#maybe mo set him on fire too while i wasn't looking

[peppermintfreak]

Hi tonight I decided to add like twenty inkheart characters to the hunger games sim for shits and giggles (old men were exempts) so here are some highlights I thought were funny.

Pairing meggie with doria was apparently a very bad idea as she pursued to immediately bury him six feet underground on day one lmao.

She also kept shooting people and getting explosives from random sponsors, effectively getting the highest bodycount of five only to die of hypothermia on the last day.

Somehow roxane's death went past my radar and i haven't realised this until i skimmed thru everyone's cause of deaths and found out she was set on fire by none other than mo at the very beginning of the game 💀 apparently basta didn't take this very well and proceeded to track him down and kill him on day one. Avenge her, king!

Dustfinger attempted to climb a tree for no apparent reason only to fall from it and die. Sootbird did the EXACT same on the same day, of course not before he'd snapped the piper's neck. The art of seduction is not for the streets.

Basta and firefox kept teaming up despite coming from different districts and jumping people. What did fenoglio mean by this?

Unstoppable force (mother and son duo) meets immovable object (two redheads)

A mother daughter bonding moment. Ignore cosimo and darius in the back.

No commentary on this lol. Bro can't even aim.

[googleitlol]

My Beloved: Ch. 2

A Hero is Born Pt. 2

After talking over where to go with Pigsy, we all got into his food truck and took off. Unfortunately, there wasn't much room. My breathing was shallow in such a tight space and Mei began patting my back. "You doing okay, Lian?"

"Fine. Never better." I squeaked, trying my best to keep it together. For as long as I could remember, I've never quite liked my spaces. Call me a claustrophobe, you'd be right. "Maybe if we still had the delivery cart, some of us could've gone in there."

"It's not my fault! I was being chased by a fire demon!" MK argued as Tang leaned over the driver.

"Pigsy, watch where you're going, you're gonna kill us!" He stressed while MK tried to wriggle over to there side.

He opened up his book. "Yeah, we gotta  get to Flower Fruit Mountain without getting smushed in a car crash. All we need to do is drive through an entire ocean. Simple." He explained, like driving through the ocean was an option for us.

This was getting to be too much for me. "I can't do it. Pigsy, I'm going up."

The chef looked up at me as I shuffled past Mei. "Again?! You're gonna go flying."

"Better than dying in here!" I shouted, lowering the window to scramble onto the top of the truck. "Don't do what I'm doing, kids!"

"Wait, she's done this before?"

I gripped onto the truck for dear life as Pigsy drove like a madman. The scent of salt water hit my nose as we approached our destination. It'd been a while since I've seen Sandy. Part of me was worried he'd scare the kids, or threaten anyone if they looked at him the wrong way. He's always been a little too angry, I recommended therapy to him once.

My thoughts were pulled to an abrupt stop as Pigsy slammed the breaks. Not anticipating the sudden stop, I went flying to the ground with a thud.

"Li!" MK jumped out of the truck and rushed to my side where I laid face down, one arm over my back like I was dead.

I looked up at him with a smile. "I'm okay. I have high pain tolerance."

Helping me to my feet, the group looked up at the ship on the harbour. The others grew nervous as we boarded the boat. I wasn't quite sure how Sandy would react to all of this, it had been some time since we'd last seen him. Once we saw him and managed to explain everything, he finally spoke.

He hadn't really seemed to have changed that much, he was still the rippling blue hulk like before. "That's a lot to take in." He threw his butcher knife into the sink, the utensil lodging itself in it. "You know what I do to people who disrupt the peace?"

"Serve them tea!"

"What?" I deadpanned as the once scary blue man became jolly. He held out a set of tea to us, offering everyone a hot blend of tea.

I stared on in shock while Mei and Tang teased Pigsy. "It's my own blend of anti-stress fruits. It really brings the heart rate down."

"...I'd like some of that too, Sandy." I raised my hand, the man bringing a cup over to me.

As I took a sip, Pigsy slammed his hands down on the desk. "Sandy! What happened to you? Where's the angry, glass-chewing, fist-throwing buddy I used to know?" The pig was set down by our old friend with a smile.

"Oh well, my therapist said I really needed to calm down. That's why I started drinking tea. Doing yoga. Investing in therapy cats. Really helps. Oh, don't you, Mo?" He held up a blue cat with his same ginger mohawk. Wow, he actually took my advice.

Funny enough, it didn't take much to get Sandy to help us. In no time, we were sailing across the ocean at intense speeds.

Once we were on the move, I got above deck and looked out over the city. In the distance over a building, I could spot a glint of metal. It looked to be a robotic bull, watching us depart. We'd have to be careful.

"Watcha looking at, Lian?" Mei peeped over my shoulder, and I turned to face her with a smile.

"Just looking at the city. Come on, let's see if Sandy needs any help maintaining the boat." I explained, taking her hand and going back below deck. There wasn't much point in pointing out the bull. She wouldn't be able to see it from here and I didn't want her to ask me why I could.

A few hours into our travels, the gloom of the city was replaced by a sunny sky and fluffy clouds dispersed here and there. I sat across from Mei on the deck while MK trained with the staff.

Well, it was more playing than training. "Halt, evil monster! I must thwart thee, for I am the Monkey Ki-aAA—" He lost his balance as the staff extended, nearly hitting Mei directly in the head.

The girl remained smiling nonetheless. "Woo! That was awesome!"

"Sorry, Mei!" MK called as I got up. He tried picking the staff up again only for it to maneuver out of control and hit him square in the face.

I gently took the staff from the boy as he groaned. "I think I'll hold onto this for now."

The boy groaned, rubbing his head before his eyes locked onto something behind me. "We're here! Flower Fruit Mountain!" I followed his line of sight, impressed by how he could see the green mountains past the line of volcanic geysers.

Wait.

A geyser erupted beside the boat, sending the boat to lurch on its side. Everyone gave a shout, holding onto whatever was closest to stay on and not fall into the water.

Once the boat steadied itself, Sandy got onto the deck with us. "Welcome to the Flaming Mountains, gang! A volcanic ring surrounds the mountain making it virtually impassable. This path is the only safe way through. That's as close as the boat can get. Just... be careful." He warned.

He and Tang stayed behind on the boat while Mei, Pigsy, MK and I got off to get past the volcanoes. Pigsy followed behind, expressing his discontent. "Stupid Sandy. Stupid Tang. Staying cozy in his stupid boat. What did I do to deserve this, Noodle Gods?" Like they wanted to answer him, a geyser went off in front of him and I jumped between him and the geyser.

"Pigsy, you could've stayed on the boat too. I'm okay with taking these two over." I put a hand on his shoulder as he calmed down, but he shook his head.

He grumbled. "There's no way I'm leaving the both of them to go through a volcanic ring of death."

"Careful, you two!" Mei called back. "Eeeeh! You gotta wonder why Monkey King decided to live here of all places." She wondered aloud before gasping. I followed her gaze only for my eyes to narrow at the sight before us. A shadow of a figure arose from the smoke surrounding us, though MK didn't notice.

"You know, when Monkey King had to get through the flaming mountains, he actually used Princess Iron Fan's fan to..." We finally made eye contact as he trailed off, confused by our warnings. The figure chuckled, and he wasn't confused for long.

The Princess herself chuckled darkly. "Well, well, well, aren't you a little Monkey King fanboy." As she spoke, lava spewed from behind her, giving her a flaming source to dip her fan in.

I quickly ran past MK. "Staff, now!" He did as instructed and threw the staff for me in time to jump into action. The woman shot fire off from her weapon in a powerful gust of wind and I quickly jumped over my friends to deflect it.

I glared up at the demon, her face shifting in surprise. "Oh? So this is where you've been hiding all this time."

"What?" Before I could even process her words, the wind picked up around me. I quickly turned back to my friends. "MK, quick!" I threw the staff to him, which he quickly caught before I was thrusted up towards Princess Iron Fan.

I gave a shout in surprise as she held me by the collar of my shirt. "Hmm, no greetings? Centuries since you've shown your face and I don't even get a hello?"

"What are you talking about?!" I grimaced, fighting to escape her grip.

She studied my face for a moment, her eyes widening for a split second before returning to their neutral glare. I couldn't tell what she was thinking. "I see, how disappointing." Like she was done with me, the woman turned to the kids. "I'll be taking that staff now."

MK was quick to point the relic at her. "This belongs to the Monkey King, there's no way I'm letting you take it."

"Aw, you're just a little noodle boy playing at being a hero. Sorry to disappoint, playtime is over." She glared down at my friends as I struggled to release myself from her hold.

MK jumped into action, staff over his head and ready to swing the weapon down onto the demon. It seemed like Princess Iron Fan was expecting this, though, as she quickly dropped me. Outstretching her hand, she summoned a metal gauntlet to stop the attack.

I fell with an oof and looked up to see the woman holding the staff. With a laugh, she sent a shockwave from the staff that sent MK flying over the volcanoes. In an instant, I was on my feet. "MK!"

He screamed as he flew back and with no hesitation I ran after him. I could hear Pigsy and Mei call for us but ignored their pleas to come back, my focus a tunnel with MK at the end of it.

I jumped to dodge spews of lava and vents that released toxic fumes, they were all just inconveniences. A bit of lava jumped onto my shoulder and I quickly brushed it off. "Ow! Hot, hot!" It didn't matter, I could take it. All that mattered was getting MK. Besides, I couldn't get hurt.

I had high pain tolerance.

By the time I got to the edge of the volcanoes, MK had landed in the water. My eyes widened as the waves rose and fell around him. Without hesitation, I jumped in after him. With all my energy, I swam after the boy as he began to sink into the water.

There was no way I would let him drown. Diving under, I spotted the boy and managed to fight the current to get to him. Taking hold of his arm, I started swimming back up to the surface.

Once we reached the surface, I looked around wildly, holding MK's arm over my shoulder to keep him above water. We were on the other side of the volcanoes, Sandy's boat nowhere in sight.

Instead, Flower Fruit Mountain sat high above the water, it's sandy shore reaching out to us as I began to swim towards it. I was slower with MK, but it only took a little while before I could reach the island.

I dragged my roommate onto the shore, dropping him before falling onto my back from exhaustion. Catching my breath, I checked to make sure MK was breathing before collapsing back onto the ground. My lungs were on fire, I used to have more stamina than this. Was I letting myself go? Maybe I should start cycling.

As I laid on the floor contemplating my choices for who knows how long, my thoughts drew back to Princess Iron Fan. Did she say... it sounded like she knew me??? But how could I have known the Princess Iron Fan???

And hiding? I haven't been hiding, I've been— living! Minding my own business! She was disappointed? In what, she doesn't even know me!

That entire interaction was confusing. As I ran the scenario in my head over and over, the chitter of animals caught my attention. Sitting back to look at the forest, little monkeys emerged from the shadows. They chipped and mumbled, giving me strange looks.

"Uh, hi." I gave them a small wave. I think that was a mistake. Instantaneously, the troop charged, knocking me onto my back. I yelped in surprise as a few huddled around my face while others went to investigate my unconscious friend.

One monkey pulled at my face, chittering in excitement as I blinked, unsure of what was going on. "Nice... to meet— you too."

A scream made me sit up as I looked to see MK shooing the monkeys off of him. He jumped up in a panic while I breathed a sigh of relief. He was okay. The boy looked around in a daze as I got up to wrap him in my strongest hug. "You're okay! You had me worried there for a sec, kid."

"Li? Where... are we?" He furrowed his brows, rubbing his temples with a groan.

I turned the boy around to show him the mountain behind us. "We made it, MK. This is it."

"Flower Fruit Mountain." He gawked staring up in wonder. After a moment of awe, he looked back down to his hands. "Oh no, the staff—"

"We can worry about it after we find Monkey King, come on." I grabbed the boy's hand to drag him along with me. I had no idea where Mei and the others were, whether they were still on the boat or if they had gone back to the city but the longer we left them on their own, the more danger they'll be in.

We hiked up the mountain, MK getting more and more out of breath the higher we climbed. It took a bit of effort but eventually, we made it up the mountain. I got to the top first, pulling MK up and looking back at the waterfall that awaited us. It was beautiful.

The waterfall was surrounded by trees and shrubbery, with stones that led to what must've been Monkey King's secret entrance in front of the falls. With a nod to each other, my roommate and I hopped over the stones, MK taking the lead.

With caution, the boy held his hand out to the waterfall. At his movement, symbols appeared in front of his hand, washing the air around us in a golden aura. My head swivelled back in amazement to take it all in. In a single moment, the waterfall split open, revealing a cave entrance.

Inside challenged the beauty of the forest itself, it was like a whole other ecosystem. We crossed a bridge, along with walls containing what looked like centuries-old inscriptions and artwork. Tang would loose his head in here from excitement.

As we wondered, the two of us called out for the Monkey King, wandering in search of an answer. "Hello? Hello?! Monkey King?"

We wandered a little ways away from each other during our search, and I came across a strange mural on the wall. Every other drawing was a mural in honour of the Monkey King and his companions, various demons and celestials, even some monkeys but on the wall in front of me was a tree.

It was old and faded, with a crack from the top right of the drawing that went across the tree. Pink and white blossoms decorated the leafy branches that contained bundles of green and purple fruits. That strange feeling returned, deep in my gut. I wasn't sure why or how but as I reached out to touch the wall, an itching feeling of anticipation creeped up my skin.

This felt... odd. As my hand pressed against the wall, my eyes widened at a sudden deep rumble. The wall suddenly crumbled and I fell over, losing my balance. Dust clouded the air, making me cough. Quickly, I swatted at the air to clear the dust away, blinking some of it out of my eyes.

Strange, it seemed like there was another room here. The air was stale, the dark area was barren, nothing more than empty space. Why was it blocked off?

"What's happening? What's wrong with my eyes?!"

I turned my head at the sound of MK in distress. "Kid? You okay?" Following the sound of his voice, I managed to catch a glimpse of my friend running off down a corridor.

By the time I caught up to him, he was standing at the entrance of a large chamber, sunlight trickled in from the cracks of the rocky ceiling above. "Monkey King?" He called out as I approached. I took note of the hill in the middle of the area. On top was what looked to be some little shack.

MK's voice echoed around the chamber, only for there to be no response. There was no Monkey King to be found. Frustrated, the boy kicked at a rock. I quickly approached, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, kid."

The boy looked down, completely dejected. He sat on the floor, his knees pulled close to his chest. "What was I thinking? For a moment there, I thought..." He sighed, hiding his face in his lap as I crouched down next to him.

"Listen to me, I get things seem bad right now but we can do this. We'll... we'll find a way to steal the staff back!" I put a hand on his shoulder. "Take on that Bull family on our own! Sure, one's a pyromaniac, and an airbender... and a giant bull... but I know we can—"

I cut myself off as a butterfly flew onto my friend's arm. The red, gold and black markings on it's white wings reminded me of a face. MK and I looked at it in confusion for a moment.

Then it spoke.

"Sup?" At the word, MK jumped up in panic. I pulled the boy close to me putting myself between the kid and the demon bug. "Yes, yes, it is I! The Monkey Ki—"

Before it could finish its next words, MK and I stomped the creature into the ground. "Kill it! Kill it!" MK screamed as we repeatedly stomped on what had to be its tiny corpse at this point.

I looked down with suspicion. "We killed it... right?" I was dead wrong as it suddenly began to glow a bright golden light. The butter-demon-fly began to shift, my eyes widening at the familiar bird that had visited me for years. It then shifted to a tiger, roaring loudly before transforming into...

Oh my gosh, it was him. The Monkey King.

"M-M-Mo-Monkey King?" MK voiced what I could not. It was him, it was really him!

The legend himself stood with an aura of authority, his arms crossed with a smug look on his face, I would probably look like that too if I was him. "Yeah, the one and only. So, where's my staff?"

The Monkey King looked around casually before seeing my friend on the brink of tears. I wrapped my arms around the boys head with comforting pats. "I'm so sorry! I tried to bring it to you but Princess Iron Fan came and took it! She's got this glove a-and—"

To my surprise, the monkey laughed. "I know, I know. Look, I'm gonna come clean." I frowned a little, surprised by how calm the monkey was.

"Um, I've been kind of watching you." He confessed, making MK frown.

"What?" He gasped. I had my own moment of realization. The bird I've seen over all these years, was it watching MK too this whole time? But I've known the bird for so long, how could it have been the legendary Monkey King this whole time?

And why did he give me plums every morning?! "Wait, what?! That was you???"

I looked back to see the relaxed king scratching his back with a bamboo stalk. Looking back at us, he laughed. "The look on your face— you're perfect!" He pointed his self-made backscratcher at the kid.

"Perfect? For what?" I frowned, moving the stalk away from my friend.

The Monkey King blinked for a moment before crossing his arms once more. "To be... my successor!"

Alright. This has to be Tang in cosplay.

"Are you sure you're the Monkey King?" MK echoed my thoughts. "You've been cooped up in here for way too long, I think your brain went mushed up." The boy began to inspect the server but was quickly stopped by his prehensile tail. Guess he was real.

He used the tail to gently set MK down. "Listen, Kid. You fought demons and you didn't die. And you made it here. Not just anyone can lift my staff." As he spoke, he searched a pile of garbage for something I wasn't quite sure of. "But you did."

"But what about DBK?" The boy questioned as the Monkey King pulled out a bag of peach chips, making him laugh.

"What about DBK?" He took a bite of his snack while lounging on a cloud. "You can handle it. Consider it a trial."

"But I—" The boy cut himself off with a sigh. He was disappointed, heck, I was too! We had come all this way just to be told we can fight DBK on our own?

The Monkey King seemed to take notice of our dismay and approached us. "Look if you can lift the staff you can use it. Just believe in yourself. Even a smidge makes all the difference." His words seemed to get through to the boy, who smiled. "The staff was taken from you. Take it back."

"Alright." MK grinned, looking back out towards the exit we had come in through. He looked back at me and with a nod, trekked back to the waterfall.

I stepped to follow after him but quickly looked back. The Monkey King stood there, his arms folded and an eyebrow raised. "I figured you might stay behind."

"Mr. Monkey King... it was you, right? You're the bird with the plums?" I frowned a bit as the man sighed, lowering his head.

"Yeah, that was me." He crossed his arms with a small smile and a shake of his head.

I looked at him, confused. The bird— Monkey King is one of the oldest friends I have. "Why? It's been years and you've never—"

"Lian! You coming?"

I looked back in MK's direction before turning back to the Monkey King, who put a hand on my shoulder. "Listen, you go help the kid, and you can come back to ask me all about it. 'Kay?"

"Oh, uh, okay." I nodded, not quite sure how to feel. He was right though, I had to focus on the more urgent matter. Turning to leave, I ran after MK.

Once catching up with him, we were quick to hike back down the mountain. As we moved, the boy turned to me with a frown. "Hey, what happened to your shoulder?" I looked down at where he was pointing, a small hole was burnt through where the lava had jumped on my shoulder from before, the edges frayed and burnt.

"Oh, uh... that was just a bit of lava, heh."

"A bit of what?!" He gave a shout. "Okay, I let the truck thing go, but how are you not dead?!"

My brows furrowed at the question, my mind going back to the talk I had with Pigsy and Tang earlier at the shop. Guess it was only a matter of time before this had to come out. "How do I... okay. MK, how old do you think I am?"

The question immediately got him defensive. "Woah! Come on, Lian, I know not to ask a girl about her age."

"Seriously, MK. How old am I?" I persisted making the boy frown.

"Huh, I'm actually not sure..."

"Yeah, same."

MK gave me a puzzled look as we walked down the mountain. "What?"

"The reason I know all the Monkey King stuff I know? The reason I knew you were telling the truth about the staff? I've seen it, I've been around since the celestials and demons would mess with mortals all the time." I explained, walking a little further ahead.

MK scoffed. "But that was like, centuries ago! You'd have to be..."

"Immortal?" I turned back to give the boy a shrug. As I did, his eyes grew wide along with his mouth.

The boy now had a starry look in his eyes. "Oh my gosh, you're immortal?! How??? Are you a demon? A celestial? Did you achieve enlightenment?!"

"No, no!" I waved my hands in defence over MK's excitement, taken aback by his reaction. People didn't always act like this when I told them. "I actually, uh, don't know why I don't die." MK seemed confused, so I continued.

"My very first memory was centuries ago. Today, actually, crawling out of the ground. I had my hairpin clutched in my hand and there was this intense storm in the sky with ice shooting everywhere." I took my plum hairpin out of my hair, looking down at it as I continued.

"I'm not sure how I got there or why I was underground but I eventually found a village. It was there I took the first part of my name from the hairpin." I showed my little brother the engraved, "Li".

When I looked at the boy, he practically had stars in his eyes. "That sounds so cool!"

"Eh." I shrugged. "It was actually kind of scary." I'm not really sure how long I spent trying to crawl out of the ground. My claustrophobia kind of sprung from the experience. Huh, maybe therapy would help with that?

The boy frowned. "Why didn't you say anything before?"

The question made me deadpan at the boy. "It's not exactly something I wanted to bring up over breakfast. Besides, I know you and Mei won't leave me alone for at least a month knowing I've been alive for hundreds of years." I explained. As if to emphasize my point, the boy was scribbling notes into his book as I spoke.

"Point taken." He nodded as we finally made it down to the beach once more. Looking out over the ocean, he frowned. "Wait, how are we supposed to get back??"

Scanning the area, my eyes landed on a crate that was on Sandy's boat earlier. It must've fallen off when the geyser hit. Some of the monkeys from before were attempting to pry it open. Once they did, the crate fell apart, revealing a red and golden jet.

MK and I grinned to one another for a moment before I raised a hand. "I'm riding on the top—"

"You're sitting in the jet."

"Uuuuuuugh."

~~~~

"It's true, My Love."

Princess Iron Fan was delighted to tell her husband of what she had seen at Flower Fruit Mountain. She had not expected to see such an old face when she went to retrieve the staff, though it did nothing less than excite her.

Her husband hummed in thought, the wake of his destruction surrounding them. "I had thought she died long ago."

"I knew she had to be in hiding." The Princess scoffed. "Even spending all her power like you claim she did, it couldn't have killed her."

"The others were convinced otherwise."

The smirk on the Demon Bull King's wife remained. "No matter what may have happened, what I saw is still the same. She is no longer herself, it was all too easy to beat her. I didn't see a single weapon from her grand arsenal."

That piqued the demon's interest. "If she has no recollection of what she really is or her powers..."

"We can exploit that." The woman chuckled darkly, her husband looking on at her with admiration.

~~~~

I really hope we didn't just commit manslaughter.

Crashing into the ground, we were able to reunite with our friends and defeat the Demon Bull King. MK managed to summon a Monkey Mech using the staff once he retrieved it.

Unfortunately, the Demon Bull Family got away.

They were gone for now, but there was no way they'd stay gone for long. The group surrounded MK in his new mech, excited that we actually managed to win. I was, too, it was exciting that we were able to save an entire city. It's been centuries since I've been able to witness anything like this.

But despite our victory, I couldn't help but wonder. What was Princess Iron Fan talking about earlier? And Monkey King, what was the point in hiding all this time? I've been trying to not let whatever my past was haunt me, but now it was starting to feel like it'd be handy to know a bit more.

Word Count: 4838

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[soopersara]

Caught

AO3 | FFN

On a trip to the South Pole, the lack of sunshine takes a toll on Zuko, and Katara makes some time for snuggling.

AKA: Some ridiculously tooth-rotting fluff that I wrote for acorn_princess as a part of the Zutara Holiday Exchange (and tied to a Zutara Week Throwback prompt because that’s where I got the idea and I also don’t have the brain for titles at the moment).

⁂

They are scarcely through the door, Katara still pulling off her thick, fur lined mittens, when Zuko groans and leans against her back, arms twining around her waist and face mashing into her hair.

His weight nearly knocks her off balance, and Katara catches herself against the wall. With a laugh, she cranes her neck to look back at him.

"You could at least let me take off my coat first, Zuko."

He groans again and buries his face even deeper into her curls. "Nope. Can't."

There is a petulant edge to his voice, and Katara rolls her eyes. She peels her mittens the rest of the way off and tosses them onto the bench by the door, then kicks off her boots. For all that the cold shocked her when they arrived back at the South Pole a few days ago, she's grown accustomed to it now. She almost misses it, the coziness of the soft furs on her skin, and the delicate layer of fluff on every surface outside that mutes all the noises of the world. The comfort of a warm house after a long walk out in the snow, made all the better by the firebender by her side.

Or usually by her side. Right now, he seems determined to keep her wrapped snug in his arms, even while they're both dressed for a blizzard inside a warm house. Their house. At least for now. At least until the new embassy is complete, or until they have to turn back for the Fire Nation.

She peels his arms loose and turns to face him. Zuko makes a small, disgruntled noise, and opens his eyes just a slit.

"Oh, come on," she says, reaching up to pat his cheek. "The meeting wasn't that bad."

He considers for a second. "Not that bad," he agrees. "Better than I expected."

"So you're just pouting because you're cold?"

His mouth curves into a slight, soft pout. "I'm not pouting."

Katara brushes her thumb along his protruding lower lip. "So what's this?"

She almost expects him to cave in. She expects him to melt, to give in to her teasing and plant small, teasing kisses all over her face and as far down her neck as he can reach with the thick, fluffy collar in his way.

That's what she would do. What she has done when he teases her about the heat in the Fire Nation. What he usually does when she teases him about one thing or another.

But instead, Zuko yawns, deep and prolonged. When he is finished, Katara stares. That, she would never have expected.

Zuko catches her look of bemusement, and his face reddens. "I—um. It must be really late."

"Late?" Katara pokes him. "We still have two hours before we have to leave to meet Dad for dinner."

"But it's so dark." His pout returns, and Katara is tempted to run her finger along his lip again, just to watch his reaction.

She resists the urge and cups her hand around his cheek. "It's the South Pole, and it's not the winter solstice yet. It gets a lot darker than this."

Zuko rests his head against her hand. "It's late," he insists. "Has to be. I wouldn't be tired if it wasn't late."

She lets her voice drop into a softer, warmer tone. "I'm pretty sure that's not how it works, Fire Lord."

"Hmpf. I'm pretty sure it is." He closes his eyes and nuzzles into her hand.

He draws power from the sun, Katara reminds herself. That must be it. Without the sun to fuel him, he doesn't have quite the same capacity to push himself to inhuman limits. The limits he usually abides by, spending so many hours of his days in the Fire Nation in meetings, then in poring over treaties and trade agreements and correspondence from all the other leaders of the world. Usually, he has more energy to draw on than most people, and he can push himself farther than any of them ever could.

Here, he is missing his extra source of strength. Here, even more than everywhere else, he is only human. Here, his limits find him faster.

For a little while, Katara is perfectly happy to hold his face in her hand, watching the creases in his forehead, around his mouth and his eyes smooth away. He looks peaceful in a way that he rarely does outside of sleep—but then he leans harder on her hand and starts to tilt himself ever so slightly forward to rest his weight on her chest.

"Hey!" She flicks his shoulder. "Are you sleeping?"

Eyes still shut, Zuko mumbles, "Maybe."

Katara rolls her eyes and pushes him off. "I love you, but I'm not going to keep holding you just so you can sleep standing up."

There is a short pause before Zuko pulls away. "Fine." He yawns tremendously and yanks his parka clumsily over his head.

"Get some rest before dinner," she tells him, her hand brushing against his after he hangs his parka by the door—steel gray rather than blue, just different enough to set him apart from the tribe, but similar enough that he never looks out of place. "We still have two hours."

Zuko nods groggily and presses a quick, soft kiss to her forehead before wandering off toward the bedroom. There is a soft thump, and Katara smiles. She knows that sound. She's watched him crash face-first into bed enough times to see it even without turning around, even without being in the right room. She peels off her own parka and pads after him to peer through the door.

Just as she expects, Zuko lies sprawled at an odd angle across the bed, arms splayed out to the sides and his feet dangling off the end. She shakes her head.

"Aren't you going to at least take out your crown? That doesn't look comfortable."

Zuko gives a small grunt and turns his head just far enough to peer at her through one eye. "Can't," he declares in a mumble. "Too tired."

Katara smiles and crosses her arms. "Don't think I don't recognize a ploy to get me to play with your hair when I see one."

He doesn't respond, just closes his eyes and lets out a sigh, head still turned partway back in her direction.

Lucky for him, Katara doesn't like seeing him uncomfortable, even if it's his own doing, his own laziness. And she can never resist the urge to run her hands through his hair. She crosses the room, nearly soundless, to sit beside him on the edge of the bed.

Before she can reach his crown, Zuko's arm snakes out and hooks her around the waist. A surprised laugh bursts out of her, and he twists, pulling her down beside him.

"You're warm," he murmurs sleepily, and presses his face against her sternum, his arms wrapped snug around her middle.

Despite herself, Katara smiles. "And you're a ridiculous sneak."

"Didn't stop you from marrying me."

"Hmm." She rests a hand against the back of his head, playing with the binding on his topknot. "You've gotten sneakier since then."

He goes quiet, and Katara pulls the crown from his topknot, then slowly unwinds the binding until his hair spills free in glossy black streams against the fur bedspread. She runs her fingertips through his hair, then plants a small, soft kiss on the top of his head.

Zuko hardly reacts, and Katara leans back against the pillows, one arm draped around his shoulders while the other threads lightly through his hair. He must be exhausted. Normally, no kiss ever goes unnoticed, unreciprocated, no matter how small.

She trails her fingers through the length of his hair, and rubs slow circles into his scalp, soothing the places where she knows from experience that a topknot and crown pull the most against the scalp. His hair, its smooth silkiness, its fine, straight locks, never fails to fascinate her. Zuko, she knows, is much the same with her. He plays with her curls, letting them twist delicately around his fingers, at every chance he gets.

It's the contrast, she always believes. The stark difference between her curls and Zuko's straight, silken locks has to be what fills them both with such fascination. Whatever it is, though, whether she's right or wrong, she never has her fill of playing with Zuko's hair.

She feels him relax even further, the slight remaining tension in his muscles draining away. If he isn't sleeping yet, he will be soon, and she doesn't mind that. It's warm and comfortable being pressed up against him, even if she can't move without waking him, even if she has no desire to join him in slumber.

Her fingers keep twirling and smoothing bits of his hair, and before she realizes it, she is partway through braiding a narrow lock of hair just over his scarred eye. It looks nice, she decides, and stretches out an arm to retrieve a small box from the bedside table. From inside, she produces a few of the delicate golden beads he'd given her as part of her betrothal gift and begins weaving them into his hair.

When she is finished, he wears a thin braid punctuated with flashes of gold. It isn't as long as Katara's braids—he keeps his hair cropped a bit shorter than that—and it won't hang in loose, swaying loops the way that hers do if he chooses to pull it back, but she likes it. Fire Nation beads worn in a Water Tribe style look just as good on him as they do on her.

"What did you do to my hair?" His voice is sleepy and muffled, and he makes no effort to move.

Katara tilts her head to the side until she gets a clearer view of his face. His eyes are still closed. "I thought you were sleeping."

Face still pressed to her sternum, Zuko shakes his head. "Feels too nice when you play with my hair."

With a smile, she smooths the finished braid back to where his topknot would normally sit. "I gave you a loopy."

"Hmm." His hand raises clumsily upward and collides with hers before tracing the length of the little braid. He raises his head enough to blearily meet her eyes. "How does it look?"

With all his hair hanging loose and a single braid slipping out of his grasp to dangle in front of his eyes, it doesn't have quite the effect that she planned.

She sweeps his hair back away from his eyes for a moment. "Well, it isn't finished yet. But I think it's going to be very handsome with your topknot."

With a smile and a contented sigh, Zuko lays his head back down. "That sounds perfect."

Giving a small laugh, Katara lets his hair hang loose again and rests her hands on the middle of his back. "How would you know? You haven't looked in a mirror."

"I trust you." His voice is still gravelly, but his words are a little crisper, a little clearer than before.

"Terrible decision. I could do your hair up like King Bumi and you'd never know the difference."

At that, Zuko laughs too, and rolls just far enough off of her so that he can look her way without raising his head. "I really don't think you had enough time for that."

"Hmm." She turns onto her side too and scoots down the bed so she is in line with his eyes. She smooths his hair again and her hand rests against his scar for a second. "It's bold to doubt my hairstyling abilities." She watches his eyes slip shut again and leans forward to kiss his forehead. "But you win this time. No King Bumi hair."

He nods, eyes closed and expression peaceful. "Good. I don't think I could pull that off."

"I don't think King Bumi can either, but who's going to tell him that?"

He laughs again and opens his eyes, the soft golden irises skimming over her. "Have I mentioned how much I love you today?"

"Probably, but I can always stand to hear it again."

He doesn't speak, instead feeling around for her hand and pressing it gently to the lightning scar on his chest. Her heart flutters, just as it always has at the reminder of his near sacrifice.

This much, she hears his voice whisper in her mind. This much and so much more.

She can't think of a proper response, just holds her hand where he placed it, and wraps the other as far around his hands as possible. Sometimes it seems really unfair that his hands are so big compared with hers. She sometimes wishes that she could engulf him and hold him safe forever between her palms.

"I love you too," she whispers, and Zuko kisses her forehead this time.

For a while, they are both quiet, both still and content to just be. Katara watches his blinks growing slower again, his eyelids staying closed longer and longer. He's still feeling the lack of sunshine, she knows, and part of her wants to crawl out of bed just long enough to send a note of apology to Dad, just a few short lines to excuse them both from dinner, and then spend the rest of the night here beside Zuko.

But Zuko beats her to the point. "How much longer before we have to leave for dinner?" he asks, eyes closed, hands still closed around hers.

"An hour?" she guesses. "Maybe a little more than."

"Good." He moves a little closer and presses his face against her shoulder. "Can we stay here forever?"

A light laugh escapes her, and she cups her hand around his cheek, rubbing her thumb along the lower rim of the scar. "Not if we want to make it to dinner on time."

"No, here. At the South Pole."

There are too many problems they'd have to face for that, too many obstacles back in the Fire Nation and all around the world. She knows that. She knows that Zuko knows it too. She pushes back his silky hair again.

"And have you get all sleepy and silly on me every time the sun sets early? Wouldn't that bother you?"

"It's a nice kind of tired," he answers softly, nuzzling against her shoulder. "Besides, I'd get used to it. And if I didn't, still completely worth it if I could snuggle with my wife all winter long."

The beads in his single narrow braid glisten as they slide along his jawline, and Katara trails her fingertips lightly along the length of the braid. She would like that too. Her husband, her beautiful firebender, and someday, their children too, all calling this place home. All traveling the world together, but always returning here.

"Someday," she answers in a whisper. "Maybe someday we will."

[jafndaegur]

Noise of Rain | Chapter 1

Sesskag

Endless Forlorness Made me Numb

A/N: so @fandomplethora and I were talking about Mo Dao Zu Shi AUs. And I was like "nooo, I'm not gonna work on my Sesskag version. I have too many WIPs already". You know, like a liar. So here's my MDZS au for Sesskag🤣 it happens during the course of the canon-timeline, I guess before Final Act. Sooo yeah. I hope you enjoy whatever the hell this is🤣🤣🤣

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Kagome watched with pursed lips as the last of the sun set over the horizon. Gilded rays fluttered over the earth, streaming across the trees and grass like rivers of fire. Warm. Beautifully and utterly warm. The dying sunlight drenched her skin, and she tilted her head back—trying to drink in it's comfort. 

Trying to ignore the pressing cold digging its way into the edges of her senses.

Sunset's birth left a wake open for the creatures she'd come to dislike and maybe even hate. Soon she knew the faint pale wisps of the Soul Stealers would come into view. They would approach but never broach, as if taunting the unspoken agreement of distance. Time and time again, they teased the limits, dancing along the edge of her sights until she spun around. In the back of her mind she wondered if it would be worth it to just fork her spirit over to Kikyo. The undead priestess deserved a life, free from trickery or deceit. Something pure—

Only caught by the ascended.

After all, before her egregious turn to...what Kagome liked to think of as the emo rebellious phase, Kikyo had been rather fair and just. The death dealt to her an unfair blow by fate into the hands of a psycho spider demon.

But as the thought began to teeter close to the cusp of action, Sango's voice called her from their campsite and the idea dissipated.

Still. 

That darkened patch in the back of her mind, the one that hid behind bright smiles and dazzling sapphire eyes, pulsed. It reached out and brushed against her reiki, causing the edges to crumble to dust, unreplenished. Not that Kagome knew.

It wasn't as if anyone were helping her cultivate her priestess powers. So if she felt a bit more fatigued or a little more drained, she blamed it on the fact that Inuyasha was nowhere to be seen in the camp. Although she hadn't expected to see him. With the Soul Stealers in close proximity, they always chimed his cue to leave.

The passing scenery is going to collapse—

Cold wrapped her mind and complete midnight gripped her reiki. She cried out for help but no one could hear. 

They didn't need her. Just a jewel-shard detector.  They didn't want her. Just a lesser reincarnation.

—along the obsequious side.

"Oi, Kagome," Inuyasha's voice drew her from her sleep-deprived autopilot. "Can't you pick up the pace?"

Her brow twitched and she tried to find a good reason to not "Sit" him then and there. But her chest heaved and the exhaustion washed over her, and she acquiesced. Today was neither the time nor the place. As their group moved forward in the direction of the next Shikon jewel piece when the hanyou had picked up scents of Sesshomaru traveling their direction. In a bout of stubbornness, he refused to change course. Insistent that if his half-brother wanted to fight, then he wouldn't shy away.

Kagome's brow rose as Sesshomaru’s own little group met up with theirs. 

Rin perched happily on Ah-Un's back, Jaken in tow, and the proud daiyoukai at the front—the little quartet brushed passed them as if they weren't there. Other than the pleasant wave and hello Rin shouted in their direction, it was almost like they didn't exist.

Almost.

As they continued on, Kagome shivered as the sensation of Sesshomaru’s youki swept over them. It probed with an innocent inquisition that was disarming. She wondered why he was searching to change the hidden. But in the moment that she detected his power, it eased away and left them.

"What an asshole, he probably just came around to show-off," Inuyasha huffed.

Kagome wondered if that was the case. The full youkai had been searching for something. But what? 

She felt herself going to the dark spot in her mind, wondering if she took hold of it and reached out—would Sesshomaru’s presence return? Was this darkness, this strange thing, was this what he looked for? Kagome felt half inclined to try. She wanted him to turn around.

To notice that she felt…

Miroku called out that he noticed a dark aura from the north, something suspicious and chilling.

Kagome sighed and supposed that it didn't matter how she felt. Hitching her backpack onto her shoulders, she closed her eyes and sifted for that familiar feeling of the sacred jewel. While she wasn't sure, something stirred her heart in the direction the monk had pointed to. 

With a triumph smile, she hopped up to the front next to the half-demon. "I'm not 100% sure, but I think there's a shard in that direction."

That pleased Inuyasha enough. "Alright! Let's get a move on then."

They made camp a couple miles out from wherever they were headed next. A heavy dread had covered the little campsite, the nearby evil seeping close enough to have everyone on edge. Inuyasha and Miroku both kept a vigilant watch neither one comfortable to rest. Sango helped keep Shippo and Kirara calm enough to doze into a restless sleep. Kagome stared off into the distance. The Soul Stealers were in the opposite direction of the unholy aura; wandering, looking.

But unlike the previous night where they had toyed with the notion of trying to take her spirit again, their movements differed. Unorganized and haphazard—the ghostly creatures meandered in confusion.

Heart pounding against her chest, Kagome couldn't help the small smile wiggling its way onto her face. In her mind's eye, she cupped the darkness more. After all, it had swallowed her reiki whole, hiding it from even Miroku's detection.

It protected the treasure by throwing away the guidance everyone depended on.

The middle of the night sung out to her and she awoke on a cold sweat. Someone was crying. But everyone had fallen asleep. Miroku and Inuyasha seemed fitfully sleeping at best, while Sango and Shippo curled in for warmth against Kirara's warm side. The fire-cat however, glanced at her with worried large eyes. 

Kagome hoisted the holy bow and arrows onto her shoulder. She gave an appeasing pet the demon's nose.

"Don't worry, I'm just going to investigate," she murmured gently. "Something's off. And I want to make sure we don't walk into a trap later."

Kirara gave a low growl but she did not move otherwise.

Kagome smiled and snuck forward. The morning had yet to start, so the air felt frigid and moist. Dew just barely started to accumulate on dark forest and heavy grass. Pushing her way through the underbrush, the inner compass in her chest pointed the direction she needed. Not to mention the voice she'd heard began to cry louder. Words still weren't quite comprehensible but the sentiment was there.

The forest started to scar away, replaced by shale and growing rigid crags. Heavy mist permeated the area more. Kagome drew her bow and crouched low, still persisting. The crying started to take on a form.

 Noise of rain. It wept. Noise of rain your footsteps cry.

And suddenly just like that, Kagome spun around, arrow ready to shoot. Naturally,  Naraku stood behind her—his arms behind his back, his face pensive.

"Kagome," he greeted, voice heavy and hesitate.

Her brow cocked. "Naraku. What do you want?"

Noise of rain—

"What are you doing here so far from your watchdog?" He asked, still nothing but curiosity and even perplexity radiating off of him. 

—your footsteps cry.

"Something called me," she whispered.

The spider hanyou's crimson eyes narrowed and he walked away. "Follow me."

As they trekked, the mist began to seep with a type of miasma, but for some reason... It didn't hurt her. Shady, inky tendrils looped slow through the air as they trudged upwards, following the rise of the mountains.

"I found this place, yet it confounds even me." Naraku drawled, dark hair wavering. "There is some type of life. But it refuses to interact."

"Can you blame it?" Kagome bit back.

He chuckled darkly.

They reached the peak. 

Below them an infinite spiral of darkness. Except this time not one voice cried out to her. They all whispered and unfurled. They all heard her. 

They reached for her.

"What's down there?" She murmured. 

"As far as I can tell, these are burial mounds." Naraku hummed. "Any one place you dig, there are bound to be bones."

The darkness over her reiki swelled. Kagome trembled.

"The miasma here is not my doing," Naraku continued. "It's not poisonous. Just resentful. It's quite the odd place."

She reached out her hand and the voices smiled. "You are wanted here. Please help us here. This is the end of all lies."

"I don't think it's resentful," she whispered. 

"Interesting theory," Naraku's voice curved and drawled. "Would you like to test that?"

Before she could ask what he meant, his foot collided into her back. She screamed as her body tottered over the edge. Loafers slipped, hands grasped air, and her body tumbled into the abyss' embrace.

Weak and limp she couldn't move her limbs. Every fiber, every bone, everything must have shattered at the impact's drop. Her lungs heaved painfully. The voices giggled and suddenly they were no longer begging but controlling. They grabbed at her, trying to tear her apart and reach for the reiki within her soul.

Yet that darkness from earlier, the darkness that had appeared one day and started to grow the next…

She imagined Inuyasha looking mournfully around his surroundings, wondering where she abandoned him—just like his first lover...

Her mother and brother called out for her endlessly. Their worried tones climbing and climbing but never finding the ears they wanted…

Sesshomaru’s youki poked and prodded, searching, searching, searching for her…

Her darkness consumed every part of her reiki, like a wildfire over a bonfire, it ignited a flash that had her toes digging into the ground and her will sending her to stand.

Her aura spread and she clenched her jaw, commanding the voices to quiet.

[mxillusion]

Hello! can you do a request of wonho x reader but wonho as a yandere character + business/co-worker!AU + love at first sight + 35. Thank you!!

Hello Lovely. I am SO fricking sorry it took me that long. I hope you’re not mad at me for making you wait, but I just did my best. Also, I’m sorry that this isn’t a yandere scenario, but while I was writing this I realized I’m not feeling comfortable writing stuff like this. I hope you understand and somehow enjoy this one nonetheless. Thank you for requesting and being so patient with me!♡

And then there was you

➝ genre/warnings: fluffiest fluff

➝ words count: 2000+

➝ summary: You vowed to yourself you’d never ever fall in love with a colleague, but ended up that road anyway. To be honest, you had no idea how this could happen to you, but it did. Hoseok caught your attention when you first saw him and from that day you knew it was impossible to fight it. But still, you tried your best to move on, even though he was flirting with you whenever he could. Being alone with him was pure torture and soon you realized you weren’t strong enough to resist him any longer...

The paperwork in front of you piled up sky high, while you looked for the documents one of the lawyers needed. He'd sent you to the archive to go through all the files, hoping you'd find the relevant detail in an urgent case that's been missing yet. You tried your best to keep track of it all, but there were way too many papers to look through, and it was already pretty late. You'd worked for over ten hours now, but since this case had the highest priority, you couldn't do anything but keep going, no matter how exhausted and hungry you were. 

You sat at the desk, digging yourself through all the papers lying on it, even though you weren't sure if there was anything to be found. Everything just based on vague presumptions and the desperate attempt to save your client's ass at every cost. Well, that'd be a long night.

You had no idea how long you've already been sitting there as the door opened, and someone entered the room, too preoccupied to notice. That's why you flinched as soon as this person spoke up.

"Still working at this hour?"

As you raised your eyes to him, your heart skipped a beat. Lee Hoseok. Your amiable, brilliant, and remarkably gorgeous co-worker. Well, he was a lawyer, so he was more of a boss than a co-worker, but he always acted like the latter. At least when it came to you.

With a sigh, you nodded, trying to overact your tiredness, which was quite overwhelming at this point. There was no need for him to know how fatigued you were by now. 

"I have to finish this."

"What are you working on?" he asked, moving towards you.

You tried to suppress a jawn before answering. "The Choi-case," you mumbled.

He frowned, taking a closer look at the files spread across the table. "What are you trying to find? I thought this was already closed."

"It isn't. I need to find something, anything. Even though I have no idea what this could be. All I know is that if I leave the archive with empty hands, we're screwed." 

"Let me help you then." 

"No, you don't have to -," you mumbled, trying to ignore that your heart was beating faster just by the thought of being alone with him tonight. To be honest, this wouldn't be the first time. You guys met quite often in the archive. At first, you seemed to run into one another occasionally, but by the time you learned, this wasn't that fortuitous. 

You remembered the first time you saw him like it was yesterday. There was no way you'd ever forget that day. Hoseok caught your attention within seconds. His pitch-black hair, his broad back, and those beautiful, radiant eyes that looked at you in full curiosity. You remembered how your knees got weak as you tried to imagine what hid under those expensive and fashionable suit he was wearing and that you blushed. Just like you did now. 

"You still there?" you heard him ask, making you look at him again. A sly smile laid on his sensual lips, and for a split second, you wondered how they would feel on yours. And how they'd taste. 

"Mhm." 

He chuckled and already sitting next to you, he took a closer look at one of all those files on the table. You couldn't help but glance at him a little longer, just to admire his beauty, before you dedicated yourself to work again. This was too important to get distracted by your magnificent co-worker slash boss. 

So a few more hours passed by, while you both did your best to find anything that would help win this case. You managed to find something, but it hasn't been enough at this point. And if you're honest, it was even harder to focus now that he was here. 

Being in the same room with Hoseok always was dangerous, especially if it was the archive. A lot of things happened here. Well, they almost happened, but you always left those situations. Somehow. 

Except for one single time, just a few days ago, where you haven't been able to fight it any longer. All this longing and desire that has been between the two of you since day one. For one single moment, you got weak, and he knew exactly how to use your frailty. Before you knew what was happening, he was about to kiss you. You could've sworn you already felt his lips on yours as you suddenly pulled away, realizing what was about to happen.

And then you ran away. 

A few days later, Hoseok followed you into one of the many offices in this building, but you just noticed after you placed a file on the table and turned around again. He was standing right behind you, blocking your wait out of this room and situation and confronting you with what had happened. 

"Why are you avoiding me?"

"I'm not avoiding you, I just... have too much work to do."

He sighed, running a hand through his soft hair. "That would explain why you're in such a hurry. But I refuse to believe that this is all." Slowly he came a little closer, forcing you to move backward. "It's because of what happened in the archive the other day, isn't it?"

You blushed hard, trying to hide your emotions from him, even though you seemed to fail. Of course, he knew what was going on, but that didn't mean you'd admit it. 

"No," you answered hesitantly. 

Hoseok just looked at you, and you already felt bad for lying to him. You just wanted to avoid any awkwardness between the two of you, but if you were completely honest, it already has been awkward. 

He raised a brow at you, making you exhale. "Okay, maybe I do. I'm sorry."

"What's wrong? It felt like... you wanted it, too. I mean, obviously, I was wrong, but I thought..."

"I'm sorry, Hoseok sunbae. We're working together, and I just think it's best if it stays that way." His eyes grew bigger, and you quickly tried to explain yourself. "It's just that... I vowed to myself that I never would hook up with any of my colleagues. Ever." 

"Oh." 

Then it was silent, and for a moment, you hated yourself for saying this, but you just have been honest with him and yourself. You never wanted to fall in love with someone you're working with, simply because there would've been gossip about you at some point, and you wanted to avoid that at every cost. Even though you really liked him.

"I'm sorry," you whispered again, leaving him behind as you went back to your place. 

After that, you expected it to be even more awkward between you two, but somehow it wasn't. In fact, nothing changed. Okay, Hoseok stopped flirting with you, at least he tried. But besides that, everything was as it was before. 

Soon you felt kind of sad about it because it seemed as if he doesn't seem to care. Like, at all. If only you had known. 

Hoseok brought you back to reality as he placed a cup of coffee in front of you. You blinked dizzily, trying to smile thankfully. He just nodded before taking a careful sip of the hot liquid inside his mug.

Completely out of the blue, you had an idea that made you jump to your feet. You turned, and soon you disappeared in the depth of the archive just to come back a little later with a big fat box in both hands. It was pretty heavy, and just as you were about to reach the table, you lost balance and stumbled right into Hoseok's arms. 

The box dropped to the floor, but you simply couldn't care less. All that matters was that he caught you and held you in his strong arms now. Your heart was beating faster, and for a second, it felt like one of those cliches in all these dramas. Maybe it even was. 

"I'm sorry, I -"

"Are you okay?" he asked, interrupting your mumbling. He looked at you in concern, hoping you didn't hurt yourself. 

You just nodded as you felt the heat rushing into your cheeks. This beyond embarrassing. "Yeah, I'm good. It's just this stupid box. It was too heavy, I guess." 

He frowned but smiled a little. "You just could've asked me, you know?"

Again you nodded, desperately trying to keep cool. But to be this close to him, to actually feel his body on yours was too much. And this time, there was no escape.

He knew you felt the same. He knew you already fell for him just as he did for you. He wanted to respect you and your point of view, but he just couldn't resist any longer. 

"I really want to kiss you right now. I know I shouldn't, but somehow that makes me want it even more," he whispered, and you could feel his warm breath on your lips. Your heart was racing at this point, and there was no doubt that there wouldn't be no turning back now. It was too late.

Hoseok waited a little longer, but since you weren't able to react properly, he just did it. The next second you felt his soft lips on yours, and it felt as if time stood still. He was very careful and gentle because he was too afraid to scare you off if he'd make just one wrong move.

Your head was spinning while your heart was almost leaping out of your chest. His tenderness was too much to handle, his lips felt a lot softer than you expected them to be, and they simply tasted like heaven. 

He placed his palm on your heated cheek, almost setting your skin on fire while his lips slowly and carefully worked against yours. Your hand moved up to his collar, and your slim fingers clung on to it to avoid losing balance again. 

After what seemed to be an eternity, you finally separated from one another to catch your breath. Even though this had been the softest kiss you ever experienced, you were completely out of breath. Probably because your head and emotions were spinning like a rollercoaster. 

Hoseok looked at you quite intimidated, seemingly waiting for you to run away again or do anything else that'd hurt him all over again. Of course, he didn't forget what you said the other day, but he was pretty sure he knew what you actually felt. And now he finally was being brave enough to name it. 

"You know we're supposed to be together. I knew it the first time I saw you, and you know it, too. I'm sure you do." 

Yes, he was right. You felt it, the second you first saw him. And you were sure when you first talked to him. This was destiny. This was love at first sight, just like in all the movies, and you never would've thought this would ever happen to you. But it did. 

"I'm sorry if I crossed the line today, but... I just couldn't resist any longer," he said in a low and rasp voice. 

Soon his facial expressions changed from lovingly to scared. He was so worried he ruined everything now since you haven't responded in any kind of way. You just still felt like paralyzed. 

"Can you say something please? Anything?"

You blinked irritated, trying to wrap your head around everything that had happened just now. What did he just say? You didn't pay that much attention to what he was saying since his lips distracted you way too much.

"Y/N," he exhaled deeply, "please! I can't stand the thought of losing you."

"You didn't. And you won't," you finally said in order to make his tensed muscles relax again. You smiled lovingly, trying to find the right words. There was so much you wanted to say, but you weren't able to form a simple sentence. 

Instead, you summon up the courage to softly kiss him again. And that's all that he needed, to wrap his arms around you and pull you flush against him. There was no doubt anymore, and he once more felt that you two were meant to be. 

[madness-curin-sadness]

A Killing Eve theory.

"It was Eve who killed Kenny"

It makes sense, everyone knows that Eve was the only one who was around Kenny when he died. Eve saw his body drop from the roof. She found his dead body on the pavement. - Eve could have already been at the office with Kenny sitting on the roof top.

Eve gets a birthday cake. Upset and fearful Eve brings the birthday cake up to the roof. Eve realizes because it is a bus themed birthday cake it is from Villanelle. Eve gets mad and impulsively throws the cake off of the roof, she instantly reaches for the cake at the same time, but it is too late, the cake splats on the ground. - At first we see Eve staring at the cake that is set on top of a office chair. One of the office chairs is fumbled over upside down next to a puddle of water. Eve and Kenny could of been sitting in those two chairs. Perhaps there was a altercation with Eve and Kenny resulting in Eve pushing Kenny off of the roof. That is why we see Eve reach after the cake immediately after she throws the cake off the roof. She regrets throwing the cake away or she regrets pushing Kenny off the roof. Hmm idk?

Eve arives at the office. She can not find Kenny so she calls him. Eve sees that Kenny left his phone on his desk and Kenny falls off the roof in the background.- Why would Kenny leave his phone on his desk? Most importantly why would the assassin or killer leave Kenny's phone on his desk? By the way, the desk where Eve finds Kenny's phone when she calls him was not left on Kenny's desk. Well maybe they just wanted to get the window background shot, so that's why Kenny's phone was left there.

Eve starts drinking heavily to cope with Kenny's death. - A drinking mechanism it is not okay but it is pretty reasonable, especially after seeing a close friend die. We see Eve standing outside drunk and smoking in the rain by herself at Kenny's memorial service. - We originally think Eve is just sad about Kenny's death. Then we see Eve acting like a hot mess at the memorial service, pushing the idea that Kenny did not commit suicide. We then believe Eve thinks Kenny's death was The Twelve's doing. We know Kenny, he wouldn't commit suicide, that is why we believe Eve.

We see Eve later at a bar drinking with Kenny's phone. I first thought, "omg she has Kenny's phone.. Yes she can find out who killed him". The only time we question why Eve has Kenny's phone is when Eve is with Jamie and Bear at the office. Jamie is questioning Eve's motives about not giving up Kenny's phone to them. Jamie purposely moves the conversation towards Eve personally. Eve says, "... see this isn't about me." And then Jamie says, "see that is where I think you're wrong, if this all wasn't about you, you wouldn't be keeping the phone." It is there where we assume, "yes Kenny's death and his information on his phone is linked to Eve and The Twelve.", so yes this all is about Eve. But what if Eve simply kept Kenny's phone because she was the one who accidentally killed him and there is too much information on his phone that connects Eve to Kenny?

Eve killed Kenny and she doesn't remember doing it. - What if Eve actually killed Kenny? Eve has been showcased in the show many times zoning out, losing track of time, doing odd things agressivly without thinking, and talking to herself. Something to think about; Eve was depressed over Villanelle shooting her, she was sad about Kenny's death, Eve kissed Villanelle and headbutted her, Eve was heartbroken seeing Niko nearly get killed, but then Niko lived and now she is energized to find out who did it. At first it did not make sense to why Eve's character kept switching up emotionally, but this might be why. Bair with me.

Eve tracks down Dasha and tries to kill her. - While bowling Dasha mocks Eve's relationship with Villanelle. Dasha threatens Eve, Eve does not back down nor does she get scared. Instead Eve believes it was Dasha who tried to kill Niko and that Dasha tried to frame it on Villanelle. That possibility upsets Eve, Eve gets fired up, and she wants to find Villanelle. In the process of finding Villanelle she stumbles upon Dasha who is almost dead on the ground via the hands of Villanelle. Eve checks on Dasha worriedly at first thinking Dasha is dead. Dasha is not dead, Eve ask, "where is she?" refering to Villanelle. Then Dasha speaks up and she mocks Niko's "Stalin" like mustache. Thus confirming that it was Dasha who tried to kill Niko. That switches something in Eve, Dark Eve, and Eve tries to kill Dasha by stepping on Dasha's sternum slowly. Eve had that crazy look in her eye, the same one Villanelle gets when she kills. But Eve snaps out of it, Eve stops what she is doing and takes off when she hears police sirens. The way Eve moods and actions keeps switching up so fast make me feeling like Eve is suffering from some sort of personality disorder.

Carolyn finds out who killed Kenny in ep. 8. - In one of the promo trailers to KE S3x08 we see Caroyln sat at a computer. She says, "oh my." It seems Carolyn has finally seen the information on Kenny's death that Mo found and was going to show her. Carolyn does not seem mad but kind of shocked and worried. This is where I can see Eve being the one who killed Kenny. Carolyn does not usually have a huge reaction to news but at this point I'd imagine she would. The only way Carolyn would react like that would be if Kenny did kill himself or if it was Eve.

Villanelle and Eve are the same. If all of this ended up being true it would mean that Villanelle and Eve are both at points in their lives where they regret killing someone close to them. Villanelle does not want to kill anymore because killing her mom has scarred her. Eve accidentally killed Kenny, Eve nearly killed off Dasha, Eve is spiralling out and she knows it. So Eve turns to Villanelle because she wants to see Villanelle but also because Eve needs help. This is all while Villanelle and Eve have very strong feelings for each other. This outcome would be crazy. But I mean we already love an unstable couple so it wouldn't matter lol.

"Idk how much I believe this theory. I mean I would not be suprised if it ended happening. However, it does not look like this will be the ending outcome, so I do not bet on it. Because Eve loved Kenny, why would she accidentally kill Kenny and how would she do it without realizing? I just don't see it. It was obviously The Twelve who killed Kenny. It was probably that other assassin woman Rhina who hangs around Héléne. Like why else would that woman kill Mo? Anyways, yeah it's just fun to theorize about the this amazing show."

[staytiny-angel]

The Demon's Lair - Part 2

Rating: Overall E, this chapter T

Main Pairing: Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch (Warning they aren't monogamous for much of the story)

Side Pairings: Roman Reigns/Jon Moxley/Renee Young, Finn Balor/Violet Balor(OC), Baron Corbin/Randy Orton/Ember Moon, Sasha Banks/Bayley/Xavier Woods, The Miz/Maryse

Summary: Fire? Meet Gasoline.

Taglist - @askauradonprep @rxllynch @neversatisfiedgirl @superrezzy00 @axelwolf8109 @swifteforeverandalways @hitory--chan @riottbliss @viperslunatic

Seth gingerly pulled his black dress shirt over the welts on his back as Violet knelt in front of him petting his face and hair "Feel better, precious one?"

Seth nodded in reply still a little spaced out from the endorphins. Finn entered the room again face clean from the paint that had given his handsome features their demonic appearance.

"So her name is Rebecca?"' he finally spoke

" Yes, she's a little younger than you. I've known her since she was a little girl. We came to America together but she moved down south when she met her former girlfriend, it was right before I met you actually. You just missed each other." Finn explained, "She's going to run the main bar since Jordan decided to return to school full time."

"I think I saw her. Orange-red hair, dressed in yellow and black leather?" Seth says as Finn helped him to his feet

"That would be Rebecca. Miss Rebecca or Miss Becky to you." Violet told him. "That shirt is much too tight to button over your back."

Seth nodded at the unspoken command "I'll keep it open"

Becky Lynch had not expected to like working at Finn's club after everything Charlotte had put her though because of her hatred of Becky's kinks, but her The Lair was like nothing she'd ever seen during her years as part of the scene. The members of the Lair acted more like a family than any other club she'd ever been a part of. It was surprising how all of them acted around one another despite many of the members' celebrity status, It had been a crazy moment, her when first night working the bar when Mike Mizanin and his wife Maryse just walked up and casually spoke to her, to her surprise the couple were very down to earth and just as funny as they were on their sitcom Miz and Mrs, though she'd wanted to slap Finn for not telling her he had the rich and famous frequenting his club. So far in her month behind the bar, she'd met several MMA fighters, a defensive lineman for the Giants, and she was currently talking to Ember Moon, a New York Times bestselling author. It was all so surreal. The only member of the club Finn ever mentioned was Seth Rollins. Becky had heard a lot about the millionaire CEO in her month at the club. Apparently, he was something of a legend around the Lair. He'd helped Finn get the club off the ground and Finn had introduced the man to the lifestyle. She knew he was at the club tonight but all she'd seen was long dark hair and a fancy suit as he headed into Finn's private domain.

The door to Finn's dungeon finally opened and Finn stepped followed by Violet who was holding on the arm of the man from before now looking much less agitated, fancy black shirt left unbuttoned to reveal a toned chest dotted with scrapes and bruises, and an impressive 6 pack.

Ember whistled from a bar stool off to the side of her "Seeing Sethie's chest is always a treat"

"What CEO looks like that?" Becky wondered aloud " and he's all banged up"

"One who served in the Army for the better part of a decade, including 3 tours of Afghanistan" Ember explained "Seth sometimes takes mercenary missions if they require his specific skill set. He's been gone on one for the last month"

"Wait, wasn't this guy born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth?" Becky looked at the other woman surprised

"Mama Trish….that's Seth's mom, by the way. Well, she may have raised a spoiled brat but he's also got a hero complex a mile wide after what went down with his Dad. Nasty business that was, Seth went into the military right after he graduated High School. Roman and Moxie, Miss Renee's boys? They followed him in. The four of them went to the same ritzy private schools, known each other since they were all little kids. One of my boyfriends was a few years above them. The silver spoon thing is funny though since Seth's middle name is Sterling"

"Hey! Are you mocking my name?" The man in question says in a raspy voice as he walks up to them.

"Your Mama named you Sterling, she cast that die for you already," Ember says hugging Seth after casting a glance at her Dom and getting a nod in answer.

"Sup, Emmy," Seth said taking a seat at the bar.

"Seth, Miss Rebecca. Becky, the Lair's chief pain in the ass." Finn introduced the pair to each other.

Seth rolled his eyes at Finn before smiling at Becky "Pleased to finally meet you Miss Rebecca" he said politely "Seth Rollins" he introduced himself properly

Becky's brain actually stuttered for a second. This man was too damn gorgeous for her own well being, after a moment she internally shook her thoughts back into place and reminded herself she was NOT looking for a new Sub, especially not a buff, tanned millionaire one.

"Be a good Kitten." Violet leaned in and kissed Seth softly "If you can find someone to play with tonight has fun! If not you are welcome to come home with us as always, my darling"

"Yes, Miss Violet. I'm taking the day off tomorrow. Moxie and Ro changed the security codes on the facility and all my work-related computer systems for 24 hours. They locked me out"

"I told them to, Mo Chroi" Finn tells him. "You need a day for yourself. Go to the gym, tend to your plants but you are not allowed near your headquarters until Wednesday understand?"

Seth bowed gracefully "Yes, My Liege"

Finn and Violet swept off to their personal VIP Booth, while Seth settled into his normal spot at the bar to chat with Ember as Becky looked on, laughing at something the tiny African American woman was telling him.

"What do you think my Queen?" Finn asks his wife

"I think they might be exactly what the other needs. Becky already thinks he's cute, I can tell" Violet replied

Are you okay?" Ember asked Seth seriously after joking around for a few more minutes. "You hardly take on solo missions anymore."

"Favor to one of Mom's country club buddies. Her friend's daughter got snatched while the girl was on a trip with her Dad. Tracked her over there, got her back relatively unharmed" Seth explained succinctly. One of Ember's Doms worked for Seth and had known him for most of his life, Sso she knew more about what he actually did for a living then most of his friends at the club.

"I'm glad. Now imma ask again cause you just tried to derail me. Are YOU okay?" Ember said grabbing the bigger man's shoulders gently and making him look her in the eye.

Becky watched as Seth ducked his head and then rolled his eyes at his friend "I'm better. Majesties worked me over a bit."

"Emmy." A deep midwestern accented voice said as Randy Orton walked back up to the bar. "Time to go. Baron's flight gets here in 2 hours"

"Yes Sir" Ember said lightly, accepting her boyfriend's hand and getting down off the barstool.

"Won't be in till Wednesday Viper, Royal decree." Seth told the older man

"Good. Tired of having to call the Doc in because your stubborn ass don't know when to go the fuck home. See you then, Boss" Randy replied before he and Ember headed out of the Lair, leaving Becky and Seth staring at each other

"Would you like a drink?" Becky asks him "Finn tells me this fancy-ass coffee set up is your doing?"

"I don't really drink, spent too many years trying to find death at the bottom of a whiskey bottle." Seth tells her bluntly "So yeah the fancy-ass coffee set up is for me."

"I'm assuming Finn told you to behave with me? He warned me about you while you were gone" Becky said easily despite being internally taken aback by the lighting fast change in attitude

She watched as Seth visibly took a deep breath "I apologize, Miss Rebecca, Miss Becky?" He said questioningly continuing when the redhead nodded "I apologize for my behavior Miss Becky, I wasn't prepared for Ember to ask about my last job and it was a…..rough one."

"Your forgiven, míshásamh," She said with a small smile that got bigger when Seth tilted his head to the side like a curious puppy "Six years being Finn's friend and sometimes boyfriend has taught me quite a bit of Irish but I don't know that word"

"Maybe, if you're a good boy, I'll tell you," Becky said with a smirk "Now if you want something fancier then a regular coffee, you're gonna have to come back here and make it yourself"

Seth grinned and nimbly leaped over the bar landing to the left of her, letting out a low cackle when she didn't budge "I can do that"

[mibasiamille]

Dialog/Spoken Line Prompts! 1. Claire "Right now, I'm not sure if I want to kiss you or shove you off a bridge." Jamie: "Can I choose?" 2. "I'm sorry I stabbed you. I love you." 3. "Hurry up, I'm running out of secrets here." 4. Claire: "I'd agree with you, but we'd both be wrong." 5. "The sun hasn't even come up yet and you want me to do WHAT?" 6. J: "Technically, it wasn't on fire." C: "Of course, it wasn't on fire! You completely blew it up!" Bonus points if you use all six. In any order.

Mr. & Mrs. James Fraser Bond

this is honestly just a stupid thing that I wanted to write bc honestly, who doesn’t want to see a james-bond-ish version of jamie and claire?

i hope you enjoy! x

“The sun hasn’t even come up yet, and you want me to do what?”

Jamie sighed exasperatedly at his wife, adjusting his cummerbund once more before pulling his jacket over his shoulders. “Come with me, Sassenach.”

“On one of your silly missions? I don’t think so.” She rolled her eyes, “You’re going to get yourself hurt.”

“But if you’re wi’ me then you’ll be able to help, if the need arises.”

Claire’s eyebrows rose as she sat up in bed, crossing her arms. “From the stories I’ve heard, I don’t really think that’s a good idea.”

“You’d be missing out on all the fun,” he teased, putting on his cufflinks and brushing his hair back once more with his hand.

“If by fun you mean ‘killing people and setting buildings on fire’, I think I’ll pass.”

“Well, technically, it wasn’t on fire—“

“Ah, of course, it wasn’t on fire! You completely blew it up!”

Having nothing to add, Jamie awkwardly stood in front of the mirror as he attempted to fix his very crooked bow-tie. Eventually, Claire got annoyed at watching him try—and epically fail—to fix the garment, and moved from her perch on the couch to re-tie it for him. He down smiled at her.

“Do you not remember where you came from, Sassenach?” he asked, wrapping a curled piece of hair around his finger. “Where we met?”

She raised her eyebrows at his answer, but didn’t look him in the eyes. “Of course I remember, you brute.”

“And how hard would it be to just… do the same thing you did then, but now?”

Meeting his eyes, she sighed and said, “I really don’t know if I want to kiss you or shove you off a bridge.”

He raised his eyebrows sardonically. “Can I choose?”

Smiling, she chose the former, but warned, “If we pass by any bridges on our way there, you better watch your back.”

Jamie filled Claire in on their way to the gala, sitting in the backseat of the large, black Escalade. She rolled her eyes multiple times at the absurdity of the ordeal they were seeing themselves in—an art thief, a priceless artifact, the people trying to steal it—but this was Jamie’s job, and he had asked her to help him. And, being the dutiful wife that she was, had given him her word she’d help him.

“So what, exactly, do you need me to do?”

“Distract the thief. Keep his eyes on you and not on the piece.”

“But doesn’t that counteract what you’re trying to do? If you take the piece, doesn’t that make you the thief?”

He shook his head, “No’ exactly, Sassenach. At least, not when the government is yer employer.”

“How on Earth am I, of all people, going to distract him?”

“Ye ken how to do that, fine enough,” Jamie smiled, leaning close enough to his wife that their foreheads met. “Especially dressed as ye are. Christ, it would be hard for you not to distract him, Sassenach.”

She smiled, leaning closer until their lips met.

A moment later, Jamie leaned back and asked, “I guess you changed yer mind, then?”

Claire hummed once before saying, through a few chuckles, “I’d say yes, but I can’t say the same for my future self.”

Have ye found him yet, Sassenach? Jamie asked, distorted through the earpiece.

Claire, a bit peeved, sighed loudly before murmuring, “Not yet. Quite frustrated right now, to be honest.”

Jamie made a tsk noise on the other end of the line. Maybe he skipped out; figured it wasna worth the risk.

“I would agree with you, but then we would both end up being wrong.”

Not a moment after she said this, she spotted him across the way. The lines of his face were deep and dark, as if he was always frowning. His hairline, slightly receding from his forehead, didn’t take away from the attractiveness of his tanned face. Claire had thought she’d seen him somewhere before, but then it clicked.

“Jamie, have you seen his face before?” She murmured, turning her face away from the man.

I havena. No’ yet, anyway. Why?

Claire swallowed, her voice thick. “It’s him.”

Despite Jamie’s best efforts—there are only so many times he could say Stay away from him, Claire to make her actually do such a thing—Claire had approached the man with little hesitation. She had confronted him once before, and was more than able to handle herself around him.

One thing she did know, however: he was more than just an art thief.

Don’t tell him anything, Claire. Jamie had said, as if Claire didn’t already know how to handle herself.

She spent the next few hours talking to the man. Fortunately, she had done enough to herself that he hadn’t recognized her completely, but by reading his facial expressions and analyzing his word choice, she knew there was at least something about her that he could sense.

As he turned away to get a drink, she murmured to her earpiece, “Hurry up, you bloody Scot, I’m running out of secrets here.”

In the middle of a skirmish with the thieves, Claire had accidentally stabbed Jamie.

It had all happened so quickly, but the moment that it happened, she knew that there was a reason she shouldn’t have come.

Thankfully, they had other agents in the same area, and they could escape without blowing the entire operation. She had taken him into a spare room, pulled her make-shift medical kit from her clutch and went to start on his wound.

It wasn’t anything more than a deep cut—more of a scrape than an actual stab—but it was still painful for them both.

“I’m so sorry I stabbed you,” she murmured over her work, watching Jamie’s chest heaving up and down as he gulped down some more whiskey.

Jamie shrugged, smiling at her, “If ye want the truth, I’d rather you stab and kill me more than anyone else. That way, I can look at your face as I die.”

“Rather dramatic tonight, aren’t you?” She teased, trimming the last stitch carefully and applying the bandages to the wound. Every once in a while, his breath would catch, and her heart would clench just a bit.

When she was done with her handiwork, she pulled herself up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you.”

He smiled, “I love ye, too, mo chride.”

She placed a soft kiss to his temple. A moment later, he laughed quietly to himself before murmuring, “How is my wife more badass than I am?”

“Because you try way too hard, darling.”