as he persists, so do they

gundham has ‘ice touch’, basically his body temperature runs a bit colder than an average human, and if hes angry or upset, there will be a chill in the air or frost creeping out into his immediate surroundings. this is not a powerful thing and doesnt have much practical use beyond chilling a drink or dropping another persons body temperature a few degrees. because of this, heat is not something he favors in high amounts. his body temp may run cold, hence the constant scarf and coat, but if he gets too hot it becomes to much for him to combat and it will weaken him, making all his magic harder to cast and him more susceptible to adverse effects

his ‘poison touch’ just makes people uncomfortable when they touch him since its not something he often enjoys and wishes for it to happen as little as possible. this is an at will ability and if he is unconscious you will not be affected, and he may grant you an ‘immunity’ to it or take your ‘immunity’ away depending on how he feels about you in the moment

he uses many runes, some of his own making, combined from various sources and lore for whatever he needs them for, a sort of ‘mix and match’ spell. the one he uses the most is a ward against curses that raises his mental fortitude and makes it harder to read his mind or control him. this ward is contained in his hounds earring

his bandaged arm does indeed cover all his scars from his breeder profession, those are really nothing special, the bandages themselves however, are capable to unraveling themselves for other uses, such as an extent of his own fingers if his hands are bound. they act like snakes when he casts them at someone, but they are just simple enchanted gauze and are easily destroyed, especially if the red ball charm holding the magic together is severed, or if fire magic is used

his scarf also holds this power in a similar fashion, though is less effective because of the size of them garment. the enchantment is held together by the stitched pattern, if that part is cut in any way, it becomes just a normal scarf

his coat offers some protection against all elements, though is considered ‘light armor’ and under enough power its ability is weakened considerably. the enchantment is again held in the stitched pattern

his boots hold an enchantment that quiets his footsteps, only super hearing will be able to detect them 

the ‘scar’ is a sort of magical tattoo, it gives that eye minor enchanted sight that allows him to see magic trails/residue/auras. it and his left eye glow ever so slightly when this ability is being used

there is some truth in him being the product of an angel and a demon, the proof held in the color of his eyes. your muse may or may not pick up on this based on their arcane knowledge or abilities

he has a sort of ‘karma trigger’ the brings misfortune to those around him on occasion. he doesnt need to know that something has happened for this to take effect, its activated by sensing an ‘emotional trigger’ from anyone who needs it. every so often it will affect a stranger if hes in the area, but is more potent if he has an emotional connection with the victim. say youre a stranger and you get tripped by a bully and he happens to be in the room, if your emotional trigger is enough, that bully in turn will trip and fall within the next minute or so and any injuries they sustain are connected to the power of that unseen emotional state. if your a friend or loved one, the consequences of that fall will be more severe, more likely to result in a broken bone than a simple trip. this is proximity effective and it could be days before anything happens if he hasn’t been close to the victim in a while, and it has to opportunity to dissipate as time goes on. most refer to it as karma, but is a part of his ‘demonic’ half that he has no control over. the emotional trigger is a side effect of it being at ‘war’ with his angelic half, it not allowing anything truly heinous to happen, it must be justified and it must always be some sort of ‘benefit’ to half of the affected party

his demonic half also gives him an ‘intimidation aura’, though he is unable to control it. it is activated when he is angry

in turn, his ‘angelic’ half aids in his comforting aura, activated when it senses distress in him or someone he cares for 

this aura also acts as a pain reducer, though it is the equivalent of over the counter pain killers. this is exclusive only to him since it is at ‘war’ with his demonic half

he can see ghost, but only of animals and people with some sort of a connection to him, ie. ancestors or deceased friends. the animals often come to him for aid if they have an inability to cross over, either seeking revenge or some sort of blessing for their previous owners or outside party from when they were alive. he helps them whenever he can and can often be found wandering through graveyards in search of those who need him

ghosts cannot posses him unless they held powerful magic when they were alive, or if they are angelic or demonic in nature. his own duel nature prevents the possession of ‘average’ ghosts

[couchpotatoaniki]

One Year ❣︎ Four: Too Chill for Comfort

Chapter Summary: San spills his heart out, why he’s so ‘in love’ with you and you’re unsure how to act. Meanwhile, Mingi, Yunho, Seonghwa, and Yeosang are worried over your whereabouts.

Pairing: Mafia!San x Fem!Reader Genre: Mafia AU, fluff, angst, eventual smut, lotta crack and stupid shit ngl Chapter warnings: swearing, death, blood, brief mentions of human trafficking, suggestive content, bodily scars,  Word count: 4.5k+  A 365 Days parody

Previous: Chapter Three For the rest of the series, click here

Speech in bold means they’re talking in Korean

Speech in italics is whatever the reader wants their native langue to be that’s not Korean or English

Speech without either means they’re talking in English

"I think, perhaps introductions would be a wise way to start,” San said, leaning back into the leather armchair with his glass of whiskey. “My name’s Choi San.”

Bells rang in your head, immediately recognising that name. Like you had initially thought, he was the head of a crime syndicate--though now you knew he was part of the Choi family, who ran most of Korea and various places around the world; business mainly focused towards cyber crime, fraud, money laundering, smuggling, drug and arms dealing, the like.

“I assume you already know mine?” you replied.

“I’d like to hear you say it. Make this interaction as normal as possible.”

You cocked a brow up, amused at his line of thought. “Like this could get any weirder.” Upon his lack of reaction, a sigh pushed out of your lungs slowly. “Name’s Y/N L/N.”

"A beautiful name,” he complimented, nodding his head towards you.

“You can thank my parents. They’re the ones who thought of it.”

“Are you always this snarky?” San couldn’t deny that he secretly loved it, yet could definitely see himself being pissed off at you in the future.

“Guess you’ll find out.” Your tongue ran over your lip, heating it up a little after the man in front of you decided it would be a neat idea to rub ice on it. “Go on then. Explain to me the oh-so mind-boggling reason I’m here.”

Swirling the drink in the glass, San kept his eyes on the way the liquid collided with the ice inside. “Five years ago... my father lost his life in Santorini. Nearly lost mine too, since the bullet that pierced his heart almost did the same to mine. But, strangely, all I could think about was you, sitting on the beach, looking so melancholic.” He sucked in a deep breath between his teeth. “And I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since.”

He chuckled, tearing his gaze from the whiskey towards the fireplace, avoiding your eyes. “Everyone--everyone, thought I was crazy. Not even paper trail that trace me back to you. And oddly enough, no facial recognition systems could find you either. It was as if you were a ghost everywhere except in my head.”

Courtesy of Yeosang. He was the one who wiped you off the face of the Earth. Internally grateful that was all the mafia boss knew of you. Not even why you went to Santorini in the first place.

When San finally met your eyes, afraid of what he might see, it was certainly not what he was expecting. Icey, devoid of emotion. He cleared his throat, licking his lips in thought as he finally added, “I wanted you to be mine. Still do.”

“Well that, unfortunately, isn’t how things work, Mr. Choi--”

“San,” he corrected.

Nodding slowly, you leaned forward. “San. Listen, I’m sorry your father got shot, but whatever daddy issues you have, I can’t heal them. Not to mention, you’re not the only one whose life changed five years ago. Won’t be throwing you a pity party--”

“That’s not what I’m asking,” exasperated San, growing increasingly annoyed just like he thought he would.

“Then what are you asking for? Because it sounds to me like you want to fill up the hole your Dad left with me.”

He stood up, inching towards you like a leopard stalking its prey. “I want you to love me.”

You sent him a pointed look while speaking calmly as to not poke the bear. “If you’re that desperate, then how about you go out and meet someone--build a healthy relationship where you both know you love each other, not kidnap them and force them into submission.”

“That’s why I’m giving you a chance to fall for me--”

“Did you not just hear what I said--”

“365 days,” he offered, “365 days for you to fall in love with me.”

“Can you not say ‘one year’ like a normal person?”

Inhaling and exhaling aggressively, he tried to calm himself from breaking the glass in his hand. “If you don’t fall for me by your next birthday, then you’re free to go. Hand on heart,” he demonstrated, placing his left hand on the centre of his chest.

“Two things. First, your heart’s not at the centre of your chest--” he turned around, actually not believing how infuriating you were being, “--it should be more towards the left. Secondly, it’s technically 364 days, since my birthday was two days ago, by the look of the daylight outside. 363 days if we’re excluding today too.”

San turned around, eye twitching at how you weren’t seeming to take this seriously as he wanted. You really weren’t, and you could see his anger clearly.

“Hey, you’re the idiot that wanted to be with a girl based on her looks, not her personality. Let this interaction be a lesson to you,” you shrugged, standing up and walking to nearest door you assumed was the exit. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a life to get back to.”

San wasn’t going to let that happen. His fingers wrapped around your wrist as you passed him, tightening to prevent you from moving another centimetre. He let out a noise--something between a scoff and a chuckle--as he dragged you carefully to the chair beside him.

You had your eyes trained on his grasp, ready to throw the man over your shoulder for doing so.

“What life? One with your boyfriend?” He let go and reached towards the table that was next to you, handing you the black A4 envelope that was on it moments before.

“Colour-coordinating your envelopes and your clothes? Damn, you’re committed.” you smirked, enjoying how he was getting more and more agitated. Though, inside, your heart was pounding at what the envelope hidden, knowing just it just might entail.

It appears as if your ‘capture’ also knew about Dominic. And had evidence to prove it too.

Not a word was said as you looked at the photographs of your now-ex boyfriend balls deep in the same woman he was eyeing at the dinner party. Inhaling deeply, you pushed the photographs back in the envelope.

“Must say... it’s got great camera quality,” you noted as you chucked it back on the table, not wanting to look at it any longer.

“Are you fuckin--I show you that you boyfriend cheated on you and that’s what you focus on?” Now San was thinking if there was something wrong with you because you were not normal.

“Hun, you’re a bit late to the party. I already knew Dom cheated on me. Planned to deal with it when we got back home.”

Sighing, he pulled away, moving on because he sure as hell didn’t know how to act. “Your stuff’s been taken from the hotel room and will be brought here.”

Accidently, you snorted at the thought of his goons trying to take your things. Either the boys would pummel them or would use this opportunity to find out where you are.

If they haven’t already.

Once again, not deciding to comment on your odd behaviour, San continued. “We left a note for Dominic and your friends. That you’ll be disappearing and won’t be back for a while.”

“How courteous,” you sarcastically replied, standing up once more to leave as you rolled your eyes.

It was the last straw for the mafia boss, pushing you against one of the pillars in the room. You could feel the rough, cold stone of the bricks on your skin, digging slightly in the flesh of your body as he pressed himself flush on your back.

You felt like a goddamn sandwich.

“Listen here, babygirl, you shouldn’t provoke me,” you heard his low-toned voice speak into your ear. “Won’t tie you up, won’t hurt you, won’t touch you--unless you give me permission first.”

“I feel like the whole situation right now breaks those three rules,” you chuckled, feeling one hand on your waist and the other on the side of your chest, with his legs between yours.

His head rested on your shoulder, inhaling the citrusy scent to calm himself down from doing something.

“That’s because you pushed me.”

Gently, your hand caressed the side of his torso--what you could reach, anyway--which had him losing his mind at the pleasant feel, breath jagged. Meanwhile, you found the thing you were looking for. Tucked into his trousers was his gun.

In one swift motion, you elbowed him on the other side of his chest to force him off you while pulling out the gun to point it at a surprised-looking San. “No, you just have a really short fuse.”

“Okay,” he calmly spoke, hands in in the air, gesturing you to lower the weapon in your hand. “Put the gun down... or this will stop being funny.”

Humming, you pretended to think for a second before throwing the gun onto the armchair haphazardly. “Fair enough. Don’t want it to be ‘not funny’ anymore, now do we?”

He looked between the gun and you, corner of his mouth and eye twitching. “Did you just throw a gun?”

“Relax, Little Miss Antsy, the safety was on. Thought you’d know that since it is your gun, after all.”

San opened his mouth, only to be interrupted by three men who had already entered the room--perplexed by the interaction they had witnessed, from you being pushed into the pillar to pointing a gun at the intimidating man without breaking into so much as a sweat.

“Um,” Hongjoong cleared his throat, “there’s been a delivery. Needs your signature though.”

Wooyoung watched as his friend and boss followed his second-in-command out the room, muttering to him and the red-headed boy beside him to take you to your room. Jongho was the one who moved towards you while you looked at him with a blank expression.

“Let’s go.”

After accompanying you to the room, the two boys who had introduced themselves as Choi Jongho (San’s cousin) and Jung Wooyoung (another one of San’s old friends), had left you unguarded.

The quiet red-head from what you know already was in charge of the armoury and any transitions involving weapons, while the lax-looking man had his hands full with the ‘medicinal’ side of the businesses. As for the blue-haired man, you could only guess from process of elimination was Kim Hongjoong, San’s right-hand man, his partner in crime.

Deciding to wait an hour or so (it somehow turning dark from the last time you checked despite it still being summer), you left your unlocked room to see what San was doing, clearly about his business since anyone can sign off on a package. From the lack of guards around, you were certain you had this entire mafia under the impression that you weren’t dangerous at all.

Or what he was doing required his manpower.

You took one step outside the building, remembering the layout from before, but a hand grabbed your arm, pulling you behind a different building in the enormous courtyard. Reflex kicking in, you kicked the leg in, simultaneously slamming your elbow into the stranger’s face.

Only, it wasn’t a stranger. It was Mingi.

His hand stopped your arm from colliding into him, lifting his leg up too to stop your attack. “Woah, woah, woah. Careful of the beautiful face, little lady.”

“Oh, it’s just you,” you sighed in relief, not wanting your cover to be blown. Your eyes trailed over him, seeing how he was in tight, ebony clothing of a stretchy material. Work clothes.

“Couldn’t you be just a smidgen more happy to see me?”

“Nah,” you grinned, giving him a hug. Even though it hadn’t been more than two days, you missed him and the others like hell.

Your best friend looked around to see if anyone was around, arms still engulfing you. “A’ight, fess up. How and why the hell did the Choi family kidnap you and why is it taking you so long to break out of this place? Should’ve been out by now with your skill set--hell, should’ve not gotten captured in the first place.”

“Apparently, Choi San saw me in Santorini five years ago and fell in love with me.”

His brows knitted in confusion. “Hold on, wasn’t that when you had that whole ‘cleansing’ week from--”

“Yeah,” you cut off, not wanting to hear it, “yeah, it was. But San saw me again at the airport, I’m assuming, and decided to kidnap me. And I needed to fuck with some people’s heads so here I am.”

Lips sucked into his mouth, Mingi tried his best not to laugh. “Are you telling me that you let yourself get kidnapped because you were bored?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

His amusement melted and began looking at you in slight concern. “Sure it has nothing to do with Dom?”

“Yeah, funny story,” you said, finally pulling out of the hug. “San got actual pics of him cheating. Now this fucker’s really gonna face my wrath if I ever see him again.”

“So you are doing it as a distraction.”

“To-may-to, to-mah-to.”

“They’re not the same thing.”

“Well they are to me,” you narrowed your eyes onto his cocky self. “I’ll do my best to keep in contact with you in the year that San has decided to ‘keep’ me.”

“A year?” Mingi tilted his head to side, not understanding why there was a time limit.

“For me to ‘fall in love’ with him--it’s a whole thing,” you exasperated, pinching the bridge of your nose with one hand while gesturing in the air with the other.

“Sounds like a lot happened,” amused Mingi, arms crossed. “What do you want me to tell the others?”

“That I’m fine and not to worry about me too much. These dumbasses think I’m some weak civilian.”

The tall man snorted, “they’re in for a real treat.”

“I know, but maybe I could get something from this experience. Maybe I could actually fall in love with the guy.”

The two of you stared at each other for an excruciating five seconds with blank faces before making a noise from your nose, breaking out into laughter as silent as you could make it.

No way in hell that was going to happen.

Both of you stopped as your ears catch wind of commotion further away in the courtyard. “You should probably go.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Mingi hesitated, looking at you with soft eyes. Spoke in a gentle tone, “look after yourself, okay?”

You returned the same look and voice, lightly hitting his arm. “Of course.”

His towering form melted into the shadows, and just as suddenly as he arrived, Mingi disappeared without a trace right before your eyes.

Curious brain of yours took you to the source of the commotion further out in the courtyard, near another building structure. Movements faltering, you saw a ring of well-built men--including San, who had another gun in his hand, pointing it at a beaten-up man cowering in the middle.

Bang, and the pleading stopped. The leader noticed something strange in his peripheral, head turning to meet your gaze fixated on the man pooling blood at his feet.

“Fuck,” he cursed, not wanting you to see this side of him--not this early on.

He leaned towards on of his men, telling him to clean up this mess before walking over to you with such speed, it was almost as if he teleported.

San thought you were traumatised by the way you refused to look away from the warm corpse, staring into its open eyes with glassy ones of your own. Grabbed your arm, perhaps too tightly, and pulled you back inside to your room.

You took the initiative to sit on the bed by yourself, not really all that bothered about what you saw. He took a seat on one of two chairs in front of the curtain, waiting for you to say something.

When five minutes passed and all you did was stare at him, he asked you if you were okay. Getting nothing in reply, he rubbed his forehead, wondering how he managed to fuck this up so quickly.

“You need to know he deserved it. He crossed lines he shouldn’t have.”

“Like?” you pressed. Exhaled with relief that you actually spoke.

“Now, those details, babygirl, are details you don’t need to know.”

“What? Because it’s dangerous?” you ridiculed, finding it even funnier when San’s jaw tightened. “C’mon. It doesn’t take a genius to know that you’re a mob boss. Actually,” you contemplated, leaning back on your hands, “it does if you’re living in a world full of idiots.”

He looked positively perplexed, not knowing that you could be this at ease. Decided to tell you in order to get some sort of humane reaction out of you. “Human trafficking was one of them. Hurting kids is another, but that’s all I’m willing to give you.”

“Huh,” you pouted, “so you’re the cliché ‘mafia man with morals’ even though you’ve kidnapped and held a woman against her will?” Your tone was light, almost playful, as if what he told you was an everyday thing.

Like you had already been desensitised to his dark world.

He didn’t like the thought of that. Didn’t like the thought at all.

San got up and walked to you, climbing over your form yet still remembering to maintain some space between your bodies. “Are you a psychopath or something?” he mumbled, hand floating over your jaw.

“Yes, I am. Thanks for noticing,” you mused, truth ringing in your words.

Moments passed and it was only then did the man pull away, steely expression refusing you from seeing what he was thinking.

“Regretting kidnapping me so soon?”

Snickering menacingly, San shook his head. “Quite the contrary. Regretting that I didn’t kidnap you sooner.” It wasn’t only himself that he surprised with his confession.

“Damn, I’ll get it right next time.”

Heart started to leap in his chest with anxiousness at your carefreeness, despite what he had told you and you just witnessed. “We’ll be going shopping tomorrow so get a good night’s sleep.”

“Taking me shopping with your black card to win me over? Again, very cliché,” you chided.

“Not necessarily just that. Taking you shopping so you have clothes to wear when we’re in Seoul.”

“So now I’ve been demoted to a sack of potatoes you move from place to place?” you pumped an eyebrow up. “Nice going. Certainly know how to win a person’s heart.”

Before exiting your room, all San did was wink at you--a sign that he was starting to get to grips on how to handle you. At least he was quick to adapt.

San certainly delivered on his word when he took you shopping the next afternoon, but not without spoiling you with an exquisite breakfast spread of fruits and pastries, along with the company of Wooyoung in his stead.

Quite an enjoyable conversation too, which was surprising since the man wasn’t at all what you had in mind. Then again, it seemed to be the case with everything lately.

San told you on the drive to town after you had gotten ready (wearing a simple, pale pink dress with a beige cardigan, black, heeled suede boots, and simple gold necklace) that he wanted you to get whatever your heart liked, no matter the price.

Couldn’t keep his eyes from trailing back to you, your clothing not at all luxurious but effective in making you look even more beautiful nonetheless. Not even the scenery of Jeju’s coast could distract him from the gorgeous woman sat beside him in the back of the car.

Jongho, who had been driving, was the only form of protection San took with him, hoping that this would allow you to become more friendly with his cousin.

After all, family’s important.

Standing outside a store, the letters on it spelling ‘PRADA’ had you shivering with displeasure. “You’re kidding, right?” you looked between the two men beside you. Receiving sceptical glances as an answer, you grunted. “Swear to God if this turns into some stupid-ass rich-people shopping montage, I’ll gut someone like a fish.”

Your captor rolled his eyes. “Very scary, bab--”

“Call me ‘babygirl’ one more time, and I’ll gut you too.”

Not wanting you to go through with your threats (because you look so pissed at his choice of store that he didn’t want to take any chances), San enquired what petname you preferred as you took a gander at all the overpriced clothing.

“No ‘babe’. Absolutely hate that. Though I don’t mind ‘sweetheart’, ‘honey’, ‘princess’, or ‘darling’. Anything that can be said in a sarcastic way, basically.”

Jongho smirked to himself, enjoying the casual way you spoke down to his cousin who normally wouldn’t take that from anyone outside the mafia’s inner circle. Not even Dae--whom he heard had been broken up with the moment you were captured.

Spending an hour in the shop, you exited the building without purchasing a single item.

“Wait, why didn’t you get anything?” San asked as you led them into another store. He knew from past relationships and interactions between couples around him that people loved to spend money on expensive goods.

“Bro, I know money isn’t an issue for you, nor is spending it. Could tell by how much you seemed to have splurged on your damn castle.”

“So?” San questions, somewhat irritated that you called him ‘bro’.

Stopping in your tracks, you swivelled on your heel to look at him. “So, I can’t do anything to you by spending without a second thought. I’m gonna make you lose your shit at how indecisive I can be.” Face grew closer until it was inches apart. “And I can be pretty fuckin’ indecisive.”

“Hyung,” Jongho called for him when you turned back to walk into a Luis Vuitton store, “good luck in handling that one.”

“He doesn’t need to handle me, I can wreak havoc by myself, thank you very much,” you yelled back.

Rubbing his face with his hands, San muttered, “and she says she’s better at English than Korean.”

“Nope, just more comfortable!”

Horns were sticking out of your head, the Choi cousins swear it.

No store in the enormous outdoor shopping centre went unvisited, but you bought maybe less than 20 items. Hell, you had less than three bags which you refused to let Jongho hold because “the poor boy wasn’t a shelf to shove things on.”

Cute how considerate you were being despite wasting hours of precious time aimlessly wondering around; neither of them walked this much, not to the point of their soles aching when they finally sat down at the last shop.

Victoria Secret, at your request.

An evil plan since you caught the blushing cheeks of a nervous Jongho whenever his eyes accidently spotted the lingerie section. Being in here made the boy freeze up, resembling a muscular tomato.

Meanwhile, San knew exactly what you were trying to do. And he wasn’t going to play into your hand. In fact, he was fairly patient when you asked his cousin for advise of what might look good on you, especially with innocent eyes that had him desperate to take you and rip the ‘purity’ from them.

It wasn’t until you were spending a bit too much time in the changing room did he lose his cool. Under the impression that you somehow managed to escape both him and Jongho, he barged in on you trying out some lacy undergarments which did look difficult to put on.

“Scram, ya perv,” you shooed, hands covering your body, especially your torso. But to no avail, since San had seen the scars littering your skin, making it look all the more breath-taking but also boiled his blood because he knew scars and those weren’t self-inflicted.

“Who did this to you?” Automatically, his hand reached out to rub his thumb over a certain gash trailing from navel to hip.

Slapping his hand away before he could touch, you pointed towards the closed door, no longer playful. “Out. Now!”

“Not until you tell me.” San took one step. Then two. Then three. Until your back was pressed against the cold mirror of the room.

“It’s for me to know and you to never find out. Now, leave!”

His hands took your wrists, forcing them off you so he could look at you properly. Littered with lines and old wounds had concern and anger swimming in his gaze as he inspected you, not caring about how hot he would have thought you would be.

“Who did this to you?” he whispered, needing to know the answer so he could... so he could do something.

“My past,” you glared, pushing him off you with such force, he stumbled backways and into the opposite wall. “There’s your answer, now get out!”

Evident enough that you weren’t going to talk about it, San huffed in frustration and followed your command without another word.

Didn’t take you long before you came storming out, no longer playful as Jongho had seen you but furious as you threw the lingerie in your hands at his boss’ face and left without a word.

Something clearly happened, and neither of them looked like they wanted to mention it. San handed over the bundle of thin clothing, telling him to pay for it so he could go look for you.

Coming out of the doors, the man saw briefly saw pale pink fluttering in the wind before disappearing behind a building. He followed it, finding you overlooking the shimmering sea as you rested your weight against the railings.

As San approached you, he noticed two police officers right beside you, chatting amongst themselves. Had no problem with bodies of government, especially in Jeju since they may already work for him.

Silently, he took his place beside you, overlooking the same water you were. “Why didn’t you try to escape? Or at least contact the police officers right next to you? You know very good Korean so you must’ve been fine.”

One brow lifted, you scoffed. “I know very well how corrupt the police around the world is. They’d just send me back to you.”

Definitely smart, San thought to himself.

“Sorry,” he uttered with hesitation, not used to apologising.

“About what?” Sarcastic tones were definitely not hidden from him, digging into his skin like shards of glass.

“About prying where I shouldn’t have. Wasn’t okay of me to do that.”

“You’re damn right it wasn’t,” you spat, knuckles turning white at how tight your grip on the black railings were. Cold of the metal nipped at your skin, and you realised how bothered you had gotten.

It’s been five years, you thought, it shouldn’t still be this hard.

Inhaling, you turned around to lean your back against the metal guards, head tilted back to smell the sea salt in the air, feel the breeze brush through your hair and caress your skin.

Even this sight had San’s breath caught in his throat.

Your lips parted, now being able to think with a cooler head. “I’ll tell you when the time is right. You can count on that. But until I come to you, ready to talk about it, can you promise not to talk about it?”

Hesitantly, San answered, “of course.”

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