#me trying to fight for my life for no reason
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Right Reasons; Wrong Kid
Summary: Batfam thinks Damian is being kidnapped when they see Danny getting manhandled into a car by Vlad; Danny loves to make Vlad's life difficult and puts up a fight getting into the car.
Word Count: 1450
Being in Gotham was the last place Danny wanted to be today, especially when he had to be here with Vlad. The fruitloop had somehow convinced his parents that he should go to this stupid three day business conference with him.
While Danny can't make any decisions right now he can certainly make Vlad regret his. Which is why Danny doesn't feel an ounce of embarrassment at what he is currently doing.
"Daniel, get in the car." Vlad hissed at him with a tight smile as they both stood outside of the building the conference was being hosted in.
"No." He said; even going as far as to take a step backwards to further spite the man in front of him.
It was clear Vlad was losing his patience with him if the subtle flash of red in his eyes is anything to go off of. "Daniel, I won't ask again. Get in the car now, or I can drag you in. The choice is yours, but you will be getting in this car one way or another."
"You really gonna drag a kid into your car in front of all these people you're trying so hard to impress?" Danny looked from side to side at all the people congregating on the sidewalk and steps as they wait for their vehicles to arrive.
"I'm hardly the first person they've seen that has had to deal with a stubborn child refusing to listen." Vlad says as he takes a threatening step forward, "Now get in the car."
"No."
Seemingly annoyed but not surprised Vlad takes a deep breath before his hand, like a snake, strikes forward and grabs a hold of him before beginning to pull. Just as quickly though Danny is trying to pull away with just as much strength. Quickly taking a moment to look around he sees that others are already starting to look in their direction; perfect.
With him distracted though Vlad was able to get a sharp tug on him causing him to stubble towards the car. Before he can fall into the car though Danny is shooting his foot forward, firmly planting it down as his hands land on both sides of the open car door.
"Gonna have to try harder than that, fruitloop. I can't make it too easy for you." Danny teased as he fought against Vladâs pushing.
Vlad doesn't say anything back to him besides giving a low growl. This situation is clearly not going the way he wanted to and Vladâs frustration was starting to show, and Danny was determined to watch this man break in front of all these people he so desperately wanted to impress.
He locked his arms and knees when he felt Vlad start pushing harder against his back. Preparing himself to jump to the side the moment Vlad loosened his grip even slightly. What he wasn't prepared for though was for the weight pushing against him to suddenly disappear.
"What is going on here?" A deceivingly friendly voice sounds out behind him.
Before Danny can realize what has just happened though a much stronger hand is gripping his shoulder and yanking him away from the open car door. Finally able to see more than just the car's interior Danny see's that three other men are now standing by the car.
Two of them, a teen not much older than himself and a middle aged man, are standing in front of him as if forming a wall between him and Vlad. Who is being held in place by the third man.
Danny can see that Vlad was just as thrown off by these strangers as he is based on the startled look on his face. What confuses him though is when instead of becoming angry like he expects Vlad only looks surprised as he takes in the three guys with them.
"Bruce Wayne!" Vlad announces with a tight grin, "I was just trying to get my son to cooperate with me and get in the car. I'm sure you understand how teenage boys are."
"I'm not your son!" Danny instinctively yells out; no way in hell was he going to let Vlad tell people they were any way related.
It took him a second to register what name Vlad had even said.
Bruce Wayne? He remembers Sam and Tucker talking about that guy and his family when they found out he was going to Gotham. Which means if he's remembering correctly then the young man next to Vlad is most likely Dick Grayson and the older teen next to him is Tim Drake.
Without looking at him Bruce leans towards him and whispers, "Shh Damian, let me handle this."
Wait. What?
"I'm not-" Danny tried to say that his name wasn't Damian, but was quickly interrupted before he could.
"Damian, quiet." Bruce lowly growls; still not moving his gaze to look at Danny. "Actually, Mr. Masters, you'll find that this is my son, and I don't think you should be putting your hands on him."
Vlad looks from Bruce to Danny and then back to Bruce, "While I do agree that you and Daniel share some resemblance this is not your son Mr. Wayne."
It seems Bruce wasn't going to entertain Vlad's "lie" because he still doesn't bother to even look at Danny. Tim on the other hand seems to consider what Vlad said, and turns to actually look at his face.
Danny almost laughs out loud when he sees shock immediately overtake Tim's face. At least one of these fruit loops is smart enough to recognize that he isn't the youngest Wayne.
"Bruce, this isn't Damian." Tim states with wide eyes still locked with his.
Upon hearing this the other two Wayne's finally take a hard look at Danny for themselves.
"Oh my God B, that's not Damian!" Dick exclaims before releasing his hold on Vlad.
Bruce on the other hand is frozen in shock as he stares at Danny as he comes to the realization that the boy in front of him is in fact not his youngest son. Snapping himself out of his stupor, the older man finally addresses Vlad. "Mr. Masters, my deepest apologies. It seems this young man and my son look remarkably alike, and I assumed the worst when I saw him fighting to get into the car."
Vlad takes a step forward towards Danny clear with his intentions of getting them into the car now, but before he can grab him Bruce is once more taking a step in front of Danny. "I would actually like to have a quick word with Daniel if you won't mind."
"And why is that?"
"I have a son his age after all, maybe I can help ease this teenage rebellion phase, and cause less fights when it comes to getting in the car."
Danny must have been more focused on the growing argument in front of him more than he thought because he ends up slightly jumping when he feels a sudden hand on his shoulder. Looking to his right he sees that Dick is now standing next him with a soft smile. "Daniel, right?"
âDanny actually, and youâre Dick?â
"Yup! That's me," He gestures to the boy standing on Danny's other side, "and this is Tim. Sorry about all this; we thought our brother was being kidnapped."
"Do I seriously look that much like him?" At this point Danny had to meet Damian if the guy's family was even confusing the two of them.
Tim is giving him a concentrated look when he replies, "It's like the two of you could be twins or maybe even clones. The eye color is the biggest difference between the two of you."
If Danny didn't know any better he would think Tim was accusing him of being a clone based on the tone of his voice. He knew Gotham was weird, but he didn't think he would have to worry about cloning here. "While I was adopted when I was pretty young, but I think I'd know if I had a twin or if I was a clone."
"Crazy things happen all the time in Gotham."
Well, that doesnât sound ominous at all. Danny can't believe saying this, but it's probably time to get Vlad's attention and get the hell out of here. He already has one crazy fruitloop to worry about; he doesn't need more. "Vlad, I think we really need to-."
âFather, what is the meaning of all this?â A new voice interrupts him, and when he sees who it is truly shocking to see a mirror of his own face. The other is also now looking at him with something akin to shock and grief.
âDamian?â
âDanyal.â
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Analysis: Why Jayce broke up with Mel in Arcane 2.08
Since the finale episodes of Arcane dropped this morning, I've been going back and re-watching some of my favorite scenes, and I was struck by Jayce breaking up with Mel.
First of all, yeah, he clearly does break up with her, though I missed how formally he does so on my first watch-through. He does it in the Council chamber, just before Viktor attacks. But since they get interrupted, he finishes breaking up with her (after checking in with her) on the balcony later.
But what really struck me about the breakup wasn't in those scenes, but actually back in 2.07, when Jayce is alone in cavern in the darkest timeline. I definitely didn't catch on the first viewing that this is where he chose to break up with her.
In the background, you can hear Jayce in the depths of his despair and solitude starts going over in his mind all the steps that led him to where he is.
Here are some of the quotes he hears:
"I never asked for this!" - Himself to Viktor, trying to justify his actions up to that point just before Viktor leaves him.
"This research is everything, my whole life," a quote from one of his first conversations with Viktor but, more importantly, it establishes Jayce's entire raison d'etre up to that point. Hextech research was his life.
"He was my mentor, Mel, and I betrayed him," obviously is Jayce discussing the coup d'etat against Heimerdinger he orchestrated to save Viktor, but it was with Mel's assistance and urging.
"You must destroy it. It corrupts. Consumes." A quote from Heimerdinger, warning against Hextech. Which must feel especially prescient now that Jayce is stuff in the evil bombed-out future where Hextech destroyed the world.
"I was trying to create magic." Jayce to the Council to defend his Hextech research and save himself from banishment, but, he only mentioned magic at Mel's goading, which I would guess he's beginning to recognize now for what it was in retrospect.
"It's your time now, Jayce." Mel, part of her goading of Jayce into advancing Hextech research and his political career.
"Perhaps it's time for the era of magic." Mel's words on the night she saw Hextech for the first time, after helping Jayce and Viktor break into Heimerdinger's lab.
"You must destroy it." Heimerdinger about the Hexcore, again, probably feeling pretty prescient right now with Jayce literally in the pit of despair in a the evil Hextech future.
Finally, while looking out over the fire while clearly going nearly insane from the isolation, Jayce begins to hallucinate seeing Mel. But then, her image in the fire gives way to Viktor's.
The decision has been made there. It's not just Jayce reflecting on his two closest loved ones (as I thought the first time), rather, it is the moment Jayce makes his decision: he is picking Viktor over Mel. He has decided that the reason he is here in this terrible place is because of Mel, not Viktor. He is choosing his partner, going back to what they had before she became involved in their life. His new course is set.
Now, I want to preface the next part by saying I love Mel, she's a fascinating character, and though I ship Jayvik I also ship/shipped MelJayVik, so this isn't coming from a place of bias. I'm just analyzing the material when I say these flashbacks were Jayce rearranging the narrative in his head and realizing Mel's been manipulating and goading him in his pursuit of Hextech.
Given where he is when this is happening: starving, freezing, in pain, alone for weeks if not months in a stone box, slowly going insane, surrounded by the burnt corpses of people destroyed by Hextech, I'd say... yeah. His need for someone to blame is pretty understandable. He even starts whispering, "No!" in a panic at the memories in response to what she says in his mind.
So when we get to the Council chamber in the main timeline in 2.08, I'd argue that Jayce is spoiling for a fight. He's had months of agony to decide things are over with Mel and that he's angry at her. He wants to blame her for what happened to Viktor, for what happened to him, and he's in pain and he wants to lash out. The relationship is definitely over.
But then Mel is in pain too. And Viktor shows up, with his own autonomy, showing that they all had their shitty parts to play in this drama.
The attack by Viktor adds another element, Jayce was probably also mourning that he had to shoot Viktor at that point, another thing that was painful and made him want to lash out and blame others for this horrible place he's in emotionally and the horrific place he's been in physically until recently.
It's only after Viktor's attack though that Jayce realizes that this situation is complex, it's not all Mel's fault. It would be easier to just pin all the blame on Mel and make Jayce and Viktor her victims, but Viktor shows to him that he has his own agency and Jayce needs to be clear-eyed going forward about who he is saving, because it's not "Mel's victim". Viktor is his own person.
Jayce also remembers some of the care he once had for Mel when he catches her before she falls (in a tender moment I mistook for a full reconciliation between them the first time but no, it's just him remembering he cares for her wellbeing). Jayce can't trust her anymore, after realizing just how adept she was at manipulating him without his realizing, but he does still care for her as a person. And he's cooled off enough to address the pain she is clearly carrying.
(I admit, I do love this moment of him calling himself an ass, because I adore Jayce but it's a lovely beat of self awareness and really shows his growth as a person that he can say this to someone that just hours before he was squaring up to fight against and blame for all his misfortunes.)
But anyway, the moments you really see that it's over between Mel and Jayce:
When he doesn't explain to her what happened to him. That's not for her to know anymore. He's decided that they're not together or intimate anymore. And he's probably still hurting from realizing how she's used what he told her in the past to encourage/manipulate him to her own ends and therefore wary of sharing. This is also a reason for the breakup: he can't share the immense pain he's been in because he can't trust her anymore, and he knows it. It's over.
In the scene on the balcony when he turns away from her instead of towards her before offering his advice. Jayce is very touchy-feely, he always offers physical comfort to his loved ones. But there, he deliberately turns away instead of taking her in his arms and comforting her. Again: it's over between them. But he still respects her. So he reminds her of how indomitable she is, along with offering the slight backhanded compliment born of his distrust for her: she's never the passenger, she is always the one in control. He knows, because he's realized she used to control him.
I've mentioned in other meta that this season deals in a lot of comeuppance for events in S1, and this is arguably Mel's. She'll be ok, she's got magical sun powers and she's the head of a powerful house now. But she doesn't get to keep Jayce in her life as her lover anymore after what she did, because she did manipulate him, even if she had good intentions mixed with the self-interested ones.
The trust is simply gone now. But he cares for her and wishes her well, so, I'd argue they parted on as good of terms as could be done.
#arcane#arcane spoilers#jayvik#jayce talis#mel medarda#it's about their relationship but I'm not putting it in that tag because it could come across as anti#but I'm not anti Mel this is just analyzing the text
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Take Two || Vil Schoenheit
You and Vil, once lovers, are forced to reunite through work, stirring up old heartbreak and undeniable tension. Slowly, you realize love never truly left, and some stories deserve a second chance.
i promise it's a happy ending
The night air feels sharp against your skin, the chill sinking into your bones as you stand face to face with Vil in the shadow of Pomefioreâs grand staircase. His golden hair catches the faint light, glimmering like spun silk, his expression frozen in a mask of disbelief. But his eyesâhis eyes betray him, shining with an ache so raw that it almost makes you collapse under the weight of your decision.
"Youâre leaving me," he says, his voice flat, brittle, like glass about to shatter. "After everything."
You try to smile, but itâs more of a grimace. "You deserve someone who can keep up with you, Vil. Someone who doesnât have to fight just to be noticed, someone whoâ"
"Stop," he snaps, the word cutting through the night like a knife. "You think this is about keeping up? About deserving?" His voice rises, trembling with a rare fury. "Youâre not a burden to me. You never were."
Tears spill over before you can stop them, warm against the chill of the night. "But Iâm holding you back. Youâre going to be an award-winning actor, a global icon. Youâre meant for so much more, Vil. And IâI canât be the reason you look back someday and wonder what you missed out on."
Vilâs hands curl into fists at his sides, his perfectly manicured nails digging into his palms. "You sound like a coward," he says bitterly. "Someone who doesnât understand what it means to love. I gave you my heart, and youâre throwing it away like itâs... disposable."
You step closer, your voice trembling. "Vil, I love you. I love you so much it hurts. Thatâs why Iâm doing this. Because I know that if I stay, Iâll be the anchor that holds you back."
He stares at you, stunned into silence, before his face crumples. Itâs a sight you never thought youâd seeâVil Schoenheit, so composed, so regal, letting tears spill unchecked. "I regret it," he whispers, his voice breaking. "I regret giving my heart to someone who doesnât want it."
Your breath hitches. You reach out, wiping his tears away with trembling fingers. "I want it. Iâll always want it."
"Then whyâ"
"Because I love you enough to let you go," you say, your voice cracking. You lean in, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to his lips, tasting the salt of both your tears. Itâs desperate and bittersweet, a farewell that neither of you wants but both know is inevitable.
When you pull back, his eyes are filled with an agony that mirrors your own. "Iâll pray to the stars that they align for us in another life," you whisper, stepping away even as every fiber of your being screams to stay.
Vil doesnât follow. He stands rooted in place, watching as you disappear into the night, his tears sparkling under the starlight like diamonds.
And as you walk away, your heart breaking with every step, you canât help but wonder if love is truly worth it when it hurts this much.
The spotlight gleams against the polished floors of the gala, chandeliers casting constellations on every surface. You stand at the edge of the room, champagne flute in hand, wearing a smile that doesnât quite reach your eyes. Laughter ripples around you, yet your heart pounds louder than any of the polite chatter.
Across the room, he stands, bathed in a soft golden light as if the universe itself couldnât bear to dim him. Vil Schoenheit, global phenomenon, beloved by millions. And you, just a rising singer whose every success still feels like a shadow of his own.
You force yourself to look away before your gaze lingers too long. It's been years since that nightâthe night you kissed him goodbye, the night you walked away so he could become everything you knew he was destined to be.
And he did. Oh, he did.
Every magazine cover, every award stage, every grand performance is proof of that. Youâre happy for him. Truly. You send flowers every time he wins something new, handpicking each bouquet and handwriting every note. Congratulations, Vil. You deserve this and more. No reply ever comes, but you never stop.
You tell yourself itâs fine. That this is enough.
He spots you before you spot him. He always does.
You stand by the windows, moonlight catching on the delicate fabric of your clothes. Your laughter mingles faintly with the music, but Vil knows you well enough to hear the cracks in it. To anyone else, youâre poised, radiantâa star in your own right. But to him, youâre the person who kissed him goodbye and took his heart with you.
He straightens his posture, as if that will shield him from the wave of memories crashing over him.
The flowers you send have become a cruel routine. He receives them like clockworkâeach arrangement more thoughtful than the last, each card bearing your familiar handwriting. He reads every word, his thumb brushing over the ink, before placing the cards in a drawer heâs too afraid to open.
And yet, he saves them all.
Seeing you now is both agony and relief. He knows his worth; the world adores him, reveres him. But when he sees you, every ounce of that worth feels hollow. He feels young again, vulnerableâa teenager fumbling with emotions too large for his heart to hold.
The inevitable happens: your eyes meet.
You catch Vilâs gaze across the room, and your heart stutters. You force yourself to smile, a small, polite thing, and raise your glass in acknowledgment. He nods back, his face unreadable, and you swear your knees might give out.
Youâre supposed to be over this. Youâre supposed to be happy.
But every time you see him, the years fall away. Itâs as if youâre back at Pomefiore, back on that staircase, wiping away his tears and whispering that you loved him before breaking both your hearts.
You excuse yourself to the balcony, the cool night air biting at your skin. You lean on the railing, taking deep breaths.
"Running away again?"
His voice is smooth, poised, and far too close.
You whirl around, and there he is, the moonlight outlining him like the leading man in some grand romantic drama. Heâs holding his own champagne flute, his free hand tucked neatly in his pocket. He looks flawless, as always, but his eyes betray him.
"I wasnât running," you say, forcing yourself to meet his gaze.
"Of course not," he replies, his tone as sharp as ever, but thereâs something softer beneath it. He steps closer, the scent of his cologne wrapping around you. "And yet, here you are. Avoiding me again."
Your throat tightens. "I didnât think youâd want to talk to me."
He laughs, a quiet, bitter sound. "Do you really think I have nothing to say to you after all this time?"
You blink, taken aback. "IâI didnât know. You neverâ"
"Responded?" He raises an eyebrow, his expression a careful mask. "What was I supposed to say, darling? That every card, every flower, every fleeting mention of you feels like a dagger?"
The word darling slips out so naturally that you almost miss it. Almost.
"Vil, Iâ"
He cuts you off, his voice dropping to something softer, more vulnerable. "Do you have any idea what itâs like to be adored by millions and still feel empty because the one person I want wonât even look at me properly?"
You gape at him, words caught in your throat.
"You left me," he says, and his voice breaks just enough for you to hear it. "You left, and Iâ" He exhales sharply, composing himself. "I told myself I hated you for it. But the truth is, I never stoppedâ"
You take a step forward, closing the distance. "Stop."
His eyes widen slightly, his perfect mask slipping.
"I never stopped either," you admit, your voice trembling. "I thought I was doing the right thing. For you, for us. But all I did was break us both."
And then you unceremoniously run, like you always do.
The sound of your phone vibrating aggressively on your nightstand jolts you awake. Itâs your manager, and heâs barking something about an emergency meeting, now.
Still half-asleep, you throw on the first pair of pants you can find, grab your bag, and sprint like youâre being chased by a swarm of angry bees. By the time you reach your companyâs little meeting room, youâre wheezing like an old accordion.
You stumble in, gasping for air. âIâmâhereâwhatâs theâemergency?â
And there he is.
Vil Schoenheit, sitting in your dingy little meeting room, radiating elegance and beauty like heâs some Greek god forced to endure mortal company. His perfect golden hair gleams under the flickering fluorescent lights, and his outfit probably costs more than your annual rent.
For a second, you just stand there, staring at him in disbelief. "What?" you manage to choke out.
âAh, youâve arrived!â your manager says, completely ignoring your obvious confusion. Heâs fawning over Vil like the man just descended from heaven itself. âArenât we so fortunate to have Vil Schoenheit here with us today? What a privilege!â
Vil sits there with the most unimpressed expression youâve ever seen, his gaze lazily drifting to yours. He raises an eyebrow, and the look on his face very clearly says: The universe hates me as much as it hates you.
âWhyâŚâ You gesture wildly at him like that explains anything. âWhy is he here?â
Your manager claps his hands together as if this is all the most wonderful news in the world. âYouâve been given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compose and perform the opening theme for Vilâs new drama!â
ââŚWhat?â
âAnd Vil has graciously come all this way to provide you with inspiration!â
Vil crosses his legs, looking like heâd rather be anywhere else. âI didnât exactly volunteer,â he says flatly. âI was informed this meeting was non-negotiable.â
âGraciously forced,â you mutter under your breath, earning a sharp glance from him.
Your manager continues, oblivious. âThis is huge for us! For you! For the company! A chance to collaborate with Vil Schoenheit!â Heâs practically vibrating with excitement.
You? Youâre mentally screaming. The roomâs ancient air conditioning groans louder than your brain cells, and the smell of stale coffee is threatening to choke you. This is where Vil Schoenheit is supposed to get his inspiration?
âGreat,â you say weakly, flopping into a chair. âLove that for us.â
Your manager claps you on the back, way too hard. âIâll leave you two to get started! Canât wait to hear what you come up with!â He scurries out of the room like his life depends on it.
The door clicks shut. Silence.
You turn to Vil, whoâs looking at you like heâs silently calculating how fast he can escape. âSo,â you say, attempting to sound professional. âI guess weâre doing this.â
Vil sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. âIt seems we have no choice.â
âYou couldâve said no.â
âAnd risk tarnishing my reputation? Hardly.â
You narrow your eyes. âWow. Thanks for that vote of confidence in my music.â
He waves a hand dismissively. âOh, donât misunderstand. Iâve heard your work. Itâs⌠fine.â
âFine?â You bristle. âJust fine?â
âIâm sure youâll rise to the occasion,â he says smoothly, completely ignoring your indignation. âOr at least, I hope you will.â
This is going to be a long day.
The next hour is spent with Vil giving you vague, lofty descriptions of âatmosphereâ and âemotionâ while you scribble down ideas that may or may not be entirely out of spite.
âThink regal, but with an edge,â Vil says, leaning back in his chair like a king addressing his court. âSomething that captures the dramaâs toneâelegance, intrigue, power.â
âRight,â you say, scrawling Fancy Soap Commercial Vibes in your notebook.
âAnd it must resonate with the audience on an emotional level,â he adds, completely serious.
You nod, underlining Fancy Soap Commercial for good measure.
At one point, Vil gets up to demonstrate a movement he wants the music to evoke, his motions fluid and precise like the worldâs most intimidating interpretive dancer. Youâre not sure if youâre inspired or just terrified.
Finally, you throw your pen down. âI get it! Regal, edgy, emotional. Big feels. Got it.â
Vil gives you a skeptical look. âAre you certain? Because your notes donât inspire much confidence.â
You glance down at your notebook, where youâve doodled a tiny stick figure labeled Vilâs Vibes surrounded by stars. ââŚYeah, totally got this.â
He doesnât look convinced. âIf this ends up sounding like a childrenâs lullaby, Iâm holding you personally accountable.â
You groan, rubbing your temples. âGreat. No pressure.â
And yet, as much as you want to throttle him for his impossible standards, thereâs a part of you that doesnât hate this. Because, well⌠itâs Vil. And whether you want to admit it or not, working with him is kind of incredible.
Even if heâs the most dramatic muse youâve ever had.
The day starts with your manager shoving a revised directive into your hands: go watch Vil's shoot. Apparently, you needed more "inspiration" to compose a song fit for his upcoming drama.
Great. Because spending more time around Vil Schoenheit, global icon and your ex, is exactly what you needed to totally not lose your mind.
Still, you donât show up empty-handed. On the way to the set, you grab an aggressively caffeinated iced espresso for yourselfâbecause surviving the day calls for itâand, without much thought, you pick up a caramel macchiato with oat milk.
The barista hands it over, and youâre hit by a pang of nostalgia. This was Vilâs favorite back when you were teenagers, back when youâd watch the sunset with him after his rehearsals. You shake the thought away. Itâs just coffee.
When you arrive, Vilâs seated on a folding chair, reading over his script like itâs sacred text. Even in the chaos of the bustling set, he looks poised, his hair perfect despite the heat of the lights.
You approach, clearing your throat. âHey.â
He glances up. âYouâre late.â
âIâm five minutes late.â You hold out the cup. âPeace offering?â
Vil takes the coffee without comment, but the moment he sips it, his movements falter. His eyes widen, ever so slightly, and you catch the flicker of emotion on his face before he masks it.
You donât linger. âIâm going to talk to the producers.â
As you walk away, Vil stares at the cup, at the faint smiley face youâve drawn on the lid. His chest tightens. You remembered.
He forces the thought down, folding it neatly into the drawer of unspoken feelings heâs cultivated since the day you left him. Setting the cup aside, he rises, perfectly composed. He has a scene to shoot, and Vil Schoenheit doesnât falter.
Watching Vil perform is like watching magic. Every movement, every look, every lineâheâs utterly captivating.
You sit near the monitors, jotting down notes as inspiration flows. Thereâs something about himâhis intensity, his eleganceâthat fills your mind with melodies. Youâre so engrossed that you barely notice the shoot wrapping up until Vil walks over, a towel slung casually around his neck.
âAre you leaving already?â he asks, his voice smooth and calm, like you hadnât just been mentally composing an ode to his perfection.
âUh, yeah. Iâll call an Uber.â You stand, shoving your notebook into your bag.
He frowns, clearly unimpressed. âThat wonât be necessary. Iâll take you home.â
âVil, itâs fineââ
âI insist,â he says sharply, already walking towards his car.
You follow, feeling a strange mixture of gratitude and dread.
The car ride is quiet, filled only with the soft hum of the engine and the city lights flashing by. Vilâs driver keeps his gaze firmly on the road, giving the two of you privacy, but the atmosphere feels oddly intimate.
As you sit there, your mind drifts back to your first date. You were a nervous wreck back then, fumbling with your words, tripping over your feet. Vil, of course, had been effortlessly composed, amused by your flustered state but kind enough to guide you through it.
A small smile tugs at your lips at the memory.
âWhatâs so amusing?â Vil asks, his voice breaking the silence.
You glance at him, startled. Heâs looking at you, his gaze sharp but curious.
âNothing,â you say quickly, shaking your head.
He doesnât press, but his eyes linger on you longer than usual.
When the car pulls up to your apartment, you thank Vil and step out, but as you turn to leave, you feel his hand wrap around your wrist.
âVil?â you ask, surprised.
He blinks, as if realizing what heâs done, and lets go immediately. âNothing,â he says, straightening. âJust⌠be on time tomorrow.â
You raise an eyebrow, a knowing smile tugging at your lips. âI will.â
His jaw tightens, and for a moment, you think he might say something more. But he doesnât. He nods curtly, turning back to the car.
Inside your apartment, you close the door behind you and slide down to the floor, the tears spilling out before you can stop them.
Heâs as beautiful as the day you let him go, and it hurts.
Youâre so happy for him, so proud of everything heâs achieved. But God, you miss him.
Meanwhile, Vil sits in the back of the car, staring out the window as the city blurs past. His fingers brush against the empty coffee cup in his bag, the one with the faint smiley face you drew.
His heart aches, but he doesnât let it show. Not even to himself.
The drama is an undeniable success, catapulting Vilâs already dazzling career into further stratospheric heights. But unexpectedly, the opening themeâyour songâbecomes the anthem of the year, a chart-topping sensation that has every talk show, magazine, and fan forum buzzing about your collaboration.
You, however, arenât basking in the glow of success as expected. If anything, youâre moping.
Deuce notices first. âYou okay? You look⌠weird.â
âI donât look weird.â
âYou do,â Grim adds, gnawing on his tuna sandwich. âYou look like you ate bad tuna but donât want to admit it.â
âThank you for the visual,â you deadpan.
You sigh. Everyone else is ecstatic. Your phone is a whirlwind of congratulatory messages, your manager has been pacing like an over-caffeinated rodent, and your inbox is overflowing with offers. Yet all you can think about is the fact that the drama is overâand so are your obligations to Vil.
No more early mornings brainstorming lyrics with him. No more quiet moments sipping coffee during breaks. No more stolen glances when you thought he wasnât looking (he always was).
Itâs ridiculous, really. Youâre thriving. Your career is skyrocketing. You should be ecstatic.
Instead, you feel like youâre bracing for an emotional wrecking ball.
Vil, on the other hand, is furious. Not at the dramaâs success, of courseâheâs a consummate professional, and his performance has been widely praised. No, Vil is furious because he canât escape you.
He tried. Oh, how he tried. He kept himself busy with interviews, photoshoots, and premieres, meticulously avoiding the thought of you. But then the making-of video was released.
There you were, sitting beside him, coffee cup in hand, throwing out ideas with that little spark in your eyes. The fans lapped it up, the media ran with it, and now every outlet wanted the two of you together for joint interviews.
Vil could not imagine a worse fate.
The first interview is scheduled for 10 a.m., and you arrive early, clutching your notes like a lifeline.
Vil is already there, of course. He sits with perfect posture, his gaze steely as he scrolls through his phone. When he notices you, his lips press into a thin line.
âGood morning,â you venture hesitantly.
âIs it?â he replies coolly, without looking up.
Ouch.
The producer, blissfully unaware of the tension, claps his hands together as he enters the room. âAh, our power duo! Ready to make magic?â
You exchange a strained glance with Vil. He raises a single brow, clearly unimpressed.
The interview begins, and for the most part, itâs harmlessâquestions about the creative process, the dramaâs success, and future projects.
Then the interviewer smirks, leaning forward. âYou two have such wonderful chemistry. Were you always this in sync, or did it take time to build that dynamic?â
Vilâs jaw tightens. You blink, feeling the weight of his stare.
âWell,â you start, âwe worked really hard to make the song fit the tone of the drama. Itâs all about teamwork.â
âHmm, teamwork,â Vil echoes, his tone dangerously smooth. âYes, thatâs one way to put it.â
The interviewer beams, oblivious to the storm brewing. âFans are dying to knowâany plans for another collaboration?â
âWho knows?â Vil says, his smile razor-sharp. âPerhaps fate will decide.â
By the time the interview ends, youâre emotionally drained. Vil, of course, looks as pristine as ever.
âThanks for being civil,â you mutter as you both head to the parking lot.
âCivil?â Vilâs laugh is devoid of humor. âDarling, if thatâs your standard for civility, I fear youâve been spending too much time with amateurs.â
You glare at him, heat rising in your cheeks. âI didnât ask for this either, you know. You think itâs easy for me toââ
You stop yourself, biting your tongue. Youâre not about to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much he still affects you.
Vil arches a brow, waiting. When you say nothing, he smirks. âThought so.â
Later that night, as you scroll through social media, you stumble upon a clip from the interview. Itâs nothing scandalousâjust a moment where you and Vil exchange a glance and laugh at a question. But the comments are merciless.
> âThese two have HISTORY, I can feel it through the screen!â >âVil looked like he wanted to stab and kiss them at the same time, and honestly, relatable.â >âPetition for them to star in a romantic drama together??â
You groan, throwing your phone onto the couch.
Somewhere across town, Vil is scrolling through the same comments, his expression unreadable. He closes the app with a sigh, but not before saving the clip to his private gallery.
He doesnât know why he does it. Maybe itâs masochism. Maybe itâs hope. Or maybe, just maybe, itâs because a part of him isnât ready to let you go.
The day of the photoshoot arrives, and youâre running on a dangerous combination of nerves, caffeine, and denial. Standing next to Vil for hours under flashing cameras, forced to feign effortless chemistry, feels like a ticking time bomb.
Vil, of course, looks unbotheredâpoised and perfect as ever, his every movement calculated for maximum elegance. Meanwhile, youâre sweating like a guilty criminal.
âRelax,â Vil murmurs as he adjusts his jacket between shots. âYour unease is practically a stench.â
âThanks for the pep talk,â you grumble.
The shoot goes on without a hitch, untilâof courseâit doesnât.
It happens in the middle of a particularly dramatic pose. Vil, perched precariously on a raised platform in heels, steps down just as an intern accidentally knocks over a loose prop. It lands with a sharp crack, and Vil, whoâs clearly caught off guard, stumbles and falls.
A collective gasp ripples through the room.
âAre you okay?â someone yelps, rushing toward him.
âDonât touch me,â Vil snaps, voice sharp as glass. He sits up with a wince, cradling his ankle.
Youâve been keeping your distance the entire shoot, trying to maintain your professional boundary. But the second you see Vil hurt, that self-imposed wall shatters.
âVil!â you shout, practically tripping over cables as you rush to his side.
He looks up, his expression guarded. For a moment, you hesitate, half-expecting him to snap at you too. But instead, he simply nods, a subtle permission that shocks the entire production team into silence.
With a surprising amount of strength born from sheer adrenaline, you lift Vil into your arms, bridal style.
Someone from production stammers, âWe can call forââ
âIâve got him,â you cut them off, your tone firmer than you expected.
Vil doesnât protest. He just loops an arm around your neck, tilting his head slightly as though heâs resigned to being carried like royalty. You can feel the weight of everyoneâs stares as you carry him out of the studio, whispers trailing behind you like gossip at a high school cafeteria.
The walk to the medic feels like an eternity.
âYouâre heavier than you look,â you mutter, trying to distract yourself from the way his perfume is overwhelming your senses.
âIâll pretend you didnât say that,â Vil replies, his voice still sharp but lacking its usual venom.
When you finally reach the medic, you set him down gently, your arms trembling from the effort.
âYou can leave,â Vil says as the medic begins their examination.
You nod, turning to goâbut your feet refuse to move. Instead, you end up awkwardly sitting on a nearby chair, your hands clasped tightly in your lap.
You tell yourself itâs just to make sure heâs okay. That youâll leave once the medic gives the all-clear.
Vil doesnât say anything about your lingering presence. He keeps his eyes closed, his usual pristine mask slipping for just a moment as he exhales slowly.
When the medic finishes and declares him fit to leave, you finally stand. âWell, I shouldââ
âThank you,â Vil says softly, cutting you off.
You freeze. For a moment, all you can do is nod before hurrying out of the room, your heart pounding so loudly youâre sure he can hear it.
Back in your dressing room, you sink into a chair and bury your face in your hands.
âWhat is wrong with me?â you groan.
Meanwhile, back in the medicâs office, Vil sits in contemplative silence, the ghost of your touch lingering like a memory he canât shake.
Youâre holding Vilâs phone like itâs made of glass, glaring at Rookâs number on your own screen.
âYou sure I canât just leave it at the studio?â you ask for the third time.
âNon, non, mon ami!â Rookâs dramatic voice practically vibrates through your speaker. âVil has a most pressing engagement this evening, and the phone is vital to his work. Youâre already such a dear for delivering it!â
âCouldnât you do it?â
âAlas, I have an engagement myself. A critical affair, truly,â Rook sighs, his tone more playful than apologetic. âIâve sent you his address. Bon courage!â
Before you can protest, the line goes dead, leaving you staring at the apartment address like itâs an execution order.
Youâre in the car, grumbling to yourself as you mentally rehearse what youâll say.
Hereâs your phone. Bye.
Short. Simple. No emotional mines to step on.
But then you accidentally touch the screen, and his phone lights up.
And there it is. The lock screen.
Itâs a selfie of the two of you from years ago, taken on some lazy afternoon. Youâre both laughing, your faces smushed together awkwardly. You remember the moment vividlyâVil had just cracked a rare joke, one so unexpected it had you crying with laughter.
And now here it is, preserved like some cruel reminder of what you had.
Your stomach twists.
âOh no,â you mutter.
The driver glances at you in the rearview mirror, concerned.
Youâre ugly sniffling by the time you pull yourself together, the poor driver tactfully pretending not to notice. âSorry,â you choke out. âAllergies.â
He nods slowly, clearly not buying it.
When you finally arrive at Vilâs penthouseâa sleek, modern building that screams successful celebrityâyou take a deep breath and ring the doorbell.
Vil answers the door himself, wearing a loose, elegant cardigan and lounge pants that still manage to look couture. His eyes widen slightly when he sees you.
âYou left this,â you blurt, shoving the phone into his hands.
He takes it, his gaze lingering on your face. âWere you crying?â
âNo,â you lie, unable to meet his eyes.
âCome in,â he says, stepping aside.
âIâm fineââ
âThat wasnât a suggestion,â he says, his tone soft but firm.
Despite your better judgment, you step inside.
The interior hits you like a brick wall of memories.
The layout is different, but the details are achingly familiar. The same muted color scheme youâd picked out together. The same arrangement of throw pillows on the couchâeven the same colors.
Your eyes dart to the bookshelf, spotting a framed photo of the two of you tucked discreetly among the dĂŠcor.
Itâs too much.
âYou did this on purpose,â you whisper, your voice trembling.
Vilâs gaze softens. âI didnât want to forget."
Before you can respond, he goes to the kitchen to get something to drink, leaving you to drown in memories.
Youâre sitting on Vilâs pristine couch, sipping tea that you canât even taste. Heâs seated across from you, the distance between you both palpable, like a chasm youâre too afraid to cross.
But Vil doesnât wait this time. He doesnât dance around the words.
âWhy?â he asks, his voice sharp, cutting through the silence.
âWhy what?â you whisper, even though you know exactly what he means.
âWhy did you leave?â he snaps, the composure he always clings to starting to crack. âWhy did you take my heartâmy trustâand then shatter it into a million pieces? Do you have any idea what you did to me?â
You flinch, tears already pooling in your eyes. âIâI thoughtââ
âNo,â Vil interrupts, standing abruptly. His hands tremble as he gestures, his voice rising. âYou didnât think. If you had, you wouldâve seen how much I loved you, how much Iââ He cuts himself off, his chest heaving.
Youâre crying now, hands gripping your knees so tightly they hurt. âI didnât want to hold you back, Vil. You had so much ahead of you, so much to achieveââ
âAnd you thought you were the thing holding me back?â he yells, his voice breaking. âYou thought I wouldâve been better off without you?!â
You nod miserably, choking on a sob. âI wanted you to thrive! I didnât want to be the thing that kept you from reaching your dreams!â
Vil laughs bitterly, the sound hollow and laced with pain. âAnd you did just that. You leavingâyou leavingâwas the only thing thatâs held me back. Not a day goes by that I donât think of you. You haunt my dreams, my every waking moment. And I hate it. I hate you for it. So tell meââ
He drops to his knees in front of you, his face inches from yours as his voice cracks. âTell me you hate me. Tell me you donât love me anymore, so I can move on. Please, Iâm begging you.â
Youâre sobbing now, shaking your head frantically. âI canât. IâI donât hate you. I never stopped loving you. I left because I thought I was doing the right thing, but I see now that I was so, so stupidââ
âYes, you were,â Vil cuts in, tears streaming down his face. âSo stupid. And so cruel.â
His sobs are raw, unrestrained, and they tear at your heart. You cradle his face in your hands, your thumbs brushing away his tears even as more fall. âIâm sorry,â you whisper. âIâm so sorry. Iâll never leave again. Iâll stay. Forever, if youâll let me.â
Vil closes his eyes, leaning into your touch like itâs the only thing tethering him to the earth. When he opens them again, his voice is barely audible. âDonât promise me that unless you mean it.â
âI mean it,â you say, your voice steady despite your tears. âIâll stay. Iâll stay.â
Vil exhales shakily, his arms wrapping around your waist as he buries his face in your shoulder. âThank you,â he whispers, and for the first time in years, the weight between you begins to lift.
Youâve barely put the mop down when Vil calls from the living room.
âHurry up with the tea,â he says without even looking up from his script. âAnd donât forget to fold the laundry after this. Properly, pleaseâlast time you folded one of my scarves into an actual triangle. Who does that?â
You mutter a half-hearted "Yes, your majesty," and shuffle toward the kitchen. Youâre halfway there when Rook bursts in through the front door, a bouquet in hand and stars practically bursting from his eyes.
âAh, lâamour! Câest magnifique!â Rook declares, startling you so badly you almost drop the tea tray.
Vil raises an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by the dramatics. âRook, must you barge in unannounced?â
âMais oui!â Rook exclaims, twirling dramatically. âHow could I not visit when my dear friends have rekindled their eternal flame of passion? Look at you two! You, bossing them around, and themâobediently obeying every word like a loyal partner. True love has won!â
You roll your eyes but canât fight the grin spreading across your face. Vil, however, looks less charmed. âTheyâre making up for years of terrible life decisions, Rook,â he says, deadpan.
âOh, of course,â Rook says, his grin never faltering. âBut love is in the air, and I, your humble admirer, could not be happier. Do not deny itâmy heart soars!â
You and Vil exchange a look, both exasperated and oddly amused.
âFine,â Vil says with a sigh. âIf it makes you happy, Rook, then yes. True love has won. Now, will you let me enjoy my tea in peace?â
Rook gasps as though heâs been given the greatest gift of all time and promptly sits down, refusing to leave.
When you and Vil finally announce your relationship, the internet goes into an immediate frenzy.
The official post is simple: a photo of the two of you holding hands, captioned, "Itâs official."
But the comments?
>"Wow, groundbreaking news. I couldnât tell from the way Vil stared at them like they invented oxygen." >"Youâre telling me they werenât already dating? I thought this was public knowledge." >"The tension between these two couldâve powered the whole continent. About time." >"Wasnât their last interview basically a rom-com in disguise?" >"Not even surprised. Iâm more shocked it took this long."
Vil reads through the comments with a scoff. âCaptain Obvious seems to be having their moment in the spotlight.â
You laugh, peeking at his phone. âI mean, theyâre not wrong. We werenât exactly subtle.â
Vil hums, a small smile tugging at his lips. âAt least they approve. For now."
Itâs late by the time you both get home, the quiet hum of the city fading behind you as Vil unlocks the door. The soft glow of the apartment feels comforting, like the kind of peace you didnât know you needed until now.
You both kick off your shoes, and Vil immediately starts fussing with his scarf. You grab it before he can hang it up, putting it neatly on the rack.
As you settle on the couch, Vil joins you, resting his head lightly on your shoulder. For a moment, neither of you speaks, just enjoying the stillness.
âDo you ever wonder why we made it so complicated?â you ask quietly, breaking the silence.
Vil chuckles softly. âOften. But then againâŚâ He tilts his head to look up at you, his violet eyes warm and full of something you can only describe as home. âPerhaps we wouldnât have appreciated it as much if it had been easy.â
You hum in agreement, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to his forehead. âYouâre probably right. But stillâŚâ
Vil smirks, pulling you closer. âNo more unnecessary complications. Agreed?â
âAgreed,â you whisper, letting yourself finally, fully relax.
Masterlist
#twst x reader#twisted wonderland x reader#twst#twisted wonderland#vil x reader#vil schoenheit x reader#vil schoenheit x you#vil schoenheit#vil#angst with a happy ending#hurt/comfort
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Hit List pt. 1
Masterlist
Pairing: Jason Todd x (f)reader
Tags: NSFW, smut, height school sweethearts, first time, nerdy reader, jock Jason, bad boy Jason, before Jason's death, prequel,
Jason got arrested while drag racing. Well, not while drag racing - Heâd already won, leaving his opponent eating his audi's dust. The arrest happens after the fact. For assault. The thought made his eyes roll.
Translation: one clean punch to the sore loser who couldnât handle defeat. But hey, he started it! It wasn't Jason's fault the pretty boy couldn't take a punch after dishing one out so bravely.
You were still catching your breath in the backseat of his Audi when you two heard the sirens. Jason's lips pulled away from yours, his brow furrowing as red and blue lights flickered nearby.
"Shit," he muttered, glancing at the rearview mirror. His jaw tightened as his mind worked out they were probably here for him. Then, with a meaningful look at you, he opened the door. âI think you should get out of the car.â
You blinked at him.
"Theyâre here for me," he explained, his tone disappointed. âGo back to your friends. Iâll handle this.â
"Come with me," you pleaded, clutching his arm.
He shook his head, pulling his hoodie back on over his head. "If they run my plates, theyâll trace them back to Bruce. Itâs better if I stay."
The sirens grew louder. Reluctantly, you stumbled out of the car, gnawing on you lip in worry. You glanced back one last time.
"Go," Jason urged, a brief mischief in his eyes. "Iâll be fine."
You returned to your friends, doing your best to act nonchalant.
"Where were you?" one of them asked, thrusting a red solo cup into your hand.
"I had to take a phone call." You offer a fake chuckel, running your fingers through your hair, trying to unmess it up.
â â â â â
Bruce and Jason got into a fight when the elder had to post bail that night. The ride back to Wayne manner was a silent and awkward one.
"The only reason I let you skip patrol tonight was because you 'had an assignment due tomorrow." Bruce shut the door behind them as they entered the mansion.
Alfred appeared at the entrance to take their jackets.
"I finished early." Jason murmered, shrugging at his adoptive father.
"You need to start taking your life seriously, Jason." Bruce grabbed him by the shoulder.
"By risking it running around wearing spandex with you?" Jason challenged.
Jason got punished for lying that night. Sentenced to having to do patrol with Dick for the next month. Bruce told him that if he hated his life with him so much, he could try his luck back on the Gotham streets.
â â â â â
Bruceâs voice is low, but it carries enough anger to make Alfred glance up from his stitching of the gash on his masters shoulder. âHe lied to me again, Alfred. Skipped patrol to go drag racing.â
"Did he win?"
Bruce glared at Alfred over his shoulder.
Alfred wasn't deterred. "Well? Did he?"
"Yes."
"Ah, to be young," Alfred replied, his tone even as he threaded the needle. "Filled with rebellion, rage, and on top of that an orphan. Quite the combination.â
Bruce huffed, leaning against the desk. "I wasnât that bad."
Alfredâs brow lifts, unimpressed. "If you say so, Master Bruce."
"What about Dick? He never gave me this much trouble. He wanted to patrol.â Bruce argued.
Alfred didn't look up from his work. "Master Dick is a hard worker at everything he does. He was eager to please and found purpose in the work."
"Exactly." Bruce hissed against the pain.
"But he also had you.â
"Jason has me too," Bruce counters, his tone defensive.
Alfred pauses, the needle poised in midair. "Youâre quite different with Master Jason, sir. Running Wayne Enterprises leaves little room for fatherhood."
Bruce didn't reply, but the words linger on his mind.
â â â â â
Jason tossed his books into his bag, his shoulders tense.
"Youâre really gonna leave?" Dick asked from the doorway, his voice quieter than usual.
"Yep." Jason didn't even glance up.
Dick exhaled, crossing his arms. "Look, I get it. You didnât ask for this life. But itâs not as bad as you think."
Jason slammed the bag shut and finally looked at his adopted brother. "Look Dick, you're a nice guy, but this life isn't for me. A room over my head and food on my table is a fucking blessing - don't get me wrong. But all of these fucking responsibilities? The training and running around at night in those ridiculous costumes? No offense..."
"None taken."
"The cityâs never done anything for me. Why should I put my life on the line for it? For him?â
Dick shrugged, leaning against the door frame: have you tried telling him you don't want it?
Jason scoffed. "Yeah, like he'd let me quit. By the way, you're stuck with me for the next month. Sorry."
"I dont see it that way." Dick said. "So dont be sorry. And hey, I wasn't Robin for a long time. Only reason why I became Robin was cus I asked him to let me patrol too."
That made jason pause. "Really?"
"Try it."
Jason didnt say anything, the idea lingering on his mind.
Dick took a deep breath before leaving. As he went, he called over his shoulder, "let me know if you leave! I'm gonna turn your room into a gym."
Jason rolled his eyes, but there was a small grin on his lips.
â â â â â
Night patrol with Dick was actually tolerable. Dickâs laid-back attitude made the grind less unbearable.
"Watch this," Dick called out before flipping over a crate with perfect form and landing gymnast-style, arms outstretched.
Jason rolled his eyes beneath his mask but felt a pang of jealousy. "Show-off."
Dick was always good at all the tricks. Whenever Jason tried them, he was always to clumsy, too sloppy, and ended up messing up somehow.
Regardless, he took it as a challenge, running to the edge of the crate and jumping, trying his best to copy Dick's flip. He managed it, however the landing was a different story. He tried to land feet together the way Dick had but ended up losing his balance and having to fall into a crouch with one hand on the ground for balance and one hanging in the air. He laughed to himself because he unintentionally made a superhero landing.
"Not great," Dick spoke with the expertise of a gymnast and the lighthearted one of someone trying not to hurt your feelings. "Dont be too hard on yourself, though. I started training when I was five years old. You're a high school senior-"
Jason rolled his eyes under his mask. "It's this fucking cape. How'd you move in this thing?"
"Poorly." Dick mused, cringing as if he recalled a bad incident. "That's why I ditched it." He gazed down the Nightwing suit with a smile. Jason had to admit it looked cool.
"Nightwing, Robin," Alfreds voice cut their conversation, speaking through their earpiece. "A car chase in pursuit. Two black Buick SUVs pursuit by police on the grand highway, heading towards the exit to metropolis. That's near you."
"Copy that," Dick said, then to Jason. "Let's go."
"How're we gonna stop a car chase?!" Jason asked, bewildered.
"Just follow me!" Dick said, already breaking into a run.
Jason kept up with him, the sound of his boots running against the wet asphalt the only thing they heard. Until the distant police sirens grew louder.
"There!" He pointed towards a series of lights and on the highway.
Dick turned and nodded. "Take cover."
Jason watched as his adopted brother ran from one end of the road to the other, taking something from his utility belt and scattering it where he ran.
The buicks were nearing them, so Jason ran and hid behind a nearby crate and looked around the corner to see what was happening.
As soon as the cars reached their part of the road, explosions went off. Their tires popped, then lit up.
Despite his initial hesitancy, Jason found himself grinning.
"Hey-" Someone spoke beside him.
"Oh, Jesus!" Jason gasped, his fists blindly flying out. Dick stepped aside, dodging it easily.
"When did you get here?" Jason held his hand to his chest, trying to catch his breath.
"Just now," Dick said nonchalantly, before nodding to the scene. "What'd you think?"
Jason turned back to see the cars stopped and the cops pulling up, and arresting the men inside. "Not bad," he said. "What explosives did you use?"
Dick took one out of his utility belt, handing it to his brother to assess. "Oh you mean these little guys?"
Jason studied the tiny gadget in his gloves hand. "Its triggered by impact?"
Dick tilted his head, looking impressed. "Yeah, how'd you kn-"
"Do you make them yourself?" Jason interrupted, still studying the gadget. "Can I keep it? What sets it off?"
Yeah, this kid had ADHD, thought Dick, but he still wanted to answer all of Jason's questions. "Sure. And no I dont make them. Bruceâs buddy is a weapons engineer. He does this kind of stuff."
Cool, Jason thought, still wondering about the make up of the bomb as he shoved it in his pocket.
â â â â â
Dick sighed. "He was plenty interested in one of these today. Maybe he should meet Lucious."
Bruce turned away from his computer to look at dick. "Yeah," he said with a thought. "Jason likes to break things apart." Recalling the story of how they met. Jason was a runt, taking apart the batmobile, planning to use the parts until Batman caught him.
Exhaled a soft chuckle. "Sure, someday I'll take him to meet Lucious."
That day never came.
â â â â â
You had your own style outside the schoolâs strict uniform - a blend of rebellion and practicality that Jason couldnât help but notice. Oversized baggy jeans slumped low on your hips, and that cut-off green jacket you seemed to live in. It was your favorite piece, worn so often that Jason could recognize it from a mile away. He remembered seeing you in it even before Gotham Academy, back when you were just the girl across the street, before adoption changed both your lives in very different ways.
He never thought heâd run into you here in this pretentious school with its manicured lawns and entitled students, but when you landed a science scholarship, he caught himself feeling oddly proud. Happy, even. You were like him - a kindred spirit in a place that felt like it didnât want either of you. And he made sure you knew it, showing his appreciation in the most 'mature' way possible: tugging at your hair whenever he passed you in the halls, especially when you were with those same three friends you always stuck with.
Jason was walking down the empty school hall. He had just finished swim practice, water still dripping from his dark brown hair, when he heard your voice behind one of the classroom doors. He paused mid-step, instinctively drawn closer.
"Thank you, sir," you said, your tone carrying an unmistakable enthusiasm.
The door opened, and Jason ducked back, leaning casually against the lockers as you walked out. You were stuffing a folder haphazardly into your bag, your face bright with a small, self-satisfied smile. He couldnât help but grin as he watched you push your glasses up with that familiar, unconscious gesture.
Then he stepped into view. "Big day-?"
"Oh god!" You startled, nearly dropping your bag as you turned to face him. "Hey," you gave him a wave in greeting, then you made a double take. "What are you doing here so early?"
"Swim practice. Six a.m. sharp." He shrugged, ruffling his damp hair with a towel. "What about you? Private meeting with Fischer? Whatâs that about?"
You frowned, glancing down at your bag. "Thatâs none of your business."
He smirked, undeterred. "Mustâve been something good. You looked very satisfied walking out of there."
"Itâs called being polite," you shot back, rolling your eyes.
Jason leaned in slightly, his grin turning sly. "Polite? Nah, that wasnât polite. That was more like⌠out of breath squeaky." He raised his voice to mimick yours with an exaggerated nicenessm "'Oh, thank you, sir! Anything else I can do for you, sir?" He made a show of batting his eyeloashed, ignoring the unimpressed look you gave him.
Shaking your head, you smiled as you brushing past him.
But he didnât let you off that easily. He fell into step beside you, his tone casual. "Iâm just saying-if youâre gonna have a crush on a teacher, maybe aim higher. Fischerâs gotta be pushing fifty."
You stopped mid-step, turning to glare at him. "He is not! He's thirty-four."
Jasonâs smirk only widened, and you knew you gave yourself away. Trying to save face, you continued walking.
"So, what are you doing Sunday night?" He fell in step with you again.
You looked at him. "Nothing. Why?"
"I was thinking," he said, slinging his bag over his shoulder, "we could go for a ride. Clear your head from Fischer for a bit. You know, balance things out."
You groaned. "Let me live." Though, you couldn't help but be curious. "A ride where?"
He only grinned, leaving the question unanswered as he turned down another hall. "Just be ready by six pm. Sharp.
â â â â â
Jason planted kisses on your neck, his hand sliding up your thigh under your skirt, before your fingers wrapped around his wrist, stopping him. "Did you bring a condom?" You asked.
He blinked at you in confusion. "Got somewhere go be?"
You blinked. "No."
"I'm not gonna jump straight to fucking you." He said.
Your brows furrowed. "Right. Of course not." You forced out a laugh, blinking in confusion.
Then his eyes narrowed. "Have you ever let someone finger you before?"
"...No?"
"Have you ever had sex?" His brow rose.
"...No." You felt your cheeks heat up, lowering your eyes. "I'm guessing you have."
He chuckled. "Yeah,"
"What's so funny?" You asked defensively.
"Nothing, nothing." He waved his hand. "Just..."
"Just what?"
He grinned a stupid grin. "Just... im happy."
Well, you didn't expect that response. "Really?" You asked. A small smile spread on your face. He wanted to be your first?
"Yeah," he lowered his lips, biting yours. "I'm gonne be your first." he grinned, feeling a wave for pride rush trhough him.
You couldn't help the smile on your lips.
He cupped your cheek. "I'm gonna make you come first, though." His fingers reached reach the top of your panties, pulling them down past your feet, leaving you only in your skirt and bralette. You dressed nice for him, hoping he'd notice, but you were guessing that he didn't care much about the clothes when you could feel his eyes focus on your bare skin. He lowered his mouth to your thinly clad nipple, sucking it through your bra. You arched you back.
Leaning back on your elbows, you waited for what he would do next. Suddenly, you felt pressure on your core, his finger sliding against your folds before settling on a sensitive spot and rubbing it. Your breath hitched as you arched toward him. "Oh."
"How are you doing?" He asked, grinning.
"G-good," you nodded eagerly, biting your lip, and his fingers sped up. "Nh...when did you lose your virginity?" You asked. "How do you know to do that?"
"Porn." He shrugged.
You snorted. "And the first question?"
Blue grey eyes looked from side to side. "Last year, Halloween party at Jenna Wharton's house."
"Oh. With Jenna?" You blurted out the question before you could stop yourself. You weren't sure why, but the thought of him being intimate with someone made you upset. Even though you two weren't exactly exclusive...
He grinned as if recalling the experience. "Nah, Jenna's older sister. She was visiting from college."
"Oh," you nodded, swallowing down the wave of envy that rose up to your throat. "Was it good -"
His finger curled inside of you, causing your gasp cut off your own question.
"Shut up." He smiled, lowering to kiss you again.
Every movement he made that night was patient, his fingers trailing along your skin as though memorizing every inch. He came to kneel in front of you, bringing his mouth to your cunt, before licking up your slit.
"Fuck," your head rolled back. "Jason, please! Oh my god."
He groaned, grinning against you. He kept licking around one particular spot that made your breath hitch.
When he entered you for the first time, you both gasped. He paused before pulling out of you slowly, concern flickering in his eyes. âToo much?â
âNo,â you managed, your voice trembling. âItâs perfect.â
Jason chuckled softly, the warmth of his body feeling dvine aganist your skin. His lips curved into that familiar, boyish grin, and he brought his lips to yours. âGood. Because Iâve been wanting this for a long time.â
"Me too," you smiled, feeling like you were floating as the intense pulsing took your core.
â â â â â
Jason lay on the warehouse floor, his Robin suit was torn around different parts, the exposed skin under it seeping blood onto the cold floor. Speaking of cold, Jason was pretty sure he was going to die here...
#batman#batboys#smut#red hood imagine#red hood x reader#red hood smut#red hood#jason todd imagine#jason todd fluff#jason todd x reader#jason todd smut#jason todd
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Something about this post is bugging me, but every time I to put my finger on it, I feel like the reason slips away. So I think I'll just try to sort through it here and see where that leads me.
Mechanical changes impacting play style makes sense, but I think I question the cause and effect here. Because the rules mentioned that "encouraged the GM to think of monsters as real living creatures", morale and reaction rolls, are things that seem (to me at least) less about making these monsters seem real and more about adding more angles to introduce randomness to random encounters. If a random aboleth shows up while you're walking from point A to point B, a reaction roll is a quick and dirty way to see how they view the players, but it doesn't account for what an aboleth is. Similarly, a morale roll is giving a method beyond the DM just making an arbitrary ruling sans dice. That's not to say that a good DM can't use the roll to breathe some life into an encounter, of course, but I don't know if I would say those rules being removed/put in the flavor rather than made a general rule was a primary contributor to a greater emphasis on combat, or if that was even an intentional design choice.
(as a side note: looking up what reaction rolls actually were were, I stumbled onto a blog about the whole OSR thing in ttrpgs, and decided to go down the rabbit hole for a bit. It seems like a lot of the conclusions being drawn in this post are close to issues raised over there, but they tend to include AD&D2e as a point where the shift happened, making it less a TSR/WotC difference)
Now, if there IS a greater focus on combat in that shift, I think it's probably due to the game getting crunchier over time during that shift. 2e seemed to start it off with a wide variety of optional rules, and 3.x cemented it. But notably, it did this for non-combat as well, which makes me think that it was less a design choice to make things more combat oriented and more to provide comprehensive rules, with combat being the most fleshed out part in service to the whole heroic adventure aesthetic.
I think one of the biggest issues I'm running into is the following point about how encounters have to be these justified forced combat encounters and the dissonance this can provide. I think part of that is because that conclusion just doesn't match up with the reality I was seeing playing 3.x or seeing other people talking about it. Not to say combat wasn't the focus, but plenty of non-combat encounters happened, enemies ran away, scenarios were derailed by roleplay rather than combat, etc. And sure, that's anecdotal, but I think it's relevant. The game does, after all, provide individual sections for monsters giving a basic rundown of what the creature is. Some are more bare-bones than other, but when Archons are listed as "never attacking first, but being easily provoked", that's a pretty clear indicator that forced combat should not be the default assumption. If players ignore that, sure, but that's no different than ignoring reaction rolls imo.
The real difference, I think, is the afforementioned shift from a focus on an open world where the party has more freedom to explore and do whatever they want while the world happens around them, to a focus on more structured narratives where the players are characters in a story that is unfolding around them. Its a shift away from "well the dice say there's an aggressive dragon swooping in, have fun with that" towards "I planned out the encounter you're gonna run into between startersville and plotlandia". That also kinda follows from the idea of encounter balance. Having a random dragon swoop in on a third level party isn't a balanced encounter unless the DM goes out of their way to make it one, but that takes more time and prep than rolling a few dice and opening to a statblock can account for. And yes, planned encounters like this can, if done poorly, just be a shooting gallery of forced fights with thin justifications. It could also be well crafted encounters where you could talk down the goblins instead of fighting by opening trade negotiations.
The play style that the difference in design encourages isn't so much "fight all the things vs treat your enemies like actual living things" as it is "how structured do you want this game to be", which is ultimately value-neutral. And the moral disconnect about what you're fighting seems like an entirely separate thing from that. Neither style inherently encourages or discourages that, and it feels uncharitable to say that WotC-era d&d is more skewed to be morally uncomplicated than TSR-era.
So there is a pretty clear shift in playstyle between TSR D&D and WotC D&D: for better and for worse, D&D 3e introduced the idea of encounter balance, de-emphasized mechanics that had previously encouraged the GM to think of the monsters as real living creatures (reaction rolls, morale, etc.), and it had the effect of making D&D a much more combat-focused game. D&D has always been a game that's opinionated about combat, it's basically the most expressive and detailed form of play regardless of edition, but combat in the TSR editions was not exactly zoomed in and tactical. The WotC editions purposefully made combat zoomed in, granular, and tactical.
And this has had an effect on playstyle: since combat is now the main form of player expression what players actually want is for their characters to get into combat. Because combat is the most fun part of the game. But the game has also changed from the largely amoral dungeon-crawling game into a game of fantasy heroics (even though a lot of the trappings of the amoral dungeon-crawling still remain, which contributes to the dissonance), so you can't just have the player characters going into combat for the sake of it. That would frame the player characters as kind of Fucked Up, and we can't have that in our supposedly heroic fantasy.
What you end up with is a variety of contrivances like "they're bandits," "they're cultists," or, my all-time favorite, "they attacked first" to make the action seem morally justifiable, even though gameplay is still motivated by a desire to fight. The monsters fight to the death and, importantly, can often not be reasoned and negotiated with, partly because combat is supposed to be the fun, engaging part everyone is here to do, but also because if they actually acted like reasonable people it could cause dissonance with the whole "the player characters are the goodest heroes."
As my friend @tenleaguesbeneath once called it: what is actually going on is that the player characters are hunting people and monsters who have been programmed to fight to the death and never negotiate for sport, while justifying it as self-defence.
It's a simple power fantasy, and I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Sometimes you want to play a morally uncomplicated game about killing guys with cool magic swords. But I think it's also fun to think about what the specific types of monsters players end up fighting reveals about Society the invisible, unexamined ideology lying under the surface that the designers of even modern D&D have failed to examine. And to me it often reads like a frontier justice fantasy. None of that is to detract from anyone's joy of the game, and for me it's just fun to think about and post about this stuff while Still Enjoying the Game, but if someone expressing that opinion makes you feel uncomfortable, why? That's pretty silly imo.
#i cant help but feel like i might have misread some of the conclusions the OP made#but i cant see any other way to read it atm#amusingly enough though the game i remember playing in that was mostâand now you fight to the death unless you the player choose to fleeâ#was a hackmaster game#which afaik is an offshoot of ad&d#âfight these wererat cultists because theyre eeeeevilâ#along the way we fought all sorts of stuff#and had very little opportunity to do stuff that wasn't fighting every encounter we had#still had a good time ofc#just funny that my experience seems to be the exact opposite of what is presented here
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Lorraine Baines McFly and Female Autonomy
Hello. I have spent the past month slowly losing my mind about Lorraine Baines McFly, Marty's mom in Back to the Future, so I am finally trying to articulate some of the reasons I'm so feral about her.
There's a quote from Lea Thompson, the actress who played Lorraine, that goes, "The three parts that women usually get to play are virgins, whores, and mothers, and in Back to the Future Part II, I got to play all three." While this is commentary on Hollywood and the limited roles that fictional women get forced into, I think it's also interesting to think about it in terms of how these roles are reflected onto actual women and used to limit their personhood and confine them to a very narrow range of acceptable behaviors . . . and then in turn to think about how the character interacts with these roles on a Watsonian level. They're affecting not just Lorraine the character as she was written, but Lorraine from an in-universe perspective trying to navigate life as a woman in a patriarchal world. Some of the sexism she faces is a deliberate narrative choice and some of it is a result of the writers' blind spots, but for the purpose of this essay I'm less interested in teasing out which threads are which and more in looking at it holistically.
Because the thing about Lorraine is that she's aware of what the acceptable roles and behaviors for women are, and the versions that we see of her across the various timelines alternately fight against and capitulate to these constraints. What is a woman allowed to be? How much is Lorraine willing to break from those restrictions? How much does she allow other women to break from them? Does she resent her role or embrace it? I have a lot of thoughts specifically about how the different iterations of her interact with concepts of female agency and autonomy.
(Putting this under a cut because it is. Long.)
I started thinking about this when I was talking with my partner about 50's Lorraine. She's extremely active and driven and planning to Get What She Wants (in a way that is very scary, if you are Marty) . . . but at the same time she's clearly aware that she isn't supposed to be. A Good Fifties Girl is demure and passive. Lorraine isn't--but she's still trying to toe the line. I think constantly about the scene where she shows up at Doc's garage to be like "I followed you home . . . so that I can ask you to ask me to the dance." The girl can embrace borderline stalking but she draws the line at directly asking a boy out! She's exercising a lot of agency but views doing so as rebellious and subversive--and risky.
And I also want to talk about the whole "boy crazy" thing because like . . . society (especially in the fifties) tells women that the most important thing they can possibly do is find a good man and become wives and mothers, that this will define the success or failure of their entire lives (and given how many things were unavailable to single women at the time this is in many ways true) . . . and then relentlessly mocks and punishes anyone who actually takes an interest in pursuing this instead of just sitting back passively and waiting. She is trying to do what society says will make her happy! And even her desire for a white knight is very much based in the reality of her situation! She's getting sexually harassed at school and around town and she's doing exactly what she's supposed to and standing up for herself and saying no and fighting back--and this is not enough. She does need backup! Biff harasses her in the middle of a crowded cafeteria and Marty is the ONLY person who does anything! No fucking wonder she latches onto him as hard as she does! (There's. I promise this is related but there's a BttF parody musical on YouTube where when Strickland comes to break up the lunchroom fight he says, "Now, I can excuse sexual harassment, but LIGHT SHOVING?" and like it's a haha funny joke but also?? Yeah?? That IS how it works. The way Lorraine's being treated is so overlooked and normalized that the authority figure isn't going to step up the way he will when it's a physical altercation between two guys. Screams.) I wonder if part of the reason she stuck with George in the original timeline even though they didn't have a lot in common is that "I have a boyfriend" is a boundary that some people might actually take seriously whereas "I'm not interested" is not.
But. In general 50's Lorraine is very much about grabbing as much agency as she feels she's allowed to . . . and then Twin Pines Lorraine is what happens when she regrets the result of those choices (because while we don't see it, it's pretty obvious that in the original timeline she pursued George as aggressively as she pursues Marty in the new one), and so she decides to deny, not just her own agency, but female agency as a general concept. She leans so heavily on the idea that her relationship was "meant to be" because it absolves her of any culpability in creating a life she's unhappy with. She's rewritten her own past to view herself as a passive participant in something inevitable. (Exactly the view of womanhood that she was fighting so hard against in the 50's!) And she extends this idea of female passivity to the women around her: telling Linda that she should sit back and wait and a relationship will "just happen," actively resenting Jennifer for doing something as simple as calling Marty on the phone. It's a really interesting form of internalized misogyny, perpetuating these sexist ideas as almost a misguided form of self-defense.
And then for Lone Pine Lorraine this is completely flipped! She loves Jennifer for the same reason she disliked her in Twin Pines: because she reminds Lorraine of her younger self. And like . . . this is something of an extrapolation, but while obviously her husband and kids are still very important to her, it also feels like she has interests and friends and other things going on in her life, whereas part of the isolation of Twin Pines is that her life has shrunk down to the point where she's ONLY a wife and mother with nothing else to define herself by. And it also matters that in this timeline she has a partner that supports her, not just in the big dramatic moments (although also that), but you can easily see the dance as a catalyst for George actually learning to listen to her and stand up for her about smaller things as well. George McFly feminism arc. (I'm being slightly facetious but like. George starts off kind of shitty. The spying is actively Bad and I hope Marty chewed him out for it offscreen, but also his reaction to the harassment scene being "I think there's someone else she'd rather go with," implying that he sees what Biff is doing as like. Normal flirting that he expects to work. He doesn't GET it. Unsurprising because he is. A teenage boy in the fifties. But I do believe that saving Lorraine was something of a wakeup call and after that he listened to her about things that make her uncomfortable and gave her the support that she needed. Which would also give her a lot more freedom in this timeline because she has someone with more societal power who has her back!)
And then. Hell Valley.
If Lone Pine is the version of Lorraine who has the most freedom, the most opportunities to make decisions based on what she wants instead of What Is Expected Of A Woman, Hell Valley is the opposite. The things denying her agency in Twin Pines is largely societal forces (and herself); in Hell Valley she is actively being denied autonomy by her evil husband who functions as the personification of a bunch of sexist ideas.
She's been objectified to the point that she doesn't maintain control over her own body; Biff pressures her to get cosmetic surgeries so she can continue to look attractive to him because that's the only value he sees in her. Her physical appearance is entirely tailored to his preferences.
Biff's view of Lorraine is wife-as-possession. He treats her like a prize he's won and her kids like parasites. And he is NOT subtle about this. But Lorraine is still desperately clinging to the idea that she's wife-as-family. She calls Biff "your father" to Marty when he arrives, and talks about "our children" because she wants so so badly for this to be something different than what it is. It's especially terrible because this is a timeline where she got seventeen years of being happy with George, she knows what she's missing, and she keeps trying to force this new relationship into a similar mold even though Biff is openly contemptuous of her and especially her kids. It's been twelve years and she's still trying to pretend. To call back to that Lea Thompson quote: it's obvious where Biff thinks Lorraine fits on the virgin-mother-whore axis, while Lorraine is actively trying to centralize her motherhood partially because the kids really are that important to her and partially as a defense mechanism.
(And it's also such a bleak cautionary tale about how fragile women's stability can be when they're dependent on their husbands; Lorraine was happy with George and had a fair amount of freedom, but he was the only one with an income so when he died she was suddenly forced into a truly horrific situation because she had no other means to support herself and her three young children. Especially given that the Hell Valley universe is also worse in some broader political ways that mean there were probably even fewer social supports available than in real life 1973)
And god. It kills me the way that we see her lash out, the way she's clawing for autonomy when she threatens to leave . . . and then exactly how Biff levels all his axes of control against her. It's very interesting that his first tactic is consumerist (Who will pay for all your things? Who will take care of you?) and that doesn't work even though not being able to support herself is a very real concern. It's only when he threatens her kids that she folds. And then she immediately crumples and pivots to rationalizing Biff's behavior and blaming herself for her own abuse (in a way that is both HEARTBREAKING and also? surprisingly sympathetic and realistic for an 80's movie?). It's similar to the passivity we see in Twin Pines, but here we see exactly where it comes from. She doesn't have any way out so she has to pretend. It's the only way she can keep going. She has these flashes of rage but they're immediately snuffed out by despair and denial.
There's not a lot of talk about Lorraine and what there is tends to reduce her to "well she's Marty's mom" as if she's a boring character who doesn't have a lot going on. But even though most of her role in the movies has to do with her relationships with the various men in her life, those relationships are really interesting if you actually pay attention to them! She's not just (in the 80's) a wife and mother--she's someone who has a complex relationship with marriage and motherhood and the societal expectations surrounding them. She's not just (in the 50's) a vapid boy-crazy girl--she's doing her best to go after what she wants in a world that doesn't want her to (the fact that one of the things she wants turns out to be her time-traveling son from the future is unfortunate but not something she has any way of knowing!). She's stuck in a society that doesn't want women to be people, and she knows this, and because we see her across two different time periods and three different timelines you can watch how sometimes society grinds her down until she gives in and tries not to be a person. And also how, sometimes, she fights back.
#back to the future#bttf#lorraine baines mcfly#this is what i mean when i say that lorraine has SO many interesting things going on and i do not think that most of them were on purpose#but i'm here and i have a shovel.#anyway. i would kill for her.
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getaway car
đđđđ: hansol vernon chwe x f.reader
âł The ties were black, the lies were white. In shades of gray in candlelight. I wanted to leave him. I needed a reason.
đ đđ§đŤđ: soulmate au??, neighbors to lovers, non idol au
đ°đ¨đŤđ đđ¨đŽđ§đ: 3.6k
đ°đđŤđ§đ˘đ§đ đŹ: mc boyfriend is a jerk, the mc ex is physically cheating, mc is emotional cheating, lots of emotions, smut warning below the cut
đđ§: my next story for SVT inspired by reputation songs by taylor swift. This is part of a loosely connecting series called âall for youâ you can absolutely just read this as one shot. Thank you @whimsical-whatever for helping me figure out this story and listening to me ramble about it.
đđđđđđđđ¤ đđ§đ đŤđđđĽđ¨đ đ°đ˘đđĄ đđđ đŹ đđŤđ đ đŤđđđđĽđ˛ đđŠđŠđŤđđđ˘đđđ đ°đĄđđ§ đ˛đ¨đŽ đŤđđđ đ¨đ§đ đ¨đ đŚđ˛ đđ˘đđŹ!
đ°đđŤđ§đ˘đ§đ đŹ: oral (fem rec), fingering, protected sex, starting to have sex in the shower, multiple positions, this is very fluffy vanilla smut, lots of emotions
When people talk about being in love they always make it sound so grand and wonderful. They donât talk about the heartbreak that can also be experienced loving someone who doesnât deserve your love.
Laying in bed you stare at the empty spot that should be occupied by your boyfriend of five years, but instead heâs nowhere to be seen.
In the last seven months things have fallen apart. No matter how hard you think back you donât think you can pin the moment when it all started. Youâre not happy anymore by any means. Youâre not even sure youâre still in love.
Thereâs only one gleam of light in your life. The boy who lives down the hall Vernon. Whenever you see him he instantly brightens your day. You had met when you moved in, but you didnât really talk until one day he rode in the elevator with you while you were crying. Since that day Vernon has been a fixture in your life. He became a shoulder to cry on when your boyfriend hurt your feelings. He was also someone you could talk to when you wanted to pretend everything was okay.
You tried your hardest to not complain about your relationship all the time. Most of the time you would just say you were sad and needed a friend.
This last week has been bad. Itâs quite obvious your boyfriend is cheating on you.
From the moment you met Vernon you felt drawn to him. At first you told yourself it wasn't a romantic feeling but the longer you knew him the more you realized you felt like you need him in your life to exist. You told yourself over and over you were faithful to your boyfriend that this was nothing more than a crush. But the more your relationship starts to crumble the more you let yourself realize you have feelings for the boy down the hall.
Itâs another night of fighting with your boyfriend. Heâs come home from work way later than he should have. He walks in after midnight and you instantly spot the stain of lipstick on his shirt collar. There is a stabbing feeling in your chest. No matter how hard you loved him he was never going to be faithful to you.
Youâve pointed out to him a handful of times that things he does makes you think he could be cheating, but this is the first time you have called him a cheater. You would think that maybe he would defend himself and tell you that heâs not cheating, but he doesnât do that. He tells you he cheats because of you. He points all the blame on you.
You scream at him, you're done and itâs over. You feel utterly broken. Sobbing that he broke your heart as he storms out of the apartment saying he needs air.
You sit on the couch trying to gather yourself. Giving yourself a moment before you pick up your phone and rush out of your apartment.
Walking down the hall there is only one person you wanna see. Itâs way past one in the morning now. Opening your phone you hit Vernon contact. Holding your phone to your ear it rings about five times before he answers the phone.
âIs everything okay?â Itâs rare you call him let alone in the middle of the night.
âNot really. Iâm outside, can you let me in,â you start to cry again.
âYeah.â
Moments later he opens the door quickly. Heâs just in a pair of boxer briefs. He must have been in bed already.
âIâm sorry,â you say as tears slide down your cheek.
He doesnât say anything. He takes your hand leading you into his apartment he shares with Chan and Seokmin.
He shut the door, locking it. He hesitates for a moment before he rests his hand on your cheek and gently wipes away your tears.
âI told him Iâm done. He came home after midnight with lipstick stained on his collar. I donât wanna do this anymore. He doesnât love me and I canât love him anymore. I don't love him anymore.â You lean into his touch.
âIâm glad you left him. He doesnât deserve you.â
âIâm sorry,â you whisper. Youâre sorry for so many things. You know he cares for you and that he probably has always romantically liked you for a while just like you have. And no matter what you do you hurt him in one way or another.
âStop saying that. You have nothing to apologize to me for.â He gives you a gentle smile.
âCan we go to your room? I donât want to bother the boys. Itâs already so late and I already woke you up.â
Reaching down he takes your hand in his for the first time and leads you to his room. He shuts the door and releases your hand. âWould you mind if I stayed with you tonight?â
âOf course you can stay here.â Youâve never been so happy you stormed out of the house in your pajamas. âDid you want me to take the couch?â
âNo, I was hoping I could sleep in your bed with you. I just really want to hold your hand.â
He canât help the smile that tugs on his lips. You crawl under the covers and watch as Vernon turns the light on and crawls into bed next to you. You both lay there facing each other. There is a gap between you. Laying your hand there you want to be close to him. You want him to hold you and to kiss you and tell you youâll be okay. But that is too much to ask of him.
There is always something about Vernon that heâs always been able to read you. He must notice youâre struggling. He reaches out, taking your hand in his.
âI donât want to go back to my apartment. I donât want to live in a building that is haunted with memories of him and I.â
He takes a deep breath squeezing your hand. âYou donât have to. Iâll help you pack your things when heâs gone to work.â
âWhere am I supposed to go?â You canât help the tears that are slowly falling.
âYou can stay here with me as long as you need.â
âThe boys wonât like that.â You canât imagine either of the boys would be a fan of another person living in their three bedroom one bath apartment.
âThey wonât care. Seokmin is back with his ex and barely lives here and Chan loves you. He wonât mind having you around.â
âOkay, I might need to stay here for a while. My lease wasnât up for like six more months. Maybe I can find somewhere new by then.â Maybe Vernon has a friend who needs a new roommate.
âYou donât have to worry about that right now.â He wants to pull you close to his body and hold you like he has desperately wanted to.
There is a long moment of silence between you. âI didn't tell him I wasnât coming home tonight. I just left after I told him weâre done.â
âThatâs okay.â
âThank you.â Youâre trying to stop your tears.
âYou donât have to thank me,â he gives you a sleepy smile.
It doesnât take long before you fall asleep with your head on his chest. His hand gently rubs your side soothing you to sleep. When you dream that night you dream about Vernon the boy who saved you. You dream about him finally kissing you the way you desperately want.
-
The next day you call out of work and send your now ex boyfriend a text telling him that itâs truly over. Heâs luckily at work and away from the apartment. When he finally returned to your shared apartment last night he sent you seven texts trying to get a hold of you in the middle of last night.
You expect to receive an angry text responding to you telling him you want to break up but he leaves you on read. Itâs probably for the best he does. You donât think you could take arguing with him.
While heâs at work Vernon and Seokmin come help you pack up everything they possibly can. Seungcheol even brings his truck over to take some of your bigger stuff to a storage unit he has. You could cry at how kind Vernon and his friends are being to you. By the time five o'clock comes around basically anything that ever meant anything to you is long gone from your apartment. Seokmin and Seungcheol left you alone while you wrote a goodbye to your ex telling him he wouldnât be hearing from you and that you would send him one more month worth of rent and that would be it.
Locking the door to your now former apartment stung. Tears brim your eyes thinking about how much you truly loved this apartment. Vernon takes your hand and brings it to his lips where he places a gentle kiss on top.
Moving on wasnât going to be easy. You know that even though you have fallen out of love. This breakup is going to hurt. At least you now have Vernon there by your side. How much you desperately wanted to be with him, you wanted to heal and you didnât want him to feel like heâs just a rebound.
Laying in bed that night, your head once again rests on his chest as he holds you close. âI wanna be with you fully,â you whisper.
âThatâs good because I wanna be with you.â Heâs slowly drawing circles on your arm.
âI donât want to jump right into this. I think I need some time before we fully try this. But Iâm begging you to be patient with me.â
Gently he presses his lips to the top of your head. âI will wait as long as it takes. Iâm just asking that I can still hold your hand and hold you while we sleep. I donât want to push you into anything else while you heal.â
After that night things stayed like this with Vernon for a while. You lived in his home and shared a bed with him for over a month and half. Vernon was truly your person. He was your rock and you have fallen for him even more.
-
Today has been hell. Anything that can go wrong is. You got yelled at at work, your ex has been trying to contact you all day and on top of that. The icing on the cake is getting stuck in a rain storm without a jacket or umbrella after getting dinner. Luckily Vernon is with you so you arenât alone getting stuck in a rainstorm. After finding out about your terrible day at work Vernon took you out for dinner to cheer you up. Neither of you had any idea a rainstorm was coming. You had walked from the apartment about a mile to a cafe for dinner, but the rain was making it where you needed to get a cab home.
Running from the cab to the apartment building you can feel the water soaking through your clothes.
Opening the door to Vernon apartment you both instantly notice how quiet the apartment is.
âChan is at work and I think Seokmin is with his girl. Theyâre fully back together now,â Vernon says. Youâve only met Seokmin ex a couple times when she came over to see him. Sheâs a sweet girl and seems like a good fit for him.
âOh. I think I need a shower to warm up.â You pause staring at him for a moment. âDid you want to join?â You know this means things between you will change. But you desperately want more with him. Itâs been a month and half of you living here sharing lingering touches, longing stares, and cuddling at night. You arenât sure how much longer you could share a bed with him before you lose your mind.
âAre you sure?â He says staring at you with almost a concerned look on his face.
âYes.â
Walking away from him you head off to the shower that is next door to his room. Luckily the boys arenât home so you donât have to worry about them interrupting you. You turn on the hot water waiting for him to walk in. Walking into the bathroom he locks the door as you strip away your clothes. He stands there like a statue as you open the sliding glass door and step into the steam. Your body feels an instant relief as the hot water hits your cold skin.
Standing under the warm water you watch Vernon through the frosted glass. You should feel embarrassed about him seeing you naked but you arenât at all. This feels natural. You want whatever is going to happen with Vernon to happen. You donât want to feel guilty for having a crush on him. Heâs truly the reason you were able to walk away from your loveless relationship.
âVernon?â
âYes?â
âAre you going to join me?â You step back under the warm water.
Through the frosted glass you can see him pulling off his shirt. âDo you want me to join you?â
âI want you to.â
He doesnât say anything, he just takes off his pants and boxers. The glass door slides open and there he is naked in all his glory. You donât know the last time you saw a man naked other than your ex. Vernon is absolutely beautiful. You hope in the future you can kiss your way across his beautiful skin.
The moment he slides the door shut it doesnât turn into some lust filled moment. He stares at you for a long moment. A gentle smile on his face.
âCan you come closer to me?â You hold your hand out. Silently he takes your hand stepping closer. The warm water is washing over both of you.
âThank you,â you donât think you can ever thank him enough for giving you a reason to leave.
âDonât have to thank me.â
Reaching up, his hand rests on your cheek, âI feel like youâre supposed to be in my life.â
âI feel like I need you in my life. I feel things for you I never felt for him in those five long years.â He leans down and rest his forehead against yours.
âYou know Wonwoo and his girlfriend?â
âYou mean the boy who is absolutely in love?â Youâve met all of Vernonâs friend in the last month and half and the moment you met Wonwoo and his girlfriend you realized he was head over heels for his girlfriend. She had told you one night when you were all at Seungcheol and Joshuaâs house that Wonwoo made her believe in soulmates. Hearing her say that made you question if soulmates are real. Because if they were, you think you found yours.
âThey always say theyâre each other's soulmates, and I think youâre mine if theyâre real,â he pulls away from you slowly.
Your body feels fuzzy as you process his words. You canât think straight as you close the small distance between you and crash your lips into his for your first kiss. Your fingers tangled in his hair pulling his body closer to yours. You can feel him hardening against your stomach as you deepen the kiss.
âMaybe we shouldnât do this in the shower,â he whispers against your lips.
âVernon?â
âYes?â
âI want you in every way imaginable.â
Pulling away from you he turns off the water and steps out of the shower. He hands you a towel and starts working quickly drying himself off. The moment youâre both dry and wrapped in towels, you take his hand leading him towards his room.
Laying on his bed with your legs spread wide heâs kissing his way across your delicate skin. He kisses down your mound before pressing a kiss to your sensitive clit. His fingers part your folds as he licks your sensitive bundle of nerves. Slowly he pumps one finger inside. Your soft moans echo throughout his bedroom. He adds another finger earning a moan. Your finger clutch the sheets below you as he pushes you closer and closer to the edge.
Looking down at him you find him staring up at you through hooded eyes. He watches as you fall apart moaning his name.
Pulling away slowly he dips his fingers into his mouth wiping away your release. You stumble to sit up wanting to return the favor.
âWhat are you doing?â He asked, crawling off the bed.
âI was going to give you head in return,â you cock your head to the side.
âHow much I would love that, I canât think about anything other than being inside you,â he sighs.
âOh-â
He reaches into his nightstand pulling out a foil packet. Tearing it open with his teeth. With lust filled eyes you watch as he rolls it down his hardened length.
Laying back on the bed you spread your legs waiting for him patiently.
Hovering over you heâs staring at you like you are the only person in the whole world. Reaching up, you rest your hand on his cheek.
âDo I sound like Iâm crazy if I tell you I love you?â He whispers.
âNo not at all,â you thought being in love again would be scary, but you think you have always been in love with him since you met him. He came into your life at the perfect time. You met him as you started to fall out of love with your ex. The moment you met Vernon in the hallway with your hands full of groceries you instantly felt something for him. Being around him made you feel like heâs supposed to be in your life.
âI love you,â he says softly. âI need you to know that before we have sex. Iâm head over heels for you.â You open your mouth to speak but nothing comes out. âYou donât have to say it right now baby. I just want you to know how I feel.â
âOkay,â you whisper.
âAre you ready?â
You nod.
He slowly slides into you. The stretch feels amazing. Lifting your leg you open yourself up to him more. Everything in the world suddenly feels like itâs shifted. Your fingers claw at his shoulders as he thrust into you at a slow pace. His lips are yours kissing you like he needs you to breathe. This feels different than any other sex you've had before. Tangling your fingers in his hair you gently tug him away from your lips. You want to stare at him for a long moment.
âOh my god-â you moan.
âYou feel like you were made for me,â he moans.
You hook your leg over his back just above his butt pulling him closer to you. His thrusts are incredibly deep with his slow pace.
âPlease-â you can only whimper and whine.
He rolls his hips a little faster. Your hands move down to his butt. Gripping his cheeks pulling him down closer to you. You feel as if you canât get physically close enough to him.
âBaby do you want to change positions?â He must notice you want to have some sort of control. You seem like you desperately want to touch him.
âPlease.â
He pulls out of you slowly and moves so heâs sitting with his back against the headboard. You waste no time straddling him. Slowly sinking down on his length. His hands rest on your hips helping you ride him. One of your hands rest on his cheek while the others rest on his chest right above his heart. Leaning toward you, press your forehead against his.
Silent gasps pass his lips.
âFuck-â you moan.
Your thighs burn as you ride him but that doesnât stop you. Desperate to see what he looks like when he falls apart.
âAre you close?â You whine.
Silently he nods. One of his hands going up to take your breast. Squeezing it before rolling your hardened nipple between his fingers.
âAre you going to come?â He asked.
âYes-â
You roll your hips a little faster. You clit brushes against his pelvic bone earning a wanton moan. Your second orgasm hits you harder than your first. Your hips stop moving as a white hot wave washes over you. Rolling your head back, you moan. His hands grip your hips as he moves your body up and down his length chasing his own release.
He falls apart moaning your name. You stare at him as he holds you flush against his thighs and he falls apart. The sight of him like this is absolutely breathtaking.
Your chest is heaving as you try to come down from your high slowly. Holding his face with both hands you slowly lean forward pressing your lips to his for a soft kiss.
âI love you,â you whisper the words that have been floating in your head for a while.
âI love you too.â He canât help but smile.
âThank you for giving me a reason to leave him.â Youâll never be able to thank Vernon for showing you that you could love someone else, and that someone could love you more than your ex did. Heâs showing what it means to find your person. Heâs making you believe soulmates could be real.
He pushes your hair away from your face. His thumb drags across your cheek slowly. âFalling in love with you is the best thing that has ever happened to me.â
#seventeen x reader#seventeen reactions#seventeen smut#seventeen au#seventeen insert reader#seventeen x you#seventeen x yn#vernon chwe imagine#vernon chwe smut#vernon chwe fanfic#Vernon chwe fanfiction#Vernon chwe x reader#Vernon chwe x you#chwe hansol smut#chwe hansol x reader#chwe hansol x you#my writing#lwymmd#rep series#getaway car
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NNN day 23 | Fractured Bonds
summary: you and Chris never got along, until your parents forced you to at least attempt to be civil with each other since youâll be flying out for vacation soon to be on good terms, you were getting along pretty well until a truck comes crashing into you but Chris pushes you out of the way, causing the harsh injuries to himself, suffering a broken leg & two fingers and a slight concussion, making your good relationship crush and crumble, or did it?
warnings: FLUFF&ANGST, car crash, mild swearing, harsh injuries, bleeding, kissing & possibly more!
authors note: hii guys, this fic is inspired by that one episode of Icarly so if yâall think heard something like this than thats your answer, Iâm not rlly sure what else to put here my brain is starting to just
Soft chatter mixed with the sweet scent of ice cream fill the air around us, somehow me and Chris managed to be at least civil with each other today and saw each other from a different perspective. Our time together would consist usually of hard banters, arguments and frequent fights between each other, I never had a specific reason on why I dislike Chris so much. It was rather a feeling of knowledge and he just built his whole person around that fact, our feet step and walk down the cement sidewalk in a visible rhythm, stepping their own way instead if trying to sabotage the others step.
âNever would I expect to see you acting like a normal person in front of me,â I conclude all of the thoughts swirling in my mind at once, Iâve learned to enjoy the present day and the things happening in the moment than to constantly worry about the past, a small smile spreads across my face as I look at the moment Iâm spending with the person I once called my worst enemy. âNever thought I would see doing something else than trying to rip my hair out.â He jokes, pushing away the slight tense air that had accumulated in the single moment of silence between us before soft chuckles break through it.
I glance over at him, starting to see soft peaks of a side Iâve never thought my eyes would notice of him before which only intensifies my smile, he notices my gaze lingering for longer than it should be and a faint blush hints on his cheeks. âYouâre not such a bad person after all, itâs actually pretty nice just talking to you like I would talk to any of my friends.â I confess, tasting my ice cream as the different flavors burst and spread across my taste buds, creating a sugarcoated layer of deliciousness on the outside of my tongue. âI can say the same about you, sweetheartâ He teases as he takes a taste of his own ice cream, his expression becoming shadowed with empathy as well as the slightest hint of⌠attraction?
I couldnât really tell all of the emotions apart no matter how hard I tried, my mind immediately went to dismiss the small detail as irrelevant and we continue to walk and chat among each other but the happy and safe space that surrounded us soon came to a tragic and sudden end, as we were crossing the street I noticed a pair of truck head lights coming towards me at a ungodly speed, my whole demeanor shifter dramatically from positive to instant feat for my life, just as I was accepting my faith and thought it was too late â a pair of strong arms pushed me out of the way of the truck â I fell on to the hard concrete and caused it to scratch my skin but my eyes look over at Chris who had pushed me out of the way as the reckless truck driver hit his body with full force, it crashing into a nearby ditch as Chris lays on the road like a pathetic roadkill.
My features flood with panic and horror, running over to his now unconscious body with my arms shaking like an earthquake as they spring to the bleeding parts of his body, trying to stop the blood from coming out of the wounds and keep him from bleeding out, âf-fuck! Chris! A-are you-?âŚâ I cut myself off as Ireach into the pocket of my pants with shaky arms to retrieve my phone to call the ambulance or any kind of help I could reach in this moment. As I speak into the phone my voice trembling and slipping over words, the pain evident in my voice while the medical help attempt to calm me down through the phone when they notice how freaked out I am but their attempts donât work, even though I once considered him as an enemy and we both wished upon our downfall but never actual death.
I wait for the ambulance to come as fast as they can while I try to keep Chris stabilized, heavy tears mixing with the bloody mess on my hands as I go wipe my tear stained cheeks, causing it to catch some of the blood off my hands and transfer onto my face. A quiet curse leaves my mouth as I put my hands over the more severe wounds until I hear the faint sound of sirens in the distance, paramedics rushing over to the scene and taking me and Chris both to the hospital.
- a week after Chris got discharged from the hospital
My eyes flutter open as I stirr awake, my body immediately becoming tense when I sit up on my bed, running a hand through my hair as I search around for my phone to check what time it currently is, the weekend has officially started and my mother has sent me to visit Chris today again. Ever since the accident happened, my mother has told me I need to go visit him as much as I can but every time I do, we just fight over whoâs fault it was and other minor things and I would always leave with a slam of his door, itâs like the good relationship we slowly build and started to warm up to each other it just flew right out of our grasp after the accident, I blame myself entirely for it, it shouldnât have been him who took the fall â it was supposed to be me and not him â and he blames himself for jumping in to save me and took the harsh injuries upon himself.
I get out of bed and slump over to the closet, getting dressed into more appropriate outside clothes before grabbing all of my stuff and walking downstairs to eat something for breakfast before I get going, my mom was already in the kitchen drinking a freshly brewed coffee to wake her up and a cooked breakfast infront of her m, she sees me and glances up from her dish. âYouâre going to visit Chris today?â I nod my head, putting my bag down on the counter as I see some left over breakfast. âI left you some breakfast on the stove and eat it before you go.â She informs me and goes back to her own business. I grab a place at put the food on top of it, sitting down at the table I eat my breakfast and get going.
- one car ride later
After a long fifteen minutes of driving to Chrisâs house, I finally make it into their driveway and turn off the engine, unbuckling my seatbelt and exiting the car, my feet drift over the stone path as I make my way to the front door and letting myself in. His mom was in the living room, her hands clutching the edges of the newspaper she was currently reading, I give her a welcome nod and she speaks. âThereâs a bowl of soup in the kitchen for Chris and since youâre here, could you bring it to him? He canât constantly walk down the stairs with his broken legâ âOf course I can, Ms. Sturniolo,â I state politely, walking into the kitchen and cradling the bowl in my hands while steadily making my way upstairs to Chrisâs room. âThank you sweetieâ I faintly hear Ms. Sturnioloâs voice as I enter the room, Chris sitting up in his bed while reading a random book, a half-smoked cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth as he looks up at me.
âWhat are you doing here now?â He questions, his face shadowing with confusion and slight annoyance as he puts out the cigarette and drops it into the ashtray on his bedside table. âAre you here to fight with me again? Because if thatâs the case then save it for yourself.â He states before putting his nose back into his book, ignoring my presence in the room. I roll my eyes at him, walking up to his bedside table and carefully place the bowl of soup his mom made down next to the other clutter on it, sitting down on the edge of his phone. âIâm not here to fight, can you acknowledge me for a minute or are you going to be stuck in that book forever?â My words make him look up at me, a visible mixture of annoyance with slight empathy in his eyes.
âThen why are you here?â He asks again, putting his book down onto his lap and turning his attention towards me. âI came to visit you, if you havenât noticed yetâ âYour mom forced you again?â âNo, understand that I actually care for once.â I speak, the soft undertone of guilt hidden in my tone. âI never wanted this to happen, surely not when we were finally getting along with each other.â I state, fidgeting lightly with my fingers at the thought he did this for me, so I didn��t have to suffer how he is now, my heart aches each time with guilt as I think about what could have originally happened and he seems to notice my deep in thought state. âCan you stop blaming fucking yourself for this? Itâs not your fault, I was the one who pushed you out of the way. If itâs anyoneâs fault it should be mine,â
He grabs my hand into his to stop my fingers from fighting with each other, his eyes landing on mine and staring deeply into them. âBut you shouldnât have, I should have been the one who suffered, you didnât deserve this.â The guilt starts to crack through into my voice, being now more evident. âWe both blame ourselves for it at the end of the day, and thereâs no agreement happening soon with this whatsoever so thereâs no point in fighting about this longer.â I spill out, my mind swirling with a million different thoughts all at once. He doesnât agree, nor disagree with me, leaving us to just stare deeply into each otherâs eyes, the tension becoming more tense by the minute until I decide to break it by capturing his lips into one simple kiss with a deeper, hidden meaning behind it.
I could feel his body freeze in place before he melts right into it, his arm coming to rest around my waist as I feel the soft cold metal on my skin of the embrace his fingers have been encased in, sending a slight shiver down my spine as our lips fight a small battle for who gets to be the best kisser. We pull away eventually and faint pants leave our mouths and mix together from how close we are to each other, âAre we good now?â âYeah but I was the better kisser for sureâ âWho said that?â âI did, and itâs true.â âI call bullshit, I was betterâ I stand my ground, knowing I was definitely better than him, he smirks and rolls his eyes playfully âOh you wanna fight? Fine, Iâll give you a little fightâ with that said, he pulls me back into now a more fierce and dominant kiss as we fall back on to his bed.
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You paced, simply because the four grey walls of your cage kept you contained.
He just lounged in his chair, icy blue eyes following you as your grumbled in your pacing. Seemingly calm and patient as you raged inside.
How dare he?
"Will you keep me here forever?" You snapped at him finally, your teeth bared in your anger at the Alpha. "You can't, it isn't right to keep me prisoner."
"I will do what I must to keep my omega safe." He said calmly, as if he was the reasonable one here. Like him stripping you of all your rights was the sane thing to do. "Even from herself."
"I have a life... no wait, had a life. Till you broke the system and deemed yourself the leader."
His warning growl across the room echoed. "Now you have a new life, one where your taken cared of, fed, warm, your omega instincts fulfilled if you would stop fighting them." He pushed to a stand, stalking closer and seeming to fill the space with his sheer size.
His scent was maddening, making you try to rage harder as your omega instinct trilled a content sensation. Right now that rage was changing into sadness, this small battle you were slowly loosing.
"I didn't want this, I don't want you." You said as he stood before you, refusing to meet his gaze, you stared at his chest instead.
That's when Curtis started to purr, a deep soothing sound that filled your space and involuntarily you stepped closer, the sound soothing to your frayed nerves. His arms circled you and tugged you closer even though you attempted to push out of his strong hold. "You're a monster."
"Aye, if that's what you must tell yourself Songbird." His fingers gripped your chin harshly to make your look up at him. "I will be your monster if that's what you choose to make of me, but I'm still your Alpha and that's a fact that will never change no matter how hard you fight it." His eyes flashed dangerously, the omega in you wanting to shrink before him. You refused to give into that sensation. "And I expect you will and I will give you a harsh reminder of who I am."
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under the eclipse | 7dream
đŚšÂ°â§ pairing: read and find out! (or read the tags but it will spoil everything lol!)
đŚšÂ°â§ genre: angst! angst! did i say angst? yeah basically lots of drama
đŚšÂ°â§ word count: 15k đââď¸
đŚšÂ°â§ cw: infedelity!!, internalized homophobia, swearing, they will fight! a lot! so just know that, haechan really suck :(, jeno is not so kind :( yeah
- the story is clearly referring to the film âPerfect Strangersâ directed by Paolo Genovese. i watched some nights ago and thought i couldnât not write it with dreamies :) i just love drama. hope you enjoy it!
summary: a group of old friends gets together for dinner. one of them proposes a game, where everyone shares every text and call they receive during the day with each other, causing secrets to surface under the eclipse.
authorâs note! this work is purely fiction and it isnât meant to romanticize any of the thing it portrays. also I am not implying any likeness between the characterization here of the characters to their real life counterparts. all the rights goes to the author of the âperfect strangersâ story, i just added my personal taste to it.
Mark adjusted the heat under the saucepan, stirring the sauce with slow, methodical movements. Across the kitchen island, Yunhee was slicing tomatoes with quiet focus, pausing now and then to glance up at him.
âLong day?â she asked, brushing the diced tomatoes into a bowl.
Mark gave a short, dry laugh. âLong doesnât begin to cover it. Three consultations back-to-back. Everyone seems to be preparing for the new year with a new face.â He smirked, shaking his head. âI donât think Iâll ever get used to the idea of people investing so much in a jawline.â
Yunhee smiled, her gaze soft. âMaybe theyâre hoping a fresh face will mean a fresh start. Thereâs a reason people obsess over appearances, you know.â She leaned closer, a glint of curiosity in her eyes. âThey believe itâs a fix for something deeper.â
He set down the wooden spoon, his expression thoughtful. âDo you really think thatâs what it is?â
She nodded, her voice low, like she was sharing a secret. âI see it every day. People come to me believing thereâs a magic answer to their unhappiness, and sometimes they think itâs found in somethingâor someoneâoutside themselves. In a new face, or a new job, or a new relationship.â
Mark watched her, feeling a familiar, quiet admiration. He stepped around the island and leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. She closed her eyes, savoring the touch, then looked up at him, and their eyes met.
âYou ever wonder if weâre just⌠treating symptoms?â he asked softly. âThat weâre both just polishing the surface?â
Yunhee smiled, reaching up to brush her thumb along his cheek. âSometimes, yes. But sometimes, even the smallest shift can mean a lot to someone. We help them see themselves differently, in whatever way we can.â
He pulled her in, their lips meeting in a slow, familiar kiss, the world outside the kitchen momentarily forgotten. When they finally pulled back, they lingered close, eyes locked.
They shared a warm smile, the familiarity of their daily banter wrapping around them. Yunhee took a sip of wine, leaning in a little closer as she asked, âAre you looking forward to tonight?â
He shrugged, feigning nonchalance. âSure. Just hope everyoneâs up for a good time. Chenle is also bringing is new girlfriend right? Thatâs awesome. Hope we stay out of drama today, we need to make a good impression or sheâll ran away like the others.â
She chuckled, nudging him with her elbow. âSince when have our friends ever managed a night without drama?â
Mark laughed, opening his mouth to respond.
âIâm afraid youâre rightâŚas always.â
Chinsun balanced her phone between her shoulder and ear, rummaging through her purse with one hand while listening intently. âYes, Mrs. Kim, I understand. Keep Pepper calm, and try the ointment I recommended. If heâs still limping tomorrow, call me first thing, okay?â
Haechan watched her from across the room, a mischievous grin spreading over his face. He tiptoed over and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, pressing his lips to her neck. She stifled a laugh, glancing back at him with a playful scowl.
âYes, I promise, itâs perfectly safe for him. Justâoh!â She clamped her mouth shut as Haechanâs hands roamed up her waist, pulling her closer. âUh-huh⌠yes, exactly⌠oh, stop!â she whispered urgently, trying to wave him off, but she was already laughing.
Haechanâs grin only widened as he leaned in, capturing her lips in a swift, playful kiss. With a sigh, Chinsun quickly wrapped up the call. âNo no,I wasnât talking to you Mrs. KimâŚcall me tomorrow if anything changes, okay? Great. Bye!â She hung up, spinning around to face him with an amused smile.
âCouldnât resist me, huh?â Haechan teased, raising an eyebrow.
Chinsun rolled her eyes, but her smile gave her away. âYouâre impossible, you know that?â
âMaybe, but youâre too hot, I couldnât stop myselfâ he replied with a smirk, and before she could say anything more, he kissed her again, slow and lingering this time, the kind of kiss that blurred time and erased any thoughts of being anywhere else.
Moments later, Chinsunâs laugh echoed through the room as he swept her into his arms, and their dinner were momentarily forgotten.
Some time passed before they were finally ready, a little flushed and breathless. She smoothed her dress, fixing her hair with a small, secret smile as they grabbed their things and headed for the door.
âWeâre definitely going to be lateâ she murmured, glancing at him as they stepped outside.
Haechan just grinned, reaching for her hand. âIâm so ready for the second course tho.â
He said, earning a little smack on his shoulder.
âJaemin!â Soyulâs voice rang out from the bedroom as she hurriedly tossed through her jewelry box, searching for the bracelet she swore sheâd set aside earlier. âDid you feed the cats yet?â
Jaemin sighed, stifling a smile as he finished scooping cat food into two separate bowls. âAlready on it!â he called back. âAnd donât worryâMinhoâs food is in his âexclusive dining area,â just like you asked.â He chuckled, glancing down as Minho, their older tabby, pawed at his bowl impatiently, while Luna, their younger, more mischievous cat, watched him with a sly look, clearly eyeing Minhoâs food.
âThank you!â she replied, sounding both grateful and a bit distracted as she continued the whirlwind search for her missing bracelet. A few seconds later, she darted out of the bedroom, one heel on, the other in her hand, a brush tangled in her hair, and a tube of mascara balanced between her lips.
Jaemin couldnât help but laugh at the sight. âYouâre a one-woman hurricane tonight,â he said, stepping over to her. Before she could protest, he gently took the brush from her hand and began working it through her hair, smoothing out the tangles with easy, familiar strokes. She gave a small sigh, visibly relaxing as she focused on finishing her mascara.
âYouâre a lifesaver,â she murmured, finally setting her makeup down. âHow do you stay so calm all the time?â
Jaemin smirked, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. âI have to be calm. Someone has to keep track of everything you loseâ he teased. âBesides, I like seeing you a little flusteredâkeeps things interesting.â
Soyul shot him a playful look, nudging his shoulder. âWell, if youâre so organized, whereâs my bracelet?â
With a smirk, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the silver bracelet, holding it up with a satisfied grin. âRight where I found itâby the coffee machine.â
She laughed, slipping the bracelet onto her wrist and giving him a grateful kiss on the cheek. âWhat would I do without you?â
He pulled her close, his hand lingering at her waist while he started to leave soft kisses on his revealed shoulder.
Just as she leaned in for a kiss, a loud knock sounded at the door. They exchanged a quick, amused look before Jaemin pulled away to answer it.
At the door stood Jeno and Daeun, bundled in coats, with Jeno holding a bottle of wine in one hand and a casual grin on his face. âFinally! You two are slowpokes tonightâ he teased, stepping in.
Daeun rolled her eyes, giving Jeno a playful nudge. âSays the guy who took twenty minutes deciding which wine to bring. Youâre the reason we almost missed them!â
Jeno held up the bottle defensively. âHey, this isnât just any wine. This is a classicâgoes perfectly with any dinner party. Mark and Yunhee are going to be impressed.â
Daeun scoffed, raising an eyebrow. âClassic? You mean it was on sale, donât you?â
Soyul laughed, tugging on her second heel as she stepped over to them. âYou two really sound like an old married couple,â she teased, exchanging a smile with Jaemin.
Jeno shot her a look. âBetter that than making everyone late because someone couldnât find her braceletâ he retorted, grinning as Soyul playfully slapped his arm.
âAlright, alrightâ Daeun said with a laugh, hooking her arm through Jenoâs. âLetâs not turn this into a roast. We all know we canât keep Mark and Yeeri waiting too long anywayâtheyâve probably already started judging our punctuality.â
With a shared laugh, the four of them gathered their coats, scarves, and the wine bottle before stepping outside into the cool evening air. They walked together, arms linked or hands clasped, a relaxed rhythm to their steps as they strolled toward Mark and Yeeriâs place just a few blocks away.
As they walked, Daeun nudged Jenoâs shoulder, a mischievous smile on her face. âSo, what other fancy items did you look at before you settled on that bottle?â
Jeno rolled his eyes, pretending to think. âWell, I did consider that other âvintageâ blendâsuper exclusive, and only double the price.â
The group laughed, Jaemin shaking his head. âGuess we should be grateful we got a sale-priced classic instead. Maybe weâll get lucky and itâll actually taste good.â
âHey!â Jeno protested, putting on a wounded expression as they turned onto Mark and Yeeriâs street. âOne day youâll all appreciate my refined taste.â
With another round of laughter, the group finally arrived at the doorstep, feeling light and happy as they prepared for the night ahead.
Mark stirred the sauce simmering on the stove, adding a pinch more basil as Yunhee sliced fresh herbs beside him. The kitchen was filled with the rich aromas of their cooking, and they exchanged small smiles as they worked in comfortable rhythm.
The doorbell rang, and Yunhee glanced at the clock. âSomeoneâs earlyâ she murmured, wiping her hands on a towel as she walked to the door.
She opened it to find Renjun standing there, a small box of pastries balanced in his hands and an easy smile on his face. âBrought dessertâ he announced, stepping inside as she welcomed him with a warm hug.
âYouâre a lifesaverâ she said, guiding him into the kitchen. âMark was worried I might have to make my own pastries, and we all know how that wouldâve turned out.â
Mark raised his hands in mock defense. âHey, I was all for a backup plan. Just didnât want the dessert to be⌠a learning experience.â
Renjun laughed, setting the pastries on the counter. âWell, Iâm here to save the day.â
Yunhee smirked, giving a glass of wine to the boy, catching Markâs amused glance. âSoâŚJunnie, letâs talk about you little love life mh? Iâve been trying to introduce you to my friend Hana, and you bailed out the last time I invited you two to coffee. Youâve got to give her a chanceâsheâs perfect for you!â
Renjun shook his head, chuckling. âPerfect, huh? Yunhee, i know sheâs probably nice, but it just⌠didnât feel right. Plus, you know Iâm terrible with setups. Iâd rather meet someone by chance, not like itâs an appointment.â
Mark chuckled, nodding in agreement. âCâmon baby heâs right, quit playing cupid and let him enjoy his freedom while he still canâ
Yunhee raised her eyebrows looking at her fiancĂŠ. âMarkie what do you mean by that mh?â
The latter was quick to shake his head. âNothing, my love, of course.â
The three of them started to laugh before Yunhee leaned back against the counter, smirking. âAlright, enough about Renjunâs future. What do we think about Chenleâs mystery date tonight? Heâs been so secretive.â
Mark raised his eyebrows. âIâm betting sheâs someone new around here. He wouldnât give up any details, and itâs strange, you know how he is- always yapping about everythingâ
Renjun leaned against the counter too, thinking. âWell, if heâs bringing her to meet everyone, sheâs got to be someone special. Or at least, someone he thinks can handle this bunch.â
Yunhee grinned. âWell, letâs hope she knows what sheâs getting into. I feel like if sheâs too shy, she might just make a run for it.â
At that moment, the doorbell rang, and Jaeminâs voice called from the other side. âHellooo, are we still welcome?â
Yunhee grinned, dashing over to let them in. Jaemin and Soyul, along with Jeno and Daeun, stood at the entrance, bundled in scarves and coats, with Jeno proudly holding the bottle of wine. They each gave hugs all around before peeling off layers, handing their coats to Yun.
âWe brought wine!â Jeno announced, holding up the bottle like a prize.
âAnd he spent way too long picking it outâ Daeun teased, giving him a playful nudge.
Jaemin smirked. âShould be glad itâs not a box of cheap beer.â
As they joined everyone in the kitchen, Soyul shot a curious look at the group. âSo, we were trying to guess, what kind of girl do you think Chenleâs bringing?â
Mark crossed his arms, sighing. âRenjun thinks sheâs got to be special to handle us. Otherwise, Chenle wouldnât bother even dare to introduce her.â
Jeno shook his head, amused. âMaybe sheâs just a decoyâheâs bringing her in so we donât bother him about settling down. You know how he likes to mess with us.â
The room filled with laughter, just as another knock echoed from the door. Before Yunhee could answer, it swung open, and Haechan and Chinsun entered, both looking slightly flushed and disheveled. Haechan was grinning wide, while Chinsun scanned the room a bit embarassed before her gaze started lighting up the moment it fell on Renjun.
âRenjun!â Chinsun exclaimed, her face brightening as she hurried over to him. She wrapped him in an warm hug, her laugh light as she pulled back. âI didnât think youâd get here before us! This is a rare sight.â
Renjun returned her smile. âWell, I had to beat you to the food somehowâ he teased, feeling the slight blush creeping into his cheeks.
âOh pleaseâ she replied with a laugh, her hand lingering on his arm for just a moment longer than necessary.
Mark and Jaemin exchanged a quick, knowing glance, amused at Chinsunâs enthusiasm. Haechan, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow at her, his usual playful smirk returning as he slipped an arm around her waist. âCareful, babyâyouâre making it sound like Renjunâs your date.â
Chinsun rolled her eyes. âOh, hush. Iâm just happy to see everyone. Now, what were yâall were gossiping about?â
Jaemin chuckled, nudging Haechanâs shoulder. âWe were actually placing bets on whether youâd show up at all. Or if youâd just call it a night in the car.â
Haechan feigned offense, crossing his arms. âExcuse me, weâre responsible adults. Weâd never show up late⌠without a good reason.â
Yunhee shot him a playful glare, giving him a light slap on the arm. âYouâre incorrigible, you know that?â
Haechan grinned at her. âOh, come on, you wouldnât love me any other way.â
The group laughed, and as everyone settled into the cozy kitchen, the talk naturally returned to Chenleâs mystery date.
âKnowing Chenle, heâs probably picked someone who can throw some shade right back at him,â Jaemin said thoughtfully. âHeâd get bored with anyone who canât keep up with his jokes.â
Daeun raised her glass. âThatâs why Iâm hoping sheâs someone whoâll make Chenle nervous for a change.â
âOr someone whoâll give us a good story,â Haechan added with a smirk. âI donât know, Iâm expecting something outrageous.â
Yunhee raised an eyebrow at him. âBe nice. Donât make her feel like sheâs on trial.â
Haechan grinned, unfazed. âCome on, Yunhee, weâre all curious. Besides, isnât it what else are friends for?â
With laughter and glasses raised, the group settled into the easy flow of conversation, waiting to see just what surprises the night would bring.
The kitchen buzzed with chatter as Mark, Yunhee and their friends huddled around, everyone passing theories back and forth about Chenleâs mystery date. Glasses clinked as Haechan cracked one last joke.
Just then the doorbell rang, and in an instant, the group went quiet, eyes widening. Soyul clutched Jaeminâs arm, and Daeun leaned forward, excitement lighting up her face.
âAlright, moment of truth!â Jeno whispered.
Yunhee looked Mark. âWell, what are you waiting for? Go answer it!â
With an amused grin, the said boy made his way to the door, the rest of the group following closely behind him, crowding together as if each wanted to be the first to lay eyes on Chenleâs mystery girl. Mark took a deep breath, adding to the suspense, before pulling open the door with a dramatic flourish.
But standing on the doorstep, looking slightly taken aback by the crowd gathered in the doorway, there was Chenleâcompletely and utterly alone, with only a bottle of whiskey in hand.
âHey, everyone!â he said, smiling and giving a small wave.
An exaggerated groan came from Haechan as he dramatically slapped his forehead. âChenle, are you serious? Iâve been holding my breath here!â
Daeun put her hands on her hips, her expression somewhere between exasperation and amusement. âJust you?â
Chenle looked around, his gaze moving from one disappointed face to another. âWhoa, did I walk into some kind of intervention? Whatâs with the whole welcoming committee?â
Yunhee stepped forward, unable to hold back a chuckle. She gave him a warm hug, patting his back with a sigh. âWe thought youâd be bringing someone special! Donât tell me you left us hanging on purpose?â
Chenle chuckled, hugging her back. âHey, itâs not like I planned this just to mess with you all!â
âCouldâve fooled usâ Jaemin teased, crossing his arms. âWith all that build-up, we thought you were finally bringing your big mystery girl.â
Chenle sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. âAlright, alrightâlet me explain. I was supposed to bring someone. Her nameâs Jiul, but she came down with a fever this afternoon. She really wanted to come, but she could barely get out of bed.â
âRightâŚâ Haechan raised an eyebrow, shooting him a skeptical look. âAnd Iâm supposed to believe youâre not just making up some imaginary girlfriend because you love a good mystery?â
Chenle snorted, rolling his eyes. âI swear, Haechan, sheâs not imaginary. I might be dramatic, but even I wouldnât go that far!â
Daeun let out a soft laugh and stepped forward, giving him a playful punch on the arm. âWe were all looking forward to meeting her, you know. Poor girlâshe doesnât know what sheâs in for if sheâs dating you.â
Chenle shrugged, giving her a grin. âWell, youâll meet her soon enough. Trust me, if sheâd known you were all waiting at the door like this, she mightâve dragged herself over just to avoid becoming a ghost story.â
âNext time, Chenle,â Soyul added, giving him a quick, warm hug. âYouâre bringing her, no excuses.â
Chenle raised his hands in surrender. âDeal, deal! Iâll bring her next time. Just donât scare her off before I get the chance to introduce her, okay?â
Finally stepping aside from the crowd Mark took the bottle of whiskey, reading the label with an approving nod. âThis, at least, is impressive. Itâs like you read my mind.â
âWell, figured Iâd make up for the lack of a plus-one,â Chenle said with a shrug, grinning as he accepted a glass from Yunhee. âBesides, you all donât need my dating life as your only form of entertainment. Iâm sure Haechanâs got plenty of wild stories to share tonight.â
The group laughed, and Haechan flashed a cocky grin. âI always bring the entertainment, Chenle. But Iâll give you a breakâthis time.â
Once the group had gathered back in the kitchen, Haechan leaning comfortably against the counter, Jaemin shot Chenle a curious look. âAlright, now that youâre here and Jiulâs off the hook for tonight, youâve got to tell us a bit more about her.â
âYeah,â Mark chimed in, raising an eyebrow with a half-smile. âYouâve been suspiciously quiet about this girl.â
Chenle leaned against the counter, a smirk playing on his lips as he took a sip of his drink. âWell, you all know how I like to keep things interesting. But letâs just say Jiulâs⌠different. Sheâs got this thing where she somehow manages to keep up with my jokes, even throw them back at me. Thatâs rare.â
Jaemin raised his glass, nodding. âSounds like sheâs got your number already.â
âOh, trust me,â Chenle said with a chuckle. âSheâs more than capable of keeping me on my toes. Sheâs a bit quiet at first, but once she opens upâŚâ He paused, shaking his head with a smile. âYeah, sheâs something else.â
Mark leaned back, folding his arms. âQuiet, huh? Think sheâll be able to handle this crew?â
Chenle shrugged, his grin widening. âGuess weâll have to find out. But if she can survive meeting all of you, Iâll take it as a good sign.â
Haechan snorted, looking amused. âWell, as long as she knows sheâs dating the most mysterious guy in town.â
Chenle chuckled, rolling his eyes. âAlright, alrightâkeep the mystery jokes coming. But Iâm serious, youâll all meet her soon enough.â
Just then, Yunhee lifted her glass. âTo Jiulâs speedy recovery. And to finally meeting the mystery woman next time!â
The group slowly moved toward the dining table, carrying their drinks and chatting animatedly. Haechan, true to form, was already throwing out playful remarks as he trailed behind Chinsun, who was straightening her hair after the rush to get there.
âAlright, everyone, letâs get this dinner started before Soyulâs cats call animal services on Jaemin for neglectâ he teased, earning a laugh from Soyul and a glare from Jaemin.
Jaemin waved him off, grumbling under his breath. âTheyâre perfectly fine. And unlike you, Haechan, they actually like me.â
âAre you sure about that?â Haechan fired back with a smirk as he pulled out a chair for Chinsun, who patted his cheek as if rewarding a child for good behavior.
âSit down and behave,â she said lightly, though her grin gave away her amusement.
Once everyone was seated, the conversation shifted to updates on their lives.
âHowâs the clinic been, Chinsun?â Yunhee asked, passing the bread basket.
âBusy but goodâ Chinsun replied. âWeâve had a lot of emergency cases this weekâmostly dogs who think eating socks is a fun challenge.â
âThatâs because it isâ Haechan quipped. âIf I were a dog, Iâd totally try it.â
Renjun shook his head with a laugh. âYouâve got the mindset for it, Iâll give you that.â
âWhat about you, Mark?â Jeno asked. âStill reshaping faces for a living?â
Mark chuckled. âYeah, the clinicâs been crazy. But youâd be surprised how many people donât realize they canât heal overnight. I had a patient last week who wanted to run a marathon a day after rhinoplasty.â
âShe didnât!â Soyul gasped.
âOh, she didâ Mark said, nodding solemnly. âWe had to convince her that, no, her nose would not stay on her face if she ran 42 kilometers.â
The group burst into laughter, and Daeun added, âI feel like your job is part surgery, part babysitting.â
Yunhee smiled knowingly. âItâs pretty similar to therapy sometimes, too. People want a quick fix without doing the real work.â
As the laughter ebbed, Renjun glanced at the clock on the wall. âBy the way, is anyone planning to watch the eclipse tonight? Itâs supposed to peak in an hour or so.â
Yunheeâs face lit up. âThatâs the whole point of tonightâs dinner! Mark and I thought itâd be nice to make an event of it. Food, drinks, and a cosmic show.â
Jaemin raised a hand as if in mock protest. âWait, I thought Chenleâs mystery girlfriend was the real purpose of tonight.â
The table broke into another round of laughter as Chenle groaned, sinking dramatically in his chair. âIâll never live this down, will I?â
âNot a chanceâ Daeun replied with a grin.
Chinsun leaned forward, seizing the moment to ask â So, Soyul, how are the cats doing? I saw your latest post, and they looked so adorable!â Chinsun asked with genuine excitement, clasping her hands together.
Soyulâs face lit up. âOh, theyâre doing amazing! Luna just learned how to open the treat drawer, so Iâve basically lost control of my kitchen. And Minhoâwell, heâs still his lazy self, lounging around like heâs royalty.â
Jaemin groaned, leaning back in his chair. âI swear, those two get more attention than I do.â
âYouâre not wrongâ Soyul teased, her grin widening. âBut can you blame me? Theyâre perfect.â
âPerfectly spoiledâ Jaemin muttered, though his soft smile betrayed his playful jealousy.
âTheyâre basically your childrenâ Chinsun said, leaning forward eagerly. âItâs like having babies, isnât it? You feed them, you worry about them, and they even wake you up in the middle of the night!â
Soyul nodded enthusiastically. âExactly! Theyâre like little furry toddlers.â
Yunhee chimed in, her tone reflective. âAnimals really are like kids. They depend on you completely, and you get so attached. Sometimes I think having a pet is good practice for when youâre ready for the real thing.â
This comment shifted the energy at the table. A pause hung in the air before Haechan, never one to let things get too serious, leaned forward with a smirk. âSpeaking of kidsâhow many of you are planning on having them?â
Jaemin and Jeno exchanged a quick, almost imperceptible glance before Jaemin replied, âNot us. At least, not anytime soon.â
Jeno nodded in agreement. âYeah, same here. Weâre just⌠not really into the idea right now.â
Daeun looked at Jeno, her brows furrowing slightly. âI didnât know you felt that way. Weâve never really talked about it.â
Soyul glanced at Jaemin, her lips pressing into a line. âYeah⌠same here.â
Sensing the tension creeping in, Mark cleared his throat. âIâve always wanted kids. Itâs just a matter of timing, I guess.â
âSameâ Haechan said with a grin, reaching over to take Chinsunâs hand. âAnd, for the record, I think Chinsun would look absolutely stunning with a little baby bump. I mean, imagineâsheâd be the cutest mom ever.â
Chinsunâs cheeks flushed as she swatted him lightly. âHaechan! Donât start embarrassing me.â
âIâm just speaking the truthâ Haechan said, leaning back smugly. âYouâd glow, babe. Like, literally.â
The group laughed, the tension easing as the conversation drifted back into lighter territory.
âYouâd glow because youâd be sweating from how much work it is,â Chenle quipped, leaning back with a smug grin. âHonestly, I donât get the whole âhaving kidsâ thing. Everyone acts like itâs the ultimate goal, but letâs be realâitâs not like having a child completes your life or anything.â
His comment drew a mix of reactions. Haechan raised an eyebrow, clearly amused, while Yunheeâs eyes narrowed slightly in curiosity. Soyul and Daeun exchanged surprised glances, and Mark simply sipped his wine, waiting to see where the conversation would go.
It was Renjun who spoke first, his voice calm but firm. âThatâs a bit harsh, donât you think? Just because itâs not something you want doesnât mean itâs not meaningful for other people.â
Chenle shrugged. âIâm not saying people shouldnât have kids. Iâm just saying the idea that you need them to live a fulfilling life is outdated. Look at meâIâm perfectly happy without any of that responsibility weighing me down.â
Renjun leaned forward, his expression thoughtful. âBut donât you think thereâs value in building something that lasts? Kids arenât just about fulfilling some societal expectationâtheyâre about connection, legacy, and love.â
Chenle raised an eyebrow. âLegacy? Love? I donât need a tiny version of me running around to prove I can leave a mark on the world.â
âMaybe,â Renjun countered, his tone softening slightly, âbut having a child isnât just about leaving a mark. Itâs about giving a piece of yourself to someone else and watching them grow into their own person. Itâs about creating a bond thatâs unlike anything else.â
Chinsun nodded in agreement, her expression warm as she looked at Renjun. âThatâs a beautiful way to put it. Iâve always thought that raising a child could be one of the most rewarding things you can do.â
âExactly,â Renjun said, his gaze still on Chenle. âItâs not for everyone, sure. But itâs not just about completing your lifeâitâs about enriching theirs, too.â
Chenle rolled his eyes but smiled faintly. âAlright, alright, Mr. Philosopher. Youâve made your point. But Iâm sticking to my no-kid policy, thanks.â
âWowâ Yunhee said, glancing at Chenle with mock disapproval. âRemind me not to leave you alone with my hypothetical children.â
âDonât worry, you wonât have toâ Chenle said with a grin.
The laughter around the table eventually simmered as the conversation drifted into quieter territory. It was Renjun who broke the lull with a sigh. âDid anyone hear about Jaehyun? Poor guyâs been through it lately.â
Mark glanced up from his drink, frowning. âYeah, I did. He found out his girlfriend was cheating, right?â
âFound out by accident, tooâ Renjun added. âApparently, he glanced at her phone while she was showing him something, and bamâtexts from another guy. Can you imagine?â
âHonestly, thatâs the worst,â Daeun said, shaking her head. âNot just the cheating but finding out like that. It mustâve been a punch to the gut.â
Chenle leaned back with a sympathetic smirk. âItâs like phones have become the black box of our lives. They hold all the secrets, good and bad.â
Mark nodded thoughtfully, swirling his wine glass. âItâs true, though. Our phones probably know more about us than the people closest to us. Messages, emails, photos, bank details⌠even things we donât consciously remember. Itâs like a digital diary we forget to lock.â
âOr a digital Pandoraâs boxâ Jaemin said, earning murmurs of agreement around the table.
Yunhee, who had been listening intently, suddenly leaned forward with a mischievous glint in her eye. âYou know⌠this reminds me of something I saw in a movie recently. What if we played a game?â
The table perked up at the word game.
âWhat kind of game?â Haechan asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
Yunhee grinned. âEveryone puts their phones on the table for the entire night. Any texts, calls, or notifications that come inâwe share them with the group. We read the messages aloud, listen to the calls on speaker, everything. Total transparency.â
The room fell silent for a moment, the idea hanging in the air like an unspoken dare.
âThat soundsâŚâ Jeno began, his brow furrowing. â⌠invasive.â
âAnd unnecessaryâ Mark added quickly, his discomfort evident.
Haechan laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck. âYeah, uh, Iâm not sure Iâm on board with that. Itâs not that I have anything to hide, butâŚâ
âBut what?â Chinsun cut in, her tone teasing as she raised an eyebrow. âAfraid weâll find out about your secret second family or something?â
Haechan pointed a finger at her, feigning offense. âDonât start, babe. My lifeâs an open book. Itâs justâdo we really need to dig into each otherâs phones to have a good time?â
âI agreeâ Jeno said, leaning back in his chair. âPrivacy is important. Itâs not about having secretsâitâs about boundaries.â
Jaemin, however, couldnât resist poking fun at his friend. âSounds like youâve got something to hide, Jeno. Whatâs in there? A secret Candy Crush addiction?â
Jeno shot him a look, his jaw tightening. âDonât start, Jaemin. Unlike you, I donât feel the need to broadcast my entire life to everyone.â
The tension between them sparked briefly before Renjun jumped in with a soothing tone. âCome on, itâs just a game. It doesnât have to mean anything. If weâre all good friends, whatâs there to worry about? Itâs not like anyone here is hiding anything serious⌠right?â
Renjunâs words hung in the air, and one by one, the group exchanged hesitant glances.
âFineâ Mark sighed, clearly resigned. âIf everyoneâs doing it, Iâll do it too.â
Haechan groaned dramatically. âThis is peer pressure. I hope you all know that.â
âIâll take that as a yesâ Chinsun said with a grin, sliding her phone onto the table.
Jeno hesitated, his lips pressed into a thin line, but Daeun nudged him playfully. âCome on, Jeno. Live a little.â
With a resigned huff, Jeno placed his phone down next to Chinsunâs, muttering something under his breath about regretting this later.
Finally, one by one, everyone added their phones to the pile in the center of the table.
âThereâ Yunhee said with a satisfied smile. âNow weâre all on equal footing. Letâs see whoâs brave enough to go first when something comes in.â
Before anyone could respond, Soyul glanced toward the window, her eyes widening. âHey! The eclipse is starting!â
The group immediately stood, wine glasses in hand, and moved to the balcony to watch the celestial event unfold.
The moon hung low in the sky, its bright silver glow slowly dimming as the Earthâs shadow crept across its surface. The conversation quieted as they all gazed upward, the air filled with a rare sense of awe and tranquility.
âIs it just me, or does everything feel⌠surreal right now?â Daeun murmured, leaning against Jeno.
âItâs not just you,â Jaemin replied, his voice softer than usual.
As the shadow consumed more of the moon, Haechan broke the silence with a playful nudge at Chenle. âSo, Chenle, is this where your mystery girlfriend was supposed to make a grand entrance? Under the moonlight?â
Chenle rolled his eyes, but his smirk betrayed his amusement. âVery funny. I think Iâll enjoy the moon more without any distractions, thanks.â
Mark chuckled. âLetâs just hope this night doesnât turn into an eclipse of our friendships once the phones start buzzing.â
The group laughed lightly, the tension from earlier melting into the cool night air.
The group slowly made their way back to the dining room, the warm light inside contrasting with the cool, dark night outside. They settled into their seats once again, still buzzing from the beauty of the eclipse. Glasses were refilled, and the conversation naturally shifted to lighter, nostalgic topics as they relaxed into the evening.
âYou know,â Haechan began, leaning back in his chair with a smug grin, âweâve all grown up so much, but letâs not forgetâI used to be the king of our little circle back in the day.â
âOh, here we goâ Mark muttered, rolling his eyes with a smile.
âNo, no, let him cook.â Jaemin said, laughing as he folded his arms. âI wanna hear this version of history.â
âI was the guyâ Haechan continued dramatically, ignoring the interruptions. âThe life of every party. The charmer. Theââ
âThe biggest headacheâ Mark interjected with a snort.
âThat, too.â Renjun chimed in, grinning. âRemember how many times we had to cover for you when youâd ghost some poor girl at a party?â
Haechan feigned offense, placing a hand on his chest. âExcuse me, ghosting is such a strong word. I simply⌠diversified my options.â
âDiversified?â Chinsun repeated with a raised eyebrow. âAnd yet, here you are, stuck with me.â
ââStuckâ is the wrong wordâ Haechan said smoothly, slipping his arm around her. âIâd say I retired from the game because I found my MVP.â
The table groaned collectively at his cheesy line, but Chinsun blushed nonetheless.
âYou werenât the only one with âgame,â thoughâ Renjun said, turning to Jaemin. âMr. Cool over here wasnât too bad himself.â
Jaemin smirked, shrugging casually. âWhat can I say? Some of us donât need to try too hard.â
âPleaseâ Jeno scoffed, shaking his head. âThe only reason you didnât need to try too hard was because I was always stuck as your wingman. And let me tell you, your success came at my expense more times than I can count.â
Jaemin laughed, holding up his hands in mock surrender. âOkay, okay, thatâs fair. But hey, it all worked out, right? We ended up with the two best friends. Perfect symmetry.â
Soyul and Daeun exchanged a knowing glance, their eyebrows raised. âAnd you two donât find that a little suspicious?â Soyul teased.
âNot at allâ Jaemin said confidently, draping an arm around Soyulâs chair. âItâs destiny. A natural alignment of the stars.â
âYou mean of the drinksâ Daeun joked, nudging Jeno playfully. âIâm pretty sure destiny was just a lot of late-night outings and bad pick-up lines.â
âYou wound meâ Jeno said, placing a hand over his heart in mock pain.
âAnd then thereâs Mark and Renjunâ Haechan said, pointing his fork at them with a mischievous grin. âOur very own nerd squad.â
âHey!â Mark and Renjun protested in unison, drawing laughter from everyone else.
âItâs trueâ Haechan insisted, leaning forward. âThese two were impossible to drag out. Mark was always studying or working on some project, and Renjun was, what, painting or reading about obscure history?â
âExcuse meâ Renjun said with mock indignation, âI had a social life.â
âSureâ Haechan teased, âas long as it involved trivia nights or art galleries.â
Mark laughed, shaking his head. âOkay, fine, we werenât exactly the party animals of the group. But we had our moments.â
ââMoments,ââ Haechan echoed, grinning. âLike when I had to physically drag you to that one party because you refused to leave your textbook?â
âThat wasnât my fault!â Mark protested. âIt was finals week, and you wouldnât take no for an answer.â
âThatâs because Yunhee begged me to bring you outâ Haechan said, smirking. âShe had the biggest crush on you.â
Yunhee blushed, narrowing her eyes at him. âDid you have to tell everyone that?â
âCome on, itâs cute!â Haechan said, laughing.
âIt was also embarrassing,â Yunhee admitted, shaking her head. âI was into this guy who barely noticed me unless we were talking about something academic. And when he did come to parties, he just stood in the corner with a drink, looking like he wanted to go home.â
Mark chuckled sheepishly. âI wasnât exactly the most social person back then.â
âYou werenât social at all,â Yunhee teased. âBut I guess it worked out in the end.â
âMeanwhile,â Chenle cut in, grinning, âI was the reason we even had parties to talk about. Admit itâmy house was the spot.â
âOh, absolutelyâ Jaemin said. âYour parties were legendary.â
âLegendary is putting it lightlyâ Renjun added. âRemember that Halloween party where someone brought a fog machine and accidentally set off the fire alarm?â
Chenle laughed, his eyes lighting up at the memory. âYeah, and we all had to evacuate in full costumes. Iâll never forget Haechan running outside in his inflatable dinosaur suit.â
âIt was the look of the night.â Haechan said proudly.
The girls listened intently as the guys reminisced, chiming in occasionally with laughter or disbelief.
âAnd the Christmas party where Mark fell asleep on the couch because he had too much of Chenleâs grandpa gin?â Jaemin added.
âClassicâ Haechan said, shaking his head.
âI was tiredâ Mark defended, though his grin gave him away.
The stories flowed easily, filling the room with warmth and nostalgia as they recounted their wild, carefree days. Each memory was met with laughter, teasing, and the occasional exaggerated retelling, the bonds between them growing all the more evident with every shared anecdote.
As the laughter from their previous conversation subsided, a distinct ping rang out in the room, drawing everyoneâs attention.
âWhoâs the lucky first?â Haechan asked, grinning mischievously as he leaned forward.
Renjun, sitting at the far end of the table, pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen. His expression didnât change much, but the way he hesitated to speak piqued everyoneâs curiosity.
âWell?â Yunhee prompted, her eyes narrowing playfully. âWhat is it? Donât keep us in suspense.â
âItâs nothingâ Renjun said, placing his phone face down on the table.
âOh no, you donât get to say ânothing,ââ Haechan teased, reaching across the table as though to snatch the phone. Renjun was faster, pulling it away with a smirk.
âItâs not even interestingâ Renjun assured them. âJust some random promotion for the bar under my apartment.â
The table erupted into groans and laughter, with Haechan being the loudest. âA bar promotion? Thatâs the first notification of the night? Renjun, man, youâre supposed to give us something juicy!â
âWhat do you want me to do?!â Renjun said, feigning indignation. âItâs not like I control who texts me. And besides, maybe this is a sign I need to go out more.â
âOr,â Haechan said, leaning back with a grin, âitâs a sign that the highlight of your social life is your landlordâs weekly happy hour.â
Renjun threw a balled-up napkin at him, which Haechan caught midair. âBetter a bar promotion than whatever spam texts youâre probably gettingâ Renjun retorted.
âTouchĂŠâ Haechan admitted, laughing.
The conversation resumed, glasses were raised, and a few jokes flew across the table. Just as things began to settle, though, a chorus of pings echoed through the room, drawing everyoneâs attention again.
This time, it wasnât just one phone.
Mark, Jeno, Chenle, Renjun and Haechan all glanced down at their screens at the same time.
âOkay, what the hell?â Jaemin asked, his tone half-joking but tinged with genuine confusion. âIs there some group chat Iâm not part of?â
âNoâ Mark said quickly, his brow furrowing as he read his message. âItâs just a basketball thing.â
âYeahâ Jeno added, glancing at Jaemin with a sheepish smile. âJohnnyâs organizing a game next weekend.â
âBasketball?â Jaemin repeated, his voice rising slightly. âWhy didnât I get this message?â
The other guys exchanged quick, awkward looks. âItâs not a big dealâ Chenle said, shrugging. âMaybe Johnny forgot to add you?â
âForgot?â Jaemin said, his eyebrows shooting up. âI mean, I get itâIâm not the greatest player. But even Renjun was invited! And he doesnât even play!â
Renjun, who had been quietly sipping his drink, nearly choked. âHey, whatâs that supposed to mean?â
âExactly what it sounds likeâ Jaemin shot back, his arms crossed. âYouâve never even held a basketball, and somehow, you get an invite over me?â
âOkay, first of allâ Renjun said, setting his glass down, âyou donât have to attack me just because Johnny doesnât think you can dunk.â
The table broke into laughter, though Jaemin didnât look entirely amused.
âCome on, Jaemâ Haechan said, clapping his hands. âItâs not personal. Maybe Johnny just assumed youâd be busy or something.â
âYeahâ Mark added, though his voice lacked conviction. âItâs probably just an oversight.â
âAn oversightâ Jaemin repeated flatly, leaning back in his chair. âRight.â
Sensing the tension, Soyul reached over and placed a hand on his arm. âItâs okay, Jaemin. You donât even like playing basketball that much.â
âThatâs not the pointâ Jaemin muttered, moving away from her touch.
Daeun nodded in agreement, her voice soothing. âMaybe itâs just a misunderstanding. Why donât you talk to Johnny about it? Iâm sure he didnât mean to exclude you.â
Jaemin exhaled sharply but nodded. âYeah, maybe.â
Jeno, who had been unusually quiet, cleared his throat. âHey, Jaem. Shall we go get that my bottle of wine?â
Jaemin glanced at him, confused about the timing, then shrugged. âSure.â
The two of them got up and moved to the kitchen, leaving the others to continue chatting.
Jeno hesitated before speaking, scratching the back of his neck. âLook, about the basketball thing⌠it wasnât really my call. Johnnyâs the one who made the list.â
âJohnny,â Jaemin repeated, his tone skeptical.
âYeahâ Jeno said quickly. âI swear, I didnât even know he was putting it together until I got the text. If Iâd known, I wouldâve made sure you were invited.â
Jaemin stared at him for a moment, then sighed. âItâs not that big of a deal, I guess. Itâs justââ
âYou feel left outâ Jeno finished for him, his voice soft.
Jaemin nodded, his posture relaxing slightly. âYeah. I mean, weâre supposed to be friends, right?â
âOf course we are.â Jeno said firmly. âAnd Iâll talk to Johnny about it, okay? You shouldâve been on that list, no question.â
Jaemin looked at him for a moment longer, then smiled. âThanks, man, you know me better than anyone.â
âOf course.â Jeno said, clapping him on the shoulder.
The two of them returned to the table, the tension already resolved. As they sat down, Chenle was in the middle of recounting one of his party stories, the laughter and energy of the group pulling them back into the warmth of the evening.
The conversation inside the house had mellowed into a cozy rhythm, everyone sharing their thoughts on recent movies and books.
âDid anyone see that new space thriller? The one with the impossible black hole scene?â Renjun asked, setting his glass down.
âYeah, and it was painfully unrealistic,â Jeno said, shaking his head. âThey really expect us to believe the ship survived that?â
âItâs science fictionâ Soyul chimed in. âYouâre supposed to suspend disbelief. Besides, the emotional storyline carried it.â
âEmotional?â Haechan leaned back in his chair. âYouâre telling me crying in zero gravity makes up for ignoring basic physics?â
âOnly you would care about physics in a movieâ Daeun teased.
âFine, maybe itâs not for meâ Haechan replied with mock offense. He finished his drink and stood up with a stretch. âOn that note, Iâm calling a cigarette break. Chenle?â
âYeah, why notâ Chenle said, getting up as well.
The two exited to the balcony, Haechan sliding the glass door shut behind them. The cold air hit them immediately, but Haechan seemed unbothered as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. After taking a long drag, he passed the lighter to Chenle, who mirrored his actions.
For a moment, they stood in silence, looking out at the city lights.
Chenle broke the quiet. âAlright, youâre acting weird. Whatâs up?â
Haechan hesitated, flicking ash off the edge of the balcony. âI need a favorâ he finally said.
Chenle turned to him, raising an eyebrow. âFrom me? Thatâs rare. What kind of favor?â
Haechan glanced at the door to ensure no one was listening. âI need to switch phones with you. Just for a little while.â
Chenle blinked, taken aback. âWhat? Why?â
âBecauseâ Haechan said, lowering his voice further, âsomeoneâs going to send me a picture in about half an hour, and⌠letâs just say itâs better if Chinsun doesnât see it.â
Chenle stared at him, cigarette paused mid-air. âYouâre serious?â
âDead serious.â Haechan replied, taking another drag.
Chenle leaned against the railing, his expression growing more incredulous by the second. âWhat kind of picture are we talking about here?â
âYou know.â Haechan said, his tone evasive.
Chenle gave him a flat look. âHaechan. What kind of picture?â
âA⌠personal one,â Haechan muttered, his gaze fixed on the glowing tip of his cigarette.
Chenle groaned, rubbing his temple. âYouâve got to be kidding me. Youâre risking everything with that girl over nudes?â
âShhh!â Haechan hissed, waving his hands in panic. âKeep your voice down!â
Chenle sighed, exhaling a puff of smoke. âUnbelievable. Who is she?â
Haechan hesitated again, shifting uncomfortably.
âDonât tell meâŚâ Chenle said, his tone sharpening as realization dawned. âItâs Markâs sister, isnât it?â
Haechan didnât respond immediately, but the small, mischievous grin that crept onto his face was answer enough.
Chenle groaned louder this time, throwing his hands up. âYouâre out of your mind! If Mark finds out, youâre dead.â
âHeâs not going to find outâ Haechan said confidently. âWeâre discreet. Besides, sheâs the one sending the picture, not me.â
âWow, what a great excuse,â Chenle said sarcastically. âDo you even hear yourself? This is a terrible idea.â
âLookâ Haechan said, leaning closer, âSheâs always had a little thing for me, you know that.â
âThat doesnât mean you should encourage it!â Chenle scolded. âMark is one of your best friends. How do you think heâd feel about you messing with his sister?â
âIâm not messing with herâ Haechan argued.
Chenle stared at him, shaking his head. âYouâre unbelievable.â
âPlease, Chenle.â Haechan said, his tone shifting to one of genuine desperation. âIâm begging you. Just this once. Itâs harmless, I swear.â
Chenle hesitated, clearly torn. He took one last drag from his cigarette before tossing it into the ashtray. âThis is such a bad idea, Iâm telling youâ he said finally. âBut fine. Iâll help you. Donât make me regret this.â
âYou wonâtâ Haechan said, relief washing over him. âThank you, man. I owe you.â
Chenle rolled his eyes as he turned to slide the door open. âYeah, yeah. Just remember, when this blows up in your face, I told you so.â
As Chenle stepped back inside, leaving the door ajar, Haechan stayed behind, staring out at the city with a mix of relief and unease. He took one last puff of his cigarette before letting it die, his thoughts racing as he trued to convince himself that everything would work out.
The air inside had warmed considerably, filled with the clinking of glasses, faint laughter, and the soft hum of conversation. Most of the group had gravitated toward the kitchen, where Mark and Yunhee busily orchestrated the next course. Renjun and Chinsun, however, remained in the living room, seated comfortably on their seats, engaged in a quiet conversation.
âYouâve always been good with people,â Chinsun said with a warm smile, her gaze steady on Renjun. âItâs no wonder the kids in your music workshops like you so much.â
Renjun rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. âI think itâs less about me and more about music. Kids just need a way to express themselves, you know?â
Chinsun leaned forward slightly, her eyes sparkling with genuine interest. âItâs still a talent, though. Not everyone has that ability to connect.â
Just then, the balcony door slid open, and Haechan stepped back inside, brushing the cold air off his sleeves. He immediately caught sight of the scene and quirked an eyebrow.
âWow, you two look cozyâ Haechan said, his voice laced with playful sarcasm. He crossed his arms and leaned casually against the doorway. âShould I be worried?â
Chinsun didnât even flinch, rolling her eyes as she turned toward him. âShut up, Haechanâ she said, a hint of exasperation in her tone.
âHey, Iâm just saying,â he replied with an exaggerated shrug, though his eyes lingered a little longer on Renjun before he finally walked past them into the kitchen.
And before this, without being noticed (or so he thought) he successfully switched phones with Chenle.
Daeun and Soyul stood near the counter, half-hidden behind a column, their glasses in hand. From their vantage point, they had a clear view of Haechanâs expression as he glanced over at Chinsun and Renjun.
âDid you see that?â Daeun whispered, tilting her head toward the living room.
Soyul smirked, her lips barely moving. âHeâs so jealous, itâs almost funny.â
Daeun narrowed her eyes slightly. âDo you think Chinsun has a thing for Renjun?â
Soyul shook her head after a momentâs thought. âNo way. Sheâs just naturally warm with everyone. And letâs be honestâRenjun is so clueless about stuff like that.â
Daeun chuckled. âTrue. And Haechanâs possessiveness is basically part of his personality. Still, itâs kind of cute, jealousy looks good on himâ
Their quiet observations were interrupted as the others began filtering back into the kitchen. Plates and trays were passed around, Mark working diligently to ensure everything was perfect for the meal. The room buzzed with chatter about favorite dishes, the best way to cook steak, and Markâs secret marinade recipe.
Once everyone returned to the dining table, the conversation shifted to lighter topics.
Mark, ever the gracious host, served up plates of food while Yunhee teased him about his near-obsessive attention to detail.
âSo, Mark,â Jaemin said, leaning back in his chair. âYou really couldâve been a chef. Why didnât you go for it?â
Mark shrugged modestly. âCookingâs a hobby. Turning it into a career mightâve taken the fun out of it.â
Yunhee rolled her eyes playfully. âPlease, he says that, but heâd probably be a world-famous chef by now if he tried.â
Renjun chimed in, âHonestly, Mark, you should start a cooking blog or something. Share your recipes with the world.â
âThen weâd lose the exclusivity,â Soyul interjected with a grin. âI donât want everyone knowing Markâs secrets.â
The group laughed, the energy light and playfulâuntil a phone buzzed loudly on the table, drawing everyoneâs attention.
The phoneâs screen lit up, displaying the name Monique.
All eyes turned to Chenle, whose âphoneâ sat innocently on the table.
Chenle stiffened immediately, his hand darting out to grab the phone. âNothing to see hereâ he said quickly, trying to play it off.
But Yunhee was faster. âWait a secondâ she said, her eyes narrowing. âMonique? Isnât that Markâs sister?â
A collective gasp rippled through the table. Haechan froze, his face carefully blank as he avoided looking directly at anyone.
Chenle glanced briefly at Haechan, his expression screaming help me, but Haechan offered no assistance. With a deep breath, Chenle forced a sheepish grin. âYeah, um⌠weâve been reconnecting lately.â
âReconnecting?â Mark repeated, his voice low and skeptical. His fork paused mid-air, his knuckles tightening slightly.
Jaemin leaned forward, grinning like a kid about to witness chaos. âOpen the message, Chenle. Letâs see what she sent.â
âJaemin!â Daeun scolded, though her curiosity was just as evident in her eyes.
Chenle hesitated, clearly torn. But under the weight of everyoneâs stares, he reluctantly unlocked the phone and opened the message. His face went beet red as he saw the photo: a sultry, carefully posed picture of Markâs sister.
âWhoaâ he breathed, his eyes wide with shock.
Immediately, Jaemin and Renjun crowded around to see, while Soyul and Daeun leaned over curiously. Yunhee covered her mouth, stifling a gasp.
âChenle.â Mark snapped, his tone sharp. âHow long has this been going on?â
âJust⌠a few monthsâ Chenle said weakly, shrinking under Markâs glare.
âAnd how long were you planning on keeping this from me?â Mark demanded, his voice rising.
Before Chenle could answer, Daeun interjected, âWhat about Jiul? Isnât she your girlfriend?â
Chenle opened his mouth, floundering for an answer, when Haechan finally spoke up.
âLook, the guy finally has some gameâ Haechan said, his tone breezy as he leaned back in his chair. âCan we give him a little credit?â
The comment earned a mixture of gasps and laughter, though Markâs expression remained stormy. Yunhee, however, was quick to step in.
âMark, relaxâ she said firmly. âYour sisterâs an adult. Let her live her life.â
Mark muttered something under his breath, but he reluctantly leaned back in his chair, though his jaw remained tight.
Chenle, meanwhile, shot a glare at Haechan, who merely smirked back at him, clearly unbothered by the chaos heâd created.
Moments later Chinsun glanced at his watch, his expression shifting to one of excitement. âHey, itâs time! The full eclipse should be happening right now.â
Everyone murmured in agreement, standing up from their chairs and moving toward the balcony once more. The cool night air greeted them as they stepped outside, the moon now completely cloaked in shadow, casting an eerie, beautiful darkness across the sky.
Mark leaned against the railing, gazing up at the celestial phenomenon. âItâs incredible,â he said, his voice quiet but reflective. âThe moonâs always there, but we only ever see one side of it. This is one of those rare times the shadow makes it feel⌠complete.â
Renjun nodded, equally captivated by the view. âItâs like the earth is revealing its own truth. The light we always chase is just an illusion. Itâs the shadows that really show us who we are.â
âLeave it to you two philosophers to turn a pretty moon into an existential crisisâ Jaemin joked, breaking the momentary silence.
The group chuckled, and Chinsun, inspired by the occasion, clapped her hands together. âThis is too good to miss! Letâs take a photo.â
Everyone gathered around her, smiling and adjusting their positions. âChenle, hereâ she said, handing him her phone. âYouâve got long armsâtake the picture.â
Chenle took the phone with a grin. âAlright, everyone squeeze in. Ready? One, twoââ
A sudden notification interrupted him, a message popping up at the top of the screen:
Sunghoon: Hi.
The screen glowed with the name, drawing a moment of awkward silence as everyone caught sight of it.
âWhoâs Sunghoon?â Chenle asked, raising an eyebrow.
âYeah, whoâs that?â Daeun chimed in, her curiosity piqued.
Haechan, standing just behind Chinsun, stiffened immediately. His voice turned sharp as he askedâWhat the fuck does he want now?â
Chinsun waved it off, her tone casual but her expression betraying her discomfort. âNo one important. Letâs just take the picture.â
Chenle glanced at her skeptically but lifted the phone again. âAlright, where were we? One, twoââ
Another message popped up.
Sunghoon: I need you.
The group fell silent again, the tension palpable. Haechan didnât hesitate this time. He stepped forward, snatching the phone from Chenleâs hand.
âWhy the fuck is he texting you this shit?â Haechanâs voice was low but seething, his jaw tight as he looked directly at Chinsun.
Chinsun took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice calm. âHeâs been texting me for two weeks now, but I havenât responded to him at all. You know how much my last relationship broke me. How could you even think Iâd entertain this?â
Haechanâs glare didnât waver. âOh, please. We all know Sunghoon thinks heâs some kind of hotshot. Does he still have that stupid haircut that you liked so much?â
âHaechanâ she snapped, her patience wearing thin. âThatâs not the point.â
The group began to shuffle uncomfortably as the argument escalated.
âIf you donât believe meâ Chinsun said, her voice firm now, âthen call him. Ask him yourself.â
âI donât need to hear you two flirtingâ Haechan spat, his tone laced with venom. âThank you very much.â
The insult stung, and Chinsunâs expression hardened as she yanked her phone back from his grip. Haechan turned away abruptly, grabbing another glass of wine from the table and downing half of it in one go.
Chenle, hesitant but concerned, stepped in. âMaybe you should hear her out first, manââ
âShut up, Chenle.â Haechan snapped, his words cutting.
Mark, now visibly annoyed, intervened. He reached over and took the wine glass from Haechanâs hand. âThatâs enoughâ he said firmly.
The girls, gathering around Chinsun, encouraged her. âJust call himâ Yunhee said softly. âSet things straight. Itâll help.â
Chinsun hesitated but eventually nodded. She dialed the number, her fingers trembling slightly. The phone rang a few times before the call connected.
âFinally, Sunnyâ Sunghoonâs voice, smooth but laced with smugness. âYou decided to call me back. Whatâs the matter? Does your boyfriend not satisfy you anymore?â
Haechanâs grip on the edge of the table tightened, his knuckles white as he held himself back from exploding.
Chinsun, kept her voice steady. âI donât want anything to do with you, Sunghoon. Stop contacting me. Iâm happy with Haechan.â
A low chuckle echoed through the phone. âHeâll never be meâ Sunghoon said arrogantly.
That was the breaking point.
Haechan took the phone from Chinsunâs hand and brought it to his ear. âThank Godâ he said coldly, his voice dripping with disdain. âBecause Iâm so much better, you pathetic fuckass.â
Without waiting for a reply, he hung up and tossed the phone onto the table, the conversation firmly ended.
He didnât say another word, instead walking back to his seat at the dining table and sinking into his chair. The others exchanged uneasy glances before slowly following him back inside, one by one.
The air in the room was thick with tension after the heated exchange between Haechan and Chinsun. Everyone tried to move on, lightening the atmosphere by reminiscing about past vacations.
âSummer vacations are the bestâ Jaemin said, leaning back in his chair with a grin. âNothing beats long days at the beach and bonfire nights.â
âSure, if you like sand everywhereâ Yunhee teased. âWinter vacations have charm. Cozy cabins, hot chocolate, and snow-covered landscapesâitâs magical.â
Jaemin rolled his eyes playfully. âYeah, until youâre stuck shoveling snow off the driveway.â
Renjun chuckled. âBoth have their perks. I think it depends on where you go. Remember that summer trip we took to Jeju? The hikes, the ocean viewâit was perfect.â
âExcept for the sunburnsâ Daeun added with a laugh. âI was peeling for weeks!â
Soyul chimed in âWinter vacations are underrated, though. Remember that ski trip last year? The slopes were amazing, and the hot springs afterwardâunforgettable.â
Haechan, still visibly tense, tried to force a laugh. âIâd take summer any day. Winterâs just⌠depressing. Too much darkness, not enough fun.â
The conversation was beginning to lift the groupâs spirits when an unfamiliar chime interrupted them. A strange notification sound echoed through the room, causing everyone to pause.
âWhose phone is that?â Haechan asked, glancing around.
Chenle, sighed trying to stay composed âItâs yours.â
Haechan frowned but nodded slowly. âRight. So⌠whatâs the message?â
As he read the message he looked confused.
Chinsun peaked behind him âWhoâs Jisung? And whyâs he asking you how are you feeling?â
The table fell silent.
âWhat the hell?â Jaemin blurted out, leaning forward. âWhoâs Jisung?â
Haechan looked at them, trying to think at some excuses. âHeâs a new guys who works with me..you know he got a little crush on me and wonât leave me aloneâ he said, laughing a little.
âWell thenâ Chenle starts âwhy donât you give him an answer?â
Haechan looked back at his friend, gulping. âRightâŚâ He said as he started typing
âI said âIâm okay, Iâm at a friend house.â Haechan said, nervously putting the phone down.
Another message light up the screen.
Jisung: What? You said you had fever! Thatâs the whole reason why we didnât meet tonight. You promised meâŚ
As everyone listen to the message, their faces light up with confusion, looking at the boy.
âWhatâs going on?â Daeun asked, her voice filled with confusion.
Chinsunâs face was frozen in shock as she whispered, âHaechanâŚ? What did you have to do with this Jisung?â
Haechan let out a strained laugh, trying to diffuse the situation. âAre you guys seriously thinkingâwhat? That Iâd be into⌠guys? Baby, come onâ he said, looking directly at Chinsun. âLook at me. How could I ever like boys?â
Renjun, sitting across the table, folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. His voice was calm but pointed. âWhatâs wrong with liking boys, Haechan?â
The question hung in the air like a loaded weapon.
Haechanâs eyes flicked to Renjun, then back to Chinsun. âNothing, obviously! But itâs just⌠not me.â
Renjunâs gaze sharpened, the calm in his tone replaced by something more cutting. âOh, really?â
Haechanâs voice dropped, pleading. âRenjun, pleaseââ
Renjun leaned forward, cutting him off. âNo, please. Go on. This is hilarious, hearing you talk all this shit.â
The rest of the group looked on in confusion, their gazes darting between the two.
âWhat are you saying, Jun?â Daeun asked hesitantly, her tone laced with concern.
Renjun ignored her, keeping his focus on Haechan. âWhat? Did you forget about that summer? Oh, wait, maybe you forgot about the whole year too. Yeah, that happens as you get older, doesnât it?â
The weight of Renjunâs words hit the table like a bomb.
Chinsunâs eyes welled up, and a tear slipped down her cheek. âIs this true?â she whispered, her voice trembling.
Haechanâs face was pale, his hands gripping the edge of the table as if to steady himself. âItâs not what you thinkâ he started, his voice cracking.
âThen what is it?â Jaemin pressed, his tone confused but firm.
Soyul glanced between Haechan and Renjun. âWait⌠are you saying you twoâŚ?â
âNo!â Haechan exclaimed, his voice too loud, too defensive. âIt wasnât like that! It was justââ
âJust what?â Renjun interrupted coldly. âA phase? A mistake? Poor this Jisung guy, he doesnât know what he got himself up toâ
Chenle shifted uncomfortably. âGuys, maybe this isnât the timeââ
âShut up, Chenle!â Haechan snapped, then immediately winced, realizing how out of control he sounded.
The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife when the phone rang, breaking the moment.
Chenleâs phone -now Haechanâs- lights up again for an incoming call.
The name âJisungâ flashed across the screen.
Chenleâs breath hitched. âDonât answer thatâ he said quickly, his voice strained.
But it was too late. Renjun, stealing the phone, had already pressed the green button.
Jisungâs voice came through the speaker, sharp and accusatory. âWhy did you lie about being sick? We were supposed to meet tonight, and now I find out youâre out with your friends?â
The room went silent.
Haechan, panic flashing across his face, stammered. âI⌠I donât even know what youâre talking about⌠Jisung?â
Jisung scoffed, his tone cutting. âReally? Because Iâve got your location on 360. Itâs over, you asshole.â
The call ended abruptly, leaving everyone stunned.
Chinsunâs tears flowed freely now, her hands trembling as she covered her face. The silence was deafening until Haechan finally spoke.
âGuys câmon..You all know meâŚI would never do this. Iâm not into⌠boys. Itâs not true. None of it is true!â
Renjun let out a bitter laugh. âOh, really?â
Haechan looked at him, pleading. âRenjun, pleaseââ
âNoâ Renjun said, standing up, his voice steady but full of disappointment. âIâm done listening to this. Itâs so funny hearing you deny everything, though. Keep goingâitâs entertaining.â
âRenjun, stopâ Soyul whispered, her voice soft but firm.
âWhat am I stopping?â Renjun snapped, glaring at Haechan. âReminding him of the truth? Maybe he needs it. Or maybe heâs too scared to admit it.â
Haechan sank back into his chair, his face pale and his shoulders slumped. Chinsun stared at him, her tear-filled eyes full of betrayal and heartbreak.
No one spoke.
The room was silent, thick with tension, after Renjunâs cutting remarks. Haechan was frozen, struggling to form a coherent response, his hands gripping the edge of the table like a lifeline. Yunhee, however, decided it was time to step in.
âOkay, enoughâ she said, her voice sharp, rising over the tension. âRenjun, you donât have to do this. Heâs already overwhelmed, and youâre justââ
Renjun cut her off with a cold laugh, looking her straight in the eye. âOh, donât even start, Yunhee. You want to defend him now? I have every right to get angry since how he left me for you?â
The room collectively sucked in a breath.
âWhat?â Jeno blurted out, his voice laced with disbelief. âOh god, youâve got to be kidding me.â
Mark turned slowly to Yunhee, his face a mixture of confusion and disbelief. âWhat is he saying?â
Yunhee looked as though she had been caught in headlights. Her mouth opened, then closed, as her hands fidgeted nervously on her lap.
Haechan sighed deeply, throwing his head back as if resigning himself.
âYeah, Markâ Renjun said, his voice heavy. âWhere do you think she got those new earrings?â
His voice was dripping with venom as he gestured toward Yunhee. âThey were mine, by the way. Before Haechan decided he was fully straight overnight and that fucking his best friendâs girlfriend was better.â
All eyes turned to Yunhee, who instinctively touched her earrings, her face pale.
Soyul, her voice trembling with shock, muttered, âOh my god, are you serious? This is insane.â
Mark stared at Yunhee, then at Haechan, his mouth opening and closing as he struggled to process the betrayal. âYunheeâŚâ he began, his voice quiet but full of hurt.
Yunheeâs voice cracked as she tried to explain. âMark, IâItâs not what you thinkââ
Chinsun, who had been silently crying, let out a bitter laugh. She stood up abruptly, wiping her tears with shaky hands. âYouâve got to be kidding meâ she said, her voice breaking but laced with nervous laughter. âThis is crazy. And youââ she pointed at Haechan, her laugh turning into a scoff. âYou even had the boldness to accuse me of cheating? While youâre sitting here with a whole whore army?â
Yunhee bristled, standing up to face her. âIâm sorry, who are you calling a whore?â
âOh, you heard meâ Chinsun snapped, her hands on her hips.
âExcuse me, I was here first.â Yunhee shot back, her voice dripping with venom.
Renjun leaned back in his chair, watching the chaos unfold with a sardonic grin. âIf weâre playing that game, technically, I was first in line.â
Both women froze, turning their angry glares on him.
Mark, meanwhile, hadnât moved, his gaze fixed on Haechan, his face a mixture of anger and heartbreak. âYou were my best friend,â he said quietly, his voice trembling. âHow could you do this?â
Haechan opened his mouth to speak but hesitated, looking utterly defeated. âMark, Iââ
âDonâtâ Mark interrupted, shaking his head. âJust donât.â
The room fell silent again, but it didnât last long.
Jeno broke it with a frustrated sigh, throwing his hands in the air. âGod, Haechan, you couldnât have just told us? About all of this? Especially about⌠you know.â
Haechan frowned, his exhaustion giving way to irritation. âWhy the hell would I have to tell you?â
Jeno leaned forward, incredulous. âUh, maybe because we all used to sleep and shower together back in the day? I want to know if the guy I sleep next to is a homosexual.â
Haechan tilted his head, genuinely confused. âAnd why would that concern you Jeno?â
âOf course it concerns me Haechan I-â Jeno started before being interrupted.
Jaemin, who had been quietly sipping his drink, suddenly smirked, half-laughing. âOh, you shouldnât be the one pointing fingers, Jeno.â
All eyes turned to Jaemin now, confusion written across everyoneâs faces.
Daeun blinked, looking at him. âWhat are you talking about?â
Jaemin looked at Jeno, then back at the group, his expression unreadable. âReally? None of you ever noticed anything? You thought I had fewer girls than Haechan just because I wasnât trying hard enough? There was a reason I was always with Jeno.â
The table erupted in shock, voices overlapping in disbelief.
âW-what..?â Jaeminâs revelation sent Soyul into full-blown tears.
Renjun, however, seemed unfazed. He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. âYeah, I already knew. Heard them in the changing rooms back in high school.â
Soyul stood abruptly, her sobs echoing in the room. âJaemin,â she cried, her voice breaking. âThis isnât still going on, right? Itâs just old stuff, it isnât happening anymore right? Right Jaemin? Tell me Iâm right.â
Daeun immediately went to comfort her, wrapping her arms around Soyulâs shaking shoulders.
Jaeminâs smirk disappeared, replaced by guilt as he rubbed a hand over his face. âSoyul, Iââ
âIs it still happening?â Soyul partially screamed, her voice filled with desperation.
Jaemin lowered his head, unable to meet her eyes.
Soyulâs tears intensified, and she choked out âJaemin I-m..â
The boy tried to look at her.
âIâm pregnant Jaemin.â
Jaeminâs eyes widened in shock, and he stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor.
âWhat?..â
But Soyul didnât let him approach her. She backed away, shaking her head as she sobbed uncontrollably. Then, turning on her heel, she bolted toward the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
Renjun, looking exasperated but concerned, stood up and followed her, muttering âGreat. Just great.â
The room was left in stunned silence, everyone staring at Jaemin, who stood frozen, his face pale.
Haechan, still seated, let out a humorless laugh, shaking his head. âWell, this just keeps getting better and better, doesnât it?â
No one responded. The only sound was Soyulâs muffled sobs from behind the bathroom door.
The tension in the room hung heavy like a storm cloud, and it wasnât long before Jeno erupted. He slammed his hands on the table, standing up abruptly and glaring at Jaemin. âWhat the hell is wrong with you?â he barked, his voice shaking with anger. âWhy would you say that? To everyone? Here? Now?â
Jaemin, still standing, looked at him, his expression unreadable. He met Jenoâs furious gaze with a steady one of his own. âWhat did you expect, Jeno? That weâd just keep pretending forever? Sooner or later, it was bound to come out. Better now than years down the line.â
Jeno scoffed, his tone bitter. âYou think this is better? You think this was the right time? I wouldâve taken this secret to my grave if I could. Thatâs what I wanted.â
Jaemin smirked slightly, but there was no humor in it. âOf course you would, Jeno. Youâve always been good at hiding, havenât you?â
Jenoâs fists clenched, his jaw tightening as he took a threatening step toward Jaemin. âYou have no idea what youâve just doneâ he hissed.
At that moment, Haechan pushed his chair back and stood, his eyes flicking between the two men. His voice was sharp as he interjected, âOkay, hold up. Whereâs all this oppressed homophobia coming from, Jeno?â
Jeno whipped his head toward Haechan, his face flushed with frustration. âWhat the hell are you talking about?â
Haechan crossed his arms and tilted his head, a sardonic smile playing on his lips. âOh, come on. Youâre out here acting like Jaemin just destroyed your life or something. Letâs not forget, it was you in his bed, not someone else. Repeatedly. No matter how much you want to deny it now.â
Jenoâs face turned red, and his breathing quickened. âShut up, Haechan. You donât know anything about it.â
âI donât?â Haechan shot back, taking a step forward. His voice grew louder, his tone dripping with mockery. âBecause it sounds to me like youâre just mad that you liked it. That you liked him. And now youâre pissed because everyone knows.â
At this point he clearly knows what heâs talking about.
Like heâs talking to his younger self.
âDonât,â Jeno growled, pointing a finger at Haechan, his voice trembling with rage. âDonât twist this into something itâs not.â
âOh, but it is,â Jaemin interjected, his voice cold. He stepped closer to Jeno, his eyes narrowing. âYou can try to rewrite history all you want, but you know damn well that none of this was one-sided. You were just as much a part of it as I was.â
The room fell silent again, the weight of Jaeminâs words hanging in the air like a guillotine. Jeno turned away, running a hand through his hair as he paced in frustration. His breathing was labored, his mind clearly racing as he tried to process everything.
The tension in the room hadnât yet dissipated when Daeun, standing near the edge of the table, looked visibly shaken. Her normally composed demeanor was gone, replaced by wide eyes and a trembling hand that hovered near her lips. She had been silent through most of the arguments, absorbing the chaos, but now it seemed something had shaken her even more.
And, unexpectedly, it was her phone that buzzed sharply on the table, piercing through the uneasy quiet. The sound was differentâa personal ringtoneâand it made her freeze. Slowly, everyoneâs attention shifted to her.
She stared at the phone like it was a live grenade, her breath catching. She gulped audibly, her hands fidgeting by her sides.
From across the table, Mark raised an eyebrow, his voice tinged with suspicion. âWell? Are you going to get that?â
Daeunâs gaze flicked to him, then to the phone. Her voice cracked slightly as she forced herself to speak. âAre we really⌠still doing this?â
The question hung in the air, heavy with resignation.
Chenle, who had been unusually quiet during the earlier confrontations, suddenly stood and reached for her phone. âAnswer the damn phone, Daeun.â he said firmly, his tone sharper than usual. His eyes met hers with a mix of concern and frustration.
Her hand hesitated over the screen before tremblingly hitting the green button.
âHello?â she said softly, her voice so low it was almost a whisper.
A manâs voice came through the speaker, loud enough to be heard by the others.
âDaeun?â the male voice called, familiar and almost gentle.
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard. âYes,â she replied in a small voice. âIâm listening.â
Jeno, who had been quietly stewing after his earlier clash with Jaemin, suddenly sat down beside her. His gaze bore into her, searching, confused, concerned. The intensity of their eye contact was palpable, like an entire conversation was being held without words.
The manâs voice on the other end of the phone continued, oblivious to the growing tension in the room. âIâve been thinking about you. About⌠us and everything.â His tone dropped slightly, more hesitant. âHow have you been feeling? Since, you know⌠the thing?â
The weight of his words dropped like a bomb in the room.
Jenoâs eyes narrowed slightly, confusion etching his features. He leaned forward slightly, his focus entirely on Daeun. She didnât look away, her gaze locked with his even as the voice on the phone kept talking.
The man sighed. âI feel like I shouldâve reached out sooner. I just⌠Iâm sorry about how everything happened. We shouldâve been more careful.â Then, after a pause, the voice added tentatively, âDoes he know?â
Daeun stiffened, her lips parting but no words coming out. She and Jeno stayed locked in their silent standoff until finally, with her voice barely audible, she said, âNo. He doesnât know.â
With that, she ended the call abruptly, her hand shaking as she placed the phone back on the table.
The silence that followed was deafening. No one dared to speak. All eyes were on her and Jeno.
Finally, Jeno broke the silence, his voice low and harsh. âSo? What was he talking about?â
Daeunâs hands curled into fists at her sides, but she refused to answer him.
âDaeunâ Jeno pressed, his tone rising with frustration. âWhat the fuck was he talking about?â
She finally spoke, her jaw tight. âYou donât have the right to make that tone with me.â she snapped.
âThe hell I donât!â Jenoâs voice boomed as he stood again, abruptly, the chair scraping loudly against the floor. âTell me what the fuck he meant!â
Her control broke. âI was pregnant!â she screamed, her voice echoing through the room. She stood as well, facing him with fire in her eyes.
The words hit like a physical blow, and Jeno froze, his face paling.
The room fell silent again, everyone too stunned to even breathe. Daeun and Jeno stared at each other, their gazes unrelenting and raw.
Jenoâs lips moved, but no sound came out at first. Finally, he whispered, his voice broken and tentative, âIt wasnât mine, was it?â
Daeun let out a bitter laugh, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. âHow could it have been yours, Jeno? Itâs been months since the last time you touched me.â
Her words cut deep and Jeno flinched.
Then, with a deliberate pause, she glanced at Jaeminâjust briefly, but enough for everyone to catch itâbefore turning her gaze back to Jeno. Her voice dropped to a deadly calm. ââŚAnd now I understand why.â
The implication of her words rippled through the room like an electric shock.
Daeunâs gaze lingered on Jeno for a moment longer before she let out a shaky breath and stormed away, walking past the table. She headed toward the bathroom, where Soyul was still crying, cuddled with Renjun.
Jeno stood rooted to the spot, his fists clenched tightly by his sides. His face was a mixture of shock, anger, and something deeperâregret, maybe, or guilt.
No one said a word. The weight of the revelation was too much to process.
Jeno finally let out a shaky breath and sat back down, his head in his hands. âWhat the fuck,â he muttered under his breath, though no one could tell if he was talking to himself or everyone else.
The heavy silence in the living room seemed impenetrable, each person trapped in their own thoughts after the nightâs shocking revelations. Even the usual sounds of the houseâMarkâs fridge humming, the faint ticking of a wall clockâfelt muted under the suffocating weight of everything left unsaid.
Then, suddenly, the doorbell rang.
Everyone jolted, startled by the noise, and looked around the room in confusion.
âWho the hell is that?â Jaemin muttered under his breath, still nursing the glass of wine he hadnât taken a sip from.
Chinsun, still perched on the edge of the sofa where sheâd been sitting with Chenle, let out a dry laugh. âI guess another one of Lee Donghyuckâs boyfriends has arrived!â she said, her tone cutting.
Haechan glared at her from his corner of the room, but before he could retort, Chinsun stood, brushing imaginary dust off her pants, and motioned toward the door. Chenle hesitated but eventually stood alongside her.
The rest of the group, including Renjun, Daeun, and Soyul, who had just returned from the bathroom, slowly began to gather near the door. The tension among them was palpable as they waited for Chinsun to open it.
When she finally did, the tall, broad figure of a strikingly handsome young man was revealed. His tailored coat and polished shoes screamed wealth, and his air of confidence seemed out of place in the disheveled chaos of Markâs house.
The man smiled hesitantly, trying to break the ice. âHi, Iâmââ
But Chinsun interrupted him before he could finish. âYou can come in and get Haechan,â she snapped, crossing her arms. âAnd then the both of you can get the fuck out of this house.â
The young man blinked, clearly caught off guard, his confused gaze shifting from Chinsun to the rest of the group. His eyes scanned the crowd, passing over each face until they landed on one that finally seemed to click.
ââŚUh, I donât even know who Haechan isâ he said, his voice unsure but firm. His eyes locked onto his loved one, and his expression softened. âIâm here for Chenle.â
The room fell into a stunned silence.
The air, already heavy, seemed to grow impossibly thicker.
Chenle let out a long, weary sigh, stepping forward past his frozen friends to stand beside the man. He reached out and took his hand, intertwining their fingers, and turned to face the group. His gaze swept over their stunned expressionsâsome confused, some shocked.
âYesâ Chenle began calmly, his voice steady despite the tension in the air. âThis is my boyfriend, Jisung. Or as some of you may know him⌠Jiul.â
The collective gasp that followed was almost theatrical in its intensity.
âJiul?â Jeno blurted out, his tone somewhere between disbelief and accusation. âWhy the hell did you tell us it was a girl?â
âAnd why didnât you bring him to dinner?â Yunhee added, her voice tinged with genuine confusion.
Chenle huffed out a dry laugh, standing shoulder to shoulder with Jisung, who looked equally baffled by the situation.
âYou want to know why?â Chenle began, his voice sharper now as his frustration bubbled to the surface. He gestured around the room with his free hand, his gaze unwavering. âLook at everything thatâs happened tonight. Look at how all of you reacted to Haechanâs situation, to Renjunâs story. The petty fights, the accusations, the thinly veiled homophobia thatâs been lurking under the surface all night. And you wonder why I didnât bring Jisung here?â
No one spoke, though a few of them visibly shifted, uncomfortable under his words.
Chenle shook his head and let out a bitter laugh. âI told you Jisung was a girl because I knewâI knewâthat if I told the truth, youâd judge me. Youâd judge him. Youâd find some way to make this about your own insecurities instead of just letting us be happy.â
Jisung squeezed the boyâs hand gently, his expression softening, but Chenle wasnât done.
âI didnât want him to come tonight, and now Iâm glad I didnât bring him to dinner,â Chenle continued. âBecause this,â he gestured at the group again, âthis mess? It wouldâve ruined him. Heâs too pure for thisâtoo pure for all of you.â
He turned his gaze pointedly to Jeno and then to Jaemin. âYou two canât even have a functional friendship without dragging your relationship baggage into it.â
Then he turned to Haechan. âYou spend so much time lying to yourself and everyone else that youâve started destroying the people who care about you most. You have no right to judge anyone else when youâve been tearing your own life apart from the inside.â
Finally, his gaze landed on the entire group, sweeping across them like a storm. âAnd the rest of you? You sit here and watch, like youâre better than everyone else, when the truth is youâre just as broken and hypocritical. You still have all this deep-seated homophobia inside of youâwhether you realize it or not. You canât even handle a little honesty without blowing up. And thatâs on you. Thatâs something you all need to fix in yourselves instead of pointing fingers at everyone else.â
The room fell silent again, Chenleâs words hanging heavy in the air.
Jisung finally spoke up, his voice hesitant but kind. âUh⌠Should we go? I donât want to cause any more trouble.â
Chenle glanced at him, his expression softening for the first time since he started talking. âYesâ he said quietly. âI think itâs time to go homeâ
Chenle gave one last glance at the group, his eyes hard but filled with disappointment. âGood night, everyone,â he said flatly, his hand still clasped firmly in Jisungâs. The door clicked shut behind them, leaving the others staring at the space they had occupied moments before.
Renjun was the first to move. His gaze flickered to the othersâno goodbye, no explanationâjust a glance that spoke of finality. Without a word, he walked over to Daeun, who had been standing near the kitchen island, her expression unreadable. âCome on,â he said softly, and she nodded, letting him guide her out of the house.
Soyul followed soon after, her tear-streaked face pale and exhausted. Chinsun, who had been silently leaning against the wall, pushed herself off with a small sigh. She grabbed her coat and bag and walked toward the door without sparing anyone a second glance.
They didnât say goodbye. The door opened, and they left.
Jaemin and Jeno stood awkwardly near the door, their expressions as cold as the night air that began to seep through the cracks. Jeno looked at Jaemin, his eyes conflicted, before sighing heavily and grabbing his coat from the back of a chair. Jaemin followed suit, his movements slower, as if weighed down by unspoken words.
As they reached the door, Jaemin hesitated, looking back at Yunhee. His lips twitched into a faint smileâone of acknowledgment, regret, and resignation all rolled into one. He nodded at her slightly before stepping out after Jeno, letting the door fall shut behind them.
Now, only Mark, Yunhee, and Haechan remained.
The living room felt cavernous, like a hollow shell of the home it had been only hours earlier. The three of them stood frozen, avoiding each otherâs gazes.
Haechan sighed deeply and moved toward the coat rack. He pulled on his jacket, his movements uncharacteristically slow. He lingered for a moment, standing by the door, his hand resting on the handle.
âIâm sorry,â he said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.
Mark and Yunhee exchanged a glance, but neither of them responded. There were no words left, nothing that could smooth over the damage that had been done tonight.
Haechan didnât wait for a reply. He opened the door and stepped out into the cold, letting the door close behind him with a soft click.
One by one, as they exited the house, the lunar eclipse began to fade. The moon, which had been cloaked in shadow, slowly emerged into the light once more. Its silver glow illuminated the quiet streets outside, casting long shadows as if trying to cleanse the darkness that had enveloped the night.
Mark stood by the window, watching as the obscurity faded and the world outside returned to normal. The celestial phenomenon, which had felt so significant just hours earlier, now seemed like nothing more than a fleeting eventâa brief moment of darkness before the light inevitably returned.
Underneath the glow of the moonlight, Chenle and Jisung waited near their car. They lingered by the curb, their faces relaxed, but their conversation was light and casual.
Daeun and Soyul exited the house shortly after, joined by Renjun and Chinsun. They strolled down the steps, their chatter warm and friendly. Daeun raised an eyebrow at Jisung, a teasing smile playing on his lips. âSo, whoâs this handsome guy, huh?â he asked.
Chinsun followed up, her curiosity piqued. âWhere have you been hiding him, Chenle?â
Chenle stole a quick glance at Jisung before responding smoothly âOh, weâre just really close friends. Same department and all that. You know how it is.â
The others nodded, the explanation seemingly enough, and the group shifted into easy conversation. Laughter bubbled up as Jaemin and Jeno joined them, their arms casually draped over their girlfriends. Jeno playfully nudged Chenle with a grin. âSomethingâs fishy. Is there something going on between you two? Chenle, are you hiding something?â
âMe?â Chenle asked, feigning mock indignation as he stole another glance at Jisung. âNever.â
Everyone laughed, the tension of the evening evaporating into the cool night air. When Haechan finally emerged from the house, Chinsun turned to him with a radiant smile, her hand waving him over. âCome on, baby! Weâre all waiting for you!â
Haechan jogged down the steps, his face lighting up as he reached her, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. âWhatâd I miss?â he asked, slipping an arm around her waist.
âNothing importantâ she replied with a grin.
Chenle jingled his car keys. âAlright, I guess this is where we part ways. See you all next time?â
A chorus of agreements followed, and the group exchanged playful goodbyes.
Haechan stopped in his tracks, turning to call out, âJaemin! Donât forget about the basketball game next weekend. Weâve got space if you can keep up.â
Jaemin smirked, raising an eyebrow. âKeep up? Iâm ready to destroy you.â
âIâd like to see you tryâ Haechan shot back with a grin, before returning to Chinsunâs side.
The group dispersed, heading to their cars or walking down the street under the soft glow of the moonlight, as though nothing had shifted in the delicate balance of their friendships.
Back at the house, Mark and Yunhee were finishing up. The table was cleared, the wine glasses washed and left to dry. Mark wiped his hands on a towel as Yunhee sat on the edge of the bed, taking off her jewels.
âLong nightâ she said, her voice light.
Mark nodded, leaning against the doorway of their bedroom. âYeah. You know, Iâm glad we didnât play that game tonightâ he said, his tone measured.
Yunhee glanced at him, her brow furrowing slightly. âWhy? Whatâs so bad about a silly game?â
Mark sighed, crossing his arms. âSometimes itâs better not to know everything. People have their secrets, and maybe they need to stay secrets. Not because theyâre trying to hurt anyone, but because knowing them wouldnât help anything. It would just⌠ruin things.â
Yunhee considered this for a moment, nodding slowly. âI guess youâre right. But honestly, I donât even have anything to hideâ she said with a small smile as she placed her earrings on the nightstand, right next to her phone.
Markâs eyes lingered on her for a moment, a faint smile playing on his lips. âThose earrings are beautiful, by the wayâ he said softly.
Yunhee chuckled, sliding under the covers. âThanks, theyâre my favorite.â
Mark reached over to turn off the bedside lamp. âGoodnight,â he murmured as the room plunged into darkness.
Outside, the moon shone brightly, its light spilling into the quiet streets below. The obscurity had passed, but its lingering shadows remained, woven subtly into the hearts of those who had gathered that night. Though the light had returned, it seemed that not everything could go back to normal. And yet, life went on, as it always does, under the moonâs watchful gaze.
#nct dream#nct#nct ff#nct dream ff#mark lee#haechan#lee jeno#na jaemin#renjun#chenle#park jisung#leedonghyuck#angst#nct fanfic#haechan fanfic#mark fanfic#jeno fanfic#jaemin fanfic#chenle fanfic#renjun fanfic#jisung fanfic#chenji#renhyuck#nomin#nct dreamm x og
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ę°â for @sugarikiz event 'Ęá´á´Ę â°đâŻđ á´É´ĘĘ âď¸.đĽ '
Once upon a time, there were two lovers who were deeply in love with each other. They had been through many ups and downs, but their love for each other had weathered every storm. One day, one of the lovers was going through a difficult time in their life. They felt lost, hopeless, and trapped in a dark abyss of despair. The other lover noticed the change in their partner and tried to offer comfort and support, but the first lover continued to sink deeper into their despair......
" Heeseung please let me be your light " In response to your words, Heeseung's eyes widened slightly, a mixture of surprise and appreciation flickering across his face. He leaned closer, his expression growing serious as he spoke. " You want to be my light ? " he repeated, his voice slightly incredulous. " You think you can bring me out of the darkness? "
" Idk... but I want to .. plz I can't see you growing weaker each day passing by " Heeseung's expression softened as he heard the urgency and determination in your voice. He saw the concern and care in your eyes, and it touched a deep part of him that had been shrouded in darkness. He reached out, his hand gently cupping your face, his thumb tracing the contour of your cheek. "You don't understand," he murmured, his voice laced with pain. " The darkness is too strong. It's consuming me."
" THERE HAS TO BE A WAY " you shouted . Heeseung closed his eyes, his hand still gently holding your face. Your insistence and willingness to help him were like a faint ray of light trying to break through the darkness that enveloped him. He took a deep breath, opening his eyes again, his gaze meeting yours with a hint of vulnerability. "Maybe you were sent to me for a reason ," he murmured. "But I don't know if even your light is bright enough to cut through my darkness."
Your determination only seemed to grow at Heeseung's words. You gently placed your hand over his, your grip tightening as you spoke. " I don't care if it's too strong or if my light isn't bright enough," you said firmly. "I'll do whatever it takes to help you fight the darkness. I'm not going to give up on you, Heeseung. I won't leave you alone in there."
Heeseung watched your determination with a mix of disbelief and awe. The fire in your eyes and the determination in your voice were unlike anything he had encountered before in his existence. He couldn't deny the strange pull he felt towards you, even though you were an angel and he was a devil. Your unwavering commitment to help him, despite the vast differences between your worlds, was both surprising and unsettling. " Please .. please there has to be a way---- " he silenced you with a finger to your lips, his eyes locking on yours with a mixture of pleading and frustration. " You don't understand," he said, his voice strained. "There's no way for an angel like you to help someone like me. You're too good, too pure. The darkness will only consume you too." You tried to speak again, but Heeseung silenced you once more. His hand came up to gently touch your cheek, his touch surprisingly tender despite the harshness of his words. "Please, just listen to me," he pleaded, his voice now tinged with desperation. "You can't save me. The darkness is too strong, and it will only bring you down with me."
" I love you " u whispered . Heeseung froze, his breath catching in his chest at your unexpected declaration. His eyes widened slightly as he stared at you, shock and confusion warring on his face. "You... what?" he responded, his voice barely above a whisper. "You love me?"
"Yes and I don't care if we are not supposed to be together .. or I am doing a sin but I want to be tainted by your love , want my soul to be consume by your darkness. My love for you goes beyond the boundaries of heaven and hell, transcending the laws that would keep us apart. I am ready to plunge into the abyss of your darkness, to let your love encompass me completely. I will embrace the whirlwind of emotions, the passion and pain that come from loving you, a devil. So Lee heeseung will you make me yours ? "
Heeseung's heart thudded in his chest as he heard your words, and for the first time in his existence, he felt a flicker of hope and warmth amidst the darkness that surrounded him. Your declaration of love, your unwavering desire to be with him, it all felt like a dream. He took a step closer to you, his gaze intense and unwavering. "Yes," he murmured, his voice filled with a mixture of passion and determination. "I will make you mine. I will claim you, body and soul. And there will be no turning back. "
đŠ¸đŠ¸đŠ¸
As you both embraced suddenly heeseung screamed in agony too much pain as his devil red eyes met with yours which ones were filled with bright light and love now cold and devoid of any emotions while you let the knife fall on the ground and his cut wings beside him . Heeseung's scream echoed through the room, his body writhing in pain as the blinding light enveloped him. His eyes, once filled with the fiery gaze of a devil, now froze in shock as they met yours, now cold and emotionless. You stood before him, a stark contrast to the previous moment of tenderness. Your knife clattered against the ground, and Heeseung's severed wings lay beside him, a gruesome reminder of the love that had just shattered into pieces. A menacing smirk adorning your face .
Heeseung's eyes widened in horror as your smirk twisted your features. The warmth and love that had been there moments ago were gone, replaced by a cold, callous expression that sent a shiver down his spine. He tried to scramble away from you, his body still wracked with pain. "Why...?" he managed to croak, his voice filled with disbelief and despair. His scream echoed through the room, his body writhing in pain as the blinding light enveloped him. His eyes, once filled with the fiery gaze of a devil, now froze in shock as they met yours, now cold and emotionless. You stood before him, a stark contrast to the previous moment of tenderness. Your knife clattered against the ground, and Heeseung's severed wings lay beside him, a gruesome reminder of the love that had just shattered into pieces.
" Why ??? Ages ago in this very same place you killed several angels out of spite and one of them was my lover . His name was Yang Jungwon . Does it now ring a bell you foul thing ?? We were supposed to get married .... he was my everything .... BUT YOU DEVIL HAD TO TAKE EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME . YOU DESERVE TO DIE . YOU DESERVE TO BE HATED . " Heeseung's face paled as you reminded him of his past sins. The memory of the angels he had killed, including your lover Yang Jungwon, came flooding back. A mix of guilt and fear flickered in his red eyes, but he tried to maintain his composure, his voice shaky as he spoke. "You... you're the angel that was with him?" he whispered, his heart pounding in his chest. Heeseung's body trembled as he listened to your words, the hatred and anger in your voice cutting through him like a knife. He knew he deserved every bit of your wrath, every bit of your pain and heartbreak. A mixture of fear and resignation flickered in his eyes as he spoke, his voice hoarse and weak "I know... I know I deserve it..." he rasped. "But... please...".
"Oh my what have we here huh.. A devil which always gives other deals in exchange for their soul begging infront of me ?? His enemy ?? Haaha " Heeseung's throat tightened as he realized the irony of his situation. He, a devil who was known for making deals and taking souls, was now on his knees, begging you, his enemy, to spare him. His pride and arrogance had fled, leaving behind a husk of fear and despair. He looked up at you, his red eyes pleading, but he stayed silent, unable to find the words to defend himself.
"You... you won't kill me..?" Heeseung's voice was a mere whisper, filled with incredulity and disbelief. He could not comprehend why you, who had just learned of his darkest sin, had not immediately taken his life. The fear and despair in his eyes remained, but there was a hint of curiosity mixed with it. "Why not ?" he found himself asking, his voice tremulous. "Why spare the devil who took away the angel you loved?"
" Sometimes leaving a scar is much better than killing at once . Just like my past haunts me ... similarly from now on I'll haunt your memories ". Heeseung shivered at your words, a sense of unease crawling up his spine. You had spoken of a form of torment far worse than death â leaving him with memories, with reminders of the pain and suffering he had caused. He knew what it meant to be haunted, to have the ghosts of the past lingering in the shadows, forever present yet forever out of reach. And he now faced the possibility of that very fate. Before going from there you stomped on his wings and gave your angelic smile as that moment you felt your lover's justice ... your jungwon's justice , being served . Heeeseung cried out in pain as you stomped on his wings, the sharp agony shooting through him and further fueling the torment you had cast upon him. Your angelic smile, so beautiful and yet so cold, sent a chill down his spine, a cruel reminder of the price he had paid for his sins. He could almost feel the weight of Jungwon's presence, his spirit finding justice through your actions. Heeseung closed his red eyes, his mind filled with regret and grief as he whispered,
" I'm sorry.... "
Tags @okwonyo @021894s @strawberrynull @wonryllis
#enhypen imagines#heeseung x reader#'Ęá´á´Ę â°đâŻđ á´É´ĘĘ - sáĽgἲrŃkŃz âď¸.đĽ '#enhypen heeseung#enhypen au#enhypen scenarios#enhypen hyung line#enhypen x reader#enhypen headcanons#enhypen x y/n#enha scenarios#enha x y/n#enha x you#cornenhapovsđ
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I am a huge Dan Howell fan. Really just a huge Phannie in general. Have been for at least 8 or 9 years. So, naturally, when Dan came out with âWeâre All Doomedâ I bought tickets to the first online showing. With the Dan Q&A after and everything. Not a brag at all, but just to give context.
The first time I saw it, I laughed so hard, I could feel myself become faint. By the end, I was sobbing. And I was just wishing I could buy it in DVD or something.
Today, for the first time since it was released, I rewatched âWeâre All Doomedâ on YouTube.
I have, âEmbrace the void and have the courage to exist.â Written on the side of my converse. I am a dork and a half about these two.
I have the potential to live to my 80s or die before Iâm 21 because of my cancer. And that can be extremely discouraging some days when I know I need to do things and be a human. Because, If Iâm likely to die so young, why do anything at all?
But Dan said something that we all need to hear when we feel like that- for any reason.
âWe may all be doomed. Death may be inevitable. But first, we get to live.â
I often forget that before I die, I get to live.
There are things worth fighting for and worth living for. Relationships, education, careers, or really even just the planet itself. Life is a miraculous thing and we are surrounded by it.
Life is worth living. Every single day is worth embracing and enjoying to the fullest. Some days you canât get out of bed, and you can still enjoy that day to the fullest.
Being sick can make it hard to live before you die. But everyday is worth embracing for what it is.
I doubt Dan will ever see this, but if he ever did, somehow, miraculously, I would want to say:
Thank you, Dan, for reminding us of these things. And thank you for making my childhood as bearable as it was- even through my first bought of cancer treatment. I, at 14, would rewatch your old videos and watch the Undertale play through just to remember that friendships are worth staying alive for and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel if I only kept trying. So, yeah. Thanks for reminding me that life is worth living, even when you yourself felt it maybe wasnât.
Forever a phannie, finding the courage to exist,
Howl
#thoughts#cancer#weâre all doomed#dan howell#dan and phil#I know itâs stupid to put a message to Dan in here but please understand that I know that đđĽ˛#death is an old friend of mine#âdeath may be inevitable but first we get to liveâ#queer#Dan also coming out as queer and never agreeing to use a concrete definition of his sexuality helped me so much when I was coming out#because I always felt like I had to have a label but him not using one that was so strict was so groundbreaking for me#Dan is a terrible influence#thatâs a joke#i love dan and phil#dan and phil games
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I havnt read those books in the shadowhunter chronicles yet, what are your favorite things about them? (Im curious whether I should read them or not since I have such a big tbr already)
Oh maaan you're in for a ride
I have no idea which series in the Shadowhunter Universe you meant exactly but i'll start with my fav
Part I:
The Dark Artifices:
Do you ever feel like your soul needs a good mix of romantic pining, chaotic battles, and emotional devastation? The Dark Artifices is calling your name.
But seriously if you love stories that combine heart-pounding action, deep family bonds, and characters so real youâll find yourself thinking about them long after you've finished the books? This is the series for you!
This series follows a family of Shadowhunters in sunny Los Angeles (yes, there are beaches AND demon fights) as they deal with forbidden love, ancient laws that make no sense, and plot twists that will leave you staring at the ceiling at 3 AM like: what just happened.
Itâs got:
Two people who canât be together because of reasons but have enough chemistry to destroy you.
A goofy warlock with more secrets than anyone is ready for.
A soft boy who paints and probably writes poetry but will absolutely murder you if you hurt his siblings and childhood friend.
A broody faerie loner who says âI work aloneâ but would probably die for his friends.
âI would die for my siblings, but also, theyâre so annoyingâ energy.
Found-family dynamics that will have you texting your friends, âDO YOU SEE THIS?â
And, of course, the *painful but addictive* mix of love, loyalty, and chaos...
Enemies-to-lovers? No, waitâfriends-to-lovers? Actually, itâs more like "reluctantly obsessed but too emotionally constipated to say it."
Three people staring dramatically at each other like âIs this polyamory or a REALLY complicated love triangle?
Characters who will make you scream, âJUST COMMUNICATE,â but youâll love them anyway.
Enough family angst to fuel a therapy session for years.
A genius, autistic boy who solves mysteries but canât solve the mystery of his own feelings
Main characters? Letâs just say thereâs a parabatai bond thatâs more complicated than your high school crush.
The plot? Fast-paced, full of betrayal, and packed with vicious fight scenes.
The family? Everything is fine...except when itâs not.
The romance? Youâll laugh, youâll cry, youâll probably scream and definitely ship things that should not be shipped. :)
Basically a murder mystery, faerie politics, and the most relatable struggle of all: Trying to keep your family alive and well while the world is falling apart.
Fair warning: youâll never emotionally recover (and youâll love every second).
part II:
The Mortal Instruments:
If youâre looking for a fast-paced urban fantasy series full of adventure, humor, and heart, you need to pick up The Mortal Instruments.
Itâs got everything: shadowy secrets, epic battles, forbidden love, and enough twists and turns to keep you hooked from start to finish. Plus, the friendships and family bonds will hit you right in the feels.
If you like:
Hot people with emotional trauma
Family dynamics so messy even you would say "yâall need therapy"
Enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-allies-to-love(maybe) but make it *gay*
Bonus gay dads with actual functional communication (because someone has to balance the chaos)
A love triangle that's not technically a triangle, but don't worry, it'll still destroy your soul
If you do then babe, let me introduce you to The Mortal Instruments:
Itâs like Twilight, but everyone fights better is hotter and has sarcasm set to â¨maximum damageâ¨.
You'll question the characters' life choices, then realize your own arenât much better.
Thereâs an overachieving golden boy with a superiority complex who definitely Googles his own name but is secretly baby.
A girl who just wants to vibe and maybe not be surrounded by apocalypses, but alas.
A cinnamon roll nerd who says, âI donât want to be here,â but somehow ends up saving the day every time.
And a guy who walks in like: "Iâm too goth for this mess," but then adopts everyone and pays for dinner.
The Mortal Instruments is what happens when an ex fanfic writer starts a writing carrier and makes a book series: chaotic, emotional, weirdly self-aware, and packed with heart. Read it. Your inner emo kid will thank you.
Bonus:
The plot? Like Supernatural on speed.
The dialogue? Whedon-esque but with more sass per square inch.
The drama? Every fanfic writer wishes they wrote this level of â¨chaotic bisexual disaster energyâ¨.
If this sounds appealing, congratulations! This series was literally written for you.
part III:
The Infernal Devices:
The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare is an absolute gem of a series, blending romance, adventure, and a touch of Victorian-era steampunk. If you love books with unforgettable characters, heart-wrenching love triangles (in the best way), and a beautifully atmospheric setting, this is the series for you.
Itâs full of witty banter, emotional depth, and a story that stays with you long after you turn the last page. Trust meâthereâs no ârightâ team to root for, but youâll love every moment of trying to decide.
The plot? Wild.
The romance? Devastating.
The side characters? Hot, chaotic, and probably more interesting than the main ones in most other books youâve read.
Letâs not forget:
The Victorian Aesthetic⢠(itâs giving Pinterest board).
A robot army that would make Skynet say, âYou okay, bro?â
Poetry recitals that feel like life-or-death declarations.
And more tragic backstories than a Shakespearean play.
It's got:
a steampunk version of London where demons and shadowhunters roam the cobblestone streets, and your biggest problem isnât the fog, but the â¨existential dreadâ¨.
Thereâs a protagonist who just wanted to read books but accidentally became the center of everyoneâs emotional drama (relatable queen).
A golden retriever boy whoâs so perfect it physically hurts and is slowly dying.
And a sad boyâ˘ď¸ who looks like he stepped straight out of a My Chemical Romance album, only with a reading obsession.
A love triangle where instead of fighting, the two love interests are like, âHey, what if we all just loved each other?â
Friendships so deep theyâll make you scream, âWHY CANâT THE WORLD LET THEM BE HAPPY?â
A heroine whoâs like, âDo I choose the guy who might secretly hate himself more than anyone else alive, or the literal angel in human form?â (Spoiler: she chooses both. Iconic.)
Brooding boys who quote poetry in life-or-death situations (because of course they do).
*A love triangle where instead of fighting, the two love interests are like, âHey, what if we all just loved each other?â
Start with Clockwork Angel and get ready to laugh, cry, and ugly sob over Will, Jem, and Tessa. But be warned: this series will RUIN you in the most beautiful way possible.
I won't write a summary of The Last Hours since i haven't finished it yet sorry babes, but hope you liked these *mwa*
#the dark artifices#the shadowhunter chronicles#tsc#tda#the mortal instruments#tmi#the wicked powers#the last hours#tlh#the infernal devices#tid
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Acolyte fandom, today weâre going to talk about Qimir!! What were your favorite moments? đđđ
Qimir is fascinating. I love every scene with him. We first see him as a clumsy yet kind-hearted man, then as a strong, cold, and calculating one, and later as a vulnerable and charming lover. But what I want to see the most is his role as a mentor with Osha. He's an incredibly complex and multifaceted character!
The quotes he delivers, his personalitiesâeverything about him is captivating. Qimir is a great character, very interesting. Leslye really did an incredible job assembling the entire cast of The Acolyte.
One of the things that impresses me the most about Manny is the chemistry he has with Amandla. Just watching the way Qimir interacts with Mae and Osha, you can immediately notice the difference. It's impressive! It's fantastic! Their performances are incredible, and it only highlights their dynamic even more.
As The Stranger, he's so intimidating, so strong, and always spitting out the truth. It was the first time I truly felt a strong connection with someone from the dark side. And thatâs the pointâbecause not everyone is evil for no reason, weâre all shades of gray. Giving that depth to both the Jedi and to him was really well done and exciting.
Manny trained for such a long time for his role as Qimir, and you can tell. His skill is amazing, and watching him do almost all his scenes, portraying this villain who, even though we knew it was him, the way they present him is really what matters. It was so impactful!
I especially love the dual choreography in his fight scenes, something that's rarely done well, especially when one fights against two at once. And the fight between Qimir and Master Sol in the last episode was incredible!! Mannyâs performance was outstanding, as was the entire cast's. What an incredible job!
Something I want to emphasize is that, while this man is physically attractive, what really captivates women is how he understands Osha, how he listens to her and understands her. Heâs a vulnerable man who talks to her, whoâs kind, who gives her choices, and who considers her at all times. One of my favorite scenes is the entire episode 6 (because there are so many reasons I love this episode!). Every interaction between Qimir and Osha in that episode is amazing. He always gives her a choice. He makes her face herself, heals her wounds, sets her free, and sees her. He understands her because he has lost everything too. In contrast, to talk Sol and Mae, he has to knock them out and tie them up. Although I wonât deny it, that scene is chilling, especially when Sol tells him she wonât hurt him, but the first thing she does when she runs away is to chase her and try to take her down.
I love Qimir, and I want to see more of him in that role, but I also want to see more of his vulnerable side, to understand what led him to the dark side. Iâm curious to know how he found Mae and how his training began. I want to see more of this magnificent duo. I also want to see more of the relationship between Osha and Qimir, both as master and pupil, and in their loversâ role.
Qimir is a character full of nuances, and I love how Leslye did such a great job, a role only Manny could have played so perfectly. The whole cast did amazing work. What I love most is how Manny and Amandla would get excited every day to be on Star Wars. You can clearly see the passion and love they have for the saga!
Itâs very important to mention that there is no Qimir without Osha or Mae, because his life is deeply connected to theirs since Qimir decided to train Mae. There is still a part of his story we donât know, but once we learn about his past with Vernestra and Sol, weâll truly see that his journey revolves around training Mae and then Osha. This relationship is crucial to the development of all their stories, and it's a key element we want to exploreâthe important bond between them.
#renew the acolyte#save the acolyte#save the acolyte campaign#star wars#star wars the acolyte#the acolyte#fypage#amandla stenberg#manny jacinto#osha aniseya#qimir the stranger#osha x qimir#qimir#qimir the acolyte#qimir x osha#star wars fandom#the acolyte star wars#starwars#tv shows#television#tvedit#tv series
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On: My favorite kind of Simps
you have your simp archetypes, right? you got your submissive blorbos that are similar to that of orange cat intelligence, your reddit-discord simpcels (Police I swear to god), your "simps" who just have a genuine non-attraction based obsession with the opposite sex (either egg or autistic writer or both), "step on me" type overeactors, and then, there's my favorite kind: Fucking Medieval Knights. :: "I pledge my life, will, and Sword to your honor, Maiden" A: "... Lyn, this a Burger King." L: "doth my Fealty and love mean Nought!?" (girlfailure moment) A: STOP BEING CUTE WHAT THE FUCK "it does mean something, Lyn. it's important to me, knowing that you care that much. but seriously there are more romantic places than the worst burger chain in America." L: "... I like it here... they give me a cool crown... and they have spicy nuggets..." and that's how Knight Archetypes would work in a modern setting I think. it's really stupid, and that's why I love it. (also blatant lesbianism, because you can take turns being the princess that gets saved <3) let's not forget that throughout history Knights are known for Chivalry and Romanticism as much as slaying dragons and felling evil kingdoms. Knights are DEFINATELY simps. also side note: Signalis is an example of a Lesbian Knight Story. try and change my mind. she literally essentially pledges herself to go slay her own princess. (lol haha funny black tabby games reference) I can't think of a reason it wouldn't be, other than it having guns and taking itself more seriously than my take on it. but it's clear Elster holds Ariane with Reverence. enough so to fight a Falke and FUCKING WIN. (killed a god, pog)
#funny#humor#lol#haha#writeblr#writer stuff#writing#creative writing#writers#stuff i think about#simps#cute#romance#lesbians#signalis
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Take all the time you need! And please ping me when you expand on those thoughts - if you don't mind.
Okay, back to designing.
I'm moderately opposed to making the Shades talk for previously mentioned reasons, but I could see giving "X speaks of Y" style summaries in the action popup. They're not really the people who died (or almost died), more like impression fossils. The lights are on, but nobody's home. We think.
The Ku Flame
Your idea for Hikari are a worthy inclusion, the only question is how. And the answer to that depends on how the fight works. If I were programming a game I'd be more inclined to do a mostly-standard boss fight with some extra narrative. If I were writing a fic, however, the 2v2 with Path Actions, Talents, and Latents all getting involved would be easier to pull off in that format. The quote would be something like "Ageha, you are relieved of duty!" In a more standard boss fight it fits better as "entering second phase" or maybe post-boss dialogue. In the 2v2 narrative puzzle it can be a Full Boost quote. It really only makes sense to say once; and maybe Ageha's Shade could seem to respond to it? You probably get prompted to activate Light's Radiance for the final blow.
Ageha's Shade shouldn't get minions. He was a general in life, but like you said, he's the last vestiges of the old Ku. He doesn't have an army anymore. On a side note I want this guy to yell "FIX BAYONETS" so bad but guns aren't available yet. Need to pick out a Boost message, a Boost Attack, regular moveset because it can't be all support... so everything. Definitely gets Rally Troops or a similar move by the same name though.
Tanzy was an aspiring playwright, but it seems she never published. In Giselle's troupe she served as director, so it could be fun (more fun in a standard boss fight where there are more characters) to let her Shade mess around with turn order. Like, oh, you were setting Hikari up to counter Ageha's shields off? Haha no the adds just got moved to the top of the round and used up the Vengeful Blade stacks, Ageha's Shade is shouting orders, and Tanzy's Shade is about to hand you your ass. Speaking of adds, the most obvious basis is the other troupe members... but Tanzy pretty conclusively left them behind. Another possibility is to reference her unpublished scripts with unfinished marionettes, or if we want to have some fun, give Tanzy's Shade the same minions as Arcanette. Tanzy begins praying.... -> BREAK HER SHADE NOW! If this is a 2v2, Ruinous Kick makes sense as the Boost Attack because that's half your dudes. In a more standard fight, the Boost Attack should be something a bit more powerful. Regular moveset has the summon, the turn rearrange, probably a buff or two, and maybe a physical attack that inflicts something.
Agnea's Boost quote is mostly babbled interrogatives.
The Crackridge Flame
Ori's Shade is weak to Polearm/Dagger/Bow/Fire. Guess why. (some kind of Light element attack because come on it's in her name) Stop the Presses! / So Tired: inflicts Speed Extremely Down Dear Diary: equivalent to the Merchant job's Rest. Name does not change after Ori's Shade is broken for the first time. Ori can't do this anymore. -> this is gonna hurt
The Final Night sounds like it should be the Boost Attack for Lucian's Shade, but it would also be really funny to have it be the weakest attack. We'd need to name Lucian's other works to name the Shade's attacks... think we could crib Nearer the Flame from the Stormlight Archive? Lucian retrieves a notebook.... -> this is gonna hurt slightly less
Temenos starts going through all of Lucian's works, trying to line them up with the Shade's attacks, and Osvald is experiencing the internal conflict between "not my SpIn, not my problem" and the knowledge that it is Very Much His Problem. Castti is probably in the background like "oh shit I have seen that girl before."
Osvald will offer to explode the person responsible even if you hit Crackridge after Flamechurch. There is no expiration date on Grandpa Blast.
The Toto'haha Flame
Hm, fair point. I figured Castti's usual Slightly Unhinged Boost quotes fit the emotional charge well enough, but this wouldn't be that long after Trousseau. The metaphorical wound is still raw. She could have a Boost quote demanding that the Apothecary's Shade get out of her way. It can't understand her, but she doesn't know that. We could give the apothecary a name, but it also works to leave him completely unknown. Just another cooling body.
Keep the Grotesque Monster's weaknesses (Axe/Bow/Ice/Light), mostly physical moveset since the Apothecary's Shade is handing out debuffs. Give it the Grotesque Monster's Piercing Cry, because if I heard someone like Petrichor start screaming out of nowhere I would be pretty freaked out. Petrichor gives off an ominous aura! -> Apply axe to face, repeat. Hunt the Weak: single target physical, damage increases with number of debuffs and afflictions on target. This is kind of a dark mirror of Drastic Measures, but it works.
Someone's Shade is passing out every negative effect in the game. Bow weakness works, maybe also Dagger and something else for game balance I dunno.
Ochette's Full Boost quote for this fight is "I can't forgive you!"
At some point Temenos makes the connection between some of Petrichor's comments and Roi's disappearance, promptly flips out.
The Flamechurch Flame
The design philosophy here is basically OKAY EVERYONE, PUT ON YOUR ARCANETTE HATS, TODAY WE ARE BEING MEAN TO TEMENOS! And part of that is making him watch two of the most important people in his life aid and protect their killer. So that's 3 and 4. 3 has the extra gutpunch of making him wait for the other shoe to drop.
Crick's Shade can keep his playable moveset. Weak to Sword/Staff/Dark. You know why. Crick is watching Temenos.... -> For a moment, a player could mistake this for a "skip a turn" message, maybe a hint that the people who left the Shades behind are still in there (this is intended to be perceived in-universe)... NOPE THAT'S THE BOOST MESSAGE. Also a callback to the Felvarg. Should we make Crick's Shade have a Boost Attack that sacrifices itself, or is that too limiting in Mean To Temenos potential?
Pontiff JĂśrg's Shade gets the Standard Cleric Weaknesses of Sword/Dagger/Axe/Dark. It has reason to use the Cleric moveset, but I was thinking we could nab something else from the Claude fight and give it Reflective Veil from the OT1 Cleric. Also, Lock Away. The move that prevents the target from recieving aid or items from any other party member. (And a slight nod to Whatever Was Up With Alpates.) Starts battle by using it on Temenos.
(Balance-wise, Temenos can break Crick with his base kit but not the Pontiff partially because this works with the story - Temenos hitting Crick's worldview with a metaphorical sledgehammer vs That's Your Dad - and partially because between Temenos' Latent and ThronĂŠ turning into a protective blender it's probably fine.)
ThronĂŠ uses her "Sorry, but I won't hold back!" Max Boosting quote for this fight, but even using the same voice clip it's meant to come off in a slightly different light. (You ever think about how her HP Thief bark is a sarcastic "You're too kind." and her "healed by Temenos" bark is a much more genuine "You're too kind, Temenos"? Because I have.) Temenos tries to talk himself out of a breakdown when Max Boosting. He fails. Possibly devolving from "keep it together, that isn't really him" early in the fight to beaten-dog whimpering in the second phase.
2v2 narrative puzzle ramble One reason I'm more inclined to use this for a fic is that the Journey For The Dawn locks you out of your daytime Path Actions. Sun's not rising. In writing, there's less trouble with carving out an exception in the game mechanics. The idea I had was that the Shade battles would yank the corresponding travelers into a sort of dream space where it isn't day exclusive or night. Kind of like a cross between Temenos' "The truth lies in the flame" Detective Vision thing and whatever was going on while Hikari duked it out with his shadow. (Said shadow: "Not me this time. I'm not touching that with a ten-foot pole.") From the outside, the two fighting appear to be asleep standing up, twitching and mumbling as if caught in a particularly vivid dream. Temenos "Commitment to the bit" Mistral sees two people snap out of that trance for the first time and immediately goes "Welcome back. ^_^" ThronĂŠ may or may not be winding up to smack him.
This also works with having both the Arcanette fight and the Shade fight at Flamechurch. Arcanette certainly looks like she could cast Spell of Really Bad Trip. Basically ThronĂŠ and Temenos are in the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Boss Fight while everyone else is trying very hard to kill Arcanette with hammers.
Back to Path Actions, I still don't know how all of those would work. Going down the list
Agnea: Entreat to get "Tanzy" to show you her journal works, Allure doesn't. Both these people have chosen their paths. Hikari: Challenge is a little redundant but potentially serviceable, Bribe less so.
Partitio: Purchase and Hire could both work for trying to coax "Ori" back to the land of the living. Purchasing a paper moreso. Osvald: Trying to get at Lucian's notes fits Scrutinize or Mug, although Mug is again redundant. Let him see that!
Ochette: Provoke is already happening, especially with Petrichor's Shade dropping everything to focus Ochette down if she summons one of the Creatures of Legend. Befriend is... not happening. Petrichor can starve. (Party pretty sure this is the first time they're heard Ochette curse.) Castti: Inquiring to get the unknown apothecary's name so the party can effectively lay him to rest is kind of sweet. In that vein, Soothe has already been done with Malaya and also believe her she's trying!
Temenos: Guide has also been done already, and Coerce is not only kind of already happening but isn't going to work on Shades. Sorry, Temenos, no chances to say goodbye for you. ThronĂŠ: Stealing in combat is already part of the Thief kit (also pickpocketing Temenos' family in front of him is Not Cool Dude). Ambush is OP in anything resembling an actual fight, so that's another no.
So we're 4/16, 5.5/16 with partial credit included. Unless you have better ideas. Still wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
Latent Powers, Talents, and EX Skills though...
All Together Now... probably not. Dance Session maybe. Song of Hope a more positive maybe Learned Skills would be great if this were Jin Mei's Shade. See Light's Radiance prompt above.
Hilarious though Negotiate Schedule may be, nothing of Partitio's really works here. Teach... maybe?
Indomitable Beast into Beastly Fangs looks fun. Or Indomitable Beast into Provoke Beasts. Get her ass, fellas! Concoct has potential for showing the Apothecary's Shade how it's done... except it's mindless.
Moonlight Judgement: hehehe. Could have it not proc at the start of battle, wait until Temenos pulls himself together enough to effectively fight the Shades. This works better in the Arcanette + Shades version of the fight. Prayer for Plenty and Heavenly Shine both have story potential. Blessing of Darkness: "Consider the following: mine's better." Veil of Darkness is also good here.
Took "standard class weaknesses" from the Dolcinea fight with Love's Marionette, for the record.
Things about Octopath Traveler 2 that I think about WAY too much 2/????
Under the cut for late game spoilers, loose and speculative nonsense
So the four sacred flames and their connections with the gods connected to each one.
Brand and Sealticge to the Ku Flame
Alephan and Bifelgan to the Crackridge Flame
Dohter and Draefendi to the Toto'haha Flame
And Aelfric and Aeber to the Flameschurch Flame
Going to go ahead and put it out there, that my head canon is that the Moonshade order successfully completed the sacrifices line out in the Book of Night in this manner: Pontiff Jorg (Cleric, Temenos chapter 1), unnamed apothecary in Canalbrine (Temenos Chapter 2), scholar in Canalbrine (who's name I don't remember, also from Temenos Chapter 2) Tanzy (dancer/Sealticge aligned), Petrichor (Hunter), Ageha (Warrior), Ori (merchant), and Crick (Thief, as mentioned in some dialogue in Stormhail about his background).
I feel like, in a lot of ways, these flames would have been great spots for boss fights. I feel like, for a game like Octopath Traveler 2, just getting to relight the flames with ease was a bit too easy. There's a couple of different routes I personally would have taken with them.
Option 1 (least favorite) - the party fights a shadow creature of some type (excluding in Flameschurch because there is already a boss fight there). Alternatively, remix the chosen travelers' final chapter boss fight.
Option 2 - the party fights the shadows of the sacrifices associated with that flames gods (so Ku would be Ageha and Tanzy, Crackridge would be Ori and the scholar from Temenos Chapter 2, Toto'haha would be Petrichor and that unnamed apothecary from Temenos's Chapter 2, and Flameschurch (after Arcanette), would be Crick and the Pontiff (not a fun fight for Temenos especially)). Standard boss fights would be cool, but you could go a step further and have it a two on two fight with the chosen travelers against those shadows where path actions and skills came into play in defeating the shadows. Also makes the relighting of the flames a bit more personal. You've got potential either way with this option for some really cool character exploration and thematic resolution. This one is probably my personal favorite.
Option 3 - the party (or just the chosen travelers for that flame) fight the gods themselves (as a test). There's a few ways to do this too: 1. fight images of the gods. 2. the statues of the gods by the flames come to life and you fight those, not dissimilar to Osvald's chapter 4 fight with the Golem. 3. You fight a being of combined powers of the two gods, a strange and otherworldly combination of Alephan and Bifelgan for example, staff and scales in hand, plying magic and calling allies, making it rain in leaves as easily as flashes of magic lightning, or Brand and Sealticge (which I think would look something akin to Hinoekagura). This is also a personal favorite just to see how when faced with the gods, our travelers might act, when within the world itself the gods are mostly pretty hands off. The situation with Vide is an urgent one, and I think the gods would be willing to test their chosen in the final hour to make sure that they are truly ready.
I just think it would have been neat
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