#no one can win against a corp | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

flametrashiraarchive · 1 year ago

Note

Reader teaching Haganezuka how to eat that kittykat and fuck it properly because we all know he's a virgin still uwu

(bonus points for size kink, implied age gap [reader 20s])

(bonus points and cookies for Haganezuka being so focused, listening very intently to the puss eating lesson but gets super into it and tunes out reader as he begins to figure what to do and he can't stop himself from overstimmulating reader, which has reader smacking his head so he finally lets go)

Argh yes okay here we go! I love this beautiful nutjob and I got carried away. (I left the age of the reader ambiguous because personally I am old as shit, but I think I get cookies still for the overstimmulating?)

Also... I really want to write a part 2. I want us to take care of him after the events of season 3 because I just know that once the adrenaline wore off this poor man was hurting so bad.

Anyway, enjoy!

UNBREAKABLE, UNQUENCHABLE.

F!Reader x Hotaru Haganezuka

Content Guidance: cunnilingus, fingering, unprotected vaginal sex, overstimulation, not stopping when reader tells him to (reader is still into it though)

Minors DNI.

"I don't make swords for civilians," the swordsmith said, his voice deep and his tone final. He turned away from you, continuing his journey down the mountain path, the soft thud of his footsteps accompanied by the gentle tinkling of the windchimes hanging from his hat.

Your heart sank for a moment before you steeled your resolve and renewed your determination. It was never going to be easy and you'd mentally prepared for rejection. This swordsmith was infamous for his unbending resolve and temper.

Running a step ahead of him, you turned to stare into the wide bug-eyes of his hyottoko mask. "Please, Haganezuka... I need a nichirin blade."

He continued walking as if he expected to simply pass through you. "No."

"But it's the only thing I can use to kill demons."

He paused. "Demon slayers kill demons. Not civilians. No sword for you."

"I am a demon slayer, just not an official one." You brace yourself for a telling off. Usually whenever you admitted to going rogue you were met with lectures about the proper way to do things and told to leave things to the demon slayer corps— but their numbers were dwindling and you'd never quite figured out breathing styles well enough for your sensei to agree to send you to final selection. Still, hacking and slashing got the job done with the right blade. "Please, Haganezuka. I had a sword with your stamp on it before. It was the best blade I've ever had and—"

"Where did you get it?" His voice was strained as if forced between gritted teeth.

"I found it..."

"SOMEONE LOST MY SWORD?"

"Yes... maybe, but I found it. It served me well and I really want another."

He turned his face away from you slightly, making the windchimes ring. "What happened to it? Did you lose the sword too?"

"No, it broke."

You could've sworn he was vibrating. "m-m-m-m-m-m-my SWORD???"

The elongated lips of the mask poked your cheek as he stepped right up against you. His haori concealed the true size and density of his body, but with him standing so close, you could tell he was muscular and incredibly strong. He was also apparently unhinged, but then again, you reasoned, what was life without a little zest?

“YOU BROKE MY SWORD??”

You'd been pre-warned that his swords were the key to winning him over, so you kept your voice level as you emptied your arsenal. "Your sword was the finest sword I have ever seen. It was an honor to wield it, Mr. Haganezuka. Not even the blade of a hashira could compare to the sublime craftsmanship of that sword. I dream about that sword." You placed a hand on his chest, feeling the heat of his body pulse against your palm as you added in a lower, more sultry tone. "And I've dreamed about meeting the artist who forged such a perfect sword for a very long time."

His chest rose sharply as he pushed out the only response he could manage; a strained, breathless grunt.

Taking his broad, calloused hand in yours, you gazed into the eyes of his mask. "Mr. Haganezuka... please make me a sword?"

The trees swayed overhead, the sigh of the leaves the only break in the utter silence between you and the swordsmith.

"Mister Haganezuka?"

The windchimes tinkled. "Tell me your name."

You told him, and he repeated it back, slowly and carefully as if trying it out.

The mask's mouth moved to your nose as he stared you in the eyes. "Mine is Hotaru. Do you need a husband?"

"I... uhh..." you stammered, suddenly feeling very warm as the heat of his burly frame pulsed against you. "Do I need a..."

He carefully removed the hyottoko mask and with it, removed every particle of air from your lungs. Ravenette hair threaded with silver, amber eyes which glowed like the forge, dark, severe eyebrows which slanted downward as he awaited your answer. He was... beautiful, treading the fine line between painfully pretty and achingly rugged.

"Yes." You said firmly. "Yes I do need a husband."

-------------------------------------------------------

Two days later you were married to Hotaru and about to spend your first night at the Swordsmith Village. Ordinarily, outsiders had to undergo a lengthy initiation process to ensure the village remained a secret, but the village chief fast-tracked your application and damn near pulled you through the gates himself.

It seemed he was just as keen as you were to get your marriage to Hotaru underway. In fact, the whole village pitched in to ensure your wedding went ahead quickly and without a snag.

“Thank you for marrying Hotaru,” the village chief whispered while you were in the middle of your vows. “You have no idea the relief you have brought to the village. We were beginning to lose hope. He has never shown any interest in anything besides swords. Once Hotaru finds something to focus his attention on it's nigh impossible to tear him away from it.”

Before you knew it, you were a wife, married to a man so introverted he spent the majority of your wedding day hiding behind a tree, peering out at you as you chatted to the villagers. In fact, he only came out from behind the tree when someone walked over to congratulate him on the marriage, and even then it was only to find a different tree to hide behind.

"Hotaru..." you sighed adoringly as you slipped away from the crowd to stand beside your husband in his hiding spot. "Are you unhappy?"

He shook his head. "No. I'm happy."

"Ah... You just prefer to be alone?"

"Yes. With you. I want to be alone with you."

He was a strange man, but he melted your heart with every other word. And Gods, he was beautiful. You yearned for him like no other. You craved him.

"Husband, for my wedding gift, will you—"

"No sword for you," he said firmly. "No fighting demons. No risking your life. You are my wife now and it's my job to protect you, even if that means protecting you from yourself. So no sword."

You couldn't help but smile. It seemed Hotaru's dedication to being a husband was as intense as his dedication to smithing.

"I promise, no more demon slaying, but I wasn't going to ask about the sword."

"Oh?"

You leaned in and whispered against his ear. "I was going to ask you to take me to bed."

His orange eyes snapped to your lips as though he couldn't quite believe what you had said. He cleared his throat and tried to speak but only managed a choked grunt.

Silence descended between you until he finally found his voice. "I don't know how to do… those things."

"I can teach you."

He didn't speak. He simply took your hand in his and led you away from the wedding party and deep into the woods. After a minute he looked back at you and picked you up, carrying you against his burly chest.

"Where are we going?" you asked.

"A place where we can be alone. They won't find us."

He carried you a little further, to a small, seemingly abandoned work shed. Inside there was a small forge and smithing tools, and a small living area with a bed and basic amenities. The air was thick with the lingering tang of smoke and molten steel.

"Is... this our home?"

Hotaru shook his head. "This is where I come to work in peace when I really need to concentrate.''

He set you down carefully beside the bed and waited. Except, he wasn't simply "waiting." Hotaru's eyes drank you in, gazing at you with soft reverence. He was so big, so intimidating and by all accounts completely lacking any kind of social skills, but you had won his heart entirely. He was softer than molten steel for you, and more than willing for you to hone and hammer him into the shape you desired him to be.

"Teach me," he said. "I'm ready."

You nodded, your heart thrumming with the anticipation of what was to come. "Okay. Would you like to use your fingers? Your tongue? Or your cock?"

"Yes. All. Teach me how to use them."

Marrying this strange man had definitely been one of your better decisions.

Closing the space between you, you wrapped your arms around your husband's neck and gazed into those fiery eyes. "Well, we should start with a kiss. Do you know how to do that?"

His brow knitted. "Yes of course I know how to kiss."

"Good. Then kiss me, Hotaru."

He leaned down and pecked your cheek.

"Was that good?" An expectant look lingered on his face, faltering by the second. "I... that's what you want, isn't it? Do you want more? I can give you more."

Gods, the man was completely uninitiated.

Still, you couldn't help but smile as he eagerly peppered your cheek with little kisses; dozens of them, soft and dry and so sweet. His brow remained furrowed in concentration throughout, and you remained patient as he expressed his devotion. But when they inched closer to the corner of your mouth you turned your face to press your lips to his.

The moment your lips touched, he froze, eyes wide as you gently and slowly pulled him into your kiss.

His lips were still and stiff beneath yours as he adjusted to the new sensation. And then they softened. Gradually, tentatively, he followed your lead. His lips crept across yours, careful and slow like he was learning the steps to a new dance and didn't want to tread on you.

You licked the seam between his lips, easing your tongue through the gap as he inhaled sharply and he brought his hands to your waist.

And then something inside him snapped. A restraint cut loose.

He wound his arms around you, lifting you off the ground. The strength in his arms was breathtaking; forged by decades of tireless labor, and now wholly dedicated to you as he pushed you down onto the bed and slipped his tongue into your mouth, exploring this newfound pleasure.

Your kisses awakened a voracious appetite in him and before long he was devouring you with heated passion, barely giving you time to breathe. It was as if he had gone his entire life without intimacy, but once the dam had cracked it was impossible to stop the flood.

His tongue stroked yours again and again as his tough hands skated up the length of your legs. When he reached your knees he granted your tingling lips a reprieve, kissing your throat as he pushed up the skirt of your wedding dress and squeezed the tender flesh of your thighs with a wanton groan.

"My pretty wife," he growled as you shifted beneath him, craving his touch. "Tell me how to make you feel good."

You parted your legs, pulling your skirt up all the way to reveal yourself to him. A sharp intake of breath expanded Hotaru's chest as he looked down at your pussy. A muscle in his cheek danced and his grip on your thighs tightened as his eyes filled with a look of pure hunger.

"Do you want to touch me?" you asked, your breaths coming in shallow bursts as anticipation coiled in your belly.

His answer was barely a whisper. "Very much." He swallowed hard. "May I?"

"Please... please do," you whispered, your need for him drowning out the rest of the world. It was just you and Hotaru, and nothing else mattered.

The sound of his shaking breaths was the only break in the silence. His hand left your thigh and he gently brushed his fingertips along the edge of your folds.

“Soft,” Was the only word which emerged from his lips as he stared and explored the shape of you. His orange eyes were focused, his perpetually furrowed brow somehow even more severe. Hotaru was lost in concentration, entirely focused on mapping the curves and ridges of your cunt.

You lay there on the bed, letting him find his bearings. His gentle exploratory touches sent shivers through your body. Those rough, calloused fingers touched you with such care and attentiveness. His eyes snapped back to yours every time you made a sound or breathed a little harder.

Hotaru was a devoted craftsman– his hands finely tuned tools– and they were dedicated entirely to your pleasure. He found your entrance and pushed a finger into you, watching intently as your pussy clenched around it.

You sighed in pleasure. "Gods, Hotaru, you're making me so wet…"

"Is that good? Am I making you happy?"

"Yes. That's good."

"Hm," he muttered, as if filing the information away. "A wet wife is a happy wife."

A sharp gasp escaped you as he nudged the hood of your clit with his thumb and his lips curved into a smile.

"You like this, don't you?" He hummed pensively and circled your clit, spreading your wetness.

Squirming beneath him, you nodded as the heat on your cheeks blossomed. "Yes, Hotaru. Keep doing that."

Gods, those rough hands. They sent jolts of pleasure surging through your body as he lavished attention on your clit, fascinated by the way it swelled as he worked with dogged determination. He added another thick finger to your cunt, stretching you deliciously.

A quiet groan emerged from him as you began to fuck yourself on his fingers, hard and fast as he rubbed your clit. He watched you intently, his lips parting in sync with your cry as your first orgasm of the night rocked through your body.

"Oh look at you, my pretty wife with your sensitive little bead." He moved down your body, lowered his head and nuzzled your clit with his nose.

"Ho-taru…"

The wet heat of his mouth closed over your tender bud, pulling another cry from your lips.

"Ah! You like that too," he murmured as he knelt between your knees, his long, dark hair spread like strands of seaweed across your thighs.

"Yes. D-do it again… please… use your tongue."

“My tongue?”

You sucked in a breath as he licked your clit with the tip of his tongue, tasting your essence.

He groaned. "Mm~ fuck, this is good."

"More… please…"

In response to your demand, he raised his hand to press his thumb against your lower lip. "Show me how to lick you well."

Gods, this man. You took his thumb into your mouth, showing him exactly what to do, licking the tip of it as if it was your clit. He groaned as you lapped his thumb, his eyes fluttering shut as his jaw clenched.

"That feels… huh…" He bit back a groan before burying his face in your pussy and replicating the motion on your clit.

Thank the Gods he has the foresight to take you away from the village, because the sounds he pulled from you were unholy. He was eager and so receptive to your lessons.

Hotaru put everything he had into eating your pussy; the slick, sucking sound of his mouth and his hot, wet tongue accompanied by your desperate cries. With every passing moment his confidence grew, pumping those thick fingers into you and curling them against your walls, his mouth and fingers working in tandem to give you more pleasure than you ever expected.

As he pleasured you, he ground his hips against the mattress, groaning as he pushed his fingers deeper into your mouth. It was too good, too intense. Your senses were flooded with him; the sight of that beautiful man devouring you, the acrid scent of the forge, the lewd wet sound of his mouth on your cunt. And Gods, nothing had ever felt so good before.

Hotaru was born to forge swords and eat pussy, and he did both with unbreakable focus.

You sucked his fingers and he sucked your clit, groaning as he voraciously lapped the sensitive nub, driving you higher… higher…

An immense wave of pleasure crashed through you as you reached your peak, the force of your orgasm making your legs tremble. His name tore through you like a cry to the heavens, his answer a soft moan which vibrated through your core as he kept on licking. On and on, lapping at your pulsing clit as you gasped and bucked your hips against his insatiable mouth.

"Ho-taru… you did it… you made me–"

Taking his fingers from your mouth, he slung a heavy arm across your belly and continued eating you out, unrelenting, pulling another choked cry from you. Hotaru was drunk on you, on the taste and the knowledge that he was pleasing you; groaning, grinding his hips against the mattress, breathing in the intoxicating scent of you as he fluttered his tongue over your overstimulated clit.

The village chief had told you his focus was unbreakable, and now that attention was dedicated to your pussy. He was lost in you, wholly devoted to pleasuring you. You tangled your fingers in his hair, torn between needing respite and craving more.

He propelled you from your second orgasm right into your third. Intense pleasure drove your head back against the pillow as you screamed in ecstasy and torment, your pussy throbbing beneath his lips as your nectar ran down his chin. And still, he licked you with an unquenchable thirst.

"Hotaru! Ho- oh it's too much.”

He hit a spot inside your cunt which made the world shatter around the pair of you, sending you careening into another climax which turned your blood to liquid steel. “Too much! I can't!" You swatted at his forehead, smacking him with your fingertips as you wriggled out from beneath him.

Your husband stared at you, dazed and breathless, his lips glistening with your slick juices. "Did… did I do it right?"

You gasped for air, trembling down to your bones. “You did it perfectly, Hotaru.”

He pulled you into him and kissed you. You licked the taste of your desire from his lips, swallowing the low groan which rolled from his chest. His lips caressed yours with deep, undying passion, his hand dropping to the bulge tenting his hakama trousers.

“Let me take care of you now,” you whispered into his ear as your hand joined his, cupping his cock and making him moan. “Lie back for me, my love.”

He did as you asked without protest. It was true that you wanted to take care of him and give him as much pleasure as he had given you, but in a more practical sense, being on top of him allowed you to have control. You were already so fucked out, and from the feel of things–from the girth and weight of it through his trousers– control was definitely going to be necessary.

You stood from the bed and undressed as he gazed up at you, languidly palming his cock in his broad hand and drinking in the sight of you.

“Such a lovely wife,” he whispered, his orange eyes heavy with desire.

“And I have such a handsome husband…” you replied as you undressed him, revealing his big, muscular body inch by firmly hewn inch. He was a mountain of a man, and Gods, there wasn’t a thing you would change about him. “A handsome husband who pleases me well…” You kissed him, gently pushing him back and straddling his hips. “And who makes the very best swords in all the world–”

“Ohh…” He groaned, gripping your hips as you brushed the fat tip of his cock against your pussy. “Say that again.”

“Hm? That you’re the best swordsmith in the world?” You eased the top inch of him in, letting your body adjust to the sensation. “That your swords are works of art?”

“Gods, I want you,” he hissed, baring his teeth and gazing up at you from the pillow. A deep, longing groan emerged from him as you inched your way down his length. “You… you are…so warm… so wet… beautiful.”

You skated your hands over the plain of his abdomen, taking him deeper, your back arching as he stretched you even at that slow pace. When you finally reached the bottom of his shaft, you were breathless, tingling at your core. Hotaru was even less composed than you.

The swordsmith growled, bending his knees to slide his legs up and down the mattress, fighting the urge to fuck up into you. His cock twitched inside you as you rocked forward to kiss him, your breasts pressed against his burly chest, his rough hands skating up your back.

“I love you, Hotaru,” you whispered before rocking back to start riding his cock.

“I–ngggh ohh… ohhh!” he groaned, eyes widening, fingers digging into your hips with bruising ferocity as you bounced on top of him. His control slipped almost immediately.

He fell apart, groaning and thrusting up into you with a loud moan. His eyes screwed shut, his face flushed scarlet, and he trembled beneath you as his cum flooded into you, spilling out onto the base of his cock.

Pulling you down into an embrace, Hotaru held you in his arms, his heart thrumming beneath your ear. His big, broad hand stroked your back as he kissed the top of your head and his cock softened inside you.

After his breathing returned to normal, he gathered his senses long enough to ask, “Do you need more, my love?”

“I’m more than satisfied,” you said with a smile.

He was asleep a second later.

You lay there, pinned by his arms, crushed up against this strange, wonderful man you called your husband, and there was nowhere else you would rather be.

#The Collected Works of Flamey 📖#kny haganezuka #hotaru haganezuka #haganezuka x reader #haganezuka smut #demon slayer haganezuka

3K notes · View notes

yuff7e · 4 months ago

Text

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ tanjiro, inosuke, & zenitsu bf headcanons !! gender neutral reader

the cuties song -> www.spotify.com

𐙚 ‧₊˚ ⋅ tanjiro !!

- literally the cutest ever.

- he’s soso respectful and genuine

- if you want a boy that will genuinely listen to you and how you feel about certain things, get a tanjiro.

- he deserves sm love and he’d definitely put you in his top priorities while also making sure you weren’t getting hurt in the process !!

- he’s a big fan of physical touch, so if you’re also training to be a hashira don’t be surprised when everytime he passes you he brushes his hand up against yours. (HES SO CUTE IMA EAT HIM)

- WILL defend you.

- like if someone’s talking bad about you he’s walking right up to them with no fear

- of course, he isn’t aggressive so he would handle the situation calmly

- “why are you saying that about [name]-sama? did they do something to you?”

- will purposely choose you each time they get to pick who they want to train with, and will get a little jelly if u don’t pick him

- but it’s fine !! as long as he sees you happy he’s happy.

- you’re one of the people he trusts with nezuko during the daytime, and will let you carry her box if you ask

- he enjoys seeing you and his sister spending time together, he feels like you’re genuinely apart of his family

- he finds comfort in you when he’s missing his family, and isn’t ashamed to cry or show his true emotions infront of you

- he likes it when you hang out with inosuke and zenitsu too, but gets a little embarrassed if they act weird.

- like, if zenitsu starts flirting with you or inosuke starts screaming like a grizzly bear

- he knows you wouldn’t judge him though, he just wishes his friends acted cooler around you !! because … you’re so cool !!

- “i want to be with you forever, [name]-chan.”

—

𐙚 ‧₊˚ ⋅ inosuke !!

- ohh boy, you got this man’s attention.

- if you seriously got him to like you and date you, you’re the one and you don’t have a choice

- you’re definitely his top priority besides defeating muzan

- like genuinely you’re right up there, you’re over his basic needs like eating and sleeping

- he can get a little flustered if you’re a fan of physical touch and decide to touch him in front of tanjiro or zenitsu

- but he secretly loves it, although he’d never tell you that !! (just kidding, he absolutely would but would make you swear to never tell anyone)

- WILL flex infront of you during training, especially his arm and back muscles. since he’s so flexible he’d show that off too

- “hey babe check this out!” (cue him spinning on his head, crashing into 4 different hashiras and getting in trouble)

- he’d have those moments where he’d just stare at you and gawk, not even in a weird way but genuinely just because he likes you so much

- like you’re so attractive !! and nice !! and… amazing !!

- if you were as flexible and strong as him just know he’d be picking you and training everyday and not hold back

- like he’d throw you over his head and if you lost he’d laugh at you, but if you win and knock him over your head he’d be head over heels

- he loves it when you beat him, which sounds crazy considering the fact inosuke is a pretty sore loser .. but when it comes to you and seeing how strong you are he’s so impressed

- that was one of the main reasons he started to like you

- you’re basically his idol, and that MEANS SOMETHIMG BRO !!!! RAAHGG !!

- i think his love language would be gift giving, hes definitely showing up to the demon corps with a pretty rock he found and putting it on your nightstand and wait for you to notice

- “inosuke! did you get me this?”

- “no”

—

𐙚 ‧₊˚ ⋅ zenitsu !!

- such a flirt we already know this

- but, he’s also extremely respectful

- he has pretty bad self control but if he genuinely likes you and who you are instead of just what you look like he’s actually a great guy

- he’s the definition of if he wanted to he would

- like, if you’re sad he’d get you 3 bouquets of roses and the other 3 would be outside because he couldn’t carry them all

- “zenitsuu!! you didn’t have to do that!!”

- “if it’s for my lady/man i’d do anything!!”

- his love language is love in any form

- physical touch, gift giving, words of affirmation

- but omg does this boy needs words of affirmation

- there’s a big part of him that feels unworthy of your love, like - you seriously love him? no way.

- will wake up with a HUGE smile on his face every morning with you being the first thing on his mind

- would beg to share a room with you alone, not for anything weird (although zenitsu is lowkey so weird) he genuinely doesn’t want his friends to see you sleeping (╥﹏╥)

- he gets so jelly over every single thing, like - why do inosuke and tanjiro get to see you sleeping?! in your purest form!! ahhhhh!!

- would pick you every time during training and if you pick someone else he’s begging you to train with him until you finally give in and train with him

- if not and you’re adamant on training with somebody else he’s giving that person a death stare the whole time, no exceptions

- unless you tell him to stop, he’ll try - but he can’t help himself… you’re just so amazing

- he always talks to you about yalls future together and will actually get emotional as he speaks, holding onto your hands as he speaks about how yall are going to have 5 kids and a big house

- “i love you so much [name]-chan!!! i want you to marry me!!!”

—

yay that’s it !! thx for reading guys :3 i might do the other hashiras next, but if anyone has any demon slayer requests PLEASE send them in, demon slayer is one of my biggest interests right now and i will go OFF while writing for you guys !! send em in !!

REQUESTS : OPEN

444 notes · View notes

narraboths · 1 year ago

Text

“You got anything to tell me about yesterday’s interview, Ponytail?”

Being cornered by one’s editor is rarely a good sign. Being cornered by a harried Snapper Carr one month into her tenure as a rookie reporter would be enough to give others nightmares for a month. Maybe ulcers. Kara, though, she’s been having a great week, and she’s not about to let anyone ruin it.

“Nope.” She pops the p a little. Something about Snapper’s moroseness always pushes her to be spitefully chipper.

“Nothing out of the ordinary?”

“Not at all.”

“Hm.” Snapper nurses the thought with that dour, toothachey look that Kara’s come to learn is directed at her just as much as it is a sign of his general displeasure with the world. He pulls out his phone, jabbing at the screen. “So do you mind explaining to me why my cub reporter is on the front page of every gossip rag from here to Metropolis as the Mystery Blonde Caught in Luthor’s Web?”

That can’t be right is immediately the tip of Kara’s tongue but it freezes there, along with the incredulous laugh threatening to burst out of her, because Snapper is shoving his phone in her face and–

“It’s not what it looks like,” she blurts out, instinctively, then winces at her own choice of words. Great save. “I was just being considerate.”

It’s true, really. She was only holding the door open for Lena as they left L-Corp (Lena was on the move the whole day, they did half of the interview in the back of her Range Rover, flitting between offices), and it only happened that Lena’s hand fell to her forearm, a completely innocent gesture, as innocent as Lena’s smile, as the way she swayed a little closer, saying thank you as she strode by. And sure, Kara may have felt mesmerized for a single, fleeting moment, suddenly so deeply flustered by the gentle weight of Lena’s hand that she almost cracked the door handle in two, but who wouldn’t? Lena Luthor just has a remarkable presence. Why are they letting paparazzi camp out at the L-Corp doorstep, anyways?

“I’ve never seen Luthor that affectionate with anyone.” Snapper eyes Kara suspiciously, his face screaming why you of all people, bumbling rookie who can barely even spell?. “I’ve never seen any of the Luthors affectionate with anyone at all.”

“Guess it’s just my natural charm, sir.” Kara flashes the most annoyingly innocent smile she can, then squares her shoulders. “Did you actually read my article?”

There’s a beat of silence, Snapper staring daggers at her. Then finally, finally, he lets out an annoyed huff.

“Of course I read it. It’s going out first thing tomorrow.” He pockets his phone, then rubs his face with a tired motion. “Make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

“You got it, boss.”

It happens again.

It happens again a bunch, really. (Kara at the L-Corp gala, at Lena’s table, the two of them in lively conversation, shoulders pressed together – she was telling me about L-Corp’s new green energy initiative, sir –, the fond smile and almost-teasing tone when Lena calls “yes, Miss Danvers?” at her press conference – she’s just nice! It’s not a crime! –, the candid of them on the CatCo balcony when Lena’s in house for her cover shoot, Kara gesturing excitedly and Lena leaning against the railing, hanging onto every word, a jacket two sizes too big wrapped around her shoulders – you know it gets cold out there. At least there’s no photos of her wrapping the jacket around Lena, their hands brushing together, the faint blush along the lines of Lena’s throat. That’d probably look pretty suspicious.) Snapper’s face takes on increasingly vivid shades of purplish red.

“Do we need to go over the meaning of journalistic integrity again, Danvers?”

Kara decides to take graduating from “Ponytail” as a win.

“We’re not– it’s not anything untoward,” she shoots back, arms crossed, only slightly blushing. In anger, certainly. “I’m doing my job. I grilled her on L-Corp still holding a contract with the government for anti-alien defense systems that Lex negotiated, just last week. There’s footage.”

“Yeah,” Snapper grinds his teeth so vehemently that Kara’s afraid he might crack a crown. “Footage of her hugging you in the hallway afterwards, too. What the hell were you doing?”

“She just thanked me, sir.” The vein on Snapper’s neck looks ready to burst. Kara makes a mental note to recommend meditation at a less belligerent time. “She said my question made it possible for her to make a public stance and really send a message.”

Snapper looks like he’s nearing an aneurysm.

“Hell, Danvers, that sounds even worse!”

It sounded pretty great, actually, Kara thinks, after the borderline unprofessional row they had in Lena’s office when Kara first broached the subject. It felt pretty great, too, not just Lena’s declaration, her renewed commitment to reject everything Lex and Lillian stand for, but the warmth of Lena’s pressed against her, her lips brushing against Kara’s cheek, the low murmur of “you’re such a wonderful friend” in her ear that gave her such a strange shiver. At least that much thankfully escaped the prying eyes and cameras.

“Either I don’t go near her, or CatCo continues to have the leading stories on one of National City’s most high-profile citizens.” She gives Snapper the steeliest look she can muster without letting her heat vision flare up. “And my covers are currently bringing in our biggest numbers. Sir.”

Snapper grinds his teeth again, but his shoulders sag just a touch, and Kara knows she’s won this round.

“You’re on thin ice, Danvers. Back to your desk.”

Kara complies with a grin and a thumbs up, and decides to take a break half an hour later, when Alex forwards her an article titled Bosom Buddies: Lena Luthor Out And About With CatCo Gal Pal with a subtle mix of skull, knife, and eyeroll emojis. She does save one of the photos, though, the one where Lena’s head’s thrown back in adorable, delightful laughter.

“Can you explain this one, Danvers?”

Snapper doesn’t look angry this time. No, he’s strangely calm, somewhat elated, even, slamming a whole bundle of newspapers down on her desk, jolting Kara out of her reverie. Half of them are National City publications, Kara vaguely notes, but there’s Metropolis and Gotham and Central City in the mix, too, as if it was the story of the century. Must be a slow news day.

“Of course, sir. I think the proper term is ‘first date’?”

To her greatest surprise, Snapper barks out a laugh, loud and gruff.

“You’re now barred from any future reporting on the Luthors or L-Corp,” he tells her, not without a touch of satisfaction. If Kara hadn’t been walking on sunshine for the past thirteen hours, twenty-eight minutes and forty-one seconds, since the first tentative press of Lena’s lips against her own, she might’ve felt a bit miffed. “Cat Grant’s setting aside a little time later in the afternoon to chew you out personally.”

Kara nods happily along. Withering tones and grim disapproval, the usual spiel, as if anything could dull that buzzing, electrifying feeling coursing through her body since last night, the weightless, feverish joy that grips her every time she thinks of Lena’s last text and everything can’t wait to see you again tonight could possibly entail.

“Yessir.”

“Congratulations, Danvers.” Snapper raps his knuckles against her desk. “Let’s spare each other the heartburn from now on.”

(Kara shows up with a hickey on her neck and the headlines of Lena Luthor Packs PDA With New Girlfriend the next day. Snapper refuses to look her in the eyes for the rest of the week.)

#supercorp #supercorp fic #my fic

1K notes · View notes

captainkirkk · 4 months ago

Text

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.

midnight sun by merils

Who would win: four men with guns who just happened to get Red Robin to walk into a trap, or one royally-pissed Kryptonian juggernaut?

Yeah, it's not even a contest.

reasons are better than rules by destiny919

"No one will actually explain Father's rules to me," Damian blurts out. "They tell me we don't kill, and killing is wrong, and Father would never do it, but no one ever actually says why! As if repeating the rule is the same as explaining it! As if I am supposed to just know, when I do not!"

Drake is quiet, eyes on something in the distance that Damian cannot see. "Damian, may I tell you a secret?"

Marvel

Thirty Hours by polaroid15

The sun sets. Peter breaks three toes and hits his head hard against concrete. There’s a steadily bleeding wound in his side that he’s staunched with his webbing and tries not to acknowledge it when it burns. He can still walk in a straight line, which is good. He’s starving and tired and cold. It’s been fifteen hours.

Or, Peter doesn't take any breaks during a lengthy fight with the Avengers. The mind-melting fever that follows really should have been expected.

Clone Wars

An Hourglass In Hand by ecarian

“I thought daemons didn’t eat,” Rex noted once, during a celebration feast, as he and Cody watched Boga devour her meal with some fascination. Varactyl she may be, but she was a tiny one. There wasn't much interior space for the truly momentous amount of meat she was ripping into.

Boga daintily rubbed her beak against a folded serviette that looked kind of like a bird, and said, prim, “I can do anything a human can do.”

“Oh?” Obi-Wan said mildly, from where he’d been tapping at a datapad. “Shall I save you a portion of these reports then?”

Set My Mind at Ease by Eightbitpale

Marshal Commander Cody - clone commanding officer of the 7th Sky Corps, second in command of the 212th attack battalion and, currently, the proud caretaker of one still-warm lightsaber - was having a very long day.

Actually, fuck that. It had been more than a long day. Long days were Cody’s bread and butter, practically his comfort zone. Marshall Commander Cody ate stim shots for breakfast and every shiny this side of Coruscant knew it. Long days were his bitch.

No, this had been more than a long day. Today had been a bad day.

———

The one where Cody and his general try their best to tell each other that they care. At least they’re trying.

Your Smile In Stone by ecarian

Wooley: can we arrest people for yelling this early?

There were two figures standing at the foot of General Kenobi's statue with their backs to Wooley, an adult with a hood, and a child with light hair. The child was pointing at a puddle of Temple tookas who were curled up in General Kenobi’s lap, lounging in the stone folds of his robes, the bend of his knee.

Wooley: belay that. Child nuisance.

The Goblin Emperor

Sweet Hope by baladric

Maia Drazhar arranges a festival, meets his gay aunt, falls in love with his secretary, and misses his mom through it all.

"In the way of true stories, there was no discernible beginning. Perhaps it had begun that first day, in the shabby receiving room at Edonomee; in the cockpit of the Radiance of Cairado; at the mooring mast of the Untheileneise Court, with that first smile.

The pith of the matter was that Maia Drazhar was wildly, tremulously in love, and love had made fools of much wiser men than he."

In All Its Forms by Anonymous

Before his father ruined everything, Nurevis Chavar only thought to introduce the new emperor to all the most beautiful things life could offer.

When he found himself free from relegation again after his father's death, would the emperor whose friendship he had sought so long ago wish his presence at court? And, if he could return to court, would his emperor wish his friendship again?

#i'm down with covid atm #which is why there are multiple longish fics on here considering i only just posted last week #thank you ao3 for your service #weekly fic round up #my posts #fic recs #the goblin emperor recs #tge recs #sw recs #dc recs #marvel recs

140 notes · View notes

imfoive · 2 months ago

Text

The Youngest Son - Chapter 7

Minho x Reader (fem.) Genre: non-idol au!, Suspense, Angst, Romance, Mature Warnings: mentions of drinking, cursing, pregnancy & abortion, power play, physical harm, somewhat proofread WC: 6.8K A/N: Would LOVE to hear everyone’s thoughts/reactions 😁 Feedback is always welcome, enjoy! ── MASTERLIST

Synopsis: The youngest son of the Lee family was stubborn, he was arrogant, he was conniving. Hiding it all behind the mask of a calm and collected man, the youngest son was a master at mind games. Playing a dangerous game where trust is a luxury and betrayal lurks around every corner. He had sworn once, to not let family ties or any feelings hold him back. Yet, against all odds, she had him completely wrapped around her fingers, and he had no desire to break free.

Missed a chapter? - Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6

CHAPTER 7 ────────────────────

Family dinners were never a good occurrence in the Lee residence, still they loved to pretend and pick at each other’s words in the pretense of a get-together.

The awkward tension in the dining room was palpable. Each member shifted uncomfortably, as if they all wanted to speak but were holding back.

The seats at the ends of the table were empty, Lee Joohyeon, still unofficially exiled, Lee Jihoon, who had likely found a place to hide for the evening, and Lee Jookshin, who had recently given birth, were all missing.

“Why does everyone look so tense? You should be happy. The Parks want L Corp. to have sole industrial contract with their Rose Garden Resort.” The grandfather observed, noting the somber atmosphere.

Lee Mooyoung cleared his throat, casting a glance to his right at his wife, then across the table to where Doyoung sat next to Minho.

“Park Hyunmin insisted on signing the contract only if Minho was on the board.” Lee Mooyoung said coldly, his irritation clear.

Minho looked up at the mention of his name, but before he could respond, Lee Doyoung’s hand slammed on the table.

“What’s wrong with my son being on the team? He’s the reason we got the deal. Besides, it was the daughter’s decision.” Doyoung argued.

Minho clenches his jaw at the words “my son”, which he had come to despise, words used only when they wanted to boast about his achievements.

“So what?! Jungshin has done a lot too!” Mooyoung retorted at his brother with the same anger.

The oldest daughter-in-law laughed scornfully and leaned toward Minho.

“Is it because you managed to rekindle something with Y/N Park that they made this proposition? Just a few days ago, you barely spoke to each other.”

Jungshin watched as Minho smiled at his mother, then glanced back at him. The older brother’s frustration grew. He had been trying to win over Y/N Park for months, only to be met with indifference. She didn’t even heed to his advances.

“I don’t mix personal and professional matters, Aunt. I’m sure they had a reason for their decision.” Minho said calmly.

The grandfather groaned, drawing the family’s attention back to him.

It wasn’t deja vu perse, this was more of a routine. They all got together, argued over petty things while the old man ate his dinner alone in their presence.

A meeting disguised as family dinner.

“I’m sure Minho will do a good job. If not, we can always have Jungshin clean up his mess.” Chairman Lee stated.

Jungshin broke his silence, glaring at the head of the table. “But why am I the second choice? I have an impeccable reputation, and I’m sure people will take me more seriously than this young kid.” He pointed

The grandfather set down his utensils, his expression stern.

“You’re lucky to even be a second choice. Y/N Park didn’t even consider you.” He admonished, signaling Secretary Cha that he was finished with his meal.

Jungshin fell silent, unable to argue back. He got up angrily, muttering an “excuse me” before storming out the room.

The older daughter-in-law watched the younger one snicker behind her wine glass. Mooyoung clenched his napkin tightly, visibly upset.

The old man finally stood up.

“Minho, I need to speak with you. Follow me.” He said, heading out of the room.

Despite the chaos, one comment lingered in the Chairman’s mind.

The twenty-seven-year-old vice-president was significantly younger than others at his level, and there was a limit to how seriously he could be taken. He needed to prove his trustworthiness and dedication. He needed to do something that made them find him more responsible.

“Minho. It’s about time you get married.” The old man said abruptly.

Minho blinked back at his words, taken aback.

The young vice president did not see that coming. He should have. But he didn’t.

He had been distracted.

─────────────────────── The Lee family was known for its business sense, though it varied among them. Each had their own responsibilities.

Every child in the Lee family had a special talent, whether it was a way with words or good luck. Though they all had potential, not everyone pursued it. Take Lee Jookshin, for example. Unlike her mother, who was a trophy wife, Jookshin was highly intelligent and excelled in school. However, in their society, her smarts were less important than finding a husband who could support her, while she provided ideas.

The saying went, “Behind every successful man is a woman.”

Then there was Lee Jihoon, the fourth grandson.

Sure, the man had a list of wild hobbies like racing cars and flying planes. He was nothing but ordinary, unremarkable in the eyes of his family.

And to complicate matters further, Jihoon was gay.

Growing up, Jihoon struggled under the weight of conservative norms that pushed him to rebel. He was always getting punished, often ran away from his parents, family, and responsibilities. From himself. He tried to fit in, dating models and elite women to please his family, as if to show he was making an effort. To prove he was contributing something to the overly expectant Lees.

The first man he kissed was the son of Sorewa Airlines’ founder. This older man left Jihoon, then twenty-three, in a whirlwind of confusion, frustration, and exhilaration.

The first man he kissed promised him the world, only to turn around and marry a woman from their circle instead.

Jihoon hated this damn circle. The world he was trapped in.

He hated the attention, the unspoken rules.

And most of all, Jihoon hated L Corp.

Everytime he returned after his spontaneous “run-away” trips, he was tied down by someone in his family, whether it was his mother, his father or even that damn Secretary Cha who was just an extension of his Grandfather’s reach. He’d be stuck in their world for a few months before another chance to escape came along.

Two years after his first male lover chose to conform to societal norms and married the daughter of a big-name entrepreneur, Jihoon saw him again at a banquet. Though Jihoon knew the man would be there, the banquet being hosted by his family, he didn’t expect to be so affected by their meeting.

Ben Choi, the son of Sorewa Airline’s head, stole fleeting glances. As Jihoon stood behind his father, who was exchanging hugs and greetings with his grandfather and the rest of the Lee family, he felt the man’s gaze on him. Ben stood with his wife, who smiled brightly at everyone she met. Jihoon tried to avoid looking at him, but with Minho being led away by Y/N and his siblings scattered around the banquet hall, he had no choice but to stay near his grandfather. The Chairman gave him a stern glance, his out-there choice of clothing, something the old man wasn’t fond of, but still he smiled at his old friend, laughing.

Jihoon thought he could enjoy the banquet without running into Ben Choi directly, but as soon as he let his guard down, there he was, alone with his ex-lover. He had slipped out to the balcony for a break from the classical music and to clear his head. The alcohol had him buzzing, and his arms were sore from playing pool.

When the balcony door creaked open, Jihoon quickly tried to hide his lit cigarette. He froze, his expression softening when he saw Ben step outside.

“I see you haven’t kicked the habit.” Ben said, his voice still deep, as he slid his hands into his pockets, approaching.

Jihoon turned back to the gardens, returning to his cigarette.

“How have you been?” Ben leaned against the railing, watching Jihoon closely.

“I’ve been well. You and—” Jihoon glanced back at the banquet hall. “Your wife?”

“Good. We’re good. As you can see from this grand celebration.”

Jihoon exhaled a cloud of smoke. “Yeah. The last time you had a big event, you announced your marriage. What’s the occasion this time? Kids?”

Ben laughed loudly, shaking his head in denial.

“Your sense of fashion is still impressive. I was surprised to see you like this.” Ben said, eyeing the blue of Jihoon’s suit.

Jihoon shrugged. “At least you can pick me out of a crowd of those boring outfits inside.” He nodded toward the balcony doors that lead back inside.

Ben’s smile faded, and his expression softened.

“I’d be able to pick you out from anywhere.” He stated quietly.

Jihoon was silent for a moment before laughing.

“Except you didn’t pick me, Ben.” He crushed his cigarette on the stone railing.

The balcony door swung open abruptly as Y/N stepped outside, looking for Lee Minho, who had ditched her earlier than usual. She had noticed a mess of spilt wine on him, but now he was nowhere in sight.

As Y/N scanned the balcony, her eyes widened in shock when she saw Ben Choi and Lee Jihoon passionately kissing a few feet away.

The two men froze, surprised at her arrival, Ben shoved Jihoon back instinctively, who stumbled back and collided against the nearby bench with a crash.

Y/N gasped, stunned by the scene. Stunned by the action.

Ben reached out to Jihoon, who was on the ground and appeared hurt, but faltered. He stepped back abruptly and quickly turned to leave. Both Jihoon and a stunned Y/N watched him pass by her figure and run away.

“Ha. ‘Pick me out’ my ass.” Jihoon muttered, wincing from the pain in his lower abdomen after the collision.

He sat up and looked at Y/N, who now stood in front of him, arms crossed and head tilted.

“What are you staring at?” He grunted, slowly standing and brushing off his clothes.

Y/N remained silent, her heels clicking on the granite floor as she approached him. Her eyes felt like they were burning him with scrutiny, judging him, squinting as if examining an exhibit in a zoo.

“Yeah, I like cock. So what?” Jihoon snapped angrily.

But instantly froze, eyes widening as he realized he had said that. Out loud.

Y/N blinked, stunned once again. Speechless at his bold confession.

Jihoon looked away in humiliation and frustration, running his hands through his hair. He then glared at Y/N, trying to maintain his composure.

“What are you going to do about it?” He demanded, clenching his jaw and trying to appear calm, though he was shaking inside from being caught.

She sighed and uncrossed her arms. “I have my own boy issues to deal with. I don’t have the time or interest to deal with your little affair.” She pointed.

For a moment he felt relieved, but he couldn’t breathe just yet. Everyone knew Y/N was closely tied to Minho, who listened to his parents and grandfather.

“I know many people in our society who are gay, but have you ever heard me spill those secrets?” Y/N said, as if reading his mind.

“I was just surprised because Ben Choi is a married man.” She added.

Her words jolted Jihoon back to reality. He had forgotten that Ben Choi had a pretty wife to get back to. And would never acknowledge Jihoon as more than a business acquaintance. His bruised ribs were a painful reminder.

“Minho was heading to the bathroom with that that Ryu whatever her name is.” Jihoon muttered, brushing past her and returning to the hall.

Lee Jihoon was good at pretending, he was also good at dropping off the map. Finding ways to escape the clutches of his grandfather who seemed to have eyes everywhere. He’d party on the beaches of Bali, sail the waters of Thailand, sleep with European men. He could be himself. Jihoon pretended he wasn’t afraid of his family, always acting out, always rebelling.

But Chairman Lee’s power was a constant source of fear. When Chairman Lee finally discovered Jihoon's secrets. Throwing the pictures of his grandson in the arms of another man at some nightclub, he covered it up, leaving Jihoon feeling cornered.

“Starting tomorrow, you’ll be working at L Corp.”

And just like that, Jihoon was trapped.

The old chairman had always been traditional, clinging to old ways. He started his business from scratch, driven by the desire to be highly sought after but lacked the funds. He seduced a wealthy investor’s daughter, using her money to grow his company and attract more investors. He had children young, raising them with a businessman’s mindset and marrying them off early.

His rich wife, once a valuable asset for him, became a show-piece in his house after her family name and money was no longer needed for her husband to get his foot into doors, slowly fading away. And suddenly one day, he was a middle-aged widower.

As he got older, he realized that the sons he had conditioned to be the best, the sons trained to take over his company, were incapable.

No, his sons were idiots, and their children were doomed the moment they were born. It was a disappointment he couldn’t bear. He could never disrespect his life’s work like that.

His eldest son spent his time drinking with frauds posing as investors, while his younger son chased after a young maid in the family home.

Both were pathetic.

But the Chairman was no better.

The first time he saw the young assistant was when Secretary Cha introduced her in his office. She stood nervously, straight-backed.

“Welcome. I hope you assist my secretary well.” He said.

She nodded, shaking his hand quickly and expressing how honored she was to work at L Corp.

The Chairman chuckled and patted her shoulder, trying to ease her nerves.

And throughout their meeting, he watched her scribble notes, tap her foot in anxiety, and fidget with the cross around her neck. When she noticed him watching and smiled, she returned the gesture.

In high society, scandals were unacceptable. One either avoided them or paid to keep them hidden. A messy private life could lead to plummeting stocks, and the Chairman was determined to do anything to maintain L Corp’s pristine image.

The young assistant was driven by greed. She wanted more than just a paycheck. She desired to be the madam of the house, to hold a significant share of the company. She aimed to seduce the Chairman, and she even succeeded.

Though he was just a man, he was also calculating, conniving. Always thinking ahead.

“Why did you have to be so greedy?”

───────────────────────

The celebration of Lee Jookshin’s firstborn was a grand affair, hosted by her delighted parents, now finally grandparents. Although the baby wasn’t a Lee, he was the first great-grandson of Chairman Lee, making him special.

The mansion bustled with guests. The young prince was showered with gifts, and his parents beamed with pride.

Jihoon scanned the grand hall, now more crowded than usual, with familiar faces moving past him to see the new nephew. The boy would soon learn that the world had a way of surprising him.

His grandfather entertained old friends, while Secretary Cha took a rare break. How he managed to stay glued to the Chairman after all these decades makes the young man ponder in bewilderment everytime he thinks of the secretary.

Everyone was there, but Minho.

That prompt man was always present for events like these, always kissing ass, always at arm’s length. But right now, he was missing.

Jihoon took a drink from a passing server’s tray and glanced around. Park Hyunmin was engaged in conversation with his uncle and father, while his wife mingled with other women. Y/N was busy entertaining Jungshin, though she appeared visibly exhausted by his incessant babbling.

Then he spots Ben Choi. His ex lover.

Ben had aged over the years Jihoon had not seen him. He was still with his pretty wife. He was a father now. Yet, Jihoon no longer felt the sharp pang of emotion for the older man. Even though Ben’s gaze lingered on him with the same intensity as it had six years ago on that balcony, Jihoon no longer cared. He decided to find some other entertainment.

Minho glanced around as he climbed the back stairs to the second floor of the family mansion. The celebration below filled the grand hall and garden with noise, but the second floor was quiet and serene in comparison.

The youngest son of the family walked cautiously, pausing outside the double wooden doors of Chairman Lee’s study. He glanced back to ensure no one had seen him. The last time he had been here, his grandfather had insisted he get married and had presented several profiles of young women from high society. Minho had promised to review the files, but his attention had been drawn to something else when Secretary Cha opened the file cabinet to retrieve them.

His mind stuck on it ever since.

It was only a brief glance from a few feet away, but Minho’s attention was immediately captured by a file at the very bottom of the cabinet. By a familiar name that rang in his mind from time to time.

The youngest son entered the dark, silent study, closing the wooden door behind him with a soft creak and a final click. He made his way to the large curtained window overlooking the back gardens, peering through a crack to scan the guests below. He spotted his grandfather next to some familiar face. Minho knew he needed to act quickly before the Chairman noticed his absence. His initial plan was to slip in and out unnoticed, but after his aunt spotted him and he had made up an excuse about forgetting a gift in his car, he was already running behind. Ten minutes had passed, he had missed a call from his father, and he knew it wouldn’t be long before they became insistent.

As Minho opened the cabinet where he remembered the files had been, he held up his cellphone’s dim flashlight. His fingers froze when he noticed the lock. He hadn’t considered that the cabinet might be secured. He had assumed it was just a regular one.

He suddenly wondered why the cabinet was locked. What could possibly need to be password-protected?

He inhaled sharply with narrowed brows, frustrated before pressing generic combinations, ones an old man might remember.

Wrong.

The machine beeped, flashing red.

He had two more attempts before it would ring loudly. Something he definitely didn’t want. He tried again, thinking hard about any possible combination.

Wrong again.

“Fuck.” He muttered.

Before he could attempt and most likely fail with a final combination, his phone buzzed, startling him. It was his father, again.

Minho walked back to the curtains, peeking outside as he answered the call.

“Yes, Father.”

“Where are you? Your grandfather is looking for you. He wants to introduce you to a friend. Get here now.”

“Yes, I was entertaining some guests by the front.” Minho lied.

The call ended abruptly. He sighed in defeat, glancing one last time at the locked safe, ultimately making a shuffled exit.

Minho entered the well-lit garden, greeting everyone he passed with a smile.

“Ah, Mr. Wang, great to see you.” He said, shaking hands as he made his way toward the group where his grandfather and father were gathered.

Chairman Lee’s face lit up with a grin upon seeing Minho. He spread his arms wide in welcome.

“Look who’s finally arrived, my favorite grandson!” He boomed. Mooyoung’s discomfort was palpable before he exchanged a glance with Jungshin.

“You haven’t met yet, Minho. This is my old friend Son Hyungdon. He moved to Italy about fifteen years ago.” Chairman Lee introduced.

The older, bigger man chuckled heartily and shook Minho’s hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you. You’ve really made a name for yourself at L Corporation, haven’t you?”

“You’re giving me too much credit, sir.” Minho replied with a polite smile.

Mr. Son laughed again, glancing at the Chairman and then at the other guests.

“Humble. I like it.” He patted Minho’s arm before letting go.

As the older men engaged in small talk, their circle gradually shrank. Minho scanned the area for the face he was looking for, and his eyes brightened up spotting Y/N at one of the tables, sipping her drink and observing the scene with a detached air.

God, was she as radiating as ever. He just wished to stride over there and envelop her in his arms, inhale her sweet scent.

“And what about your granddaughter, did you manage to bring her back from Italy?” The Chairman asked, his words bringing Minho back to their boring conversation.

“She’s somewhere around here, she’s a little introverted you see. Not a big fan of big crowds.” Son Hyungdon replied.

Minho nodded, scanning the crowd for someone who might be related to Son Hyungdon.

“Is she in the kiddie section?” The grandson asked, glancing back at the older man.

There was a second of silence before both old men chuckled loudly.

“I didn’t know your grandson was a jokester too!” Hyungdon laughed while Minho stood genuinely confused.

“I don’t think he’s joking.” Chairman Lee chuckled along, patting Minho’s back.

“I’m flattered you think I’m young enough to have tiny grandchildren. But she’s actually twenty-three.”

Minho nodded slowly, letting out a soft “Ah” as he realized his mistake, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“Why don’t you go find her and keep her company?” Chairman Lee suggested, nudging him.

“She goes by Sky.” Mr. Son added, both old men practically shooing him away.

The grandson blinked, puzzled by their insistence, wondering why the name sounded so familiar. Despite his curiosity, he began searching for the so-called introverted granddaughter, though he was tempted to find some lame excuse to go bicker with his secret girlfriend.

Then he spotted her and understood why the two old men were so eager for him to meet her.

Sky.

Or, Son Haneul, twenty-three.

One of his marriage candidates.

God damn it. His grandfather was truly a sneaky old man.

He bit the inside of his cheek and slipped his hands into his trouser pockets as he observed the young woman sipping champagne by a stone bench near the rose maze. It took her a few seconds to notice him observing her.

“Oh. Hi.” She blurted out, startled.

Minho thinned his lips into a smile Y/N would hate to see on his face, and walked toward this young woman

“You must be Sky.” He extended his hand.

His marriage candidate blinked a few times, either mesmerized by his beauty or surprised by his sudden approach, it was hard to tell.

“Ah! Yes. I am Sky.” She responded awkwardly, taking his hand for a gentle handshake.

Minho let out a chuckle, nodding.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Minho, Chairman Lee’s youngest grandson.”

Her mouth opened slightly in silent understanding as she nodded.

“Your grandfather sent me, asked me to keep you company.”

“You really don’t have to. I was just admiring the roses.” She glanced down shyly.

Minho chuckled again and returned his hands to his pockets.

“I can show you around the garden if you’d like. We have more than just roses here.”

She paused for a few seconds before nodding. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Y/N rested her chin on her palm, her elbow propped on the high table behind which she stood. She watched, irritated, as her boyfriend shamelessly flirted with another young woman.

That asshole.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Jihoon’s voice, sudden and close, almost made her jump.

She turned to him in surprise. Her reaction prompted Jihoon to laugh, placing his empty glass on the table and glancing back at the duo by the flower garden.

“She seems a little young, don’t you think?”

“That’s because you’re like one hundred years old.” Y/N muttered, downing her drink.

“I spoke to her briefly earlier. She’s definitely from a foreign country, has a distinct accent... I’m thinking European.” The older man continued, more to himself than to Y/N.

Y/N sighed in frustration. “You really don’t have any friends, do you?” She remarked snarkily.

Jihoon shrugged, glancing around the garden.

“The only person here worthy of being my friend is the newborn inside.” He responded with a laugh.

“Besides, you don’t have friends either. The one you had is over there laughing up a storm with that young child.” He said, pointing with his empty glass toward Minho and Hanuel.

“Minho isn’t my friend.” She spat bitterly.

“Right, right.” He nodded slowly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Do you want to leave this lame party and do something fun with me?” He asked, leaning into the table with a grin.

Y/N squinted, trying to figure out exactly why he had approached her.

“Come on, fun with Jihoon, or party for a newborn?” The older man uses his hands as an imaginary scale, weighing the choices.

Y/N looked around, her parents, busy in their own conversation, socializing to their maximum.

Her boyfriend was clearly distracted, and the only people who had approached her, aside from those trying to curry her favor, were that weirdo Jungshin and now his chatty brother.

“Fine, let's go.”

Minho laughed with Sky, correcting her slip of the tongue due to the language barrier. But his eyes follow Y/N, trailing behind girlfriend and Jihoon, one of his eyebrows raise.

Y/N glanced back and smirked in his direction. He was definitely watching her.

You want to play games, Minho?

But the very next morning, Y/N’s eyes flew open, staring at the white ceiling brightly lit by sun rays filtering through the drawn curtains. Her body shot up, scanning the very familiar room.

She could hear the distant sound of water running in the bathroom. Grabbing her head, and hissing in a sudden pain, she slowly climbed out from under the covers, still dressed in last night’s jumpsuit. Y/N looked around for her purse, grabbed it from the bedside table, and was almost out the door when the door behind opened with a click.

“Really. Are you really going to bolt on me now?”

She turned around, sheepishly grinning at her boyfriend, who stood half-naked in the bathroom doorway, arms crossed over his chest.

“No, I was-uh, thirsty!” Y/N attempted to lie, but both their eyes trail to the glass pitcher of water on his bedside table. She groaned and rolled her eyes, sinking back onto the bed.

“How’d I even end up here?” She asked, rubbing her face and looking down at the bandages on her elbow and knuckles.

“You and Lee Jihoon got into a fist fight.” Minho said nonchalantly, striding over towards the bedside.

“Huh?!” She exclaimed, staring at him in shock.

“You headed to his favorite bar, got drunk. Argued over—I think—who was the better looking brother amongst us, then that clearly escalated.” He said, pointing at her bandages before reaching for the glass and pitcher of water.

“You’re telling me, I actually hit Jihoon over a stupid drunken argument?” Y/N was still in disbelief.

“Yeah, hair-pulling and all.” Minho shrugged with a soft chuckle, pouring the water and handing it to her.

“You called me crying, saying you’d beaten him up and were scared he might die.”

Y/N covered her face in embarrassment, starting to remember bits and pieces of her “fun night” with that stupid Jihoon.

Then she recalled why she had gone with Jihoon in the first place and glared at Minho.

“I’m sure it must’ve broken your heart to leave your new foreign friend and rush over to help stupid me right?” She jabbed.

Minho stifled another laugh, shaking his head because he knew exactly who she was referring to.

“Why would it break my heart?” He crosses his arms over his chest.

“I’m meeting Miss Son again for lunch.”

He watched her expression darken, brows narrowing as she glared at him.

“That’s fine, I have to meet and apologize to Jihoon anyways.” She downs the water.

It was obvious.

Y/N was jealous.

But she’d never admit it.

He sighed, taking the empty glass from her.

“If you keep hanging out with him, I’ll get jealous.” He said instead.

His response immediately made her grin, her usual sassy expression returning. Automatic fingers intertwined with his.

Ever so easy to please.

“I had a question—” Minho began, his words cut short by her pull.

“Am I close with Jihoon? Not really. He kept going on and on about a fun time so I just humored him—”

“No, not that.” Minho laughed, shaking his head.

He sat up, playing with her fingers, a little reluctant to ask while Y/N blinked, waiting for him to continue.

“If you were an old man, right…”

She narrowed her brows, wondering where this was going.

“Let’s say you had to come up with a four-digit password. What would you set it as?” He asked.

Y/N thought for a moment, the room fell silent with Minho waiting for her response.

“How old am I?” She countered.

“In your seventies.”

“Okay…um, probably something easy to remember, like—”

“It’s not your birthday or an important anniversary,” Minho interrupted, completing her thought.

Y/N scratched her neck, thinking again. Truly confused.

“Does this old man have a favorite person or someone important, like a wife or child? It could be their birthday.” She suggested.

Minho began to think but then cut himself off, his mind returning to last night.

“My favorite grandson.”

The woman in his grasp touched his arm, leaning in, bringing him out of his thoughts.

“Who is this old man anyway?” She asked, genuinely curious.

He smiled and shook his head, brushing it off.

“It was just a question to get your brain working after all that drinking.” He said playfully, poking her temple. He stood up, and she scrunched up her face.

“I made breakfast, let’s eat before we have to part ways again.” He smiled at her, fingers gripping her wrist lightly.

Y/N knew it wasn’t just some question. Minho was clearly referring to Chairman Lee. And it had to have been weighing on his mind for him to ask her for help.

Y/N smiled back at him and followed.

It wasn’t something she would have to worry about.

She tried convincing herself.

───────────────────────

There Minho was again, a tall figure in the dark, his eyes locked on the safe’s buttons, illuminated only by the light of his cell phone.

It was much more challenging to sneak in this time. The last time, he had exploited the celebration of the newborn to slip into Chairman Lee’s study again. Finding another opportunity had taken a week and a half.

His grandfather was out with Son Hyungdon at some wineries and wouldn’t return until this evening. Minho was set to join them for dinner, so now was his only chance to access the safe.

Who knew when the old man would leave his office unattended again?

On top of that, he had to watch out for Secretary Cha. There was no time to waste.

His thoughts drifted back to Y/N’s comment about the old man’s favorite person. The possibilities of his safe combination, limited yet still a mystery.

Chairman Lee loved no one but himself. Minho found it hard to believe he had a favorite.

Yet the memory of the Chairman’s smile, the warm welcome at the party, and the words “my favorite grandson” rang in his ears.

It couldn’t be.

Still, Minho pressed the buttons

0-9-2-4

The safe beeped with an error sound.

He was disappointed, for some reason and let out a strained sighed in the dark. It would have been too easy for his birthday to be the password to such an important safe, even if he were the old man’s so-called favorite. Now he was convinced it was just sweet talk spewed in the presence of his friends.

The sound of footsteps jolted him from his thoughts. He turned his head toward the double doors, eyes darting around for a place to hide.

Shit.

The doors creaked open, and footsteps echoed across the tiles. The desk lamp was turned on.

It was Secretary Cha. The old man was always punctual, even on days he wasn’t trailing behind the Chairman.

Minho held his breath, pressing flat against the floor, peeking through a small crack between the desk and the sofa where he hid. The angle was perfect for watching the secretary’s actions.

Secretary Cha tidied the desk, sorting through some files. He picked up a few, then opened the cabinet and pressed the buttons with ease.

1-0-2-5

Minho frowned, trying to decipher the significance of these numbers to the Chairman. The secretary placed the files into the safe, pulled out a small flash drive, and tucked it into one of the corner compartments.

The safe locked with a quick click, and Secretary Cha turned off the lamp and left, closing the study doors behind him.

Minho remained hidden behind the sofa, waiting until the footsteps faded away. Slowly, he got up and approached the safe. Glancing back at the doors, he opened the cabinet door, turned on his phone’s flashlight, and aimed it at the keypad.

1-0-2-5

The light flashed green, accompanied by a different beep, and the safe opened.

Minho blinked, surprised. He knew the numbers represented days in a month, but what did they signify?

There was no time to ponder.

He pulled open the metal door of the locker, scanning the files inside. One was labeled “Lee Doyoung,” another “Lee Joohyeon.” The Chairman had a file on every family member, some thick, some thin.

Minho wasn’t surprised.

He had uncovered some dirt on his so-called family himself. There was even a file for him, but he had no interest in that. His fingers searched through the files until he found the one that had caught his attention. His hand froze as he read the name.

Yoon Sooyeon.

His birth mother.

Of course the bastard son knew who his mother was. He had been taunted throughout his childhood, his brothers teasing and bullying him, calling him names.

“Dirty Blood”

“Maid’s Son”

“That Yoon Sooyeon must have bewitched my husband.”

All directed to a ten year old.

The file was thin compared to the others. Minho opened it, and his breath hitched.

A photograph.

He picked it up slowly, an unknown emotion spreading through his body as he took in the image of the woman.

This was his mother.

“Yoon Sooyeon.” He whispered.

But the emotion vanished quickly, replaced by unease as he read the death certificate beneath the photo.

Yoon Sooyeon died on September 22nd. Two days before he was even born.

Minho’s heart raced, a tightening sensation in his chest. His mind struggled to process the information. He didn’t know whether to cry or be angry.

He was simply… confused.

How could his birth mother, the maid who had supposedly “bewitched” his father, have died before he was even born?

There had to be a mistake.

No, there must have been some error, either with the date of her death or his birth.

Then something clicked in Minho’s mind.

The passcode numbers.

Was he born a month after the date he’d celebrated his whole life?

Frustrated, he quickly rummaged through the files again, pulling out the one with his name on it, easily finding a copy of his birth certificate.

September, Twenty-Fourth

His parents were the people he’d known as his “mother” and “father” all his life.

But Minho wasn’t convinced. As he sifted through the old man’s collected information, he noticed his school certificates among the documents.

Number one in Math.

Number one in Science.

Number one in Politics.

He hadn’t realized he’d accumulated so many certificates.

His hand stopped flipping through the files as he pulled out a wrinkled, creased paper. Another birth certificate.

Lee Minho.

Born on October Twenty-Fifth.

The names of his parents, blacked out.

He wasn’t shocked. Just, more confused and lost. The deeper he dug, the more in the dark he felt. His gaze returned to the password keypad of the safe.

1-0-2-5.

His real birthday.

But that didn’t explain why Yoon Soo-Yeon’s death date was a whole month before his actual birth.

His brows relaxed, drawing a conclusion.

This woman… was not his real mother. The woman whose name had been imbedded into his head was not his birth mother.

Minho swallowed, trying to ease the dryness in his throat.

A shiver ran down his spine. His gut told him he wasn’t going to like what he was about to discover.

Did he truly wish to uncover such a truth?

───────────────────────

“What do you mean pregnant?!”

Chairman Lee’s words was strained, shock and a hint of anger in his voice, his wide eyes fixed on the young assistant.

“Yes. I’m pregnant and it’s your child.” The young assistant whispered, her voice trembling with nerves and fear.

The silence in the office was deafening, the then unretired chairman blinked, looking around as if unable to process what he was hearing. He should have known better.

What else did he expect after taking a fondness to the young assistant, who always drew his attention whenever she entered his office. It was clear now that it was all a ploy, planned to use her beauty and fragile words to catch his eye.

“Get rid of it.” He said coldly, turning towards the window and sliding his hands into his pockets.

Her head shot up, eyes wide with disbelief.

“How can you say that? It’s your child. You have to take responsibility!” She yelled, instinctively placing a hand over her stomach.

He turned swiftly at her stupid remark, his cold eyes locking onto hers.

“What kind of responsibility? We were just having some fun. What do you want me to do? Marry you and tell the world I was seduced by a young secretary assistant only months after my wife passed away?”

Tears welled up in her eyes as she glared at him with disgust.

“You shouldn’t have slept with me if you didn’t want to marry me.” She snapped, her face reflecting her anger.

The chairman strode forward and grabbed her by the neck, choking her. She clawed at his fingers desperately, gasping for air.

“That’s not how the world works. If I’d known you were just trying to trap me into marriage, I would’ve dealt with you a long time ago.” He said, tightening his grip as her face turned red. She struggled to free herself.

“Listen, like a good girl, and disappear from my sight.” He muttered as he finally released her.

She collapsed onto the floor, coughing profusely and clutching her neck, tears streaming down her face.

“If you tell anyone about this, I’ll make sure you’re gone for good.” He warned, walking out of the room.

Secretary Cha hurried to his side as he exited his office.

“Get someone to keep an eye on her. I don’t want another mess.” Chairman Lee instructed as he entered the elevator.

The chairman was already dealing with a mess created by his sons, who had soured relations with one of their major clients. A client he himself had built strong ties with years prior.

Upon his arrival at the Lee mansion, he was greeted by the loud screams of a young Jungshin yelling at his caretaker.

“If you force me to eat I’ll get my father to fire you right away!” Young Joohyeon shouted, arms crossed over his chest.

The grandfather watched with a frown.

These spoiled brats.

He had thought he would be able to be at peace once his sons began slowly taking over the duties at the company. But he was hit with disappointment after disappointment, and looking at the spoiled grandchildren around the house, he couldn’t help but see a doomed future for L Corp.

A few weeks later, Secretary Cha entered his study and closed the door behind him, standing seriously in front of the chairman’s desk.

“She ran away from the city and is headed towards her hometown.”

The chairman’s expression softened, recognizing who his secretary was referring to.

“She hasn’t gotten rid of the baby.”

The room fell silent as the older man contemplated.

“What do you want to do, sir?” Secretary Cha asked.

A sharp thought flashed across the chairman’s mind, his eyes almost lighting up at how brilliant it was.

“Leave her.” Chairman Lee said.

He suddenly saw this as a chance to start over. A chance to raise another version of himself.

Chairman Lee had always been a conniving and calculating man. A businessman through and through.

“How can I just waste it all now?”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ to be continued.

── ask to be tagged! - @minh0scat, @qwonyoung23, @tsunderelino, @thecutiepieme, @candyquokka

75 notes · View notes

thepersonnamedsam · 9 months ago

Text

champion - cl16

pairing: charles leclerc x fem!reader

summary: abu dhabi 2024

word count: 1k

warnings: none

note: hiya, hope you’re all good? have fun with the second 1‘000 follower special :)

masterlist / taglist

The Race was intense, it was hot and steamy and all so risky. But he was so near. He could almost taste it, taste you. If he won this race, he’d be champion, champion of the world. His second most important price, you always come first, of course.

You stood in the Ferrari garage, your fingernails bitten down to the flesh. You were more nervous than he was. God, only four more laps to go. Charles was leading, but Max was only 0.6 seconds behind him. One mistake and Max would be a 4x World Champion.

But you were certain that he was gonna make it. Charles was your best friend and he deserved that title more than anything. He wasn’t just your best friend, you were gonna become his fiancée today if he won, but you didn’t know just yet. The ring was securely stored in his jewellery box inside his drivers room. You had no idea.

Three more laps to go.

You were sweating, not just from the heat, you were standing on your toes the whole time. Your heart pounded, probably as fast as Charles‘ car. This was gonna be it. Charles Leclerc, World Champion of 2024!

Frederic was standing beside you. His hands wrapped tightly around your shoulders, squeezing every other second, waiting for your boyfriend to finally finish that race. You both couldn’t wait anymore. „Fred, if he wins, will you pay him some therapy sessions?“, you joked. He only laughed at you. „He doesn’t need them after the win.“

Two more laps.

The anticipation only grew. At the time, probably everyone at home sat at the edge of their seats. Max was so close behind Charles. If he only lost some speed, Max would pass him. They made a show. And nobody liked it.

„Charles, Max is 0.4 seconds behind. Let’s switch to Plan C“, you heard Xavi over the coms. „Okay“, you heard your boyfriend say back. „What’s Plan C?“, you asked Fred. „He’s gonna let Max pass, get into his DRS zone and then hopefully he can pass him with greater speed.“

Your heart dropped into your stomach, Ferrari is gonna fuck Charles up against You knew it. It was not gonna work. And when Charles met Max pass, everything played out in slow motion. Max passed the red Ferrari, Charles tried to stay behind the Red Bull.

One lap to go.

It was silent in the Ferrari garage. You could hear a needle drop on the floor. Everyone was sweating. You stopped breathing, at least that’s what you thought, because honestly, no one ever stops breathing in these moments.

The moment Charles passed the Red Bull, the garage errupted into loud applause. Your heart skipped a beat, letting a small scream out. Excited for the new outcome. This was gonna be it, Charles will be champion. You could feel it.

The last meters were ahead of both cars, with Max only 1.7 seconds behind. Charles was gonna make it, he just couldn’t fuck it up. Nothing could happen now. And when Charles crossed that finish line and was declared Champion of the World, you cried. Happy tears streamed down your cheeks. A big prominent smile on your face and wet eyes.

„Go, go!“, Xavi ushered you out to the outside of the garage, where Charles would park his car on the number one spot. And there he stood, proud on his car, his hand up in the air, pointing to his late father. When he looked down again, he saw his whole proudness standing in front of him. You.

He got down from his car, quickly getting his helmet off and kissing you. You were so, so proud of him. Your champion. And when Carlos sprinted towards him with a suspicious little black box, you couldn’t believe what was going to happen.

„My love, mom bijou. I love you endlessly and I wouldn’t know what to do without you. You are my stars that light up the night. Tu es le soleil, qui répand la chaleur dans tout mon corps (You are the sun, that spreads warmth throughout my body). I love you with all my body, with all my heart, with all my everything. Will you make me the happiest man in the whole wide world and marry me?“

Your body shook from the cries. You couldn’t believe what was going on. Tears streaming down your face, you could only nod. And you nodded, looked at him with your tears stained face and got down to his level. You kissed him, so hard he couldn’t believe the force you had. And you said yes, of course you said yes.

Charles wasn’t only Formula One Champion, he was also the luckiest man on earth, with his big love in his arms, crying like the world might end. But it doesn’t, the world only just started for you two. Life was being written from a whole new perspective now. Not only is the luckiest, but you were los the happiest woman.

And the fahnden went crazy, Charles Leclerc, the 2024 champion got engaged to his long term girlfriend on the day he won the championship. And when he stood on the podium and received his trophy, he couldn’t stop smiling, not crying. He was looking down at his fiancée and the whole world stopped, just for a moment, just until he realised he was gonna marry this girl, for sure now. Not only in his dreams, but in reality too.

For him this day did not only mean he achieved his biggest goal, but also his biggest dream.

And for you, you were going to be the happiest bride on your wedding day, when you were going to walk down that isle and see this man standing in front of you

°°°

taglist: @ironmaiden1313 , @hiireadstuff , @biglittlesecret, @gulabjamooon , @lovelyy-moonlight , @peachyplumsss , @mistrose23 , @copper-boom , @love4lando , @champomiel , @serenityleah , @iloveyou3000morgan , @angelwithoutmywings , @elleeeee21 , @mikauraur , @thybulleric , @lpab , @fdl305 , @mellowarcadefun , @teti-menchon0604 , @vildetry06 , @bibissparkles , @aurora-maria , @lunnnix , @sya-skies , @Buckywifeyy , @dakotali , @rechtrecht , @noncannonships , @1eclerc16 , @pitlanebabe , @sopheeg , @avengersheart , @thatsadsmallchild , @peachiicherries , @idkiwantchocolatee , @callsign-scully , @mehrmonga , @badbatch-simp24 , @lissyontour , @din0nugs , @elliegrey2803 , @gay-for-victoria-de-angelis , @10vely-yutazen , @daggersquadphantom , @azriel-the-shadowsinger , @i-love-scott-mccall , @darleneslane , @mikauraurr , @heartmetaphor , @ellswilliams , @thxtmarvelchick , @nataliambc , @dontjudgeabookbythecover , @hockeyboysarehot , @thehistoryone , @zimm04 , @woozarts , @mellowarcadefun , @deephideoutmolkshake , @grimeslvrr , @tallrock35 , @namgification , @pear-1206 , @trouble-sistar

#f1 x reader #formula 1 #f1 #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc #charles leclerc x female reader #formula one #thousand follower special

353 notes · View notes

knightsbrig · 4 months ago

Note

I saw swap!Tanjirou and Genya have moon earings. Did Michikatsu take them in similer to how Tamayo did with Yushiro? If he did, what are their relationships like?

You have no idea how happy I am that you noticed them both sharing the moon earrings!

Let me introduce you guys to the worst friend group ever made!

Not a SINGLE person here is sane or normal. This ended up being much longer and lore heavy so I made a key, just in case anyone only wanted lore about certain characters

Michikatsu lore has his name is highlighted pink

Genya Lore has his name highlighted purple

Lord Founder Inosuke Lore has his name highlighted green.

Tanjirou Lore has his name highlighted red.

Kaigaku Lore has his name highlighted blue.

There will be overlap! Enjoy!

Genya was picked up by Michikatsu when he was sixteen about a hundred years before the Taisho era. Michikatsu used to train demon apprentices in the hopes that one day he could find someone capable of defeating Muzan, but every one of them besides Genya either died or betrayed Michikatsu, and he’s since sworn off the practice of turning anyone into a demon.

Genya is extremely loyal to Michikatsu, and this is mostly due to Genya believing that Michikatsu is the only one who can train him to achieve his one life goal; killing the Upper Moon Three, his older brother.

Tanjirou does not start out as Michikatsu’s apprentice; in fact the first of Tanjirou’s friends is actually Lord Founder Inosuke! They meet a couple months after Tanjirou’s demonization and due to some unfortunate circumstances, Inosuke ends up losing his cult and gaining a massive grudge against both the demon slayer corps and Douma The Ice Hashira.

(Note; Inosuke is NOT a demon, and I will be drawing up a full backstory on him when I get the chance)

Inosuke believes Tanjirou to be a forest spirit rather than a demon, and believes himself to be a literal god, and although when he and Tanjirou are alone, Inosuke acts very much like the loud, boisterous boy we’re familiar with, he acts almost unrecognizable when meeting other humans, presenting himself as a kind, considerate sage with a serene smile… a lot like cannon Douma…

Genya comes in after the corps catches up to Tanjirou and Inosuke at Mount Natagumo, where the two became entangled with both Rui and the corps.

Tanjirou and Inosuke are taken in by Michikatsu after escaping with Genya, as Michikatsu sees in Tanjirou a demon who could possibly be capable of defeating Muzan.

Michikatsu has mixed emotions towards Tanjirou, because it’s difficult for him to trust any demon, especially one that seems so pure and ‘human’. The matter is not helped by the fact that Tanjirou is able to perform sun breathing. Even after so many centuries, even after defecting, Michikatsu’s insecurities regarding Yoriichi run deep.

Inosuke believes Michikatsu to be a demigod, and constantly pesters him about training as well as insisting that Michikatsu should become his vice leader when he reestablishes his cult. If Michikatsu could go bald, it would be because of Inosuke pestering and stressing him out.

Genya and Tanjirou grow extremely close, Tanjirou winning him over much like in cannon. Despite their vastly different circumstances, their dynamic doesn’t change much.

Genya and Inosuke fight as much as they get along. It’s either they are both united in a goal and will annihilate or eat everything that stands between them and victory, or they fight like feral cats. There is no peace with them in the same room.

Kaigaku is the last member of the nightmare friend group.

Initially, Kaigaku is a demon slayer who intends to kill Tanjirou for the glory of being the boy who killed the sun-resistant demon, but he ends up switching sides after getting his ass handed to him by a now Moon-breathing-trained Tanjirou.

Tanjirou, as is typical for himself, tries to befriend Kaigaku. It works better than Kaigaku wants to admit. At first, he’s hostile to Tanjirou’s kindness, and openly scoffs at the way Tanjirou sees the world, but over time, Tanjirou starts to have an effect on Kaigaku, making him actually take a look at himself for the first time.

Michikatsu is NOT a fan of Kaigaku. He refuses to train him or demonize him- both of which Kaigaku pleads for the second he learns that Michikatsu is capable of doing so. Eventually, Kaigaku does go through some character development and realizes that he does not want to become a demon, but until then, Michikatsu openly despises Kaigaku and his suck-up ways.

Kaigaku and Inosuke get along the worst out of anyone. This is mostly because Kaigaku absolutely refuses to entertain Inosuke’s self-image as a divine being and is openly dismissive of and hostile towards him because he was never a demon slayer and is not a demon, leading Kaigaku to think little of his abilities. Inosuke doesn’t often deal with humans disliking him, so he thinks that Kaigaku is possibly possessed by a foul evil and frequently tries to execute absurd exorcisms and cleansing rituals on him. Inosuke literally PRAYS on Kaigaku’s downfall.

They do eventually find a mutual respect, but I’m not sure if they ever get around to actually… liking each other.

Genya and Kaigaku get along better than you might expect. They both share complicated feelings for their demon brothers and they both can be more grounded at times than Tanjirou and Inosuke. Still, Genya trusts Kaigaku about as much as he trusts a pile of trash, and when Kaigaku learns this, it also causes him to consider why— and consider changing. From Genya, Kaigaku learns loyalty and what it means to respect your family bonds.

Anyway, uhh sorry 4 da long post

Feel free to send asks if you have any questions about da lore or just wanna see me draw these boys more :3

67 notes · View notes

an-idyllic-novelist · 10 months ago

Text

Heracles with fem!giyuu!reader scenario

Collab work with @deathmetalunicorn1. This can be seen as either a platonic or a slow burn romance scenario.

warnings: violence, canon divergence, and possibly Brunhilde's potty mouth.

Giyuu!reader is selected to fight in round four against Heracles, the mightiest demigod of Olympus. Brunhilde had emphasized that his strength is nothing to scoff at and to make sure to secure a win so that Humanity will be given an advantage against the shitty gods. While she was not someone who judged a person by someone’s words alone, Giyuu!reader had promised Nezuko and Tanjiro that she would come back to them. And that is what she will do, regardless of who her opponent is in the arena.

To her shock, Heracles had actually tried to persuade her to forfeit the match because he did not want to fight a woman. To him, it was dishonorable. She just looked at him for a moment, then unsheathed her sword and charged at him, though he had parried the blow with his club.

Giyuu!reader clicked her tongue, leaping backwards and landing on her feet. She straightened her posture, [Eye Color] orbs staring at him icily.

“This is a fight to save mankind…my gender is irrelevant. Or will you dare to change the match to suit your own benefit, as Zeus had done in the second match?” She asked, maneuvering her fingers around the leather handle of her sword before bending her knees. She inhaled her nose, exhaling through her mouth.

“Water Breathing. Fifth Form. Blessed Rain After the Drought.”

Giyuu!reader darted across the arena, swinging her blade from the left, aiming at the demigod’s neck. She had hoped to finish her opponent in an act of kindness, but alas the tip of her blade barely made a dent as he had used his club again to parry. He pushed back against her, allowing Giyuu!reader to use his arm as leverage and leapt away again, putting distance between them.

She frowned at him. “Stop this.” She said, “Fight back.”

“I cannot and will not unless you lay down your arms.” He replied, lowering his club towards the ground, cerulean orbs bright with conviction and sincerity. He might…mean what he said, and these aren’t just pretty words to lower his opponent’s guard…it still pissed off Giyuu!reader that he was under the impression that she is weak. Yes, she is a Hashira, but she is neither the strongest nor the weakest Demon Slayer of the Corps. She did not survive for as long as she has, protecting Valhalla from the monsters on the other side of the Bifrost, by being soft either.

“You are not a warrior.” Giyuu!reader snapped. “You….are pathetic.” Ignoring the outraged cries bouncing across the arena, she raised her blade at him with a single hand, the tip pointed at his chest.

“It is one thing to show mercy upon an enemy. But what about an opponent who is willingly to lay down her life in this fight, and she is expecting you to share the same courtesy, yet instead she is treated…like she is weak? This is not an act of mercy you are showing me. It is dishonorable. You, Heracles of the Grecian pantheon, have done nothing but humiliate me. Is that the reason you have chosen to be a representative of the Gods in this tournament, even when you proclaim to love humans? Or will you raise your weapon, shut up, and fight me with all of the strength that you possess?”

“Then tell me what drives you.” Hercules pleaded. “Why are you doing this?”

“...I can’t tell if you are being serious or just stupid.” Giyuu!reader spat. “You are fighting against someone who is considered to be powerful under Lord Hades’ command. Pummel me into the ground, right here and now, and I will gladly answer your question. Unless you have figured it out already, then congratulations. Either way I’m still going to win against you, even if it means I will sacrifice myself to ensure mankind will survive.”

For a split second, Heracles noticed how his opponent’s shoulders tensed as someone called out to her from humanity’s side of the arena. He saw a young boy with a burn mark and wearing a checkered haori waving his arms frantically, a smaller girl with a bamboo piece in her mouth mimicking him, albeit with a bit more enthusiasm.

The demigod closed his eyes. Inhaling deeply through his nose and exhaling through the mouth, Heracles raised his club, the spiked edges pointed at Giyuu!reader as she kept her sword pointed at him.

“I love humans. I do not wish to see them destroyed when I know there is still hope for them to strive, to grow, and become better. Therefore…I will not kill a warrior who is fighting for such an honorable reason. Come, I will give you what you want. Instead of a clean death, however, I will fight until one of us loses consciousness. There has been enough death here today.”

“Fine. The victor shall be the one who is not incapacitated.”

Heracles nodded, and got into a fighting position. So did Giyuu!reader. Although the crowd - humans and gods - jeered at their words and wished to see more carnage, Zeus silenced them with his own agreement. He will make an exception in this round of Ragnarok…but no more mercy beyond round four.

Giyuu!reader fought against the red-haired giant, deflecting his movements and using her Breathing techniques to counterattack. But….in the end, Heracles was too powerful. Giyuu!reader lost. Another win for the gods. And Brunhilde reminded her of her failure as soon as she gained consciousness in the medical wing, the Valkyrie glaring at Giyuu!reader.

The Water Hashira felt frustrated tears building in the back of her eyes, rapidly blinking them away and praying that Brunhilde would not see such…an unsightly display of weakness. She was prepared for another tongue lashing when a familiar, deep voice rang in the white room.

“That’s enough, Brunhilde!”

Giyuu!reader looked up and saw Heracles hobble through the door, his broad chest and left arm covered in bandages. She noticed that the demigod was leaning heavily against his club, using it as a cane of sorts as he glared at the Valkyrie.

“It isn’t like I walked away from this fight unscathed either. Nor was it a failure on her part. Do you know how rare it is to find a human who is able to keep up with my physical strength? And it was a tie, Brunhilde, not a failure.”

Giyuu!reader stared at him with widened eyes. “...A tie?” She whispered, averting her attention back to the dark-haired woman. Brunhilde sighed, her hands planted on her hips and lips curled into a frown.

“He speaks the truth, though in hindsight, there is no predicting how this tournament will proceed. A complete victory would have been preferable…but this…I’ll accept it. For now. And you did fight hard, and with courage, unlike some of the warriors I had spoken to before coming to you. So…forgive me.” She inclined her head slightly to Giyuu!reader before she strode towards the door. The Valkyrie then looked back at the Hashira.

“Get some rest.”

That was the last thing Brunhilde had said before she skittered out of the room, leaving Giyuu!reader alone with the demigod. She said nothing, watching Heracles smiling boyishly at her as he carefully lowered himself on the edge of the bed, causing Giyuu!reader to scoot a little towards the right so that he’d have enough room. “How do you feel?” Giyuu!reader asked, tilting her head. “If we were both knocked out…then why weren’t you in the same room as I? Did the gods fear I would try to finish the job as soon as I was conscious?” She would have done it too, if Heracles had been a demon instead of a half-mortal, half-god she fought against in a tournament where the fate of humanity hung in the balance.

Giyuu!reader watched as his eyes widened for a fraction before he threw his head back, a booming laugh bouncing off the walls. He laughed for a bit, and then looked at her, his grin stretched from ear to ear.

“Sorry. I-It’s just…wow, I definitely wasn’t expecting that! No. The hospital policy is to not have men and women share the same room, even when there are curtains that can be used for privacy and so on.” He chuckled, using the back of his hand to wipe away some tears that were trickling down his face from laughing too hard.

Giyuu!reader blinked, staring at him blankly. “I suppose that does make sense.” She muttered. “Will you be leaving soon then? I’ve heard gods and demigods have extraordinary regenerative abilities.”

“Soon.” He said, flexing his left arm. “The facilities used here are amazing, and you’ll get to go back home too!”

“And our fight was most definitely a tie?”

“Absolutely! It was a double-knock out! Everyone saw it, and they can certainly not deny it! Even Heimdall was astonished at your strength. Oh, we could even have another match when you’ve made a full recovery! Ares is an amazing fighter like you, but he’s not always available! And I’ve never seen a fighting style like yours, it’s incredible!”

Giyuu!reader stared at him for a long moment until she slowly nodded in agreement.

“I would not mind.” She said softly. “Although…knowing Tanjiro and Nezuko, they will probably give me quite the scolding when I return to the compound.” Just when she said those words with a small smile, which caused Heracles’ heart to skip a beat upon seeing such a lovely expression on the warrior’s face, however, the door opened with a loud ‘bang’. Both of them turned and saw a little girl with a bamboo piece in her mouth, pink eyes widening before she began to weep. Without a word of warning, she blitzed towards Giyuu!reader, performing a small backflip as her body shrunk to the size of a toddler and landed squarely on the Hashira’s solar plexus, knocking the wind of her with a grunt.

But Giyuu!reader didn’t push the child away. Instead, she pulled the little one into a hug as chubby arms coiled around her neck. “Shh, it’s okay. I’m alright, Nezuko. See? I told you everything would be fine.” The Hashira cooed, slowly rocking her body back and forth.

From the corner of his eye, Heracles saw another human enter the room. Taller, and he couldn’t have been younger than fifteen or seventeen summers with dark red hair and a green checkered haori draped over his black uniform with silver buttons. The demigod immediately recognized him, and the little girl. They were from the arena, and the boy called out to Giyuu!reader during the match.

The boy, whom he had to guess was Tanjiro, stared at him with nervous, inquisitive eyes. Heracles smiled at him, and stood from the bed, allowing the tiny mortal to approach Giyuu!reader. Tanjiro beamed at him before he walked over to Giyuu!reader’s side, throwing his arms around the Water Hashira and Nezuko, burying his face in the former’s shoulder. When he pulled away, the demigod saw that this boy wasn’t even trying to hide his tears. He had been truly worried about Giyuu!reader.

Giyuu!reader smiled at him, raising a hand and stroking the top of his head before trying to wipe away his tears, although such a tender gesture only made him cry even harder.

While he didn't know the history between these three individuals, it was clear to Heracles that they shared a close bond with one another. He smiled, watching Giyuu!reader panicking over Tanjiro while the little one, Nezuko, looked up at him with tiny flowers over her head till she decided to hug his uninjured leg. His grin widened.

Humans were truly amazing.

“Say, once we’ve been cleared by the healers to be released, how about we all go out and get something to eat? My treat!”

Tanjiro and Nezuko definitely wanted to go, but they left the final decision to Giyuu!reader as they stared at her with wide, curious eyes. Giyuu!reader nodded.

“It would be our honor, Heracles of the Grecian pantheon. I hope we can wait to spar until we’ve fully healed?” She asked with a raised brow. Heracles beamed, jabbing a thumb at his chest.

“Of course! I swear upon my honor!”

“Then it is settled.”

Heracles felt his heart race and his smile widen upon seeing her smile for the second time. He did not know why he felt like this. The only conclusion he could come up with is that he didn’t have to kill this strangely wonderful woman and cause grief for these children. He wouldn’t find out the actual truth until much, much later.

Taglist

@swallowtailcherry

@rukia-writes

@imperfectbloodmoon

@kanroji-san

@onecantsimply

@thatstrangesheep

@technikerin23

@samoaz

@mistradamus

@screechingmilkshakepersona

@melou008

@ladykitsunesworld

@currentlyinhell

@diamondzoey

@dragonempress18

@abelheilonwife

@officialzerofukugodofmisfortune

@sleep-all-day-everyday

@mooly-artistic

@mortemorii

@puffy-bangs

@bones4thecats

@nunezs-stuff

#an idyllic novelist #shuumatsu no valkyrie #record of ragnarok #ror x reader #snv x reader #fem reader #snv #snv heracles #ror heracles #giyuu!reader #fem!reader #heracles x reader

174 notes · View notes

octuscle · 11 months ago

Note

Yet another Christmas wanting to fit in with my marine family. Me, the shaggy haired skinny twig nerd, surrounded for a week by people I can’t relate to. I wish I’d joined the Corps instead of running away to college. Please, support, can you transform me for good?

You need some rest and fresh air right now. You're especially sick and tired of your hollow-headed brothers. So you put your cap over your shaggy hair, put on the old army parker with the climate and peace movement patches and go outside. Your eldest brother follows you and asks if he can go with you. You smile painedly. And off you go. Of course he's wearing his running gear. And challenges you to a race down to the river. You, completely untrained and in normal street clothes against your super sporty brother in running shoes. Very fair. But suddenly ambition breaks out in you. You start to catch up with him. You overtake him. He gives it his all. But you win.

He is both leaning against the railing on the riverbank, breathing heavily. You take off your cap and wipe the sweat from your forehead. The long, sweaty hair of your fashionable undercut falls into your forehead. You take off your parker. Underneath is an Under Armour running jacket. Your brother gives you a fist bump, says he's proud of you and challenges you again. Not a sprint this time, but the big run. The ten miles to the war memorial and back again. Sure thing, Sergeant, you say with a grin, lace up your running shoes again and then you trot off. You are not men of big words. But you are brothers. You run in step. It's fucking cold. You have hoarfrost in your eyebrows and in your hair. The few hairs you have. Both of you have shaved sides and necks. You wear your top hair just a little bit longer. You don't talk much between you. But you start singing Christmas carols as marching songs.

When you come back, your other brothers and your father are already sitting by the fireplace in their blue dress uniforms. Your mother is in the kitchen and tells you to hurry up, they're about to toast the holidays with eggnog. Bloody sweet stuff. But it's a family tradition. And every form of tradition is sacred. Nevertheless, Christmas is no reason to forget your sense of duty. After dinner is ready, you make your way back to the gym. You don't want to go to bed with any calories converted into muscle mass.

You could have bet that your brothers have noticed that you've left the house. No one is unobserved in your house. The military drill has shaped you all. And when one person goes to work out, everyone works out. Everything for the family and everything for the country!

I found the picture of you when you noticed your brothers entering the gym @militarymenrbomb

#military tf #male tf #muscle tf #inked man #tank top #xmas tf

167 notes · View notes

blouisparadise · 11 months ago

Text

Upon request, today we have a rec list of bottom Louis fics where one of the characters is grumpy (or very serious) and the other character is sunshine. Please check out these fics and if you enjoy them, be sure give them kudos, leave a comment, and help promote them on Twitter or Tumblr. If you enjoy our rec lists, please like and reblog this post to help spread the word. Happy reading!

1) Muffins & Cigarettes | Mature | 7,591 words

Louis pouts. “You can’t pout your way into this, Louis”, Harry said as he was fixing his tie, watch and rings glinting against the soft sunlight filtering through the window. “Of course, I can. Watch me.”

2) Thrown To The Wolves | Explicit | 21,681 words

Louis is a human living in the Styles’ wolf pack who can’t stop getting into trouble, and Harry is the soon-to-be alpha who thinks keeping Louis at arm’s length is the safest option.

3) The Evenness I Fake | Explicit | 26,366 words

Harry doesn’t do relationships. He has a perfectly enjoyable friends-with-benefits agreement with a perfectly lovely omega, and he doesn’t see the need to change that anytime soon. The small fact that Louis giving his attention to another alpha makes Harry want to put his head through a wall isn’t nearly as much of an issue as everyone’s making it out to be.

4) Stuck On You | Explicit | 33,983 words

Louis’ life revolves around his stickers. Harry’s life revolves around his job. The universe has decided their worlds should revolve around each other.

5) And When It Rains, You're Shining Down For Me | Explicit | 37,081 words

“This is Harry, he’ll be your patient,” Liam gestured politely. Harry froze when Louis’ eyes met his own once more. He felt himself getting lost in those eyes, so much so that he didn’t notice Niall and Liam leaving the room quietly but the sound of the door shutting behind them brought him out of the trance. “Hello, I’m Louis,” the omega said, extending his hand for Harry to shake. The alpha could still sense some nervousness in his stance but decided to ignore it. “‘’m Harry.”

6) Always An Angel, Never A God | Explicit | 39,518 words

To understand the level of deep water Louis was in, one first needed to know he has had the same best friend since he was five. Ethan Astor was family to him—a friend who he loved deeply despite their differences. A friend he would do almost anything for. So when Ethan came to him with the plan, no matter how he felt about it, Louis accepted it. At first, it was simple, he just had to flutter his eyelashes at any of the boys that showed interest in Ethan, and if they fell for it, he just dumped them without telling them the reason. Somehow, the rumors spread around campus that Ethan had an insufferable friend they had to somehow win over to reach him. Like a final monster before getting the princess.

7) Kiss Me On The Mouth And Set Me Free (But Please Don't Bite) | Mature | 42,026 words

Harry is the CEO of Flora Corp, Louis is his new secretary.

8) Where I End and You Begin | Explicit | 42,730 words

Global rock sensation Harry Styles is set to perform in his sold out residencies across six major cities. What happens when his usual makeup artist can’t make it and they hire the most beautiful human he’s ever laid eyes on? Surely it couldn’t be that hard to remain professional

9) Something Along The Lines Of ‘An Office Love Story At Christmas’ | Explicit | 43,148 words

Harry hadn't planned on seeing Louis again, not after that night. When he finds out his only competition for a very desired promotion is Louis, he spirals into a mess of trying to be a better coworker and person right before Christmas in hopes that he can outdo Louis' effortless effect on his office. If he manages to get his head out of his ass along the way, it’ll be a holiday miracle.

10) Yesterday Came Suddenly | Explicit | 48,504 words

They don’t talk about it. The way Harry deflects any and all questions about his past and Louis pretends he isn’t confused or hurt by it. The way Harry keeps a distance between them and Louis acts like he can’t see it creating a wall between them. The way Harry doesn’t always answer honestly and Louis goes along with it as if he can’t tell. They don’t talk about it. Harry knows Louis feels like he doesn’t know him well enough, and it pains him. It pains him every time Louis gets that look on his face that’s a mixture of disappointment, frustration, and confusion. And sometimes, self-blame. It pains him because Louis is wrong. Because even though there is a lot Louis doesn’t know about him, there is so much that he does. He knows what Harry is like at his most vulnerable: curled up on this bed with him in the dark where it’s safest. He knows Harry in a way no one else does.

11) Gallery Of Us | Explicit | 55,778 words

Harry knew what he was doing in life, everything laid out in black-and-white, each day pleasantly predictable. Cue lively art student, Louis, trying to find his place. An almost insufferably happy person who sometimes forgets to hide the way they feel meets the person who is diligent enough to notice and determined to make a difference.

12) The Habit I Can't Break | Explicit | 63,140 words

Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

The one where Louis quits smoking and tries to get healthy, and Harry is the fitness instructor who helps him achieve those goals while making him sweat in and out of the gym. In which Harry and Louis still meet at bootcamp, just not the one you’re thinking of. Featuring Lottie as the supportive sister who drags her brother to bootcamp class, Louis as the grumpy (and very recent) ex-smoker, and Harry as the instructor with exhausting amounts of enthusiasm and one obnoxious pair of yellow trainers.

13) Satellite | Explicit | 78,101 words

Louis is a hardworking, dedicated, loving single mum with no interest other than making his son happy, and who thinks that love will never knock on his door again. Harry is a lone man, successful in his field, and thinks he has his life together and all figured out. Wrong meets clueless, lives get turned upside down in the best way possible with the help of a cute and curious little boy, who just wants to learn more and more.

14) Saving Symphony Hall | Explicit | 124,766 words

Note: This fic is the sequel to this fic, which we'd suggest reading first. It is also locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

“I think I have an idea,” Louis said. Slowly, and reluctantly, but with a growing sense of the inevitable. “God damnit, I think I have a really good idea.” “Oh christ, that's the problem-solving face,” Babs said. “Last time we saw that face, he sold a company.” “Wait, what?” Zayn asked. “Right place, right time,” Louis said. “Also, fuck my life,” “What?” Zayn repeated. Niall patted his hand. “I usually just roll with whatever Louis is about to do,” he said. “It’s better for us all.” “That’s the attitude,” said Louis, “I’ll tell you tomorrow. Tonight, I need to do some research. Zayn, give me your number. I’m gonna save our symphony.”

15) Cold Little Heart | Teen & Up | 194,589 words

Louis is a soft omega with an abusive past and an alpha child A few months after getting a divorce, Louis meets Harry, an ex-military alpha wolf that offers him something -odd. In exchange for teaching him how to cook, Harry will babysit his son, Abraham Louis really could use the help.

16) Queen Of Arizella | Mature | 277,919 words

Stealing from Royalty is punishable by death. Louis starts over, doing his best to keep his hands at his sides, but he is hungry and he tries stealing from the wrong royal. Harry is King of Arizella, he needs a queen and who better than an omega on the run from death? Louis will learn to become the perfect queen - the perfect fake queen, but only for a few months. A fake lover, a fake queen, but a real bond.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

#bottom louis #top harry #larry #fic recs #blp #blp fic recs #sunshine/grumpy

187 notes · View notes

thewebcomicsreview · 1 year ago

Text

A lot of the best writing is just doing simple basic obvious shit and doing it consistently. This page from Clown Corps is a great example.

For those who don't read Clown Corps....read it, it's great. Anyway, Morgan is a Clown (which in this setting is a superhero), who just learned that the mime-themed supervillain Echo, who has the power to mimic clown magic but had her mouth sewn shut against her will, is her long-lost sister Maggie, and now we have a flashback to happier times when the sisters go to a carnival (i.e., a place where clowns are).

This actually started on the previous page, where Maggie is winning stuffed animals and giving them to kids. Superficially, this is just a cute stage-setting scene, but every panel here is ironic. First, Maggie is accused (jokingly, but still) of being a criminal. "Suddenly you can't miss" lets us know that she sucked earlier but then became incredibly skilled at hitting targets. Maggie attributes this to being a "fast learner", a reference to the powers she'll later develop. That she's giving the toys away shows that she's not doing her "hustle" for nefarious reasons, much like as an adult her ethics are murky. And then the "fun's over" when her sister the future superhero shows up.

Then, in the next page, Morgan is mad her sister disappeared, and Maggie is mad she was expected to stand around quietly. This sisterly fight is foreshadowing Maggie's fate.

In the next panel, Maggie does a 4th-wall-breaking joke about how "it's not that kind of flashback". The primary source of jokes like this in Clown Corps is series protagonist Mary McBell

This joke is incredible

And in present day, it's Morgan who's most supportive of McBell. This panel recontextualizes the Morgan/McBell relationship. Morgan likes McBell because McBell reminds her of her long-lost sister. This connection would also serve to shorthand Maggie's personality for us, if it wasn't already coming through clear.

Morgan complains that mom made her bring Maggie along, which kind of establishes the relationship between then, and then Maggie hits Morgan with this savage burn. The out-of-nowhere horoscope reference is great, it's a specific hit on Morgan, not something that would be obvious to a reader from from these two pages. It feels more real than if she'd referenced something that we'd already learned about Morgan. Also "My nail polish doesn't match my horoscope" is just a funny line.

Oh yeah, and also this is the future Echo mimicking a future Clown. Don't forget that part.

And then the final panel is Maggie fully aware of what an annoying little shit she's being, but her expression is that of a girl who expects that Morgan is going to buy her that corn dog, glare be damned.

And, like, none of these panels are super mind-blowing genius moves that you'd need to be a twelfth-level intellect to come up with. Individually it's all really basic. It's impressive that all this referencing stuff feels like a natural conversation, but you - the girl reading this - could do that. What makes Clown Corps great is that it does this nearly every panel. Nothing is wasted, nothing here is doing just one thing. It's a sublime example of asking "Can I get more out of this" every single panel, because the answer is usually "Yes".

#Clown Corps

230 notes · View notes

y2klostandfound · 1 year ago

Text

How to win - Jet Set Radio Future on Game Players New magazine Vol.29 (Video game magazine)(Hong Kong)(2002)(06/03/2002)(Part 1)

Translation in English:

XBOX

2002

On sale

ACT - SEGA

6,800 Yen - 1-4 players

Corresponding to 5-1ch audio equipment

Attention!

This game is only suitable for and anyone who may imitate or reference the in-game characters should also avoid touching this game as much as possible. If anyone engages in similar behavior after reading this article, I or the publication will not be held responsible, please pay attention!

JET SET RADIO FUTURE

Hello everyone! I am a DJ PROFESSOR K, the embodiment of beauty and wisdom, and a heroic companion!! Do you feel that life is boring? Looking for something fun to do? Come on! Listen to my Tokyo underground radio station! ! Don't forget the name, yes! ! It's "JET SET RADIO"! ! YEEEEEEEE~~~~HAAAAAA! ! !

Let's start with an introduction to the current situation! Tokyo is now dominated by Gouji Rokkaku , whose "Rokkaku Group" is more powerful than the local government, and no matter what level it is, such as real estate, society, culture or entertainment, it is also controlled by them, and the people have no freedom of choice at all, day after day, month after month, they live according to the meaning of the Rokkaku, without a soul and without their own selves. Recently, Rokkaku succeeded in becoming the mayor, which completely fell to the hands of Rokkaku in Tokyo, even the law can be changed by him at will, of course, the police are not spared, and they have become Rokkaku's Corps and they are fighting against those who are against him, OH MY GOD!

However, where there is darkness, there is light, and a group of young people who are passionate about life are determined to vent their inner grievances with graffiti and to awaken the sleeping people with crazy actions. But there was one thing that surprised them, When it happened, it turned out that "Rokkaku Expo Stadium" was in full swing, and the surrounding vigilance was also strengthened a lot, which made the struggle between these young people and the Rokkaku Group heated up. Although the enemy is a group with great power, fortunately, many capable people have joined in the process of protest, which has ignited new hope for this group of young people. And this class of ideal Stormy Teenagers, they call themselves "GG"! !

Members of GG

CORN

The person who already existed when GG was founded is now GG's leader, very competitive, and often considers himself a genius.

GUM

She is another main member of GG, is responsible for the operation of the organization together with CONE (CORN), she is so calm that the men who have a crush on her automatically give up after ten minutes.

YOYO

The new member of the GG, the typical storm boy, is arrogant and often calls himself a cannon king.

BEAT

The mysterious boy who appeared on the streets of Tokyo, since his appearance, things have changed rapidly.

ROBOY

The robot that CONE(CORN) retrieves, everything else is unknown, only known to be as arrogant as CONE(CORN).

ROKKAKU GROUP

Rokkaku Police

The front-line personnel of the Rokkaku Group, everything that will hinder the people and things of the Rokkaku Group is also their goal.

HASHED (HAYASHI)

The police commander of the Rokkaku Police Force, Division 0 is a very troublesome policeman. If he is targeted by him, he will never have a good life.

Gouji Rokkaku

The chairman of the Rokkaku Group, who dominates Tokyo's economy and culture, is a very authoritarian careerist.

Getting Started

Controller

Buttons MENU In-game

Left Stick Select Walk/Run

Right Stick -- Look around (while standing)/Map

rotation (in PAUSE)

Arrow keys Select --

A button Decide Jump/Decide

B button Cancel Accelerate/Use props during battle

X button -- Continuous TRICK/HANDPLANT

Y button -- Continuous TRICK/TURN

START button Decide PAUSE on

BACK button Cancel Cancel

Left button -- The camera direction is corrected

to the front

Right button -- Spray GRAFFITI/ Dialogue unfolds

Various Actions Basics

Walk/Run

Left STICK is to control the character's movement. After inputting a few directions, the character will make a sprint start and then move forward at an even speed.

Jump

The A button is for jumping, The distance and height depend on the time of pressing the button, if you press it for a long time, you will jump higher, different characters will have more or less jumping power.

Turn

On the way to several directions, press the Y button to make the character turn his back foward and make a backward movement.

Dialogue

Some characters can have a dialogue with the player, as long as you approach the player, the dialogue icon will appear, and you can press the right button

Accelerate

Each time you use it, you need to consume 10 cans of spray paint, press the B button to use it, and you don't need to use it while jumping.

Camera Correction

During the game, the camera will turn with the character's movement, press the left button to correct it to look straight ahead.

TIC Tips

When fighting against the enemy or Rival, the left button can be used to lock the target. When the opponent is in front and the CURSOR is yellow, press the left button, and the CURSOR will turn red. At this time, press the B button to accelerate, and there is a chance to make a straight line to recover the gap, but it still needs 10 cans of spray paint.

TRICK

GRIND

Basically all handrails or fences can also do this action, just walk close to the above facilities, press the A button to jump, the character will automatically slide on the handrail or fence, and is not limited by the slope, even if it's vertical.

AIR

Using speed or an inclined platform, you can jump higher than normal, and the movements you make while flying are classified as AIR.

WALLRIDE

Specific walls (such as advertising boards) allow players to slide on them, and they are not limited by the slope, as long as the character touches the wall, and the speed is faster than that on the ground.

HANDPLANT

In some "U" shaped terrain, it is possible for the character to make this action, and when the character is about to reach the edge of the item, press the X button to make an upside down posture, which has the effect of accelerating.

COMBINATION

GRIND COMBINATION

On the railing-shaped terrain, it is possible to make GRIND movements, but in fact, combined actions can also be added to GRIND movements. And the method is simple, just press the X and Y buttons, and press continuously to make a series of actions to increase the score, as for what the use of the extra score is, I will introduce it to you later.

AIR COMBINATION

AIR COMBINATION is almost the same as GRIND, as long as you enter X and Y in the air state, the character will make fancy.

Spray Painting Tips

In the game map, there will be a rotating round plan (GRAFFITI POINT) on the wall, which represents a place that needs to be painted, the player has to make the character approach and then press the right button to spray the pattern. Each GRAFFITI POINT needs to consume a can of spray paint, but one thing to note is that pressing the right button anywhere will also consume a can of spray paint.

Continuous spraying

If there are more than one GRAFFITI POINT side by side on the wall, it means that the spray painting is of a larger size. Players can start from the first pattern and press the right button until the last one.

The type of spray painting

There are five sizes of spray painting in the game, namely SS, S, M, L, and XL.

NEW GAME

After selecting NEW GAME, you will start the main game mode for one person only and in order to spray GG's spray paint all over Tokyo, the player must travel through all the different areas and solve the obstacles in front of you. The game consists of two main parts, "STREET" and "GARAGE PARK", which will be introduced in detail below.

STREET

Based on Tokyo, each "STREET" can be regarded as a level, and certain conditions must be completed before moving on to the next one. As for the conditions, it is different each time, the player can ask other team members at Garage Park or listen to JSR'S DJ PROFESSOR K for information. But there is one thing common to all STREETs, that is, all spray painting must be completed. Another thing that we must mention is that each STREET will have certain hidden things that will not be provided with intelligence, how to find out, you have to look at your skills.

GARAGE PARK

The base camp of GG, all team members will also gather here, players can freely practice here, and listen to the ADVICE of teammates. In addition, if you talk to ROBOY, you can enter the GARAGE MENU screen, which has functions such as game setting change, SAVE, custom spraying, basic skill training, and character rotation in use. And every time you finish a street, you have to come back here once, so GARAGE PARK is definiteky an important place.

GG Handbook

In the GG Handbook, you can clearly understand the "STREET MISSION" of each version, so what is STREET MISSION?

In fact, these are the conditions for the appearance of the hidden "GRAFFITI SOUL" and every time you complete a STREET MISSION, a GRAFFITI SOUL will appear. GRAFFITI SOUL is an optional spray pattern that can be viewed and selected in the GARAGE MENU after obtaining it. However, in order to make STREET MISSION appear, you must first find and get the "MYSTERY TAPE" in this section, then the STREET MISSION can be found in the GG Handbook.

PAUSE Screen Diagram

1.Instruction - Indicates the condition or goal that is currently a priority.

2.The street where you are - Displays the name of the street where the player is currently located.

3.GRAFFITI SOUL/ GRAFFIT in the map -

Top:The number of GRAFFITI SOULS acquired in the same layout.

Bottom: The number of GRAFFITI completed in the same layout, calculated in GRAFFITI POINT.

4.Number of GRAFFITI SOUL - Number of GRAFFITI SOUL acquired.

5.The Direction of the PLAYER - The arrow represents the front of the player.

6.ICON-

CHARACTER CHANGE: Available only at GRAFFITI STOP.

SAVE:Available only at GRAFFITI STOP.

GG Handbook: The conditions in each map and the content of "Mystery TAPE".

Back to the game

Game Screen Explanation

MAIN GAME Screen

The usual game screen, STREET is the same as GARAGE PARK.

1.STAMINA GAUGE - After receiving damage, it will be reduced, and when it is reduced to zero, it will be game over.

2. Number of spray paint cans - It can be collected on the street, and you must have spray paint before you can spray paint.

3.Number of GRAFFITI - The number of paintings on the same layout, the number completed is on the left, and the total number is on the right.

4.GRAFFITI POINT - You must have this logo to spray paint on the wall.

5.SPEED METER - Indicates the current speed of the character.

Use continuous TRICK!

When using continuous TRICK, additional points will appear on the upper left of the screen. The more consecutive TRICKs you perform, the higher your score will be. When you reach a certain level of score, there will be "prizes". Let's work hard! !

BATTLE screen

There is a slight difference between BATTLE and MAIN GAME game modes, so the screen representations are different.

1.TIME - An item that will appear in RACE MODE, which will give the player a better understanding of the current situation when racing with RIVAL.

2.CURSOR - Whether it is BATTLE with the enemy or a RIVAL, CURSOR will also appear. When you approach the opponent, CURSOR will appear on the opponent.Press the left button at this time, and the CURSOR will turn red, indicating that the person has locked the target.

PAUSE screen

Press the START button during the game to enter the PAUSE screen, which is a decisive help for playing the game. You can also enter this screen when you are in BATTLE. Press the left and right buttons to switch map mode and view the entire map. In addition, the "GG Handbook" can also be viewed on this screen.

Continue to Part 2

#jet set radio future #xbox #jsrf

293 notes · View notes

deathmetalunicorn1 · 1 year ago

Note

Hi! How are you? Can I please request a Kokushibo!Reader and maybe how they fight for the humans and how their a demon but now in the after life they reunited with their brother and how strong they are and easily defeat the God their against and maybe their brother is watching the whole battle and whatever you want to add! Bye I hope you have a good Day or Night

-You were a demon, but you didn’t even hesitate to join Ragnarok to fight for humanity, as you wanted nothing more than to save them.

-You were filled with regret for your actions when you were on earth, turning into a demon for power, to be able to take on your perfect brother, committing atrocities, only to realize that your brother truly cared for you when you were finally killed.

-When you awoke in Valhalla as a demon, you refused Muzan, as he had no power over you here, and you immediately sought out your brother and the two of you were reunited and over time, you reconciled.

-You were one of two demons, including Nezuko, that was welcomed by the Demon Slayer Corps, Ubuyashiki knowing that you wouldn’t betray them, and you traveled and fought alongside your brother, both of you becoming stronger together.

-When Brunnhilde approached the two of you, your brother had no real interest in fighting, but you wanted to repent more, repent against the humans you had killed, and you joined.

-Yoriichi did nothing to change your mind, as he knew you were feeling guilty, instead he stood by you, supporting your decision, but that’s all you wanted.

-Many humans were a bit uneasy, seeing a demon fighting for them, and many gods were quick to try to bribe you with more power, because that’s what all demons wanted, more power.

-You weren’t like other demons however, and you ended your match almost instantly, ending it with one slash of your blade, not even using your moon breathing, showing them all that you were already powerful.

-Jaws dropped all around, everyone was stunned with your skills, and it felt unreal when the humans cheered for you, thanking you for your hard work, thanking you for winning.

-This feeling of gratitude was something unnatural feeling, but there was a warmth in your chest, one that made you smile, only faintly.

-You told Brunnhilde that you would be willing to fight again, if it calls for it, as you wanted to protect humans, and you didn’t want this warm feeling to leave you.

-Yoriichi met you in your waiting room with some tea, the two of you sitting quietly, sipping tea, enjoying the rare moment of peace and quiet together.

#record of ragnarok #ror x reader #yoriichi #kokushibo

210 notes · View notes

guerrerajaguar · 7 months ago

Text

My Devoted Husbands ( Fem!Reader) Chapter 3: What should I do now?

Warnings: Slight angst, mentions of polyamory, reverse harem.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Head Canons

As soon as Kyojuro left, you immediately changed into your kendo practice outfit, grabbed a couple of bokken and went to look for your dad. As he saw you storming in, he instinctively hid behind your mom using her as a human shield. Your mother graciously slid to the side allowing you to throw one of the bokken directly to his hand.

-“Ah darling, I am so glad that you reached us here; your mother and I were just talking about Kyojuro and we just feel like…” He said desperately looking at your mom but obtaining no support from her.

-“We will decide this, right now. We will have a 3 set kendo match, if you win I will let Kyojuro know about our family legacy and I will allow you to freely speak to him about your crazy marriage ideas. But… “. Your stance was fierce and full of determination -“If I win, you will never mention anything related to the corp and will drop the circus about marriage until I decide the time is right. Deal?”-

You father was really taken aback, they both were in the middle of a very exciting conversation where he described to your mom how fast you moved in the living room and that he was completely sure that you had already surpassed him. But even after that, he stared at you solemnly standing up from his seat.

-“Y/N, sweetie, weren’t you training today with Sanemi-kun? Genya-kun will be disappointed if you did not make it.” He said sweetly, trying to convince you to drop off the subject.

-“Oh, the boys can manage without me. They are actually rooting for my victory.” Your voice was calm but defiant and as your father knew you were not going to step down from your challenge, he finally agreed.

-“Very well, so be it. And might we keep our promises then, independently of the match result”.

-“I do trust that you will keep your word, because if you don’t, I will never speak to you back again. And you can bet I am dead serious” . Your gaze was fixed on his, with fiery resolution. If you were going to date Kyojuro, you would do it properly and on your own terms.

You two walked down to the center of your garden, your mom would play as referee since she used to be a very skilled demon slayer. Your brother joined to witness what he believed would be your dad's defeat. Just by staring at you he knew you were already skillful enough to win over a kendo match, it was just a matter of time.

-“Whoever wins 2 sets out of 3 will be the winner of the match”- your mom said as she placed herself in the middle of you both “As for kendo goes, a direct contact will count as a point.” You and your dad were fixedly staring at each other, your bokken up in a guard stance, a dead silence reigned at the battleground and so your mother said with clear voice:

-”Start!”.

Almost immediately after that, you felt a very strong impact in your stomach that propelled you to the far back of the backyard, finding yourself in the need to kneel down to stop yourself from hitting against the wall.

-”Point!”. Your mother exclaimed as you looked at your dad still kneeling on the floor. He had that fiery gaze that confirmed his high ranking at the slayers corp. You were gasping for air but tried to dissimulate, that strike had been really precise and painful.

-”If you have any intention of winning, you need to start taking me seriously, Y/N. I might be your father but I am still The Water Pillar and if you ever intend to claim this rank, better start acting as the Tsugoku you are and drop your childish ideas.”

He was right, you have been so angry about what just happened with Kyojuro that you totally forgot who you were about to fight, it wasn’t an UNO match against your daddy; it was a kendo match with the Water Pillar.

For an instant you felt a bit insecure, unsure if you could attain victory, but then it hit you. Even if you did not say it out loud you knew that your honor and worth as swordswoman were at stake. Because, how could you talk so big if you weren’t able to back your words with true strength? That was the challenge you threw at him by asking for a kendo match. You probably could have thrown a tantrum, asked your mother to intervene or given him the silent treatment for a couple of days to make him stop all his babbling related to Kyojuro. But no, you were so sure that your sword skills were superior to his, that you threw that challenge completely secure about your victory.

It wasn’t about boyfriend or marriage anymore, it was about if you were already strong enough to officially surpass your father and become the next Water Pillar. It was about if you could keep the family legacy with dignity. You were sure that by then, he would start respecting your decisions more and will stop making ridiculous comments about your personal life.

You honestly loved being in the corps, the training sessions, the knowledge your father passed to you and why not; you loved how damn good of a slayer you were. So yes, you would show him how strong your will to protect humans from the demon menace was and how proud you were to call yourself a Demon Slayer.

And you will, definitely, win.

As all doubts started to dissipate, you stood up with your gaze fixed on the messy ground, steadily breathing and as you sheathed your bokken to your belt, you said to your opponent:

-”Now I am ready, father.” You patiently waited for your mother to call the beginning of the next set.

-”Start!” It was like your body moved by itself, you quickly positioned yourself at your dad’s back.

-”Water breathing, second form: water wheel!” Your rival was merely able to dodge it, he counterattacked, but you were faster blocking his front strike and so you continued:

-”Water breathing, fourth form; striking tide…” Now your father started to defend himself from a series of speedily impacts as you quickly changed your direction with a back somersault, you yelled “ Water breathing, sixth form: Whirlpool!!!”

-”Point!” Your mother briskly said as your bokken slightly impacted your dad’s shoulder. You are now even, 1 to 1, the next set will decide everything. You were pretty sure that your father was enjoying the match as much as you and you were also sure that the hardest part of the tussle was about to start. None of you said a word and so your mother proceeded to yell with excitement:

-”Start!” None of you two were to be seen at any place, as you both bet on speed for achieving victory. Only a high level swordsman could follow your now inhuman encounter, your brother was the only one having trouble keeping up compared to your mother, who was completely focused on identifying the match winner as her eyes quickly scanned the entire scene.

Your father’s strikes were faster, stronger and more precise compared to the beginning of the match; you felt like your bokken could break at any moment. You needed to use your entire body to dodge his strikes since getting a broken weapon will translate into an automatic loss.

While your foothold kept changing constantly you decided to start building momentum for a final strike, you were tired and were sure that if you did not finish it with all you had left, you would probably lose. You started your attack by briefly changing direction to totally impulse yourself on your garden wall, as you were total concentration breathing, your strong step cracked the wall as you propelled yourself forward against your father, this was it:

-”Water breathing, ninth form: Splashing Water Flow, Flash!”. It happened in an instant, a thunderous sound announced that one of the bokken had broken and after all the dust had settle; there was an obvious winner. You and your father were standing, staring in opposite directions, with your bokken slightly touching the back of his neck and your dad’s half bokken on the floor .

-”Point and match! Your mother happily yelled as you dropped to the floor, completely exhausted. Your father was showing you a big smile when he offered his hand to help you get up.

-”Do not ever doubt yourself again, your strength and skill now pairs with a pillar, live your life with honor as you have always had.” The feelings that those words carried were so powerful to you, that you had tears at the brink of your eyes. Just as in the beginning of the match, your body moved by itself, warmly giving into your father’s embrace, this was the moment you have been waiting for almost all your life since you unsheathed your first katana. You have finally deemed yourself worthy of your last name.

Well this was not it, at least not yet. You still needed to receive Lord Kagaya’s blessing and successfully complete your first mission as the lead of high-ranked Demon Slayer squad. But this was indeed the beginning of the rest of your life. Time flew so fast while your Dad merrily recreated your final strike with your brother’s help, that you did not notice it until your phone vibed violently with a sort of extremely enthusiastic texts:

From: Nemi

[Wth Y/N? U left me hanging by myself with the little shit.]

You couldn’t help but to giggle, you can’t remember how many times you have asked Sanemi to not call Genya those, in your opinion, bad taste nicknames but your friend was just like that. As you start writing back to him you realized how late it was and that you were not going to make it to your date with Giyuu.

From: You

[I finally broke my old man’s bokken, TTYL, got a date. ]

The time it took you to get ready was barely human, you showered, put some clothes and perfume on, grabbed your purse and you were already sprinting to the recently opened tea house. You thought that being a demon in slayer was not always that bad, as it came along with some physical perks. Being late was a usual with you and a good thing was that Giyuu never seemed to care about it.

It was not hard to spot your friend, peaceful sitting in a two-person table, scrolling through his phone, with a chilly glass of water at his side. The waitresses noticed you immediately as you made your way to your seat. Your black haired companion stood up as soon as he saw you walking in, he was slightly taller than you, he had was wearing a stretchy white blouse and denim jeans, his hair was a bit messier than usual, but still styled into a low pony tail.

“You look terrible.” - said your friend in a very serious tone.

“Thank you! I missed you too…- you said with a sarcastic tone while you removed your jacket and sat down, picking up the menu and calling in the waitress.

“…and you still wonder why you don’t have a girlfriend.” - You concluded raising a eyebrow and giving him a small side smile.

“I did not meant any harm with that… I am actually concerned. I think you sometimes take your training too seriously.” - He spoke as he ordered his and your drink. He’d know you for so long that he did not needed to ask about your choice. The waitress nodded and quickly removed herself from the table. It was actually nice the way you both got treated by the waitresses every time you and Giyuu hanged out, you assumed that it was because your friend was considerably handsome and that you both had always gave out the “best friends” vibe.

“… And I have not ever complained, not even once, for not having a girlfriend”.- You rolled your eyes with a wide smile.

“Then, you should learn how to properly speak to lady if you ever wanna change that.” - you concluded as you took the first sip from your drink. It was absolutely blissful, the floral scent flooded your nose, warmness embracing your insides, instantly relaxing every aching muscle of your body.

“I will take your advice, thank you”.- He sipped from his drink, and you were not sure if he enjoyed the tea as much you did, in fact it was always very hard to read your friend’s mind. Actually now that you had come to think about it, the way you two bonded was kind of peculiar.

You and his sister, Tsukako, became good friends during high school and even though you had knew him since then, you and Giyuu did not became friends until you both got into college together, in the same bachelor degree. A lot had changed since those times, but certainly not his lack of expressions, and you could not help but to compare him with Kyojuro and how much of an open book was your new blond boyfriend.

BOYFRIEND! Yes, these were happy news that you definitely wanted to disclose with one of your closest friends. The thought of Daki not being the first one to know gave you chills, but out of sight, out of mind right?

“So, you are never gonna guess what happened to me today.”- you took another sip. -“I was at this pizza place and I chose to start choking at the worst time possibly…” - Your friend interrupted you.

“Y/N, I need to tell you something…- his face was serious, nothing out of the normal, but was not the type of guy to ever interrupt you, so he left you out of words.

“I-I… Well that’s… ok sure. Is everything alright?”- you sipped again, glancing at him with the lower corner of your eye, with consternation.

“I like you and I want you to go out with me.”- Luckily for you, the tea was in the right place at the right time, otherwise your recently confessed lover would had a dripping wet face by then.

That phrase keep floating around your head, you blinked with confusion, did you heard that right? Probably not, so you sipped again while you cleared your throat.

“You, err, like me? You like me, exactly in which type of way?.- you asked, while repeating to yourself: “Please do not say it, please let it be a misunderstanding, please, not today.”

“In a romantic way, the way a man feels attracted to a woman.” - he sipped and cleared his fine lips with a neatly folded paper napkin. You rested your chin on the palm of your hand, using your fingers to cover your mouth, frowning with concern, unable to speak. This had to be a horrible coincidence, it was just some nights ago that you had dismissed your dad’s ranting about your friends having romantic feelings for you and here you were; A new boyfriend, the broken bokken of your father and another love confession.

Could this day get any crazier?

It was not the fact that you could not like Giyuu, he was indeed a great guy and you enjoyed being around him. Having your blue-eyed companion as a boyfriend was not an idea that you disliked but the problem was that you were dating someone else by now. How were you supposed to gracefully reject a friend and not hurt his feelings? You were not even sure if you were ready to be in a relationship with Kyojuro and there you were, having to break the heart of someone you cared for and if this was not enough, you were about to start the process to become the water pillar.

It was too much, too much for her, too much for a couple of days, too much for her the rest of her life thank you very much.

“You do not have to give me an answer right now. I am going on a business trip tomorrow. We can talk about it when I come back and I will be fine with whatever decision you take.” - He calmly called the waitress again to ask for a refill. How in hell could he be so calm after he spat such words? How could he failed to see how were you crumbling on the inside? Nonetheless, that was a good thing, right? It turned you into a very good liar, concealing your secret until the day you die. You have not spoken a single word.

“Sorry, I did interrupted you. You were talking about a pizza place?” - He sipped again, with inhuman tranquility, and you decided to play along. If you were going to reject him you would have time to think about the best way to do it and still end up in good terms, because that was only way to do it. Right?

“It was, it was nothing special, it was the best slice pizza that ever tried to kill me.” - For a change, Giyuu chuckled.

52 notes · View notes

dat-town · 4 months ago

Text

fight the hurricane

Characters: Sunwoo & female reader

Setting & genre: Pacific Rim au, action, angsty with hopeful ending

Summary: In the middle of a war against alien monsters, there was a war going on inside your mind and heart too, guilt and memories eating you away. Then comes a boy who doesn’t need to Drift with you to understand you completely.

Warnings: canon-typical violence, grief, survivor’s guilt, deceased parents, past minor character death, bleeding

Words: 10.1k

Author’s note: title is from Pacific Rim; “There are things you can't fight, acts of God. You see a hurricane coming, you have to get out of the way. But when you're in a Jaeger, suddenly, you can fight the hurricane. You can win.” if i had a nickel for every time i made Sunwoo the prodigy new guy in town i would have two nickels which isn’t a lot but it’s weird it happened twice.

happy name day @lily-blue <3

By your early twenties, you had been well accustomed with the feelings of loss, grief and guilt. But again, most people were in the world you lived in.

You had been 12 when the first monster came from the sea. You had seen it all over the tv and as a kid, it had seemed exciting like a Hollywood movie and you hadn’t taken it seriously. Even your parents had been doubtful it wasn’t just the media trick.

But more and more monsters had come from the depth of the Pacific Ocean, destroyed beach towns and killed its people. They had been named Kaiju (which meant ‘strange beast’ in Japanese as your father had explained), then the Pan Pacific Defence Corps had gotten established and the Jaeger program (meaning ‘hunter’ in German) had started. It had gotten too real too quick.

You had been 14 when you had first seen a Kaiju in real life. A single one was enough to pulp your hometown into the ground. You had been shivering the whole time you had seen it march through the island. Your first thought had been that it looked like a mix of a dinosaur and an alien and the second had been that you were going to die.

You hadn’t died that day but your parents had. It had been too late when their bodies had been found under the collapsed building of your home.

A month later you had moved into the Busan Jaeger Academy and a year later Jiwon had joined too. Back then you had no idea that she would be your other half. Best friends was too mundane of a word to describe your bond.

You had been 20 when she had died… no, not just died; when she had been killed. Died was such a passive word as if she wasn’t fighting until the last moment with the Category IV Kaiju by your side in Virtual Angel, your Jaeger. The truth was that you hadn’t just lost her. You had lost yourself too. You had trained together for five years and had been active Rangers for almost two years. Something like that cannot be erased merely by death, especially not with the neural link connection you had. You had shared memories, feelings and perspectives. Sometimes you still heard her voice in your head.

After you had gotten out of the hospital, you had been declared ‘mentally unable to return to piloting’ and been transferred from the Rangers to the LOCCENT. Maybe it had indeed been for the better. You weren’t sure you could have survived losing somebody close to you again.

“Category IV Kaiju alert! I repeat: Category IV Kaiju alert,” the intercom blared through the Busan Shatterdome just like it had done simultaneously in every other Shatterdome in the world when the PPDC issued a warning. “Goddess Mercy, report to standby. I repeat…”

The voice blurred in your mind as you hurried to put on your uniform and run to the Local Command Center. Research found that Kaiju arrivals were in a certain pattern, so your scientists always predicted the next attack’s time even if they were eventually hours off. It was better to be prepared for something than to not expect it at all or always be frenzy about it.

“Reporting to duty, sir,” you saluted when you arrived at the mission control unit. Marshall Lee Sangyeon nodded at you but kept his eyes on the big screen where the Kaiju tracking was displayed. You could see the vast red spot moving fast in the blueness of the ocean, heading towards Taiwan. You swore as you took your seat next to Changmin who was on standby duty all night in case something like this happened.

“What’s the strategy?” You asked as you pulled up the necessary maps and the information on the Kaiju that the PPDC sensors could tell such as size, toxicity, speed and such when they passed through the Breach, an interdimensional portal in the Pacific Ocean. It was useful to know what you were up against as well as for the headquarters to decide how many Jaegers they would send to neutralize the threat in the ocean before it could reach and attack land.

“Juyeon and Hyunjae are getting ready. Canada sends the Snow Leopard with Jacob and Kevin and Japan reported to dispatch Rogue Kitsune too,” Changmin told you as he checked on the engineering process on your side.

“It will be Fumiya’s first battle with his new co-pilot, right?” You hummed, briefly contemplating that it could be you as well if you were strong enough to go back after losing Jiwon. Before Changmin could have confirmed, your focus shifted to the LOCCENT’s huge window because on the other side, the giant metal mecha of Goddess Mercy was gearing up for battle.

“Ranger Lee is standing by,” you heard Hyunjae’s voice in your headset, echoed by Juyeon’s and you could see on the camera on your computer screen that both of them were already in their drivesuits, heading towards the Conn Pod, the currently detached cockpit of their Jaeger. Under them dozens of J-Tech engineers worked to make sure the Jaeger was in great condition to be exported and to fight.

In the meantime technicians helped the two pilots to get fully into gear and attached the spinal clamp needed for the neural transmission.

“Their life functions and vitals are okay,” you announced after scanning the results on your screen.

“Rangers, ready?” The Marshall asked which got immediate responses:

“Yes, sir!”

“Ready to kick some Kaiju ass,” Hyunjae grinned his signature smile.

“Neural handshake initiated,” Gahyeon stated a few seconds later and you could immediately see the spike in both Juyeon’s and Hyunjae’s heart rate as well as their brain receptors’ activity. They were a well synced pair, so by the time the Conn Pod was attached to the Jaeger’s mechanical brain, the technician also announced that the drift was successful.

“Goddess Mercy is ready to launch,” Juyeon said and the Jaeger moved its right hand as a proof. Soon eight V-50 Jumphawks airlifted the monstrous size of mecha and flew it towards the ocean to drop them near the vicinity of the Kaiju.

It might have been just the two of them out there putting their lives on the line along with the other Rangers, but every Kaiju battle was teamwork. Everybody in the Shatterdome watched the huge monitor displays and followed their movements over the map via GPS signs and drones sent with them. Your team in the control room was responsible for keeping an eye on the pilots’ health, the stability of their neural connection, the Jaeger’s condition, the Kaiju’s whereabouts and the battle’s surroundings. Admittedly you had only started to appreciate this side of the work after getting disqualified as a Ranger yourself and you didn’t mind that it was only the pilots and their Jaegers that were celebrated as heroes because every win was a victory for humanity no matter who took credit or not.

“Drop happening in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… release!” Changmin counted down and you saw the transporting aircrafts release the harnesses holding Goddess Mercy in air and the metal giant landed in the water with a big splash but safely.

“Kaiju incoming from northeast, estimated arrival in 56 seconds,” you recited the information based on the map and simulation calculations into the microphone. “Snow Leopard is already on the radar too. Rogue Kitsune just left the Tokyo base.”

“It’s going to be eas–” Hyunjae’s words got cut off when something moved in the dark waters around them and the next moment they were dragged underwater.

This Kaiju was not only big in size but it had 8 long snake-like tentacles curling around Goddess Mercy’s legs. The pilots were clearly taken aback by the unexpectedly quiet attack but they managed to overthrow the slippery looking monster, engaging in hands-on combat.

Due to the toxicity and radiation level of Kaijus, it was important to make sure they bleed the least because their blue fluids could make waters poisonous and kill wildlife, flora as well as people in contact. Old solutions such as dropping nuclear missiles on them had been deemed terrible choices too due to the destruction it caused nearby. Jaegers were people’s best hope.

Hyunjae and Juyeon were fighting the monster the best they could but with its many arms, they were mostly forced to protect themselves especially because the Kaiju seemed to attack their power cell on purpose. Unfortunately the K-scientists also predicted the growth of intelligence level in higher category Kaijus. They seemed to learn during their visits and they kept evolving.

It was a relief when Snow Leopard arrived and lured the alien giant away from Goddess Mercy. This way the two of them could charge at the Kaiju at once.

“Rangers, report! Are you okay?” Marshall Lee called out for your pilots and everybody waited for their answer with their breath held back. Based on their health measurements on your screen, their adrenaline levels went frenzy but they were otherwise okay. It was the Jaeger that had some red areas in their right shoulder on the heatmap.

“We are good. Mercy’s right arm has gone limp though,” came the answer and Hyunjae’s grunting about not underestimating these bastards again could be heard.

They tried to hit and punch the Kaiju for a while, circling around it but since its tentacles were longer than the Jaeger arms, it seemed like it was just playing with them. Then Goddess Mercy released its built-in sword from its operating arm and cut off one tentacle of the Kaiju. It seemed to simultaneously weaken and piss it off, so after the blade cut off another limb, the Kaiju pushed Snow Leopard away just enough to pay more attention to Goddess Mercy as it jumped upon its chest, making the mecha lose its footing and before they could push it off or the other Jaeger could pull it off, two of its remaining tentacles pierced through the Conn Pod’s glass windows, the Jaeger’s ‘eyes’ and two others attacked the energy center in its chest, the two weakest point of the metal monstrum. Then with a snapping sound, the Kaiju ripped the Conn Pod out of the Jaeger and sent the pilots flying.

You spoke up at the same time as Gahyeon, alarmed.

“Life functions are dropping low.”

“Connection from Rangers to Jaeger is lost.”

“Send an emergency team! Get them out of there!” The Marshall shouted while the Canadian Jaeger and the just arriving Japanese one successfully neutralized the Kaiju after cutting off all its extra limbs.

Still, with the victory celebrated, your breathing was still shaky as your memories of the emergency staff pulling you out of your drivesuit was too vivid. Jiwon’s fear before your connection was cut off was too much.

You didn’t even notice that you were trembling, just when Changmin put a warm hand over your back.

“It’s over,” he whispered and you forced yourself to nod.

It’s over. For now. Your gaze glided to the huge counter on the dome’s main hall showing the time since the last Kaiju arrival: 0 days, 0 hours, 47 minutes.

At this rate, who knows when the next one will come? When will it end?

With Juyeon and Hyunjae recovering in the hospital from both physical injuries and the mental stress of sudden neural link detachment, the Busan Shatterdome and its area was defenseless and depended on the help of others. The PPDC headquarters in Seoul decided that Jeju should send their cadets to Busan to test drift compatibility between the two Shatterdomes’ residents. Busan needed new co-pilots but the more, the merrier, so the decision was applauded on all fronts except the new dorm assignments among cadets. You didn’t mind sharing a room with two more girls, especially because this was a temporary situation until the eleven Jeju cadets stayed over. Other than the housing issues though, their arrival brought excitement too. It was rare when the Shatterdome got new cadets other than following the Jaeger Academy graduation, so everybody was gossiping about the new residents. They were welcomed with an informal dinner but the next day they were in the combat rooms for training already.

“Aren’t you coming? Eric will miss you,” Changmin teased when you were leaving the canteen but you just rolled your eyes at the mention of the other boy.

“He will survive,” you shrugged. “I have a night shift tonight, so I’m going to ditch that for a nap.”

Trainings at the dome were open to anybody either to watch or participate. Sometimes you joined in for old times sake and to get in your exercise amount for the day but without Jiwon it wasn’t the same. Sometimes you went to watch though, mostly to annoy Eric with your unasked advice. He wasn’t a bad fighter, just a bit reckless and impatient.

That day you were sure the combat room would be full of people because everybody would be curious to see if there were promising matches between two cadets that show innate synchronization, the kind that was needed so two minds could pilot the same Jaeger at the same time. However with Busan’s six cadets in training and the ones coming from Jeju, the number of combinations were high, so it would take days, especially if retired ex-Rangers would like to try again too. It wasn’t unheard of that a Ranger who had once lost their partner would find another to match with but you weren’t planning on going back to the field. Not necessary out of fear, more of guilt. It had been years and you still didn’t forgive yourself for what happened to Jiwon.

Changmin promised to inform you if anything interesting happened but then you parted ways, his leading towards the training halls and yours to the dorms. Right after Kaiju attacks, you slept better knowing that you should be safe for a while but when the next predicted date was nearing you always had trouble sleeping properly, so you wanted to make the most out of these chances not only for the night shift but also for your sake as well.

By the time you woke up and got ready for work, you had like a dozen of texts from Changmin including a picture of Eric wincing at the bruises he received thanks to a girl from Jeju. Served him right though. He always went easier on girls, which might have been gentlemanly on his part but it was just stupid in your opinion, maybe that’s why you never synced either.

When you got to the LOCCENT room, Younghoon was already there.

“Hey, is there anything?”

“Nothing luckily,” he turned towards you with a greeting nod which you reciprocated.

You glanced at the giant counter that showed that it had been almost 6 days since the last attack. The K-scientists predicted at least 12-14 more before the next one based on the recent pattern but you could never know, that’s why shifts and keeping an eye out on the sensors and tectonic movements was important.

“How are Hyunjae and Juyeon?” you asked as you took a seat and signed in to your computer. Younghoon was close with the two boys since they had all grown up together but he hadn’t had a shift when his friends had gotten injured, so it must have felt terrible to just watch it from the sidelines. Not that he could have done anything from the control room. Ranger life was unpredictable like this.

“They are getting better. It will take a while for Juyeon’s broken arm to heal and both of them are still experiencing migraines because of the neural disconnection. It could have been a lot worse,” the boy noted and you knew that he was right. Some Rangers had permanent brain damage after something went wrong during Drift. That’s also why two pilots were needed to control a Jaeger, it would have been too much on one single individual.

“That’s good,” you let a small, reassuring smile paint your lips because their health mattered more than anything. But you couldn’t help but ask, your past self’s guilt towards Jiwon, the Shatterdome, the purpose of the program, sweeping into your bones. “Did they say anything about staying as Rangers?”

Younghoon looked at you with knowing eyes, like he knew exactly why you were asking. He was already at LOCCENT when you were assigned this new job after being discharged from the hospital.

“No. Maybe they are waiting for the official evaluation,” he said and you nodded. Honestly, it was hard to imagine Busan’s best duo as anything other than Rangers but then again, once you couldn’t imagine your life differently either. You had thought you would either spend your life fighting with Kaijus until humanity won or die in a Jaeger. Surviving alone had never been an option. Until it was.

On quiet nights like this when there was a low chance for a Kaiju attack, your work wasn’t particularly interesting. You recorded some info about the Pacific Ocean, the sensors’ data and created a report to submit but otherwise you were mostly reading or talking with Younghoon about Shatterdome and PPDC gossip. By the time the next shift arrived at 6AM to take over you got to know all the exciting details of the training day with the Jeju cadets.

You liked early mornings like this because everything was quiet and calm. In a few hours J-technicians would be busy running around fixing up Jaegers and building new ones, K-scientists would yell about the newest discoveries and Ranger-to-bes would compete over who could get to the combat room or the canteen the fastest. No need to get you wrong, you loved the lively atmosphere of the Shatterdome, you loved feeling the purpose that bound all of you together, the comradeship but there was something in the serenity at dawn that could finally placate your messy mind.

You walked up on the metal stairs over the hangar, right until the catwalk that led over to the other side of the building. You loved this one the most, not only because it was the highest point somebody could get without being in a mecha’s cockpit but if you sat down in the middle of it, you could face the patched up version of Virtual Angel. Your former Jaeger.

You had gained the habit of coming out here to face the elegant metal body of the weapon that once had been partly yours after what had happened with your co-pilot. The three of you, the Jaeger, Jiwon and you had shared something special. You had neutralized enough Kaijus to make any parent proud but not enough, never enough, and while you could have never made yourself pilot Virtual Angel again, she deserved to be in the spotlight again, to fight more. You hoped she would have the chance.

So early in the morning the place was always empty but not this time. You faltered when you saw a stranger sitting in your usual place, staring ahead, at the lined up Jaegers in the hangar as if he was pondering about something. He must have been deep in thought because he didn’t seem to notice your approach until you were only a few steps away from him. When he did though, he looked up at you with eyes widened in surprise.

“That’s my place,” you told him without greeting. The boy your age looked confused for a moment as he looked at the metal structure holding both of your weight about 75 meters over the ground.

“I didn’t see your name here,” he looked back at you with a tilt of his plush lips and you raised a brow, watching him do the same, his brown hair falling into his likewise dark eyes in soft waves. He wore the Jeju cadets’ uniform, same as your formal one but with a different symbol over the heart. But it was too early for even the cadets to be up.

“You don’t even know my name,” you retorted, which made the boy tilt his head in a mischievous way.

“Are you sure about that?” He questioned because he added. “Or maybe it’s my way of asking.”

“Funny, aren’t you?” You let out a little huff of laughter at that and then slid down onto the catwork and sat down next to the boy, a good arm length away, hanging your legs down, leaning against the railing. After spending years looking down from this height through the Conn Pod of Virtual Angel, you weren’t afraid of heights anymore nor the idea of falling scared you. You couldn’t be sure about the side of your unexpected companion though.

“Can’t sleep?” You found yourself asking but you didn’t look at the boy. You kept your eyes on the silver and baby blue paint over the copper Jaeger.

The cadet hummed, confirming but not elaborating. You didn’t expect it, you were strangers after all even if you were fighting the same war. You just sat down quietly for a while, not in awkward but more of a comforting silence, just the type you particularly liked on mornings like this.

“She’s beautiful,” the guy spoke up a bit later when the Sun was already up over the horizon, painting orange hues over the glass dome above your head, casting bright light over the three mechas. At first, you were confused who was the she he talked about but then you saw that he was looking at Virtual Angel too and you couldn’t help an albeit small but genuine smile.

“She really is, huh?” You agreed, feeling warmth in your chest like when somebody complimented something you could be proud of.

“I’m Sunwoo by the way.”

You turned your head to face the guy, wondering what kind of stories he could hide behind that smile of his, what kind of dreams or fears could drive him here, 75 meters high at the crack of dawn.

“I’m Y/N,” you reciprocated the introduction, forgetting about his previously mentioned intentions.

“I know,” Sunwoo nodded with a secretive smile but then he bobbed his head towards Virtual Angel. “She’s yours.”

Ah, so he really knew who you were. You weren’t sure how to feel about that.

“She was,” you corrected him, which was followed by a beat of silence.

“Aren’t you going back out there?” He asked and it seemed more genuinely curious than blaming. Some people in his shoes would have called you a coward or weak, some people would have done anything to find a partner to pilot a Jaeger together and fight but you weren’t even trying anymore.

“No, I’m not,” you confirmed, picking your nails and you weren’t sure what you expected in response. Pity? Anger? You certainly didn’t expect the boy to get playful.

“Then if I manage to sync up with somebody, can I take her out for a ride?” He raised an eyebrow and the way he phrased it made you flabbergasted.

“Are you asking for my permission?” You chuckled because it was ridiculous. PPDC owned the Jaeger, they had every right to give it to anybody who was suitable. She wasn’t really yours to begin with. But Sunwoo didn’t seem to relent. “Okay, fine. If you are cleared to pilot, kill some more Kaijus with her.”

“It would be an honor,” the guy grinned, a gummy smile showing and you weren’t sure what it was about him and his cockiness but you found yourself rooting for this random stranger to get the green light. Scientifically there was a chance of 1 to 25 that somebody would complete a successful drift without extensive training together but maybe he would be the lucky one.

Speaking of training, Sunwoo’s smartwatch pinged with a notification and he looked apologetic as he stood up.

“Gotta go for my morning run,” he excused himself and you just nodded, planning to head towards the canteen for breakfast soon anyways. You waved him off, ignoring his sly smile. You turned back to Virtual Angel, mentally warning her not to get her hopes up as if the giant mecha could have feelings on its own. It was all just in your mind.

The rest of the day passed in a blur like it often did when you had a night shift. You ate breakfast with a few early birds then went to sleep off your tiredness. At lunch you were sitting with Haknyeon from J-Tech and Chanhee from the K-science Lab when Eric slid to your table. He already wore his clothes for training, a tight fitting tee and shorts, his blonde hair flopping onto his forehead, his smile contagious.

“Are you free this afternoon?” He asked, looking at you intently.

“Hello to you too,” Chanhee muttered from the excited boy’s side, continuing to eat his dumplings the same as before, unfazed by Eric’s one track mind.

“Depends. Why?” You asked but just to be difficult, just to hear him ask you. It was just harmless teasing. You knew exactly what he wanted. You had been friends since the Jaeger Academy. If it wasn’t for Jiwon, he probably would have counted as your best friend. Even if you both had changed since then.

“We’re doing the second rounds of trainings with the new kids. I got assigned with the dude who beat everybody yesterday. Apparently he was also on the top of his classes back in Jeju too,” he chattered which made Haknyeon next to you snort.

“What kind of flowers would you like at your funeral then?” He joked which earned him a scowl but you knew Eric didn’t take it seriously either, not with that pout he looked at you.

“Please, I need you as emotional support,” he said then quietly added: “And your expertise.”

Back at school and even later at Ranger training like this you were the best strategist of your class. You might not have been the strongest but you were smart and hardworking. While the goal of these training sessions was to learn about combat skills and how to move and work together well, eventually when it came to fights, there was rarely not a winner. But even with hits and kicks delivered it was always obvious when two people just balanced each other out. It was something either innate or integrated over years, you couldn’t help Eric with that. What you could help though was analyzing this other guy’s fighting skill with other people to advise Eric about how to counterattack.

“I heard that he’s getting desperate. He hasn’t matched with anybody since he was sixteen,” Chanhee spoke up and while he himself sounded disinterested every head turned towards him at his claim.

“How do you even know that?”

“Just because I don’t talk a lot, it doesn’t mean I’m not listening to what’s going on around me,” the scientist assistant rolled his eyes at all the surprise his claim received.

You hummed, not promising Eric anything, just shoved a dumpling into his mouth, but you were certainly intrigued. You were curious how would somebody like that fight in the ring, whether he was calm because he had been doing this a thousand times already or would he be on edge, trying to prove himself every time he set a foot on the tatami. You were actually curious about it now.

So without much more pestering, you found yourself in the Kwoon combat room with Changmin and Chaewon by your side. The pairs and the match order was randomized but Eric told you that the guy would be in the third round with Beomgyu and their own match would be the seventh. Matches could last from a few minutes up to an hour maximum (stopped by the referee) and while it often ended in about fifteen to twenty minutes, the best balanced pairs could go on and on for long with close scores. You and Jiwon preferred Muay Thai, with her it felt like a dance you both knew the steps to.

The first two pairs weren’t really interesting, they were very off-balanced too, ending in less than five minutes but you could tell everybody was excited to see the infamous new guy who apparently hadn’t lost yesterday because whispers started the moment your Navy soldier-turned-trainer announced the next match.

You knew Beomgyu, so your gaze immediately cut to the other side of the painted square, breath hitching when you saw the guy from dawn. His name echoed off the walls now that you recognized him. Unlike the morning where he was in his proper uniform, now he wore gray joggers and a black tank top, loose over his frame, his sun kissed skin glinting under the yellow light of the room.

You cleared your throat and forced yourself to focus on the match in a professional manner, since that was why you were there after all. To help Eric like a good friend would, not to drool over a guy’s biceps after a single encounter. But honestly, Sunwoo’s good looks were soon forgotten because the moment the fight started, you could tell why he made a name for himself. He moved like a predator inside that square and Beomgyu didn’t stand a chance.

“So? What do you think?” Eric nudged your shoulder, excitement and nervousness mixing in his hushed voice.

“His fighting style is similar to yours,” you responded without thinking, craning your neck to lean closer, to see better as Sunwoo cornered Beomgyu, his stick stopping just below the other’s chin, earning him another point.

“What? No! He is so… aggressive,” Eric laughed but the sound was off, a bit worried as if he was wondering if he looked aggressive too then. You shook your head.

“No, he’s just confident and being a bit cocky about it,” you corrected him because actually Sunwoo’s movements were rather elegant and calculating, he was just fast like a cheetah when he needed to attack. He acted all aloof and cool while they circled around each other and then striked in the right moment, when the enemy’s attention momentarily wavered to find a spot on him. “He knows he’s better. He knew it from the moment Beomgyu waited for him to attack first and he was obvious about it. You’re the same but not in the same way. You get bored easily when you think you could win easily, that’s why you are gentler with girls, which is still annoying by the way, and get playful with the guys, which must be equally annoying too because you take something half-assedly that they have to work so much for.”

“Okay, that’s uhm… interesting. But then how do I win?” Eric still seemed taken aback by your analysis but he seemed focused on showing his true colors now that he was up against somebody on his level. You gave it a thought because you could easily see the two of them provoke each other endlessly as well as always gaining points during counterattack, so there was really only one option.

“You have to attack first and get the first point,” you told him straightforwardly and Eric took it as a challenge.

Beomgyu lost and the next few matches didn’t last too long either. Minjeong and Mia seemed promising enough for the referee to sign them up for a test Drift which earned them a cheer but it wasn’t something to get anybody’s hopes up.

“Break a leg,” Changmin patted Eric’s back when his name was called and at the younger guy’s grin, you frowned.

“Please, don’t,” you sighed and watched him make his way towards the ring just for your eyes to meet Sunwoo’s. There was a hint of mischievousness in his as he saluted towards you but then he schooled his expressions when they were finally face-to-face with the blonde boy.

They bowed towards each other and then it started. They just stared each other off for a long enough moment for you to start wondering whether Eric wouldn’t take your advice but then he charged at the other so suddenly that even though Sunwoo could duck away from his first hit, the second got him on the side. Shocked gasps and loud cheers erupted in the room. After all, Eric was the local boy and he just took the first hit on the undefeated Jeju cadet.

In that moment, you saw Sunwoo’s entire posture change, his eyes getting darker and more focused, his grip on the stick firmer. Within three steps and a combination of hits, he managed to level out. You were right: they were similar. In their own way they approached the fight the same way and others started to notice it too. Excited whispers and claps for every hit echoed in the room the more it went on. Their points were neck-to-neck just like you guessed it would be and it was thrilling really to see this kind of balance between strangers. It felt like witnessing something special.

And you weren’t the only one who thought that.

“Cadet Sohn and Cadet Kim, please follow me to my office,” the Marshall spoke up and the entire room full of people turned towards him standing in the door with the usually stern look on his face. The sweaty and panting boys exchanged a glance before handing the sticks back to the ex-Navy soldier and broke through the crowd around them, accepting the congratulatory pats on the shoulder as if they felt it too. Their connection.

They had to be Drift compatible. They were your best hope now.

Eric was buzzing with excitement later that night. They were going to have an official test Drift the next day which was a big thing, so you made sure to congratulate him before going to the hangar instead of the female dorms. Having slept in the morning you weren’t sleepy yet. So you did what you usually did when that happened, not too surprised that you found Sunwoo swinging his legs from 75 meters high this time too.

“Trying to get on her good side already?” You teased, referring to Virtual Angel which managed to make the guy let out a raspy laughter.

“I told you I would steal her from you,” he grinned and patted the floor next to him like he owned the place. It made you scoff out loud but you sat down anyways.

Both of you were quiet for a while but then he asked you about the Drift, about how it was to pilot a Jaeger, how it was out on the field. Sure, he had done countless simulations, keeping the highest score back in the Jeju Shatterdome but it wasn’t the real thing, you both knew. So you decided to tell him the truth about how vulnerable the Drift felt, revealing so many parts of you for another person, sharing so much but it was mutual and when you get to know the other person, it was like having a soulmate. Before your voice could have cracked though from talking about Jiwon, you changed topic and recited what you remembered from your first Kaiju battle. You had rather told him about the highs of Virtual Angel’s Jaeger duties than the time when it had been reduced to a mess of metal and you couldn’t make yourself look at it.

In exchange you asked Sunwoo about how he felt about the Drift, whether he was nervous but you didn’t really expect him to admit it. But as it turned out he’d had two unsuccessful neural linking already. Those times he had been hopeful, so now he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Not after spending years working on getting better and better only to not be good enough. No high score or Academy result would mean anything to him if he couldn’t make it to the frontline of the war.

You told him that he would make it and the next day you were there assisting with their Drift compatibility test which resulted in 92%. From that day they were officially Rangers on duty.

The next Kaiju attack was predicted to be in about 10 days, so Sunwoo and Eric had gotten themselves into intensive training before their first battle. Not only did they have long hours of combat practice everyday, they were quizzed on Kaiju weaknesses constantly and were assigned as roommates to bond. It must have been working because whenever you had a meal with them in the canteen, they seemed as if they had been friends for ages.

You still hung out with Sunwoo on the hangar’s catwalks, talking about how your lives had been before and what would you do if humanity wasn’t constantly threatened to get wiped out by an alien race. Sometimes when he looked at you with eyes dark and curious you could tell he wanted to ask something else too but he never did and you didn’t push, he must have had his reasons and you didn’t particularly want to talk about how it felt to lose your co-pilot which you guessed as one of those unasked questions. Sometimes you helped him train too and while you got rusty so he was clearly better, it was fun and it had been a while since you found anything about being a Ranger fun. Him not going easy on you and smiling like the Sun on its brightest days helped too.

After Sunwoo put in his official request to be assigned for Virtual Angel out of the unused Jaegers, Eric came to you asking if you were alright with that. You told him that you were more than okay with it because the Jaeger deserved one more chance and gave him tips about controlling it. He listened attentively but his mind must have been elsewhere because right after he blurted out:

“What’s up with you and Sunwoo? You spend a lot of time together,” he hummed, looking at you with half worry and half something else you couldn’t name.

“Shouldn’t you know the answer to that?” You asked challengingly because Drifting with somebody meant opening your mind to them and even unintentionally you could catch a glimpse of the other’s some recent or most significant memories.

“I would prefer it if you told me. We are old friends, aren’t we?”

Well, he wasn’t wrong but you weren’t sure what to tell him, so you shrugged.

“There’s nothing going on. He just… makes me feel normal again,” you admitted and you could see that Eric wanted to protest but bit his lip. It wasn’t you faulting him or your other friends because they had seen you at your worst, so not bringing up Jiwon or how it was to be a Ranger but not anymore was their way of being considerate. You knew it wasn’t out of pity but still, they treated you differently from before and it made you feel broken. Sunwoo hadn’t been there, hadn’t known you before, so it must have been why but he didn’t tiptoe around you like the others did and yeah, that felt good. It felt like you were finally more than the ghost of your past self. Next to him, you felt alive, not just surviving.

You weren’t on call when the Category III Kaiju came from the Breach a week later. You wished you were because this way you could only watch through the huge TV screens in the dorm as Virtual Angel ascended from its place after the neural link connection was successfully established between the mecha and its new pilots. Everybody was watching the broadcasted event with their breaths held back. People were invested usually too but it was even more apparent when it was with new Rangers. Hong Kong sent veterans, Yangyang and Renjun who had been in the business for years but if you didn’t know any better, Sunwoo and Eric could have fooled you that they had done this together before too and not just in simulations.

Later Changmin told you that they were a bit worried at first because shortly after the connection was made it seemed like Sunwoo would ‘chase a rabbit’ which was a phrase used for the event of a pilot getting lost in a memory, either their own or the other’s, too much and lost touch with reality followed by a Random Access Brain Impulse Trigger (aka R.A.B.I.T). It sometimes happened with new pilots, especially under stressful situations, but it was a good thing that Sunwoo managed to handle it before it could have gotten in the way of the battle. Yet, it made you wonder what kind of memory did he latch onto enough to hesitate. Once you had gotten stuck in there, in your mind, you had been 14 again and helpless, you had just wanted to see your parents’ face one more time. The Neural Handshake had failed then and you had recurring nightmares after that. You hoped it wasn’t like that for the boy.

When the newly celebrated heroes made it back to the base after neutralizing the Kaiju, the first thing Eric did was to envelop you in a bone-crushing hug. You closed your eyes, chuckled and congratulated him. Over his shoulder you saw Sunwoo who eyed the two of you a bit hesitantly and while you didn’t expect him to be as affectionate as the blond guy, you thought he would at least high five you but instead he just walked past you as if you were strangers.

It was the first time it happened but it wasn’t the last.

It got weird quickly. You didn’t even notice how much you got used to Sunwoo’s presence and your in dim light talks in the hangar so quickly but the difference was now striking. You never accidentally bumped into him, he was too busy to train with you and always ate together with others. You never got the chance to ask what you had done that made him avoid you.

“Are you listening?” Haknyeon waved his hand in front of your face but before he could have followed your gaze to Sunwoo with that girl from Jeju who also stayed to train with one of your own in case they could be more compatible later, you snapped your focus back on him.

“Yeah. You were saying something about a remote access Conn Pod?” You furrowed your brows, trying to make it seem like you weren’t distracted.

“Exactly. This would mean Jaegers could be piloted from here instead of risking the pilots’ life more than necessary out there. We will start testing it soon,” the J-technician guy said excitedly and any other time it would have made you more invested because if this technology had existed when Jiwon… You shook your head to not think about her and the what ifs.

“That’s cool,” you muttered, shoving the rest of the breakfast into your mouth, tearing your gaze off Sunwoo.

You couldn’t help feeling confused and maybe a bit angry too because you didn’t do anything that could have warranted the boy to act so distant. If you didn’t know better you would have thought that he acted that way because suddenly they were in the center of attention with Eric and suddenly he was too busy and popular to hang out with you but it wasn’t the kind of behavior you would have associated with him. You could have asked Eric but you would have moved to a different country sooner than giving him the chance to tease you about your ‘boy problems’.

Despite Sunwoo’s best efforts to avoid you, you saw him constantly. The Shatterdome was not that big, but maybe it was even worse because this way you saw his gaze linger on you just for a moment before snapping his gaze away, acting like he didn’t see you. Eventually it was Eric who came to you asking if you rejected Sunwoo or something and that was why he always opted out of meals together. You snorted. At least then you would know why he was like this.

Well into a week of this weird thing going on, you bumped into Sunwoo just after he seemingly finished training. You were on your way to the canteen, passing by the Kwoon combat room when he stepped out, his hair slightly damp and sweat glistening on his bare arms. He slowed down in his steps, your presence clearly taking him aback. Then he quickly ducked his head and passed by you, heading towards the changing rooms. It boiled your blood more than you cared to admit and you couldn’t take it anymore, so you decided to bite the bullet.

“Why are you avoiding me?” You span around your axis, turning after the guy’s leaving figure, successfully halting him on the way.

“I’m not–” Sunwoo’s protest died on the tip of his tongue when he saw your cutting gaze. He averted his eyes and gulped, nervousness showing. You didn’t understand anything, but when Sunwoo spoke up, his answer didn’t make any sense either.

“I don’t want to make things awkward between you and Eric,” he said and you furrowed your brows in confusion. Why would it have changed anything?

“What does it have to do with Eric?” You asked, frustrated because this was the most ridiculous explanation ever. Sure, they might have been co-pilots and you and Eric were friends but…

It hadn’t always been like that.

Under Sunwoo’s meaningful stare, you felt the need to slap yourself but you just ended up laughing. Oh god, you couldn’t believe that you were wondering about why he hated you when it was probably the opposite. The relief was instant.

“Oh please, are you jealous?” You teased, thinking back on the way Eric had hugged you all friendly and before Sunwoo could have protested, you needed ro clarify. “I don’t know what you saw in Eric’s memories but we dated for like two weeks when we were sixteen and that’s it. We’re better off as friends.”

“Oh,” the boy mumbled and you raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, oh. So? Are we good?”

His reaction was enough confirmation that he saw something in Eric’s mind about you. Whether it was something like your first chaste kiss or just the boy asking you out, he might have misunderstood it, both how old the memory was or the feeling revolving around it. You knew from experience that it wasn’t easy to not get swept up in memories during the Drift especially if you didn’t know the other very well already. It could be a disorienting and confusing experience, so you didn’t blame Sunwoo for misunderstanding and wanting to be a good bro or whatever. You were a bit pissed at him only for not talking about it with you. You weren’t petty enough to whine about it though.

“Yeah, we… it’s good,” Sunwoo mumbled, embarrassment coloring his cheeks a brighter color which would have been kinda cute if he wasn’t so stupid.

“Good,” you muttered and turned your back on him, continuing your walk to the canteen. Fifteen minutes later Sunwoo showed up too, sitting down at your table, earning a gawking eye from Eric. You pushed a corndog into his mouth to shut him up.

Sunwoo’s and Eric’s next drop in a battle went smoothly as well. Hyunjae started to joke that they finally had some healthy competition at the dome which might have been true as he and Juyeon started the rehabilitation to go back out there. Virtual Angel shone thanks to the guys just like in her best days and it was a nice thing to see. Of course, you were worried about both boys because you knew better than anyone how fast and drastically things could go wrong but you also remembered the proud feeling that came with fighting for people’s lives and you would have never taken that away from them, especially not since you knew how long both of them had been waiting for this.

When it came to Sunwoo and you, things were back on the old track. You didn’t bring up the jealousy or whatever thing and he didn’t explain it either. A part of you thought, maybe even hoped that he would but you didn’t want to be pushy. He had a lot on his plate with the new Ranger responsibilities and getting used to living in the Busan Shatterdome after spending half his life in the Jeju one. You were content with just having him back as somebody you could talk through dawns over the catwalks.

It was one of those days, the quiet, anticipating ones. You were swinging your legs slowly, leaning against the handrails, chin over your arms, watching Sunwoo’s side profile and the way his fringe hung over his eyes.

“You know,” the boy spoke up slowly, his raspy voice vibrating in the air. “Sometimes it feels like she remembers you.”

He pointed at the Jaeger wistfully and you couldn’t help a small smile. The mecha was nothing but wires and metal, technically it didn’t have any feelings or memories. Still, you didn’t make a joke out of Sunwoo’s sentimentality.

“Yeah? How so?” You raised a brow instead, curious.

“I don’t know. It’s just… it feels like I have known you for so long,” he said and while it echoed how you felt, so you doubted it was the Jaeger’s doing, you couldn’t help but tease.

“That might be because of Eric,” you snorted, teasing and Sunwoo let out an exasperated sigh.

“You won’t let that go, will you?”

“Nope, not a chance,” you chuckled, watching a hint of crimson make its way onto the boy’s cheeks. He was usually so self-assured, dropping teasing smiles and comments that could have made you flustered if you weren’t expecting it, so it was rare to see him this shy.

“Will you tell me? What you saw when you almost went chasing that rabbit?” You asked, quieter, curious. It might not have been you, it might have been one of his own memories that had made him hesitate but with the way his attitude took a 180 degrees turn after that, you ought to think it was something involving you and seeing Sunwoo’s reaction you must have been right. He scratched the back of his neck and hummed.

“I saw you in the hospital after… your accident,” he answered slowly and you could only guess what exactly he could have seen: you on a hospital bed on machines with three broken ribs and internal bleeding. You had been passed out for a long time but according to Changmin, Eric had been by your side whenever he could be. “I was… khm, I mean, Eric was worried about you. It hurt seeing you like that. And then when we came back and I saw him hugging you first thing, I knew that you shared something special. I also wasn’t sure whether I was confusing Eric’s feelings with mine after sharing a neural connection with him so often lately.”

You knew that it could be confusing. Drifts had after-effects, some part of the other always stayed with you even after getting disconnected. Jiwon was still scolding you in your head when you ate too much instant ramen.

“And? Are you sure now?” You tilted your head.

Sunwoo grinned and leaned closer, balancing his weight over an arm sliding next to your hip.

“Ever since you called me out on my bullshit,” he confirmed and you let out a chuckle, ready to tease him about being jealous again but he was too close, you could see the light of the sunrise reflect in his orbs and the way his gaze dropped to you agape mouth, on point but patient.

You closed your eyes and smiled, meeting him in the middle when an alarm blared across the Shatterdome.

“Category IV Kaiju alert! I repeat: Category IV Kaiju alert,” Younghoon’s tense voice echoed in the wide space and you were on your feet before he could have continued. “Virtual Angel, report to standby.”

Sunwoo got up lightning fast too and there was a split moment of realization that you were about to go your separate ways, him to the Conn Pod and you to the LOCCENT as part of your on-call duty.

“See you later,” you said, promised, before turning your back on him and rushing down the corridor towards the control center.

You joined the others, setting up your computer while Jeongeun was debriefing you. The Kaiju was big and had spikes on its back, heading towards Osaka. You planted its current coordinates and possible routes into the system, watching as Sunwoo and Eric left the Drivesuit room and took their places in the Conn Pod. Spinal clamps attached, both Rangers nodding towards the LOCCENT, it was time to initiate neural interface Drift.

“Vitals are okay,” you reported and waited impatiently for the neural handshake to happen. But for some reason it took a longer time than usual.

“Pilot to Jaeger connection complete,” Younghoon finally said with a relieved sigh.

While you were waiting for the transport aircrafts to drop Virtual Angel in the middle of the ocean, you checked in with other Shatterdomes. Sydney was sending a duo but it would take them some more time to get there while Tokyo wasn’t answering. Thinking of the guys going against a Category IV Kaiju alone sent unpleasant shivers down your spine, so you prayed that it was just a communication issue with the Japanese HQ and they were already on their way.

“It’s moving faster than we predicted. At this rate, it will reach the Osaka Wall in ten minutes,” you said out loud after seeing the new calculations on your screen.

“How much longer is it for Virtual Angel?” Marshall Lee asked, concerned as well.

“At least twenty minutes, sir.”

The Marshall nodded and dialed PPDC’s evacuation team with the news of the dangers regarding Osaka Bay.

It was nerve wracking to say the least. By the time the drop happened, the Kaiju was already tearing off the Anti-Kaiju Wall that was pulled up in recent years. So close to the shore, Sunwoo and Eric couldn’t even use the built-in kinetic weapons in fear of making the wall collapse. Neutralizing the monster right there would have poisoned the beaches for weeks too but there didn’t seem to be any other choice. The Kaiju was stubborn and didn’t try to follow the mecha no matter how Eric tried to gain its attention.

You watched as they approached the Kaiju, ready to strike, to punch, the first hit seemed to piss it off and the two huge beings, one alien and one human-made, wrestled in the shallow water near the bay, trying to get a grip on each other.

“Where the hell are the others?” the Marshall stood behind you to check on the communication.

“It’s at least 30 more minutes for Summer Storm and still no news from Tokyo,” Jeungeun said with a strain in her voice too.

“Damnit,” Marshall Lee cursed under his nose and you could wholeheartedly agree.

Your fingers trembled over your keyboard, a hiss unintentionally leaving your mouth when Virtual Angel got thrown on its back. They managed to roll away before the Kaiju could have trampled upon them and they even managed to wound it across its right leg but they struggled to gain momentum.

It felt like hours, how long the battle was going on and you were too numb by the time Jeungeun gasped in shock when one of the Kaiju’s spikes pierced through the mecha and pushed it up against the Wall. The red alert appeared on your screen at the same time you heard Sunwoo’s panicked voice in your headset.

“Eric!?”

Neural link incomplete. Drift unstable.

You saw it bright and clear and you knew what it meant. Eric lost consciousness and disconnected from the Jaeger but Sunwoo was still there, still controlling this giant metal weapon, still in danger of getting sliced through by the Kaiju. It was crazy, he could die. Simply by piloting alone because that can overload one single person’s mind. There was a reason why at least two people could or should have piloted.

“Ranger Kim, report. What are your conditions?”

“Eric fainted, sir. He got hit on the side and he’s bleeding but still breathing,” the guy answered and in a way it was a relief that Eric wasn’t already dead but with the Kaiju tossing Virtual Angel around, there was no time to be relieved.

“And you?”

“I… I’m fine, sir. But I can’t feel the left side of the Jaeger, it’s like deadweight,” he said but his bodily functions were going haywire. His brain was definitely getting too much stimuli.

“Stop trying to control it, you will kill yourself,” you found yourself scolding him despite knowing that in his place you would have tried too. Because…

“A lot more people will die if I don’t try,” Sunwoo said, serious, and with the Sydney team still away, Shanghai just dispatching a Jaeger, you knew what he meant. He just needed to hold the Kaiju back until the others arrived, until he could.

You didn’t even think. You stood up abruptly and looked at Marshall Lee.

“Is the remote access Conn Pod under testing?” You asked, your conversation with Haknyeon ringing in your ears.

The superior in front of you looked confused only for a moment but then he seemed to understand what you wanted.

“Yes but it hasn’t been tested with an already connected Jaeger before, definitely not from miles away. You could die if something goes wrong,” he said and you could hear the others’ whispers, not understanding a bit.

“And if we don’t do something they both might die,” you pointed at the screen, the Kaiju trying to tear off the mecha’s arm and Sunwoo’s vitals going crazy. “I don’t want to see anyone else dying if I can do something about it and I know their Jaeger. She was mine once. I can do it.”

Lee Sangyeon looked you in the eye for a long moment and you remembered how his gaze softened when he had told you he was glad you survived. That had made you cry even harder because in that moment you hadn’t been glad that you had made it out alive. He had seen you going through it, he had seen you avoiding the hangar, detaching yourself from Ranger activities one by one. And now you were asking to go back, to Drift, to fight in an unfair battle. He knew what it must have taken you.

“Cleared. We need people from J-Tech and prepare for a new Drift,” the Marshall told Younghoon and the others but you were already running to the tech labs.

Haknyeon was muttering under his nose about you being insane as he helped you put on the drivesuit and accompanied you to the remote access Conn Pod, somebody else already hooking up Virtual Angel’s coordinates and data. There was no time to waste.

“Neural handshake initiated,” you heard somebody say and you could feel the familiar cold feeling along your spine and the start of a throbbing migraine.

“Come on, Angel. You know me. We have done this dozen times before,” you mumbled under your nose, closing your eyes and clearing your mind.

Memories flashed in front of you. Your hometown in ruins. Jiwon’s last smile at you. Blood on your hands. Sunwoo over the catwalk. Sunwoo’s smirk on the tatami. Sunwoo’s eyelashes up close.

The headache stopped.

“You are crazy,” you heard Sunwoo’s voice in your head as clear as if he was standing right next to you. You opened your eyes and you weren’t in the laboratory anymore. You weren’t even in the Shatterdome. You saw the ocean through the eyes of Virtual Angel and when you turned to your right, you saw Sunwoo looking at you in disbelief. Realistically speaking you knew that you weren’t physically there, just in your minds and yet, it felt so real. “I thought you said you won’t be doing this again.”

“I thought so too,” you admitted, giddy that it worked against all odds.

“Drift successful,” you heard somebody exclaim and you felt yourself (the Jaeger) stumble which brought you back to reality.

“I guess we are compatible,” Sunwoo said with a smirk playing on the unfair tilt of his mouth and together, you managed to make the mecha stand up and avoid the Kaiju’s next hit.

“You talk too much. Let’s kill this ugliness first,” you said but there was a hint of a smile in the corner of your mouth too.

Despite everything, it felt good to be back. It felt like something Jiwon and Virtual Angel both would have wanted you to do. You could also almost hear Eric’s chatter in your ears, complaining about missing your big comeback but he will remember, he will get the memories from his co-pilot anyways. And Sunwoo, he was right there beside you. It felt right. It felt just like a Hong Kongese Ranger once said: like you could fight the hurricane and win.

#stories #the boyz x reader #tbz x reader #sunwoo x reader #pacific rim au #the boyz angst #sunwoo angst

29 notes · View notes