#magical fantasy world? idk just a suggestion

[localwolfgoesawooo]

"jegulus would never happen. it’s not realistic."

ohhhh, okay so that’s where you draw the line for what’s considered realistic or not. not magic, invisible flying horse skeletons, a 1000 year old talking sentient hat, invisibility cloaks, werewolves, moving staircases, animagi or dragons…? riiiight. ok got it

[crow-caller]

as someone with a schizospec disorder & DID, i really really appreciate you going out of your way to point out bad rep of people with DID and schizophrenia, including 'fantasy DID'. its really tiring to see us constantly painted as monsters, so its nice to see someone combatting that narrative. your book reviews are lovely, keep up the good work. ^__^

Systems are my friends and I really hate how little information there is to mainstream audiences that people with DID, psychosis, schizophrenia, so many others... are people. So many people flatly don't know what these conditions are outside of pop culture where it's always the same negative tropes. I find it really frustrating, and just want to help my best with clearing stigma and explaining why many portrayals are harmful.

Like. I didn't believe in multiplicity when I was a young teen because I'd only seen them as horror movie tropes and people online going "everyone who has this is faking it". It didn't affect my life at all and I didn't think about it.

But then knowing people and learning about it, it's like. Yep that's real, and yep I am far from the only person who didn't understand/believe it because there's basically no representation of it anywhere as a normal, real thing! So I like to talk about it, and talking about fantasy DID often is just a good excuse to talk about real DID and help people become a bit more aware of it and the tropes around it.

[bacchuschucklefuck]

the never stop blowing up vhs is where cute twinks go to get harmed

[utilitycaster]

Thank you for writing up that post about the engagement of the alleged themes in campaign 3. I've seen the argument for them and honestly that plus some of the C3 stuff has almost made me feel weird playing a cleric in this setting. The implications just are so unfortunate if it really is the angle they're going for?

Hi anon,

So I have two thoughts on this. The first is that like...it's actually really difficult to make a story set in a fantasy world that deals with racism and colonialism because you have to develop fantasy racism and colonialism, which is a really fucking unpleasant headspace to exist in! And then, if you do, you have what I alluded to in tags on a different post today, where you will get people up in arms about how D&D or an actual play show or a fantasy work depicts orcs or goblins as racist or antisemitic stereotypes and then it's crickets when it comes to any real-world support of black or Jewish people. Chuck Klosterman said sci fi is philosophy for stupid people, and I disagree, but I do think speculative fiction is frequently sociology, anthropology, and geopolitics for stupid people, particularly if it's a setting with a lot of magic and fantasy races vs say, works like Butler's Patternist series, or a lot of Latin American magical realism, or (girl who just finished Disco Elysium voice) Disco Elysium, where there's a lot more grounding in our reality. I think this post covers the concept of real vs mythic, and I think the Critical Role stuff with the gods is in the realm of the mythic and people are trying to force it into a very human narrative. And yeah, the implications are really unfortunate if you do.

I think it's worth noting that a lot of high-profile (and beloved) TTRPG/AP projects from actual people from colonized cultures imagine a world in which they were never colonized (I am far from an expert but just off the top of my head: Coyote and Crow; Into the Motherlands; Desiquest; Islands of Sina Una) rather than make a story where a bunch of mostly white characters explain how they are the victims of colonization from two separate sources and only really focus on the one that's way less obvious and true but don't worry they're GONNA FIX IT, maybe, idk, should we open this door? I just don't know! golly gee this is tough!

The second related thought is just that D&D isn't a game that is well-suited to dismantling complex political structures either on a narrative or literal level and also it's pretend so you can do what you want forever. I mean don't call other people slurs while playing it but if we're talking in-world? I genuinely think that people who are unabashed murderhobos in D&D are often perfectly fine, generous, and lovely people in real life, and a lot of people who are like "I unionized the goblins! We're playing non-combat D&D! I de-escalate every situation" are often the sort of person to claim it's ableist to suggest that perhaps you should try to use reusable shopping bags. Like, are you living your values in your real life and capable of critical thought? then who cares if your D&D character is kind of a dick, or the show you are watching doesn't align perfectly with what you believe? And I find people who get overly hung up on how good and virtuous they are for their media consumption tend to be compensating for a lack, or at best a deep insecurity, about how they comport themselves in their real life.

so anyway yeah if the cast actually is like "yes i see this as a decolonialist work" I am going to have Thoughts and Pretty Harsh Critiques but to grant the CR cast the benefit of the doubt here, I think it's just...a mythic, epic scale story that draws from interesting sources (creation myths, the idea of a world created as an envious reflection by a sealed hunger) and didn't come together very well. I cannot extend that same benefit of the doubt to those fans who have argued otherwise, however.

[comicaurora]

So, I have a question based on your urban fantasy ask about Golems;

What alternative names would recommend for the d&d monster? I've heard conflicting takes from different people, and the only alternative I've heard suggested is automaton, which... idk, it just feels too scifi for most settings to me, and elemental would get confusing.

Elemental: conjures up images of primordial spirits of classical elements animated through some magical or immate means. If your "golem" is a rock-monster, "elemental" will get the point across easily.

Construct: exactly what it says on the tin, a magical or otherwise unnatural life-form "constructed" by external means. If your "golem" was created by a wizard, "construct" is an easy substitute.

Homunculus: meaning has drifted over time, but it broadly refers to the magical or alchemical creation of an artificial human out of clay. If your "golem" is a humanlike being made out of clay or more realistic materials, "homunculus" will work.

You can also fully make something up out of appropriate component myths, like-

Promethean: a World Of Darkness faction named for Prometheus, mythical creator of humanity; the specific version in the game is movie-frankenstein-style animated patchwork corpses, but the name is great because it means "of Prometheus" and gets across the vibe of "created life-form like how prometheus created humanity". If your "golem" is humanlike, "promethean" could be appropriate.

[starlightkun]

❧ word count: 17.4k ❧ warnings: cursing, like... grossly adorable petnames just abandon ship now if you’re going to be a hater about it ❧ genre: fluff, modern magical creatures au, fantasy au, college au, dragon jisung, human reader, ft. various other magical dreamies and human!renjun, fake not dating/secret dating trope, same universe as strawberry sunday ❧ extra info: this work is set in the same universe as strawberry sunday but can be read as a standalone! there is no continuing plotline between fics in this universe, they simply take place in the same world/magic system and may have overlapping characters (neos may pop up in more than one work!) ❧ author’s note: here’s dragon jisungie too! this one was so much fun to write and idk y’all i think he’s just the loml now. anyway, cue the shenanigans ❧ EDIT DEC 2024: this fic had a brief mention of a former 127 member in it. i’ve edited this fic to take it out, but if there are any mentions of him that i missed, inconsistencies, or plot holes, please let me know!

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ explore the strawberry sunday universe more here!

“Isn’t it always the dragon that the princess needs to be rescued from in the fairytales?” You teased, bumping his shoulder with yours.

“Well maybe in this one, the dragon’s the hero—” Jisung wrapped his arms around your waist, picking you up and spinning you around. “—and rescues the princess from the crazed madman.”

“Do you like Jisung?”

Renjun’s deadpan question in the silence of the library nearly made you do a spit take all over your laptop.

After choking through the sip of your pink Gorgonade you’d just taken, you set the bottle down and looked at your human friend with wide eyes. “Excuse me?”

“Park Jisung. Our good dragon buddy. Do you like him?” Renjun repeated with an inquisitive tilt of his head.

“Yeah, sure, he’s cool.” You kept your voice as level as possible, returning your fingers to your keyboard.

“You know what I meant.”

“And clearly, I’m not answering,” you retorted. “Now can we get our project done?”

You and Renjun were both Magical Creatures Studies majors at your college and had met up at the library this particular afternoon to work on a project together. The two of you also had lots of mutual friends, including the aforementioned Park Jisung. And sure, maybe you did have a little bit of a crush on the dragon, but there was no way you were just going to start yammering on about it in the middle of the library after being asked so abruptly.

Your friend narrowed his eyes at you, but ultimately relented. “Fine. But this isn’t over.”

“Of course it’s not,” you sighed.

Finally done with your PowerPoint slides later that evening, you sent a quick text before shutting your laptop. Renjun flopped back in his seat with a groan.

“Thank fuck, my eyeballs are burning.” He rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his palms.

“Have you tried out those enchanted blue light glasses that fairies use?” You suggested, resting your cheek in your palm to watch your friend sympathetically. Fairies’ eyes were more sensitive to electronic screens than humans or other magical beings, so they had to wear special enchanted versions of the blue light lenses that some humans wore for eyestrain. Renjun was a human, but if the screens were hurting his eyes this bad, it was worth a shot.

“I would except they’re so goddamn expensive, and Chenle won’t let me touch his even to try before I buy.”

“What about that other fairy that Mark and Donghyuck know? You’ve met him before at a study session, right?”

“Who— oh, right, uh… Jungwoo. Maybe… but I really don’t want to be asking a fairy that I don’t know for a favor, even something so small. I barely ask the one that I do know for anything, and when I do, I always regret it.”

You snickered. “That’s fair. Seems like you’re just going to suffer for the rest of your life then, Renjun.”

“Oh, woe is me,” he sighed dramatically, taking his hands off his eyes to start packing up his stuff.

“You know who I bet could help you with your whole eye problem?”

“Who?”

You shouldered your backpack, looking your friend in the eye very seriously. “The aliens, obviously.”

“Hey, you know what! They probably could!” Renjun huffed indignantly, grabbing his bag to follow you out of the library.

You were laughing as he kept ranting at you.

“Listen, you guys shit on me way too much for this. And aliens probably could help me with my eye problems if they ever came to Earth, because then they’d have very advanced technology and could very well have the engineering capabilities to make me a screen or a pair of glasses—”

“Or a new pair of bionic eyeballs.” You offered up.

“Exactly!” He threw his hands up as you spotted a familiar figure waiting at the bottom of the library stairs.

Park Jisung was standing there, tapping his hands against his thighs as he looked around awkwardly. You could see the glint of gold chains and pendants around his neck, and even more gold adorning his ears, wrists, and fingers. Dragons were a lot like magpies, you always thought to yourself, they liked shiny things. If magpies could breathe fire, of course.

You were nearly out of breath laughing as you slowed to a stop next to Jisung. Renjun was red-faced, still huffing and puffing.

Jisung’s slit pupils flicked back and forth between the two of you, bewildered, “What—?”

“I just can’t believe you literally breathe fire and have wings,” Renjun jabbed a finger against Jisung’s chest. “And yet it’s sooo crazy and funny and weird that I think that there could be aliens out there in the grand unknown infinite expanse of the universe that we’re in.”

Your dragon friend rubbed a hand over the spot that Renjun had poked, looking personally wounded. He turned to you for an explanation. “What happened this time?”

“Don’t—” You got cut off by another round of laughs. “Don’t worry about it, Ji.”

The human was starting to calm down, and seemed to have finally processed that Jisung had apparently miraculously been waiting outside the library when you two walked out. After all, the dragon didn’t have a backpack, laptop, or seemingly any school supplies on him. “Wait, what are you doing here, Jisung?”

“Oh, I was just waiting for Y/N.”

“Well, we’ll see you tomorrow, Renjun.” You waved goodbye to your human friend before he could say anything else, grabbing Jisung’s arm and pulling him off in the opposite direction.

Jisung spoke up a few seconds later. “Uh, Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“Boba’s the other way.”

“Right. Sorry.” You made a face, awkwardly letting him change course and lead the way. “I was just trying to get out of there.”

“Why?”

“Oh, you know, Renjun was going on another one of his alien rants,” you fibbed a little, biting on the inside of your cheek.

Jisung snorted, and you watched a small puff of smoke shoot out of his nose, curling up into the air before entirely dissipating. “Thanks. How’d he get going this time?”

“Blue light glasses.”

His brow furrowed, the corner of his lip pulled up, and his nose wrinkled as he seemed to be trying to figure out how the jump was made from blue light glasses to aliens. Several of his sharp fangs were visible before his mouth relaxed again. “How—”

“You know it’s better not to ask with him.”

He sighed. “You’re right. I’m just glad we got out of there unscathed. Or at least I did. How about you? Are you in one piece still?”

Then Jisung’s two big, warm hands were on you, jokingly inspecting your hands, your arms, your neck, and your face for any harm done. You giggled, letting him turn over your arms and hold your hands and run his thumbs over your cheeks until he seemed satisfied, finishing it off with a pat to the top of your head.

“Yeah, I think I’m all here.” You absolutely knew that you were looking up at him with heart eyes. “Thanks for coming as quick as you did, any longer and I don’t think I would’ve made it this time.”

You were referring to the quick few minutes that had passed between you texting him that you were done with your project and when you actually laid eyes on him outside the library. It couldn’t have been more than five minutes, and it wasn’t like he had come from anywhere on campus: today was Saturday.

“Of course, I’ll always be around to rescue you from Renjun’s rants, you damsel in distress.”

“Isn’t it always the dragon that the princess needs to be rescued from in the fairytales?” You teased, bumping his shoulder with yours.

“Well maybe in this one, the dragon’s the hero—” Jisung wrapped his arms around your waist, picking you up and spinning you around. “—and rescues the princess from the crazed madman.”

You couldn’t help the cackling laughter that poured from your mouth, holding on against his supernaturally strong arms as he spun you once, twice, three times for good measure. Once you were back on two feet again, you had to clutch onto his upper arm to steady yourself as you regained your bearings. When you were sure you could walk in a straight line, you resumed your journey down the sidewalk together.

“And then the princess and the dragon fall in love and live happily ever after instead?” The words were out of your mouth before you could process the implications of them.

The dragon’s midnight blue eyes blinked at you a couple of times, and you opened your mouth to start the fastest backpedaling of your life, but then he just slung a casual arm around your shoulders.

“Yeah, something like that.” He shrugged. “Why not? I think that’s a pretty great ending. Almost as good as the dragon eating the crazed madman, which is what I was thinking.”

“Could do both,” you suggested, eyes glued to your feet.

Jisung laughed, and you looked up at him to make sure you caught his bright smile as he did. “I like that even better. Both.”

At Jasmine & Pearls, you happily accepted your drinks from Shotaro, the siren working behind the counter, before taking them to go. There was a small waterfront park just around the corner, and fall was starting to descend, meaning that it wouldn’t be too hot to just sit out there. You two walked a couple minutes down the trails away from the noisier playground to a secluded area, and found a nice soft patch of clover, wildflowers, and grasses to sit down on. Taking a sip of your boba and tilting your head back, you relished in the feeling of the warmth of the sun’s rays on your face. This was just a perfect Saturday. You had finished up your project, it was beautiful weather, and now you’re hanging out with Jisung.

“Hey, Jisung?” You pulled your head back up to look at him.

“Hm?” He raised his eyebrows, lifting his straw to his lips.

“How did you get to campus so fast?”

The dragon coughed on his drink for a second, and you were momentarily afraid of him actually choking on a tapioca pearl, but he thankfully pulled through. He scratched at the back of his neck, looking down at his drink as he mumbled something so quiet that you couldn’t make out a single word of it.

“What?”

“I was at the bakery,” he admitted, enunciating much clearer this time.

You immediately knew which one he was talking about. Half Moon Bakery, where your werewolf friend Jeno worked. It was just around the block from campus, not even a two-minute walk.

“Oh, were you and Chenle bothering Jeno at work?” That was one of Chenle’s favorite pastimes: causing mischief and having Jisung tag along. Not that Jisung didn’t often participate too, but it was typically the fairy’s idea.

“No, just me. I was… I was waiting for you to finish up at the library.”

A happiness swelled up in your chest, and your fingers itched to do something with all the extra energy suddenly coursing through your veins. So you started plucking some of the clover and flowers in front of you.

“Well I’m glad you did, Ji,” you smiled softly at him. “After all, it made your dashing rescue a lot easier.”

Jisung just kept gazing at you for a few more seconds before he suddenly looked down, picking up his boba and sucking down half of it in one go. You swore his ears were pink as he went to ask you, “So uhm, what was the project that you and Renjun were working on?”

“Well it’s for our Special Topics in Magical Creatures Studies class. This semester Dr. Kwon is teaching it, so of course you know what it’s about.”

He stared blankly at you, and you suddenly remembered that not everybody you know is a Magical Creatures Studies major like you and Renjun.

“Oh, sorry. Well, Dr. Kwon was the first human to have an interspecies marriage legally—”

This time a dribble of milk tea came out of the side of Jisung’s mouth as he coughed on it, and you unzipped the front pocket of your bookbag to grab a couple napkins you had stashed in there at the shop. He took them from you gratefully, wiping at his mouth.

“Sprung a leak, Ji?” You asked with an eyebrow raise. “You alright?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Go ahead, sorry.”

“Anyway, Dr. Kwon technically had the first marriage certificate for an interspecies marriage between a human and magical being that listed each as such. Obviously, there’s been a long history of romantic relationships between species as long as everyone’s existed, and as long as people have been getting married. It’s just that within in the modern history of our current society and laws, Dr. Kwon was the first that we know of. There were definitely couples that got married before her but had to falsify their species on the certificate at the time, unfortunately. And the fact that Dr. Kwon is still you know, alive, and plenty well enough to be teaching a class on this stuff… it’s really humbling. I’m honored to learn from her but it’s also a little harrowing that it hasn’t even been one lifetime yet, you know?”

“So the class is about…” Jisung prompted you again.

“Right, it’s about specifically the history of interspecies marriage. Both between different kinds of magical creatures and between magical creatures and humans. Every time it’s Dr. Kwon’s turn to teach Special Topics, this is what she teaches.”

“And, what is her spouse?”

“Siren. Mrs. Kwon will come in and guest lecture sometimes, too.”

“So… your project?”

“Just a five-minute presentation on a topic of our choice that relates to the unit we just did. She gave a list of topics, or we could come up with our own and get it approved. Renjun and I chose the role that religion plays in interspecies marriage. Because different creatures have different belief systems, gods and goddesses, and marriage rituals in their faith. Like dragons, for example.”

“Huh?!” He squeaked. Thankfully, he was out of boba tea, and therefore didn’t do a spit take all over you or something.

“Many dragons—I’m not saying you in particular, just historically—have worshipped the Sun and fire. Their marriage rituals often involved making offerings to the Sun by burning said offerings on a pyre. Now imagine a dragon and a siren want to get married. Sirens that usually not only have their weddings underwater for one, but believe that burning wedding offerings instead of throwing them into the water will offend the Sea. It’s not impossible, it’s just fascinating to witness the compromise, especially as it gets more common with integration. And I find it beautiful, every single time.”

Jisung rested his elbow on his knee, then his cheek in his head, mindlessly running his fingertips over the clover. “Yeah? And what’s the divorce rate like for interspecies marriage?”

“Better than intraspecies, actually.”

“Really?”

“Uh-huh.” You added in another flower to your weaving. “Fifty percent intraspecies, fifteen to twenty percent interspecies depending on the study you’re citing. The numbers on interspecies are obviously newer, and a bit harder to measure due to varying lifespans, but those are the ones that we work with in the field.”

“Interesting.”

“You want to know my theory?”

“Sure.”

“This one’s not peer-reviewed or anything, so don’t tell the other MCS majors, okay?”

“My lips are sealed,” he promised.

“Now, I’ve never been married, but… I think that if you’re too focused on what makes you the same, you’ll completely miss your differences and only realize them too late when those differences are eventually driving you apart. But if you start out already with these glaringly obviously differences and then find what makes you similar in addition to the differences—not in spite of them—then you get a clearer picture of who you’re with.”

You’d been so focused on your little task that you hadn’t looked up at Jisung a single time as you talked, but now you did, wondering why he was so quiet. He had gone still, staring at you, mouth parted, head tilted.

“What?” You looked around anxiously. “Did that not make sense? I thought that made sense?”

He shook his head. “No, no, that made sense. You just… gave me a lot to think about.”

“Careful, don’t hurt yourself with all that thinking,” you giggled, getting up onto your knees.

“Hey!”

“Shh, I’m kidding,” you reassured him, taking a couple kneeling steps closer to him and holding the clover and flower wreath you’d been weaving up towards his head.

“And when did you make that?”

“While you were staring at the ground. Now hold still.”

You gently set it down on his head, scooting it around and readjusting until you were content that it wasn’t going to fall off too easily. Sitting back on your feet, you admired your work. If it weren’t for his vertical slit pupils focused entirely on you as he gazed up at you, Jisung would’ve looked like a beautiful fairy prince. Enchanting, a clover and flower crown nestled atop his hair, faintly rosy cheeks, skin seeming to glow in the dappled light from the late afternoon sun shining in through the trees.

“There you go,” you murmured, realizing how close you were to him as you caught a familiar smoky smell like a campfire.

“Can you show me how to do that?” He asked, his eyes shining.

You couldn’t help but chuckle at his enthusiasm, plopping back down onto your bottom. Well, there goes all that tension dissolved.

“Sure, Jisung. We’re going to start with three clovers and a flower. Whatever flowers you can find around here should be good.”

And so you guided the dragon through the steps of weaving a clover crown of his own. You yourself had learned this from Jaemin the first time you’d ever hung out with the dryad without Renjun around. Renjun had been the one to introduce you to all of his friends, Jisung included. You’d met Renjun in your Intro to Magical Creatures Studies class on your very first day of college two years ago, and your life had never been the same since. Your own hometown was mostly human, in fact there was exactly one family of basilisks there and that was it. That’s why you chose the major you did, to expand your world. And man, it had been expanded since.

Jaemin had invited you out to the park with him that particular day to “exercise Jeno” in the dryad’s words, which meant sitting in the grass and throwing a ball for Jeno to catch— with his hand. Except the ball was enchanted to change direction and run away from Jeno for a certain amount of time, then he’d finally get it, and toss it back to you or Jaemin to throw again. At the time, it felt wrong to be pretty much playing fetch with a werewolf—derogatory, even—so you had asked Jeno about how he felt about it after. He explained that the ball was invented by werewolves, for werewolves. Since werewolves don’t hunt their prey for sustenance anymore, they tend to have a lot of extra energy. Most days he would go to the gym or go on a run or bike ride to get it out, but today was such a nice day that he wanted to go out with his friends instead. While some werewolves didn’t like comparisons to dogs (such as Jaemin’s offer to “exercise Jeno”), Jeno didn’t mind them usually, as long as it was from friends, and truly in good fun.

It was on that park trip, while sitting in the clover with Jaemin, that the dryad had shown you how to weave a clover crown by hand. Even now, every time you saw a patch of clover, you thought about Jaemin and Jeno and that day at the park, and how to weave clover crowns.

“How are you friends with two dryads and you don’t know how to weave clover crowns?” You asked with mock disappointment as Jisung was about a third of the way through his.

“Do you honestly think they’re going to be jumping to teach me their secrets? Probably too afraid I’d set the whole patch of clover on fire,” Jisung grumbled, adding another flower to the crown as he continued his weaving.

You frowned, gently stroking the back of his head as you watched over his technique. “You know Jaemin and Donghyuck don’t think of you like that.”

He scoffed, “Yeah, they think of me like Chenle’s pet.”

“Hey!” You flicked his ear, earning a hiss. He rubbed his ear with one hand, pouting at you.

“They are your friends,” you said sternly. “I think you might realize that if you eased up on your little hermit dragon schtick.”

“Dragons are solitary creatures. Didn’t you learn that in Intro to MCS?”

“I’ll believe that you’re solitary as soon as you and Chenle detach from where you’re currently fused at the hip.”

“He’s not here now!”

“To my knowledge. He could be hiding in a trashcan or something, I don’t know.”

Jisung rolled his eyes. “His Highness would never hide in a trashcan.”

“Point taken,” you snickered.

“Well…” The dragon held up his finished clover crown for you to see. “What do you think?”

It was clearly his first attempt at one, crooked, with holes in several places, and a couple of the blue flowers he’d chosen falling out as he set it in your hands. But you still found it absolutely adorable, endearing.

“It’s great, Ji!” You praised him, turning it around to look at the weave patterns on the inside more closely. “Here, do you want to wear this one, and I can—”

“No, this one’s yours.” He took it right back, getting up on his knees like you had before to place it on your head.

You sat utterly still to let him do so, watching him with bated breath. He was perhaps even more focused on placing the clover crown on your head than he was on making it, his nose scrunched with concentration, mouth pouting just the slightest, and brow furrowed. Then, once he’d set it atop your head, he smiled to himself in satisfaction.

“So? How do I look?” You asked quietly, in the small space between the two of you.

“Like… like a princess,” Jisung answered breathily, in the narrow space between the two of you.

“Ji?” You said his name, in the minute space between the two of you.

“Yeah?” He replied, in the meager space between the two of you.

“Can I kiss y—” You didn’t even get to finish your request, as the infinite space between the two of you became a finite zero.

Kissing Jisung was warm, but not warm like the end-of-summer-turning-fall day you were enjoying before, warm like you were just feet away from a volcano, like you were kissing the very heart of a mountain. His hands cupped your cheeks as his lips meshed with yours. You had been propping yourself up with one hand behind you, but you felt the need to grab onto his arms to ground yourself. This was apparently just enough to throw your joint center of gravity off, as the both of you went toppling backwards—or, more precisely, you fell onto your back, with Jisung on top of you.

The dragon barely caught himself with a hand next to your head to keep from completely cracking his forehead against yours. You two still bonked noses, breaking the kiss, and giggled almost exactly in sync.

“Oops,” you laughed, reaching up to feel for your clover crown, happy that it was still kind of in the vicinity of your hair.

Jisung was using one hand to prop himself above you, and the other was readjusting his own clover crown to now sit on the back of his head. He was still grinning as he dipped down to kiss you again, and you held his face this time, running a thumb over his cheek.

Squished into one side of a booth in the student union with Jisung, you fervently read over your notes for your test in your next class.

“Fry,” Jisung murmured, holding said food up against your lips.

You opened your mouth without taking your eyes off your page, and he fed it to you. As you read about climate change’s effects on sirens’ native habitats, you chewed and swallowed the food without even tasting it. A moment later, a straw was pushed against your mouth too.

“Water.”

You took a sip to wash down the fry, humming contentedly as all the material in your notes was familiar to you. The test should be an uncomplicated A. Not an easy A, per se, but there shouldn’t be anything on it that surprised you, at least.

“What the hell?” Someone asked from beside your table, but you didn’t even look up. After all, you still had four more pages and only half an hour.

“What do you want, guys?” Jisung sighed. Oh, so more than one person. The first voice sounded familiar, probably some of your friends.

“What, uh, what’s going on here?” Different voice.

“Y/N’s studying. So if you don’t mind doing whatever this is later.”

Another fry. You chomped it down. Siren advocacy groups.

“Uh… sure. Yeah. You two… have fun. Come on, guys.” Third voice.

Water. Sip. Local community outreach.

When you came to a good stopping point in your notes—not quite done, but between topics—you finally looked up, setting your notebook down for a second. Jisung raised his eyebrows at you.

“Done already?” He asked, popping a fry into his own mouth.

You shook your head, taking a sip of your water on your own. “No, almost. Who was that?”

“Jeno, Jaemin, and Donghyuck.”

Hearing the names made the voices click into place. Donghyuck first, then Jeno, then Jaemin.

“Huh. Weirdos,” you scoffed. “Anyway, we still on for movie night at my place?”

“Absolutely. Chenle’s letting me borrow his box set of the director’s cut of those movies you wanted to watch.”

“Does Chenle know he’s letting you borrow these?”

“Yes, they’re hexed. If he weren’t letting me, they’d play the porno knockoff.”

You let out a full-body cackle. “Oh, that’s a good one. You can say a lot about His Highness, but you can’t say that he doesn’t have a sense humor.”

A couple weeks later, and all eight of you were meant to be having a study session together at the library. Seven of you were already there— Jisung was coming late from a class. You had been one of the first in the room, and immediately put a bag down on a chair next to you to save it for him.

You were so innocently humming along to your music in your headphones as you took notes when you saw a hand reaching to tap the table in front of you. Pausing your music, you took one headphone out to look at the owner of the hand—Donghyuck—inquisitively. “Yes?”

“So you and Jisung have been hanging out a lot recently…” He rested his chin in his hand.

You narrowed your eyes, “Well, yeah…”

“Her heartbeat went up when you mentioned Jisung,” Mark added oh-so-helpfully.

“Gee, thanks, Mark,” you scoffed at the basilisk. “You want to go ahead taste the air for my pheromones or whatever too while you’re at it? Really complete this bonkers supernatural interrogation?”

“And then there was the fry thing,” Jaemin added, pointing at you from his seat next to Donghyuck. “I haven’t forgotten that.”

Jeno shivered beside you, “I don’t think I ever can.”

“He’s going over to her apartment a lot for movie nights. He keeps asking to borrow my nice collector’s edition box sets,” Chenle added, not looking up from his laptop. He readjusted his blue light glasses. “I think he’s trying to impress her.”

You looked around at all of them incredulously. “Uh, guys, seriously? I think Jisung and I are allowed to hang out, watch movies together, and eat together considering we’re—”

“Y/L/N Y/N, I swear to god you better not say because you’re ‘besties’ right now,” Renjun cut you off, throwing air quotes up around the word ‘besties.’ “Seriously, how can two people be so oblivious?”

Oh. Holy shit. They all thought you and Jisung were still friends. Somehow, apparently none of them knew that you and Jisung had started officially dating since that day in the park three weeks ago.

You were just staring blankly between all six of them, not sure how to respond. Thankfully, the door to the study room was opened then, Jisung rushing in.

“Hey, I’m here!” His bright demeanor fell as soon as he noticed the tension in the room. “What’s going on? What’d I miss?”

“Nothing, Ji,” you turned to him with a smile. Taking your bag off the last chair in the study room, you told him sweetly, “Here, I saved you a seat next to me!”

“Oh, thanks, Y/N!” He happily took it, plopping his bag down on the table to take out his laptop.

After the study session was concluded, you all filed out together, you and Jisung right beside each other.

“Come on Jisung, I’ll drive,” Chenle called for his roommate, spinning his keys around his finger.

“Sure, hold on!” Jisung said back, waiting up to say goodbye to you.

“Renjun, you still up for ramen and ranting?” You clasped your hands together hopefully as you looked at your friend. It was ritual for you and Renjun to get together and rant over extra-spicy ramen whenever some drama had gone down within your department at the school. There’d been some going on this past week, and you and Renjun decided that late-night after studying was the perfect time to talk shit.

Except, he and Chenle seemed to lock eyes for a brief moment. And then, Renjun was checking his phone, throwing up his other hand, and sighing.

“Ah, Y/N, you know what,” he clicked his tongue. “I am so sorry, but I got a text from my dad while we were in that study session and he says the cat is sick. I’ve really got to go.”

“Your parents live three hours away—”

“Uh, Jisung! You like ramen!” Renjun gestured at the dragon that was still waiting next to you. “Why don’t you take Y/N for some ramen? Just- just you two?”

“That’s it! You’re taking too long, Jisung! I’m leaving you!” Chenle yelled dramatically from the front, giving his keys one last jangle before he quite literally ran off through campus.

You were too distracted watching Chenle incredulously to notice that Renjun had escaped too until you turned back around to talk to him. Then you realized that all of your friends had mysteriously dispersed.

“What just happened?” Jisung asked, looking around confused.

“I think… I think they set us up,” you scratched at your head.

“Like, a date? Don’t they…”

“I think they think they’re plotting to make us date.”

He blinked at you. You grabbed his arm to start walking down the sidewalks. “Come on, we can at least talk about this over some ramen.”

“Didn’t you tell them?” Jisung’s face seemed as though it was permanently stuck in the same bewildered expression. You two were side by side at your favorite 24-hour ramen bar by the university, and you had finally filled him in on what he missed in the study room.

You slurped up a noodle. “I thought you did.”

“I thought you were going to!”

“They were your friends first!” You retorted indignantly.

“Hey, I only claim Chenle,” he held up his chopsticks and spoon defensively. “The others just came along.”

It was true that Jisung had befriended Chenle first, and the others just sort of came with the fairy. After all, dragons did tend to be solitary creatures, and on top of that, you’d be hard-pressed to find one hanging out with a dryad on purpose, much less two.

“Speaking of Chenle, how did you not even mention it to him? You live with him!”

“Well, every time I was going somewhere with you I’d be like ‘Oh, I’m going to wherever with Y/N’ or ‘I’m going to Y/N’s place.’ It’s not like I could call you something else.”

You tilted your head curiously. “Something else?”

“Like… you know… my girlfriend,” Jisung mumbled, very focused on stirring up some of his broth.

“Well… you could.” You were getting warm, and not from the spicy ramen.

He looked up at you, a smile growing on his face. “Yeah?”

“Yeah…”

“Okay, on one condition.” He set down both his utensils, holding up the number one.

“What’s that?”

“You call me your boyfriend.”

“God you’re dumb sometimes,” you shook your head, but still had fondness in your tone and your actions as you brought your hand up, all five fingers up. “Yes, duh.”

Jisung got the idea, opening the rest of his hand back up to lace all of his fingers with yours. You squeezed his hand, your stomach doing flips at the softness in his eyes as he looked at you.

The two of you brought your hands back down to keep eating, and your boyfriend circled your conversation back around to the entire reason you were here in the first place.

“Anyway, our friends.”

“Our friends,” you repeated unenthusiastically. “So… how are we going do it? They’re going to be annoying no matter how we go about it.”

“Good point. You know… they’re going to keep meddling if we don’t say anything. What if we just… let them?” He suggested.

“You’re proposing we fake not date and let them all run themselves in circles trying to connive us into dating?”

“How long do you think it’ll take them to notice?”

“A month,” you snorted.

“A month?” He scoffed. “Come on, they’re a bit dumb but they’re not that bad. Like, two weeks.”

“I think part of it’s going to depend on how stupid they think we are.”

That looked like it changed Jisung’s mind. “You’re so right, a month at least.”

“They’re going to kill us when they find out.”

“Don’t worry, the big scary dragon will protect you from their wrath, princess,” Jisung teased, throwing an arm around your shoulders to pull you closer and kiss your cheek.

You laughed, wrapping an arm around his waist. “Ji, never call yourself that again. Please. Even as a joke.”

“So how was ramen?” Renjun asked before you could even open your mouth for a ‘good morning’ the next day.

“So how’s the family cat?” You shot back, taking your seat next to him in the lecture hall. “I was expecting to have to send you the notes for today since you had to drive to your parents’ three hours away in the middle of the night to see it.”

“You know, funniest thing happened. I had just gotten back to my apartment to pack, and my dad called me back and said the little guy made a full recovery. The vet called it a miracle. So I got my beauty rest in my own bed.”

You rolled your eyes. “Glad to hear Mr. Mittens is doing better.”

“So how was ramen?” The human repeated.

“Oh, it was really good!” You gushed. “I got a different bowl than I normally order, extra spicy still even though you and I weren’t gossiping, and I really, really liked it! I might make it my go-to order now instead of what I usually get.”

Renjun looked at you stone-faced. “Not the food, Y/N.”

“I don’t get it.”

“You and Jisung…”

“Ate ramen.”

“And…”

“Then we went home?”

“Separately?”

“He walked me home if that’s what you’re asking?” You raised an eyebrow. “He always offers to, especially at night. It’s really nice of him.”

“Yeah,” Renjun said knowingly. “He’s so nice.”

That afternoon, you met up with Jisung between classes in the student union, tucked away in an oversized armchair. You retold the story of Renjun asking about ramen to him, and your boyfriend giggled with delight.

“I’m telling you, Sungie, he looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel when he heard that we apparently didn’t magically fall in love over a bowl of ramen,” you snickered.

“Serves him right,” Jisung declared.

“What do you think they’re going to do next?”

“Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

“In the meantime… movie night tonight?”

“I don’t know, I’m running out of Chenle’s box sets to impress you with.”

You laughed, gently nudging him in the side. “Guess you’ll just have to��”

“Hey… guys… what’s up?” Someone sputtered out from behind and just off to the side of the armchair.

Both you and Jisung whipped around to see Mark standing there, fountain drink in hand. He pulled his over-ear headphones off then, hanging them around his neck.

“Oh, hey Mark,” you waved at him, trying to play this off as casually as possible.

“Why are you two— you know,” he gestured vaguely to you and Jisung.

Jisung sat forward a bit, making the posing a bit less intimate with your faces further from each other. “Y/N and I both have time in between classes now, so we’re hanging out. I’d invite you on, but I don’t think there’s room. You can definitely pull up a chair or something and sit with us if you’ve got time though.”

“No, no, I’m good man,” the basilisk rejected the offer quickly. “Besides, I’ve got to meet up with Johnny for a thing, so, yeah. You two have fun… hanging out. Looks comfy.”

“Bye Mark!” You waved goodbye to him too, watching as he practically ran out of the building.

“Chenle asked me point blank if this was just a movie night,” Jisung informed you, plopping down onto your couch.

“Observant of him.” You sat down beside him and grabbed your remote to queue up the first movie. “And what did you say?”

“I asked him what else it could possibly be.”

“And that worked?”

“Yes,” your boyfriend huffed, a wisp of smoke shooting out his nose. “I don’t know if I should be relieved or offended that everyone is so willing to believe that I’m this stupid.”

With the DVD previews now playing, you set the remote down to get settled in for the movie. Jisung lifted an arm up for you to snuggle into his side, and you let out a contented sigh at the familiar warmth and smoky scent that enveloped you. It was like cuddling your own personal furnace.

“For now, be thankful, Ji,” you patted his chest. “After all, we’ll never know this kind of peace after they find out.”

He stroked a knuckle up and down your arm lazily. “Yeah... you’re right.”

“Of course I am.”

“Hey, look at me?” He requested, his voice a murmur. “You’ve got something on your mouth.”

You lifted your head up, confused. Just as you’d complied, the dragon swooped in, pressing his lips to yours in a dizzying kiss.

Your head was still spinning as he pulled away, running his thumb over your bottom lip, where his fangs had just been nibbling the moment prior.

“I-I thought there was something on my mouth?” You asked breathily.

“There was.” He smirked, still holding your chin in place. “It was my mouth.”

“Eep!” You let out a squeal as you nearly lost your balance, grabbing onto the shoulder of the closest person to keep from completely wiping out.

Jeno thankfully wasn’t very easy to knock over, and held your elbow to help you stay upright as you struggled to get reoriented. All your friends had gone ice skating today, and you were now realizing that you couldn’t even remember the last time you’d gone. You were a bit out of practice.

“You got it, Y/N?” The werewolf asked warily as you took a couple more cautious steps forward.

You wobbled a little. “Uh. No. Sorry, Jeno, just put me on the wall.”

“Here, you got her?” Jeno was talking to somebody else, but your eyes were glued to your skates to make sure you didn’t slip. So you weren’t even looking as the werewolf’s shoulder disappeared from your grip and was replaced by somebody else’s.

A warm hand was taking and moving yours, encouraging you to hold onto his upper arm for support. You immediately recognized it as Jisung’s, the only other person who would be this warm in the freezing temperature of the ice rink besides the werewolf who just left you. Pulling in closer to Jisung now, you felt a little bit more stable, and finally comfortable enough to look up from your feet to your boyfriend.

“Thanks, Ji,” you said genuinely, squeezing his arm.

“You’re welcome.” He smiled down at you. “Do you think you’re ready to start skating? The other guys have kind of abandoned us.”

Focusing your gaze ahead of you, you saw that your other six friends were way ahead of you on the rink. In fact, you couldn’t even see some of them at all, suspecting that they were about to be coming up behind you to lap you.

You nodded, preparing yourself mentally. “Yeah, I think I’m ready.”

And so you and Jisung started slowly moving along the ice together. Despite Jisung helping you stay upright initially—you still weren’t sure if he volunteered or was volunteered by your little matchmakers—he wasn’t really too adept of an ice skater either. He was truly only marginally better than you, so the two of you were slow going, and had a couple close calls in regards to stumbles. But you didn’t mind, you were spending time with your boyfriend and your friends. It was shaping up to be a really good day.

“Sorry, be right back. Bathroom break,” Chenle excused himself from the conversation you three were having at the moment, skating off at the next exit you passed by.

Craning your neck around, you realized that none of your friends were on the ice anymore. Renjun went to switch his skates out for a different size fifteen minutes ago, Mark and Jeno went to get food ten minutes ago, Jaemin and Donghyuck needed a water break five minutes ago, and now Chenle’s bathroom break.

“Huh…” You caught Jisung’s eye knowingly. “Looks like it’s just us now, Sungie…”

“Miraculously it is,” he agreed sarcastically.

“You think they’re coming back?”

Then both your phones went off, a text tone. Jisung stopped the two of you skating to take his out, showing that it was a text in your group chat with everybody.

[donghyuck: the concessions stand nachos gave mark food poisoning and he threw up everywhere so we’re all taking him home! you guys stay and skate though! have fun!]

“Guess not,” you sighed. “For Mark’s sake, and the poor employees’ sake, I hope that’s a complete lie.”

“Well, now that they’re gone…” Jisung turned to you, taking both of your hands in his and bringing them up to his mouth, blowing hot air over them. Your numb fingers quickly warmed up, and you watched his every move lovingly. He brought your hands back down from his mouth, eyes pleading, as he asked, “Can we go? I hate the cold.”

You laughed, nodding as you squeezed his hands. “Of course, yes.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you.” Jisung practically dragged you to the exit, lifting you with an arm around your waist to help you down the big step down from the rink to the main floor.

[jisung: did donghyuck ask you to meet him at the coffee shop in the student union in ten minutes?]

[you: no, but mark did]

[jisung: well, i'll see you in ten]

With a fond shake of your head, you pocketed your phone and started your journey across campus. Looks like you were going to have an impromptu coffee date with Jisung. You had to admit it, while their meddling could be annoying, it was a little fun sometimes to see when your next spontaneous date with your own boyfriend would be, as arranged by your six little matchmakers.

As you arrived at the small but extremely busy campus coffee shop, you surmised that you were the first one to get there, and hopped in the obscenely long line to at least order for yourself. You took out your phone to text your friend that you were supposed to be meeting.

[you: hey, i’m here! i’m in line, what do you want, in case i order before you get here?]

Mark did immediately text back his coffee order—which was actually an order for one of the “refreshers” that you were pretty sure was just a mix of various juices. Coffee was too bitter for his extremely sensitive snake tongue.

Your basilisk friend found you while you were still waiting for the drinks to come out, and once you had them in hand, the two of you went to find a spot to sit down together. You raised an eyebrow when he suggested a table with four chairs instead of the two-seater that you had spotted, but you shrugged and accepted his reasoning that it was in a quieter area. Sitting across from him, you put your bag in the seat next to you.

“So how’s your day going, Mark?” You asked him brightly, taking a sip of your drink.

“Hm? Oh, good, good.” His eyes flitted around the student union almost anxiously, as if he were anticipating something.

You pushed on in the conversation, however. “That’s good. And how are your powers coming along?”

Most natural-born magical creatures started developing their powers practically at birth, but basilisks didn’t come into theirs until after their first molting—which Mark just had last year. The last you’d heard, he’d partially petrified his human roommate Johnny back in the spring and had been working on getting them under control as they got stronger since.

“It’d be a lot better if Johnny would just let Doyoung make him a protection charm so that I wouldn’t keep accidentally compelling and petrifying him,” Mark covered his face with a groan. “But no, he’s got this whole deal about wanting to make sure we all know he doesn’t think we’re monsters and he’s not afraid of us. Which is all well and good but like come on, maybe he should take at least some precautions when he’s like getting petrified by his basilisk roommate every week! So now I have to wear sunglasses around the apartment like I’m hungover 24/7.”

You winced sympathetically, not realizing the situation was that bad. “Maybe start sprinkling some weasel fur into his morning coffee?”

“Eugh, weasel fur coffee. I think you’ve described my actual worst nightmare.” Mark wrinkled his nose and looked like he was genuinely holding back a gag. “Anyway, I think he might notice if there were suddenly furs in his iced Americano every morning.”

“Maybe Doyoung can put it in something else innocuous that he’d use every day? It’d just be until you got a handle on your powers, remember.”

“If I ever do,” he sighed, stirring his straw around in his drink.

“You will, Mark,” you tried to reassure him. “It’s only been a year. These things take time.”

“Yeah, MCS major? Want to give me some statistics on basilisk powers to make me feel better?” He retorted, and you knew your friend well enough to understand that the words were meant to be light-hearted, despite the bitter and biting tone that they came out with instead.

You gave him a frank look. “I’m not Renjun. I’m not a walking, talking encyclopedia of magical creatures. But if you insist on making me think back to Intro to MCS… On average, basilisks take two to three years to reach full development of their powers after molting. You just molted a little over a year ago, you can’t put so much pressure on yourself to be perfect already, Mark.”

He ran a hand through his hair, forked tongue flicking in the air before he spoke again. “Fine, fine. You’re right. I knew all this, it’s just… it’s a lot more of a relief to hear it from somebody else.”

“I know what you mean, don’t worry,” you smiled at your friend.

He smiled back at you, genuinely, a flash of his two sharp snake fangs that hadn’t finished descending yet, then it turned sort of weird, before the smile fell entirely from his face. Mark sat forward in his chair, looking a bit more businesslike now. “Y/N, I’ve got to tell you something, and I don’t have very long, so please don’t say anything, just let me talk, okay?”

Your eyes widened with alarm at whatever the hell could be coming next, but you just slowly nodded.

“Thanks. I didn’t just ask you here to get coffee and hang out. I’m really sorry. You see, Donghyuck and I—”

“Mark! Y/N! Hey!” The very dryad that had just been named suddenly emerged from the crowd, with your boyfriend in tow.

Mark gave you an apologetic look before he turned to Donghyuck and Jisung. “Oh. Donghyuck. And Jisung. What a… surprise.”

The two newcomers each had their own coffee orders in hand, and you smiled at them.

“Hey, guys! Did you two get coffee too?” You did your best to pretend both like you had no clue something was up because Jisung told you about it, and because Mark had just almost told you about it.

“Yeah, we did!” Donghyuck replied cheerily.

“Well, we have a couple extra seats, if you want to join us,” you offered of your own volition this time, taking your bag off the chair next to you.

Jisung remained standing for a moment, looking to Donghyuck for his cue. The dryad was absolutely beaming.

“Of course!” He slid right in next to Mark, who looked like he wanted to die. “Thanks, Y/N!”

The dragon took the seat beside you with no further prompting.

You turned your focus back to the basilisk, doing your absolute best to feign obliviousness. “So, what were you saying, Mark?”

Donghyuck looked at him pointedly. “Yeah, Mark, what were you saying?”

“Never mind, I forgot,” he waved it off. “Wasn’t important, I guess.”

You shrugged, taking a sip of your drink.

“What’d you get, Y/N?” Jisung asked curiously.

“My usual. You want some?”

“Sure.”

You held yours out to him at the same time that he handed his over to you in return. As naturally as you could with the two pairs of dumbfounded eyes glued to you, you took a sip of Jisung’s drink. Yep, it was his regular order, same as always. You handed it back, holding out an expectant hand to receive yours again.

Jisung didn’t let either of your two slack-jawed friends recover to ask questions or make comments, though, immediately engaging them in conversation. “Donghyuck, how’d that report go, by the way?”

“Oh, don’t get me started on that Panforsaken assignment!”

Jaemin threw the ball as hard as he could, and you watch as it sailed in a perfect arc, then suddenly changed direction midair, leaving Jeno to have to turn on the spot and run to catch up. You three had all gone back to the park again today, you and Jaemin weaving endless clover crowns in between throwing the ball for Jeno. It was another lovely day, a bit crisper than when you and Jisung had gone. A single, puffy white cloud floated by overhead as you hummed a tune to yourself, fingers mindlessly weaving in another blue wildflower.

“Y/N...” Jaemin said, reminding you of your dad who had caught you sneaking in after your curfew.

“Jaemin...” You mimicked his tone.

“So... what’s going on with you?”

“Spit it out, Jaemin. You clearly want to ask me about something specific.”

“Y/N, I’m a dryad. I’m in touch with nature, you know. The plants, the trees, the dirt, the animals, all of it,” he explained, setting his weaving down. “And that includes humans. As much as you humans don’t want to admit it, you’re a part of nature, too. And I know I can’t feel your emotions like a unicorn can, but I can tell that you and Jisung clearly care for each other.”

“Yeah, Jaemin, I love all of you guys. We’ve become really good friends over the years.”

“No, Y/N. Differently than the rest of us care for each other.” The dryad patted your cheek, a wistful look on his face. “I don’t know if you’re just lying to yourself, or if you haven’t realized it yet, but you and Jisung… it is different than the rest of us.”

You had to bite down on your bottom lip, cover your mouth, and hide your face in your chest to keep from laughing right in Jaemin’s face and entirely blowing your cover right then and there. The dryad clearly misinterpreted your actions, as he scooted closer and wrapped his arms around you, shushing and cooing at you.

“It’s okay, Y/N. It’s okay.” He rubbed your back. “I can’t feel dragons as well for… obvious reasons, but he likes you too. I promise. It’s all going to work out.”

You nodded, not trusting yourself to speak without giggling then.

“I got it—! Oh, uh…” Jeno’s excited cheers cut off as his voice got closer and closer. “Are you... okay?”

You felt Jaemin take one of his hands off your back, and could only imagine whatever silent conversation the two of them were having with gestures. After “composing yourself” again, you sat up straight, looking up at Jeno and holding your hand out.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Jeno,” you reassured him. “Come on, dude. It’s my turn to throw.”

You drummed your fingers on the table beside your book, the highlighter nearly falling out of your other hand as you were about to fall asleep. Jeno, Jaemin, and Donghyuck weren’t faring any better than you, seeming about ready to fall asleep over their own textbooks and laptops too. The only member of your little study group who didn’t seem to be on the brink of a boredom-induced coma was Renjun. The human was chugging along through the assigned reading for one of your classes as per usual, dutifully taking his color-coded notes. You watched him through half-lidded, tired eyes, trying to figure out if he was maybe a robot, or was on Adderall, or was on the magic equivalent of Adderall, to be this committed of a student.

Renjun’s gaze slowly lifted from his textbook to you, then he raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “Yes, Y/N?”

“Okay. What is it?” You narrowed your eyes at him. “Drugs? Aliens? Because I’ll believe in the little guys now.”

“What?”

“How can you not be—”

“Hey, Y/N.” A soothing voice, warm hand on your head, and familiar cup from the campus coffee shop being placed in front of your face cut off your rambles right as you had begun to pick up steam. “Brought this for you.”

You looked up at Jisung, offering him as much of a smile as you could in your frazzled state. “Oh, hey, Ji. Thank you.”

“Also grabbed you these.” He unzipped the front pocket of his bookbag, taking out a holographic box of candy and setting it next to the drink on the table.

“Oh, Sungie…” You sighed, feeling the tension in your shoulders dissipate at the sweet gesture from your boyfriend. “Thank you. Seriously.”

Jisung gave your shoulder a squeeze. “‘Course. Well, I should let you get back to studying. I’ll see you later, princess.”

“Bye, Ji.” You gave him an unamused look, earning only a cheeky little smile in return. He got to walk away and leave you to deal with the aftermath of that nickname drop.

After he left, you were smiling to yourself happily anyway, basking in the warm, fuzzy feeling in your chest when you turned back around to see the looks on your friends’ faces. It took everything in you not to burst out laughing.

“He’s calling you ‘princess.’” Donghyuck deadpanned.

“Oh that? That’s just an inside joke.” You tried to play it off with a light, nervous laugh. “It’s not—”

“Inside joke?” Jeno repeated, as if there were any way for him to mishear you in the dead quiet of the library.

“Oh we would love to be enlightened to how this joke came about.” Jaemin requested sweetly, lacing his fingers together and resting his chin on them.

Donghyuck leapt back in to take the lead again. “Yeah, yeah, I’m sure it’s hilarious. Jisung is really known for his sense of humor. You know, like all dragons.”

You went to crack open the box of gummy candy Jisung had brought you, enchanted to change color and flavor based on your mood. This time the gummies were yellow and pink, lemon and strawberry flavored.

“Yeah, it’s a long story but that’s it. He doesn’t…” You trailed off sheepishly, giving them a look as if it were the most impossible thing in the world to imply that Jisung could possibly have romantic intentions behind calling you that.

Donghyuck’s eye twitched.

You weren’t alone with Jisung again until the next night. Laying on your bed in your room, you heard the sound of your front door unlocking, then Jisung calling out to announce his presence. You yelled back loud enough so he knew where in the apartment you were.

As soon as he poked his head into your bedroom, you shot up in bed, pointing at him accusingly.

“You are a menace,” you declared, sitting up fully.

He snorted a puff of smoke out in disbelief. “What?”

“Donghyuck about exploded trying to explain the concept of petnames to me after you called me ‘princess’ yesterday.”

“I’ll do you one better.” Jisung challenged you, slinging his backpack around to his front.

“Oh really?”

He unzipped the main pocket of his bag to start rooting around in it. “I got a Renjun lecture of epic proportions today about human dating rituals.”

“No.” You covered your mouth with your hand in horror.

“He made me a PowerPoint and everything. I had to take notes.” Jisung dropped a spiral notebook onto your bed, and you scrambled forward to grab it.

“Oh my god,” you gasped, eyes skimming over the page. There, in Jisung’s messy scrawl, were little notes about how human dates work: gifts, flowers, the whole works. It was definitely a Renjun lecture, because it was phrased from an academic viewpoint, and absolutely did not read like just a friend giving another friend dating advice.

You looked up from the page to your boyfriend. “How did this even—”

“I really should’ve been more suspicious of his offer to study buddy up since you guys just studied yesterday, because I was then falsely imprisoned in a study room.”

“Oh, Sungie,” you cooed, tossing the notebook aside and reaching out for his face instead. “I am so sorry you had to be subjected to that.”

“I tried to tell him that I grew up around humanoids just fine, but he said that Chenle didn’t count,” Jisung sighed, letting you cradle his cheeks in your hands.

You chuckled. “Well, I do sort of have to agree with Renjun there. I like Chenle, but a fairy prince isn’t exactly representative of humans.”

“What?” He gave you a thoughtful pout.

“I mean, my aunt married a basilisk, so I grew up with basilisk cousins. But you wouldn’t want me to say that I know about dragons because of that, right?”

“Well… I guess, yeah.”

“That’s all I mean, Sungie.” You reassured him, looping your arms around his neck. “That doesn’t mean I wanted you to be locked in a study room all by yourself with Renjun for who knows how long being lectured on supposed human courting.”

“I wasn’t by myself, Jaemin was there too. He was the one keeping the door locked.”

You nodded solemnly, easily able to imagine how the dryad could do that any number of ways with any number of plants. Pulling him closer to you, you pecked his nose, then the apples of his cheeks.

“Seems like the dragon needed rescuing from the crazed madman this time, hm?” You teased as he wrapped his arms around your waist.

“Yes, unfortunately I think the school would have frowned upon me eating him or his leafy accomplice.”

“Presumably.”

He let his head fall forward into the crook of your neck with a groan, his hot breath washing over your skin.

“Well, you’re all safe here in my tower now,” you promised him, threading your fingers through his hair.

Reclined into a corner of Jeno and Jaemin’s couch, you happily munched on your snack, feet propped up in Jaemin’s lap. Everyone was meeting at their apartment for a video game night, and you were still waiting on a couple more to arrive before you could officially start your mess of a tournament. Everyone’s schedules fluctuated so much that you always planned on having at least one required full-group hangout every month. Usually the activity chosen was a bit more exotic, but after Renjun's submission for last month’s “weirdly niche PowerPoint night” that was supposed to be ten minutes at most ended up being over an hour, it was decided that something easy and mundane was in order for this month. So, pizza and Super Smash Bros.

Chenle had arrived a couple minutes ago, unfortunately without his roommate. You knew that Jisung had ended up staying at the library much later than he intended—his assignment took longer than he expected to complete—but he was on his way now. The fairy was sitting sideways in an armchair, legs dangling over one arm and head supported by the other as he scrolled on his phone.

There was a knock at the front door, and Jeno got up to get it, as his roommate was currently preoccupied being your footrest. Not that the dryad seemed to mind, he was perfectly content to scold and correct Renjun from afar on how he was (apparently incorrectly) setting up the gaming system to accommodate all the additional controllers the eight of you would require to play at the same time.

Renjun was sat directly in front of the TV, bickering back with him. “Oh, you want to come get up and do it yourself, Jaemin? It’s your fucking Switch anyway.”

“Don’t need to get up,” Jaemin replied smugly, shooting a vine out to smack Renjun on the back of the head.

His reflexes were quicker than the human’s, as the plant had snapped back out of Renjun’s reach before he could grab it. What he was going to do with it if he got it, you didn’t want to know.

“Hey!” “Hi.”

You looked up from the building tension at the cheerful greetings. It had been Mark and Donghyuck at the door, the basilisk wordlessly squatting down next to Renjun to take a look at the gaming system too. You gave the newcomers a wave from your spot, which was slightly hindered by the sleeves of your oversized sweatshirt.

“I like that hoodie, Y/N.” Donghyuck sat down next to Jaemin on the couch, grabbing a chip out of the large bowl on the coffee table.

“Yeah, looks comfy.” Jaemin grabbed the end of the big sleeves and shook them around for emphasis. “Where’d you get it?”

“Huh?” You looked down at exactly what you were wearing. Well, shit. It was a plain black hoodie with a small simple embroidery of the brand’s logo on the front. It wasn’t yours, and you’d specifically worn it here so that you wouldn’t forget to bring it with you to give it back to the actual owner. “Oh, I don’t know, you’d have to ask Jisung, it’s his.”

“What?!” Donghyuck crushed his chip in his hand. Jaemin put a hand on his arm to encourage him to calm down.

“Yeah, we were hanging out yesterday and I got cold, so he let me borrow it. He accidentally left my place without it, so I’ve actually got to return it to him when he gets here.” And that was the truth. Not even carefully chosen words, or twisting of the narrative.

Donghyuck’s outburst had drawn the attention of everybody else in the living room—save for Chenle, who was still flicking through his phone.

“Wait, wait, let me get this straight, Jisung let you borrow something of his?” Renjun clarified.

“Yeah, Ji lets me use his stuff sometimes.”

Your human friend completely set the pieces of the gaming console down, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Y/N. You’re a Magical Creatures Studies major. Think. A dragon let you borrow his stuff? And even forgot to ask for it back? Allegedly.”

“Oh my G— Renjun, come on! A bit stereotypical, don’t you think?” You crossed your arms defensively.

“Stereotype or not, Jisung doesn’t share,” Chenle cut in dryly. “He’s very protective of his hoard.”

“See?” Renjun gestured at the fairy vigorously.

You looked to the others for help, the panic in you real this time. Donghyuck looked like he finally had the last piece he needed to connect to finish his conspiracy board; Jaemin gave you a pointed, but satisfied look; Mark refused to meet your pleading eyes; and even Jeno, sweet Jeno, could just shrug at you.

“Dragons are kind of like werewolves, right?” He added casually. “We scent our pack. Or, I guess dragons have a nest?”

You could barely hear Jeno’s pondering at the end about the proper terminology for dragons, as nearly everyone else in the room about lost their damn minds at you. Their victorious cheers, jeers, and jokes went in one ear and out the other as your hands felt at the soft material of the inside of the hoodie.

As an MCS major, you always tried very hard to not treat your friends simply as their species, but as individuals, too, and learn about them personally in addition to whatever was covered in class. That was especially true for Jisung, who you knew didn’t really grow up around other dragons, so the habits and customs of dragons that you studied weren’t so easily applied to him. So when he offered you his hoodie last night, it was easy for you to just be giddy and happy because your boyfriend was sharing clothes with you. But it wasn’t just a hoodie, really. You and Renjun hadn’t taken your class on dragons, basilisks, and wyverns yet, therefore the only stuff you knew was from Intro to MCS and personal experience. But this was still—

Then, the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it!” Donghyuck shot to his feet and ran for the front door before anybody else could.

“Speak of the dragon and he shall appear!” The dryad announced cheerfully just a second later, dragging Jisung in with an arm around his neck.

“Hey, Jisung!” Jaemin brushed your feet off his lap to stand up as well. “Here, sit. I’ll grab you something to drink.”

“Uh, hey, guys.” Jisung shook Donghyuck off to straighten up and look around at everyone. The dragon sat down beside you. “Hi, Y/N.”

“Hey, Ji. I’ve got your hoodie, sorry about accidentally stealing it last night.” You grabbed the hem, about to take it off to give it back.

“It’s okay, you can hold onto it. It’s a bit drafty in here.” He waved you off nonchalantly, accepting a drink from Jaemin, who had just returned from the kitchen.

“Oh. Thanks.” You pulled your knees in to your chest, too overwhelmed to say much else.

Renjun was right, you were well aware that dragons were possessive over their belongings— gold or otherwise. The gravity of Jisung offering the hoodie to you in the first place and now letting you keep it was not lost on you. And then there was of course Jeno’s insightful comment.

“So why were you talking about me without me around?” Jisung asked the others, not sounding very thrilled at the idea.

“Y/N was just telling us that you two were hanging out last night.” Donghyuck happily informed him.

“Alone.” Jaemin added.

“Again.” Jeno coughed.

The first dryad continued, “We’re hurt that we weren’t invited.”

Jisung scoffed, “Well considering you guys just disappear all the time now, we figured you didn’t like hanging out with us anymore.”

“But since you want to hang so bad, we should all do something this weekend!” You leapt in to suggest.

“Great idea, Y/N.” Jaemin was beaming at you.

Chenle tapped a couple things on his phone as he offered, “Isn’t the student activities board hosting that movie screening on the lawn?”

“Yeah!” Mark perked up, looking up from all the wires and controllers he was still messing with. “Taeyong’s on the board this year and he’s really excited for everything they’ve got planned. I know he’d love it if we all went.”

Taeyong was another friend of Mark’s; a unicorn, if you could recall correctly.

“Sounds like a plan.” Jisung nodded.

You pointed a threatening finger at everyone except your boyfriend, “And I swear, if a single one of you bail in the middle of the movie, I’m going to think you hate me.”

“Y/N! I could never hate you!” Jaemin gasped, throwing a hand over his chest in offense.

“Then stop leaving me!”

“C’mon, Renjun, we’re gonna miss the start of the movie!” You were practically dragging your friend through campus.

“You mean you’re going to miss precious time with Jisung,” Renjun retorted, but nevertheless gave in to your tugging on his arm, starting a light jog to keep up with you.

“And what do you mean by that?” You asked. Honestly, you were kind of hoping that he was onto you. It was funny at first to see your friends run themselves in circles, but now it was just a bit saddening—and annoying—to not interact with your boyfriend how you really wanted to all the time.

Your human friend sighed. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Finally, the two of you arrived at the front lawn, and you craned your neck around to look for your other friends. You and Renjun were the last two to arrive. There, off to the side and up towards the front of the open space, several blankets overlapped, and your other six friends were sprawled out on them. Jeno and Jisung had spotted you two already, waving to get your attention.

A large white screen had been set up to one side of the university’s front lawn, the chosen movie being projected across it. Thankfully, it hadn’t started yet. You could see a stand where the student activities board was handing out popcorn, and students were scattered about the lawn. Your friends had gotten a spot opposite from the snack stand, and you and Renjun traversed your way around other attendees to get to them.

“Hey!” You smiled at everyone, plopping down beside Jisung without a second thought. “Sorry we were almost late—”

“But somebody forgot the candy.” Renjun cut in as he dropped a convenience store bag onto the center of the blankets, pointed glare fixed on Chenle and Jisung.

“We remembered the chips!” Jisung defensively pointed to a pile of bags of chips and other salty snacks that were sitting in the middle of everyone.

Mark patted a cooler beside him. “And Hyuck and I remembered the drinks. And nobody’s late. So everything’s fine, Renjun.”

You chuckled, overturning the bag to dump out all the boxes and bags of candy onto the pile of snacks as well. Everyone grabbed what they wanted and settled in for the start of the movie. It was cool outside, and though you were already wearing Jisung’s big hoodie, you also wrapped one of the extra blankets around your shoulders.

“Are you cold?” Jisung asked you quietly. There was a steady hum of chatter from the crowd, which had become a little softer with the beginning of the movie.

“‘M alright, Ji,” you reassured him. “Just... don’t move too far away. You’re like a portable space heater.”

He shifted around to lay down, his head and most of his upper body in your lap. You weren’t sure how much of the movie he could actually see from this angle, with Mark, Jeno, and Renjun in front of you, but you weren’t going to be the one to point that out. The two of you were towards the back corner of the blankets, Jaemin and Donghyuck to your left, Chenle on the other side of and in front of Donghyuck; Mark and Renjun were properly sitting up at the front of the blanket, with Jeno sprawled out across their laps—reminding you just a little bit of a happy puppy looking for ear rubs.

You fondly brushed some of Jisung’s hair out of his eyes, contemplating the pros and cons of just kissing him on the nose right now. Yeah, there’d probably be no way in hell you could play that off, but he was scrunching it up very adorably as he concentrated on reaching for a small patch of clover that was just off to the side next to the blanket.

You were still weighing your options when he changed his focus to a point just past your head instead. His eyes flicked between the weaving in his hands and the sky as he got the clover crown started, but once he’d gotten the rhythm down, he just kept gazing upwards.

“Pretty stars...” He murmured.

“I know.” You looked up at the sky, at all the stars twinkling and winking back at you. “What do we think? Are there aliens up there with them?”

“Mm... Maybe.”

You looked down at Jisung, mouth quirked up in an amused but affectionate smile. “Yeah?”

“Well, space is pretty big.”

After a pause, you nodded. “Okay, sure. Why not?”

“Seriously?” Renjun was looking at you over his shoulder incredulously. “I’ve done actual research on this, I’ve tried to succinctly make real arguments for you multiple times since we met, I chose it for my PowerPoint night topic with actual scientific studies and facts. And Jisung just bats his eyelashes at you and says ‘space is big’ and you’re convinced?”

He looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel. You froze, looking around at all of your friends that had turned to witness this interaction like you were the movie instead.

Jisung frowned. “I didn’t bat my eyelashes. Did I bat my eyelashes?”

“You kind of did, Jisung.” Chenle reached over to ruffle his hair, and the dragon swatted his hand away, earning a cackle from the fairy.

“Uhh...” You scrambled to think of a way to placate your human friend. “I think I just needed some time to get my head around the idea, Renjun. You know, I think the next time you really would have persuaded me, but Jisung just beat you to it, sorry.”

Renjun didn’t seem convinced, but just rolled his eyes and looked back to the movie. “Yeah, I’m sure I would’ve gotten you next time, Y/N. Tin foil hat and all.”

The others all turned back to the movie now that the spectacle was over, except for Jaemin, whose attention was still on your boyfriend.

“Jisung? When’d you learn to make clover crowns?” He asked curiously, head tilted.

“Hm? Oh, Y/N showed me.” Jisung replied absentmindedly, looking down at his hands as if he hadn’t even realized he was doing it.

Jaemin looked at you with wide eyes, and you looked back at him sheepishly in a silent conversation, as you both were definitely thinking of the exact same thing.

The day that Jaemin had shown you how to make clover crowns, he’d told you an oral tradition that was passed down among dryads about them. Your friends were always happy to indulge your interest in the folklore and religious/spiritual aspect of Magical Creatures Studies, especially in contrast to Renjun’s sometimes militant laser focus on the current socioeconomic-political structure of modern society.

It was a story about two dryads who were in love. One had to leave—depending on who was telling the story, it was a trip, a war, or a kidnapping; Jaemin opted for a dangerous trip—for an indeterminate amount of time. The other dryad waited, and weaved a clover crown every day until their lover came back to them. Nowadays, dryads will weave clover crowns for their loved ones, it’s a treasured tradition for older members of families to show young relatives how to do it, and elaborate clover crowns with specific flowers will sometimes be given as confessions or special gifts to romantic partners. Clover crowns are connected to the idea of love for dryads.

And judging by the look Jaemin was giving you, he was not going to ascribe this one to cultural differences.

Donghyuck had whipped around at this revelation as well, and smacked Jaemin’s arm to get his attention. The two dryads leaned their heads together to have a hushed conversation of fervent whispers, and you desperately hoped that whatever they were saying was both quiet enough for your friends with super hearing to not be able to distinguish, and vague enough that if it could be overheard, it wouldn’t make any sense to them. Well, specifically Jisung.

You were walking a very narrow tightrope of wanting your friends to find you two out so you could get it over with, while also not needing them to find out this way, since Jisung didn’t even know about the meaning behind the clover crowns. Your relationship was still new, fresh, bubbly, and good; you two hadn’t even said ‘I love you’ yet. Based on how the dragon had reacted to just you discussing the societal concept of marriage in an academic context before, you wanted to approach the whole ‘I love you’ situation with a lot more tact than your friends would surely have.

You’d been nervously watching the two dryads when a tap on your shoulder stole your attention back. You looked down at Jisung attentively. “Yeah, Sungie?”

“Here,” he said simply, holding up the finished clover crown for you.

Despite the anxious pretzels that your stomach was knotting itself into, you couldn’t help but smile fondly at both the crown and Jisung. “Ah, you’ve gotten a lot better, Ji.”

You were just moving a few of the buds aside to inspect his improved weave pattern when he spoke up again.

“Are you going to put it on or give me a grade on my clover crown weaving?” He pouted at you.

“Sorry, sorry,” you apologized, placing the crown atop your head. “There. Happy?”

He sighed melodramatically. “I suppose...”

“You want your own?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Hush and watch the movie, I’ll make you one.”

At the end of the movie, you were satisfied with the fact that all of your friends had ended up staying with you this time. After holding out the convenience store bag for everyone to throw their trash into, you momentarily left the group to throw that bag out in a large campus trash can. The others stayed back to pack up all the blankets and such.

You weren’t alone for long, as Donghyuck sidled up next to you and fell into step with you.

“Great Pan, you’re practically betrothed!” He sighed, putting a hand on his chest.

You gave him an unamused look, but didn’t reply, continuing your route through the mass of other students.

“Y/N, seriously,” he sighed, leaning against the wall by the can as you tossed the bag in the trash. “What’s this whole song and dance about? How can we be more obvious? You two like each other. Do you need to hear him say it? Will that finally convince you?”

You opened your mouth, about to just blurt it out, finally end this whole stupid charade, be done with it, with everything. But Donghyuck was still. Talking.

“I mean, I thought I’d had my fill of playing matchmaker for the oblivious and hopeless on spring break—” He laughed to himself, seemingly remembering something funny, which you had no clue what on earth he was talking about. “—but you two are really something else.”

Setting your jaw, you spun on your heel and walked away, leaving him to scramble his way through the crowd to catch up with you.

“Hey! Y/N! Wait! Was it something I said?”

Knocking on the door of Jisung and Chenle’s apartment, you bounced from heel to toe as you waited for your boyfriend to answer the door. Usually, you two didn’t hang out at his place unless he knew Chenle was going to be out all day, or for several days. It was just a lot easier to relax at your apartment with no roommates. But he’d texted asking you to meet him ASAP, so you’d yanked your shoes on and hurried over.

You heard the familiar sounds of the door unlocking, then it was swung open. Except Jisung wasn’t on the other side.

“Y/N.” Chenle greeted you with a curt nod, not seeming very surprised that you were there. Well, they did have a rather robust security system thanks to His Highness here in front of you, so he had probably checked the front door camera before answering it.

“Oh hey, Chenle.” You smiled at the fairy as he stepped back to let you in, and followed him further in towards the living room. Looking around, you couldn’t spot your boyfriend. In fact, in the back of your mind, you realized that a pair of his sneakers were missing by the front door. “Where’s Ji?”

“Grocery run.” 

Weird. His text made it sound like an emergency, or at least extremely important. To text you to meet him ASAP and then just go to the grocery store... Maybe he had gotten a new game in and just wanted to show you immediately, then realized he was out of snacks. That definitely sounded like Jisung. Deciding that it was probably something like that, you looked back to his roommate, a little sheepish, “Uh, do you mind if I wait for him, then? He texted me to meet him here.”

“No, he didn’t. I did from his phone, right before I asked him to go get me some cough drops for my sore throat that I don’t have.” Chenle admitted freely, perching on the arm of a leather armchair and focusing an unreadable expression on you.

“I see.” You nodded, leaning against the couch opposite the room from him. “So, what did you want to talk to me about that you had to use such methods to do so?”

“Y/N. We both know that Jisung is stupid.”

“Woah, tell me how you really feel, Chenle,” you chuckled, trying to keep your voice light.

“And you’re not.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“So, at this point, either you’re being intentionally obtuse, or you’re stringing Jisung along. And I’m not going to sit back and let anyone do that to him.”

Your eyes widened at the hard edge Chenle’s tone had taken, and the faint lime green glow emanating off of him. “Uh—”

“Jaemin and Donghyuck are always talking about being in tune with nature, sensing humans, knowing what’s in a human’s heart. They’re into all that crap. I know humans. You’re more like fae than you like to think.” He was practically spitting his words out now, unable to sit still, pacing the floor in front of the armchair. Slowing to a stop again, he pivoted on his heel to set his sharp eyes back on you—except they weren’t his usual dark brown, they were an electric, glowing, burning neon green. “So you’re going to either actually make the first move on that moron, or reject him. Today.”

Oh the jig was so up. Just as you were about to figuratively spill your guts—in order to keep from having them literally spilled for you—the click of the front door shutting echoed through the apartment. You didn’t dare take your eyes off the fairy in front of you, though.

“Chenle, stop it.” Jisung sighed from behind you, and you did finally snap your head around when you heard his voice, relief flooding your being when you saw your boyfriend.

Chenle’s eyes immediately flickered back to a chocolate brown, all glow gone, and he offered a placid smile to the dragon. “Oh, Jisung. Quick grocery trip. And you didn’t even get my lozenges.”

“I was all the way at the store when I realized I forgot my wallet,” the dragon deadpanned, clearly not believing his roommate’s act, which the fairy was well aware of. He made his way over to you and wrapped an arm around your shoulders. “Leave her alone, Chenle. She’s not deceiving me.”

“We’re kind of deceiving all of you.” You confessed to the fairy, bracing yourself for what was to come.

“Yeah, we’ve uh, we’ve been dating for two months,” Jisung confirmed with a nod.

“You… what?” Chenle’s jaw dropped, genuine disbelief on his face this time.

You added, “We wanted to see how long it would take you guys to notice.”

“And see how far you’d take your meddling. I’m honestly surprised it took this long to escalate to threats from you, Chenle. But I was expecting them to be aimed at me, not Y/N. Something along the lines of ‘actually ask her out or I’ll hex you,’ not this.” Jisung then looked at you, features turning concerned and voice softer. “I’m sorry, by the way, if I thought this was even a remote possibility, I would have called this off sooner. Are you okay?”

“I know, Jisung, I know you would’ve. I’m fine, I promise,” you reassured him quietly, tilting your head closer as he pressed a quick peck to your temple.

Chenle didn’t seem to be paying you two much attention anymore, stumbling towards the other end of the couch that you and Jisung were standing at. “You not only played a trick without me, but you played it on me?”

He dramatically clutched at his chest like he’d been stabbed. “You caused mischief and strife without me? Wreaked havoc and I was none the wiser? Pulled the wool over my eyes?”

He finally sat down on the couch, falling back against the plush cushions as if he were going to perish at any second, throwing a hand over his face for good measure.

“Is he okay?” You leaned over to ask Jisung quietly.

“He’ll probably continue these theatrics for another five to ten minutes, then we can have a real conversation,” Jisung informed you.

“I heard all of that!” Chenle pointed an accusatory finger at you two.

“Chenle, how about we make it up to you?” You offered.

Your boyfriend looked at you with wide eyes, making a slicing motion over his neck with one hand, clearly signaling you to back off of doing that. You were well aware that making any kind of deal with a fairy was a bad idea, especially one that would put you in their debt.

The fairy didn’t move, instead letting out a fake sob.

“Help us play one last trick on the rest of the guys. A grand finale.”

Jisung squinted at you, clearly having no clue what the hell you were talking about. Which was fair, because you had just come up with it on the spot.

Chenle shot up into a sitting position, looking alive and well now. He laced his hands together over his lap. “Do tell.”

“I do have to say Jisung, you chose well. She’s practically a fairy,” Chenle declared, patting his roommate on the shoulder. The three of you were hiding behind a building on your college’s campus, peeking around at the main courtyard to spy on Mark, Donghyuck, and Renjun standing and having a conversation.

“I hate this.” Jisung huffed, crossing his arms.

You rubbed his other shoulder with a concerned frown, “We don’t have to do it if you really don’t like it, Sungie.”

“No, I mean you two getting along. I know the prank is fake.”

“Aw, afraid that I’m going to replace you with her as my partner in crime, Jisung?” Chenle teased. “Don’t worry, I think I’ve just found another accomplice. We’ll be a trio instead of a duo.”

The fairy’s eyes seemed to glitter at the prospect, and not just with the usual amount of magic that was in them.

“You are not roping Y/N in, too,” Jisung insisted.

“I don’t know, Sungie. Kinda sounds fun.” You shrugged, always hearing the two of them recount their misadventures together—or witnessing the odd one here or there—but never having the opportunity to join them properly before.

“See?” Chenle grinned smugly.

Jisung huffed again, this time a puff of smoke coming out of his nose. “Like I said. I hate this.”

“Anyway, there they are. You go in first, Jisung.” Chenle had finally spotted your last two targets, Jeno and Jaemin, joining the others.

“See you in a second, Sungie.” You gave him a final double thumbs up for encouragement before he took off towards them.

After a beat of silence, Chenle suddenly proclaimed, “I like you for Jisung.”

“Uh, thanks, Mr. Park, I have to say, you look great for your age.” You joked, arching a bemused eyebrow at your friend.

“That would be funny if either I or Jisung were human,” he replied humorously. “But I’m being serious. You know how Jisung and I met, right?”

“Yes, I do.” You nodded solemnly.

Chenle had found Jisung on the outskirts of his kingdom back home, a little dragon curled up all alone under a bush in a rainstorm, no other dragons in sight. At the time, Chenle himself was only a boy as well. Jisung didn’t talk much about his life before Chenle, and you didn’t know if he could even remember a lot, if anything, about it. The two of them were pretty much brothers; you knew what it meant for Chenle to say that to you.

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Your words could have been joking, or even an insult, but you hoped he could hear the sincerity in your voice as you bumped your shoulder with his. The fairy nodded, and bumped you back.

“Anyway, you think it’s been enough time?” Chenle craned his neck to peer around the corner again.

“Probably.”

“Alright, showtime,” Chenle held his hand out for you, and you grabbed it.

The two of you emerged from around the corner hand-in-hand, striking up a nonsense conversation about Chenle’s latest assignment in one of his classes. You pretended like you just happened to spot the cluster of all of your friends, delight, surprise, and recognition coming to your features as you lifted your other hand to wave to them. You watched as all their jaws dropped in unison—minus Jisung’s—and they started looking around at each other. You and Chenle walked right up to them, and you offered all of them a bright smile.

“Hey guys!” You greeted them cheerily.

“Chenle this has got to be the lowest you’ve ever gone,” Donghyuck shook his head in disgust, completely ignoring your hello.

“Yeah man, Jisung’s your best friend,” Mark scoffed.

“You raised him!” Jaemin wrapped an arm around Jisung’s shoulders.

“You fed him from your hand!” Jeno stepped in front of Jisung protectively.

“Just because you’re some high and mighty fairy prince or whatever where you’re from doesn’t mean you can treat people like they’re disposable,” Renjun crossed his arms. “Here you’re just some guy like everybody else.”

“Woah!” You let go of Chenle’s hand to step in front of him with your hands up. “Guys, that’s enough!”

“I bet Y/N’s not even in control of what she’s doing,” Renjun entirely ignored you. “He’s probably got her under some fairy spell or something.”

“What the fuck?” Chenle cried out, offended.

“Yeah!” Jaemin nodded firmly. “Because she’s totally into Jisung, I know she is. I know her heart!”

“Guys!” You yelled again for their attention.

“Don’t worry, Jisungie, we’re going to get her out from under that spell,” Jaemin cooed, stroking Jisung’s face as he currently had what was practically a chokehold on the dragon that definitely looked less than comforting.

“Jeno, grab her!” Mark ordered, and the werewolf immediately started advancing on you.

“Oh my god stop it, guys! Stop! I’m not under a spell! Chenle and I aren’t dating! Jisung and I are! We’ve been dating for like two months and we pretended not to because we wanted to see how long it would take you to notice!” You yelled out, squeezing your eyes shut to brace yourself.

But there were no super strong werewolf arms grabbing you. Instead, it was silence that became one chuckle, then a giggle, then two giggles, then you were surrounded by raucous laughter. You cautiously opened your eyes to see all your friends doubled over with laughter around you, clutching their stomachs and holding onto each other for support. You and Jisung were the only ones standing up straight, immediately realizing what was going on when you made eye contact.

“Seems we’ve been made, Sungie,” you deadpanned, wading through the sea of cackling bodies until you got to your boyfriend.

“It appears so…” He sighed, looping an arm over your shoulders, and you wrapped an arm around his waist.

As they all sobered up, a few were quite literally wiping tears from their eyes, others fanning themselves, and some still clutching their sides.

“How?” You looked around, then saw a very familiar, exceptionally devilish grin. “Chenle?”

“What better trick is there to play than being a double agent?” The fairy confirmed.

“Oh, you suck,” Jisung glared at him.

“You guys tricked us first. It was much more satisfying to get one over on you than to keep making the idiots look like idiots.”

“Hey!” Donghyuck cried out indignantly.

Chenle caught your eye to say, “I do mean what I said, Y/N.”

You nodded in understanding. “Thanks, Chenle.”

“Alright, I think we all learned some very important lessons,” Mark announced, getting everyone in a disjointed huddle. “Like…”

“Don’t be so nosy,” Jeno started off genuinely.

“Make sure the people you’re setting up aren’t already dating, or they might make you look like idiots,” Renjun added.

“Double check human emotions with a unicorn if you’re having doubts,” Jaemin sighed wistfully.

“Never go out to eat with Y/N and Jisung. Especially if there’s fries involved,” Donghyuck shivered, and you rolled your eyes. He was seriously never going to let that go.

“I’ve got two partners in crime now, so everybody else needs to sleep with their third eye open.” Chenle grinned.

“That I’m never getting into a prank war with any of you people again. This was too stressful, school’s bad enough,” you groaned with a shake of your head.

“Chenle’s an asshole,” Jisung hissed at his roommate.

“I think Jisung needs to do his over, he already knew that about me,” Chenle drawled with a facetious whine.

“Fine. Chenle’s an asshole who needs to understand that if he threatens my girlfriend again, he’s going to get burned to crisp.”

The fairy shrugged, “I’ll take it.”

“Great, you guys.” Mark beamed at you all proudly.

“What about you, Mark? What’d you learn?” Donghyuck prompted him teasingly.

“That Y/N and Jisung are dating. Duh.”

“Right. Yeah, yeah.” There were murmurs of agreement from the gaggle of creatures around you.

“So, truce?” You offered a hand out in the middle of the huddle to nobody in particular.

All six of them grabbed your hand at once and shook it. “Truce!”

“So…” Donghyuck fluttered his eyelashes at you. “How’d it happen? What’s the story?”

You scoffed, “No.”

“What? You lead us on for two months and now you won’t even tell us how you got together?”

“It’s not some big dramatic thing, sorry,” Jisung admitted. “Just kind of finally happened.”

“What do you mean ‘finally happened?’ Like, how did it ‘finally happen?’”

You exchanged a look with Jisung. With an eye roll, you indulged the dryad a little. “We were hanging out at the park one day and just sort of... I don’t know! Confessed! Got together! Whatever you want to call it!”

“Lame.” Renjun yawned. “Call me when you two get married.”

Jisung started forward in surprise. “Wh—”

“Because there hasn’t been a recorded human-dragon marriage, Sungie.” You patted your boyfriend on the chest reassuringly. “He’s just being an MCS major.”

“Oh. Right.”

The human abruptly gasped. “Wait! Can I write my final paper for Dr. Kwon’s class on you two?”

“Hell no.”

A few weeks later, and you were reclined against Jisung’s headboard, waiting for him to get back from the kitchen with snacks. You two were playing a new two-player game Jisung had gotten, and as soon as you had showed up, Chenle loudly announced his intention to go hangout at Jeno and Jaemin’s and very probably sleep over too, since they also planned on gaming until very late. You figured your friends’ “matchmaking” behavior would stop once they knew that you and Jisung were together, but apparently not.

At the reappearance of your boyfriend in the doorway, juggling several different containers, you set your phone aside. He managed to put them all down on his nightstand without dropping them. You scooted forward and re-fluffed the pillows behind you to make room for him and his wings.

Jisung’s wings weren’t out frequently—you yourself had only seen them a handful of times in the couple years that you’d known him. Dragons either had to be entirely shirtless or wear specially cut shirts in order to have them out comfortably. Most stores didn’t carry shirts in a style that allowed for dragon wings, allegedly since there were so few dragons it “wasn’t profitable” to make them. So dragons were then forced to make their own, have their clothes altered, or order from online specialty shops. Jisung usually just didn’t bother with it, as he claimed it was more of a pain to get the shirts than it was to just keep his wings away. But you and Chenle had started a master plan of slowly sneaking the dragon cut shirts into Jisung’s wardrobe until it was 50/50. You two also had a bet going of how long until Jisung grew suspicious of the rising number of shirts. So far, both of you were still in the running at two weeks.

Tonight, it seemed Jisung had found one of the new dragon cut shirts, just a simple black tank top from the front, but the back was cut into two side panels and a middle section that draped open to allow plenty of space for his midnight blue wings to rest behind him.

Except Jisung didn’t scoot on the bed behind you like you expected. He just kept standing next to it, looking at you, one hand fidgeting with the gold chains around his neck.

“Sungie?” You said his name quietly. “You alright?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he shook his head as if to shake himself from a trance, though that same pensive look didn’t leave his face. “Sorry, just thinking.”

“What about?”

“Y/N, I want you to have this.” He grabbed one of the necklaces by the chain and took it off. With no hesitation, he reached forward and put it around your own neck. Your breath hitched in your throat as you watched his every move, and the intense look on his face as he did so.

The necklace was beautiful, an immaculately kept dazzling gold chain of medium thickness, and hanging from it, a simple, shining gold sun pendant, about the size of your thumbnail. The metal was warm from already touching Jisung, and sat heavy against your skin.

“Y-You’re giving me this?” You held the sun with delicate fingers, as if afraid it would actually burn you, looking up at him in shock.

“Yeah. I don’t know, it just... makes me happy seeing you wear it.” He said, sounding almost confused at his own actions.

Letting you borrow a hoodie was one thing—a big thing, but still, only a hoodie. Giving you a piece of jewelry that he was wearing—part of his hoard—you didn’t know how to compute this. Jisung wasn’t around a lot of dragons for most of his life, so you knew that the exact cultural significance of the action wasn’t there. But that significance came from dragons’ instinctual hoarding nature, which was still ingrained in him. For it to make him happier to see you wearing a piece of his hoard than to keep it for himself… you really thought your heart might explode.

“Y/N?” Jisung lightly touched your arm, worry coloring his tone. “D-Do you not like it?”

“No! No, Sungie. I love it, thank you,” you beamed at him genuinely. You caressed his cheek with the backs of your fingers, eyes going a little misty as you looked up from the glinting gold of the necklace to the midnight blue eyes of your dragon. You were happy, so happy that if you didn’t say something, do something, it felt like you really might burst.

You turned your hand over to cup his cheek, pulling him closer and pressing your lips to his. He made a small noise, and suddenly dropped down to sit on the bed with you. Jisung kissed you back just as ardently, one hand trailing down from the back of your neck to your collarbone then below the hollow of your throat, tracing the path of the jewelry along your skin.

When you had to pull back from the kiss for air, you shifted back fully to look him in the eye, still cradling his face. You inhaled, “I—”

“Wait!”

You stopped mid-sentence at Jisung’s outburst, snapping your mouth shut and looking at him with big, confused eyes.

“Sorry, uhm, I know what you were about to say, and I also know that I’ve been weird whenever you or Renjun brought up your Interspecies Marriage class.” Jisung seemed to notice how your expression became more and more alarmed as he spoke, and he grabbed your hand that had frozen on his face, holding it with both of his. He rubbed soothing circles into the back of your hand as he continued, “I don’t want you to think that I’m not serious about you, because I am. N-not marriage or anything like that right now. But I’m serious about this, about you. I am. So I just, I wanted to say it first.”

“Okay.” You let out a breath of relief and smiled at him encouragingly.

Jisung just kept gazing at you, mouth slightly parted, thumb rubbing circles into your hand. The only indication that time hadn’t literally frozen was the slight shift of his wings adjusting behind him, and when he eventually blinked.

Finally, you couldn’t take the silence anymore.

“Jisung?” You said his name, wetting your lips awkwardly. “Like, you wanted to say it now, or not yet?”

“Sorry, yeah, no, now.” He reassured you, taking a deep breath. His eyes still seemed to be drinking you in, though, gaze lingering on the sun hanging from your neck. “You’re just so beautiful… It really does make me so happy to see you wearing that. More than happy, I don’t know how to describe it, but—”

Then suddenly you were on your back, and all you could see was Jisung and midnight blue with flashes of gold. A surprised giggle came out of your mouth as Jisung nuzzled his face in the crook of your neck. You felt a hot puff of air wash over your skin, and you reveled in the comforting, smoky smell surrounding you.

“But now I think I understand all those fairytales where the dragon keeps the princess in their tower and never lets her go.”

You stroked the back of his head, running your hand down his neck and shoulders, stopping just above where his wings start, then back up to weave your fingers in his hair. With a content sigh, you said softly, “I love you, too.”

Your dragon pushed himself up to hover above you so you could see his disgruntled pout. “I wanted to say it first.”

“I think you just did.” You laughed giddily.

“Well... still, I love you.” Jisung brushed his nose with yours for a tender moment before slotting his mouth with yours in a searing kiss. You truly felt like you could never get used to kissing Jisung, a child of the Sun, someone with the very heart of a mountain inside him. In between kisses, he murmured seemingly absentmindedly, “My princess...”

You smiled against his lips, indulging in one, two more sweltering kisses before you mumbled back, “My dragon.”

⤷ blog masterlist | anthology masterlist

[rocksanddeadflowers]

something I've been thinking about is how interesting it would be to see the goblincore/gremlincore/corvidcore type aesthetic to evolve into an actual subculture. obviously for starters we should change the name bc anything ending in -core just doesn't sit right with me? unless of course it becomes that "placeholder name turns true name" sorta deal but ANYWAY.

main three key elements I've noticed that tend to make up a subculture is: style/outfit presentation (the optional part), belief system, and music genre(s).

style and presentation: (like what you wear), that part is already obvious if you ever followed the aesthetic at any point. (it was trendy for a time I think, is it still trendy? bc idk if it is but that's not stopping me from loving it.) basically wearing majority earth colors like browns and greens, stuff like hobbit-esque cloths or sweaters and stuff. definitely LOTS of nature based themes or just wearing weird trinkets. gotta go for that "creature directly out of the chronicles of spider wick" type look you know?

with the clothes (and often interior design I've noticed, which my entire bedroom would probably fit the aesthetic actually) one thing I've noticed for most who are into the aesthetic is there is a LOT of DIY. also going out and collecting things you find (anything from mystery trinkets to dead bugs and sticks and rocks, which I grew up doing and would call myself a tinker bc I made stuff out of what I found very often).

belief system: I feel like, above all else, beliefs commonly held among people in this aesthetic is to respect and be in nature, as well as do not waste, reduce and reuse. a lot of environmentalist like stuff, as well as seeing and respecting the beauty of nature, from butterflies and flowers to dirt and corpses. I don't have a solid concrete answer for belief system, but hopefully that sums up my view on it.

music genre: folk/folk punk, fantasy DND type genres, and nature based lyrics and vibes. from my experience and digging around, there's less artists who catch the vibe of this aesthetic all around (bc that's not what they're trying to do), and moreso having a couple or handful of songs that fit so very well. unless of course it's a genre of music that is enheritly matching to this aesthetic.

anyway, I'm not great at explaining the music aspect of it, but I feel like if it's magical and yet sorta punk-like that can work. no limits here yet, I have a playlist on my youtube that definitely pushes the boarders but who cares? the thing has celtic woman and httyd score on it. I just think if this evolved into having music for the genre (idk if we could call it a music based genre since it didn't start that way but I mean overall having a genre of music dedicated to this aesthetic-turned-subculture) it would be really interesting to hear what comes of it.

circling back for a minute, I feel like punk comes hand-and-hand with a couple of things here, but specifically mainly eco-punk. like diy, reduce and reuse, etc. as well as the music, while not deeply punk still feels like it would have a punk undercurrent.

I also think this could parallel well with goth, with the dark romantic sorta stuff. the music and belief system having love and adoration for the strangest and darkest aspects of nature, similar to goths seeing beauty in the darkness and creepiness of the world.

if anyone actually read this I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on my little rant (suggestions for bands/musicians and similar subcultures/subculture parallels are very encouraged) bc I grew up doing pretty much everything within this aesthetic long before I knew it was a thing or maybe even before it was a thing. that isn't meant to be gate keepy. I mean that when I found out just how many other people liked and did the same things as me, it was just so cool. so I just really wanna talk to people about this and I think something like this aesthetic could easily become a subculture one day.

[sailorrlino]

Crown | One | (lmh)

𓆩⟡𓆪 Pairing: Lee Minho x reader

𓆩⟡𓆪 Summary: The prince of the Unseelie Court has a single job: find a suitable marriage to strengthen the ties of his court and to keep the peace of the city. But when he stumbles across you at a bar and feels the thread between you form, Minho knows immediately that he’s found his other half, his mate. When he comes across you again at the ball meant to find his marriage match, disaster ensues and the fight for his crown begins. 

𓆩⟡𓆪   Word Count: 8,542

𓆩⟡𓆪 Genre: Urban Fantasy | Soulmates | Angst | 

𓆩⟡𓆪 Rating: 18+ Minors are strictly prohibited from engaging and reading this content. It contains explicit content and any minors discovered reading or engaging with this work will be blocked immediately. 

𓆩⟡𓆪 Warnings: Explicit language, worldbuilding, talks of politics and social economic issues, slight depictions of anxiety, Minho and reader both are very cranky and overall don't have great outlooks on life, depictions of blood and core, violent action scenes, really creepy creatures idk, mentions of a deceased parent and mild references to childhood trauma (more like a suggestion that reader had a rough childhood) and Minho ruminates on some family obligations

𓆩⟡𓆪 A/N: This chapter took so much longer to write than I thought that it was going to but it is finally here. I have been super nervous about it and I kept editing it over and over again because the later half with the action/magic sequences were really giving me trouble. I don't usually struggle this much, but writing has been super hard which is also why I somehow managed to write something under 10k for the first time in what feels like a year? Also, the creatures mentioned here are inspired by displacer beasts in D&D in look/aesthetic only. I hope you enjoy my little fantasy world that I have been obsessing over - I am really excited to be writing this and cannot wait to delve into the plot fully. I have some really fun and crazy things planned!

𓆩⟡𓆪 Disclaimer: All members of Stray Kids are faces and name claims for this story. This is entirely a work of fiction and by no means is meant to be a projection, judgment or representation of real-life people. Any scenarios or representations of the people and places mentioned in works are not representative of real-life scenarios.

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If there's one thing I am sure of, I am sure that you have always belonged with me. -AKIF KICHLOO

It’s going to be a bad day. To be fair, it usually is. This time, though, Minho wakes with premonition sweat on the back of his neck and a spark of magic at his fingers, brought to life by whatever nightmare plagued him just moments before. 

His worst days always start like this: a nightmare that feels more than just a dream but he cannot remember, sitting right on the edge of his vision, watching from the shadows. Sweat slips down his back, the touch of a reaper’s finger. Magic crackles at his fingertips, ready to protect himself. 

The dreams themselves don’t happen that often, but they happen enough that Minho’s looked into them. He’s asked the royal family Lorist about dreams numerous times. Seungmin is tricky, though, his words and explanations twisting and never really landing in anything that feels meaningful. Still, Minho remembers the way that Seungmin’s tricky chatter quieted when he told him about the dreams, the way the Lorist’s mirth faded, replaced with something darker before returning to his usual, smirking self. 

Peeling the sheets off of sweat-slick skin, Minho sits up. The world tilts, spinning unbalanced on its axis as he recovers from the dream. He leans forward, elbows pressed into the tops of his knees, and hangs his head down, taking in a deep breath. He remembers that the Lorist told him a calm, quiet mind was the best tool for remembering what is just beyond one’s reach. 

Minho tries and fails. His mind hasn’t been quiet in years and he doesn’t suppose it ever will be. 

Rain paints the glass of the floor-to-ceiling windows in front of his bed. This high up in the building, the clouds darken the windows with a frosty glaze and the rain freezes, spider webbing once it hits the cool glass. The sun is hidden behind darker, thicker clouds somewhere in the east. He thinks he won’t see it today. 

Not that he minds the rain, usually. Stratos is a city of rain, the epicenter of unusual weather and lightning storms charged with the earth's natural magic. Minho can feel it humming in the air beyond the window as he walks barefoot and unsteady to the bathroom, eager to throw cold water on his face. 

Cool water spills from the wall in the bathroom. The wall is hewn rock and living lichen, glowing mushroom caps, and other fauna and flora that glow in the darkness where they thrive. The water spilling from the wall is always bitter, fresh and invigorating, waking him up further as he splashes his face. He’s unsure of the system of portals and ley lines that makes his home full of pieces of his home here, in the apartment building he pays too much coin for, but it’s a nice touch, to feel the bite of the river from home.

Home. 

The apartment building in the sky isn’t home. Not really. It’s a place that gives him space and the agency to be himself and do what he wants, but home is a faraway dimension that he hasn’t seen since he was five. Home is now one of the Burned Kingdoms, fallen away to ash and ruin. 

Except for the Gwy, this river that streams through the worlds. Through his childhood bedroom. Through the room reserved for him at the Unseelie Court, through many worlds and other places. There are other names for it, he knows, this river that runs through the entire world and other worlds. But it’s always been the Gwy to him, cold and sweet-tasting. 

It is one of the few memories of home he has, beyond the burning and the carnage. He tries not to think about that as he leaves, grabbing his tablet by the desk and flicking upward. His windows darken, muting the frosty rain in favor of moving pictures and screens. 

One panel of glass displays the news. Another panel brings up messages and an agenda for the day. He purposely doesn’t look at the agenda, tapping the tablet to bring up his recent messages, which are most notably from Chan. 

Chan: Jeongin and I will be escorting you tonight. No giving the kid a hard time, this is training. 

Chan: And before you ask, yes this is low-risk enough for him to be on duty for. No I will not hear any complaints as the captain of your guard. Yes, I think that he will be nervous and awkward.

Chan: Do not let Changbin bully his way into joining us. 

Chan: This is a gala not a party. 

Changbin: Tell the illustrious Captain Bang to let me fucking go tonight. The kid won’t even get to enjoy the fact that it’s a party.

Changbin: I don’t care what Chan says, it’s a ball and it’s got drinks and shit, it’s basically a party. Even if it’s fancy.

Blowing out a sigh, Minho pinches the bridge of his nose. He doesn’t want to think about the gala tonight. Does not want to think about how once more his mother is going to push him into suitable marriage options, insisting that the world is going to end if they do not ally themselves with a suitable powerhouse in the city. 

It’s both true and untrue. Minho knew from a young age he would always have to fill obligations as the heir to the Unseelie throne. He would never get to have a life outside of politics and trickery and diamond-studded niceties. Yet despite his loyalty to his court and the fastness at which he obeys, there is something rearing inside of him that screams there is more there is more there is more. 

Minho doesn’t know where this comes from, this little sliver of him. He’s been an obedient and resolute child since birth - painfully so, according to most of the courtiers. And yet there is this tiny thread that unspools inside of him once in a while, filling him with doubt and chaos and thoughts that perhaps rebelling, that stepping away from his loyalties wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Perhaps there is something out there in the world calling to you, Seungmin had said one night over a glass of wine. His eyes had been twinkling and there was a little secret smirk on his face. Perhaps it is a part of you that exists elsewhere. 

Minho has no fucking idea what the Lorist means. He rarely does. Seungmin’s existence in the court is purely out of traditions to the old ways. Hundreds of years ago, he would have been a seneschal and something like a seer. Now, with the watered-down blood of the fae, Seungmin is little more than a showy novelty hidden in the astronomy tower of the Unseelie Court. 

Still, Minho likes him. Likes the way that they feel like friends, in a way. Doesn’t always mind that the Lorist talks in circles when giving advice, but is quite normal when he wants to play video games and frustrate the rest of them with his cheating. 

Honey-scented coffee reaches Minho as he leaves the bedroom, still dressed in nothing but sweatpants hung low on his hips. Felix is in the kitchen, a hot mug of coffee floating toward Minho. His lips twitch as he reaches out for it, plucking the mug from the air. It resits a little before Felix’s magic lets it go.

“Good morning, finish that fast. We have your suit fitting to get to.” Felix’s deep voice is a stark contrast to his elegant features. He turns to look at Minho with a smile, his eyes the color of emeralds. “I put it on your calendar that you probably ignored.”

“I didn’t ignore the calendar.”

Felix hums, turning back around. His blonde hair is pushed back, mullet-style, and soft looking. He’s already dressed for the day in jeans and a cable knit sweater, his bag laying across the counter where his tablet lights up with notifications. 

“So you were just afraid of a specific event on your calendar,” Felix supplies. Minho winces and sips the coffee. It is perfectly flavored with sweet cream and hints of honey, his favorite. “Either way, we need to get to Almas early. You know she doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

Lifting a hand, Felix snaps his fingers once. There’s a spark as green as his eyes between them and a scone appears in front of Minho. He plucks it out of the air, eyeing the witch whose back is turned to him. Felix’s magic always leaves the scent of cinnamon when he uses it, singing Minho’s nose. 

“Thanks,” he deadpans, tearing into the scone with his teeth. “Can you order a box of those chocolates that Jeongin likes from Sprinkled Sprite? He’s on duty tonight training with Chan. I’d like to give him a gift.” 

“How kind of you.” 

Minho heads back to his room to change. “It’s not from me,” he corrects, even though Felix is already scoffing as he turns and begins tapping on his tablet. “Please address it from the royal family, Felix.”

“Uh huh.”

In his room, Minho gets dressed, eyes on the screen as the news blares on, red font swiping across the screen for an emergency announcement. His brows pull together, eyes fixed on the images in front of him as he buttons his shirt from bottom to top, fingers nimble. 

A reporter is on the scene, holographic caution tape flashing in the rain behind her. Minho thinks she’s a werewolf from the amber color of her eyes and claw-tipped fingers, but he looks away from her to focus on the flurry of activity behind her where nephilim police keep people on the other side talking to one another as rain slicks off their police-issued coats. 

“Another grisly murder in the third floor of this apartment building,” the reporter says, speaking loud enough that the mic can pick up her voice over the tap tap tap of the deluge. “Located in downtown in the Lethe sector, it’s the second murder in recent weeks, coming days after a brutal crime scene just three blocks down. Is it a coincidence? Is it the start of a serial killer? SPD says it's too early to tell.”

The TV turns off and Minho looks at where Felix is standing in the doorway, green eyes fixed on the now empty windows. He flicks his gaze to Minho and offers him a tight-lipped smile. “Perhaps best not to start the morning with such dreadful news.”

“I’m going to have to hear about it anyway. The daemons are pushing for an audience. They say the reported murder wasn’t the first and that this has been going on for weeks.” 

“Well, then the queen will take an audience with them if she feels it’s necessary.” Minho eyes Felix, but there’s no emotion on the witch’s face. “Ready to go?” 

Minho flexes his fingers and rolls his shoulders. “Yes.”

-

You’re going to have a bad day. You knew it when you woke up on the edge of a dream that left you sweat-slick and short of breath. The dream hovered right on the edge of your mind, slipping through your grasp like grains of sand as you tried to dig and pull the memories back. 

It’s always like this. Waking up from something you can’t remember, carrying around the dregs of a nightmare with you all day. You always feel hollow after, like something terrible has happened but you can’t recall what. Can’t place the feeling of the shadow that slinks from your dreamscape into your waking hours, watching and waiting until you fall asleep again. 

The bad day comes for you like you knew it would. You’re going to be late to work. Again. It’s a condition that the public transportation system has made incurable. Buses are always behind, the subway is only reliable from midtown to uptown, and the only carpooling services here are run by the pixies who are too easily distracted by lights to get you where you’re going on time. Especially in the Lethe sector. 

Jisung will just have to cover for you like he always does. He’s good at that, turning on the vila charm and glittering smile. It’s useful, having him to count on. You feel a little bad about it, but you make up for your lack of timeliness in other ways like making sure he doesn’t get the shit beat out of him when he takes on dangerous clients, his knife in the dark. 

Still, as the rain pours down on your coat and the street's drain systems fail, causing water to surge around your ankle along with the garbage clogging the drains in the first place, you wonder if he’ll ever get tired of covering for you. 

A cat yowls and runs down an alleyway as you walk by, startling you. Pulling your jacket closer, you keep your eyes lingering in the shadows of each alley you pass. Your dagger is strapped to your calf under your pants, but you’re still wary walking down the streets in the pouring rain, especially now. 

Murders happen in the Lethe sector all the time. You’re no stranger to that. You’re even responsible for a few of them. But the types of murders being whispered about in the circles that you pass and being murmured in the closed doors of the clubs is that something isn’t right. There is something moving through downtown, tearing creatures apart. 

In a way, you’re unconcerned. As long as you and yours are safe and protected, it isn’t your business what is prowling through Lethe. As long as Hyunjin and Jisung are alive and healthy, you don’t particularly care to find out what’s murdering its way through apartment complexes. 

Below the drowning surface of the streets is worse than above. Water runs down the steps of the subway like a waterfall, splashing out onto the floor before it spreads and eventually spills onto the tracks. There are wet floor signs everywhere as the subway androids drive around with mops, doing nothing but certainly trying to squeegee the water into drains. 

You jump the pay meter, ignoring the way it blares red when you do so. The little androids are so worried about the deluge that they don’t turn at the sound of a payment being skipped, making you grin. Serves the transportation system right for charging you at all for something public. 

The train car is full of soaked wet people huddling in seats. At least the air conditioning doesn’t work so you don’t have the sting of cold air clinging to your skin as you tuck yourself in an empty seat, trying to make yourself as small as possible. 

At the end of the car is a group of solitary fae, heads tilted together and giggling over their phones. You watch them from the corner of your eye. They’re dressed mostly in black with merchandise from a vampire band you vaguely recognize. 

Dropping your eyes to the ground, you stare at the scuffed shoes on your feet. You wonder what it’s like to go out to a concert with friends dressed in band tees and high on pre-concert adrenaline. When you go out with your friends, it’s to work. To watch Jisung bat his eyelashes and trade secrets and kisses for the elite who come from uptown to slum it without watchful eyes. To slip a knife between the ribs of someone who got a little too close, who was a little too rough. To get battered by Hyunjin as he tries to hone you into a warrior he so desperately tells you that you need to be. 

With a heavy sigh, you lean back and close your eyes, pressing your head against the window. The rocking of the subway car on the tracks is gentle, soothing almost. As you sink into the exhaustion that pulls at your skin and bones with greedy hands, you slip away somewhere between wakefulness and sleep, a sort of in-between. 

Here, in between, is where you feel the same thing you always do: a void. A missing piece. Something not right inside of you, like a lock with no key. For a long time, you thought that perhaps you were just built wrong. It was a good enough guess because you’re certainly not the kind of faerie that your mother’s court is proud of.

This feels deeper, though. Like there is something out there waiting for you, calling to you. Your father wasn’t helpful when you told him about this feeling of something waiting for you beyond, chalking it up with a tight smile and a mutter of the word destiny. 

You don’t believe in destiny, though. There is nothing meant for anyone. People are born, things happen to them, then they die. Unless they’re immortal, which is pretty common in Stratos. 

An announcement chimes above your head announcing a stop and you look up to see the group of solitary fae clambering to get off the car. As they pass, one of them turns to look at you. Their eyes are large and round, like a horse. One is crystal blue while the other is wholly black, no iris, no whites. You startle, recognizing the dark eye of a seer as the faerie stares at you with uncanny sharpness. 

Something tingles at the back of your neck. The faerie doesn’t move and outside of the train car, their friends start to call their name, but the faerie is motionless, cocking their head and pinning you with that stare. Ice forms in your veins as their friends all turn to you, mouths going tight like they sense what's about to happen. 

“Save Jeongin,” the faerie says, voice paper thin. They nod as if confirming what they’re telling you. “Save Jeongin, find the missing half.” 

The words hit you with an invisible force. You squirm in your seat, watching as the faerie blinks, a little dazed. They turn on their heel and rush off the train just as the doors to the car shut and the train dings as it shoots forward again, leaving you staring at the shut doors. 

Goosebumps break out over your arms. Something within you stirs, like a predestined feeling of knowing. Perhaps it's because the seer just told you something that is most likely valuable and a little haunting, but perhaps it's your instinct. Your father always said you had a preternatural instinct, a gut feeling about things that were beyond the normal predictiveness of the fae. 

Swallowing hard, you lean back in your seat and fight a shiver. Jeongin. You have no idea who or what that is. The name means nothing to you, and you know a lot of names. You’re in the business of knowing names. You memorize the sound and shape of it, running over the faerie's instructions over and over until it's committed to memory to ask Jisung about it later. 

Save Jeongin, find the missing half. 

Anxiety creeps up your spine, walking its cool fingers up to the nap of your neck where it settles like a collar. You feel it squeeze as you replay the words over and over in your head. You have no idea what the ‘missing half’ is but it doesn’t feel good. 

Cool air meets you when you step off the train and into the much drier air of the subway uptown. There are transportation workers here, dressed in all black with red sashes and polite smiles. Though the smell of rain rushes down the stairwell, there’s no deluge of water, no cloying scent of garbage. 

Topside, the world is still covered by misty rain. At least the sidewalks aren’t swimming, rain rushing down the gutters with a loud roar as the storm drain systems operate. Umbrellas move along the sidewalk like beetles, their little black shells crawling along the evening foot traffic.

To your right, cars are lined up, occasionally beeping impatiently from people who are tired from their day working in the city and just want to go home. You wonder what it must be like, to wake up at the same time every morning and sit in a car for an hour to go to some flashy building uptown. Maybe you’d have a desk in a nice glass office and get to look out over the rest of the world, watching the people below you move like ants. 

Or perhaps you’d be one of those workers who only worked until you found a wealthy partner to support you, becoming the trophy they could tout around at parties and drape in jewels. Then, your partner would slip down to downtown in the middle of the night and visit the seedy bars and clubs in the underbelly, where they would ultimately whore their way through the riff raff. 

You grit your teeth. It always comes back to this, your dreams coming full circle to your reality. You’re not good at dreaming. Perhaps as a child, tucked against the small window at your father’s cafe you were a dreamer. Thought about what you might do with your life, what potential you might have. 

That was snuffed out. No need to think about it, no need to lament over it.

The Glass Thorn Hotel stretches upward into the sky, iridescent and glowing from all of the hidden lights fixed to the building. It stands out among the rest of the city, a shining beacon of light among dark office windows. Crowds of people with their umbrellas press together behind red rope, watching the slow drag of cars come along to drop off the city's elite: government officials, royals, music idols, movie stars, business owners. 

A car hits a puddle as you walk around the side of the building, splashing you from ankle to hip. You let out a frustrated yell. You were already wet from the knee down, but how you feel clammy near your ass as you hurry to the rear of the building, flashing your phone to show your ID and work badge at the door. 

The Unseelie faerie at the door scrutinizes your ID, white eyes flickering from the glowing screen to your face. You grit your teeth and stare back at him, daring him to say something. His lips twitch in a frown before he hands you the phone back and opens the door further.

“Do dry off,” he murmurs, voice like velvet. “You’re dripping all over the place like a wild animal.” 

“Noted,” you grit back, stepping inside.

The service hall is tight and bustling with activity. There’s an intention detector just ahead of you, a line of creatures going through and waiting for the thrumming energy field to buzz green. The detector is made up of two glass panes on either side of a carpet, flowing with magical energy as two armed vampires stand on either side. 

Shoving your phone in your pocket, you ask for a towel to dry off, shivering in the cool of the hallway.

A scoff comes from behind you. You turn your head to the side a fraction, glancing at the security guard who shakes his head and mumbles something under his breath. Your hearing isn’t as sharp as a full-blooded fae, but you hear him well enough to know he calls you a half-breed.

You stiffen and turn forward, determined not to let it get to you. It isn’t the worst thing you’ve been called and it won’t be the last time you earn the name either. Your lack of magic has earned you snide glances your entire life. They have no idea that there is a river of magic running deep in you. It’s just inaccessible. Useless.

Passing through the intention detector is easy, though uncomfortable. The magic clings to your skin like tiny little claws latching in, sticking to you and digging in to find your intention, to see if you mean harm. You certainly don’t mean harm to anyone here.

Save Jeongin, find the missing half. 

You hope that if someone in the building tonight is looking to harm this Jeongin that they get disintegrated by the detectors long before you have to do anything. 

After signing in, you get directed to wardrobe where you pull on black dress shirt and quickly tuck it into your black pants before rushing toward the swinging kitchen doors.

Noise explodes when you enter the kitchens. People hollering, the sound of oil crackling accompanied by the slamming of metal knives and pans against burners, glass shattering followed by screaming as someone drops a dining plate. 

You spot Jisung lifting a serving platter of champagne flutes, his ochre eyes on the pixie being scolded as he makes a face you can only read as yikes while rushing over to him. He doesn’t see you coming at first, standing and watching the chaos, golden glow around him as his mind wanders.

“You’re glowing,” you mumble to him as you pick up a serving tray of champagne. He snaps his head in your direction, the faint glimmer around his body vanishing but his million-watt smile making up for it. “Why are you so giddy?”

“Perhaps the pixie who dropped her serving plate called me a cunt earlier,” he said, sniffing indifferently as you both head toward the servants hall to slip through the dark and enter the banquet hall of the hotel. “Perhaps I charmed a spriggan to tie her shoe laces.” 

“Deserved it, then.”

“Perhaps so.” 

Darkness envelops the two of you as you move behind a murky, darkened veil. The magical veil is for cosmetic purposes only, shielding the entire venue from the unsightly serving staff as the gala on the other side of the dark wall buzzes with activity. 

“You were late again, by the way. Shira asked where you were.” 

“I’m sure you lied and said I was here.”

“I did,” he confirms, sighing as the two of you step around rushing servers.

Jisung gives you a dark look. He looks exquisite tonight, his almond eyes lined with brown kohl, enhancing their alluring pull. There’s a sweep of shimmer on his cheekbones and his golden hair is styled back and laced with lines of glitter. His features are soft and round - innocent, which is what he likes people to think. You know he’s anything but. 

“You look beautiful,” you offer as he gestures for you to lead the way through the darkened veil. “Stay away from the Unseelie.”

He nods, eyes serious. “I know.”

Giving Jisung a single encouraging nod,  you step through the veil. It feels like stepping through static, your ears popping on the other side. The gala is loud, the sound of all the voices and the music bustle washing over you as you slip into your role as a server for the night.

When Jisung told you that the events company he sometimes works for needed extra bodies to serve at an event uptown, you’d immediately said yes. You needed the extra cash and beyond the fact that the opulence reminds you how you are worlds awat from the elite members of Stratos, they’re not the worst jobs. 

But you’d almost bailed when you realized that the event was hosted by the Unseelie Court. Hyunjin was going to have a meltdown when he realized where you were too. But a single look at your bank account had you swallowing down years of bad memories and putting on a smile as you extended your tray of champagne flutes. 

Attending patrons tended to ignore you anyways. No one's eyes drifted to your tipped ears that were far too short to be entirely fae. No one glanced twice at your face, a mess of fae features with something else. Something unnamed. 

A black and blue butterfly passes you, a glowing trail of blue following its path. Your eyes follow it as it floats upward toward effervescent lighting. The ballroom has been transformed into a glowing cave of darkness and magic. Glowing flowers and vines drape on the walls and across the ceiling, floating lights of pink and blue drifting in the air offering gentle lighting. 

Beneath your feet, the floor is soft moss, dotted with mushrooms and other illuminated flora. The air smells sweet, sticky and humid against your skin. You imagine yourself on the inside of a volcano long burned out, the inside becoming home to all of the things that thrive in the dark, that make their own light.

It’s beautiful, and the creatures inside of it are all the more beautiful still. A moon wraith drifts by, her hair long and silvery. She’s watery at the edges and opaque enough that you can see right through her in some parts. She’s in silk that looks spun out of light, eyes wholly black with glittering stars.

A dizzying number of creatures drift by you. You see glittering gossamer wings, soft-furred brownies, sharp-fanged vampires, a grinning werewolf, groups of nymphs giggling behind scaled hands. A popular musician passes you, his siren song making you turn your head as he drifts by. He’s not even speaking but you hear the soft purr of his music, the longing notes as he continues into the room, turning heads as he goes. 

Cameras flash as a group of politicians pose together. You recognize the princes of the Solar court posing for a photo. She’s otherworldly, her moss eyes vulpine and sharp, her doll-like face illuminated in the lowlight. Her dress looks like it’s made of light, threads of glowing sun wrapping around her light body and casting her in a gold gleam. 

Council members fill up the room. As you navigate, you recognize the leading members of the species of Stratos in the room. Not all twelve are present, but not all twelve members of the city’s ruling body are equal as they should be. Even among the top there is a social hierarchy that dictates invitations. 

A routine forms for your night. Circumnavigate the room while holding a tray, keep your eyes down, go back to the kitchen to receive another when you’ve emptied what you’re carrying. It’s easy money though your arm is a little sore and your shoes feel too tight on your feet. Ignoring it, you enter the main gala again, eyes scanning the room for Jisung. 

Your eyes alight on the vila as he bows his head and accepts thanks for something that a werewolf is telling him. As though he senses your eyes, Jisung looks across the room in your direction until he finds you. He offers a small smile and nod, letting you know that he’s okay. He’s well-enough equipped to take care of himself, but you have been his protector since you were children in school, standing up to the bullies who used to knock him down and cut his hair. 

A tingling sensation slides down the back of your neck. You pause and stiffen, staring at a lichen covered wall where two spriggans swing from vines, but you’re not watching them. Your eyes unfocus as you feel the prickling awareness bloom, static spreading down your spine. 

It’s a peculiar feeling that’s similar to when your instincts kick in and scream at you to do something specific. Lifting your gaze, you sweep the room a few times, looking for a noticeable threat or whatever is giving you this niggling feeling. There’s nothing that immediately looks out of place to you: flashing lights, low pulsing music, the din of voices and writhing bodies as they move around one another. 

There’s a larger crowd than there was before. Late comers are filling in before the seat portion of the gala starts and they have dinner while the faerie courts lament about the long-lasting history between them as they approach the anniversary of the peace between the four of them. You hope you get to sit in the server hall and rest your feet for that portion. Listening to the leaders of the city is the last thing you feel like doing.

A server hisses at you to move and snaps you from your trance. You nod and roll your shoulders, joining the rotation again. The platter feels heavier in your hand and your heart beats a little faster. Instead of keeping your eyes low and to the ground as you carry around what looks like truffled kelpie eyes, you keep watch on your surroundings. The tingling sensation that you’re missing something immediate is there, pressing down on your spine.

Applause starts to thrum through the crowd of attendees as you pass off the last of the eyeball truffles on your serving platter. You glance toward the front of the room where there are two holographic screens displayed as the queen of the Unseelie Court takes center stage on a glass platform. 

Queen Jieun is a spectacle to look at. Her hair is raven black, shining blue under the lights of the floating orbs and glowing flora. Her dress is a marvel of sweeping skirts of black and charcoal gray, tiny beaded details depicting vines twisting up the dress. The bodice is a cage of black branches and thorns, frosted with frozen dew and forming a violent collar around her delicate throat. 

The queen of the Unseelie Court is everything she could be, delicate and sharp, dangerous but coy, beautiful but terrifying. You swallow past the sour taste in your mouth at seeing her, repressing a shiver as you bow your head down and make a beeline for the opaque veil as she gives her opening address, voice like dark velvet. 

Jisung grabs you and yanks you to a standstill. You bare your teeth at him in frustration but he gives you a wide-eyed, pleading look. A quick glance around the room lets you know that none of the other servers are moving, all standing rigid around the room with their heads cast down and arms laced behind their back because it’s impolite to not show reverence while the queen is speaking.

Gritting your teeth, you stand next to him and lace your hands behind your back. Fixing your eyes on the floor, you take deep breaths in through your nose and let it out slowly through your mouth. The queen’s voice is like nails on your skin, rattling you down to your core the more you hear the raspy laugh and each accented word. 

Queen Jieun doesn’t know your face or you wouldn’t have come tonight, knowing that the Unseelie Court would be here. But she does know your name - especially your mother’s - and being in the same room as her feels oppressive. Like a hand is pressing down on our throat, determined to crush your airway. 

A brush of fingers against yours draws your attention. Jisung isn’t looking at you, but his fingers are twining with yours, giving you a squeeze. Your heart constricts and your throat tightens, nearly overcome by a sweeping of fondness for him. You squeeze his hand back and turn forward, steeled and strengthened to listen to a woman who unknowingly shapes your entire existence.

There’s a round of applause as she asks the queen of the Solar Court to join her. They use fanciful words to depict how long ago, the four courts of the fae were at odds with one another. It was far before Stratos ever existed and the fae lived in their own world before it joined the Burned Kingdoms. Worlds lost to some magical blight, something all-consuming. 

Now, the four courts of the fae live in harmony. Tense harmony filled with political jockeying, vying for the council seat, and an ever-changing game of chess where they seek to out power one another. The Unseelie Court is better at it than most, but they aren’t where the power lies here this evening. 

The sovereign of the Seelie Court sits at the table of honor, their jade eyes honed in on the two monarchs speaking at the front of the stage. The sovereign is beautiful, with high cheekbones that look sharp enough to cut glass and red stained lips the color of crushed berries. Their copper long hair is intricately braided and there’s a circlet resting just above a proud brow. It’s hard to look at them for any amount of time, the power and glamor radiating from the faerie always makes you avert your eyes after a few seconds. 

Sovereign Seren is the Unseelie queen’s opposite in almost every way. Where color seems to blanch where Queen Jieun goes, the world around the sovereign is brighter and warmer and you swear you see colors you never knew existed before. This is what the old blood of the original fae kingdom looks like. This is a faerie who has existed for thousands of years, and pins a cutting stare onto the two fae on the stage. 

A static pulse ripping from somewhere in the building distracts you. You turn toward the kitchens where you felt it from, staring at the opaque veil between the gala and the serving staff. You can’t see through the veil at all, can’t hear any sounds but what is on this side of the magical barrier. 

Your stomach sinks. The feeling of wrongness creeps up on you and you glance around to see if anyone else felt a shiver of strange magic. No one seems alarmed or looking in the direction you felt the wave emanate from. Jisung is staring at his feet, yawning. 

Turning back to the magical wall, you stare at it as though you could will it to show you what's on the other side. This feeling of anxiety and fight or flight is different from earlier in the evening when you felt that cool tingle pressing on your neck. Now, your gut twists and you cannot shake the omen that has settled deep in your stomach, warning bells going off.

You turn to Jisung. “Something isn’t right,” you murmur to him. He looks up at you, eyes round and alarmed. He knows to trust you. “I think I felt something a moment ago and I have this horrible feeling-”

Terrible screams rip through the gala as servants spill through the magical wall. Immediately there are creatures shooting to their feet from tables and guards swarming the two fae royals on the stage. Jisung grabs your arm in alarm, looking as chaos breaks out along the far side of the room where servants are stumbling into tables and fleeing from the kitchens and halls in droves, several of them slick with blood. 

Grabbing Jisung’s arm, you pull him behind you as the table in front of you gets shoved, the attendees rushing to get away from the unknown source of terror. You feel the threat like a pinprick, a knife of awareness as you move backward toward the gala entrance with Jisung pressed behind you. The two of you are careful to keep together, feet tangling with one another in the mess while your eyes are trained on the veil, waiting. 

When you see the source of the mayhem, you freeze. The creature is a void, so dark that it bends the light as it slinks through the magical veil. As it passes, the wall of magic crackles, electricity popping and whining as it shatters and drops, revealing the servant hall. Jisung’s nails dig into your skin, drawing half moon circles of blood with his grip as the two of you stare at the massacre of bodies and limbs. 

“What the fuck is that?” Jisung breathes, hand trembling.

You have no idea what the creature in question is. It’s sleek and shaped like a jungle cat, but its entire hide shines with leathery skin as it prowls into the room, shadows flickering strangely around it. Two long appendages grow from its back, lashing out like a whip and plunging into people. There are rows of serrated teeth at the end of each appendage, chittering like a saw as it pulls victims down.

It’s hard to watch but harder to look away as the creature holds a Solar Court guard down to the ground and turns him into something unrecognizable, an oozing husk of a body as the guard nearly melts with whatever the teeth do to him. 

Jisung turns and vomits behind you. Your stomach is hardly in better condition when another creature slinks around the corner from the kitchen, the same buzz shivering over you with its presence. This one is closer and you realize that it’s just you and Jisung, frozen and staring as fae guards and a pack of werewolves press in on the first creature.

This one, though, seemsed fixed on you. It’s hard to make out and discernable facial features, but you immediately feel like prey. You squeeze Jisung’s arm. “Run,” you whisper. 

Jisung doesn’t hesitate. He lets you go in favor of running and you’re on his heels, leaping over a broken chair as you go. The banquet hall doors are a mass of bodies and screaming creatures shoving and pulling. Only three sets of doors are available for the escape of the people inside as hundreds of people try to stampede through them. 

As you approach the crowd, they start screaming and running toward you, herded toward the center of the gala as more of the cat-creatures prowl from the lobby into the event space, their whip-like limbs and teeth tearing into victims as they go.

Bodies slam into you. Jisung’s hand gets knocked from yours and you scream his name. He’s yanked from you in the sea of people and you shove your way through the panicking crowd in the direction you think he was pulled in. 

Stumbling, you end up at the south end of the room, a body slamming into you and knocking you to the ground. Rolling to your front and pushing yourself up, you freeze, eye level with one of the creatures that is cornering a faerie dressed in the leathers of the Unseelie Guard. He’s got a sword out and he’s bleeding from his brow, standing in front of either a dead body or someone who is unconscious as he snarls.

He’s young you realize, vulpine face full of terror but eyes lit with fire. You scrambled to your feet, slipping on spilled blood. The creature prowls toward the faerie but he doesn’t move, determined to stand over the body laying on the floor instead of turning to run. 

Around the room, there are several people trying to fight off the monsters. You see the Sovereign from the corner of your eye, her green magic flashing so bright you see stars. Behind you, a faerie skids to a halt and looks at the Unseelie guard.

“Jeongin!” he screams, voice cracking. 

Jeongin. The name resonates with you immediately and the hair on the back of your neck stands on end. Save Jeongin, find the missing half. 

Without considering the consequences, you stepward and teeter right into the pool of your magic, falling headfirst into the bottomless well of energy. 

Your magic is unpredictable at best and you’re wildly untrained. Beyond a few parlor tricks, your energy sits inside of you untapped and waiting. It feels like an ever-flowing river, cycling and rushing through your entire body. Sometimes, you try to dip your hand in. But you can never grasp it, can never pull out a handful of it to do what you want. 

That certainly insn’t the case now as your panic jumpstarts your magic. You’ve only done this twice before. Once was the first time you ever fell headfirst into your magic. You had just been trying to get a jar of cookies from the highest shelf, but you’d fallen from the counter and tried to soften the blow. You’d melted right through the floor and set off some sort of reaction, your magic eating away at the foundations of your home until there was nothing left.

The second time, you’d been ambushed with your mother leaving a very tense meeting with her family at their estate. You’d been afraid and reacting out of instinct to protect yourself, pulsing like an electromagnetic generator and sending a wave of energy outward. 

It had leveled a building and left a scorch mark on the earth. You hadn’t even managed to save your mother. 

Now, it doesn’t matter. The seer’s words echo through you and you lose yourself to the surging power, becoming a livewire. The thing senses you, turning on you and away from the faerie - Jeongin - to attack. It’s too late. Your palms are burning up with magic and you imagine a blade, something to cut away at the creature. You let your magic fly, a flash of something razor thin. 

Black ichor sprays as it hits the monster. It splatters outward, making you flinch as it hits you hot and wet. Its two halves fall on the ground, leaking onto the floor. The air around it shimmers for a moment, vibrating before it settles and all that’s left is the dead thing. 

Someone screams your name. Jisung comes running toward you, a loping creature following him. Jisung is covered in blood, blonde hair soaked red. Your power shakes as you reach for him, one hand outstretched the other shaping another blade of energy. 

Jisung’s hand grabs yours and you pull him to your chest, holding him as you throw your magic again. You hear the way it cuts the air, an audible hum as it hits the creature and slices thickly through its hide. It hits the ground heavily, the air glimmering again like the fabric of this world is registering that something has happened. 

Elsewhere, beasts are slowly being felled. The high priestess of the witch covens wields white fire around her, a whip of flame cracking as she advances on a creature. Lightning crackles up the sword of a nephilim solider, arching as he slices through the leg of another. 

“What the fuck was that?” Jisung breathes, holding on to you for dear life. “Did you just-”

“Yes,” you pant.

“How?”

“I just panicked, honestly. I have no idea.” 

Jisung hugs you tightly. “Thank you.” You give him a squeeze back and he peels away, looking over your shoulder. “There are three Unseelie fae staring at you.”

Save Jeongin, find the missing half. 

Licking your lips, you turn to look at the group of fae behind you. The young one that you saved - Jeongin - stares at you with wide eyes and his mouth open. A little marveled. A little afraid. Behind him, the faerie that he was standing in front of is sitting up with the help of the one who had yelled Jeongin’s name, his eyes glued to you as well. 

It’s the one Jeongin had been protecting that attracts your attention. When you look at him the sounds of death and chaos fade to a dull roar, blocked out by your tunnel vision as you stare at him. Suddenly, the world feels right, like everything makes perfect sense. Everything is aligned. 

He’s devastating to look at. Amethyst hair hands down in his face, matted with the blood that drips down the side of his head. He has unfathomably dark eyes, feline-shaped and sharp. He’s made up of equally soft and sharp features, nose round and jaw honed. His mouth is fixed in a grimace, but you think his lips are plush. Gentle. 

Your heart beats loud in your ears as you stare at him. That strange sense of instinct is screaming now, louder than before, pressing down on you like you’ve finally figured out what it wants from you. It tells you that it wanted you to look here, at this person. The man sitting on the floor, staring up at you with a mix of confusion and wariness. 

Suddenly, you realize that in this moment there is the absence of something else. Most of your life you’ve spent wandering around as though you were looking for something else or like something was missing. Just a small piece of you that was impossible to find. 

Now there’s a key sliding into a lock. Your mouth dries as you feel like something clicks. Like suddenly, now that the two of you are staring at one another, everything makes sense. Rationally, none of what has happened tonight makes sense. The creatures, the attack, the chaos and your sudden dip into your magic. 

Yet… it feels right. Entirely, wholly right, for the first time in your life. 

Horror creeps in slowly as your mind begins to put together the details too slowly. It seems that the faerie on the floor - someone important, by the looks of his guards - has already come to a conclusion you haven’t reached just yet. He’s shaking his head and pushing back a little bit, eyes never leaving you. 

Such beautiful eyes, you think absently, under all of the whirring of your thoughts. 

When you were little, you asked your dad what it felt like when he realized your mother was his mate. It had seemed like a good idea at the time but this face had clouded over in a way you’d never seen before, etched glass of pain and sadness. You’d regret asking immediately and thought that he wouldn’t answer until he finally did.

Like suddenly there was no longer a piece of me missing or looking for something, he’d said. Like everything made sense, even if it didn’t really. Just instinctual knowing that I was suddenly whole. 

Jisung says your name and pulls on your arm but you’re anchored to where you stand. Unable to move and think beyond the word that is circling your thoughts over and over again. As soon as you even think of the word, you can’t get rid of it. Can’t shake the feeling that you’ve come to the right conclusion about whatever this feeling is.

Mate you think. Mate. Mate. Mate. 

No word in the world seems more appropriate. It echoes inside of you - rattles the stars, even. You’re so sure that he’s your mate, not a sliver of doubt in your heart. Fear, perhaps. Despair, even. But nothing has felt surer to you than this moment, looking at him. 

“Your highness,” Jeongin says, though it’s phrased like a question. He’s looking at the faerie on the floor and you put the rest of the pieces together. Unknowing, the young  guard continues. “She just saved our lives.” 

Your highness. You look at the crest on his broach. The elm tree that is stitched in the armor of the guards. Horror unravels in you like a slow blooming flower, each petal bringing with it the new weight of trepidation as you stare at the prince of the Unseelie Court.

“Doesn’t matter,” the other guard growls and points a blade at you. “Until this is sorted out, everyone is an enemy.” 

The prince snarls vicious sound, canines on display as he jumps to his feet, hand shooting out to grab his guard’s arm. “Do not,” he hisses. “Point your weapon at my mate.” 

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[cutebutalsostabby]

iirc you said in another post that the time between ALTTP and OOT was either 80 or 400 years. i haven’t played ALTTP yet but love timelines - are those numbers in the game somewhere?

I think I came up with those specific figures myself, BUT I do have some in-game and official text basis for them! The reason for the 80 year vs 400 years (or even longer) options is that there is actually some pretty big inconsistency between a) various parts of the game itself, b) the official game booklet, and c) Nintendo's big ole retcon of the Imprisoning War. Or possibly retCONS if we count TotK.

(Idk if you wanted an info dump, but you're getting one lol. THANKS FOR THE ASK!! 💜)

SO. The intro cutscene.

We start by hearing of legends from long ago, about a Golden Power that resides in a hidden land. Many people tried to find it; none ever returned. One day, evil power began to flow forth (we later learn this was due to Ganondorf finding the Triforce), so the King told the sages (originally translated as "Wise Men") to seal the Golden Land away for good. The narrator then describes those events as occurring so long ago that they became legend. Sounds like a while, right?

But then within about an hour or two of gameplay, you meet Sahrasrahla. Sahasrala? Saharasala? YOU MEET MR SALSA. And he ends up telling you a story about the knights that fought to protect the sages and who were almost all killed at the time, leaving YOU, the protagonist, as the last known member of that bloodline. According to Mr Salsa, those events took place only three or four generations ago.

That's not long at all! I mean, the exact numbers may vary depending on whether it's 3-4 generations from Salsa-san's point of view or Link's, as well as whether we give that person a human lifespan or an elf one (ALTTP has some Western fantasy elements, but the later games suggest that Hylians are basically just humans with pointy ears), but that would be where my ~80 years figure came from.

One of the later bits of dialogue then mentions Ganondorf rediscovering the Golden Land after the knowledge of it was lost - which may explain the discrepancy between the intro cutscene and Sahasralah(?)'s own dialogue. (I'm taking screenshots from Youtube FYI - see cutscene compilation here.)

All good so far?

WELP. THEN WE HAVE THE GAME BOOKLET.

By "game booklet" I mean the little brochure thing that used to come with physical games up until someone decided they weren't necessary. Boo and bah humbug. But I digress.

The original booklet for ALTTP, which you can find online, says that the Imprisoning War took place centuries ago. It also adds a bunch of other new lore details, including Ganondorf's last name, Dragmire - which never actually appears in-game. Both of those things are however missing from the truncated lore dump you get in the Gameboy Advance release's booklet:

And then there's Nintendo's Fallen Hero retcon. Lol.

See, the original "Imprisoning War" from ALTTP went something like this:

Ganondorf found an entrance to the Sacred Realm (formerly "Golden Land") and went in. Much like the others before him, he was then stuck there forever. UNLIKE the others before him however, he then randomly stumbled across the Triforce, which offered him the power to make a wish.

He made some unspecified wish along the lines of "I want to take over the world". As a result, the Sacred Realm became the Dark World and started to leak evil magic and demons into the Light World (aka "Overworld").

The knights fought against the demons, allowing the sages to seal the entrances ro the Sacred Realm. Note it's unclear if they even knew about Ganondorf's existence at this point.

Sometime later, Ganondorf manages to partially break free, and sends his alter ego Agahnim out to break the seal on the Sacred Realm and merge the two worlds into one.

And then we have Nintendo's retcon, which introduces the whole idea of the Fallen Hero - as a means of clumsily tying ALTTP to Ocarina of Time. So instead of the above:

Ganondorf publicly swears allegiance to the King of Hyrule, only to later backstab him and take over the castle. He then follows Link into the Temple of Time and grabs hold of the Triforce while the latter goes to take a nice long nap. He only manages to claim part of the Triforce (Power), so his wish remains incomplete. The other parts go to Link (Courage) and Zelda (Wisdom).

Seven years later, Link challenges Ganondorf to an epic showdown and loses. Ganondorf claims the remaining parts of the Triforce and uses them to transform into the Demon King. The seven sages, Zelda included, then seal both Ganon and the Triforce away in the Sacred Realm.

The names of the seven sages (per OoT) eventually become the names of the towns in Zelda II. Any remaining discrepancies are handwaved away as unreliable narrators.

Interestingly, TotK's Imprisoning War is much closer to ALTTP's version than Hyrule Historia's - which makes me wonder if that whole retcon is doomed to be retconned once again. Of course, the Triforce isn't present at all within TotK, but it's also a pretty compelling reason for why seven sages with secret stones couldn't win against the one guy with a secret stone. So there’s that.

But yeah, going back to that initial question: no, there's no specific figure provided for the time between the Imprisoning War and events of ALttP. Just depends on which piece of conflicting lore you feel like using lol.

[nomsfaultau]

Random question have you ever considered writing a space au? I was going back and reading all of my favorite sbi space au’s for nostalgia and I realized that it was all right up your alley. I mean, different species, languages, cultures, and technologies?! I immediately thought of you. (Sorry if this is strange and random, but I read a really good fic and the way the world building was written really reminded me of fault)

Short answer: no, sorry

Long answer: this question stumps me because by all accounts I SHOULD be into sci-fi. The afformentioned world building elements, but also it has some interesting vehicles for moral quandaries. But. I'm kinda just...not? And I've been trying to figure it out for a bit. It's not that I don't like it. I'm just not into it.

Maybe part of it is not reading/consuming much scifi? And so now it's chicken in the egg. So do I not read sci-fi bc I'm not into it, or am I not into sci-fi bc I haven't had a lot of exposure to it? Because the few ones I have gotten into are She-ra (fantasy sci-fi), The Adventure Zone: Balance (fantasy that becomes sci-fi in the eleventh hour), The Lunar Chronicles (Fairytale sci-fi), and the Vorkosigan Saga (regency sci-fi). Which. Slight trend of sci-fi that isn't really sci-fi.

And then I was like. Well. A lot of what I write is influenced by what I draw. And I'm pants at mechanical stuff. But we're back to the same question, bc obviously I would be a lot better at drawing tech if I was obsessed with space.

My accomplice suggested that it's because I don't want the pressure of trying to back up what's essentially magic with scientific reasoning, cause of the whole being in a scientific field and being acutely aware of when that stuff is inaccurate. But. I mean I'm literally doing bee math and calculating the dietary calorie requirement for my magic monsters, so I don't think that's it either??

Idk man. I'm apparently ride or die for fantasy? Very weird gap in my interests that I'm scratching my head over tbh

[princess-of-the-corner]

So, thoughts on the following main ships from Equestria Girls and Friendship is Magic: AppleDash (Friendship is Magic), RariJack (both Friendship is Magic and Equestria Girls), FlutterDash (both Friendship is Magic and Equestria Girls), TwiPie (Friendship Is Magic), RariShy (Friendship is Magic), Sunset/Pony Twilight (Equestria Girls), SunPie (Equestria Girls), Sunset/Sci-Twi (Equestria Girls), Rarity/Applejack/Rainbow Dash, and Sunset/Sci-Twi/Pinkie?

Short answer: YES!! I love most combinations of the Mane 6/Humane 7! My one exception is that Pinkie/AJ kinda got kicked after the show started considering them cousins(even though it's not a confirmed relation and the show itself ships their siblings). BUt other than that yes!!

For a more individual discussion:

AppleDash: Absolute classic friendly rivals! Would bicker 24/7 but love each other

RariJack: A beautiful kind of opposites attract but also there's no way this isn't Canon at this point like idk that it's technically not you can't give them both a romance with a guy that looks exactly like the other and the resemblance is even pointed out by the others and then tell me it's not forshadowing. Also I know in canon everyone's the same height but my height headcanons means tallest x smallest!!

FlutterDash - Another sort of opposites attract, combined with childhood friends!

Twipie - Yes!!! Yes! Pink and purple! Bookworm and party girl! The one who has to know absolutely everything about how the world works and the one who just shrugs and goes with the vibes!!

Rarishy - Absolutely soft and once again some opposite vibes!

Sunset/Pony!Twi - YES!! Come on y'all know me enemies to friends to lovers is my JAM!! They will spend a whole week in a library together.

Sunpie - Y'all have NO IDEA because I haven't linked my fics in a while but I wrote them in the drama class and they played Oberon and Puck basically like this and casually quote lines at each other.

Sunset/Sci-twi - YE! Sunset is Sci-Twi's manic pixie dream girl fantasy and I am living for it!

Rarity/AJ/Rainbow - Rares is the brain cell here but she doesn't mind she might not like getting sweaty but she is watching AJ and Dash work out and just sitting on the sidelines with a TALL lemonade.

Sunset/Sci-Twi/Pinkie - double the manic pixie dream girl!!

Bonus!

You didn't ask but Rarilight is probably one of the top on the list and I'm using it to suggest a favorite fic, The Enchanted Library (and also it's sequels and sidestories). Heavy AU but HIGHLY recommended!!

[kafkaoftherubble]

Summary kinda of other project

The main character is a knight called Dagny in a walled city. The city keeps getting attacked by monsters so she makes a deal with a troll called Bannkjell*. She gives him her hair and he gives her enhanced sight and hearing. Everything is great for 6 months because she can kill monsters even at night, but then she slowly starts becoming inhuman. Eventually, she's exiled and forced to live outside the wall. Some days pass, and then she finds out the troll attacked the city basically as soon as she left. She feels horrible so she kills the troll and returns all the children he kidnapped to the city, except one.

The last one is called Filpa and he's from a Sami inspired city super far north so Dagny goes on a quest to bring him there. On the way, her former friend Levander joins the party and they become like a second set of parents to Dagny and Dagny forgives Levander for being the one to suggest she be exiled.

Will not talk about the ending

*fun fact, Bannkjell is a name given to him by the residents of the city. In Norwegian, it means child boiler because he eats children

Also sincerely apologize (not really) but Dagny is a Danish name pronounced like dao-nü. It means new dawn, which is fun because her character arc is that she regenerates as a person and goes from being a huge asshole to a sweet and selfless person Idk if I said but the setting of the story is a fantasy world based on Norse and Celtic mythology, so there's stuff like Jormungandr-like serpents, a few questing beasts, Levander is a selkie and parts of Dagny's character arc reflects the story of how Odin came to be all knowing

I couldn't screenshot and attach your other letters to this because Dumblr somehow thinks I'm suddenly past the character limit with those two images!

I'm gonna reply to this one this time because honestly, I LOVE THIS FROM THE GET-GO.

The name? Fucking slaps. I'm really into giving meaningful names and trying to learn the stories behind other people's names, man. Is there a story behind Filpa and Levander?

What does becoming "inhuman" basically entail? Do you mean physically changes form? Like... a werewolf-sorta thing? Or some other sort of transformation? Or do you mean something more psychological, but no less sinister—an appetite for human flesh? A healthy hunger for blood? A monstrous mode where she acts very differently from herself?

Who was the troll before he met Dagny? How was he different from other monsters that attacked the city? Was he the only sort of wish-granting troll there was?

Does Dagny have other friends? She's a knight, so I assume she went through knight training as a squire along with other squires. Oh! Is Levander a friend she met from back then?!

How is Levander like? What's the thing about them that Dagny like, and what's the thing about them that Dagny cannot stand?

What inspired you to start this project? 'Cause this has a really nice fairytale feel to it. It read like a story from this old book I used to own, where it showcased special stamps from all around the world and told local folklore and fairytales as they were shown on the stamp. I really loved those books.

OHHHH I SURE LOVE ME SOME NORSE AND CELTIC MYTH! I have only very passing idea of selkies, but I heard they are very pleasant-looking (fine, the stamp storybook said so).

I didn't even expect Odin himself to be featured here! I thought dude became all-knowing by sacrificing his eye. Or was it after he learned, er, seidhr? Seidr? It's some magic, I think.

Will this project be a written story?

Damn, I am jealous of how many stories your brain could craft. It doesn't matter if they aren't completed; I just think storytellers pulsate with human-ness! Humans are all about fables, after all.

[dunkledog]

Introductory Post !

I fear something of this nature is long overdue. So here it is.

I go by Lucifer and my pronouns are he/him. I'm an artist, I enjoy writing, and most of all I enjoy frolicking in anything TF2-related. Most of my art is somehow TF2-related these days. I'm back in the trenches of my biggest obsession hehee... I do have non-tf2 content that I may upload more of.

Unfortunately I don't post often. I'm more active on my main blog, @lucifer-the-fetus-eater, but I don't really post art over there, just general hijinks, rambling, and reblogging. I do dabble in SFM... So I might start posting stuff like that sometime. Who knows

For general warnings, I'm liable to post artistic depictions of blood and gore, possibly body horror, suggestive content, drug use, crude humor, and foul language. I will do my best to tag posts with the appropriate trigger warnings. Discretion is advised.

Now is a better time to mention than never that due to the general nature of my content, this blog is NOT intended for users under the age of 18. I apologize for not clarifying this sooner.

REGARDING ASKS:

I definitely should've been clear about whether or not I'm accepting requests. As of currently, I am not, since I have a bunch that are still sitting in my ask inbox and have been for months that I wanna try and fulfil before accepting any more.

I will, however, answer questions! I will answer questions about... like... anything, I guess. I'm afraid I might open pandora's box with that one, but to hell with it. Why not?

I don't want to make this too long, but below the cut I have described some blog-specific tags you'll start seeing on some of my posts.

!this post might change and update as time goes on!

Blog-specific Tags

#the magic renaissance - This is my main OC world. It's full of random fantasy crap I've cobbled together over the past like... 7-ish years. It's technically an urban fantasy since it features an alternate history Earth with magic and non-human sapient species and other neat stuff. The (segmented across time periods) story takes place surrounding six main characters. Heinz and Franz (Infernal Emperors), Adrik (Harbringer of Winter) Ritter and Winnifred (Twin Seraphim), and Connor (Son of Creation). There's a lot more, but idk how to condense it more than that just for this post.

#coarse gravel - The basic idea behind this one is "what if The Gravel Wars actually happened, and Valve was hired by the US Government to create a silly 'documentary' video game so no one would take it seriously?" It's like a version of the TF2 universe, but significantly less cartoonish with alternate, more disturbing lore. (With respawn mechanics inspired by Emesis Blue.) It takes place deep in the Rocky Mountains and focuses on the conflict between D.A.C.S, (aka Defense Area Control Squadron, a division or RED), and S.H.A.U, (aka Specialized Heavy Assault Unit, a division of BLU.)

#salem: supernatural reckoning - I haven't posted or mentioned this one at all as of writing this. Mainly because it's very new. It's way more of an elaborate shitpost than anything else... It's a TF2-based universe where these angel and demon teams run around trying to foil each other. I really let myself go crazy with this one. The conflict is between two angels of death-- one fallen, and the other still in reputable standing. One is in part responsible for the respawn machine, the other is trying to find a way to free the souls in its belly. You know how it is.

[artisan-king-morleus]

Man, okay

My brain is swirling is so many ideas THAT IM GOING CRAZY but also kinda okay with that 🤣

Came across some surface level info on zines (apparently pronounced "zeen") and apparently ANYONE can make one for ANY REASON

I have so many mini comic ideas or like oneshot worlds that don't quite that a lengthy story or really just vibin! Could also just make one with my art just coz! It could just be a booklet with just leaves!

I HAVE THIS IDEA!!!!!! So I've been working and creating a comic story for 5 years (haven't published it online as trying to figure out storyline) so what if..... I make a zine about the LITTLE PLACES IN THAT WORLD!

How cool would it be to read a magazine AS IF it WAS created in that world! (No 4th wall breaking) It would have inserts of magical cafes and suggestions of places to eat your floating croissant. A page delighted to tell about the magics and academics collage's extensive libraries. Interviews with vampires and there mental health as a whole. Pages dedicated to the cultures around the fantastical world!

There's be no "hey look at this weird magic magazine" it would be "holy smokes, it feels like I live in this world!" Ya'know?

I'm rambling at this point. Wouldn't mind maybe making one solely on BSD, daily life of the ADA or Port Mafia, cute pictures of the characters. Idk I just REALLY want to make one!!!

You guys interested in the fantasy one (I'm eager to do one of my world or even a collab with others to make fantasy ads) or maybe you're interested in a zine of BSD (let me know what themes you're interested in or what focus it could be)

👋

[soul-dwelling]

I dunno if you saw the lates Heroaca chapter, but yikes, it just keeps going downhill - from the previously assumed banality of evil explanation of AFO being some spoiled manchild that got a power and lived out a childish fantasy, now he literally cralwed out as a baby evil, biting his moms corpse and magically surviving, only to terorize the world - like this should have been his fake "edgy villian" backstory, a myth - the whole "we just read comics" thing doesnt work when they were born into a post apocalyptic while AFO was the literal antichrist.

Like maybe I'm missing something and being to harsh, but AFO just being some rich kid who was spoiled and got everything he wanted and lived in a fantasy world, maybe only caring for his brother, who then felt betrayed, because his immaturity didnt let him realise that becoming a tyrant didnt jive with his little brother, which lead AFO to being even more petty in his delusions.

Idk, just sometimes to me I feel kinda sad for Hori, like he is aping things without really getting it, like the whole backstory seemed like an attempt to mimic HxH (which even I kinda would critisice for the recen Phantom Tropes backstory reveal, but that is a seperate topic and even that was compelling and interesting in the first half)

I had something I was going to share somewhere about why I don’t like Chapter 407 of My Hero Academia, I was just waiting until the actual release. 

But let’s get this addressed now. I apologize, as I don’t think my points below are going to be as clear as I want them to be, and there is a lot of rambling. 

I am ignorant to a lot of Hunter x Hunter and the recent Phantom Troupe reveal, so I can’t speak to that, and I haven’t looked up more information to respond to that detail right now. 

I think Horikoshi had no good options, because he’s writing about comic book supervillains in relation to fascism, so either he was going to over-simplify the various ways comic book antagonists are written, or he was going to fail to address real-world concerns about fascism. I don’t think he had good options. Either All For One came into existence because society let, or All For One was born evil. 

As I’ll touch upon slightly below, I can appreciate arguments that say Chapter 407 says the answer is both: yes, All For One exited the womb with an awful disposition, but if he had not been born at the advent of Quirks where vigilantes were trying to enact genocide against those with Quirks he would not have stooped to such depraved actions in the future. 

I can’t help but feel offended: the chapter acts as if someone has an innate nature to act like this, and the chapter acts as if All For One’s past actions were justified and he should have just stopped at some point and that is when he went over the line. 

I don’t know whether I can do a decent job suggesting an alternative way to write this story, and Horikoshi isn’t done so I should keep an open mind, but I think Chapter 407’s failing for All For One is in relation to a failure to more adequately write Yoichi as a character with more agency in this story. You want to show me that what All For One is doing was justified to protect himself? Then show me what Yoichi was doing, or show how he is complicit in accepting his brother’s help even when it is out of bounds, or do a better job addressing how All For One’s brutality got worse and worse, because starting his story with him just impaling people seems like it is supposed to show he was destined to be evil, but you’re showing his action as justified because those people intended to kill him. 

(See also why the trailer for Marvel’s Echo didn’t work for me. “That guy sure was an asshole to her for using sign language!” And yet Kingpin is not justified in disabling or even murdering the asshole--cool motive, still evil.) 

But I’m rambling--and will keep rambling in this response, so, please be patient with me. 

As I said, I think it would have made Yoichi more compelling if we saw his culpability in all of this. And maybe we will. But for now, as people online have said, we’re just getting Yoichi and All For One as the typical binary in almost biblical stories: Abel and Cain, the Christ and the Anti-Christ, even Moses and the Pharaoh. 

And it’s boring. 

I’d rather have Yoichi not exactly agreeing with his brother but still in some way complicit. Think Avatar: The Last Airbender and subsequent works that don’t portray Roku in the best light: it was his home nation engaging in brutal warfare; he was too hands-off whether in diplomacy or warfare to stop it. Maybe we will get that with Yoichi, or maybe I’m overlooking his prior words to Izuku and not appreciating that he already expressed regret at not doing more to stop his brother. But I think that is missing in this chapter: we had Yoichi kick the can at All For One and tell him to stop, but we haven’t gotten more of his later years to hear him verbalize his opposition to what All For One is doing. 

Yoichi doesn’t have to be out there opposing him like a superhero against this supervillain, and I don’t want him to be a willing or unwilling participant in his brother’s empire. But I do want something that makes Yoichi feel more real. What if his brother was protecting him--and he didn’t know the extent of how unethical All For One went in that protection? What if Yoichi is still young and just not old enough to put into words that what All For One is doing is wrong? We got a bit of that in this newest chapter, where it comes across that Yoichi isn’t old enough to put into words that All For One should not be killing people. But this comes off as Yoichi is just innately good, rather than us seeing how he learns what is good. 

I will debate “nature versus nurture” in a bit, and while I’m going to come down on the side of “nurture” being more influential on people than “nature,” I do get the point people make, that they see innate goodness in kids, who want things to be fair and just and with equity, before they learn that this world as it is right now is unfair, largely because people make it unfair for others, and that we can believe Yoichi since birth would have that mindset. The problem, however, is again that it’s boring. Show me how Yoichi gets to that ethical system, otherwise he is too passive a character to feel like he’s compelling or worthwhile to this story. And that could be the point, that the holders of One For All were too passive for too long, and that Yoichi’s greatest power was sitting and waiting, as it is his Quirk, to stockpile and not seek out. 

(And I have a rant about how tiresome “the Quirk influences your personality” is as text rather than just thematic or symbolic in this story. We did not need to be told that Toga’s Quirk is what made her like she is: that limits her potential, and we are again limiting potential here with Yoichi and All For One, suggesting that both of them were destined to have these personalities because their Quirks said so--Yoichi’s Quirk is stockpiling, so he has to be passive and inactive, whereas All For One’s Quirk is about theft, so he has to be the bad guy. That is boring, it leaves no room for more complex personalities. I know I could keep going with this until we exhaust anything interesting in these characters because we nitpick too much: “Oh, so Bakugo has an explosive ability, and we had to give him an explosive personality? That’s boring!” I mean, yeah, Bakugo’s Quirk and personality as related to each other are a boring combination--that is a problem that is fair to address. I do wish the series gave us more people whose Quirks were not so connected to their personalities. I’m not sure I would even want Quirks that are ironic, such as someone who is timid and meek having a superpower that is shiny, eye-catching, or requiring them to be the center of attention to work most effectively. Honestly, just give me someone with an engaging personality--and a Quirk that has nothing to do with that personality, like a practical joker who has ice powers. Or be more clever than this: shy character with telepathic communication--so the irony is less that the powers are the opposite of the personality, and more that their power lets them address a seeming flaw, or allows them to express themselves in an unexpected way such that they are not great at verbalizing but when you can hear their thoughts they are super-eloquent or just clear. But this rant is taking too long, so let me get back to the topic.)

If you ask me whether someone is more likely influenced by nature or nurture, I’m going to likely say “nurture” every single time. 

And yes, I can admit that there is some muddying of the distinction between “nature” and “nurture” that I am asking for with this new information about All For One, that it wasn’t just that he was evil from birth but that the circumstances in which he was living, the “nurture,” was still bad: bands of vigilantes trying to kill off people with Quirks would lead All For One down horrible roads. 

But the problem is that, even if I want to read that as nurture, the chapter starts with All For One shown since birth being “greedy,” whether taking more nutrients in the womb or feasting on his dead mother’s breasts: the story is already saying All For One was destined for this, not that it was potential but just the thing itself, he wasn’t potentially evil, he was just evil since birth, and that is boring and I would hope unbelievable…although, given a lot of the evil we’ve had to see in a post-2016 world, yeah, sometimes you want to believe that there are people who were just evil since birth and that they were never going to be good people. 

I’ll get to this later, but I wish that this story revealed some caregiver to All For One and Yoichi, just to explain how these babies survived so long immediately upon birth, but with a fringe benefit: it would muddy the distinction between whether All For One does what he does due to his nature or the nurture. Think Oliver Twist, think Bungo Stray Dogs: Chuuya at 15, think Arcane: here is a rogue taking care of this kid, and we see how much of that rogue’s demeanor and attitude about life, society, survival, laws, honesty, and ethics influence that next kid. Heck, think Trigun as well with regard to Rem and Knives. 

The point is, give me a character whose conduct would have influenced All For One, for good or bad, either a caregiver who like him said life is unfair and you have to have the will to take what you need, but who meant that instruction in a matter of pragmatism that All For One later perverted into in a matter of fascism, or a caregiver who was just irredeemable and whose behavior was a model for the fascism All For One would later implement, thus that while All For One certainly had the potential in him since childhood to be this awful, he needed a model example to learn the most effective way to be a horrible person. All For One being inspired by the supervillains in comics is fine: it’s silly, but (and this is the one time I will use this excuse, given my rant against this approach below) comics are silly, this is a comic book, I can allow All For One being inspired by comics because it’s silly and it’s about the only good meta-commentary we got in this chapter. But give me an actual person existing in the actual world that showed him how to make it a reality. 

I appreciate Horikoshi reducing a fascist like All For One to a mere comic book supervillain, because the fascists we are dealing with right now in our shitty post-2016 reality are just mere comic book supervillains--but the problem is, those gutless, immoral, no-good rotten sick pieces of shit fascists did not just learn from comics, they learned from putting those ideas into action to see how far people and society would let them get away with it. Show me who inspired All For One to put those ideas into action because I don’t believe he learned it just from comics or his own experiences. Who inspired All For One? 

And yes, this is me basically writing fanfiction that introduces a new original character to populate this world, who has a close and intimate relationship with a canon character, trading quality character design and progression for the sake of shortcuts such as “they were All For One’s teacher, therefore I don’t need to do much work to actually define this character because they’ll be killed off soon enough.” 

And yes, this opens up more problems, and pretty much ripping off Vash, Knives, and Rem from Trigun: killing off a teacher figure or a parental figure for All For One and maybe Yoichi is a shortcut to progressing characters where you need them to be, for All For One to realize the world is a disgusting place that he needs to rule, and for Yoichi to realize people are innately good and deserve agency and the freedom to live happy lives. 

But damn it, it’s an effective choice, and one more compelling than, “All For One was always evil, we will not quibble over society’s responsibility in creating him, we will not give you an emotional investment in Yoichi to care about his worldview, we’ll just reduce everything down to comics.” 

(Or, if it’s not some OC who raised All For One who inspired his fascism, make it clearer in this chapter who did. Was it already answered in this new chapter? Was it the Golden Baby? Chapter 407 brings him up, so actually show what they were doing as a revolutionary so we understand how All For One’s actions are a response, whether because All For One is imitating the Golden Baby or because All For One is doing the opposite. Will we get that detail in a later chapter, or are we rushing to the finale?) 

And since I did bring up OCs, let’s get to the next point: 

I’ve talked before about how grateful I am that I get to work with others who are interested in the idea of how to revise an existing story to clarify what it was going for or, in a far less clear way of putting it, “fix” what isn’t working. 

All For One and his brother surviving after their birth is one such detail that needs a fix. 

I know this is a comic book series where you are supposed to suspend disbelief as pertains to things that don’t make sense or are so fantastic that you need the “fiction” in “science fiction” to make sense of them, such as Hagakure’s powers, how Hawks’s feathers can support so much weight, and so on. 

But there is a problem with “it’s just a comic book, suspend disbelief.” 

First, My Hero Academia consistently goes out of its way to insist to the reader that this isn’t your typical comic book. This is a response to what works and doesn’t work in comics, akin to Watchmen. Heck, we just had a chapter with All Might imagining Nighteye chastising him, saying that a mentor having to die to motivate their student is like something out of a comic book, and what All Might is living through is not one of the comics he read, this is his real life. You can’t insist “this is a comic book, suspend disbelief,” and then insist at the same time that this isn’t a comic book, this is its own reality, make it believable and take it seriously. By that guideline, no, there is no way baby All For One and baby Yoichi would have survived on their own--there had to have been some caregiver or series of caregivers for them. 

Second, at the same time My Hero Academia is asking us to suspend disbelief, the series then over-explains details in order to make this world feel believable. We have limitations on characters’ abilities so that the stakes are still high and the protagonists don’t just win because their Quirks are more powerful: Iida’s engines have a temperature limit, Todoroki can only go so hot or so cold, Ochaco can only lift so much weight that her equilibrium can handle. You can’t point to those limitations and insist that All For One and Yoichi survived that long as newborns without help--that doesn’t work. 

Therefore, I have to be open to the idea that All For One and Yoichi were not entirely on their own since birth. There had to have been a caregiver, or series of caregivers, whether individual people who found them and took care of them--until All For One likely just killed them--or communities that they came upon where there were others like them--orphans, homeless people, people marginalized in this newly emerging superpower society…before, again, All For One probably just killed them, too.

[redstrewn]

Oooh I hadn't even thought abt the Kuras/Mhin connections for anthem of the lonely when I sent it in your MIND, you're so right!!! They too self isolate, more deliberately than Ais even, they're such loners (*rattling bars* Let me iiinnn!!)

Also hii again, I may be spamming you with asks a little so sorry about that but I come to you with another Starset song! Today I bring you Alchemy.

Consider, if you will, MC realizing Leander's a manipulative weirdo but not being able to stop falling for it anyway. All the references to magic and sorcery and curses, the references to drugs (once again, poisonous Leander realness) the desperation to break out of the cycle, just the ENTIRE second verse lmao, "I finally removed the mask you made so you can't hide the masquerade underneath" both a mask AND a masquerade reference?? Plus all the talk about being charmed and pulled back in.

The outro is kind of irrelevant but there's probably some way to connect it if you wanted, maybe something about Leander's showmanship being able to conceal whatever he wants to do with mc from the public, even making them disappear entirely idk (this bit is just random thought you can always just ignore the outro entirely it's just something the band does for most their songs)

Ok that's all for this one, it's just incredibly Leander coded.

OH YESSSSS THESE LYRICS HIT AS LEANDER SO GOOD MMMMM

I piloted the labyrinths of lies

Haunted by the hooks in me

And now I’m falling right back

Into the trap that you set for me

Back inside your spell

I'm back in your sorcery

Alchemy, alchemy

Tell me what you’ve done to me

Synthesized and transformed

Pathetic lifeform

Alchemy, alchemy

I don't want your drug in me

You get me high 'til I want more

But you hit like chloroform

I fell in right for the fantasy

Enchanted by the chemistry

The more that you took, the more I see

I’m locked inside a conjuring

I’m just a mannequin, stuck

In your plans to get struck

By the trance you put me in

Plant your curse under my skin

Ok this makes me have fun w the idea that leander "poisoning" MC so to speak so that he isn't "affected" by their curse is kind of like him fighting fire with fire. Putting a curse to combat MC's. Hehhee fun to think about.

I let the beast in you get the best of me

Tossed aside like old debris you don't need

I finally removed the mask you made

So you can't hide the masquerade underneath

Also I LOVE THE OUTRO

Ladies and Gentlemen!

You are about to be astounded!

You are about to be amazed!

What I am about to show you is not an illusion!

This is a skill I've learned from the ancient masters of the Far East!

Before your eyes, I will make a person disappear!

I love thinking abt his CRIMES and how he can just make people "DISAPPEAR." Also i like thinking abt how if someone ascends to godhood, would they even appear as a person anymore? Godhood is more of a concept. Like I think of Madoka disappearing from the world in her ascension. Just so much fun.

THANK YOU FOR SUGGESTING THIS SONG ITS COOL also thanks for ur patience I know this was in my ask box since like forever 🙏