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pshcomforts · 7 months ago

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➳ brought the heat back | psh.

situationship!sunghoon x fem!reader (feat. gunwook from zerobaseone)

“i’m so jealous, i’m going crazy, my patience will run out”

synopsis: sunghoon definitely wasn’t amused when coming to a party and seeing some guy talk to you.

warnings/content: written in third pov. mentions of alcohol. suggestive. little fluff. tension. possessive and jealous sunghoon (what did you expect). cursing. not proofread.

comments, likes, and reposts are appreciated :)

word count: 2.7k

༘˚⋆𐙚｡masterlist⋆.✧˚

current song playing: brought the heat back by enhypen

↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺

0:34 ──|───────────────── 2:22

y/n had just arrived to the dim-lit party, music loudly blasting through her ears as she moved past waves of people.

the girl struggled to find her friends as they remained scattered all around.

“damn heeseung just had to throw a huge ass party..,” she mumbled to herself, sighing softly once she realized she wouldn’t be able to find anyone.

she even sent texts, but she deemed that all had gone off of their phones for the night so she settled on a drink and time well spent of being alone.

that was until her coworker had approached her.

“hey y/n!” gunwook yelled out, grinning at her shocked expression.

“gunwook?? i never thought i’d see you here!”

the male laughed before taking a step closer to her. “never thought i would’ve either, especially when you’re alone.” he frowned, earning a playful smile to form on y/n. “where are your friends?”

“they’re off somewhere… i can’t find them honestly..,” she admitted to him.

gunwook quickly wore a grin that reflected hers, presenting a sweet expression as he said, “so.. i take it you’re alone then?”

she cocked a brow at him before the two broke out into laughter. “what do you mean by that, gunwook…?” she softly teased, breaking another chuckle out of him.

“just saying… if i’m alone, and you’re alone, we can be each others company.”

the girl tensed up for a second, stopping to process the words her coworker had just uttered out to her.

that wasn’t what she thought it meant.. right?

she glanced at the tall boy to search for what his intentions were, but given that they were just coworkers, she deemed it was nothing, so she agreed.

surely, no one would be upset with that option, right? (no)

gunwook offered to get the next cup of liquor after she downed her first, both sitting on the couch that had been crowded by others.

“why didn’t you help that customer out??” he laughed with a huge grin plastered across his face.

“because!—“ y/n yelled, pausing to sip her cup. “she looked like she would’ve much rather talked to you so i let her go to you!”

the boy sputtered out a giggle. “so you let me have your sale then?” he teased, earning a soft hit on the arm.

“well that wasn’t my intention, she just seemed more interested in talking to you so i didn’t know what else to do.” she rolled her eyes, scoffing as she remained hearing hearty laughs erupt out of him.

he let his tongue slip through his lips when he furrowed his brows and shook his head. “you could’ve just stolen that sale from me, y/n. i would’ve let you,” he sighed.

“well i’m sorry, gunwook, i thought you would’ve actually appreciated getting that sale.”

the two laughed out her play on sarcasm, unintentionally getting closer with their body movements.

just when their heads were about to bunk, a buzzing notification caught y/n’s attention and thinking it was one of her friends, she quickly glanced at it.

just a friend ‼️:

Stop getting close to him.

Do you want me to do something about it?

✩ ‘who is that guy who said hello earlier?’ ✩

her heart instantly dropped at the texts. where was he? and how did he know? she tried to scan around the area, but another notification pulled her back to her phone.

just a friend ‼️:

Looking for me?

y/n began to text back with her heartbeats getting louder by the second. her hands were softly shaking and she didn’t know what to do.

encountering jealous hoon was something that happened occasionally, but it was always minor and not noticeable enough to make it seem like they were more than friends.

✩ ‘i’m getting jealous’ ✩

‘where are you? and why are you watching me??’ — she quickly messaged back, chewing her lips as gunwook started to notice the change in her demeanor.

just a friend ‼️:

Don’t worry about where I am, pretty girl

Now get his hand off of your leg or I’ll come over and do it myself.

✩ ‘it’s weird, i don’t want to but i’m envious’ ✩

y/n felt her stomach rupture with butterflies at the possessive tone in his text. her eyes fell down to her leg and finally noticed the unintentional hand slip there.

“gunwook, your hand..,” she awkwardly mumbled, gesturing down to where it laid.

the boy quickly gasped and removed it with a blush forming on his cheeks. “oh god, i’m sorry! i didn’t know my hand was there…,” he admitted in shame. “that won’t make it awkward at work right..?”

she shook her head in reassurance and laughed at the way he panicked. “noo, you’re fine!! i didn’t realize it was there either..,” she chortled.

gunwook nodded, cheeks still flushing with embarrassment as he scratched his neck.

“sorry about that…,”

“what are you sorry for!” y/n swiftly chuckled. “you did nothing wrong, gunwook!” her hand placed itself on his arm out of habit, attempting to reassure the boy but the only thing it did was set off alarms in sunghoon’s head.

the older male who watched from afar felt his jaw tighten at the little action, eyes squinting and staring down at the two who were innocently on the couch.

✩ ‘why are you smiling at him like that?’ ✩

his hands went to his phone, typing his message out of irritation.

‘Why do you have your hand on his arm? Take it off.’

✩ ‘it feels like burning, hotter, hotter’ ✩

he glanced up with crossed arms, hoping that his girl would listen. he watched her mumble incoherent words that he couldn’t make out and soon enough, her hands slipped away from that stupid guys arms.

✩ ‘rough madness’ ✩

his lips began to curl and a smirk started to form as his gaze remained on the two, not even caring that there was a party going on.

✩ ‘it’s getting stronger, stronger’ ✩

jake even tried to offer a drink, but sunghoon declined, not wanting to feed the jealous rage that still fumed in the pit of his stomach.

but when he found that tall boy inch closer to y/n, his heart was quick to sink. he straightened himself before walking to the scene without even thinking, fists clenched and brows furrowed to display his pissed reaction.

✩ ‘i can’t stand it’ ✩

sunghoon stood before them, eyes narrowing down at the guy he couldn’t recognize.

“y/n,” he gritted out with a tightened jaw, hating the way his heart burned at this.

✩ ‘i can’t hide it, my head is spinning, crazy, yeah’ ✩

he watched how the girl instantly pieced that it was him as she glanced back. “sunghoon…,” she gulped, finally taking in the handsome features present on him.

he quickly let out a soft scoff, eyes rolled while keeping his glare directly on her.

a soft lick was made between his lips. “what are you doing, hm?” he taunted, smile slowly curling once he saw how she lowly panicked.

“nothing, hoon. i’m just catching up with my coworker.” y/n quickly excused, gesturing to gunwook, who awkwardly sat there.

✩ ‘don’t test me’ ✩

but the older male didn’t bother to glance at him, letting his attention lay completely on the girl who he wanted as his.

before he could speak, gunwook intervened with a murmur — “we’re really just coworkers, man.”

sunghoon glared back at him for a second, disbelief written on his face as he scoffed. that’s not what it looked like seconds ago when he was inches away from his girl.

✩ ‘trying hard to endure, endure’ ✩

he got a hold of y/n’s wrist, fingers tightening around while pulling her away from the scene. his nails were close to digging into her skin as his heart picked up on the jealous energy that chucked at him.

✩ ‘i’m going crazy like this, i’m going crazy’ ✩

she softly winced in pain, feeling every press of his slim fingers that wrapped around her wrist.

“sunghoon..,” y/n whispered, but he ignored her, making the girl unable to clarify that gunwook was just leaning in to remove something from her hair.

truth be told though, he almost fell weak to his knees when his name had slipped out of her mouth. his possessive demeanor nearly dropped, but only grew stronger once he realized it fueled flame to fire.

✩ ‘no, it ain’t my fault, ain’t my fault’ ✩

the inner corner of his lips curled in satisfaction before bringing her to an empty room.

the door quickly closed and y/n was slammed against it with hoon caging her to himself. his arms were securely palmed against the door as his eyes stared down at her.

“sunghoon..,” she quietly murmured out again, heart fluttering at his tall frame towering over hers.

he tilted his head with a slight brow raise in response, loving how weak she could fall within seconds of barely making contact. he leaned himself in, closing the gap between their heated bodies.

✩ ‘ain’t my fault, it’s because of you’ ✩

their lips barely grazed against each others as his breath hit her skin. “what are we doing?” y/n mumbled to him, truly confused at their situation.

sunghoon swallowed down a harsh lump in his throat, trying to find words that would answer her question. “i don’t know, y/n. you tell me,” he squinted his eyes in jealousy again. “one second you’re texting me about how we should go watch this new movie together, and the next you’re talking to your coworker who obviously likes you.”

one of his hands that laid flat against the door began to clench, turning it into a fist as he remembered just how close the boy was getting to her.

“do you like him?” he questioned, feeling his heartbeats rise with every silent second that passed.

✩ ‘don’t be confused, is it me or him’ ✩

y/n stayed quiet, unable to admit her feelings for the guy in front of her when she suddenly felt a finger hook around her chin. sunghoon pulled her attention onto him, eyes boring into hers to get a straight answer.

“tell me, pretty.” he spat, already knowing that she liked him, and not the coworker.

at this point, his lips were about to get a taste before he could even think. he was close to caving in with how her silence was saying much more than needed.

he let his top lip graze against hers again, noses bunking and foreheads almost colliding when the room began to get hotter.

“say it,” hoon whispered near her skin, faint groans slipping pass his throat when he felt her try to resist.

y/n gulped, softly biting her lips to temper herself down but couldn’t when they were so close to taking it to the next level. “i like you, sunghoon, not him.” she confessed, feeling her stomach bubble with butterflies.

his lips were quick to coil into a shit-eating grin, causing her to feel it against her skin as he murmured, “you drive me crazy, angel. you don’t even understand what you do to me.”

before she could even speak, he smashed his lips against hers, finally colliding into a much needed kiss. y/n quietly gasped, allowing more entrance for the male as her hands instantly ran to his muscular arms.

she squeezed them, trying to signal for him to pull away with how rough he moved against her, but he couldn’t stop. even if he wanted to, he couldn’t with how much he had been craving this.

sunghoon’s thick brows furrowed as he continued, loving the sweet taste her lips offered while his hands slipped down to her waist. he pushed himself closer, allowing her to melt into the harsh movements.

and once she did so, her hands quickly moved up to the messy hair that covered his forehead, softly tugging at them to stimulate his satisfaction.

he let out a soft groan, pulling back ever so slightly to take a breather with all that was going on.

y/n felt his breath fan against her skin, making her glance down at his now-swollen lips that were running pink around the edges from his initial intention to go for it.

sunghoon quickly leaned it, urging for another kiss when her hands stopped at his broad chest. “hoon, let me breathe,” she whined, earning a low chuckle.

a soft sigh left him as he wore a mischievous grin. “fine, breathe then.” he uttered out before leaning in closer to her neck.

he pressed firm kisses against it, causing a gasp to be heard from his girl. “sunghoon!” she yelled, trying to push him away, but he didn’t budge.

the asshole only smiled, continuing to leave pecks around her neck to tease. “what? i’m letting you breathe,” he taunted with a coy tone. “isn’t that what you wanted?”

she whined at his words, still attempting to push away at his shoulders. “you better not leave anything noticeable.” she warned once she felt his vampire-like fangs begin to nibble.

a scoff immediately fell from his lips. “why? can’t i let everyone know that you’re mine now?” he growled.

when she kept her mouth shut, he let another puff of air slip by. “oh i see.” he peered into her gaze. “you don’t want that coworker of yours to know, hm?”

sunghoon quickly narrowed his eyes and poked his tongue out through his cheek. “aren’t you gonna admit it?” he asked, thumb pulling her bottom lip down.

y/n choked out, completely falling in a daze at how jealous he was. “it’s not that…,” she murmured.

“then what is it?”

“i just don’t want anything noticeable, hoon.” the girl frowned. “it’s hard to cover up.”

hoon widely grinned, raising his brows as he uttered, “isn’t that the whole point?”

she rolled her eyes and shoved his arm. “i can’t have it show anywhere, idiot, especially at work.”

“so i’m right then?” he joked, earning another nudge on the arm as he laughed. “you could’ve just admitted it, you know?”

“that’s not what i meant, dumbass!” y/n defended, now smacking his arms and giggling alongside him.

the two continued their banter until sunghoon decisively wrapped his arms around her, stopping the constant hits he was receiving.

“fine, no marks.” he huffed, muzzling his head into her shoulder. he breathed in her intoxicating scent as he tightened her closer to his chest.

“you’re mine now though, right?”

y/n laughed at his words before bringing her hands up to hit his arm. “obviously.. idiot,” she responded.

sunghoon’s lips formed a huge smile that was now plastered across his face. “good…,” his soft voice whispered — “because i hate that coworker of yours.”

“hoon, he wasn’t even doing anything that bad.”

he playfully scoffed. “so now you’re trying to defend him?”

she quickly rolled her eyes. “sunghoon! he was—“

he leaned in with a grin, pressing his lips against hers to shut her up. his hand firmly held her cheeks as he couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

hoon finally pulled away after her arms wrapped around his neck.

“i hate you,” she murmured.

“as if.” his lips connected with hers again for a soft peck, unable to restrain himself.

and when he leaned in again, y/n put a hand to his chest once more. “we should go back to the party,” she said, knowing how much he wanted to kiss again.

“come on, baby.” sunghoon whined, giving a slight pout. “don’t say that.”

she giggled before shaking her head. “let’s go, hoon, before they start to get suspicious.” the girl replied.

he declined for minutes, trying to convince her for another kiss, in which she eventually gave in.

y/n planted a soft peck on his lips that lasted only seconds, leaving him to scoff.

“okay, what was that?”

“that was a kiss?” she teased.

“you know i want more than that.”

his brow raised and she only laughed before pushing the door open and holding his hand. “later, dummy. come on!” y/n quickly dragged her grumbling boy out to the party and ignored his petty behavior that came afterward.

safe to say that sunghoon was definitely gonna get another kiss that night.

★・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・★

a/n: heyy… i know it’s been a while.. i’m sorry! i’m currently working and also doing a summer session so i haven’t had any time at all to write, but i’m hoping to be posting regularly again. but if not then.. you will be hearing from me once a month…

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coffeedragonart · 3 months ago

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🍁🍂🍁

On Leaf Drakes, from the journal of Elena Hewett, research assistant at the Stagwick Institute (drake studies):

Leaf Drake observational study, day 1 (Summer’s End)

What a strange day! The weather has been quite windy, and today some leaf drakes were blown into the Institute gardens! There are already some floral drake species living in the gardens, but this is the first time we’ve seen leaf drakes. Like most garden drakes, they aren’t built for long distance flight, so they rely on catching wind currents to migrate and take up in a new area.

This species hasn’t been widely studied yet, so I’ve got some of the other assistants on board to observe them and hopefully expand our knowledge about these creatures.

Day 2

They seem to be planning to stay, and have claimed the big tree in the west side of the gardens. I’ve managed to book the use of one of the empty offices on that side, as it has a large window with a good view of the big tree.

From initial observations, there are five individuals in the group. They are quite social, and I have yet to see one go about by itself.

Week 1 (Autumn)

It has only been a few days, but they have really settled in. While still, they can be quite hard to spot as they really blend into the leaves, but they spend a lot of the day quite active.

They share a similar diet to the floral drakes in the garden, mostly insects and fruits, as well as absorbing magic from the environment and the aether-nectar in the garden feeders. But they are far more active hunters than the floral drakes.

From the window, I’ve been able to watch them hunting insects and even using cooperative tactics to hunt birds. They are quite small, and I would have thought that even the sparrows might have been a bit much for them as they are close in size.

The gardens are a popular spot for both students and institute staff to take their lunch, or just relax a few minutes in their downtime. The floral drake residents are quite shy, and generally either hide or watch from a safe distance, but the leaf drakes are far bolder.

They have no hesitation about coming to get a closer look at folk, even trying to beg food from them. However, they are a little territorial about their tree.

Week 3

Students and staff have been advised against eating near the big tree in the west gardens. No one has been seriously harmed, but after a few instances of people being harassed for their food, it was deemed necessary to cordon off that section of the garden. Their teeth and claws are quite effective, despite their small size.

There seems to be one drake in particular who instigates these ‘attacks’, and the others follow its lead. It is a little bit larger than the others, and has a rather striking dark band across the eyes.

Due to the interest in this field, we have been able to gain the support of the Institute to make this an offical study into the habits of leafdrakes. With that, we will have access to some extra resources to put towards their care, as well as make it harder for the gardeners to remove them for being a nuisance.

Week 4

Even as Autumn sets in, we are still having a few last warm days.

Our little office was quite stuffy today, so we opened a window to try and get some cool air or a breeze in.

I was soon interrupted in my work, by a pair of drakes alighting on the windowsill. We’ve seen them resting on the sill before, but have never been quite sure if they were looking in or just admiring their reflections. Up close, they are curiously birdlike in their movements, adjusting their wings and tilting their heads this way and that.

They were almost identical, with only slight differences in colouring and wing shape, like the leaves on the tree. One was the ringleader, quite a bit larger than the other, with the dark face band. The smaller one had the same facial marking, but far less stark. They sat and watched for only a few minutes, but leapt away when a door was slammed elsewhere in the building.

It was enough for me to correct and add a few more details to the sketch I’d been working on.

Week 6

After a few weeks of observation, it seems like only the one drake is growing, the rest of the flock have maintained their same size. After a meeting with the other assistants, we think that the study would benefit from being able to more closely track the ringleader.

We know that many of the Greater Drake species can continue growing throughout their lives, reaching immense sizes, but this trait has never been seen in any Garden Drake species, who remain small.

Week 6.2

It took some planning but we were able to capture the ringleader for a closer look.

A container trap was baited with aether-nectar and laced with a light sleep spell, and it didn’t take long for the drake’s greed to get the better of it. There was always the chance of trapping the wrong one, but like in a lot of pack dynamics, the ‘leader’ usually gets at the food first.

With testing, we found the drake is female. She is a healthy weight, and measures about 30cm from nose to tail-tip, we’ve estimated the others to be around 15-20cm. A small band has been attached to her leg to more easily identify her, enchanted so it will grow with her as needed. She woke up while we were attaching it, and my thumb bears the bloody mark of her displeasure, though she didn’t seem too put out once she was able to sit for a spell without being handled. She watched from the top corner of a cabinet while we finished the paperwork, and then we were able to let her back out into the garden.

I’ve nicknamed her Gertie.

Week 9

As the weather grows cooler, they are showing no signs of slowing down, but as the insects retreat, they have been more actively chasing the birds. Gertie appeared at the window, clutching a feather in her teeth, even as I was reading a note left regarding messenger birds going missing.

I would have thought them too large for the drakes, but Gertie has grown again, almost twice as long as the others.

I’m sure she can understand at least a little of what I say, and seems to be following our conversations. She doesn’t like being handled, but has learned ‘hold still’ and will pause and stretch out to let me measure her (as long as a treat is provided and the measuring doesn’t take too long).

Week 10

It seems like Gertie has some level of influence over the mood of the rest of the colony, almost like a hive. While she’s calm, the rest are calm and happy to sit near and watch. But when she startles..

Today, poor Rolf had the misfortune of tripping over one of the garden benches while I was working with Gertie. I think he was trying to see into one of the tree hollows. The bench rocked back and thumped down with a loud THUNK, and the colony took to the air in an angry cloud of claws and teeth.

We fled the gardens in haste, and were able to retreat into a toolshed until they settled. I got out with only a few scratches, but Rolf needed taking to the medic building. I’m sure he’ll look quite fetching in an eyepatch.

It took several days before the gardens were safe to re-enter.

Later that day, I received word that Rolf has quit. Understandably, no-one expects to lose an eye from a research job.

Week 12

An official complaint has been made regarding the missing birds. There isn’t a lot to be done, but I’ve reached out to enchanting to see if they can write a ward to divert the birds away from the air above the gardens.

One of the other assistants donned the protective gear to climb into the tree to inspect the hollows the drakes nest in. He returned, with a number of drakes clinging to his headgear, and three slightly chewed scroll cases. He noted that there are several more drakes in residence than we thought, though no evidence of eggs or breeding has been found.

The messages were quietly delivered (with apologies) and the matter dropped.

Week 13 (Autumn’s End)

The west gardens are severely overgrown. The gardeners have refused to go in at all since Gertie’s last grown spurt. She is now the size of a large cat, several times larger than the others.

Gertie still blends quite well into the trees, but has also started using the brambles and long grass to ambush rabbits and squirrels. As well as any passing ankles. I suspect it was one such ambush that drove the gardeners away.

Week 14 (Winter)

The floral drakes in the gardens have hidden themselves away to wait out the cold weather. The leaf drakes are a little hardier, but we’ve seen signs that they may be preparing to do the same, and have increased efforts to gather nesting materials. They have been spotted flying back and forth with all sorts of things in their claws, including feathers and shed fur, to small pebbles, coins, beads, even a few small aether-crystals. I didn’t get a good look, but I thought I saw one fly by with a pair of spectacles that I’m sure weren’t willingly donated.

Gertie still emerges when we go out, though a little more reluctantly. The area is too overgrown with brambles to get a good look, but I think they have dug out a space at the base of the tree to cozy up in. I doubt Gertie would fit into the tree hollow the colony were using previously, she is quite large now.

Week 15

At last measure, Gertie was just over four feet long. Her wings are a bit smaller in proportion and we don’t see her fly quite as much. However her hide is quite a bit tougher, starting to resemble pinecone scales in some spots. She still has her distinctive facial markings, though without the tag, I wouldn’t have recognised her.

There are concerns of what she will eat as she continues to grow, the gardens can only support so much, even with the feeders stocked. It has been a few days since we’ve seen her, or any of them, so I think they must be hibernating. If they sleep away the winter, that will give us time to sort out something with one of the local farms to get meat delivered.

Week 20

Our efforts have stalled over Winter, as barely a scale has been seen since the snows arrived. On one warmer day, some of the little ones were spotted, clinging to the bare branches to take in a few rays of sun, if only for a short while. There was no sign of Gertie.

If one good thing is come from a slow winter, we have been able to get a better look at the tree itself. Since the drakes have moved in, the big tree has also grown faster than it would otherwise. Its branches are thicker and healthier, and other trees nearby are showing similar flourishing. This is not unheard of, similar effects have been seen in plants occupied by floral drakes, so it tracks that trees could be similarly affected.

The ground around the base of the tree bulges, the roots that can be seen above the snow are dense and knotted. It forms quite the hill when the snows come down. I look forward to seeing the drakes emerge again come spring.

Week 24 (Winter’s End)

Not long to go, surely. No fresh snow for a week or two, so what’s there is starting to melt away. There are more sunny days, if still chilly. The tree is starting to show signs of reviving, there are hints of new growth and fresh leaves starting to bud, earlier than usual.

Week 28 (Spring)

The drakes returned with the leaves! The little ones at least, we still haven’t seen any signs of Gertie. There are quite a few of them, at least a full dozen now, but they move so fast they are hard to count. We still haven’t found any evidence of eggs, but it is possible they came from outside before the freeze.

As the trees fill out with leaves again, the west gardens are far wilder now. The branches reach overhead, almost touching in some places. The drakes flit in and out of the sunlight coming through the leaves. We have been able to clear most of the path, but the spaces between the trees are still full of brambles and shrubs.

Week 32

Something large has been spotted moving through the trees, though it is hard to get a good look. I suspect Gertie has continued to grow through her hibernation.

Through the deal made with one of the farms, we’ve been able to start leaving out chunks of meat, and they seem to be well received.

From the toothmarks in the bones left behind, we estimate that Gertie must be at least the size of a pony.

Week 33

Today, on the first properly warm day we’ve had in a while, I’ve finally been able to get a good look at Gertie since her hibernation. I was taking a break, to be out in the fresh air and away from the office for a bit. I’d stopped at one of the newly reclaimed benches, and only closed my eyes for a moment to rest. It only felt like a minute before I was woken by a huff of air on my face.

She is indeed the size of a pony, plus her tail. Tall enough to look me in the face.

Her body is thicker now, hide resembling thick tree bark. Her wings are much smaller in proportion, just ornamental now.

The little ones follow her, stopping to cling to her back and head, but she doesn’t seem bothered by them. They peered around her to chirp at me as I regained my composure.

Lately I’ve taken to keeping aether-candies in my pockets to offer the drakes on my walks, I’m glad I still had some on me as I was inspected. Gertie accepted the treat happily, rumbling deep in her chest. She rumbled and chirped back to me when I spoke to her.

It was a pleasant moment, she sat with me for a while, long enough to get a sketch of her lounging in the sun.

Week 40

Recently, we have been receiving reports of leaf drake sightings from outside the Institute, from other locations around the city. I can only speculate that something about Gertie’s growth is drawing them to the city.

Long have we pondered the origins of the Greater Forest Drakes, as they seem to just appear out of nowhere, with no documented nests or hatchlings, or even sightings of more than one in an area. But I have little doubt that this is what Gertie has grown up into. I still have questions about how the change occured, or why it was just her out of the group as at the start, there was little to differentiate her from the others.

This is still quite the discovery, and I look forward to publishing an official work with our findings. It could well be the start of further studies into the links between drake species, the garden and greater drakes, and maybe even how they relate to true dragons.

After updating the Institute heads on the progression of the study, they are overall happy with the discovery, but were asking some pointed questions on what we plan to now do with the Greater Drake that has taken up residence. She could well continue growing. I pointed out that we may have gotten off lightly, if Gertie had grown into a Greater Rock Drake or a Hooded Drake, things could have turned out very differently. They did not see the humour in that.

Gertie seems to be quite comfortable in the gardens, the other drake species do not seem bothered by her at all, and she shows no inclination to leave. She could well continue growing, but for now she seems to have slowed down at least.

She continues to develop her understanding of language and appears to follow along with a conversation, even if she lacks the ability to respond yet. A lot of the literature on Greater Drakes suggests that this may well come with time, but it might be something for my children or grandchildren to look forward to.

#dragons #digitalart #digital painting #fantasy art #garden drake #coffees art #procreate #creative writing #worldbuilding

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preposterousjams · 3 months ago

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My opinion on the Latino Jason Todd headcanon

While I do understand ppl's criticism of the latino Jason todd headcanon and how its kind of racist to make the kid with parents with drug problems as the latino one, to me its more of a reclamation BECAUSE of DC's racism.

Read any 80s/90s batman issue that covers gang violence and drugs, most if not ALL of the criminals are poc; black people and latinos visibly make up the majority in the poorer neighbourhoods in Gotham. Aside from the caricaturist way they r drawn/speak, its not THAT weird cause its a reflection of irl big cities where immigrants and marginalised ppl are often forced to live in such situations, (like most of my dominican family lives in the bronx... it aint racist to say dominicans tend to flock there), BUT...the weird part is when the second a sympathetic character comes from that area, he's white and has a name thats "too fancy for the streets".

Obviously, Jason was created to look like the old robin, so I can't say that the whole "diamond in the rough" situation was purposely a tad bit racist, but its still a lil weird (especially with bruce's comment).

If Jason were a part of the overwhelming demographic in his area, the good-kid-in-a-bad-area trope has less connotations. DC is currently trying to fix this trope is by making crime alley whiter, which isn't bad but they could've just yk... humanised the non-white residents.

I also feel like the messed up way Jason was treated post-death is what makes him so relatable to latino readers. His tragic story of dying while trying to save his only living relative is turned into a lesson for newer vigilantes. Jason's particular disdain for abusers on a few occasions was twisted (by both writers and characters) into him always being dumb, reckless, cocky, angry and disobedient, always violent, never having been able to get over his upbringing. None of those things were true (he was a normal level of reckless and cocky like every other robin, not more), but its an easier narrative to digest compared to how it was in reality; a kid who worked so hard and loved even harder, died to save a woman who couldn't care less about his existence. He was an emotional AND smart kid who wanted so bad to help others get better but was remembered as too emotional (in a bad way).

THIS is the reality for many latino diasporas in day to day life; Theres no question that Latino culture is passionate and emotive, but people from other cultures assume that it is followed by instead of logical. both can coexist. emotion does not mean u have no logic. Emotions can be irrational but they aren't inherently that way, and I wouldn't say that the moments where Jason lashed out as a teenager were irrational (in og runs, not rewrites post red hood), they were mostly done to protect someone (going crazy on abusers, disobeying batman to save sheila, that time he got into a fight at school to defend his friend).

A lot of euro-centric culture is OBSESSED with the idea that rationality is separate from feelings and emotions, but not crying at a funeral doesn't mean you're better than those who do. Emotions are the basis of human ethics and morals, they define the way we interact as a collective and ignoring them does not mean they are not there. Theres no winner to a contest of who can feel the less. And the way Jason's emotions are treated (pre-rh, hes definitely unhinged afterwards lol) is so in line with how white culture tends to punish those who aren't ashamed to feel.

I TOTES UNDERSTAND that some ppl who headcanon Jason as latino are doing it for the complete opposite of reasons, like "oh here some angry emotional guy with druggie parents, haha must be latino". Its weird. I dont like it. And its only brought up so he can swear in spanish in some rlly bad text post where his emotions are getting out. But to me there's so much potential for metanarrative and commentary on how latinos are treated in media that can be exemplified through the way his character is treated. Being latino would add SO MUCH DEPTH to his character and his dynamic with the others.

#this is just my rant lol #for the non-latinos who wanna write latino jason todd pls stop the spanglish... he dont even have to speak spanish at all #you can incorporate elements of his culture/upbringing (pls pick a country tho the experience is so diff everywhere)#im super biased but carribean jason>>>>#ok but like undead lore in dominican culture is crazyyyy... like the myth of zombies comes from hispanola #my grandma was genuinely terrified of waking up in her coffin bc of stories of ppl coming back to life that she wanted to be cremated #jason todd #latino jason todd #red hood #batfam

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bloomzone · 2 months ago

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my 2025 goals liiiiiiist ! + how to write your owwwwwwn (by following categories)

1. achieving my body goal (this one)

Category n¹ :Physical Health & Wellness

1. Assess Where You Are Right Now— Start by taking a look at your current habits and your overall health. What’s working for you? What areas can you improve in? Maybe you need more sleep, a better diet, or more consistent exercise. Be honest with yourself about where you’re at.

2. Set Realistic, Achievable Goals— Make sure your goals are specific and achievable. Instead of saying "get fit," try something like "exercise 3 times a week for 30 minutes" or "eat 3 balanced meals a day." Small, actionable goals are more manageable and easier to stick with.

3. Focus on What Feels Right for You— Physical health isn’t just about pushing your body to the limits. It’s about what works for you. Choose exercise routines and foods that make you feel good, not just what looks good on paper. If you don’t like running, try something else like swimming or cycling. If you don’t love vegetables, explore creative ways to make them enjoyable.

4. Track Progress & Adjust— Keep track of your progress, whether through journaling, an app, or simply by checking in with how you feel. If something isn’t working for you, adjust it. Maybe you need more rest or a different workout routine. Listen to your body.

5. Make It a Habit— Consistency is key. Set a routine that you can realistically stick to. It might take time to make these changes feel like a part of your everyday life, but consistency will make it happen. Don’t forget to celebrate small wins along the way to keep yourself motivated.

2. Start getting better grades and studying more

Category n² : Academic excellence

1. Reflect on Your Current Academic Standing— Start by evaluating where you stand academically. What subjects do you need to focus on most? What were your strengths last year? Understanding where you’re at gives you a clearer picture of what to work on in 2025.

2. Set Clear and Measurable Goals— Be specific about your goals. Instead of just saying “do better in school,” break it down into measurable goals like “improve my grade in french by 10%” or “study 1 hour every day for history.” This gives you a clear direction.

3. Create a Study Plan— Organize your time wisely by creating a weekly study plan. Map out your schedule, making sure to balance schoolwork, revision, and breaks. This will help you stay on top of deadlines, assignments, and revision periods without feeling overwhelmed.

4. Focus on Active Learning— Don’t just aim for memorization—focus on understanding the material. Engage with your studies through active learning techniques like summarizing, teaching others, and practicing problems. This helps retain information better and makes your learning more meaningful.

5. Stay Consistent and Adjust When Needed— Consistency is key. Set aside time every day to study and stay organized with your notes. If something isn’t working, like a specific study method or subject area, don’t be afraid to adjust your approach. Keep refining your study techniques as you go along.

6. Celebrate Small Wins— Celebrate every academic achievement, no matter how small. Whether it’s acing a quiz or simply staying consistent with your study routine, recognizing these wins will keep you motivated and remind you that progress is being made.

3. create habits and add them to my daily routine (learning mandarine,15k steps daily, reading more interesting books)

Category n³ : Habits

1. Evaluate Your Current Habits— Start by looking at your current habits. What do you do every day? What habits are helping you, and which ones are holding you back? Be honest with yourself about the areas you want to improve.

2. Set Simple, Achievable Habits— Don’t overwhelm yourself with too many changes. Focus on a few simple habits that will have the most impact. Maybe it’s waking up 30 minutes earlier or drinking more water. Start with one or two small changes that are easy to implement and gradually build on them.

3. Create a Daily Routine— A consistent routine is the foundation of great habits. Set a schedule that allows you to prioritize your health, work, and personal growth. Structure your day to include time for rest, study, and self-care so that you don’t burn out.

4. Track Your Progress— Keep track of how well you’re sticking to your new habits. Whether you use a journal, an app, or simply a checklist, tracking helps you stay accountable and gives you a sense of accomplishment. If you miss a day, don’t get discouraged—just pick back up the next day.

5. Make Your Habits Enjoyable— For habits to stick, they need to feel rewarding. Make them something you enjoy. If you want to read more, pick books you’re genuinely excited about. If you want to exercise, try something fun, like dancing or hiking. When you enjoy it, you’re more likely to stick with it.

6. Be Patient & Stay Consistent— Habits take time to develop. Don’t expect immediate results—give yourself the space to grow and adjust. The more consistently you practice these habits, the more natural they’ll become. Progress will come over time, and each small step adds up.

7. Reflect & Adjust— Regularly check in with yourself to see how your habits are working for you. Are they helping you feel more productive, calm, or confident? If something’s not working, tweak it. Don’t be afraid to adjust as you grow.

3.devlopping my mindset mooore (I'm sensitive and over thinker typa of person like a loooot)

Category n⁴ : mindset and self-love

idk but girlsssss we should talk more Abt this topic out loud Our mindset shapes everything—our actions, relationships, and success. So this year, we’re cutting out the things and people that no longer serve us, like toxic friendships or self-doubt. When we love ourselves, we don’t settle for less than we deserve. It’s not about being selfish; it’s about setting standards for ourselves and others. You know the type of girl I’m talking about— (to cut) the one who’s always got something to say about other people’s appearance, or how they’re living their life. “You look bad today,” “I hate your hairstyle,” or “Why are you wearing that?” It’s always some backhanded comment that makes you feel small. But let’s be real for a second—like girl WHAT THE FXK .. People who spend all their time focusing on putting others down are usually just projecting their own insecurities. They want to feel better about themselves by making others feel worse. But here’s the thing: we’re not going to entertain that energy. When someone tries to tear you down, it’s a reflection of their own lack of self-love or understanding.Instead of responding to their negativity, we need to rise above. The best revenge? Living your best life and shining even brighter when they expect you to dim. Those types of girls who always have something to say about others' looks, outfits, or choices—they’re just distracted by their own insecurities. If they spent half the energy they put into criticizing others into building themselves up, they’d be too busy focusing on their own glow-up.So when someone throws shade, just remember: it says more about them than it does about you. You don’t need to let their words define you or affect your self-worth. Keep doing you, because your energy is too valuable to waste on people who can’t even recognize their own flaws. And when it comes down to it, anyone who makes you feel like you’re not enough doesn’t deserve a place in your life. Keep your peace, stay focused on your growth, and trust that the right people will appreciate you for who you really are. U are a baddie

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goddessinnerglow · 2 months ago

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Become Your Best Version Before 2025 - Day 2

Understanding Yourself Starts With Being Honest

Hi Goddesses! Yesterday we talked about what becoming our best selves means, and today we're diving into something really important, meeting ourselves exactly where we are.

Picture yourself packing for a journey. You'd check what you already have in your suitcase before deciding what else you need, right? That's exactly what we're doing today on our path to 2025, taking a inventory of where we are right now.

I know, I know. Self-assessment can feel a bit intimidating. Maybe you're worried about facing some truths, or perhaps you think it might be discouraging. But think of it as like turning on the GPS before starting a journey. You need to know your starting point to get where you want to go.

First things first: breathe. This isn't about judgment. Think of it as having coffee with your most supportive friend (that's me!) who just wants to help you reflect and grow. Ready? Let’s start.

Start With Your Gut

Remember when you wake up in the morning and have that first quiet moment to yourself? That's when our gut feelings are often the clearest. Take a moment right now. How do you feel about where you are in life? Not what others think, not what social media says you should be doing, just your honest feelings. Grab a notebook (or open your Notes app) and write down whatever comes to mind. No filtering, no judging.

The Life Wheel Check-In

Here's something I find super helpful: imagine your life as a wheel with different spokes. Think about these areas:

Your physical health and energy levels

Your relationships (family, friends, romantic)

Your work or studies

Your personal growth and learning

Your fun and recreation time

Your living space and environment

Your financial situation

Your emotional wellbeing

For each one, ask yourself: "On a scale where 10 is 'couldn't be better' and 1 is 'needs serious attention,' where am I?" Be real with yourself, this is just between us.

The "What's Working" List

Here's something we often skip: celebrating what's already good! Before diving into what you want to change, write down what's working well in your life. Maybe you're great at maintaining friendships, or you've been consistent with your morning routine, or you finally learned how to cook that one dish you love. These wins, big or small, are your foundation for growth.

The Honest Reality Check

Now comes the part that requires some courage: looking at areas where you feel stuck or unsatisfied. But here's the twist, we're going to do this with compassion. Instead of thinking "What's wrong with me?" ask yourself:

What's challenging me right now?

What keeps coming up in my thoughts as something I wish were different?

Where do I feel like I'm not living up to my own standards (not anyone else's)?

Your Future Self Letter

This is one of my favorite exercises: Write a letter from your future self (let's say December 2024) to your current self. What would they thank you for starting now? What changes would they be grateful you made? This isn't about pressure, it's about connecting with your hopes and dreams.

Getting Real with Yourself

Now, let's make this assessment more practical. Pick just three things:

One thing you want to maintain (because it's working well)

One thing you want to improve gradually

One thing you want to change significantly

Write these down somewhere you'll see them daily. Your phone wallpaper, a sticky note on your mirror, wherever works for you.

Remember This, you're not broken and you don't need fixing. You're a human being on a journey of growth, just like all of us. This self-assessment isn't about finding faults, it's about understanding where you are so you can move forward with purpose.

Take a moment to appreciate yourself for doing this work. Seriously. Self-reflection takes courage, and you're already showing up for yourself by reading this and (hopefully) doing these exercises.

Stay tuned for the next post in our "Become Your Best Version Before 2025" series! Remember, you've got this!

♡ ☆:.｡ Keep glowing, babes! ♡ ☆:.｡ With love, Goddess Inner Glow.

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mead-iocre · 1 year ago

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Our New Normal Pt. 2 | Leah Williamson x Reader

Our New Normal 2/4 (read pt 1 here)

“The next station is London Euston, where this train terminates. Please ensure you have all your belongs with you when you leave the train”

You pull out your AirPods from your ears and slot them back into it’s case. The train journey was pretty pleasant. Interestingly, the First Class cabin was quieter than usual, with less fellow travellers in this trip than usual.

You grab your hand mirror from your bag, checking your appearance and fidgeting around with your hair; making sure to retouch your lipstick and spritz a little perfume. You rarely wore makeup when it wasn’t necessary, but for some reason you wanted to make the extra effort to make yourself look slightly more put together when Leah picks you up tonight. Usually, the Arsenal defender only ever saw you in sweatpants and a hoodie, thick rim glasses instead of contact lenses, and with your hair tied up in a loose ponytail.

For the first time, in a very long time, you were nervous to see your best mate. That wasn't normal at all.

The first thing Leah spots is your familiar silver rimowa suitcase– in fact, it was hers first. When the wheels of your well-loved and well-traveled suitcase decided to break during one of your visits to London, Leah insisted that you take one of her many suitcases that she had stowed away. The blonde never ended up asking for it back so you’ve kept it ever since, and use it every time you take your little trips.

Leah’s eyes trail upwards until they meet yours. She cocks one eyebrow at the slight difference in your appearance. To her, you were always beautiful but there was something about you right then that seemed different– like you were currently going through a big lifestyle change and the subtle difference in your appearance reflected that. In her mind, the defender chalked it up to you preparing for your transfer to your new club. It wasn't something she liked to think about often as you still had not told her where you were moving to. She just hoped that wherever you moved to, it won't be too far from her.

Leah watched from the distance as your eyes scanned the busy station, trying to find her. She grinned as she sees you weave your fingers through your hair to push it back, a long-time habit of yours that Leah found very, very charming.

Eventually her time to admire you from afar gets cut short when your eyes finally meet hers. You both grin at each other from across the arrivals area of the station before simultaneously making your way towards each other, skilfully dodging other people along the way.

Leah is the one that closes the distance between the two of you, her arms wrapping themselves around your waist; meanwhile yours found purchase around her shoulders. For a moment, all you see is her strawberry blonde hair as she tucks her face into your neck.

“Hiya, beautiful” She mumbles against your neck. You can feel the light press of her lips as they move against your skin causing you to giggle slightly at the feeling.

You’ve missed her a lot.

This was normal.

It was normal to miss you friend this much.

“Hi, Lee” You say softly against her ear. This is what you’ve been craving for weeks now– Leah and her hugs. No matter how long you both were apart, there was nothing awkward about the first hug when you are both reunited. It’s instinctual, it’s comfort, and it’s home. You step closer to her, minimising whatever little space there was left between your bodies, and wrap your arms tighter around her neck.

Home.

“I’ve missed you, baby” A moment later Leah moves to break the hug, her arms gliding across your lower back, both palms pressing against you until they settle comfortably on your hips. She reaches up to cup one side of your face, tilting it to the side, before her lips land sweetly on your cheek. When she pulls away so you are both finally seeing eye to eye, there’s that familiar grin on her face. You couldn’t help but mirror it back with a big smile of your own.

“I missed you too” You mumble back, blushing slightly at the intensity of her stare.

You’ve nagged her in the past for her staring habit, and all she did was quip back saying she’s “making sure all your cute freckles are still there”

“Right. Let’s get a move on then” Without even waiting for your reply, the defender has one hand over the handle of your suitcase and the other tugging you along behind her.

You both walk outside towards the parking lot, the chill of the London air feels all too familiar lately, until you stop by her car. The blonde unlocks her car, opens the passenger door, and ushers you inside before jogging to the boot of her car to stow away your luggage.

Leah turns on the ignition and then presses a button on the console of the car to turn the heater on. You can barely make out the details of the other cars outside in the parking lot due to the chill fogging up the windows, barely being able to make out passer-buyers exhaling fogs of cold air as they chat to one another. She glances over to you, noticing that you’ve got your arms crossed, hands tucked under the cuffs of your long wool jacket.

“Cold?” She reaches a hand over to gently push back the strands of hair that have fallen over your face. Her hand lingers by your cheek, a frown already forming on her face.

This is normal.

Leah knows you don’t like the cold. Unlike those who look forward to “sweater-weather” and pumpkin spice lattes, you hate the autumn and winter months. You preferred the warmer months when you can sunbathe and wear tank tops all day. “Sorry baby, I should’ve warmed the car up for you earlier”

You smile at her. This is why it was inevitable that you grew feelings her. She’s the kind of person that would go above and beyond for others. Your close friends and teammates would tease you, often jokingly complaining that Leah is spoils you too much and gives you the “princess treatment” even in simple chores. It made you wonder if this dynamic was going to change once you became teammates for the same club.

“It’s fine, Lee. I’ll warm up in a bit”

Your answer doesn’t seem to satisfy the Arsenal defender because she immediately shrugs off her own black puffer and places it over your body. You were about to nag the blonde about how now she’ll be the one freezing her socks off, but she shut your protests up with a quick stern look in your direction. You figured there was no point arguing with her when you’ve got a surprise for her later on, so you reluctantly accepted her coat.

Speaking of surprises, you were starting to feel nervous. You have never hid anything from your best friend, especially not something as big as this, and you can’t help but overthink about what might happen after tonight. Part of you knows that Leah will most likely be ecstatic over your transfer, but a smaller, more pessimistic part of your brain was worried that Leah would hate being around you even more; or perhaps she might get sick of being around you constantly.

You were great teammates for England, but international camp never lasted long enough to really test how well you can communicate your feelings, and how you can deal with arguments. Sure, you’ve had a few disagreements here and there but you both always resolved it quickly due to the looming threat of having to say goodbye to one another once camp was over once again. You were worried that being together more often would strain your relationship considering you were both complete opposites when it came to how you expressed your feelings.

Leah was a very confrontational person and she does not hesitate to tell people exactly how she feels. On the pitch, she has no problem arguing with the ref whenever she disagreed with a call, and she was exactly the same off the pitch. You, on the other hand, preferred to bottle up your feelings until you eventually break. The few arguments you’ve had with Leah often resulted in you leaving the room to clear your head, and the blonde giving you the time and space to think things through.

Afterwards, when you did resolve everything, Leah often expressed how she wished you would stay and talk to her instead of running out. She said it nicely, comfortingly, but you knew a part of her was frustrated at the way you sometimes handled things. You never got a chance to resolve this issue or compromise because by then it would be time to say goodbye again– whether its because England camp has ended or you were due to separate and go back to your respective clubs. Being teammates for country and now club would mean that you both will have these issues more frequently, and you weren’t sure if you were ready for that.

The sudden change in your behaviour did not go unnoticed by the Arsenal defender. Leah watches as you adjust her jacket around you, the oversized puffer jacket completely engulfing you with only the lower part of your legs and your head visible. She watches as you fidget and fuss over the jacket in your lap, a nervous habit that she is very familiar with. She can tell you probably had a lot going on and she figured it was partly due to the looming deadline of the transfer window. She knows you well enough to know that the only way you will open up is if you are given the time and space to do so. Leah isn’t usually a patient person, but for you she can be.

She watches you silently for another moment. She swears she felt her heart skip a beat when you try and cocoon yourself further into her jacket, your eyes closed, mouth curved up into a satisfied smile– probably happy with the warmth you were now swaddled in. You didn’t know it but if you wanted her to, Leah would’ve tried to somehow turn winter into summer if it meant seeing you this happy. For now she’s just glad that her puffer jacket can offer you some warmth in the meantime.

Soon enough, Leah was driving the both of you out of the station’s car park, the navigation flashing the directions to her flat. Usually, the blonde would be blasting music in the car, sharing all the new songs she added to her playlist recently, but she must’ve noticed how tired you are because instead of the normal r&b tunes filling the car, the blonde has turned down the volume until you can barely hear the instrumentals of the song currently playing.

“Just sleep, y/n” You force your eyes open at Leah’s words, trying to blink the sleep away. You had been trying to stay awake, feeling bad about not being a more entertaining passenger on the long drive back to her flat, but the equal amounts of stress and excitement over the last couple of weeks seem to be catching up to you now.

As your hand reaches up to try and rub the sleepiness away from your eyes, the defender’s hand reaches up to grab your wrist before you can do so. “Don’t rub your eyes, baby. Remember that tiktok video I sent you?”

The eye roll that follows cannot be helped. Leah had sent you a tiktok video a few days ago about the potential dangers that rubbing your eyes constantly can do– something about weakening or distorting your cornea– but that’s in extreme cases. Why that tiktok video was even on her 'for you page', you didn't want to know.

“One little eye rub won’t damage my eyes, Lee”

“And let’s keep it that way, yeah?” You catch her smirk illuminated by the streetlights, already anticipating whatever cocky, unhinged thing that will come out of her mouth next. “Or else you’d miss seeing my pretty face”

You scoff, clutching her jacket tighter around you. One advantage of Leah driving you around is that it gives you the opportunity to look at your best friend, the woman you were in love with, without care.

The defender was a great driver, both hands always clutching the wheel, and always focused on the road. That meant you can stare at her without having to gaze into those blue eyes. A familiar shade of forget-me-not blues, unusually soft in the morning light, but can also reflect the deepest depths of the ocean when her emotions get the best of her. They say the eyes are the windows into the soul, and this woman was proof of that. She wore her emotions in her pretty blues, and sometimes you swore she felt the same scary, overwhelming emotions you had begun to feel for her.

But that’s why sometimes you find it hard to stare into her eyes, fearing that that unnamed emotion in her eyes– the one that you so badly want to believe might be adoration, or care, or love– might be gone one day.

“Piss off, Lee” Damn her and her caring nature.

The blonde risks a quick glance at you causing your breath to catch in your throat. All of a sudden, you feel a lot less sleepy and more aware of your rapidly beating heart.

“Take a nap, baby. I’ll wake you up when we stop at the gas station” Leah turns her head back to the road for a second, surveying the road ahead of her, before those pretty blues find their way back to you.

“Give your eyes a break for a bit. Wouldn’t want you to get tired of looking at me”

You giggle at that. As if.

“I’ll never get tired of looking at you, Leah” You cheesed out– partly jokingly, but mainly because it’s true. You hope your tone disguises that last bit though.

That being said, a short nap was beginning to sound very inviting. No sooner than later, you’ve allowed the familiar scent of her that lingers from her jacket, the music barely an audible hum, and the streetlights fading into a blur lull you to sleep.

Already halfway asleep, you miss the blonde’s quiet “same here, baby” whispered aloud for only her ears to hear.

——————————————

An hour or so passes and you were still fast asleep. Stopping in front of a red light, the defender takes the opportunity to spare a glance towards your sleeping form beside her. She can’t stop the corners of her lips from turning up at the sight of you, a mere puffy marshmallow lump in her passenger seat. Unable to help herself, she reaches over and lightly caresses your face with her thumb. My sleepy girl��

Soon enough it was time for a petrol station stop. Leah pulls up to a petrol station with its bright lights flickering atop a weathered sign. The cold air was tinged with the faint scent of gasoline, mingling with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee from the attached convenience shop. The defender unbuckles her seatbelt before reaching over towards you. Her hand finds it way under her jacket– your blanket– before she finds your thigh and gives it a gentle squeeze.

When you start to stir, Leah runs a hand through your hair in the attempts of taming the bird’s nest-like mess that sits on top of your head. When your eyes finally open, the first thing you see is Leah already grinning at you. You feel your breath catch, like it normally does whenever the pretty blonde is looking at you like that. You silently hope that the inside of the car is dark enough that she can’t see the blush painting your cheeks.

“Hiya. Had a good nap, yeah?” The grinning defender is still staring at you, so naturally you playfully push her face away with a palm to her cheek.

“Don’t need your ugly mug to be the first thing I see, Lee”

Leah laughs loudly at that. Head thrown back, mouth wide open in glee, blonde hair cascading down in loose waves that was probably the result of being put up in a Leah-style “bun” earlier that day.

“Oi! I’ve been so good to you the entire evening– even letting you sleep and snore in my car– and this is how you repay me?”

You let out an exaggerated gasp and look at her, unable to stop the grin that is already growing on your face. “I do not snore!”

“Like a new born piglet, baby”

Before you could retort, the blonde leans forward in her seat over the console and sneaks a quick kiss to your forehead. This was normal, Leah was usually so generous with her kisses for some reason, but that didn’t mean your heart didn’t flutter every time she laid one on you. “You’re cute, y/n”

You swear your heart skips a beat. Is that normal?

“I’ve got to get petrol. There’s a shop over there, so why don’t you grab something to eat while I do this?”

You glance over at the convenience store, the promises of hot food and maybe something sweet to satisfy your cravings lately already luring you inside. You turn back to the blonde and nod, handing her back her black puffer jacket which you had essentially held hostage the entire drive. You unbuckle your seatbelt and quickly throw your hair into a loose ponytail, silently bracing yourself for the cold ahead.

Just as you were about to push the car door open, Leah pulls you back with a hand on your arm, and the next thing you know your vision is partially obstructed by a wool beanie placed on your head. “Stay warm, baby”

Before you could thank her, the blonde has already opened the door on her side of the car and has stood up to shrug her jacket on. She gives you a quick wink before she disappears from your view, making her way to the petrol machine.

You hastily make your way inside the store, grateful for the sudden warmth it provided against the harsh cold from outside. You scan the shop and make a beeline towards the hot food section, and pick up a sausage roll. You scan the rest of the options before picking up the potato wedges for a certain blonde in mind who happens to have the food palette of a 2 year old. You walk around the store for a few more moments, picking up a bottle of Sprite, Diet Coke, a pack of hand-warmers, and two packs of prawn cocktail crisps before heading to the counter to pay. You hear the sound of the automatic doors sliding opening, the wind outside shrilling loudly in your ears, before the doors slide closed again.

As you reach into your coat to pull out your card to pay, a familiar hand reaches around you and taps their phone against the card reader.

“Leah.” You mutter sternly, eyes narrowed at the blonde who now stood beside you.

“Perks of having Apple Pay, baby. You would know if you actually bothered to set it up” The defender grabs the bag with your food, throwing a quick ‘thank you’ to the nice man behind the till. She grabs one of your hands in hers and pulls you towards the doors.

“Brace yourself” Is the only warning you get before Leah pulls you through the doors and out into the cold once again. The cold is harsh against your cheeks, and you find yourself pressing yourself into the blonde’s side. She wraps an arm around you, steering you to her car. She quickly unlocks your car door first, and out of habit holds a hand out above your head so you don’t bump your head into the roof of the car.

You both settle inside her car and buckle your seatbelts. Leah shrugs her jacket off of her shoulders and places it over your lap. “Use that. You clearly need that more than I do, Rudolph”

She quickly glances over to you, chuckling at the unamused expression on your face as she backs the car out of the petrol station. This time, you were adamant that you will sit through the rest of drive to the blonde's flat, and you did. You and Leah took turns choosing the songs to play, both of you shouting the familiar lyrics from the top of your lungs.

From the corner of your eye, you see Leah take one of her hands off the wheel and flex it open and closed repeatedly. You reckon she must be feeling cold, especially considering you’ve got her puffer blanketing you in its warmth. “Cold, Lee?”

“Hmm? ’m fine, baby. The car will warm me up soon”

You were about to argue back when you remember that you had bought a pack of hand warmers earlier. Reaching into the plastic bag, you search through it and grab the pack, ripping it open and holding one out to your blonde driver. She glances at it briefly, before she shakes her head, both hands still on the wheel.

“I’m fine, Y/N. You need it more than I do.”

“I’ve got another one here. It comes in a pack of two” You reach back into the bag to show her the other hand warmer. She glances towards you briefly.

“I’ll put this one under my hoodie, and you can hold onto this one” Leah watches from the corner of her eye as you open your jacket and tuck one of the hand warmers, sandwiching it in between the layers of your undershirt and your hoodie. You settle more comfortably in your seat as you feel the growing warmth spreading from the heat pack.

“Here’s yours. Your hands are definitely cold”

“I don’t–“

“Don’t be so bloody stubborn, Leah.”

“Well don’t be so bloody annoying then, Y/N”

You sigh loudly, pinching the bridge of your nose. You wouldn’t be surprised if grey hairs started sprouting soon. Among all the people you could fall in love with, you somehow fell for the most stubborn woman on this planet– and you still have about an hour left of this drive.

But you know deep down there’s also no one else you’d rather be stuck anywhere with.

“Give me your hand, Leah” You stretch a hand towards her over the middle console, palm up. She glances at it briefly, one eyebrow raised, but didn’t question you.

The blonde took the hand nearest to you off the steering wheel and places her hand on top of yours. You gave it a squeeze, flinching slightly at the cold palm, and muttering “Your hands are fucking freezing, Lee”

You take the hand warmer that was supposed to be for her and place it between your interlocked hands. In front of a red light, the defender beside you turns to look at both of your hands, clasped tightly together in the center console of her car. When it came to physical affection, you rarely gave it away freely. Leah was the more affectionate one between the two of you, so seeing you initiate it was a surprise to her. She knows that the warmth that she feels wasn’t coming from just the hand warmers that both of you are sharing.

The rest of the drive was fairly quiet. Instead of the loud, boisterous music that was blasting from the car speakers earlier, the only sounds inside the car was coming from the gentle hum of the engine. You and Leah held hands for pretty much the rest of the drive, Leah only breaking your connection when she needed to turn the wheel.

“One second, baby” The blonde would say whenever she needed to make a sharp turn, her hand untangling from yours for a moment to grab the steering wheel firmly with both hands. Not a moment too soon, her hand would instinctively seek out yours from where it sits patiently waiting by the center console. Your fingers would intertwine with hers, and all was right in the world again.

The hand warmer, which now no longer emitted any heat, was promptly tossed aside earlier. You and Leah were palm to palm, the only source of warmth against the biting cold outside was the one exchanged between your hands. The rhythmic beat of the windshield wipers matched the soft patter of raindrops, as if the evening itself conspired to provide a soothing backdrop for the last leg of your drive.

——————————————

Soon enough the car was pulling up into the parking lot of Leah’s flat. The familiar building came into view, nestled in a quiet corner of town. The glow from the light inside some of the windows hint at the warmth within, promising respite from the biting cold of the outside. You couldn’t wait to be reunited with Leah’s warm and cosy guest bedroom, which had essentially become your home away from home during your frequent visits to London. After locking her car and making sure she didn't forget anything, Leah grabbed your gloved hand to guide you towards the entrance of her flat with one hand, whilst the other hand pulled your suitcase behind her.

The elevator ride up to her floor was quiet, but it was the comfortable silence kind. You both were stood side by side, one gloved hand interlocked with a bare one, the only noise in the elevator came from the subtle hum of the elevator tune. You knew that it was only a matter of time before you had to break the news of your transfer to the defender.

Part of you was relieved that you can finally put an end to this whole charade, but another part of you was worried that she might feel hurt over the fact that you kept such a big thing from her. Leah was someone that valued trust and communication, and while your feelings for her could warrant an exemption, keeping something like this was a big deal. You’ve had to lie to her a few times over the past few weeks, cancelling meet ups and declining calls, using football and a busy schedule as an excuse to escape her nagging questions over your transfer. You were worried that she might feel hurt that you were essentially lying to her.

Then there was also the bit about how this transfer might change your relationship with the blonde. Sure, she could be happy about your move to Arsenal and the fact that you were both teammates now, but what if in a few months she’ll eventually get tired of having you around constantly. Maybe she might get tired of you always being around her– not just during England camp but now at the same club. One perk about being in separate clubs was it allowed time apart and your feelings for Leah “cool down”– or at least you hoped it would. But then one meet up with her and your heart was rapidly beating against your chest again.

Part of you was also worried that the only reason why you and Leah stayed friends for this long was because being apart from each other and being at separate clubs gave you so much to talk about once you were together. You feared that the only reason why your friendship stood the test of time was because the time apart added to the excitement of being together again eventually. Conversations and face-time calls were endless and exciting because the two of you made sure to share all the mundane and the ordinary with each other because the other wasn’t there to experience it. Now that the both of you will be together more often, you were worried that that excitement and that spark will eventually fizzle out.

They always say “absence makes the heart grow fonder” and for a long time you were okay with it, but what happens now?

First of all, thank you for all the love and support for the first part of this fic. I hope you know I much I appreciated all the reblogs, likes and comments <333

Secondly, I know I said I would get the second part of this fic up last week but whilst I was doing my final reading before posting it, I ended up not like the direction the fic was going, so I redid the entire thing lol

I like this one a lot better and I hope you do too (also, note I added 1 more part to this so it is now a 4 part fic)

Hope you're looking forward to the next bit– I know I am!

The weather lately has been sunny and bright skies on my side of the world. Sending you a little slice of sunshine :)

-- kisses, butter.

*This work is my original creation. Please don’t copy, share, or translate it without asking for my permission first. Thanks for respecting that!

#woso #woso fanfics #leah williamson #leah williamson x reader #woso x reader #woso imagine #woso blurbs #woso community #leah williamson imagine #Our New Normal fic

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rassicas · 2 years ago

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Splatoon 3 artbook is coming! and they gave us hi res sample pages! so i translated them!

I’ve already preordered the book, and since I live in Japan I should be getting it very soon after release. mark my words I’m gonna go crazee translating it i need that Lore

In the meantime, some translations of the sample pages! take a look under the cut:

Page 44, IKIMONO (Living things)

yellow text: Among the living things in the Inkling world, a wide variety of species exist. There are creatures that can take on a humanoid form as well, called "Inklings" and "Octolings", the former being squids, and the latter being octopuses. white text in gray box: The old and the new mix to make the Splatland's youth culture The young people who grew up in Splatsville take pride in being born and raised in the Splatlands, and there is an extremely strong sense of solidarity in the community. They deeply cherish their old local culture, which is unsophisticated and simple, yet strong. At the same time, they like to make fun of urban areas such as Inkopolis for acting like they're "all that". On the other hand, many of them secretly yearn for that sophisticated, high-collar, Inkopolis culture. The current culture of chaos created by the youth with such a flip-flopping mentality is becoming increasingly global.

I’m going to translate these roughly. character select screen outfit, left: lines pointing to reflective goggles, a mask that blocks dust, and the cape. the cape is made from kelp, and is meant to block out sunlight. hero suit outfit, right: the “ultra light earpiece” is so light, it doesn’t even feel like you’re wearing it. The ink display is a digital screen. Boots are meant for rough terrain. Interestingly, agent 3 is holding a weapon called a “Hero Extinguisher.”

the gear on the left is called “hunting equipment”. The earpiece is based on an udon noodle. It’s small, but it has a deep sound (with bass i assume instead of sounding tinny?) Around the neck are cooling pads. The shirt is made from a seaweed fabric. apparently its wrapped around their upper body and kind of hurts to wear. you can see their underwear, but its the kind of underwear that’s supposed to be seen for Fashion. idk what its called but you guys know what im talking about. The ink tank is homemade. in the pouch of the backpack are snacks. to the right are very early concepts.

Page 62, Deep Cut concepts

It’s a lot of handwritten notes with a lot of pointing out what the drawing is, so I’m going to translate roughly.

bottom left is pointing out various things about frye’s head anatomy. small chin, forehead sticks out, thick neck, head curves like this and this etc. middle frye with the bit of green and red makeup is described as having a clown-like feel to it. tiny furthest right drawing is commenting on a specific nose shape concept as “bird-like.” she almost had the same nose as my main OCs what the

red arrows on the right: long arms, long thighs, squared shoulders are pretty. hand in the middle with black text: something like ‘if she has hands with ornamentation like this it makes her hands seem long’ bottom left: the little doodle of the face reads that her ‘mouth is kind of like this.’ the other text talks about how her eyebrows move asymmetrically, as having that kind of variety in the movement is key.

left: she’s saying something about sharks? apparently she was going to be associated with sharks with shiver being associated with eels instead. right: various sound effects. “looking around absentmindedly” “rocking back and forth” “dozing off.” on the bottom it shows her suddenly stiffening to attention.

left: in her left hand, it’s a sensu (japanese folding fan). in her right, its a harisen (the kind of folding fan used to smack people in slapstick routines) gonna be real here the text on the right is too cursivey i cant read it

shiver mask designs. neat stuff.

early design concept.

Page 198, Scorch Gorge

not a lot of text on this page, mostly images, have a look yourself. top right passage: A majestic canyon where the history of the Inkling world can be seen in the strata and rock formations. Many enjoy rock climbing here. There's a spawn point that was once used for ink battles that no-one has bothered to remove.

#splatoon 3 #splatoon #splatoon artbook #splatoon translations

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 1 year ago

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AITA for this disagreement with some of my friends/colleagues?

So I(40s F) used to work in local level government. I quit to pursue other career opportunities because of burnout, but they asked me to stay on in an official-unofficial advisory capacity, and I'm still pretty close with the current office holders, particularly the current occupant of my former office (A, 30s X). Their boyfriend (H, 30s M), who also works there, isn't fond of me but more or less tolerates me when they're around, which is okay enough. Both their job and my current one necessitate a lot of travel, so it's not often an issue.

Things run pretty smoothly, overall, and I do think the entire city council has the people's best interests at heart. However, recently a natural disaster devastated our area and caused a lot of disagreement over how best to deal with it, and frankly the proposal that was eventually put forward was an awful one that would return a privileged few (about 25% of the population, after estimating numbers) to a semblance of normalcy while neglecting the other 75%. Neither A nor I are willing to back the group's play on this one, for what I feel are obvious reasons. A has gone completely no contact with all of us and I don't even know where they are right now, which aside from worrying me a lot, also hurt my position in the discussion since I officially hold no office anymore.

So I took pretty decisive action to stop them, and now three of our original council (H, plus other members E and L) are extremely pissed off at me and are trying to rally the rest to oppose me, while making some extremely shortsighted and harmful moves in the process that will hurt a lot of people. They don't seem to care, however. It's like they consider the majority lesser human beings and only care about that privileged 25%. I don't think I did everything right, but I did my best. We have to let go of the past and make the best of what we have now, for everyone's sake. No more shall man have wings to bear him to paradise. Henceforth, he shall walk.

AITA for sundering reality into fourteen reflections to stop my coworkers? Or should they have accepted that their paradise is gone, and ceded the reflections to their new fragmented, imperfect inhabitants?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole #fandom aita #ffxiv #ff14 #final fantasy xiv #unreality #good enough to post on purpose #shadowbringers spoilers #endwalker spoilers #ffxiv spoilers #(i don't normally tag spoilers but since i'm familiar with this one and it's a big moment)

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bijoutarot · 1 month ago

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2025 Career Reading ✨

Pick An Image✨

Image 1: The Trailblazer 

🌟 Reading: Your career path in 2025 is filled with dynamic opportunities for growth. You may find yourself stepping into a leadership role, whether by advancing in your current field or taking the leap into something new. The path you walk is uniquely yours, but it’s marked by self-confidence, ambition, and the courage to carve out a new direction. This year, focus on refining your skills and building new connections. What you create now will set the tone for your long-term success. ✨ Affirmation: "I trust in my ability to lead, create, and innovate. The path ahead is mine to shape." 💬 Question: What new opportunities are you most excited to explore in 2025? Let’s talk about your career vision for the new year! 

Image 2: The Collaborator 🌱 Reading: In 2025, your career path will be heavily influenced by your ability to collaborate. Teamwork and building strong partnerships will open doors to new opportunities. Whether you're part of a team or leading one, the ability to communicate effectively and bring people together will be one of your greatest assets. Look for ways to share your skills and learn from others. This could be the year where mentorship, both giving and receiving, plays a major role in your growth. ✨ Affirmation: "I am open to collaboration, and I trust that working with others amplifies my success." 💬 Question: What skills do you hope to bring into a team dynamic this year? How do you plan to foster collaboration in your career? 

Image 3: The Innovator 🚀 Reading: 2025 is all about embracing innovation. Your career path will be shaped by your willingness to think outside the box and take risks that others may shy away from. Whether you're an entrepreneur, freelancer, or part of a company, new technologies, creative solutions, and cutting-edge ideas are the driving forces of success. Don't be afraid to push boundaries and experiment with new strategies. The future is in the hands of those who innovate and adapt. ✨ Affirmation: "I embrace change and innovation with open arms, knowing it brings me closer to my goals." 💬 Question: What new technology or trend are you most excited to incorporate into your work in 2025? 

Image 4: The Seeker 🔮 Reading: As we move into 2025, your career path is guided by your inner wisdom and your quest for knowledge. This year, you're going to be drawn to personal development, whether it's through formal education, self-study, or spiritual exploration. Trust that the more you learn, the more opportunities will arise. Stay curious, stay humble, and don’t hesitate to ask questions. Your growth will come not only from practical experience but from your commitment to continuous learning and self-reflection. ✨ Affirmation: "I am open to growth, always learning, and embracing the wisdom that each new experience brings." 💬 Question: What is one area of knowledge or skill you're most eager to explore this year? How do you plan to invest in your growth?

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ozzgin · 1 year ago

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I can order a yandere cute (kawaii), who maybe because of his cute and innocent appearance managed to get close to his beloved, but maybe this boy is not only cute and has a very disturbing past...

When you described a cute yandere with a messed up past, all I could think of was Kanato from Diabolik Lovers. This one's less of an asshole though. Hopefully. I also wasn't sure what you had in mind for 'disturbing past', I may have gone overboard.

Cute!Twisted! Yandere x Reader

Children will say the strangest things. Such as the marriage promise you’ve received from the little boy you befriended a long time ago, when you were rather young yourself. Yet sometimes the words aren’t entirely devoid of meaning. He definitely hasn’t forgotten his intentions, and your current fiancé is a mere delay to his plans.

TW: mentions of abuse, obsessive behavior, violence, small age gap, death

He still remembers the day you met, so clearly and vividly. His most cherished memory.

It was particularly cold despite the sun and his feet were hurting. He didn't have the time to put any shoes on, he ran out the moment he'd heard the sound of glass breaking.

Mother was so scary when she'd get upset. The bulging eyes, the screaming mouth, the wild hair scattered over her face, darkening her features.

What if she were to follow him outside? No, she was never mean in front of others. Then again, the street was empty...He bit apart the skin on his fingers in panic.

"Isn't it a bit late for pajamas?"

His eyes darted up and met hers. A girl somewhat taller and older, holding a basketball under her arm and staring intently, visibly confused. He was, after all, shivering outside by himself, barefoot and in sleeping garments in bright daylight. He blushed in embarrassment.

"I snuck out for some fresh air."

"Rebellious already, huh?" She smirked and walked over, dropping herself on the sidewalk next to him. "I'm (Y/N). Do you live in the area? We could hang out when you feel like it. No need to sit by yourself."

She pointed to a house unexpectedly close. Has she always been nearby? Then again, he was never allowed outside. Besides the spontaneous escapades in order to avoid the burning rage, he didn't see other people much. It had always been him and Mother.

For his own good, really. At least that's what Mother used to say. When she wasn't angry, she'd cry and hold him tight, telling him how much she pities him between hiccups and candid sobs. A vile creature like him would surely be mocked by the rest of the world. Not his fault, the poor little angel. Alas, his miserable fate still had a glimpse of hope, because Mother would never abandon him. He would always find acceptance from her all-forgiving heart.

And yet, there was always the seed of suspicion in the depths of his mind. Her sweet, soothing words felt like a hot slap over the blooming wounds already adorning his body, shaping a paradox.

Then he met you. You didn't seem to be disturbed by his presence. The following days, whenever he approached you, you'd welcome him with the same warm smile. Just like you promised. He couldn't find the ridicule he'd so often been warned about.

The puzzle pieces didn't fit together, and it became painfully obvious once Mother confronted him about his secret outings. Somehow her wrath had faded. Her shouts were mere waves echoing from somewhere distant, only grazing by his ears. She must've noticed his indifference, too, because she began rummaging her pockets for the basement key. Perhaps an old fashioned discipline would have helped him regain his voice. But the dark, cramped walls of the basement no longer frightened him. During his time spent outside, he had discovered a fact of stunning novelty:

He didn't have to listen to her. Staring into her ferocious, bottomless pits, he only found the reflection of (Y/N)'s face. Her peaceful, loving expression, devoid of pain, or fury, or punishment.

His little hands reached for the box cutter.

"It's you that has to go downstairs, Mother. You're a liar. I hate liars."

Was it the right choice? His small outburst had ultimately cost him your company. That evening he politely called emergency to let them know his Mother had gone mad. And so they dispatched a couple of officers to investigate the gruesome cadaver, sprawled along the stairs with too many gashes to count. They shyly investigated the basement, and a social worker carefully inspected the little boy's abundant markings. This couldn't have been a suicide, but the tearful, frightened eyes of the child kept them from pressing further. Whoever had stepped foot into their home that day most likely did him a favor. Nonetheless, he was now essentially orphaned, requiring an adult, and was swiftly shipped to the first available relative.

He didn't have the time to meet you one last time. A shameful departure given his final meeting: completely inebriated with ardent affection, he dared to present to you his innermost wish. One day he'd marry you, he was certain of it. You chuckled and extended your pinky finger reassuringly. A sealed deal.

All he had was your name and your promise and God, how dearly he clung to them every night, every passing year. His true glimmer of hope.

You're scrolling through your emails, waiting for the bus to arrive, when a gentle tap on the shoulder startles you. Behind you is a young man, although the soft, feminine features give him more of an androgynous appearance.

"May I help you?"

"You're (Y/N), aren't you?" he bats his eyelashes expectantly.

"I am, but how do you-"

You gaze at the stranger intently. The big, innocent eyes, the childish demeanor, there's a certain familiarity to it. Who could it be? Suddenly you're overwhelmed by nostalgia.

"It's you! How many years...? And you haven't changed one bit!" You laugh merrily at the sight of your shy, quiet friend, all grown up.

"H-hey now, surely I look more mature this time." He tries to emulate a somber frown as a way to prove his adulthood. "Do you have time? I'd love to catch up."

He missed you so much.

"Right now is a little difficult, but I'll tell you what. Why don't you come over to our place in the near future?"

Huh?

"This way I can introduce you to my fiancé!" You flash him your phone in order to exchange numbers, enthusiastic about the surprise reunion.

He vacantly stares at the lockscreen depicting an unknown man holding you close to him. When he searched for your name online, he didn't find anything regarding a relationship. He didn't expect this. He shouldn't have expected this. His fingers tighten around the small velvet box in his pocket.

Did you forget your promise to him? Or was everything a lie? No, you wouldn't...you couldn't...He fucking hates liars. But you're not one of them, are you? You're not like Mother. No, no, no, no. Breathe. It's his fault. Of course, naturally. He vanished without a word and you must've thought he abandoned you. How careless of him. How terribly rude to blame you for his mistakes. It's okay, it's alright. He'll make it up to you. Sweet, darling (Y/N).

"Are you okay?"

He looks up and notices your worried face.

"Me? Yes, definitely. I was just a little surprised. Hehe. Who would've thought?" He grins and winks at you. "I have an even better idea! Why don't you two come to my apartment instead? I never got the chance to congratulate you for your engagement."

"Gosh, haha, don't worry about i-"

"Please. Pretty please?" He pouts dramatically, holding onto your coat, and you blush slightly at the adorable display. "It's my way of thanking you for the nice childhood memories."

"You really have your way to convince people, huh?" You ruffle his hair and he lowers his head, enjoying the touch. "I'll let my fiancé know."

"Such a cozy place you got yourself!" You beam at the lovely atmosphere of the room. Everything is bright and inviting.

"Uh huh. The ladies must love you." Your fiancé follows up in agreement, snacking on the fancy appetizers.

The young man places a tray on the table and hands you both a glass of sparkling wine.

"Do you live alone? I refuse to believe you don't have a girlfriend." You joke and turn to your partner. "He was a real loner back then. Never saw him around other kids."

"Don't out me like that, (Y/N)!" He pinches your cheek humorously. "As a matter of fact, I do have a girlfriend."

Your fiancé raises his eyebrows, encouraging the boy to continue with details, while he gulps down the pleasantly aromatic drink. Must be expensive.

"Then why didn't you bring her here? I want to meet her!" You whine.

The man fiddles with his glass, observing the air bubbles that rush to the surface.

"You already know her."

"Oh?"

Distracted by this knowledge, you stretch for your own glass and accidentally grab the one belonging to your fiancé. Before you can bring it to your lips, your head swings to the side and you can instantly feel your cheek throb, numb from the abrupt impact of someone's hand.

"Don't fucking touch it!"

Your childhood friend is standing before you, equally shocked by his act. He stares at his reddening palm and his face twists in terror.

"I-I'm...Oh God...I'm so sorry, (Y/N). I just, I didn't know what else to do. You have to understand, please. I'd never-"

As you listen to his erratic apology, you hear the wheezing coughs of your fiancé. His breathing is irregular and he scratches his throat, unable to verbalize his struggle to you. A white foam begins to form in the corners of his mouth. You try to get up, but the man's fingers dig into your face, forcing you back on the chair.

"Shhh shhh, it sounds uglier than it actually is. Trust me. Do you see now? I had to be a little rough, otherwise you would've gotten hurt. Hey! Look at me." He cups your cheeks with both of his hands, squatting in front of you. "Let him settle down. It won't be long."

Your vision becomes blurry.

"He needs an ambulance. Please. What did you do with the drinks?" You manage to blurt out.

"Won't make a difference."

He rests his gaze on your features for a few moments, admiring them dreamily.

"It breaks my heart when you're sad like this. Didn't I say this is an engagement celebration?"

Without breaking eye contact, he pulls out his treasured box and opens it in your lap, revealing a ring.

"I know I disappeared without a word, but I truly had no choice. This is my way of begging for your forgiveness. Not a day went by without thinking of you, (Y/N). I, heh...I actually got this many years ago. Just carried it in my pocket in case I ever found you again."

He giggles awkwardly, stroking your cheek protectively.

"So don't cry. I've kept my promise after all, didn't I? Aren't you proud of me~?"

By the time his little speech ends, the room has filled with silence. Your fiancé is slouching on the chair, still and quiet. The young boy picks up your limp body, humming cheerfully.

"You'll be the prettiest bride in the world.

Mine and mine only."

#female reader #yandere x reader #yandere x you #yandere x darling #male yandere x reader #yandere imagine #yandere imagines #yandere scenarios #yandere original character #yandere childhood friend #tw yandere

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redfoxwritesstuff · 1 month ago

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Why Is Misdemeanor Of the Heart's Reader...

White Coded?

Yep, I said it. Come, take a seat and get cozy in the Fox Den while Mamma Kit answers some questions.

CW: Discussions of race and racism in a historical context and me being a wordy ass bitch

I've seen some discourse around Human!Alastor readers and writers and have gotten some of these questions myself over the last few months.

Firstly- I am white. I'm so fucking white that I use SPF 100 sunscreen. I grew up in Alaska. The history I learned growing up wasn't African American history; it was Alaska Native history. I didn’t learn about how we fucked over African American people in America’s early history. Instead, I learned how we fucked over the villages of the land I was raised on.

Why does this matter? The current accepted fanon for Alastor's human life is that he was a Black or mixed-race radio host who died in 1933 and reached his mid to late 30s or 40s. We know he had a successful career and was also a serial killer. He favored jazz, and rye is his drink of choice. He exists somewhere on the ace spectrum.

Time for a little math. Let's go with the middle ground—he was 40 in 1933. That means he would have been born around 1893. Let’s assume his mother was 25 when he was born. She would have been born in 1868. Using the same age for her mother, Alastor's grandmother would have been born in 1843. Remember this—it’ll matter in a minute.

For MisD and all of my human Alastor writing, as well as the works of many other human Alastor writers, we approach Alastor's life through a historical lens. I, like many others, enjoy exploring a time period rich with change—dynamic and vibrant with energy, money, and hope.

What does this mean? This means Alastor would have faced significant amounts of racism. Being Black, mixed-race, or how well he could pass as white would all drastically impact his life. It affected what opportunities he had, the education he received, and how laws were applied to him.

Ready for a history lesson? The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. It declared all enslaved people in rebellious areas of the United States to be free. Alastor's grandmother—based on the ages we used earlier—would have been a 20-year-old woman at that time.

Alastor would have been raised by a first-generation free woman. He likely wouldn’t have had access to public education, instead being taught in group homeschool-like sessions by those who had learned to read and write.

If he was mixed-race, he would have faced significant discrimination from all of society.

The Civil Rights Movement in the USA didn’t begin until the mid-1950s—a full twenty years after his death.

The reality is that we don’t know a lot about the Black experience during the early to mid-1900s. Much of this history wasn’t recorded by (white) historians. Instead, it was passed down through stories from parents to children, and so on. Only now are we starting to uncover and listen to the histories, stories, and experiences of Black Americans during this time period.

Remember how I mentioned at the start that I’m white as fuck? I don’t have grandparents I can go to and ask about the Black experience when they were children. First—my grandparents are all dead, and second—they were somehow whiter than I am. Their perspective wouldn’t help me because it isn’t my family’s story to tell.

What I can do is look at what we do know, listen to the voices of Black Americans who are finally being allowed to share their stories, and reflect that in my version of human Alastor. I can spend the time to research and learn. For instance, Alastor would have been ahead of his time—the first Black radio host was in 1929, a man named Jack L. Cooper from Chicago. He hosted the first Black-produced weekly variety show and showcased Black entertainers.

I can listen to stories of how mixed-race men were afforded the privilege of their lighter skin as long as they were useful to their white employers, only to be scapegoated the second anything went wrong. I do my best to reflect these stories in Human!Alastor's experiences and behaviors.

Why A White Coded Reader? I cannot even begin to hope to understand the Black American experience as it is now, let alone how it was in 1922, when MisD is set, or in the late 1910s, when my other Human Al fics take place. What I can understand on a deeper level is the white woman's experience, the experience of poverty, the experiences of abused women, and what it’s like to view the Black experience from the outside looking in.

And so that is what I try to highlight with my Human!Alastor fics. Yes, when I’m writing a Human!Alastor fic that deals with racial, class, and social politics as one of the themes to be explored (such as MisD), the reader is coded as white. It is through a white reader that I can have conversations with Alastor about why he feels he has to be perfect, why he straightens his hair, and so on. I cannot do proper justice to these feelings on a deeper level from a Black perspective because I can’t even begin to hope to understand it.

I cannot truly understand what Alastor’s Blackness would mean to him or how he would feel about being mixed. However, I can learn and understand how it impacted his life from the outside looking in. This is what I strive to do—to shed light on what Alastor’s accomplishments would have meant and how much his mistakes would have cost him.

I would love to see more Black writers in the fanfic space, especially within the Human!Alastor space. I would also love to see fewer readers written as blank slates. The Black experience in America and other white-dominated cultures is still not spotlighted often enough, both in present-day and historical settings.

These are stories that need to be told—perspectives that need to be explored, seen, and heard. However, they are not my stories to tell. Personally, until I am far better educated on the matter, I feel it would take away from these stories and be disrespectful to the lives of the very real people who lived them if I were to write from a perspective I cannot hope to understand.

I will continue to strive to write readers as racially neutral as often as the plot allows. However, I also ask that readers respect that, when the plot deals with racial, social, and class divides in a historical setting, if the reader is coming from a place of privilege, their skin tone is often the reason for such privilege.

Of course, I encourage readers to suspend disbelief and insert themselves into the fic regardless of their personal skin tone. I write from a historical setting, but as readers, you can imagine a set of historical laws or circumstances that allow for the same dynamics without requiring a white reader.

Can I do better? Absolutely—we all can. We’re always growing, improving, and learning. I was blessed to be raised in one of the most diverse places in the country (over 45 languages were spoken fluently at my high school). However, since leaving, I’ve struggled with the realities of having that bubble burst—not that Alaska was without racism.

I always welcome respectful discussions about the themes in MisD and all of my fics, as well as the reasons things may be portrayed the way they are. I prefer to write dark content, and with that comes the opportunity to educate and shine a light on topics many people avoid discussing. I simply ask for respect in return for the respect I give.

Much love, Kit

#misd asks #MisD lore #Human Alastor fanfic #human!alastor x you #human alastor x you #human!alastor x reader #human!alastor #alastor #alastor x reader #alastor x reader smut #alastor x you

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hippopotamusdreamer · 8 months ago

Text

SKZ Code: Behind the Scenes

genre. A (heavy), F (eventually at the end)

warnings. Cheating, gaslighting, arguing, grabbing, cursing, swearing

additional notes. Female! Reader | You/Your pronouns, reader is aged between Hyunjin and Han, includes all members of Stray Kids

pairing. Yoon Jeonghan x Reader, Platonic!Felix x Reader, ot8 x 9th member reader

w.c. 7.6K

synopsis. Things get heated as emotional problems follow Y/N on set after an overdue encounter with her boyfriend. So what happens when something happens to triggers that fresh memory?

a/n. This is my first ever "published" kpop fic...be nice to me LMAO After having watched SKZ CODE ep. 40, that scene between Hyunjin and Han really stuck with me and just would not get out of my head, thus, this is the result. Constructive criticism would be nice, I feel like I added a lot of detail and it could get muddled and just become a wall of text, let me know what you think.

Kpop Masterlist

Fandom Masterlist

This in no way reflects the actual persons involved/based in this fic, nor their actual character. This is purely fiction.

Friday, 11:53 PM, unknown club in Hongdae

There were people all around you. Many of which were bumping and grinding on each other as they enjoyed themselves in all corners of the darkened building. The bass that reverberated throughout the entire club you were currently in was thumping so loud that you couldn’t differentiate it from the wild beating of your heart. The thrumming in your body kept you grounded as you walked through the dense crowd. LEDs were blinking with multicolored filters and there were even a few fog machines that made the place more hip than cliché. Unfortunately, the constant flashing of said lights made the oncoming headache you had, worse.

God, you wanted to leave.

You weren’t even supposed to be there in the first place. But you had gotten a text from Nayeon an hour earlier that just had “???” and then immediately after a photo of what looked like your boyfriend looking really fucking cozy with some girl for someone who had supposedly stayed late for practice at his company that night.

So there you were, in some random club in Hongdae, trying to keep yourself from turning into a mess. Dating ban be damned, you weren’t the only idol that had tried to date in secret, and you certainly wouldn’t be the last. Yet in this instance, as you made your way to the second floor VIP area, maybe you should have just followed the rules instead…

Was sneaking out of your dorm at the risk of your reputation and that of your group to get some answers a good idea? Absolutely not. And having had left yours and Hyunjin’s nightly skin care routine; claiming a, now very real, headache to go there didn’t make it any better. You’d be in for the scolding of a lifetime if any of the guys were to find out you where you were.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Saturday, 12:45 AM, VIP lounge, unknown club in Hongdae

Moving past the bouncer of the VIP section, Nayeon walked up, having waited for you to come. One look at your distressed state and she quickly pulled you into a hug. Letting go and without another word she turned you to the left and you finally came face to face with what you had been hoping was misunderstanding until this very moment.

Just like it had been in the photo Nayeon had sent earlier, there he was. An overly relaxed looking Jeonghan manspreading in his seat as an unknown pretty girl, who looked far too comfortable for it to be their first time together like this, sat perched on his lap. You both watched as she leaned down to whisper in his ear, placing her hand none too subtly on his chest in the process. The grin he gave her as he wrapped his arm around her waist was what snapped you out of your stupor.

“Y/N, wait!” Nayeon yelled after you as you finally found the will to move forward. Certain now that the thrumming you felt earlier was your heart and not the music.

You were practically in front of them and yet they paid you no mind. In their own little bubble, ignorant to the storm inside you. “Yah… Yoon Jeonghan, are you fucking kidding me?”

Jeonghan glanced at you slowly, like he hadn’t a care in the world for whoever was interrupting him, only to sit up from his slouched position, eyes wide in shock. Instantly pulling away from the girl that had basically plastered herself onto him. “Y-Y/N! What are you doing here?” He managed to stutter out, frantically looking around, unsure of how you got there.

“I should be asking you the same thing. The PLEDIS building sure got a damn upgrade since the last time I was there,” the venom in your voice apparent even over the loud music.

“Baby, please, it’s not what it looks like!” He gets up from his seat to get into your personal bubble to be heard. You see from your peripheral that the girl he was with slink off to somewhere else. The booming of the music made it hard to hear him but it’s easy to tell that he was trying to make excuses. Jeonghan probably felt the same way because in the next instance he was grabbing you by the arm and all but dragged you to the outside smoking balcony. You try to jerk free but he’s stronger than you, though he is struggling.

“Let me go!”

The balcony is empty of other people surprisingly and the music is still loud out there but at least you’re able to hear each other better as he whorls around to face you.

“Not until you hear me out!”

“There’s nothing for me to hear! It looks like my boyfriend was about to get Real. Fucking. Personal. With. Someone. Else.” You punctuate each word with a jab to his chest.

He grabs on to the appendage only to then forcefully let go as he steps away from you. The tick in his jaw letting you know he was already annoyed.

Good. So were you.

“Look would you just chill the fuck out! We weren’t even doing anything.”

“…She was sitting on your lap and you weren’t doing shit about it…”

“So she was sitting on my lap, who the fuck cares?”

“I do! And as my “boyfriend”, you should have had some respect for your partner and not do shit like that! How do you think that makes me feel Jeong?”

“Oh my god babe, it’s not that serious,” he says as he rolls his eyes, as if exasperated. He raked a hand through his hair, frustration evident in his body language.

“Ok, so if you were to see me with some random guy in the position you were in just now, it’d be fine? Is what you’re telling me?” You question hypothetically while aggressively gesturing to the building behind you.

“Babe…”

“No, I want to understand. Cause you’re saying it wasn’t that bad right? So I can just go inside and find some guy to get with and you’ll be ok with it, right?”

“…You’re starting to piss me off.”

“News flash, I’m already pissed off. If Nayeon hadn’t—”

“Nayeon? Oh yeah,” he spat out as he rolled his neck, “now it makes so much fucking sense. You know she fucking hates me babe, hasn’t liked me since you introduced us eight months ago. I told you she’s not a good friend if she keeps trying to break us up.”

“Oh my god, not this again...,” Now it’s your turn to roll your eyes.

“She’s always putting shit inside your head about us! She’ll say anything—"

“That’s not the fucking point right now! The point is that if you’re willing to do this in front of people, what kind of things are you doing when no one’s a-fucking-round! I know what I saw Jeonghan!”

“Jesus fuck! I made out with someone one time at a party and now you hold it over my head!”

“Because if DK and I hadn’t’ve caught you you probably would have slept with her! You practically had your hand up her dress that time!”

“She literally means nothing to me!”

“So, you’re willing to risk our relationship for nothing?”

“You’re being so dramatic right now for no reason!”

“No reason?” You were stunned.

“It’s not that big a deal! God, if I had known that you were going to be this insecure about our relationship, I wouldn’t have even asked you out!”

“I’m only like this because of what you did!”

The both of you were far too into your heated argument to notice that the door to the balcony open and close.

Only a split second passed as Jeonghan latched onto your arm tightly again and got in your face. You whimper out at the sudden contact knowing full well you’d most likely have a hand shaped bruise to cover up later.

You wince as pain radiates up your arm.

“Let’s get one thing fucking straight—”

But he never got the chance to finish his sentence as he was forcefully yanked away from you. The familiar multicolored hair of you bandmember stands in front of you as Jeonghan nurses his now bruising cheek.

“Felix…?” You whisper in wonder. What was he doing there? How did he know where to find you? Your heart picks up from the adrenaline of this night.

“Don’t you ever put your hands on her again, do you hear me?” Felix said evenly, glaring daggers at Jeonghan. Felix may have been shorter than him but in that moment, he was the most intimidating of the two.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Saturday, 2:19 AM, Felix’s bedroom – VOCALRACHA dorm

You sat in the back of the blacked-out car that Felix has pulled up in. The driver giving the two of you a moment as Felix comforts your hunched over crying form.

You had learned that when you had first confronted Jeonghan, Nayeon had a feeling something would go wrong and immediately went to call Felix. He had been in the middle of playing one of his games when he got the call and proceeded to also sneak out if his dorm to meet her at the front of the club. From there, he got the gist of the information and made his way upstairs with the thought of being a mediator. Only with what he witnessed, it quickly put an end to that idea.

It was Felix who had opened the door to the balcony in the middle of your argument and lost it when Jeonghan put his hands on you.

After that was a bit of a blur for you as Nayeon and Felix maneuvered you through the club discreetly in case someone saw and the media get a hold of that information. All you knew is that Jeonghan tried to come at the two of you but the 63 taekwondo medal holder put him in his place. Felix eventually managed to get you out of there safely but not before letting you confirm out loud that it was officially over between you and Jeonghan.

Jeonghan was too busy writhing in pain to argue back.

So here you were, finally allowing yourself to feel all the emotions of the night, crying into Felix as he pats your hair soothingly, protective arm wrapped around you.

“I’m sorry you had to come out h-here,” you hiccup.

“It’s alright Jellybean, I’m just glad I got there in time to stop him from doing anything more to you. How’s your arm?”

Sniffling, you pull back from him and shift your arm forward. He turns on the flashlight from his phone to see and the both of you come face to face with the repercussions of angry actions. As you thought, an outline of bruised digits were beginning to form like a bad tattoo on your bicep.

He sucks a breath between his teeth as he ghosts his fingers over the bruise. He’s silent as he tries to reel in his anger as he fights himself on going back inside and beating the shit out of the other idol.

But one look at your tear-stained face stops him.

“I’ll tell Chan and Lee Know-hyung that I called you over to our dorm later so they won’t go looking for you. That way you can just stay in my room.”

“Oh Lix, you don’t have—”

“No it’s ok, I don’t think you should be alone right now and I’m pretty sure you don’t want anyone to know about what happened.”

You stay quiet because you know he’s right. Reluctantly, you nod at his offer, grateful for the angel of your group.

He gives you a small sad smile as he brings you back into his arms, placing a comforting kiss on your head. Doesn’t say a word when you quietly start to cry again; just continues to pat your hair as the driver comes back into the car and takes the both of you back to Felix’s dorm.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

You spent a total of 5 days in Felix’s room, crying. You finally managed to explain to Felix that you and Jeonghan had been secretly dating for about 10 months until then but that he had already cheated one you at least once, that you know of, before at an after party of one of the award shows. One of Jeonghan’s members had been with you when you caught him in the act and had gotten you out of there before a scene was caused.

You’d forgiven him after some heavy persuasion on his part but that left you feeling insecure about the relationship since it happened just about a month ago. He’d always had anger issues, but the night at the club was the first time he ever tried to grab you like that. When Nayeon eunnie messaged you that Friday night about seeing him with a different girl this time; you had to confront him before he had a chance to deny it.

You felt bad but Felix kept reassuring you that it was ok that you stayed there and that made you want to cry more. As he promised, he messaged the oldest members of your whereabouts. And with good timing too since according to Chan, Hyunjin had went into your room Saturday morning to wake you for the morning skin routine, but you were gone and he was about ready to freak out.

After that first night, Felix came up with the plan to say that you got hit with a weird bug and that it’d be too much of a hassle to move you back to your room in the 3RACHA dorm (plus you and Hyunjin) so you might as well just stay in his room for the time being. Minho came to check on you that night, but Felix managed to convince him that it wasn’t bad enough to go to the hospital; you just needed to rest and eat something not too heavy. It wasn’t that far off from the truth honestly, and it was a good excuse to stop anyone else from checking up on you.

So Felix’s room was now a designated “quarantine zone” and no one was allowed to go in and bother you. Felix being the only one able to go in and out since it was his room after all. Your phone had been bombarded with texts from all your members trying to check up on you, pinging every few minutes with memes and well wishes. It wasn’t until you kept getting back-to-back calls and texts from your now ex-boyfriend that you turned off your phone, not wanting to deal with him now or ever again.

Just like you thought, the bruise on your arm had gotten darker and it was easy to tell what had caused it. With just one glance at your arm, you knew that with how protective the guys were over you, that the entirety of Stray Kids would go looking for a fight with your ex and your group absolutely did not need any heat in the media right now. It was hard enough keeping Lix from going out there once he looked at your arm again and taking matters into his own hands. Let alone all eight of them if word got out.

No, you had just wanted to wallow in self-pity for now.

Currently, Felix sat next to you in bed as you lay curled up by his side. He was letting you know that Chan had stopped by again to check on you when you were asleep earlier and had left you your designated SKZOO, a bear cub named Gom-N/N-ie, to “help you feel bettah.” You felt guilty for lying to him, all of them really, after that while accepting your SKZOO from the sunshine man. Bringing it to your chest, you bury your face in the familiar feeling of your plushie.

“You know you don’t have to go tomorrow, right? We can tell the managers that you’re sick, too,” Felix’s deep voice broke through the quiet of the room from his spot next to you as he gently combed his fingers through your hair. Tomorrow all of you were to begin shooting for a special new episode of SKZ Code for Chuseok. You’d completely forgot about it until you overheard Minho and Innie talking about it outside of the door earlier.

You were quiet for a moment, contemplating on what you should say and do. You know you can’t keep hiding out in Felix’s room like this, it’s not fair to him. He doesn’t like lying to the other members either yet is doing it just for your sake. He’s been working hard to deflect any and all questions, comments and concerns about your wellbeing while also placating everyone else. You’ve definitely put your younger member in a difficult position.

You owe him a lot, your little sunshine.

“…I’ll go.”

His hand stills in your hair, waiting to see if you’ll say anything else.

“I’ll go with everyone tomorrow. You’re probably sick of me being in here anyways,” you quietly laugh out.

“Naur, what?” His Aussie accent coming out as he switches from Korean to English and back again. “I’m not sick of you, I could never be. If anything, the others are jealous cause I’m the only one that’s gotten to see you!”

“That’s such a lie, Lee Yongbok!” you finally laugh out loud for the first time since Friday night while swatting him in the leg playfully.

“It’s true, noona! Binnie Hyung was about ready to tackle me to get inside the room yesterday!”

The image alone of your buff bun trying to tackle your sunshine lad had you in stitches. What you didn’t see was the loving gaze of said sunshine, glad to see you at least somewhat happy again after everything that’s happened.

For this moment in time, that’s all he could ask for.

Felix gently grazes his fingers over your bruised arm, his smile slightly faltering at what he sees. Moving his hand back to your hair, he gently pulls a few strands just to get your attention.

“It’s gonna be ok, you know. I’ll be there to help you if you need it, alright? You’re not gonna be alone.”

“I know Lix…thank you. For everything.,” you respond quietly.

His only action is to bend down and give you another comforting forehead kiss. The two of you remain quiet for the rest of the night until it was time for bed.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Thursday, 8:15 AM, VOCALRACHA dorm

As soon as you followed Felix out of the bedroom, you were accosted by the one and only maknae on top.

“Noona!” Jeongin yelled out, too loud for what time it was. “Are you feeling better? Do you need more medicine, a doctor?”

“Yah! Let her breathe.” The three of you jump in the middle of the hallway as the admonishing tone of Minho could be distinguished from the kitchen. He’d probably heard Innie from all the way over there.

Chuckling, you give him a small smile and a pat to his head to calm him down.

“I’m ok right now Innie, thank you for checking up on me.”

“You really had us worried noona, Lee Know-hyung was about to burst in there and take you to the hospital himself as soon as he found out you weren’t feeling good if it weren’t for Felix hyung.”

You’d figured something like that was bound to happen. You were even more grateful to Felix for all his efforts. You giggle at his comment and the three of you continue to the kitchen where Seungmin was also waiting.

“Morning everyone,” you greeted, sitting down next to the second youngest of you all.

“Are you sure you’re feeling ok enough to shoot today?” Seungmin asks quietly while placing a cup of juice in front of you which you gratefully take. You nod in agreeance as a bowl of porridge is placed in front of you. Minho pats your head before walking away to get the other dishes for breakfast.

“We’ll let the director-nim know that you should take it easier today at least,” he says while serving the rest of the guys at the table. Before you can protest, he sends you a heated look that leaves no room for argument.

With a twitch to your lips, you can’t help but to agree with him too. “I understand, thank you for breakfast.”

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Thursday, 11:15 AM – SKZ Code shoot location, dressing room 1

Meeting the other half of your group went just about the same. Except more scolding from Hyunjin for skipping out on your daily routine. Although that was mostly an excuse because he was just so worried when he didn’t see you in your room that first morning.

“Really Y/N-ie, you should have messaged me first!” the pout on his lips not hard to find as he tugs on your sleeve.

“Y/N-ah, you should have seen him!” the boisterous voice of Changbin joins the two of you as you sit in your designated dressing room waiting for your leader’s return. The two of them immediately ambushing you, much like Jeongin this morning, upon your arrival. “He wouldn’t stop bothering Channie hyung for information on how you were doing!”

That evokes the lankier one of the two to get flustered and from there the two start a playful argument of no-I-wasn’t’s and yes-you-were’s. Just being with them again really did set your mind and heart at easy after the past couple of days. Not to mention a good distraction.

A quiet “noona” catches your attention from the squabble in front of you and has you turning to face Han questioningly.

“I brought you a red ginseng drink to keep your health up today.”

You wanted to cry again for an altogether different reason. Your members cared for you so much, each in their own different ways. You don’t know what you’d do without them.

“Ahh, thank you, Hannie. I’ll drink this right now.” The initial taste of the ginger is gross but it had a hint of sweetness at the end so the overall drink wasn’t too bad. Especially if you try to take it all in one go.

Han sits next to you on the couch, Felix following shortly after, as I.N and Minho join in on the fray to annoy the already hyped-up boys. Although they could all be loud and wild sometimes, it was just a part of their charm.

Chan comes back into the room about 5 minutes later gaining everyone’s attention.

“Alright, I got everything squared away with the director and producers. Y/N, they know you’re just getting better,” he states, staring directly at you as if he—, no there was no way, right? “So, you’re going to be given more of the easier things to do alright?”

The panic in your head only allows you to nod at him as you grab Felix’s hand for a quiet support. He doesn’t skip a beat in intertwining your hands together.

“Great, we’ve got 10 minutes before they want us to start going to make up and changing. Then we’re all going to film an intro piece for the episode. Anyone have any questions or problems with that?

When no one responded, Chan just nods and heads to the far corner and sits with his phone for a bit. You can’t help but think you feel his gaze every once in a while but brush it off as paranoia.

The time eventually comes to split off as the boys go to their own designated dressing room and you stay in the current one. The stylists helping you to get ready for what is surely to be an interesting shoot if the hanbok you have to wear is anything to go off of.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Thursday, 1:15 PM – SKZ Code shoot location

[I.N - Lee Know's younger sister, Yongbok and Y/N's aunt]

[Changbin - High school jock / Always steps up to keep his family together]

[HAN - A sweet but strict father (But somewhat seems polite)]

[Hyunjin - The sassy mother]

[Lee Know - A tough woman but a lenient mother to Yongbok and Y/N]

[Seungmin - Survives through the attacks by Lee Know, I.N, and daughter’s Y/N and Yongbok]

[Yongbok - Sassy and brave like his mom, sister, and aunt]

[Bang Chan - The youngest son, loves his mom the most and hates his brother / Is always losing out to cousin Yongbok]

[Y/N – The exasperated oldest of the grandkids back from university/ Yongbok’s sister]

One rainy Chuseok morning, the SKZ Family are gathering in a long while today CHUSEOK SPECIAL : SKZ Family Returns

You stand off to the side, waiting for your cue to join, with the rest of the group as Channie and Felix do the beginning of the intro skit. It’s hard to keep the giggles in with how cute the both of them look and act.

“Hi...,” Chan started out shyly.

“Hi!” Felix sassed out immediately in response.

“How old are you?”

Felix counts slowly with his fingers, “…Three. How about you?”

“I’m five. I’m older than you.”

Felix plucks out two more digits to make five on his hand.

“You’re right.”

“Mm”

“You don’t look older though.”

“Why are you talking down to me?”

“Mind your own business.”

“Don’t talk down to me!”

“Don’t yell!”

“Okay…,” Chan whispers out. “Mommy!”

“Daddy!”

They both start crying and that’s your you cue to walk into the frame behind them.

“Hey! Stop crying!”

“Noona!” “Eunnie!”

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Filming was going smoothly so far. It was just the beginning though so nothing too taxing had happened yet. Felix just finished introducing himself as three-year-old Yongbok who gets her good looks from her mom and wants to live with her mother after their divorce.

“Waaah, my little sister is so cute,” you say out loud with a smile, Felix sticking his tongue out at you in response.

“Yes, both of my daughters are so cute,” Lee Know says while pinching your cheek since you sat beside him. There went your smile.

“Ahh! Mom!”

“Y/N-ie, it’s your turn to introduce yourself,” Seungmin, as your father, says not even bothering to help you out. You make a noncommittal sound as you fight with Lee Know to let go of your cheek still. More than half the guys laughing at your antics.

“Mom, please!”

“Ohh, but how can I let go of these cheeks huh,” he says in a babying tone, as he does in fact, let you go.

You rub your cheek as you sit down on the stool and face the proper direction.

“Hello, I’m Yongbok’s older sister, Y/N. I’m tirelessly working on maintaining my high marks in school but currently on break from university. So I’m glad to be home and able to spend this time with my family.”

“You get you book smarts from your dad,” Han says chuckling.

“And your street smarts from your mom,” Seungmin joins in. Lee Know, jokingly takes the bubble gun blower in front of him and aims it at his ‘husband’.

“That’s right, so you better watch what you say.”

You’re laughing at the scene before you as Hyunjin continues the skit, “Y/N-ie, what are you studying in college?”

“Uhh,” you didn’t really have a concept for this character, until you lock eyes with Chan and then the kiddie computer in front of him. “I’m studying…m-music producing?” you get out before laughing since producing was certainly not your forte. And everyone in front of you knew that.

“Noona is so cool,” Chan says from his spot on the ground. “Better than my older brother.”

“Aww, thanks Channie,” you beam at him as he beams back.

“Yah Bang Chan!” Binnie yells from behind him before yelling in pain because Chan leaned back against his legs.

“Changbin, don’t yell at you brother,” Hyunjin says as his mom.

“Mmm, my daughter is so talented. Getting in the best university of the country, getting good grades and look at her face, just like me,” He strikes a little pose. “Maybe next holiday she’ll bring home a boyfriend,” Lee Know continues in character.

The smile on your face freezes as your heart zings in pain. You’ve become still in your seat as you feel Felix’s eyes on you. He being the only ones to notice your hands balling into fists on your skirt.

“…Mom,” you start off slowly. Your hesitancy easily mistakable for your character’s young adult/college student love life being interrogated by their parent. “That’s…”

“She doesn’t need to be dating in college,” Seungmin cuts you off. “We met in college and now we’re getting a divorce!”

“Yeah but she won’t meet a mistake like you and go through any hardships. So she’ll be fine .”

Grin faltering, you begin to bite the inside of your lip to stop your eyes from getting glossy. Your nose starting to sting, a tale tell sign that you wanted to cry. Your actual hardships flashing in your mind.

“Mommy, daddy, don’t fight,” Felix tries to distract them.

“We’re not fighting,” Lee Know quickly responds as you get up from your seat to switch places with him. Felix quickly looping his arm around yours, taking your hand in his, giving it a quick squeeze.

You give him one back as you stare at a spot by your feet.

Despite the earlier hiccup, everything was going fine. Both Lee Know and Seungmin went on to introduce themselves, which was a skit about how Lee Know got married for money and that they were in the process of getting a divorce more than anything. And then Innie looking out for his nieces because what was said in front of them.

It was then decided that Yongbok was going with Lee Know and you were going with Seungmin. Both kids pouting at this information for being separated.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Next up was Han, who’s outfit immediately got torn to pieces by everyone in the room. Him trying to explain that he got his style from his father caused everyone to derail in laughter.

He brings back everyone’s attention by restarting his introduction.

“I’m Yongbok and Y/N-ie’s uncle, but I could be their new father.”

“Their new father?” Lee Know questions immediately as you and Felix looked shocked at him.

“I mean, I’ll be that much kinder to them.”

A few of the members understand what he means by that and Hyunjin speaks up in relief, “I was worried.”

“Hey, just a few days ago,” Seungmin speaks up from beside you asking a seemingly innocent question until it wasn’t. “Did you enjoy dinner with the friend I introduced to you?”

There was a pause in the room. Han looking a little shell-shocked as he responds.

“Why are you mentioning that now?”

Everyone’s quiet as Hyunjin gets up from his seated position. Your heartbeat picking up, flashes of your very recent tragedy of a relationship flashing in your mind. All the heartache came rushing back as the scene before you kept unfolding. Your heartbeat picking up in your chest as you look between the two.

“What does that mean?” Hyunjin asked cluelessly.

“You knew mom’s a jealous person!” Changbin yells from his spot next to I.N.

You can’t say anything as the ball of emotions in your throat gets bigger. Felix tries to comfort you but gets pulled away by Lee Know who’s trying to cover his eyes.

“Close your eyes and open your nose,” he says to Felix. If only you could shut out the blood rushing in your ears.

The deep breath that Hyunjin takes is something you felt from deep within your core. “Try explaining yourself.”

“What?”

“Try explaining.”

“You didn’t tell her?” Seungmin jumps in with a grin, making the situation worse. “I thought you did.”

It’s a joke. It’s a joke. It’s a joke.

You repeat to yourself as you try to control your breathing. It’s not their fault that you basically went through something so distressingly similar not even a week ago and they didn’t know about it. Staring at your lap, your hands begin to tremble and you can just feel your lips wobbling.

“Honey,” Han laughs out nervously.

“Was she prettier than me?”

You bring your hands up to cover part of your face. That had been one of many questions that had been plaguing you since the first time Jeonghan had cheated on you. You never got a good look at the first girl and the second girl was definitely pretty to you. You close your eyes, eyebrows furrowing, to try to block out the scene. You hope they can’t here you sniffling.

“…Yaaahh,” is all that Han can respond with, wanting to avoid answering the question.

Did he even feel guilty for what he did? Or did he just move on as if the last 10 months together didn’t mean anything?

A warm hand on your knee makes you open your eyes and you’re met with Chan’s concerned gaze as your eyesight becomes blurry with the tears quickly gathering there. His concern quickly becomes full on worry as a single tear drops down your cheek.

You needed to get out of there, quickly. It was a wonder how the others haven’t picked up on how upset you’re getting.

“Mom, no one’s prettier than you,” Changbin pipes up as he stands up next to Hyunjin.

“That’s right!”

Did Jeonghan ask his members not to tell you anything? Were they in on everything?

“Lee Know…?” Han questions.

“Huh?”

“Don’t tell them we met yesterday.”

Would they have told you if they knew? Or did they all laugh about you behind their backs? Did Jeonghan even like you, or did he just keep you around because you were convenient?

This endless cycle of negative questions kept spiraling in your mind as the skit the boys were doing continued to play out before you.

Lee Know, with a grin on his face, turns to look at Hyunjin who’s sat down next to Seungmin again. “It’s fine, I saw someone today too.” Hyunjin says in retaliation as he grabs onto Seungmin.

“Wait a minute…” Han starts but you’ve had enough by this point. The sob you try to hide was heard throughout the group and everyone freezes.

You hurriedly get up from your spot between Seungmin and Felix and trip twice trying to get out of there. The chaos that ensues as the fabric of your hanbok getting caught under your foot was instantaneous as Chan, Changbin, and Felix immediately try to catch you. The small leg space not making it easy to leave quickly.

“Noona?” I.N asks fearfully, breaking character as he sees the state that you’re in.

“Y/N-ah?” Minho asks from his side of the couch starting to get up from his seat.

Han, Seungmin, and Hyunjin quiet in their shock of what’s happening.

“Sorry—, I—, Please…,” you sob out as you finally get out of the cramped space. Felix and Chan following right behind you as you run to the restroom to lock yourself in there. The door closing in both of their faces. The brief look at your expression, blotchy and covered in tears, breaking their hearts.

You hug yourself as you slide down against the door, finally allowing yourself to cry fully. Even through your sobs, you can hear the other members coming up to the other side of the door to check on you. You could faintly make out the deep timbre of Felix’s voice most likely trying to diffuse the situation which makes you cry more. You weren’t ready to face any of this, or them, now. Should have just stayed home instead of making a mess like this.

You weren’t sure how much time had passed when you heard a gentle knock on the door behind you. Your tears still flowing slowly but at least you weren’t full on sobbing now. Sniffling, you’re hesitant as you look towards the locked doorknob.

“Y/N-ah, it’s just me,” Chan says from the other side. “Everyone else went to go talk to the manager and director to give us a break right now.”

Not saying anything, he clears his throat before asking quietly, “Do you think you can let me in?”

The double entendre isn’t lost on you. Whether Chan knew what he said or not was unknown to you. With some tentativeness, you manage to wiggle to the wall to be able to unlock and open the door for him.

Chan slips into the restroom and closes the door swiftly behind him. You look small to him as you sat huddled into yourself on the ground. Not like your usual boisterous self. He doesn’t say anything as he sits down next to you. Doesn’t pressure you to say anything, either. Just sits with you, waiting patiently for you to be comfortable enough to tell him what’s wrong.

So you sit there in silence for a few moments more. Trying to gather the courage to lay yourself emotionally bare to your leader. You pick at the fabric you have on, sniffling every now and then until Chan gently places his hand over yours in comfort. And to probably stop you from tearing a hole in your clothes…

He lets you play with his hand until you manage to take a deep breath. For the second time since the whole fiasco happened, you find yourself confiding your problem with a member. Going into a bit more detail than what you did with Felix.

You told Chan everything while on the floor in that little restroom.

How you first met Jeonghan, how you kept bumping into him after the shows you all did, how you ended up exchanging numbers. To how you kept in touch after that, kept meeting up until he eventually asked you out. Occasionally sneaking out of the dorm to meet up with him at his insistence.

You thought Chan would get mad at that, but he didn’t say anything. Just squeezed your hand to get you to continue with your story.

You told Chan how you caught Jeonghan cheating the first time, and how DK all but dragged you out of there but it didn’t even matter because you saw everything. That messed you up mentally and was the reason why you had messed up a lot during dance practice the next day.

Chan remembers the day you were talking about. He thought something was wrong but kept it to himself, hoping you’d come talk to him about it, but you never did.

You explained the fight that happened a week after catching him back then. How you eventually, and stupidly, ended up forgiving him and continuing the relationship only for him to go behind your back and do it again a couple of days ago.

“So you weren’t sick?” he cuts in, finally breaking his silence.

“I mean…not in the contagious sense…,” you explain while turning to him. He nods, letting you continue as he tries to wipe the dried tears off your face.

“So yeah, Nayeon called me up that Friday night and I had to sneak out to Hongdae. Sorry…about that by the way…,” you clear your throat, avoiding eye contact with him altogether. “So I saw him literally in the act again and had to confront him about it this time. We ended up going outside and basically just having an all-out screaming match with each other. Where, by the way, he tried to gaslight the shit out of me, but it didn’t work. Thankfully, Felix showed up when he did though because Jeonghan ended up grabbing me really hard. Who knows what he could have done if Lix hadn’t gotten there in time.”

You let go of Chan’s hand, which was still intertwined with yours, to rub against your bruised shoulder.

“Wait…he put his hands on you?”

You don’t pick up on his tone as you nod and take off the jeogori jacket layer of your hanbok. Presenting your, now, heavily bruised arm, Chan takes it delicately in his hands.

“I asked the stylist to try to use coverup on it, but it was just so dark and it still hurt so she couldn’t do much about it in the end.”

Gently, he touches the colorfully marred skin not saying a word, his jaw ticking in anger at what he’s seeing.

You don’t even get a word out before he’s up and bolting out of the restroom. Face clouded in rage.

“Ch-Chan!” Scrambling, you grab the jeogori from the ground and run after him, not even bothering to put it back on. “Channie, wait!”

The other members of your group had managed to clear the room of the staff and had been hovering close the door the entire time, waiting patiently for the two of you to come out. What they weren’t expecting was an infuriated Chan and an anxious you to come out of there.

“What’s happening,” Changbin asked, lowkey getting worked up just seeing his leader on edge.

“I’m gonna kill him,” is all Chan says.

“Who?” Han asks, also getting anxious.

“Noona, what happened to your arm?” Innie asks from beside you, gently grabbing your bruised arm. That captures everyone else’s attention. Your face pales as you realize your mistake.

“Is that a bruise?” “Why does it look like a hand?” “Who the hell touched you?” “Noona, are you ok?”

“I— ,” you’re on the verge of panicking, not knowing what to do.

This catches Chan’s attention and breaks the trance of rage he’s in. He makes his way back to you and brings you into a big hug. He holds you in his arms as you try to hide away from everyone’s prying eyes.

But honestly, they’re just so worried about you.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Channie whispers into your hair. Shaking your head, you understand everyone’s concerns, you just wish it wasn’t revealed this way.

Keeping your face in Chan’s chest to hide, your muffled response is heard. “Long story short, I got into it with an ex a couple of days ago because he was cheating and he…put his hands on me…”

Just like you thought, they were all visibly upset for you.

“This happened to you…and I was…” Han became visibly pale compared to the others as his actions up until you ran out sprang to his mind. That prompted the other boys, besides Felix, to realize why you had gotten upset enough to leave the set in the first place. All of them immediately apologizing to you, getting upset with themselves and begging for your forgiveness.

“Who is it?” Seungmin asks menacingly from somewhere behind you, voice quivering with emotion. Guard dog mode being activated.

“No, guys—”

“He’s gonna wish he only got a bruised arm once I’m done with him,” Changbin says while rolling his neck in annoyance now. Minho and Felix are taking off their own hanbok’s as I.N and Hyunjin stretch out themselves, preparing for a beatdown.

“Noona, seriously, who did this to you?” Han asks you quietly next to you, mood sad yet protective.

“Guys really, there’s nothing to forgive. You didn’t know what was going on, you don’t have to do anything,” You pipe up, finally pulling away from Chan a little. His arms tighten around you slightly, not wanting to let you go fully.

“Y/N-ah, we have every right to want to have your back on this. He’s not gonna get away with putting his hands on you,” Chan explains to you still upset about all the information that you’ve shared with him.

“No, I get that, I swear,” you rotate in his arms to face the others. “I appreciate all of you wanting to go and kick his ass. But I swear it’s not necessary. Felix already beat the shit out of him. His company put out a statement saying he’s taking a break for a bit for ‘health reasons’.”

All of you turn to Felix, who’s now taking off his headband, cool expression on his face. “I’m not against kicking his ass again, Jellybean.”

You stare at him dumbfounded until you burst into laughter because of course he wouldn’t. None of them would be. Because this is your family away from family. They’re dead set in wanting to protect you, and each other, from any and everything that could be harmful.

The others stare at you as if you’ve finally lost your mind which prompts you to just say, “I love you guys.”

Felix, besides Chan who is still holding you, is the first to step up and give you a very much needed hug. A little confused, the rest of the guys follow suit and you all end up in one massive hug.

Until one of the younger boys starts fighting with Changbin and they all break away.

“Don’t think this lets you off the hook for sneaking out of the dorm, Y/N-ah,” Chan says out loud from behind you as you’re still wrapped in his arms.

“You did what?!” Minho could be heard yelling, which causes you to groan.

257 notes · View notes

shiny-jr · 2 years ago

Text

✍︎ damnation [ the diviner ]

– Summary: When you commit a crime, you receive a punishment. This is especially true in your society. No matter the crime, your punishment is the same: banishment. But to where you will be sent in exile and how miserable will it be? No one knows, because no one has ever returned.

– Warning: Yes, this is a yandere thing. Gender-neutral reader.

– Characters: Floyd Leech, Jade Leech, Azul Ashengrotto.

– Note: I’m actually not super proud of this result. Out of the three out so far, this one is probably like my least favorite. Maybe that’s why I’ve been putting this off for a while and also rewriting Scarabia’s result a lot, just because I don’t want to feel like I did a bad job on it once I do complete it. Currently, at the time this is being posted, Scarabia’s result is like halfway done. Here’s to hoping its a good result.

– Pages: 40

– Not satisfied? Try looking here for the quiz to take it yourself and see where you end up banished!

The Hyena Chieftain | The Diviner | The Vizier’s Vassal

Damp. It was damp, and you awoke to the sound of crashing water. The surface you found yourself on was soft, comfortable. Sitting upright, you were surprised to see multiple blankets and pillows with mismatched patterns and some stitched with completely different colors. Around you was patterned fabric curving upwards, like a tent, but when you moved, this bed you were laying on swung with every movement. It was like a hanging nest, you realized, as you curiously removed part of the fabric wall that allowed you to step out.

It was somewhat dark, but there was just enough light from a huge gaping hole in the ceiling for you to scan your surroundings. There was a waterfall right in front of you, the water falling from the space above. You were behind the waterfall, in a hidden space with that hanging bed, lit candles scattered around, with lots of other little knick knacks and doodads that made it look like the home of one of those witches that collected crystals and other items. In one corner was a mirror, where you finally caught your reflection, it startled you. Instead of chains and a prison uniform, you wore long dark robes that pooled around your feet and a long piece of darker sheer cloth over your head and shoulders that made you look like a ghost that appeared in the woods and fog. For a second, your appearance actually startled you, because you didn’t recognize yourself.

What was this…? This wasn’t a prison cell, and if it was, it was a pretty neat one. With all those books on the small wooden shelf in the corner, you’d at least have something to occupy yourself with. But there were no bars, no guards, and no shackles… What exactly was going on? The last thing you remember was being banished and forced to go through a portal and… now you were here.

When you looked back up at the waterfall, you could see more light coming from the other side. With nowhere else to go and nothing else to do, you slowly made your way towards the source behind the barrier of water. Luckily you wouldn’t have to get drenched, because there was a small path of round smooth stones around it, tucked away and neatly hidden in a dark corner. One by one, you hopped along the steps, the sheer cloth flowing behind you until you were in front of the waterfall, now in a much larger, very spacious room, a cave, actually.

There were no exits or entrances, besides the hole in the ceiling and maybe someplace under the water. Speaking of water, it was much more prominent in this area compared to the space you had woken up in. There was a small dry flat where you could sit, but it was only a few feet big, before the water encompassed the rest of the space. Except for more flat round stepping stones, leading to the center where there was a firm pedestal holding up what looked to be a glimmering glass orb. Its glow gave off a dim light, shining off the rugged dew covered walls.

Entranced by the orb, you tilted your head, watching from afar as shapes appeared on its glassy surface. Balancing on your toes, careful to not fall into the water, you got closer to it until you were right in front of it. For a moment, you just wanted to reach out and touch it, but you didn’t. It felt like one of those things you shouldn’t touch, like a museum display that should be behind red rope and inside a glass case. But just because you were hesitant to touch it, doesn’t mean you could take your eyes off of it. Lowering your face towards it to get a better look, you squinted at the moving image it displayed, like it was some sort of screen.

Inside the glass, you could see a figure. But it most certainly wasn’t human. Their lower torso was that of a fish. A mermaid, or rather, a merman. He looked so real! With bright stunning red hair that defied all logic by somehow looking soft even when underwater, realistic looking flesh judging by his bare upper torso with only a satchel strapped around his shoulders, and his entire lower half consisting of a sparkling green-scaled tail that swished back and forth quickly to propel himself forward. There was even a little yellow and blue fish swimming beside him. How cute… It almost reminded you of the tale of The Mermaid and The Sea Witch.

“Yes, hurry home, little prince. Run back to dear old daddy and join the party.”

The sudden voice caused you to jump, turning your head up and gaze away from the orb only to see a large figure that had camouflaged itself in a smooth curved nook within the dark stone walls. You hadn’t even noticed them watching you! You adjusted to the darkness again, steadily able to make out the mass, and your eyes widened in shock as you did.

Hidden in the curve in the wall that acted as a cozy spot just an inch above the water, was a huge mass. First you saw sharp gray eyes, more focused on the orb than you. Then you saw his hair, beautiful wavy gray curls that reminded you of the waves of water. Slowly you noticed his skin color, his face was an odd gray like part of his thin torso but the rest of him… was pitch black. But he had no legs, in place of where he should have appendages to walk, he had large black tentacles with purple undersides. Like an octopus, exactly like the Sea Witch you were just thinking about moments ago––

“Waking up a bit late, aren’t we, angelfish?” Those eyes seemed to glow as his gaze flickered up to your frozen form. He appeared relaxed, tucked away and seated in the little nook, with his hands folded neatly in his lap. Before you could even consider a proper response, he turned his attention back to the orb, apparently much more intrigued with it. “Nevermind. Did you know, when I used to live in the palace, we had fantastical festivities and feasts. But now look at what they’ve done to me… banished!” Banished? Dramatically he leaned out of his corner, and you could finally see the light shining on him. Until he abruptly slid out of his spot, vanishing into the water.

You felt a slight sense of dread rise upon you when you frantically looked around and couldn’t see him in the dark waters beneath you. Just before you could react to your flight or fight instincts pushing you to run back towards the bigger piece of land, you felt a tentacle wrap around your ankle and pull you down. A yelp escaped your lips as half of you became submerged in the water, but you kept afloat by clinging to the small round stone piece you had been standing on before.

The octopus man was now across the stone from you and in the water as well, but you could only wrack your brain for escape plans or a way to beat this creature if things came down to it. However, it seemed that perhaps those ideas were unnecessary, because he scratched your chin gently as he cooed, “Oh, what would I do without you and the twins, my treasure? You, so helpful and supportive.”

Twins…? As in, the twin pet eels belonging to the sea witch? So this was really like the story? This was your punishment? Then that meant the theory your friends whispered about was true. Criminals would be banished to a fairytale. It was a ridiculous theory, something you adamantly refused to believe. Especially because some people would fantasize about going on mystical adventures or having a lovely romance with heroes and royalty. But how could you continue to refuse to believe when you were literally face-to-face with an octopus man? What did that make you then? If you remembered the stories right, the only others that the sea witch were close to was her pet eels and no one else. So how did you fit into this role? Let’s see, in the end, the protagonist won, that was without a shadow of a doubt. But the antagonists… the eels were accidentally obliterated by their owner when she went mad with new power, and the human prince with the mermaid princess plunged the sharpened bow of a ship straight through the sea witch. You shuddered at the mere thought of meeting a similar fate. You needed to get out of this somehow…

As the man in the role of the sea witch continued to scratch your chin affectionately, you were soothed a bit by the touch… That is, until his smooth charming voice became a shout,

“Those flimsy fishfolk will continue to celebrate in a few days time, but we’ll give them something to really celebrate soon enough… Floyd! Jade!”

You jolted back at his sudden increase in volume as he pulled his hand away and turned his attention to the magical orb still showcasing the swimming merman. You heard a hiss of pain and some mumbling from the orb, but it wasn’t coming from the red-haired merman.

“Keep an eye on that pretty little prince. He may be the key to the king's undoing."

You heard two different responses: an of course, Azul and a sure thing, Azul, both responses happening simultaneously. So the octopus man's name was Azul…

As soon as the orb flickered out, you climbed back onto the single stone and observed as a twisted sort of expression took hold on Azul's face. The type of expression that meant someone was plotting something terrible but the mere thought of it pleased them.

For a moment, you considered, didn't you know how the story would play out? Didn't that give you an advantage? This could be your ticket out. Without a second thought, you hopped back to the larger flat stone surface as you declared, "I had a dream."

In the midst of his pondering and scheming, Azul waved you off without so much as a second glance. "That's nice. No wonder you were lazing around all morning. Now, I have work to—"

"I saw you in it. And the prince with the king." You blurted out, which instantly stopped him from descending down into the murky depths. But he didn't yet look at you quite yet.

Entertaining the conversation, he hummed, "And, pray tell, what was this dream about?"

You hesitated. How should you word this without getting caught? You knew that if this Azul was anything like the sea witch, then he would be crafty and cunning. "I think… It was about the future."

Now that caught his attention. He finally turned around, raising an eyebrow with an intrigued smile, "Tell me more, won't you?"

"I will… but on one condition." You lowered yourself to kneel on the flat surface, using the cloth hanging around you as a cushion for your knees. When he swam closer and was peering up at you, you continued, "I'd like you to let me go." Living in a cave for the rest of your life, didn't exactly sound like a dream. Besides, you had much higher standards than these rags you currently wore and the old furniture behind the waterfall.

At your words, Azul appeared surprised before he laughed, "Let you go? Have you forgotten that you're my property? Remember, you signed the contract. In exchange for a chance to save your drowning loved ones, you sold your entire being to me, mind, body, and soul. So the knowledge in your mind, even in your dreams, belongs to me."

Yikes. For a moment, you forgot he was supposed to be the bad guy because of how pretty he was. But his multiple tentacles were a slap in the face, a reminder that he was not human. But at least you know now that whomever you replaced supposedly made a deal with the octopus to save others. But that knowledge did little to help.

From out of thin air, a golden contract appeared which he took in one tentacle to skim over. "According to our deal, your servitude to me is due to expire in exactly one year. However, since I do care so much for my treasure…" Well that's the fattest lie you ever heard. "I'm willing to hear your complaints and should you be persuasive enough, I may just change the contents of the contract."

Well, starting with the obvious. "I don't want to stay here in the cave."

"I allow you to roam and give you the freedom that comes with your job of spying on the humans for me." He responded quickly, efficiently. "Besides, don't I take such good care of you?"

That didn't work… Next, "I have high standards, you know. I want to live better than this."

"And you will receive your just reward if you stay with me. You'll get to live fabulously once I've regained all the wealth that was stolen from me!"

Ugh. Damn it. It seemed like he had an answer prepared for everything. You really didn't want it to come to this but you had no choice if you wanted to leave. "I can help you get the king's triton, then everything in the ocean will belong to you."

"I already planned on doing that." He grinned. God, that stupid confident smirk was getting on your nerves.

But! You had one more ace up your sleeve. Slowly you shrugged, eyeing the relaxed and amused octopus man, "You're right. I should've known you would’ve gotten that covered. Imagine that: ruling all the oceans and being all powerful… in the water. But what about the land? Sure, you may have the power to bring tsunamis and hurricanes, but waves and storms can only get so far inland. Will the ocean be enough for you?"

Instantly responding to your words, you could see his smile flatten as the cogs turned in his head. Apparently, just the water was not enough for him.

"Let's say… a kingdom on land is a good place to start." This was risky, but you really had no choice. If you could somehow manage to trick both the merman prince and human princess, Azul could use the merman prince as a hostage in exchange for the king's triton and he could take the land kingdom from the human princess. How would you do it? You had no idea. It was a work in progress, but it had to be done. When Azul finally gazed up at you with a contemplative expression, you added, "If I help you with this, with getting the king's triton and the nearby land kingdom, I want my freedom in exchange." You already knew how the sea witch operated. There had to be a catch, in case you fail. "If I fail… you can extend my contract."

Quickly he switched from contemplative to talkative, lamenting his worries, “Ah, but you’re priceless to me! As my only eyes and ears on land, how could I let you go? Yes, your proposition sounds attractive, but let’s reconsider this, shall we?”

Damn it! He still wanted more. What a greedy bastard… You wracked your brain for an answer, deliberating on what else you could possibly give in exchange to walk free. That’s when you had it. If you might be able to take the merman prince hostage for the triton, couldn’t you also utilize the human princess in more ways than just for her kingdom? Brightening up, you began, “How about a royal human to do your bidding? How’s that sound?”

Instantly his eyes widened and he couldn’t help but laugh incredulously as he leaned his head against his hand with his elbow propped up against the stone. “A royal? Serving me? Tempting. You drive a hard bargain, my dear diviner. You have a plan in that wonderful little mind of yours, don’t you? Okay, before we change the conditions of this contract, let me hear this plan of yours. Then, I’ll decide.”

You summarized your plan without divulging any bits of the future, not too worried about Azul turning on you because a pair of legs and a trusty ally were required for this plot to work. After describing the details and events that would need to happen as vaguely as possible, you sat upright and watched as he reflected on the proposal. Steadily his contemplative expression shifted, his lips curling into a grin as either something must’ve dawned on him or he came to his conclusion. “Hah, how can I say no to you, my dear? Very well. Because you’ve served me well all these years, I’ll grant you this wish.” Call you crazy, but he actually seemed the tiniest bit sincere when he said that part… In one tentacle, he summoned a quill but of fish bones, which he used to write on the golden contract in neat cursive penmanship. “In order to gain your freedom, you will have to seduce the pretty red prince so he will enter a contract with me to be with you, which will allow me to use him to gain the king’s triton. Then, you must also earn the trust of the human princess and lure her far enough out into sea so that I can take control over her land kingdom, and then she will be the royal that will take your place.”

That sounded good to you. Once you gained your freedom, you’d find a way to get far far away from the water. You’d take enough riches and belongings from the land kingdom’s palace to support yourself and live in splendor. Then, you’d go live a fabulous life somewhere miles and miles away from the ocean. Where this greedy sea sorcerer couldn’t ever reach you, even if he wanted to try and use you as a tool again. It was an ambitious plan, but you’d make it work. Afterall, you didn’t want to try and stick around long enough afterwards to see if the villains would die anyway even after a plot change.

After making the adjustments to the golden contract, one tentacle held it up for you to read and another held up the writing utensil. Azul continued to linger in the water, the rest of his octopus appendages under the surface while his arms were casually folded over each other and resting on the flat rocky surface. When you looked down at him, he flashed a smile and hummed, “This will be a beneficial transaction for both of us, won’t it? Doesn’t it remind you of when we met? You, stuck in the middle of the ocean from a shipwreck, begging me to help. And I, the saint-like man that I am, extended a helping hand to you where you signed the contract that would bind you to me for years. But it hasn’t been a miserable type of existence, has it? The twins should be thanked as well. They’re the reason I even considered accepting your plea, since they had enjoyed your company for years.”

Well, considering how neat and well-decorated the room behind the waterfall was, perhaps this mysterious character you’ve replaced was content here. But you weren’t. You only hummed in response, acknowledging his words as your eyes went over the lines of the contract.

At the very top, read: I hereby grant unto Azul, the Sorcerer of the Sea… one soul, in exchange for… The text went on in detail, describing how in exchange for the original character’s soul, they were granted the power of enhanced breath, giving them more time under water. It must’ve been written in haste, because the signature was sloppy and only read V. Div. Wonder what that meant. It was a temporary deal. Now, there was more written, more added on, to create the current deal you were about to make. It detailed the requirements you would need to meet in order to gain your freedom or increase your sentence as property of the sea sorcerer. There was another line, empty, for you to sign. Snatching up the utensil from his outstretched tentacle, you ignored his growing smirk as you hastily signed: V. Div.

“It’s done then!” Azul cheered, smiling smugly as he snapped his fingers which caused both the writing utensil and contract to disappear.

You’d need to get to work quickly. According to the story, on the same day the sea witch is watching the mermaid princess was not only a day of celebration for the merfolk but also that very night was when she first saw and saved the human prince. Yet, a few minutes ago, Azul had said that the celebration was in a few days time. Which meant, you only had a few days to meet the sea prince and capture his attention. “I want to start work on the plan. Now. Do you think you can get the… twins to change the prince’s course? If they can drive him towards the shore, I might be able to catch his attention.”

“I see…” Imagining the scene that would play out, Azul chuckled and swam a few feet back. “I’m sure you can make an arrangement with Floyd and Jade. After all, they do adore you.”

So that was what they were called here. Floyd and Jade. You’d have to be careful not to mix them up, or they might suspect something would be wrong. What you didn’t expect to see was a flash of teal appear in the water. By the time you turned your head to it, it was already gone. Quickly you scanned the waters, growing a little nervous despite the fact that Azul seemed unbothered as he disappeared underneath the same murky depths the movement was coming from. When you carefully leaned your head closer to the water, you could barely make out the shape of more items below like a mirror, shelves of coral filled with glass bottles of mysterious substances, and openings that must’ve led to an underwater cave system. So Azul likely lived down there with the twins.

When you noticed a slow rippling water effect, you quickly looked up to see teal-colored hair with a pale, a very light shade of cyan, face. But it wasn’t a regular eel like you were expecting, it was half human. Just like Azul, but eel instead of octopus. He poked the top of his head out of the water so only his upturned eyes were visible. On his head, you noticed some strands of black had stuck to each other hung on the right side of his face. His eyes were particularly odd, the left was an olive-color and the right one was a sort of enchanting yellow. Several feet behind him, you could make out bits of what must’ve been his lengthy tail emerge from the water. His gaze focused on you intently, and he appeared to smile with his eyes. You assumed he was smiling, because you couldn’t tell since the rest of his face was hidden by the surface of the water.

Wait a minute… if he had a twin, wasn’t there supposed to be two?

When you looked down at the end of the water you were leaning over, you screamed just as that hidden second eel came swimming toward you at terrifying speed from right below you. Without so much as a warning, you were pulled into the water. Fearful of meeting your watery grave here, you fought in his grasp, which did practically nothing against his strong grip and large slippery tail that coiled around your legs to stop your squirming. You hesitantly, confusedly, stopped your flailing when this second eel let out a joyfully yet somewhat mocking laugh as he held your face above the water.

You barely had time to catch your breath from that mini heart attack, when you finally looked up at this guy. This eel did look extremely similar to the first, but there were a few key differences. This one had downturned eyes, the black strands were on the left, and his left eye was yellow while his right was olive. Yet some things they both had in common were their sharp nails on their webbed hands and their even sharper teeth.

“You let your guard down! Had it been anyone else, someone you couldn’t trust, I could’ve easily drowned you, you know? When will you learn? Humans just aren’t built for water. You got the whole legs thing going on. Look at me! I have feet! You should just let Azul turn you like us, right, Jade?” He mocked what you were guessing was his attempt at a human. It wasn’t a very good one.

You hadn’t even noticed that the first eel was already at your side as well, now both twins were right beside you and you were currently in the water. In the water you were practically at the mercy of these two. The first eel, who was called Jade, spoke more eloquently but you didn’t like his sly curved toothy grin. “It would be fascinating to see their legs twist and morph into a tail or other appendages of some sort, but that is ultimately not up for us to decide, Floyd. If our dear friend doesn’t wish to change and Azul wants to keep them human so they can continue to spy on land, then they will stay human. Although I would’ve enjoyed watching the excruciating transformation process.” You didn’t like the way he said that with a smile…

The other eel, who had been called Floyd, appeared irritated and was ready to say something when his twin pointed to something in his hand. To which immediately he attitude went from sour back to happy in a single instant. Talk about mood swings. Floyd’s deep frown quickly shifted as he held up a sizable clam. “We got you something!”

You didn’t have to worry about drowning… for now. You didn’t even have to waste energy kicking your feet continuously to keep you afloat, because the twins had positioned their tails as support for you to lean on. Now that they had actually let go of you, you didn’t think you were going to die right this second. Especially since one just offered a gift, and Azul would’ve probably interjected to save you, right? Right…? Nervously you smiled, about to accept the clam, “Thank yo––”

CRACK!

In the middle of your sentence, Jade placed a cold hand on your shoulder as Floyd took the clam in both hands and cracked it in half. You were stunned as he discarded one half and presented the other half to you with a proud grin. “There ya go!”

“Ha… Thanks…” You awkwardly accepted the half of the clam that was left. It didn’t fully register in your mind what this gift really was until you had it in your hands and looked down at it. In the half, were pearls. Lots of shining dark pearls that matched your robes. Beautiful pearls, the rare type, that could easily go for over a thousand for a single piece. At least, that was the common price back home. When realization dawned on you, you clutched the pearls close, eyes shining as you looked up at the twins with the brightest smile, “Thank you! Thank you! They’re beautiful!”

Both extremely pleased, Floyd giggled as Jade proceeded to reach for the pearls and spoke, “Allow me.” When you handed them over, he attached two of the orbs to small metal pieces that connected around your earlobe like earrings, and the rest he placed on a black string connected to tiny nets that held the rest of the pearls around your wrist like a bracelet. “They fit you quite nicely, if I do say so myself.”

Floyd flashed a grin, musing aloud, “Hm, what do you think they have for us in return, Jade?”

Your elated smile fell flat as you processed their words. They wanted… something in return?

“That’s a good question, Floyd. I can’t help but wonder as well.” Jade hummed as he pulled away.

Stupid! You’re so stupid! You shouldn’t have accepted those gifts! Judging by their toothy grins, they now expected a gift in return. It wasn’t fair! They gave you one gift, but you’d have to work to get them two gifts, one for each twin! What could you possibly gift something that can be appreciated by two eel-men, eels that you had next to no knowledge about? Wait… the land! They probably might be curious about land objects! Your frown shifted to a confident smug sort of smile as you gestured them closer. “I have an idea. If you guys can take me to the shore and somehow force that red-haired prince to come close enough to see me, I’ll make sure to give you both amazing gifts from the land! How does that sound? You can, well, I don’t care how you do it. You can scare that prince and chase him to your heart's content, for all I care! So, will you help me? Pretty please?”

You watched as the two eels exchanged looks. Their eyes glimmered with mirth and bubbling excitement, seemingly conveying something through their gaze. Must’ve been some weird twin telepathy or something, but you knew you had them hooked when toothy grins spread on their lips.

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

You had been on the surface for a few hours now. Again, without warning, the two eels had dragged you under the surface, rapidly through the underwater tunnels that took a quick minute to navigate. When you reemerged on the other side, coughing out sea water, you cursed the twins. You were certain, had it been anyone else and without the gift of enhanced breath to hold in air longer thanks to the contract, you would’ve probably drowned during the short swim. And you know now for a solid fact, that Floyd and Jade enjoyed tormenting you so. You were tempted to just forget about the gifts in return entirely due to their stunt, but the thought of them being upset and doing something worse refrained you from doing so. Which is why you went a little further inland to gather random things and carry them in the satchel you brought, but when you came back what you didn’t expect to find was a merman. And not just any merman, one with bright red hair and a green tail.

You nearly dropped all your things when you saw him on a large rock out in the water, trapped within a net and seemingly unconscious. Oh my god, had they kidnapped him? The first thing that popped up in your mind is that they jumped him, but you’re really hoping that this was not the case. Leaving your stuff on the sandy beach, you quickly moved forward to wade through the water until you had climbed the rock his motionless body laid on. As swiftly as you could, you cut the net with a broken shard of glass, careful not to hurt the prince.

“Come on, come on…! You can’t stay here too long, someone will see you.” You hissed under your breath. He couldn’t die, not yet. Not when you needed him alive in order to win your freedom. A dead prince wouldn’t be much leverage against the king of the sea. You had no idea what the twins did to him. Thankfully, he didn’t appear hurt, but you hardly knew enough about sea-creature anatomy to be considered an expert, so you couldn’t be sure.

Pulling the net off of him and discarding it on the rock, you heaved it further up so he wouldn’t get trapped in it, before returning your sights to the merman. When you returned to his side, you knelt down to his level, removing the tiny cut pieces of net from him. As your gaze traveled up, you froze when you saw his eyes were open and gazing right at you.

He was frozen, but not in fear. On his handsome face was a sort of expression of wonder. His eyes were blue, as blue as the vast ocean, and they never looked away from you. Still defying the laws of logic, his captivating red hair was practically dry, soft and wavy as it curled down the side of his face and to his lower neck. You ignored the slow movement of his beautiful emerald green tail, trying really hard to not stare at the sparkling scales that shined in the sunlight. What people would pay for a real merman tail, especially one so stunning…

It was time to turn on the act. Slowly reaching forward, you placed a hand on his cheek and frowned in worry as you murmured softly, “Are you alright?”

His mouth opened, but no words came out. He gaped like a fish, slowly blinking, as if he truly didn’t believe his own eyes. When he steadily lifted his own hand to place atop yours that rested on his cheek, his tail began to move a little faster. Then, with no warning, he jumped back into the water.

You sat there, surprised, as bits of the water splashed onto you. “Um… okay. You’re welcome?”

As you stood up, gathering up the net and thinking about different ways you could use it, you felt as if you were being watched. When you looked behind you, you could see the sea prince shyly peeking at you from behind the rock. Just as you tore your gaze away from him, you heard his melodious voice,

“Thank you, for… for freeing me.” He had gained the courage to distance himself from his hiding place, having enough bravery to swim closer until his hands were against the large rock you stood on and he wasn’t hiding his face in the water anymore. The prince watched curiously as you bundled up the remains of the net. It seems he really was a curious one, because he couldn’t help but lean forward and ask, “What are you going to do with that?”

Surprised by his sudden interest, you shrugged. You had to answer, keep him intrigued. You’re hoping your theory was true: that he would fall in love with any human so long as they were interesting or good looking enough, since he must’ve never even seen one so close before. “I’ll probably use it to hold stuff, maybe as decoration.”

He looked astonished as he exclaimed, “I never thought of using nets like that! I should try that for my collection… Oh! I’m Rielle! What’s your name?”

When you hesitated to respond, he appeared nervous, as if beginning to regret telling you his name. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked? But that wasn’t the reason for your hesitance. The reason was because you were debating on whether you should use your name or not. Maybe an alias was better? You thought back to how Azul called you his diviner, and the signature under the contract was V. Div. After a moment, you finally swung the net over your shoulder and replied, “People just call me Diviner, or V. Take your pick.”

“Those are wonderful names! I think I’ll call you both of them!” Rielle responded cheerfully, floating beside you as you wade through the water. He must’ve remembered something, because his joy morphed into nervousness as he looked over his shoulder. “I, uh–– I have to go…! But… can I see you again? Please, Diviner? I’d like to get to know my savior! I know it’s a lot to ask, but I really want to see you again!”

Perfect. You had him, his cheeks painted with that pink hue was evidence enough. When you reached the shore, right at the edge where the waves brushed against your feet, you turned to him, watching as he lay at the very edge of the water, looking anxious as he awaited an answer. You smiled, nodding, “Of course, Rielle. I’d love to see you again!”

The prince broke out into the brightest grin as he threw his arms around your torso, almost dragging you into the water in the process as you had to kneel or he would topple you. The young royal was beaming. When you were on your knees and at his level, he held your arms as he explained, “I can’t wait! Let’s meet tomorrow, right here, at the same time! But you have to promise me, you won’t tell anyone about me.”

“I promise, you have my word. We’ll meet tomorrow. Here.” From your satchel on the sand, you retrieved a hairclip you had found on your scavenging adventure. It was old and rusted, but it was still pretty. When you reached forward, he didn’t move as you used it to decorate his hair. “Just to make sure, I’m giving this to you. So I’m depending on you to take care of it, and have it next time we meet.”

That always works, and it did this time too. Especially since you knew he collected and obsessed over human artifacts and objects. Rielle felt his own locks, and his cheeks turned as red as his hair. “I love it! I adore it so much! I’m never taking it off! I have to go now but… I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?!”

“Okay.” You chuckled at his energy, waving as he began to swim back into the depths of the ocean.

When he was a few feet out, he looked back at you with bright eyes and a wide smile, waving frantically as he called out, “Bye, V! I’ll see you tomorrow, I promise!” With a dive and a glimpse of his tail, he was gone, just like that.

You lowered your hand, sighing. At least that was over. You got him in your grasps now, all that was left was the princess. And if your theory was right just like last time, capturing the human royal’s attention would be even easier. Did all fairytale royals fall in love so easily, or was it just them? You never quite understood the attraction behind each of them.

“Bravo! Well done! I must say, your sweet tone and kind actions directed towards Prince Rielle nearly made me jealous! Your plan went well accordingly, I must congratulate you on a good show! Rielle really is quite… gullible and pathetic, isn’t he?” A voice from your golden shell necklace appeared to speak, like some sort of transmitter.

“Azul?” He saw that, which could only mean… You suspiciously scanned the waters, approaching slowly, until you spotted that familiar teal amidst the waves. You frowned at the two lurking about, and when you were close enough, able to feel the water but still far enough to run back to the safety of the land, you demanded, “What did you do to that poor guy? Do you know how worried I was? I thought I was gonna have to perform CPR on him and then I remembered that probably wouldn’t even work on a fish!” The two, amused by your words, laughed in response.

Floyd giggled, speaking in that shrill tone that could only mean he was in a good mood. “You’re so funny! But why’s it matter what we did? He’s alive, isn’t he? And you said to do whatever we want!”

“That’s true. You did say to do as we pleased. We merely did as we were told. Shouldn’t we be praised?” Jade hummed while eyeing the satchel at your side. “I wonder, did you carry out your half of the bargain?”

“For your information, I did. Go crazy–– Actually, I take that back. I said that last time and look what happened.” You tossed the twins the satchel of goods and treasures you collected, filled with random plants and other useless human items they might take an interest in. As the two rushed to claim their spoils, you gripped the golden shell around your neck while murmuring to the sea sorcerer, “I’m going to keep coming out here to meet with Prince Rielle, gain his trust and affection. In a few days, I’ll be going for the princess next. And I know exactly how I’m going to go about doing it.”

From the shell you heard an intrigued hum. “Oh? Do tell, my dear diviner.”

✧ ✧ ✧ �� ✧

“Child’s play! This is mere child’s play! Even easier than winning a game of chess! It’s too easy!” Azul sang, seemingly in a very good mood ever since you returned to the cavern after successfully seducing the youngest prince of the sea. He had such a wild look on his normally calm and composed face, acting as if he’s already won with that cocky grin and laugh. When he looked at you, he smiled, a true one. Not one of those kinds he forged to coax you into doing something for him. This one was a happy sort of grateful one. “My treasure, you truly are irreplaceable. Even a royal human couldn’t possibly do what you do. I’m beginning to have second thoughts!”

You narrowed your eyes at the octopus man just lounging right past the waterfall. “Watch it. We had a deal.” You warned.

“I jest! Of course…” Before you could notice his strained smile, he switched the subject back to the matter at hand. “Picture it, my diviner. Darling prince, son of king triton, leader of the merfolk, falls hopelessly head-over-heels for human! It would send ripples throughout the entire ocean!”

“Maybe you should’ve opened a news company or something with juicy headlines like those.” You scoffed as you rummaged and organized the belongings of this room that previously belonged to the true diviner before you. You wonder what happened to them?

At your response, Azul laughed. Surprisingly, not another fake one that he used to make clients think they were funny whenever they said a horrible joke. And it wasn’t a concerning slightly maniacal type of laugh like from moments ago. “Perhaps I should, it could be profitable.”

You reemerged from behind the waterfall, walking carefully on the stones as the sorcerer perked up at your presence. “Nice. Glad I can give you an idea with that. Focus on the news later, please. For now, remember––”

“Prince Rielle will enter a nasty spat with his father and so, in his moment of great need, Floyd and Jade will appear to offer him a suggestion. That’s when he’ll come crying to me, begging for a way to be with you! Then, I offer him a deal he cannot resist, one that grants me power over him. That’s the gist of it, isn’t it?” He recited, looking over at you for confirmation. When you nodded, he continued to smile, but he eyed you a little strangely. “I find it a little odd how you know so much. Are you certain?”

Staring right back at him, you locked eyes, attempting to keep your cool and remain confident. If he saw you crack, he’d know something was up. “I told you, it was a dream. So far my dream was right, I say we keep going with it.”

“Yes, yes, whatever, we’ll continue with our chartered course. And by the way, I don’t believe you when you say the prince fell for you just because you’re a human that saved him.”

At his offhand comment, you raised an eyebrow, sitting yourself on the ledge by the water, closer to him to better engage in conversation. Placing aside the belongings for now, you demanded, “What do you mean? Of course that’s why he fell! Why else would he care?”

Upon hearing your confident response, he chuckled, shaking his head as he continued to scribble lines upon lines on his scrolls. “I’ve watched the princes for years, Rielle just happened to be the weakest of all the young royals. Of course you being human, the object of his fascination, and saving him, a hero in his eyes, helped, but that isn’t all. I’ve learned about the prince inside and out to fool him, and he tends to think that most only want him for his voice and for his status. Yet you know nothing of his status, and said nothing of his voice, plus you didn’t frown at his interest in human objects. That must’ve been a first for him.”

Considering his words, it made sense. In a way the reasons behind the prince’s affection made you feel a tad guilty, but it wasn’t enough to deter you from the end goal. Maybe if Azul was feeling merciful, he would spare him. Whatever the case, you wanted your freedom and still aimed to live a life of luxury later on. But slowly you shook your head, “It doesn’t matter. The point is, he’s in love and I have him where I want him.”

“How cruel.” He purred. “I believe I’ve thought up a fine fate for Prince Rielle… I think the sea king’s headstrong, lovesick son will make a fine addition to my garden.”

Right, his garden. Really, it was more like a sick twisted bed of weeds and unfortunate souls. As those words left his lips, you scrunched up your nose in disgust and leaned over the edge of the water to peer at the depths below. It was dark, so you couldn’t see it, but you knew it was down there somewhere in the underwater portion of the cavern. Based on what the three sea creatures had mentioned about it, you knew it was a portion of space where Azul kept those clients that failed to fulfill their contracts, which was essentially all those that ever made a deal with him. His victims, countless merfolk turned to ugly little polyps, forced to spend eternity as miserable little creatures trapped within the garden. What a horrible fate.

Glaring at the murky waters where Azul kept his secrets and deeds hidden from your prying eyes, you scorned, “You’re terrible.”

“Oh, how you wound me!” Azul cried dramatically as he held his hands to his heart… hearts? Didn’t an octopus have multiple hearts? Did that mean Azul has more than one heart? Weird…

As you silently wondered about the heart thing, you stepped away from the water. You didn’t ever want to get on his bad side and get turned into a polyp. Yet, you couldn’t help but wonder, the whole reason you were here was because the one before you failed to uphold their end of the deal, whatever it was. “Why didn’t you put me down there? Down in your garden?”

For a moment, Azul was quiet, which unnerved you. Why didn’t he answer immediately? He lowered a scroll he was reading over, and from the corner of his eyes he glanced at you. His smile now was… different. When one of his smooth but slippery and soft tentacles extended up and curled around your arm, you couldn’t move. Despite how Azul looked, he was much more capable physically. You had watched him juggle multiple tasks with ease by using his many appendages, and he had more than enough power to defend himself from unruly clients. The purple underside of his tentacle stuck uncomfortably to your flesh, preventing you from going anywhere. “Air-breathing little flora won’t exactly last under the salty waves and away from the sunlight. Besides…” The sea sorcerer smirked at you, “I like you as you are, you’re morethan just useful to me.”

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

A few weeks passed, and you continued with that vision of freedom within reach. You spent your hours busy, chatting with Azul and listening in as he lured in clients and trapped them, taking everything they had; entertaining the unsettling twins and listening to their reports and stories as they angered Azul by taking you out of the cavern to have fun in the hidden cove; meeting with Rielle, continuing to gain his affection and earn his love by talking about his stifling life as the son of the sea king and teaching him about the human things he adores. And finally, plotting. Plotting your meeting with the human princess.

The plan was simple enough. In the story, the human prince was saved by the mermaid princess after a storm hit his ship and caused it to sink. The mermaid returned the prince to the land, where he eventually regained consciousness. In his dazed state, he heard the mermaid singing and could just barely make out her face before she disappeared. From that moment forth, he becomes determined to find the woman who saved him, and is convinced that she’s the one meant for him.

Simple enough. All you had to do was insert yourself into the role of savior once again. Jade was tasked with making sure Prince Rielle didn’t see or approach the humans and the ship, while Floyd went with you to… speed up the process. You’ve learned that both twins were destructive, but Jade liked to appear polite and restrained at times, while Floyd was much more willing to wreak havoc with zero reservations. Besides, yes you had enhanced breathing but you couldn’t swim that far out that fast, which is why you required the presence of one of the twins because they were incredibly quick and strong swimmers.

It would actually be Floyd helping you do most of the saving, you were just the pretty face to keep the princess captivated. Which he was totally fine with, because he didn’t have the patience nor the charm to act all lovey-dovey. If it were entirely up to him, he’d toss the princess on the shore and call it a day without even checking if she was actually still alive. Luckily, it’s not up to him. It’s up to you.

You watched the explosions of light and colors, fireworks being fired into the sky off the sailing ship. It was a familiar sight to you, but for a creature of the sea like Floyd, it was not so much. Clinging to his back as he swam along, you noticed he quickened his speed as his eyes were captivated by the light show. “Wow, it’s so bright! I wanna touch it. Hey, hey, you’re human so you know human stuff. What’re those?”

You chuckled at his child-like wonder, shaking your head. “Fireworks, they’re just lights used for celebrations. I don’t think it’s possible to touch them, and even if you could, you might get burned.”

A frown formed on his lips as he complained, “Whaaat? That’s stupid! I wanna catch some fireworks in a jar and take it home to show Jade. Then whenever I shake the jar, it’ll go boom! Making more of those explosions noises and flashing colors!”

Fireworks in a jar under the sea. Huh, that would actually be sorta cool. As Floyd approached the hull of the ship, you released your grip on the eel and grabbed part of the wooden hull. Quietly, you gazed down at him in the water and replied, “Tell you what, I’ll see what Azul and I can do about that for you if this mission ends on a good note. That sound fair?”

“Yeah! Yeah! I––”

“Shh!” Quickly you shushed him, watching as he lowered the rest of his face in the water. But from the sparkle in his eyes, it was obvious he must’ve been hiding a grin. The chattering and voices of those on board with the sound of the waves were loud enough to drown out most noises, but you couldn’t risk anything. “Let’s keep it down, okay? Or they might hear us.”

Floyd continuously gazed up at you, before murmuring, “Hey, when the ship goes down and you’re lookin’ for the princess, can I take one of the drowning sailors?”

For that you had to pause and stare at him, not believing what you heard for a moment. Actually, scratch that, you believed it. That was one of the twins you were talking about. The eel continued to peer up at you with impatience, as if itching to just start the chaos already. When he lifted his head and his mouth was no longer concealed by the water, you saw you were right. Big toothy grin. You sighed, “Fine. One sailor, but do it quickly and quietly, then you find me. Okay?” Better some random sailor be drowned or torn apart by the eel instead of you.

“Okay~! Thank you! You’re the best!” He sang with the brightest beaming smile. To think such a desire for a morbid reason could make him so happy… but you were not going to divulge further into the topic. You didn’t know what kind of fun Floyd wanted to have by tormenting some poor person. But enough of that, you had bigger fish to fry.

For now, you focused on climbing until you peeked past a sizable opening in the side right by where the floor would be. As you peered in, you could hear instruments like a flute and accordion, in rhythm was dancing steps. The candles on board the ship provided plenty of lights, stretching out the shadows across the board. It looked like some nice fun, as everyone appeared to be having a grand old time. There was even a barking dog bouncing around. Right–– you remembered that one, that big dog happened to belong to the princess.

“Max! Come here!” A voice called, whistling and calling the energetic dog toward them.

Target spotted. Off to the side, a little bit away from the dancing crowd, was the very princess you had been searching for. She was pretty, with long hair as black as the night and icy blue eyes. Although, she didn’t dress exactly as you imagined, not really resembling the pictures of princesses of old in your textbooks from school. The princess dressed like a commoner or even a simple sailor, with a loose white blouse, a red sash tied around her hip, and a long but simple skirt that ended just a few inches above her ankles. Yes, she was definitely pretty, but you still didn’t quite get what should’ve originally been Rielle falling in love at first sight with her. Maybe you’d never get it, and it was probably for the best.

“Whatchu’ lookin’ at?”

You gasped at the sudden voice beside you, shocked to see Floyd was so close that he was shoulder-to-shoulder with you. He had somehow climbed the hull when you weren’t looking, and now was curiously peering inside too. When you looked back down, you could see his lengthy tail hanging down the side. When you looked back at him, he was eyeing the humans on board with a mix of confusion and boredom. “Floyd! What are you doing here? What happened to the whole sailor thing?”

“Ehhh, I’ll look for ‘em later.” He shrugged, suddenly losing interest. Maybe that was for the best too. You didn’t need possibly more blood on your hands. Floyd continued to watch the dancing people, resting his cheek flat on the edge where you were both hidden by the shadows and behind barrels and other supplies. “Which one is the princess? I can’t tell. They all look the same to me.”

Hesitantly you used your head to gesture to the woman playing a flute and dancing around with the dog. “Her.” As soon as he honed in on her, you scolded him lightly, “And don’t even think about trying to jump her like you and your brother did to Rielle.”

A fit of giggling came out of him as he lifted his head and glanced at you, “Aw, why not? Why can’t she be the sailor I choose to go after?”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Those razor sharp claws on his webbed hands appeared extra shiny today. They dug into the wooden edge where you both were peering over, carving little splinters of wood off as he hummed, “Hm, I dunno… Maybe I should dare. It would make you stay.”

There was no sign of him relenting, and it was beginning to make you nervous. If Floyd wasn’t willing to help you by the time the storm hit, then you could kiss your freedom goodbye. It almost made you lose your composure, but somehow you managed to stay cool and continue with a soft smile, “What would Azul say if he found out the plan failed because you were feeling possessive?”

Rolling his eyes, he laughed before it turned to whining, like an angry tantrum, “I don’t care what Azul says! I think the contract was stupid anyways. It’s not fair that he gets to decide your fate just because he wants some lame old artifact triton! It’s not fair! No fair at all!” Before he could bang his fists against the hull in frustration, he grabbed onto you, and you felt his weight dragging you down. He was literally trying to pull you back into the water. You couldn’t call for help because the humans would see you and everything would go astray, so you could only desperately hold onto the side until you were yanked down into the sea.

The cold water hit you, sending such a shock through your system, but you weren’t drowning. With your head above the water, you turned to Floyd who kept close. What unnerved you was that he no longer had a dopey smile on his face. “What are you doing…?! You’re going to ruin everything!”

That didn’t seem to weigh too heavily on his mind, because he only scoffed and his frown deepened. “Who cares about some stupid sailors and humans anyways?”

For a moment, you wished you had Azul’s strength so you could defend yourself here. Because you knew, Floyd was much stronger, and the only reason he wasn’t dragging you back like a ragdoll was because he respected you or liked you… somewhat. In his own weird Floyd-way. “I’m human, Floyd.”

“Yeah, maybe, but you're not stupid. Or boring.”

In the distance you could hear thunder rumbling. Oh no. The storm was coming, and if you didn’t change Floyd’s mind, he wouldn’t help you at all. In fact, he might try to get in your way. The waves were starting to become rough and wild, but the eel diligently kept you above the surface at all times no matter how savage the sea became or how the rain began to feel like needles pricking your skin or even how harsh the wind hit you. “I don’t want to live in that cave my whole life! Imagine if you had to live there, and the only way out was to ask someone else to take you or let you out. Wouldn’t you hate that?”

By now he had to shout to be heard over the howling wind, and he didn’t seem convinced. “Hmmm… yeah, but it’s not me. It’s you. Besides, I like you living right there with us.”

When lighting struck the white sails of the ship, setting the sheets ablaze, you knew time was ticking by. Yet you couldn’t snap, because that would only cause Floyd to snap too. You had to stay calm and think, quickly think of a way to convince him to help you. “Azul probably doesn’t want me to leave either, he’ll probably have some plan in mind to trick me at the last minute. Besides, I know you and Jade probably won’t let me leave anyways, even if I really wanted to. But think about it Floyd, if Azul gets that old triton and the land kingdom, he’ll have everything! Even stuff like those fireworks.”

That seemed to have a bit of an effect. You could only watch the ship, half ablaze, crash into jutted rocks, causing many on board to jump and abandon ship. Meanwhile, Floyd was still considering your words. Until what felt like an eternity later, he gazed down at you and spoke. “I wanna see more fireworks with you.”

“What?”

“Is your hearing going or something?” Annoyed, he repeated it louder this time, “I want to see the fireworks with you.”

Finally he was relenting. Hurriedly you agreed, growing more desperate with every passing moment, your calm facade had already cracked long ago, “Alright, we’ll see the fireworks together! With Azul and Jade too, we’ll use enough fireworks to paint the whole sky bright! We’ll even fire some ourselves. Does that sound like a plan to you?”

You impatiently watched his irked expression shift, having to squint your eyes to see through the rain and high and low rising waves. Had it not been for him holding onto you still, you probably would’ve been swept away in the powerful currents. Then, you saw it, a smile tugging at his lips, and he began cheerfully again, “Sounds like a plan~!”

“Great! Mmph––!” With no warning, he dove under the waves, moving much quicker under the water but you could only hold your breath for so long when you didn’t even get an opportunity to prepare yourself. You felt the pressure of the water push on you, soaking you down to the bone, but you continued to hold on to the eel as he swam at an incredible speed. When you heard the muffled sound of an explosion and saw a burst of fire above the water, you knew you only had seconds left.

According to the story, moments earlier, the princess must’ve gone back on the ship to save her dog from the inferno. Her foot would become stuck in the floorboards as the dog she carried made it overboard to a rowboat. But right then, the fires would reach the stored gunpowder, triggering the explosion that would blow the ship to smithereens and knock the royal unconscious, throwing their body into the ocean below.

When you reemerged above the water with Floyd, you saw the sharp jagged rocks, the burning ship slowly sinking, the debris floating all around you, and bits of wood on fire falling down from the cloud of ash and smoke in the sky. The eel had spotted the human princess at the same time you did, and he zoomed right over to her drifting form slipping off a piece of the floorboard. As soon as you were close enough, you grabbed her, holding her tight with both arms as Floyd, not particularly interested in the princess and more intrigued by the shipwreck, held you with one arm.

“I think I want blue fireworks. Do they have blue ones?”

You can’t believe that during all this chaos and while you were still trying to save the princess, Floyd was still on about fireworks. Exasperated, but still trying so hard not to snap at him, you exclaimed with an incredulous sort of laugh, “Yes, they have every color, even blue! Can we please, for the love of god, Floyd, just get her back to shore and go home?”

Thankfully, Floyd didn’t cause any more trouble and the shore wasn’t that far away. You had found a secluded little beach, where you left Floyd in the water and dragged the girl onto the sand, away from the now calm tides. Before it was night when everything happened, but now it was the dawn of morning. You stayed beside the unconscious princess, checking for a pulse, which she still had. In the chaos, the ends of her skirt had gotten torn, she lost her shoes, but she didn’t appear to have any major injuries save for minor scratches and bruises. Slowly she breathed, a sure sign she was alive. Frankly, it was a miracle she even survived that explosion, and it was all for a dog.

Ah–– right. This was when Rielle was supposed to start singing, and the princess would slowly regain consciousness, and would see his face. That was not happening, you were not singing. You were not like that curious merman prince that had taken to happily singing to you whenever you met up with him. Slowly you placed your hand against her cheek, she was still as you quietly hummed, and after a few minutes, as the sun began to shine, she stirred.

A soft smile made its way on her pink lips as she unconsciously pressed her cheek into the palm of your hand. That’s when you noticed her eyes slowly, groggily, opened half-way, and her hand ghosted over yours. She was looking at you tiredly, she probably couldn’t see too well at the moment, but her blue eyes continued to gaze at you with growing awe. “You’re safe now, don’t worry.”

As soon as you heard barking in the distance followed by voices that were getting closer, that was your sign to go. You sprinted back to the water, diving in once deep enough and quickly being snatched up by two eels that took you somewhere hidden to spectate. You were led off to the side, in the shadows of some large boulders, out of sight, close enough to watch but far enough not to hear.

You recognized the large energetic dog that came bounding to its master, and you could guess that the person who followed and appeared quite messy was a servant of the princess that had also survived the shipwreck. The servant helped the royal up, looking incredibly relieved to see them alive. However, the princess, now more awake but still woozy, was frantically scanning the ocean’s surface and the beach around them. An amazed smile formed on her face as she stumbled forward away from the servant, saying something you couldn’t hear, but she held her hand to her heart. Still weak, the servant supported her weight and escorted her away, out of sight, with the dog following in tow.

When the humans and their pet were finally gone, you continued to stand beside the rock, glaring down at the twins. Specifically the one that’s caused you the most trouble so far. That’s when you broke your silence. “I hate you.”

“Awwwwww, I love you too!” Floyd teased, looking so very pleased with himself.

Jade glanced at the two of you, sensing something happened enough to annoy you, which made him smile. “It appears that things went swimmingly in my absence.”

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

More weeks passed, you finally had a moment to relax as you allowed the prince and princess to marinate with their feelings for you. Floyd was somewhere, probably with Azul. When you got back from the mission, the two had gotten into a spat over how the mission nearly failed due to the eel’s mood swings. Which was fine, as long as it didn’t involve you, you didn’t care. You were relaxing, laying on the hammock you set up away from the water but close enough to the waterfall to hear the quiet and calming sound of the running water flowing down into the cavern.

As you lay there in peace, attempting to rest your tired eyes for a few moments. You heard movement. Jade was likely lingering about, doing whatever those eels did in their underwater portion of the cavern, but lately he’s been taking to using your half of the space for his new gardening hobby. It seems he really took a liking to the foraged items you bring, specifically the mushrooms you found. You would consider taking some from his garden and using them in a meal, but Azul warned you that for some reason, Jade liked the poisonous kind, so you were no longer keen on risking anything by going ahead with that idea of yours.

“I should make you aware, the prince came for you a few days ago.”

You stopped using your weight to swing you back and forth slowly on the hammock, only when it stopped did you peek one eye open to look at Jade tending to the various different types of mushrooms growing in the darkest dampest corner of the cavern. “What?”

“Prince Rielle came earlier than you expected. It seemed that he had his dispute with his father already destroying his collection of human artifacts, and you being absent from your usual morning chats with him made him so sick with worry that it drove him to take the drastic measures you predicted.” Jade wasn’t facing you, he was using the freshwater you gave him to carefully sprinkle over his beloved shrooms. “I must commend your odd new divination abilities, they were quite accurate, but not entirely correct. The prince did indeed trade his voice for a pair of legs which he declared he would use to walk and search for you in the land kingdom. The only thing that can save him now, is a kiss from you. So do try to avoid that. I thought it strange that Azul was not entirely… content with the deal, for whatever reason. It seems something was on his mind.”

You narrowed your eyes, focusing intently on the back of his head so he must’ve felt your stare burning holes into the back of his skull. You knew that he knew you were watching, judging by his quiet chuckle, the quick rise and fall of his shoulders from his short laugh. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Isn’t it common courtesy to compliment companions? I only wish to have a nice conversation with you, my dearest friend…” For a second he paused, he continued speaking clearly and smoothly, but everything he said in that tone he always used sounded like a lie, a trick, words meant to put you at ease and lure you into a false sense of security. Yet, you didn’t know if he was telling the truth or not, you couldn’t trust him. While his twin preferred to cause turmoil with his stubbornness that caused frustrations and wreckages, Jade preferred to go with the flow, confuse and disorientate his victims. “I only wish to help you with your dream of freedom. By the way, you needn’t worry about the prince or the princess. I made sure the tides and his friends carried Prince Rielle to shore. He happened to meet Princess Erika, and last I checked, both were searching for someone and they had joined forces to search for their true love. It seems that Princess Erika has spent the last weeks searching high and low across the land for you, while Prince Rielle has been concerned for you and plans to find you as well. Of course, neither royal knows they’re in love with the same person.”

For a second, you had to refrain from sighing. Actions spoke louder than words. Yes, you were relieved that the two hadn’t fallen in love with each other and were still focused on you, but you couldn’t let them stay together for long. If only you could actually choose both of them and live off the wealth their two kingdoms acquire, but alas, you already made a deal with Azul. Well, that aside, Jade had called you his dearest friend. Part of you didn’t know if that was just sweet talk to get you to lower your guard, or if he was being sincere. Azul had once mentioned that the twins adored you, but if this was their way of adoration, then it was weird and you didn’t want it. But, you decided to test your luck and prod with a scoff, mocking his previous words. “Dearest friend, hm?”

“Of course. However, you’ve become much more interesting these past few weeks.” Jade finally turned to glance at you with a sort of smile that you weren’t sure how to describe. His fingers ghosted over his beloved plants as he recounted, “When we were children, Floyd and I had never seen a human until you. When we lured you out to sea, you didn’t cry or scream, you were calm and amused us with your words. So, we became friends. Azul didn’t meet you until later, but he didn’t hold the same high opinion of you as my brother and I did. It was only later, when you were in your hour of need and with a kind word from us, did Azul finally take an interest in you as a tool for his business ventures. And I can’t help but notice that his disinterest in you lately has changed. It’s as if… you no longer are the same friend I once knew.”

You felt yourself go still, keeping your gaze on the few stalactites on the ceiling above, because you felt him staring at you with those mismatched eyes. Ever so slightly, his tone shifted, losing its charming feel to it.

“Should anyone I trust and call my friend choose to betray me, there is a special treatment I’ve prepared just for them. In truth, I’ve prepared several options, but I’m sure I can imagine more on the spot.” The longer he spoke, the more the growing horror slipped through your calm facade, making it crack as he went on and on with a cruel toothy grin. “The prince you fooled traded his voice away just to be with you again, so one could cut off your tongue and say you match him in muteness. On the other hand, there’s the princess you saved, I could tie you to a sinking surface as you pray she finds you before it’s too late. Ah, but then there’s your ability to breathe underwater longer, as granted by Azul. Well… in that case, I could still watch you drown as you wait with your waning breath, chained to the bottom of the seas with only fear and your thoughts swirling about as you reflect on every moment you tricked me and my brother until your lungs reach their limit and implode––”

There was no other way out, you were trapped in here with this monster. The only way out was the underwater portions of the cavern which you couldn’t reach because Jade would catch you the moment your toes touched the water. You would starve in this cavern, that is if they didn’t use some other twisted magic to bring about your demise. You would die here.

Then, his smile shifted as he noticed your visible panic and fear, before he tilted his head and chuckled, “Heh, of course, this is all hypothetically speaking. You weren’t my friend to begin with, so I hold no ill-will towards you. But I must tell you, you’ve been of great company to me recently. When Azul placed a contract on my human companion, I saw them begin to wither with the lack of freedom and heavy duties. But I’m assuming that changed when you, my new friend, arrived.”

That kind smile of his unnerved you after everything he said. To think you had actually been hanging out with this guy before and having nice conversations with him a few days ago, you were blinded by the gifts he brought you… That’s when a thought came to you. You felt your heart stop as you hopped off the hammock and demanded with as much of a composure as you could gather after his freighting words, “Does Azul know…?”

“...” His silence unnerved you, you wanted to snap and just tell him to spit it out, but you knew then that if you did that, he wouldn’t tell you at all. For now, he’d only hang the answer above your head, use it to make you impatient and frustrated. That was what he wanted. After a moment of seeing you remain calm, he slowly nodded, “This is Azul we are speaking about. I’m sure even in your short time here, you realize that he isn’t a man that leaves any stone unturned or coral unsearched when it comes to important business opportunities for him. And this opportunity you’ve presented him happens to be the most bountiful of all.”

Jade was right. It would be more shocking if Azul didn’t know by now. Afterall, you could only resemble someone you didn’t even know for so long. And if he knew, he was likely plotting to keep you here. You knew how the sea sorcerer worked by learning about him with your time here and by knowing the fairytales.

By now, the eel had swum closer, apparently deciding that this conversation was much more interesting than his mushroom garden. “I’m assuming Floyd hasn’t yet realized, or else we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

Oh no, you did not want Floyd finding out. You had no clue how he would react. You were hoping that he was more fascinated like Jade was, but you couldn’t even be remotely certain as to how that would go. Ignore that topic, you switched it to another person to be wary of, the one you’d be tied to for an eternity if you didn’t escape his slippery clutches soon. “Are you going to tell Azul?”

For a moment he appeared to ponder on the idea, and as he lifted his head out of the water, you saw that grin that placed you on edge. Now, you were too nervous to get close to him in fear of the malicious threats spewing out of his mouth earlier. You had a feeling that he wasn’t lying about all that. His eyes seemed to glow a tiny bit as he hummed, “Contrary to what most believe, I’m not here for the money or because I’ve known Azul for years. He even instructed me not to let you out at all anymore unless he approved, especially now that he’s gone to retrieve his reward from the prince. It seems he doesn’t want you seeing others. But I serve whoever presents more interesting opportunities for me. I wonder, what more wondrous things and moments can you share with me, my friend, hm?”

Oh my god, Azul was minutes away from getting the triton, that is if he didn’t have it already. You had to get out of here. Now. “Actually…” You were beginning to concoct a plan of your own. Perhaps you could still fulfill your contract, even if the sorcerer would get in your way. If you had to guess, the twins were meant to be an obstacle. However, if you could get them on your side, then things would go much smoother. “I have something in mind, if you’re willing? But it involves me leaving the cave.”

Jade smiled, “No, I’m not willing.”

Well, that didn’t go according to plan. But you can’t say you didn’t try. Your last resort now, before Azul could return and somehow force you to remain as some eternal slave, was to escape on your own. You did your part, didn’t you? Sort of… You seduced Rielle so he entered a contract with Azul, you seduced Erika so she was always by the water now looking for you, it was the perfect set up for Azul. You did essentially everything he wanted you to do.

When the eel disappeared into the waters, that’s when you took action. You weren’t going to risk swimming and getting lost in those underwater tunnels only to get caught by Jade, oh no. If you couldn’t escape below, you’d escape above. With all the nets you had gathered from your scavenging and the time you had alone behind the waterfall, you made a fine sort of escape to climb, if you do say so yourself. It was definitely long enough to reach the very top where the water was coming from. So when Jade was nowhere to be found, you tied one end of the net to a hook and tossed it to the top. Pulling on it, testing its strength so it wouldn’t drop you down into your own personal prison, once you deemed it sturdy, you began to climb. You couldn’t manage to escape last time in your world, but now you could, and you’d get the freedom you desired.

Once at the top, you heaved a giant sigh of relief, part of you not believing it was that easy to get out. The only reason you got out with no issue was because Azul wasn’t present to open his hand and beckon you to come closer, with the magic shell necklace dragging you forward. As you picked up the pace to a run, you tried to remove the necklace, smash the shell, something–– but it never budged. The necklace was the shackles tying you to the sea sorcerer. You could only hope that it had some limit, like it wouldn’t work if you’re several miles away from this place. At this rate you don’t care where you went, you just had to get away before he became too powerful and dangerous.

Hey, on the brightside, maybe with his new power over the sea and part of the land, he’ll lose interest in you entirely! Yeah! If you were in his position and had control over the entire ocean and a whole kingdom on land, you wouldn’t care for anyone else, not even a human who had helped you get to that point. If you were Azul, you’d forget all about the human and instead focus on your newfound riches and power all at your disposal. That placed you at ease, and cleared your mind enough to allow you to focus on the most important matter at hand: your escape.

You needed to get far far away, go somewhere new and start with a fresh slate, seduce some lords or heiresses, maybe even a king or queen, and begin the life of luxury and wealth you deserved. You found your ticket out on a boat preparing to set sail. Yes, it was risky, but according to the tale, the sea witch never sunk any ships. The ships she had been impaled with and tried to use were all older vessels that were already at the bottom of the sea. So, you would be good. With ease you snuck onto the ship as the crew was nearly done loading the cargo. You blended in as one of the people onboard, only feeling better when the ship officially left the port.

The sun was setting, but you could enjoy its fading warmth on your skin and listen to the waves that rocked the ship gently like a cradle. The sky was painted a deep purple, the orange and red fading the more the sun inched down the horizon, making it darker and darker. For the first time in a while, you were at peace, you felt free already. There were no eels to torment you or no octopus to pester you, not even the merman that sang about love or the human princess––

“Excuse me?”

The sudden voice caused you to snap out of your train of thought. Slowly you removed your arms from the edge where you had been leaning, and you glanced back, prepared to smoothly slip your way out of this one should it be someone questioning who you were and why you were on this ship. However, as soon as you turned your head and quickly flashed your practiced smile, it dropped just as fast as you put it on. There, standing behind you, was the human princess, gazing at you with those beautiful icy blue eyes.

“I’m sorry, but you look so familiar…” As her eyes stared intently at your face, she visibly brightened up, a smile forming on her lips as she spoke hopefully, “We’ve met before, haven’t we? I knew it!” Taking your hand in hers, she continued to peer up at you while going on joyfully, “You’re the one! The one I’ve been looking for! What’s your name?”

It took everything not to just jump overboard right at that second. In your head, alarms were blaring, but you somehow managed to keep in your mess of emotions as you forced that smile back into place on your face. “It’s… V.”

“V… V!” She laughed, embracing you tightly, much to your surprise. “I’m so happy I found you! I wanted to thank you for saving me, but I couldn’t find you anywhere, no matter how much I searched! To think that you would end up here, on the ship I prepared to search for you on! I couldn’t find you in town or in the woods or anywhere! So I figured the only other place you could be was maybe in the water, maybe you lived in the coves or caverns! And here you are!”

You needed to get off this damned ship––

“Well, well, there you are. I was worried for a moment when you were nowhere to be found.”

At the end of the ship, near where the captain was supposed to be steering, was the very person who you were running away from, your captor and now, based on his new accessories, the new king of the sea. The five sharp white shells stringed with tiny pearls decorating his silver hair like a halo, made him look like royalty. It must’ve been a crown. In between his slim fingers, he tightly held the large golden triton. The triton glimmered like a giant knife in the fading light now blocked out by an increasing number of gray clouds heavy and pregnant with a storm. He had spoken loud and clear, causing everyone on board to notice his presence, making all onlookers gasp in horror at his inhuman appearance.

When his eyes turned to you, you felt a chill travel down your spine. There was no escape.

His black appendages curled around him in an unruly mass, taking up a considerable amount of space. Although he may have looked like a monster to everyone, including the princess standing protectively in front of you, you might’ve been in awe if you weren’t so fearful of losing your freedom. Part of him was beautiful, but his endless greed and this sort of crazed look in his eyes made him look frightening.

“You left our cozy little abode, but you led me right to the princess, so I can’t be cross with you. I couldn’t ever stay mad at you, my precious treasure. But… I was prepared to give you everything your heart could desire, my dear diviner. The world would become your oyster. I’ll lift shipwrecks off the ocean floor and empty them of all their treasures for you. I’ll summon storms and waves to drown any enemy you name. I’ll use all the magic in my disposal, all the magic in the world, just to amuse you and keep you beside me longer. Everything… Everything would have been yours…!” He stopped his growing rant, taking a deep breath, a forced sigh as he breathed, “But at least I’ve found you.”

Your necklace! He was still tracking you, he did still want you for whatever selfish reason. And now, he had the triton in hand. Which meant he must’ve already encountered Rielle again, and forced the king to give up himself in order to replace Rielle’s name in the contract. Who knew what he did to Rielle? He likely used the triton to end him swiftly, to make sure no one would get in his way.

Azul eyed the princess with disdain, “I no longer want that useless girl. No princess or even a prince could ever live up to your worth.” Without warning, he started crawling, and fast. With no legs, he couldn't run or walk like a human. So he crawled like some desperate creature, clawing his way forward with his tentacles dragging behind him, terrorizing all those on board and making them run and part ways for him to continue forward like a train at high speed. When he closed in on them, it only took one appendage to slap away Erika like she was nothing but an annoying buzzing fly in his way.

At inhuman speed, he grabbed you as you fought in his slippery grasp and screamed, “I have nothing more to give you!! Why can’t you just let me go?! You have everything!”

“Not everything, angelfish.” He chastised, wasting no time jumping into the sea until you were both under the cold water. When he tapped your chin with the sharp end of the triton, he instructed, “Breathe. Let’s make another deal, this one you will want to hear out.”

Hesitantly, unsurely, you breathed, watching bubbles emerge from your breaths, surprised to see it worked. It must’ve been the magic of the triton he touched you with. That’s when you finally spoke, snapping, “Why would I make another deal with you, you lying cheat?”

For a moment, he actually looked hurt, before he snapped back. “That’s amusing, coming from you. You were ready to run away before our deal could properly be completed!”

“I did everything you wanted, you had all the pieces! You won’t grant me the freedom you promised! I know how you work. You’re a sham! You planned to keep using me as a tool!”

Pursing his lips, Azul paused before replying, “Yes, I did. But that was before. That’s when I believed you were the V I knew before, but then I noticed you were acting strangely. Your so-called prophecy dream, your words, your actions, it was all off. You weren’t the same person.” As he spoke, his appendages let go of you, but they remained lingering behind and around you, trapping you in like a cage where your only option out was him. The sea sorcerer. “I saw it clearly. Those wretched little royals don’t deserve you! Prince Rielle is gone, and I ordered Floyd and Jade to sink Princess Erika’s ship, they get to do as they please with the humans on board. You won’t be seeing neither the princess nor the prince anymore, they won’t be pestering you. Onto more interesting topics. You’re something special, something otherworldly, am I wrong…? I read it in ancient texts once, about how sometimes there are people who mysteriously replace someone, and those people are not from anywhere known. You were banished from your world, just as I was banished from my home. They forsake us because they fear us, but we’re better now. You know what it’s like to be looked down upon, and you loathe it, don’t you?”

When he saw you were frozen, hanging to his every word with familiarity flashing in your eyes. The judges looked down at you, and the mere thought that everyone back home was watching your last moments at the trial with disdain… You must’ve been a criminal because the court said so, right? At that moment back then, you wanted to prove everyone wrong. You weren’t just some lowly nobody that should be forgotten and left to rot. You had worth, and skills, looks, personality, everything that could outweigh anyone.

He knew he was right. “I’m right, and you realize that. I said I don’t have everything. There’s one more thing that can make me the happiest man in the world. And that is… you.”

You felt his tentacles against your back, forcing you closer and closer to him until you were inches away from his face, his eyes gazing at you with a mix of greed and pleading.

But his voice, his assertive voice, was losing his confidence. The more he spoke, the more frantic and desperate he sounded, making you believe that even though he was pleading, you wouldn’t exactly be granted a choice in whatever he was about to offer up to you. “Let this be our final eternal contract. Be mine not as a tool or property, but as a partner. W-With you, we can rule not only the entire ocean but every inch of land too! I know what you want, I see it in your eyes and I know it because you’re like me…! I need you...! You need me! You don’t want freedom, you want wealth, power, and glory!" Slowly, steadily, all his appendages wrapped around you, constricting you, binding you in place. There was no real choice, no freedom, that was an illusion. The only choice he was offering was him. "Join me, sign the new contract, and you can have it all… But only if you choose me. Come on now, make your choice, we don’t have all night, my Dear Diviner!”

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