#the next part is them running away and then as i said before it's ming time ^^

[jinkisbelly]

Sorcerers’ Apprentice 17/31

Inktober Day 17: Swollen or a Flashback to them making their soul bond, there is blood mentioned in this as part of the process

w/c: 1.5k

Masterlist  / AFF / AO3 (slowly)

                Jonghyun softly ran his fingers through Jinki’s long hair as he frowned deeply seeing the strip of white through the black locks. The last few years had proven to be hard on the prophet. The King pushing him harder and longer to produce as many visions and details of the Dark Sorcerers as he could. In doing so the white began to show in his hair near his right temple. Tonight he had arrived with the use of a thick cane he had bought a few months before when walking unassisted became difficult.

                After eating some of the bread Jonghyun had baked and drunk the tonic he made for him, Jinki had curled up on the bed using Jonghyun’s tummy as a pillow. He was facing away, but Jonghyun knew his eyes were closed, for he always did when his hair was being played with. Jonghyun lifted his gaze from the back of Jinki’s head to the book on the table across the way. He had found it when exploring the old library, back in the deep reference section. It described a powerful spell called a soul bond, one that connected two sorcerers until they were almost one. It described instances of powers being shared between the two individuals, spells power increased simply by being connected, and being such a deep connection it was painful to break.

                They had discussed marriage offhandedly, not serious enough to mean anything. Jinki had smiled so sweetly at the thought, leaning over and kissing his temple with a quick ‘Marrying you would be a dream’, before returning to his book. Jonghyun felt the truth in such a statement, but he also desired to be connected to Jinki in a deeper way. He loved him so much. Never had he felt all consumed by love for another, such a raw and passionate emotion it sometimes left him breathless. Before he lost his courage, he softly called out, “Love?”

                The quiet noise Jinki made could only be described as adorable as he turned onto his back, shifting his head to look up at him. His eyes slowly opened, a sweet and warm smile on his face. “Hey~”

                “Are you feeling better?”

                “I am,” His hand was soft as he intertwined their fingers the best he could. “Thanks to you.”

                 “I’ve been thinking about something that I’ve been researching lately.”

                 “Oh?”

                Chewing on his bottom lip, Jonghyun’s gaze fell from Jinki’s, chest feeling a little tight in his nervousness. He met Jinki’s eyes as he asked, “Have you ever heard of a soul bond?”

                 “The memory is vague, but I believe I have.” Jinki moved his thumb on the back of Jonghyun’s hand. “It’s the connection between two sorcerers’ souls, binding them by powerful magic, right?”

                “Yes.”

                “What have you been thinking about it, exactly, Dear One?”

                 Jonghyun flashed a tiny smile, breathing out quickly, “For once I wish you’d read me again.”

                 Slowly, Jinki rose from his thigh. After letting go of his hand he swung a leg over Jonghyun’s lap, straddling him and wrapping his arms around his neck. “I don’t have to use my abilities to read what’s on your mind, Beautiful. I wish you weren’t so hesitant to open up your desires to me.”

                 “If you ended up deciding you didn’t want to be that deeply tied to me,” He rose his hand to caress his cheek softly. “I don’t know what I’d do. I love you so much Jinki. I know what the crown says about marriage and commitment of it’s sorcerers, but I-”

                “I’d leave it all for you, Dear One.” Jinki quickly cut him off, leaning forward to press a few light kisses on each corner of his lips. “You are the only good thing in my life, Jonghyun. I’d have to research what a soul bond is, more than what I know from stories my master used to tell me, but the thought of being so intertwined with you it’s as if we’re one heart,” He grins widely and it knocks the breath out of Jonghyun’s lungs. “It’s exhilarating.”

                “So you’ll think about it?”

                “Yes.” After sweetly kissing him he whispered against his lips, “I love you more than anything else, Dear One.”

------

                It was a few weeks later they stood a step away from each other, reading the other’s expression for any signs of doubt. Soon it would be midnight on the first full moon since they decided this is what they wanted. Jinki looked so bright and warm with the weeks he had hidden away from any of the King’s demands, knowing that they need him well rested if this was going to work. Behind them was the prepared cauldron. Each ingredient was already measured out in separate tiny bowls and Jonghyun’s silver ceremony knife he got as a gift from his Master at the end of his apprenticeship was laying on the dark blue velvet it was stored in usually.

                “Are you ready?” Jonghyun quietly asked.

                “We can’t reverse this, Dear one, not without a lot of pain.” Jinki caught his slightly curled hand swinging next to his side, intertwining their fingers. “To feel you as intimately as this will allow, so close… I am sure in my decision, so please don’t mistake my intention when asking if you’re sure this is what you want for second thoughts, Jonghyun.”

                “The one thing I’m entirely sure of is us.” He pushed up to kiss his lips, bumping noses as he pulled away. “I may not be a prophet, but I know we were meant to meet that day Jinki. I’m sure. I want this. I want you.”

                Jinki kept hold of Jonghyun’s hand as he led them over to the table, only letting go of it so they could add the ingredients. The old book was open on the small stand they used for the potion book Jonghyun was writing. With each different ingredient added they began to sing until finally, Jinki picked up the delicate handle of the knife. Carefully, he pressed firmly from his the bottom of his ring finger to the end of his palm on his left hand with a deep hiss. Then as he cradled his cut hand he handed the knife to Jonghyun. Once he had done the exact same the knife was discarded on the table.

                They pressed their palms together, continuing the song as they lowered their intertwined hands into the brew in the cauldron. Once the liquid had covered both of their hands, they felt it. The exhilarating rush of power and presence as the connection clicked together and solidified. Their breathing hitched just for a moment, hearts pounding rapidly as the felt the full force of the bond.

                With their hands still under the brew, they stepped around the small table until they could kiss. Jonghyun’s free hand curling tightly in Jinki’s shirt, as Jinki had his hand pulling him closer on his lower back. The kiss was messy and opened mouth. The feeling of their new bond almost addicting. All the new sensations crashing together and swirling around. All there was to them then was the other man. Nothing else mattered. When they finally pulled apart enough to speak Jinki roughly panted. “I feel so much of you.”

                “My senses are going insane. I feel so tingly all over and God,” Jonghyun had a dazed smile on his face, eyes wide as he stared at Jinki, “Do you really see the world like this? Images of the past and future keep coming and going, I- I thought I’d feel overpowered, swollen almost, with everything but..”

                “It just feels right.” Jinki laughed, light and airy as he kissed him quickly. “So right.”

                When they managed to clean and wrap each of their wounds they couldn’t find it in themselves to tidy up the rest. For they were too caught up in the way everything felt so vibrant and alive. The smallest touch, a whisper against skin, a kiss. All they could bring themselves to do was lay on the bed and explore the feeling of the other’s face against their fingers. The sensations brand new even if they knew the other’s features better than their own some days.

                Jinki hadn’t felt that renewed and centered in years, feeling the ebb and flow of their powers swirling around between the two of them. Jonghyun saw the world in such a different light. He could see little images of their lives together, memories so clear and vivid he knew them to be visions of the past. Flashes of ones that hadn’t yet occurred he knew to be possible futures for them. He opened his mouth slightly, about to let the familiar three words roll off his tongue, but as Jinki slowly smiled he knew he didn’t need to say them. For they both knew. They could feel the rush of warm, deep affection for each other.

[sokkalore]

Would you perhaps want to list your favorite xie lian simping for hua cheng moments? Like we all know HC is a major simp but XL honestly is too and I love it

this ask makes me so happy that i decided to dedicate an entire highlight color to annotations of characters acting like whores . ok here we go.

xie lian's obsession with hua cheng's legs, hands, etc. this starts even before he sees hua cheng's face, in any form:

"Those black leather boots were wrapped tight, and going upwards there were a pair of long and slender legs, looking extremely beautiful as they walked." this is chapter 8.

in chapter 16 hua cheng just. picks up a bag of junk and walks away with it and, "He watched as the lanky youth walked away with his giant bag of junk as if it was the most natural thing to do in the world, and it made him mutter 'forgive my sins' inwardly."

when they're actually in the banyue arc properly: "Xie Lian turned to see San Lang striding with his lithe long legs towards him." like we get it bestie we get it.

he also describes hua cheng's hand as, "...long and shapely, clean and elegant, a beautiful hand. It wasn't a vulnerable kind of beautiful, but rather, there was a strength hidden beneath the muscles. It was a hand that one wouldn't want to have choking their throat."

physical attraction aside, xie lian is just absolutely obsessed with hua cheng's sense of humor. hua cheng raises an eyebrow and xie lian is like, "he's the funniest person to ever exist." some examples:

when hua cheng lies about the general's tombstone saying everyone should kowtow before it three times just bc they were laughing at the general's death and xie lian is like "why are you so mischievous?" and hua cheng sticks his tongue out and they both share a little giggle

it would take a while to find every example of this but open up to a scene where hua cheng is making fun of someone (probably fx or mq) and you will find xie lian giggling to himself or smiling fondly

xie lian always just wants to be. near hua cheng:

he gets legitimately sad when they're apart for more than like, 48 hours. this happens after the banyue arc, after the qi rong beat down, in the very small space between their ghost city date and them meeting back up again for domestic puqi shrine times, in between mount tong'lu opening and the end of brocade immortal arc like...any time they're separated for a short amount of time (or a year) xie lian is NOT happy about it. clingy!

but even when he is literally with hc, he likes being as close to him as possible. in gambler's den, "Xie Lian was content to just watch from the background, but the moment he heard Hua Cheng's voice, he started trying to push himself through the crowd."

xie lian is constantly grabbing onto hua cheng's hand. to the point that when he instinctually reaches for it post CPR attempt/coffin scene he has to like. shake himself and be like stop. you whore. stop it. that's too much.

the part when pei ming is like hey is it? convenient? to have a red string dangling between the two of you? and xie lian gets legitimately SAD when hua cheng makes it invisible

this ended up more romantic than simping which is what you asked for so. to finish off, a few more moments that i have highlighted purple for whore:

when they're in qi rong's lair and the way xie lian tells us that hua cheng is now in disguise is, "...the one standing next to him wasn't the exceptionally handsome red-clad ghost king he knew,"

every time xie lian gives us a detailed description of hua cheng's widow's peak

in sinner's pit when he describes hua cheng's jawline for like three paragraphs and is only interrupted when ke mo starts yelling

when, in the aftermath of the underwater kiss, xie lian says, "Every time they met, Hua Cheng looked good in different ways," and (here's the start of the widow's peak mentions), "...above Hua Cheng's forehead was a widow's peak, and it made his face look even more shapely and alluring."

when hua cheng wore all black and, "Looking at him, Xie Lian couldn't help but remember the saying: 'for men to look handsome, they must dress in all black.' He thought deeply about the truth of that statement."

like two chapters later when xie lian literally can't focus on sqx being missing because hua cheng keeps changing outfits and xie lian cannot stop staring at him

in mount tong'lu when they're running from bwx and hua cheng says something like oh if he kills one of my butterflies i'll make ten more, i'll never back down, let's see who's left standing in the end and we get, "Xie Lian's heart skipped a beat for some reason, and he mumbled inwardly, '...Oh no, this is bad.' Even though Hua Cheng's expression was subconsciously displayed, Xie Lian really was quite weak to this aggressive and rebellious confidence of his."

when qi rong said that hua cheng only got attention from girls in puqi because it's a remote place and xie lian thinks to himself, "Even if Hua Cheng was dressed like a beggar, Xie Lian believed, should he go begging, he would collect a mountain of gold."

OK I'M STOPPING HERE BECAUSE THIS POST IS SO LONG but. this isn't even close to a comprehensive list but i hope it satisfied what you were looking for 😭

[mrpenguinpants]

Xiao: Protective HCs

We’re really on a Xiao train huh. I’ve got 10+ rq for him lol. I’m going to assume you meant for s/o and Xiao to already be together but I’m not sure how to word this, so I went with protective HCs. I still included your request.

Probably the most self indulgent OOC thing I’ve ever written but I’m tired and I need to sleep. Gonna post this then run away and hide for the next couple hours.

Here’s a bit of a spoiler for the next Xiao fic that’s coming aha 💕

Semi Part 1: Friendship

Semi Part 2: Falling in Love

Semi Part 3: Cuddles

Semi Part 5: Affection 

Semi Part 6: Jealously

Semi Part 7: First Kiss

Semi Part 8: Opposites Attract

Semi Part 9:  String of Fate [Soulmate] HCs

Semi Part 10:  [ Fainting ]

---

Xiao: Protective HCs

Xiao walks the in-between line of protective and possessive. He doesn’t interact with a lot of people and the last time he did, it didn’t go so well. He’s still getting used to these feelings of love and affection that he doesn’t know how to handle them. It’s new and a lot more complicated than fighting and he does not want to fight you.

On one hand, he want’s to keep you beside him but you’re an adventurer. You would have never met him if you never stepped foot outside your door. This is his first time experiencing this strong of an attachment to anything and after the insecurity and subtle advances you both made, you’re finally together and he doesn’t want to let go. Not even an inch.

But he’s sensible and cares for your happiness. So you’ll both share your moment’s when you’re together in secret.

It’s not as if he wants to keep your relationship a secret or is going out of his way to hide his affection for you. Adepti mostly stay hidden and Xiao is relatively unknown so the only ones that are aware of your relationship are Ming and Verr, the innkeeper. He still want’s to keep your relationship hidden because of possible threats to you if anyone were to find out that one of the Yaksha had a significant other, but also because it gives him an odd sense of selfishness.

He has his responsibilities as an adepti and to Liyue but he can push that aside when he’s with you. There's no need to worry about the demon’s that scratch at his back when he has your arms around him. It makes him feel even more protective of your wellbeing and makes his blood burn whenever he thinks of anything or anyone harming you.

Xiao keeps his words short so flowery language isn’t something he does. But he is observant.

You seemed to have a strong fixation on his red and blue sleeve. He asked you about it when he saw you eyeing it and you mentioned it was warm. So he gave it to you to keep. Something to remind you of him whenever you’re travelling. In exchange, you gave him the end piece of your gold and green pin which he fashioned around his left arm glove. He feels an odd sense of satisfaction when he see’s you greet other’s with his clothing around you. But also ignores the stare that Verr shoots to the roof of the inn.

His sleeve is enough of a deviation from your normal clothing that it must be either a gift or something handed down from your family. You are also missing your pin which should be enough hint’s that you’re already taken, but some culture’s aren’t aware of Liyue custom’s and traditions. To be frank, tradition’s have been decaying overtime even to Liyue citizens.

So when he sees someone flirting with you and complimenting your odd but unique choice in style, he might get a bit irritated but he won’t step in unless the person start’s pushing too many boundaries. Even if you can handle yourself perfectly fine Xiao is direct. If he see’s something might happen he’ll be sure to stop it before it hits that point.

When you do turn them down he feels his heart swirl with something and a deep feeling of happiness settles over him. It pulls a small smile onto his face but will quickly vanish when he catches Verr looking at him.

Verr might make a small remark that maybe he should adopt some flirting techniques. He doesn’t give her any action to show that he heard her but she knows.

It was one of those rare day’s where Xiao wanted to hold you instead of the reverse. You were both lying on top of the roof together as his sleeve was wrapped around your shoulders to keep you warm. He had said that as an adepti, he doesn’t experience the heat or cold like human’s do so you were free to keep the sleeve.

“I hope you don’t go chasing after them,” you commented as you felt his arm’s stiffen just a tad before relaxing. You thought back to that moment where someone had stopped you on your way to Xiao to compliment your sleeve. You assumed at first they were being nice since it was really pretty until they started asking about more personal things. You didn’t need to look up to feel those same piercing eyes on you. It would have been a bit amusing if you didn’t suddenly fear for someone else’s life.

“Of course not, I’m an adepti,” Xiao huffed as he eyed the pin on his glove, the one you had given him, “Although, this only prevents me from hurting them myself. Doesn't stop them from getting hurt in other ways.”

“Xiao!”

A soft huff escaped his chest as he felt you softly slap his arm. His eyes glanced around in uncertainty as his fingers slightly curled inwards. Maybe it was the weather, but he was starting to feel a bit warm as he slowly raised a hand to run his hand through your hair and push your face a bit closer to him.

“I have my reasons to not associate with the mortal realm, but responsibilities are responsibilities. You are perhaps my most troublesome yet most beloved,” he whispered so quietly you almost missed it if you weren’t so close. You felt your face flush all the way to red as you buried your head closer to his chest so he wouldn’t notice. Not that he could, seeing as he had hidden his face in his hand to will away the pink creeping up his neck.

“Where did you learn such things? If you say that I think I might actually die. Give me a second to at least prepare my heart,” you mumbled softly, pulling his sleeve closer to cover your ears.

[marshmallow-phd]

Healing Touch

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Wolf!AU

Pairing: Yixing x Reader

Summary: Medical school abroad was the last line on your to-do list before starting the rest of your life. Everything was going according to plan. Everything, that is, until tragedy strikes your campus. In the wake of a professor’s untimely death, you’re partnered with the cute boy with a breathtaking smile in the newly combined labs. You find yourself unable to resist the dimples and shy glances, but his life is here with no plans of leaving. Will you continue on as planned or will you accept the hand that Fate had dealt you?

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I Final

**

Yixing knew that he needed to get out of the car. The engine still rumbled, giving away his presence. Inside the farmhouse, the others were waiting for him so they could carry out the “family meeting”. Yixing already knew what it was about. And he still hadn’t made up his mind on how – or even if – he was going to tell his pack that this whole situation might be his fault.

Seeing the front door open, Yixing cut the engine and jumped out. Baekhyun poked his head out the screen door. “Are you coming? Junmyeon’s started pacing!”

“Yeah, I’m coming,” Yixing murmured as he kicked his car door shut.

So many doors. So much opening and closing. And the most important one he’d slammed shut himself. He could still see the dejected look on your face more clearly than the steps in front of him. Why did he have to be like this? So noble and overly righteous? He had his mate in his hands and he pushed you away. He needed to keep you safe – but was distance really the right way to do that?

Everyone else was already squished into the living room. There wasn’t much space in this area of the house, which was why they usually had meetings in the kitchen. Junmyeon must have been determined that no one be distracted by food or other easily reachable items.

Said alpha gave Yixing a very pointed look as the latter made his way to the back of the room, squeezing in between Chanyeol and Minseok against the wall.

“Everything okay?” Minseok asked quietly. Yixing nodded, but Chanyeol still threw a concerned glance his way.

“Alright, now that everyone is here,” again with the classic scolding Junmyeon glance, “we need to have a serious talk. There was another attack-”

“Another one!” Jongin exclaimed. His mouth hung on its hinges as he glanced around the room.

“Yes. Thankfully, this one survived. And he might have seen the wolf that attacked him.”

Chatter broke out among the wolves. Some where ecstatic at the possibility of finally knowing who this killer might be. Others were thankful that the man survived. Guesses bounced around about what this rouge wolf could look like. Baekhyun enjoyed the idea of it being a bear-like wolf, larger than even Chanyeol or – he’d stopped himself before he said another name that would shift the mood of the room in a flash.

“Nah, I bet its weak and sickly,” Jongdae interjected.

“Red fur?”

“No, those are rare.”

“I bet it’s blonde and shrimpy like Jongdae.”

“Watch it, Sehun.”

The chatter grew, even with Junmyeon’s insistence that they quiet down. So many voices piled on top of each that finally Yixing couldn’t take their theories anymore.

“It was a gray wolf.”

Despite Yixing’s neutral and low tone, the rest of the pack heard. Immediate silence. All eyes turned to him in confusion. He kept his arms crossed over his chest with his own gaze down on the floor.

“That’s a boring guess,” Sehun grumbled.

“Its not a guess,” Yixing admitted. “That’s what the man said at the hospital.”

Junmyeon stared hard at Yixing. “How do you know that’s the man said?” Lifting his eyes up, Yixing hardened his features. Under his arms, his fists curled tightly, his nails digging into the skin with a dull pain. He’d opened another door. And he didn’t think he could close this one again. Junmyeon sighed. “Everyone out.”

Everyone was reluctant to move.

“Now!”

Feet scrambled and tripped over one another as everyone but Yixing ran out of the room and to the kitchen. Junmyeon hated being forceful like that, having to raise his voice at the others. It was no surprise that he immediately melted back into a calmer state.

“Yixing…” came his steady, yet authoritative voice. “Tell me everything. Please.”

Yixing took a deep breath. It was better this way. He hoped. 

“I’ve been blacking out.”

“What?”

“They started around the same time the attacks did,” Yixing explained. “Sometimes I get a headache first. Sometimes it just happens. I lose time – hours usually. And then within that time, there’s an attack.” He could feel his throat closing in. It was more devastating than he’d pictured – telling the truth. He feared his pack turning on him, putting the blame on him, even if it was rightfully done. He’d always been the odd one out, the wolf with a different ancestry. He used to have others to relate to, but when they left….

“Have you ever woken up with blood on you?” Junmyeon asked cautiously.

“No.” A small miracle. There was one time, but he’d found the poor rabbit just a few feet away and the smells matched. 

“There could be another explanation for this,” Junmyeon insisted.

Yixing wanted to believe him, but there was other evidence against the hope. “He said it was a gray wolf.”

“Its not that uncommon of a color.”

“But he was attacked right during another one of my blackouts.”

“And where were you?”

“I was in the forest. Running. Alone.”

Junmyeon frowned. “Why were you doing that?”

Yixing shrugged. “I was… happy. Things were going in a good direction with Ming. I just needed to let the energy out and I wanted to be alone….”

“And then a blackout?”

Yixing nodded. “I woke nearby. (Y/n) was the one who had found him. I’d heard her screaming. We took him to the hospital and then I saw (y/n) home.”

“Did you talk to the police?”

“Yeah. All I told them was that I was in the area next to the nature center and heard (y/n) scream.”

“They didn’t think it was odd that you were naked?”

Yixing cringed, embarrassed. “I had my pants on, (y/n) gave me her jacket-” his jacket - “so they didn’t question it.”

“And (y/n)?”

“I doubt she fully believed my hiking story.”

Junmyeon let out a full lung’s worth of a sigh. His shoulders were weighted down by the pressure to keep their existence a secret and also take care of his pack. Would he outcast Yixing to protect the rest? Yixing wanted to cling to the hope that that wouldn’t be the case, but there was always a chance.

Stepping forward, Junmyeon placed a hand on Yixing’s shoulder. A smile, strained but reassuring, crept on his face. “We’ll figure this out. I don’t believe it’s you, but something bigger might be happening. Don’t go through this alone anymore, okay?”

As expected, a rumbling off footsteps shook the floor. Seven pairs arm wrapped around Junmyeon and Yixing.

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Baekhyun whined.

“We could have helped you,” Chanyeol jumped in.

“You don’t have to do this alone,” Minseok agreed.

Yixing smiled, but said nothing. He still wasn’t sure if he’d made the right decision in revealing his condition. There was no telling what lied at the end of this road – either Yixing would be free to live his life with you or he would be outcast from the pack with a heavy conscious.

“Did I miss something?”

All heads snapped to the front parlor. Ji Yeon stood in the entryway with a coffee cup in one hand and her laptop bag in the other. Small chuckles echoed around the room as the group shifted away from each other. Even Yixing gave off a short laugh. It was a nice release, but now that meant Ji Yeon would need to be made aware of the current situation, adding to Yixing’s fear. As Minseok shuffled closer to his mate, Yixing slipped out of the room, wondering when he would be able to be close to his own mate again. 

**

It was one thing to think about personal issues on personal time. It was another to stop coming to class altogether. And for once, it wasn’t you avoiding the problem.

You had gone to class like normal, even though you were fully aware that a certain someone would – or, at least, should – be sitting in his usual seat when you arrived. You weren’t surprised at all when he hadn’t found you to walk you from class to class. That was to be expected after the abrupt ending to your last encounter. But him skipping class altogether was unexpected. Yixing was a dutiful student. Being in class was important. And yet, his seat was conspicuously empty when you stepped into the lab.

It was suffice to say that you were a little put out by his avoidance. You had conceded to the idea that you were going to suffer through having to sit next to him all class period and yet, all your panicking and worry was for not.

Maybe this was secretly a good thing. Maybe you would be able to concentrate better with the table to yourself.

That was not the case.

While you tried to concentrate on Professor Jiang’s lecture, your mind kept wondering back to Yixing.

Was he okay? Was he avoiding you? Had he dropped the class for good? Because of you?

What were the “things” that he needed to figure out? Were you right in thinking that he had a girlfriend off campus? Or was something else going on? Family things?

Your head was spinning with all the different possibilities. You might have heard a few technical terms during the lecture, but none of it sunk in. The pencil in your hand hardly scribbled across the notepad. Words floated meaningless from the textbook.

When Professor Jiang ended the session, you closed the textbook with a hard slam. Many eyes turned to you in shocked curiosity.

“Sorry,” you mumbled as you quickly packed away the rest of your supplies. Keeping your head down, you rushed out of the classroom and through the halls until you were outside under the cloud-hidden sun.

Finding a bench, you sat down, leaning forward on your knees as your eyes trailed over the cracked concrete sidewalk. That period was a dud, you were sure of that. At some point you would have to squeeze in extra study time to make up for the inability to control your attention. It was all Yixing’s fault. He was the one who had kissed you and then left. A few times you had unlocked your phone to call him, but never went through with it. You didn’t want to come off as desperate or clingy. You were trying not to care. In the past, you never had before. There was no reason for Yixing to be any different.

Except that he was.

You felt a bit… broken. Or perhaps rejected was the right word. There was a lot going on inside you that it was hard to pinpoint the exact emotions. Those words were both exaggerated and not enough in their explanations. 

Deciding that you were done with this oddly out of character pity party, you stood up and continued walking until you’d left the campus grounds all together and crossed the street in the direction of your apartment.

Ran was home when you walked through the door. Her music – vibrating loudly through the miniature Bluetooth next to her on the floor – drowned out your steps into the living room. Spread out around her were notebooks, textbooks, different colored pens and a half-filled coffee mug. A one-person study session. She jumped when she finally noticed you. “Oh, hey!” She reached over and turned down the music so it was now at a low background noise level. “What are you doing already?”

“I wasn’t feeling too well,” you lied. She believed you since you were sure you looked the part. “I thought it might be best to come home and lie down.”

Ran jokingly cringed away from you. “Ew, don’t get me sick. I have plans with Hae In this weekend.”

“I don’t think it’s a bug or anything. My body might just be rebelling against lack of sleep.” Surely Ran had heard your tossing and turning the last several nights.

“Hey,” Ran caught you attention again before you could escape to your room. “So, uh, did anything happen between you and that Yixing guy after I left?” She wiggled her eyebrows playfully.

You shook your head. “No. We talked about class a bit and then he went home. Family emergency or something like that.”

“Hm. Interesting. Well, take it form me, he definitely likes you.”

“I doubt that.”

“No, seriously.” Ran took a sip from the mug, flinched at the now probably lukewarm liquid, and then put it back down. “The way he was looking at you, he likes you. A lot. I think you should give him a chance.”

You chewed on her observations. “I’ll think about it.”

Safe in the four walls of your tiny room, you curled up on your bed with your back against the headboard. As wonderful as sleep sounded and even with Ran now keeping her music at a more manageable level, you doubted your brain would be able to shut off. To try and be distracted by something, you logged into the “Dream University’s” website to check your status.

Still waitlisted. Okay. This was fine. You weren’t actually expecting any change. You just wanted something to do. You were growing antsy. Coming home might not have actually been the best idea. It was the walk itself that had been helpful, freeing for your mind. Now that you were still again, you were back to where you were in the classroom. Unfortunately, the overthinking anxiety wouldn’t let you just get up and go – not with Ran still in the living room. Did it make any sense? Absolutely not. Did that matter? Nope.

About twenty minutes or so went by with you simply scrolling through social media until you heard the music stop and the rustling of the school supplies being picked up. After five minutes of clean up, the front door opened and then closed again. Just to be extra sure that Ran was gone for good, you watched the clock on your phone click by for ten minutes.

Now you were able to leave.

Wrapping up in a jacket (not Yixing’s), you checked your pockets for all the essentials and then headed out the door.

It was back to the nature center for you. It probably wasn’t the smartest place to go given your last adventure in the park, but it had nice winding trails and there would be people around – at a distance, that is.

The clouds were still heavy in the sky when you arrived. Not to the point where they threatened rain, but enough to color the world a dull gray. Squirrels dotted along the path. Their bellies were round and full, telling you that the locals had been feeding them despite the signs that clearly advised against it. Some were brave enough or curious enough to come close to you, but scurried away as soon as it was clear that you were not one of the gracious humans that bestowed them fluffy bread.

Letting your feet guide you along the asphalt path, you let yourself be absorbed in the trees. Your mind still wander towards Yixing, but you didn’t fight it anymore. You were hoping that overexposure would lead to a numbness, an immunity. But he wasn’t a disease attacking your body, he was just a boy. A cute, dimple-smiled boy who made you feel at ease.

Crack!

You snapped your head up at the sudden sound. You half expected a bunny to come hopping out of the side bushes, letting you laugh at yourself. But it wasn’t a bunny twenty feet off the trail.

It was a wolf.

A gray wolf. Just like the hiker said. And it was staring right at you.

Scanning the area, you searched for the closest route to the main center, but you were too far in. This was exactly why you avoided the woods!

You vaguely remembered the advice not to run because then the wolf would treat you like prey. It always sounded like stupid advice. Even more so now as the creature charged in your direction. You charged off the path in the opposite direction of the wolf, pushing the air out of your lungs and screaming as loud as you could.

**

“Are you sure it was around here?”

Yixing threw Junmyeon a look. “Yes. I’m sure.”

The two wolves were currently trotting through the woods to find the spot where Yixing had found the man and Ming. Junmyeon wanted a better look at the scene in the off chance he might get a better intact of the scent left behind. Each time they’d gone looking for answers in the past, the scent had been too old and dulled to really pick it apart. They were probably too late now, but they’d spent the last few days at the farmhouse, keeping an eye on Yixing to see if another blackout would occur. It hadn’t, much to Junmyeon’s disappointment.

“It was close to the nature center,” Yixing explained once again. They’d come from the north, rather than straight from the center. Yixing had hoped that he’d have a better insight to the location. They were getting warmer.

A sudden twig snap made their human ears perk up.

“Could that be--”

“It was probably just a rabbit,” Junmyeon guessed.

As if to prove him wrong, the snap was followed by a wolf’s rumbling howl. And then a high pitched scream.

Yixing gasped. He knew that scream.

“That’s (y/n)!”

Junmyeon looked at him, unconvinced. “Are you sure?”

Yixing’s response was a ferocious growl as he took off without his alpha. A wolf always knows his mate.

[legends-live-in-memories]

“How Did All This Happen?”- A Memoire by one Marinette Dupain-Cheng 1

Soooooo I decided to write this. much longer than the other things i posted, also very tonally different. I will definitely continue that other fic tho. I was just brainstorming and now this exists. Yeah.

 without further ado

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

People Fucked Up and Now It’s All Marinette’s Mess to Clean Up I

This was not how Marinette planned for her night to go. Granted, she also could not envision it going literally any other way. The woes of making a deal with the hell-raiser himself, John Constantine, she supposes. She truly hoped Adrien was having a much better time than her with his cousin in London. After the circus that was the past three years, he deserved some reprieve, even if it was with his bratty doppelganger. Regardless, Marinette. Was. Not. Pleased. No matter how many times she thinks over her plan, recalculates every step and decision, she could not fathom this night ending well for her, or anyone really, but mostly her. And no amount of old Ladybug or Guardian luck could help her. Now, if one were to wonder what kind of tragedy had befallen Marinette on this disgraceful night, a brief history of the last three months could enlighten such a person. Or better yet, let’s start at the beginning. The Real Beginning.

So, things existed. Obviously. First there was nothing, and then, something. And as more things began to exist, as new schools of knowledge and concepts and ideas began to, well, exist, Kwamis formed as well. Each Kwami was the physical manifestation of these ideas or abstracts. Creation was the first, coupled with Destruction. And as more things began to exist, more things began needing to be protected. Thus, the Kwami of Protection. This went on. For a while. Soon thereafter there were Kwamis of all types. Jubilation, Time, Strength, etc, etc, and etc. Now these Kwamis did not linger in one spot. They roamed across the far stretches of existence and interacted with the life they found.

Some Kwamis decided to form a magical pact which intergalactic historians would later dub the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum. Sounds familiar? The Kwamis themselves were completely blissfully unaware of this title, lest they would have explained to these beings, Maltusians they were called, that they were not in fact, electromagnetic but more so a part of the Powers that Be. Kind of. But this side-story involves the formation of a few universally known Lantern Corps, and that is a barrel of monkeys our exasperated narrator does not want to touch with a ten-foot pole. Or ever.

Other Kwamis, who stuck close to what would become known as the Milky Way, were discovered by a mage who granted them the ability to interact with humans. This mage— and Marinette was silently cursing his descendants, herself included, for if it weren’t for this absolute mad lad, none of the subsequent events of this night would have transcribed—had bound the Kwamis to magical jewelry called Miraculouses. An interesting side effect of these Kwamis being bound to the miraculouses was that the wearer could call upon the powers of the Kwamis for their own usage. The mage feared what could become of the world if this kind of power became so easily accessible, so he created the Order of the Guardians. The Order was dedicated to training young mages to protect, wield and harvest the powers of the miraculouses. The Order swore to true neutrality; wishing not to impose their will on one side or the other, to maintain balance and to not upset the natural order of the world. 

This went surprisingly well for a few millennia, that is, of course, if you ignore the sinking of Atlantis, the extinction of the dinosaurs, the Black Plague, the creation of the Lazarus Pits, Pompeii, to name a few completely egregious instances—not necessarily in order of course—and well, the point stands that it could have been astronomically worse. Until it was.  

One young mage and Guardian in training had caused the downfall of almost the entire Order of the Guardians. All the centuries of history, teachings, artifacts and even the people at the head temple, were lost to the calamity. Dozens of Miraculous Boxes were lost, destroyed in the fray. The Kwamis themselves were relatively unaffected, being immortal and all, but the magical jewelry binding them to the earth were broken, thus those Kwamis were lost to mankind once again. Only one singular box, and the young mage himself, survived. The new Guardian of one miraculous box was left to scour the earth in solitude. Well, about as much solitude one could have with 17 pocket gods as company. The fact that the only box that survived was missing two more miraculouses caused the already stressed guardian to grey further. But that tidbit of information would be a problem for later. And for someone else entirely too. Oh joy.

But before that sequence of events, aptly named “Marinette’s Trial by Fire,” however, the young guardian had a couple more life mistakes to make before he reached his internal quota apparently. Rather than travel to another sector of the Order on the other side of the earth, this young mage stumbled upon another organization, one similar in architecture and hierarchy but a pendulum swing in the total moral opposite. Yes, that’s right, the guardian found himself upon the League of Shadows, led by Ra’s Al Ghul in his endeavor of global cleansing; by acts of ecoterrorism, but who sweats the small stuff, right? There, the young guardian, who adopted the name of Wang Fu, met his first love Ming Hong and they had a son. The son had a daughter he named Mei. Now Mei was only a few weeks younger than Ra’s Al Ghul’s grandson, Damian. Now with an appropriate heir, and someone to procreate with said heir, Ra’s Al Ghul gained a special interest in the small Fu family that originally flew under the radar of the League. 

Now this is where things continue to go downhill, but not until much, much later in this story. Ra’s Al Ghul, despite his radical ambitions, was particularly good at playing the long game and understood when he couldn’t accomplish a task directly. This being said, he recognized that, due to prolonged exposure to the Lazarus Pits, his soul could not bear the strain of being a wielder of a miraculous and so he waited. Waited until a suitable heir was sired and could copulate with an heir to the guardian of the miraculous box, desiring to create a bloodline of genetically suitable successors and wielders who were loyal to him and his cause. 

Ra’s ordered for the Fu family to have a place on his court and ordered for Mei Fu to be trained in mastering the secrets of the miraculous. And master she did. By age 6 she was fluent in the coded language of the magical text, or as fluent a 6 year old can be in any language, and she had mastered 7 out the 17 miraculouses. By age 10 she was as skilled as the grandson of the Demon Head in combat and could handle simultaneous wear of 3 miraculouses. Her training, however, had to be put on hold as somebody thought usurping the Demon Head was of the utmost importance that glorious Tuesday and staged a coup. She wished Deathstroke had lost more than an eye that day, but a girl can dream she supposes. Mei and her grandfather were separated from the rest of the League and journeyed west. Somehow they ended up in Paris, France. After one too many run ins with the authorities, Mei was removed from her grandfather, who was deemed too unfit to support her. It was a miracle he wasn’t deported. 

Mei was put into protective custody where she resided until she was 13. Recently adopted, and thoroughly done with the plebeians of her daily encounters, Mei Fu became Marinette Dupain-Cheng, daughter of the best bakers in Paris. All was well and good for the new Dupain-Cheng until the start of the new school year. 

She met her grandfather again. And apparently he had a job for her and her soon to be new partner.

Hawkmoth, that bitch, had somehow acquired the two last surviving miraculouses and the only surviving grimoire and thought domestic terrorism was on the agenda for the next few years. Why? Because investing in a family therapist was too much of an inconvenience for local recluse, Gabriel McFucking Agreste, Marinette would shortly learn. 

After dealing with all of that and juggling between her reignited guardian training, and ‘normal’ girl life—because her parents don’t know that she’s a magical girl in the making—, Marinette was ready to sleep for a thousand years. Or commit murder. Whichever gave her enough serotonin to complete her current passion project. But, alas, no rest for the totally-over-it or however that saying goes. Because after declaring Paris safe once again, sending off her brother-in-arms, Adrien Agreste, to family in London (marginally decent but anything beats the abusive prick of a sperm donor), in waltz one drunken John Constantine.

Ah yes. Him. That absolute bastard who doesn’t deserve nice things in life. That guy.

This unpleasantry approached Master Fu and Marinette, who has been regulated to errand-girl in lieu of training, with a job that he proclaimed that only one blessed with magic, and specifically NOT connected to the Justice League could accomplish. Apparently, a group called the Cult of the Kobra resided on Santa Prisca and was in possession of a dangerous magical artifact that had been the backbone of their organization for years. Constantine came to them asking them for assistance in retrieving it as the Justice League could not interfere in the Caribbean due to new UN legislation. It was a mission of utmost urgency for he feared the cult leader, Kobra himself, was planning on enacting a ritual that could bring calamity to Earth. Which is just what the doctor ordered. Not. In exchange, he agreed to add to her magical training as while master Fu was good, he was still young when he ran away from his problems the first time and thus was limited in his magical knowledge.

That was three months ago. Three months of planning, training, and convincing her parents that letting her go on an extended retreat for an undetermined amount of time with her mostly absent biological grandfather was totally reasonable for the seventeen year old to do. Like, come on. She’s almost old enough to drink, almost ready for university and has been praised for her independence and self-sufficiency for years. She’ll be fine is what she told her parents and she was almost able to convince herself of that too. She would be perfectly fine. Right?

Wrong.

Marinette was anything but fine. She was stressed, she was tired and she was abso-fucking-lutely pissed at anything that even breathed in her direction. Why? Well that brings us back to the beginning of the story when everything on this mission did not go according to plan. So here she was along what was once upon a time the eastern coastline of Santa Prisca. Oh and look. The Junior Justice League has arrived.

Purrrrfect. 

Some one asked for a taglist. Ask and ye shall receive

@deathwishy @neakco  @ virtualreading  @f-rget-lt @your-resident-chicken-nugget

[meabd]

Tricks of the Trade

Chapter 2: A Complicated Dance

It was nearly five o’clock when you approached the Heyu Teahouse. As you neared the entrance you caught sight of the slender form of the Eleventh Harbinger as he leaned against the side of the building, arms crossed, a look of concentration on his face. He startled as you stepped into view, his expression morphing into one of surprised pleasure.

“[Y/n], you look ravishing ,” he winked, offering you his elbow. You bowed instead, ignoring the gesture.

“Thank you, Tartaglia ,” he rolled his eyes at the use of his code name.

“None of that now. Call me Childe,” it was your turn to roll your eyes as he ushered you through the front door, one hand at the small of your back to direct you. The hostess was deferential to the young man, guiding you quickly to a private chamber on the second floor. The view over the harbor was breathtaking, and you found yourself distracted by it as Childe ordered for you both.

“You know, if we’re being honest I didn’t think you’d actually show up,” his comment broke you away from your thoughts, though you did not turn to acknowledge it.

“It’s funny,” you mused, eyes trained on the setting sun, “for as long as I have lived here I still haven’t gotten used to the beauty of it all,” he hummed in reply. Finally you turn to look at him, your gaze flickering over his formal Snezhnyan suit. He had no business looking as good as he did. “Why did you really ask me out this evening?” He cocked his head, his lips quirking into a bemused grin.

“Because you’re a beautiful woman with impressive connections with the highest powers operating out of Liyue Harbor,” his voice was matter of fact. The waitress returned with the bottle of wine he’d requested, pouring two glasses and bustling away.

“I’m not an idiot, you know,” you murmured, swirling the wine in your glass as you waited for him to taste it first.

“And I never said you were,” he countered, taking a healthy gulp of his own wine. “So who do you work for?” You took a small sip from your glass before answering.

“Lady Keqing oversees my work for—”

“I would appreciate it if you did not insult my intelligence,” he cut you off.

“I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about,” you sniffed primly. The charming smile had not slipped from his face, but there was a newfound tension around his eyes.

“Come on Miss [y/n], whatever it is you’ve gotten yourself mixed up in it’s nothing the Fatui can’t handle. I’m sure we can, what is it you said? ‘Come to an equitable agreement’?” His smile was soft and comforting—and entirely false.

“Just what is it you’re implying, Master Childe?” You weren’t sure exactly what it was he thought you were, but you were glad to hear he wasn’t either.

“[Y/n], hails from Wuwang Hill, father deceased, mother deceased, brother jailed for petty crimes in Fontaine—is that who it is? Your brother is being held hostage and Fontaine's struck a deal with you?” Your mouth hung open, an expression of sincere shock. Childe leaned back, hands behind his head to enjoy the fruits of his detective work.

Little did he know, your shock was not because he was right, but rather that he actually bought your Cover. Sure, [y/n] was your real name, but it was also the name of a little girl who’d gone missing during the Wuwang Hill landslide. A little bureaucratic magic was all it took to assume her identity.

“It’s okay,” his expression softened as he leaned forward again, laying one hand atop your own, “I know what it is to care for family. You would do terrible things to keep them safe…” his voice trailed off as if he were remembering his own misdeeds. “I want to help you,” his voice was earnest. He was a damn good actor.

“I… appreciate the offer,” you gulped, attempting to tug your hand away to no avail.

“...But?” he pressed you.

“But they’d kill me,” and that part wasn’t a lie.

“Snezhnya is a formidable country. We have ways of helping… people like you,” he squeezed your hand in what you assumed was supposed to be a comforting gesture. It felt claustrophobic.  

“I don’t know,” you bit your lip, dropping your chin a scant inch so you could look up at him through your mascara thickened lashes. “I couldn’t possibly give you an answer right now,” he nodded, withdrawing his hand.

“I understand, of course. Take some time to think about it. The Tsaritsa is a strong Archon, you would be safe within our ranks,” you pursed your lips, hoping the tension in your face read as nervousness and not amusement. A silence fell between the two of you, though not one as uncomfortable as before. When the server arrived with your food, all seriousness bled away from Childe’s face as he thanked the young woman before refilled your wine glass.

The conversation shifted as the two enjoyed your meal. You weren’t completely at ease, but that was nothing special; you never were. Childe, having gotten his ‘proposal’ out of the way was a regular chatterbox. It was really quite impressive how much he said without revealing anything of substance.

He was a charming man, that was doubtless; his conversation skills were remarkable, he was an active listener, and his flirtations (though inappropriate, in your opinion) managed to steer clear of any touchy territory. He was beautiful, to say the least, with striking eyes and a well formed figure that would send any woman’s heart aflutter. He was the perfect Honey Trap.

But then again… so were you.

“This has been lovely, thank you,” you smiled at him with a bit more honesty than was advisable.

“Why does that sound like a goodbye?” He stepped closer into your space, his fingers grazing the delicate bone of your wrist.

“Because it is? I have to go to Master Shizhuong’s,” you backed away from him.

“We’ve got plenty of time,” he cajoled, “come take a walk with me, we could revisit that tree,” his eyebrows twitched up at the suggestive remark.

“No, thank you. Perhaps next time. I’m going to be late as it is,” you turned to leave but were halted by a hand on your elbow.

“When I asked you out tonight I didn’t just mean to dinner, [y/n].”

“That’s all well and good Master Childe, but I do have work to do. Now if you’ll excuse me—” he yanked you forward, pressing his body against yours. His lips brushed the shell of your ear and you shuddered to feel his warm breath against it.

“You don’t honestly think I’d let you out of my sight now , do you? That banquet doesn’t start for another hour at least,” there was a threat in those words, no matter how soft the tone was. You pulled back from him, shifting your features into what you hoped was a neutral expression.

“...I’m the dance coordinator. There’s a Yayue performance before the feast, I have to be there for the arrangement.” Childe’s smile was contrite and his grip on you loosened.

“Sorry, sorry, just being cautious you know,” he laughed. You huffed an incredulous sigh.

“Come on, ‘you don’t honestly think’ I’d run off to wreak havoc at a banquet immediately after your oh so considerate offer,” you tossed his turn of phrase back at him and he frowned.

“I would certainly hope not,” he brushed a stray curl out of your eyes. “See you there, then? That is if you have time for me,” he winked. Despite your better judgement you nodded your assent before making your way to the estate.

As you approached the back entrance to the mansion you let your fingers trace over the wood of the exterior until you found the right panel. As quickly and discreetly as you could manage you lifted it off its hinges and swapped the bottle that was inside with the note you’d had strapped to your upper thigh. You took a moment to lean against the building, one hand pressed against your chest. You took several deep breaths before straightening your qipao and heading inside. To any wayward onlooker it would seem as if you were merely collecting yourself. If who you thought was tailing you actually was, then you’d just solidified your cover as an indecisive and reluctant operative.

Inside the mansion you passed the dancer’s dressing room to enter Master Shizhuong’s private chambers. You removed the bottle from your bodice, dripping its contents onto the bottom edge of an ornately framed painting. Behind it lay the Master’s safe, containing valuable and important documents. Documents that you had on good authority were to be stolen by a Fontainèse spy that very evening.

You re-corked the bottle and returned to the dressing area, satisfied with your work. Launching into your Cover role you helped apply traditional makeup, tied ribbons, tightened bodices and arranged hair as the dancers gossiped amongst themselves. Ming, one of the youngest dancers of your ranks, sat quietly in the corner. You approached her, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Are you alright there?” You inquired. Her large doe eyes met yours and you could see the fear in them. She nodded.

“Are you… will you still help me tonight?”

Ming had come to you the week before with a sob story about needing money to help her sick mother. She shared with you her (rather convoluted) plan to bed Master Shizhuong, then blackmail him into providing her with the necessary funds. She’d asked for your help, imploring you to distract the middle-aged politician long enough for her to ‘prepare herself’ in his chambers.

You had, of course, readily agreed. You would never turn down a chance to take out an enemy operative. You almost felt bad—almost because, frankly she just wasn’t very good at her job. Her Cover was flimsy at best and her true intention—stealing classified documents from your host—was laughably easy to suss out. You smiled gently at the girl, a warm and comforting expression.

“Of course Ming. Anything for you. Please be safe,” you hugged the younger woman and felt her tears on your neck.

“No crying now,” you murmured, wiping a tear off of her cheek. “You’ll smear your makeup. Be strong; think of your mother and be strong ,” Ming’s smile was watery, but she nodded.

This is entirely too easy .

The entertainment had gone off without a hitch (because of course it had, you were damned good at your job) and you were engaging the Master of the house in a spirited discussion on the merits of the use of Cor Lapis in the production of chopsticks. You noticed your host’s eyes drifting over to the clock and you ran your finger down the seam of his sleeve, a coy gesture. Just as you were about to switch topics you felt a hand on your back.

“If I may be so bold, I believe Noctilucous Jade to be the superior material,” Zhongli’s smooth voice cut in and you inwardly groaned.

“Yes, yes, right as always Master Zhongli,” Shizhuong nodded with enthusiasm. “But—ah, excuse me please, I’m afraid I have an urgent matter to attend to,” he bowed before beating a hasty retreat. You hoped you stalled him for long enough for the poison to take effect. You’d be very disappointed if Ming lived long enough to get any of it on your host. You actually quite liked him.

“Hello Uncle,” you smiled pleasantly, using the honorific you reserved for when he was getting on your nerves. Zhongli’s head cocked to the side.

“My my, you’re in a mood, aren’t you? I take it your sortie with our resident Harbinger was not to your liking?” You blanched.

“I—you—he told you?” Zhongli chuckled.

“Bragged about it is more like it,” Childe’s voice came from behind you as an arm snaked its way around your waist. You fought hard against your instinct to flinch away. Zhongli inclined his head in greeting and Childe returned the gesture. “And I thought we had a lot of fun, didn’t we [y/n]?” You knew you were blushing but didn’t bother to fight it.

“Yes, ah, it was quite enjoyable,” your voice wavered just the slightest. Enough so that Childe’s grip on your waist tightened a bit.

“I must admit, I did not see this particular turn of events,” Zhongli remarked, his golden eyes lingering on the fingers tapping against your hip bone. “[Y/n] has never been out with a man, not once in the five years I’ve known her.”

“Maybe I was waiting for the right one,” you grit out from your teeth clenching smile.

“ Ming !” Master Shizhuong’s startled cry was muffled, but audible. The three of you turned in unison to stare at the hallway leading to the dressing rooms.

“Ming… no ,” you gasped, attempting to break away from Childe.

“Hold on—” he started but you pushed him away.

“Ming is one of my girls, I have to— I—” you shook your head before running towards the sound of the shout. You flung open the dressing room door, stopping only for a moment. You knew Zhongli and Childe were following you and you had to make a show of searching.

“Ming!” You screamed, continuing down the hall, throwing doors open as you went. Finally you made it to the master bedroom, your hands flying up to cover your mouth as a strangled sob escaped. You sagged against the door frame, making sure to hold your position until your companions had caught up. In the bedroom Ming laid slumped against the wall, dressed in nothing but her undergarments. The picture frame had been moved and the wall safe was clearly visible. Master Shizhuong sat on the bed, head in his hands.

“Oh no, no what did they do to you?” You stumbled into the room, dropping to your knees in front of her body. You reached out, hands shaking, as if to touch her, but felt yourself being yanked away.

“Don’t,” Childe’s voice was tight. “She may have been poisoned. Don’t touch anything ,” he barked. You felt your breath hitch as tears came to your eyes. These, at least, were more genuine than the one’s Childe had previously called you on. You liked Ming, you really did—she reminded you of yourself when you first started out.

You let that kernel of truth slip through your mask as you sobbed in Childe’s arms. He ran a soothing hand through your hair, pressing your face into the crook of his neck so you couldn’t look at her corpse.

“Shh. It’s okay,” he whispered. “Zhongli, can you handle this?” He must have nodded since you found yourself being tugged to your feet.

“No. I have to—I have to help her,” you protested softly. Childe shushed you again and led you from the room. “That could have been me,” you whispered, your voice hollow.

“It could have,” your companion agreed, though not unkindly. You allowed yourself to be dragged into the adjoining study. Gentle hands prodded you into an overstuffed chair and Childe knelt on the ground in front of you.

“I’m sorry [y/n], but I have to ask—did you have anything to do with this?” You tried to breathe in but the air stuck in your throat. Wordlessly you shook your head, tears still streaming down your face. You were certain your makeup was a disaster and you regretted your choice in mascara.

“Alright. Okay. Stay here. Zhongli and I will handle the rest,” he soothed, moving to stand.

“No,” you choked out, standing as well. “No, I have twenty nine other girls out there that need me,” you sniffled, wiping away the moisture on your cheeks. Childe stared at you, his face unreadable.

“Fine. But wait for me. You’ll need an escort home tonight,” you didn‘t argue. He turned to leave and you reached out without thinking. He stilled, looking down at your joined hands.

“I’m sorry. I… thank you,” you startled at the soft brush of lips against your forehead. He said nothing in reply, sweeping out of the room in a hurry.

Report;

Things have progressed well with Agent Pisces. Target believes me to be operating under duress and has made overtures to turn me. Agent Swan has been eliminated, Millelith on high alert. Will proceed with caution.

Dead Drop at Blue House compromised, Sanitized documents have been left there, please convey a new rendez-vous point ASAP.

Operation Blowback Intercept on hold until further notice.

I await further instructions.

Swallow

[translations-by-aiimee]

Dig a Grave to Dig Out a Ghost - Chapter 15

Original Title: 挖坟挖出鬼

Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural, Yaoi

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter Index

Chapter 15 - Stage

Since it wasn't time for the audience to enter the venue yet, the auditorium, which could accommodate two thousand people, was only sparsely occupied, and the person in charge of the event was still shouting out instructions about the final arrangement of the rostrum. After entering from the staff passage, Lin Yan pulled A-Yan and found their seat in the middle of the fourth row. Indeed, as Weiwei said, he had a good view of the stage, only sitting behind the pink-labelled school officials and special guests.

Unexpectedly, there was already a boy sitting next to Lin Yan's seat. "I'm sorry, can we squeeze by." Lin Yan said. When the boy looked up, it turned out to be the guy playing on the PSP he saw in the front hall. He had a long face, like a grasshopper, with acne covering the young appearance. After having his game was interrupted, his mouth pinched into an impatient expression and leaned back slightly to give the little Daoist priest and Lin Yan room to pass.

He probably also came in through the back door. I saw him queuing at the door just now, Lin Yan thought. To make A-Yan feel more comfortable, he left the left seat closest to the PSP guy open for Xiao Yu, sat in the middle, and opened the event pamphlet to start reading. The booklet was well-made and had some weight in his hand. Lin Yan could get a general idea of the event by skimming through the pages. This lecture focused on the identification of cultural relics from the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty. The colour pages were printed with images of porcelain, jade, calligraphy, and paintings. After the portion of interactive activities, there was no more detail on the event. Lin Yan handed the book to the empty seat on his left and asked softly, "Do you recognize anything?"

The PSP guy sitting next to him turned his head and looked at Lin Yan puzzledly. Lin Yan was a little embarrassed, took the pamphlet back, and said nonchalantly, "I wasn't talking to you."

PSP guy gave him an irritated glance.

The rostrum had been set up, and the audience filed in through the side doors on the sides of the auditorium, and noise flooded into the lecture hall. Xiao Yu didn't seem to like crowded places. He tore Lin Yan's hand from the pamphlet and gripped it in his hand. Lin Yan was a little flustered. From the perspective of others, his left hand was hanging stiffly in the air. He tried to twist his hand away a few times but to no avail. He compromised and rested their hands on the armrest.

After the audience was seated, Professor Chen, with his file folder aura, walked out onstage. His black suit and red striped tie made him look very refined. The professor sat down at the podium, cleared his throat after fiddling with the microphone and notebook, and then the host appeared on the stage. The auditorium darkened, leaving only the background Powerpoint and the spotlight on the host.

"The lecture has officially started. Today we are honoured to invite an expert in cultural relic identification. Professor Chen, an identification researcher from the Palace Museum, will give you a lecture on the appreciation and collection of antiques from the Chenghua period. . ." the host read.

The auditorium was dark, the audience was very polite, and even though the lecture hall was filled with 2,000 people, it was completely silent. Lin Yan turned his head to the left and almost jumped up in fright. There was a person sitting in the empty seat. He looked out of place among the crowd of well-dressed students. His long hair blocked most of his face, which was partially visible from Lin Yan's point of view. With a straightened nose and pale skin, his thin lips were pressed together tightly, staring at the podium intently. In the blue light and shadows from the stage, the large bloodstains on his clothes were particularly strange. Lin Yan's hands unconsciously shook. Xiao Yu turned his head to look at him. A pair of fierce black pupils appeared behind his black hair, and his hand squeezed harder as if he thought Lin Yan was going to run away.

He wasn't sure if the ghost's image was frozen from the time of his death. Lin Yan tried to calm his heartbeat. While wondering if he could change his clothes, he thought it would be a good idea if he could freshen up and change so as not to scare him to death by showing up in the middle of the night. Lin Yan touched Ah Yan, nodded his head in Xiao Yu's direction, and whispered, "Can you see him?"

A-Yan suspiciously shook his head.

Lin Yan heaved a sigh of relief. He really didn't want to be compared to the unlucky actor in "Coming Soon" sitting next to a ghost in the movie theatre.

"In the first part of the lecture, we asked Professor Chen to explain the basic knowledge and rules of antique identification with a few pieces of his own collection as examples. The second part is for interaction. We will invite ten students to come to the stage for a small activity. Whoever wins the activity can ask Professor Chen to engrave a seal as a souvenir. . ."

There was a commotion in the audience. Lin Yan was a little puzzled. He turned his head and asked A-Yan what was so strange about it. "This--this teacher's seal cutting, books, and calligraphy are very famous, and it's not cheap to get him to engrave something," A-Yan said softly.

The host closed the script and continued: ". . . and you can ask any questions you have after the event. Professor Chen will be happy to answer your various questions about the field, career orientation or professional-related questions."

Lin Yan frowned. This sounded tempting. It would take longer to ask Xiao Yu about things. Maybe he had to play psychological warfare. . . Lin Yan thought.

After the applause, the host left the stage, the spotlight went out, and only the Powerpoint on the backdrop was left on, dowsing the entire venue with blue shining light. Professor File Folder took a sip of water and said a few simple opening remarks before beginning his lecture. The first photo released was a small blue and white crane with an elaborate pattern on it. It was an ordinary shape, but the colour was elegant and sophisticated, the material texture was fine and the enamel was thick. It was in line with the solemn and simple characteristics of the Chenghua period.

"During the Ming Dynasty's Chenghua period, porcelain pieces were minimalistic and light, and it was typically tooth-white or blood-red when seen in the light. It was a milky-cream finish, lustrous and clean. The piece's glaze was also very precise, very skilled application and accentuating the colour. In terms of colour, the decorative lines are slender, and the double-line outline filling method is used to make the filling colour appear lighter. It's worth mentioning that in this period, the Doucai technique was an innovation with its exquisite and delicate application of colour. . ."

When Professor File Folder moved on, a girl wearing a light green phoenix skirt flashed into view backstage. In the vermilion lacquer tray in his hand were a pair of bamboo-leaf bowls. They were decorated with a sky-blue background covered in green bamboo leaves. Lin Yan thought it was a little disdainful. These things were available on the market; the pair would only cost 50,000 yuan, which was much cheaper than the pieces the professor was presenting.

After finishing the discussion on the porcelain, the powerpoint slide changed to a daffodil hairpin by the famous engraver Lu Zigang. Even though it was only a picture, it was clear to see that the carving was exquisite, the details so fine they were as thin as a hair. Professor File Folder began to explain the appreciation of jade illustrated faintly in the photo, and the girl from backstage came out with one. She held the white jade seed high up in her hand. The white jade was crystal clear in the light of the small spotlight, and its carving is also finely detailed. The girl turned the tray to reveal the skin on its back. Lin Yan frowned when she saw it.

"Can anyone evaluate this carving?" File Folder asked melancholically.

No one answered, and the audience stayed silent. Lin Yan murmured, "It's a duplicate." He thought that his voice was low enough, but the auditorium was too quiet, so his voice reached the podium with ease.

The professor's eyes lit up and he called out to him, "Go on."

Lin Yan's face flushed red. He hesitated for a while, stood up reluctantly, and motioned to it: "There is no doubt that the quality of jade is a good seed material, but in the process of refining it, in order to ensure it would sell at a good price, the merchant re-skinned the jade. A layer of fake autumn pear skin does not affect the price, nor does it make it a fake, it just looks awkward."

File Folder nodded approvingly. When Lin Yan sat down, his heart was still thumping. He didn't like speaking in public. Even if this were a normal lecture, there were still 2000 people in the room. If he said something wrong, it will be embarrassing so Lin Yan was anxious.

"Your--Your vision is really good." The little Daoist said softly: "I doubt I'm the only one who thinks so."

The low and soft voice made Lin Yan's heart relax. Just as he was going to brush off the compliment, a hand clamped over his shoulder, and Lin Yan fell directly on Xiao Yu's lap with a hard tug. An icy breath brushed over him. A chilled hand pinched his chin, thumb lightly stroked his cheeks, long hair hanging down and tickling his neck. Lin Yan tried to push off Xiao Yu's knees to prop himself up, but Xiao Yu refused, and the two of them sat in a stalemate in the dark.

Lin Yan forgot that he was the only one who could see Xiao Yu. This scene must be extremely weird in the eyes of others. The boy who had just answered the professor's question practically fell into the empty seat next to him, looking like he could not get up no matter how hard he tried. . .

"What's wrong with you?" The PSP man rolled his eyes at Lin Yan and shifted away in disgust.

Lin Yan struggled to sit upright. He apologized to the PSP guy embarrassingly and continued to listen to the lecture focusing on the back of the seat in front of him. Only he knew what was actually happening. A ghost, a person who no one can see, was holding his waist unscrupulously, slowly kissing up his neck. The tip of his cold nose brushed the side of his face, around his ears, and let out a low breath: "Hah. . ."

Lin Yan developed a layer of goosebumps, his arm stiffly supported on the back of the chair, his expression closed off. He licked his earlobe, a wet, soft and waxy feeling. His whole body shook, and the tip of his tongue licked around the mouth of his ear. Licking around, even poking his tongue in occasionally, the extremely ambiguous voice seemed to be infinitely louder in his ear. Lin Yan reached under his bangs to prop up his forehead with his hand and covered his eyes. He didn't have the dignity left to face anyone; he could only grit his teeth and try to control his breathing.

He couldn't hear what Professor File Folder was saying and suddenly his vision was blocked. Xiao Yu leaned in front of him, with his hands on the armrests on both sides of Lin Yan. His tongue licked back and forth on his lips. Itching, his heart twitched. He was angry, anxious and uncomfortable. Lin Yan desperately tried to recite the values of Marxism as a distraction; capitalism is characterized by squeezing surplus value. . . surplus value. . . squeeze out socialist surplus value. . . the doctrine will squeeze out surplus value. . . everything is all messed up. . . This was the worst possible time to be teased by the ghost, so what should he do. . . Lin Yan's eyes filled with tears. He looked at Xiao Yu pleadingly, pinching his arm gently and shaking his head.

The hand that had almost reached the top of his thigh finally retracted. Xiao Yu leaned over and kissed Lin Yan's lips before he sat back on the seat.

Thank god it's over, Lin Yan thought sullenly.

"Next we move on to the second portion of the lecture. Ten students will be invited to the stage to participate in a mini-game of antique identification. We have prepared ten collections for you to authenticate. The person with the most correct answers can specify to Professor Chen what they want specially engraved." The host had changed to a girl in a red jacket skirt, she spoke sweetly into the microphone.

Lin Yan was still in a state of adrenaline surge and hadn't recovered.

"The student who spoke just now, Professor Chen invites you to come up."

There was silence in the auditorium. Lin Yan raised his head and looked at the host blankly, wondering why he didn't continue? A-Yan pushed Lin Yan and whispered, "They--They're calling you."

Lin Yan stood up hesitantly, pointed to himself, and asked the girl in the red jacket skirt, "Me?"

There was a burst of laughter in the audience. The host was afraid of being rude. She held the mic and joked: "This classmate must have been asleep."

The temperature of Lin Yan's face that had finally cooled off soared again. He was terrible at playing games in public. A single mistake would make him nervous. Lin Yan cautiously pushed off the back of the chair and headed up. He couldn't help but looked back and give Xiao Yu a fierce look. The ghost calmly followed him through the rows of people blocking the way. He walked with a unique posture. Even though he was barefoot and covered with bloodstains, he doesn't look decrepit. He stood tall with his back straight, unlike the current students around him with slumped shoulders thanks to their education system.

Lin Yan walked onto the stage, shifting his posture to avoid having to turn and face the crowd.

The purple curtain behind the podium opened, exposing the wide space behind. Under the warm stage lights, there were ten antique square tables lined up with grand tutor chairs, and an elegant mahogany brocade box was placed on a raised platform in front of them. The other nine people had already stood at the tables to the right, and the closest person Lin Yan was the PSP guy.

The host raised his hand to signal Lin Yan to join them: "In order to be more in line with today's discussion, these ten students will go backstage to change into some costumes. Professor Chen and the audience are invited to take a break while they get changed and return soon."

Lin Yan glanced out into the audience and saw that the stage lights were blinding. The three rows of school officials and guests near the front of the stage were sitting in plain sight. Beyond that was a crowd of people that he couldn't make out because of the lights. This was only one floor. Lin Yan's legs felt like noodles when he looked up, and the crowd on the second floor remaining silent. Four large cameras with small red lights were facing him. Lin Yan felt that his whole body was covered in crawling ants. His chest was being crushed by a large stone, and his lungs were being squished until they couldn't get any air into them.

If he could, he wanted to escape and drive away immediately. After taking a few deep breaths, Lin Yan clenched his fists and followed the team backstage behind the curtain.

[hotpinkrathian]

Reconciliation

(Su and Kuvira- platonic)

Yeah so I finally wrote something else lol sorry if that disappointed you, but the post I saw earlier inspired me. I know there’s comics and stuff about how it ended up with the two of them but seeing im a broke ass bitch who can’t afford them I wrote my own😅

Su stood at the doors of the prison, mustering every ounce of courage she had left to go in those doors.

“Mom, please go easy on her. She’s lost everything. I know you’re angry, but remember I messed up too.”

Her sons words echoed in her head. Bataar Jr was the one who encouraged her to come here, to talk to Kuvira. Su had spent the last five years picking up the debris left behind Kuvira’s wake of destruction, and she hated her the entire time. A girl she had once seen as her daughter, a girl whom she had rescued and raised. That type of betrayal had hit her harder than she was prepared for. Finally a guard opened the door and allowed her to step in. She was led down a hallway through a variety of doors that could only be open with specific forms of bending, or an activation code. The guard stopped three cells from the end and turned a key into the lock. The door opened and Su stepped inside, informing the guard to wait outside. There she was, in tattered grey prison clothing sitting it’s her knees tucked into her chest staring out the low barred window of her cell.

“I don’t want it, tell the captain to give it to Shia Ming.” Kuvira said.

“I would, except I don’t have anything this Shia would want.” Kuvira turned at stared at Su, surprised.

“What are you doing here?” Kuvira asked once she had collected herself.

“Truthfully, I don’t know.” They stood there in silence for a moment before Kuvira sighed and adjusted her position so she had her back against her wall.

“You know I never wanted to hurt you. You were the only person I even considered stopping for.” Kuvira said, her head tilted back so she was facing the ceiling.

“I’ve heard this before,” Su replied bitterly.

“Yet you never seem to believe me.” Su bit her tongue, unsure of what to say. “Don’t say anything. You’re good at that.” Kuvira said eventually.

Su sighed furiously, “what am I supposed to say to that? You ransacked my city stole my people and forced my kingdom to live under a dictatorship!”

“You could’ve stopped it!” Kuvira replied, standing up to face Su. “Had you just stepped up when you were asked.”

“You know that’s not what I wanted.”

“Newsflash Su, sometimes we don’t get what we want!” Kuvira was leaning into Su’s face, her own red with anger and her breath was short and quick. Su took a step back, subconsciously holding onto the door of the cell. Kuvira saw the fear in Su’s eyes and her anger subsided. She returned to the bed and stared at her hands. “It’s been a awhile since anyone’s come to see me.” She said, running a finger over the scars on her left wrist. “Three years, actually.” Su gulped and took a step closer.

“Who was it?”

“Korra. I don’t know how she finds it in herself to not hate me. Clearly I’m a terrible person.” Su found herself walking closer, when she reached the bed she sat down next to Kuvira.

“Korra’s been through worse than you.”

“Really? Here I was hoping I had been best supervillain.” Su didn’t know why, but she reached out her hand and placed it on Kuvira’s. Her eyes widened and filled with tears when she saw the marks on the younger girls arms. The scars were pretty much healed, but they still held the truth.

“Kuvira you-“

“I don’t need you’re sympathy. After Korra stopped coming I stopped having a reason to be here. So I opted for a way out. But I couldn’t even succeed at that.” Su stared at Kuvira’s cheek, relishing the days when she held her face in her hands before sending her off to school or some other chore. She placed her hand on the prisoners face and Kuvira embraced it, allowing herself to sigh heavily in Su’s grip and relax.

“How’s Bataar?” Kuvira asked, pulling away from the gesture.

“He’s doing okay, he’s going on trial to see about an early release in a few days.”

“good for him.”

“Kuvira... did you really love him?”

Kuvira sighed, she faced the floor, not daring to return the gaze Suyin held on her.

“I don’t know. I think a part of me did, it was nice having an ally. Someone who believed in me. But I don’t think I would have married him. I’m sorry.”

“When you blasted him, you broke his heart.”

“I broke a piece of mine too.” Su just looked at her. She didn’t know what to feel, angry at all the lies? Angry that Kuvira was actually making Su feel sympathetic? Or happy that she was finally owning up to her actions? Without thinking Su took Kuvira’s face in her hands again and she pulled the younger girl into her arms. Kuvira rested her chin on Su’s shoulder and closed her eyes, taking in the smell of Jade that seemed to follow Suyin everywhere. When Su pulled away she stood up and flattened her dress leaving Kuvira wanting just a little more.

“Kuvira I want you to know that I loved you, like you were my own daughter. I know it may not have seemed like it at times, but I always just wanted the best for. I saw so much of myself in you, and I spent so much time trying to make you be like me, so I could have a successor. But I know now that you didn’t need that, you didn’t need drills and training and extra classes. You needed a mother, and as that I failed you.” Suyin watched a tear slide down Kuvira’s cheek, her eyes pinching closed.

“Are you ever going to be able to forgive me?” She stammered.

“I don’t know,” Su replied before knocking on the cell door and allowing the guard to escort her out. The image of Kuvira curled up in front of the window vivid in her mind.

[greyfongschemmenti]

In These Arms | Chapter 12: Investigative Palms

Summary:

You and Lin go in search for the Krew.

Waking up to the feeling of a soft pair of lips kissing your shoulder, you feel Lin shift out of bed, “Not even a good morning? I deserve more than a sneak out?” you mumble stifling a yawn, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from your eyes. “I have to go back to my room,” Lin states. She turned to leave but caught sight of your sleepy doe-eyes and stopped, resting her hand on the doorframe as she fixed her left shoe. She made her way back to the bed and leaned in to kiss you goodbye, hopefully that was enough until the next time. You kissed her fully, tongue and all, placing your hands on her hips and tugging her back onto the bed. She laughed against your lips and peeled herself from your hands, “y/n..I have to go.”

“Just a little fun before you go” you whine but smile

“No, it’s late” Lin smiles

“Can’t blame me for trying,” you defended and laughed. “I’ll meet you at the airship. I’m just going to close my eyes for a bit.” you pull the covers up over your face, as Lin walks out towards the door as she calls out, “We’re on a tight schedule so you better not keep us waiting, y/n!”

You make a gruff noise to let Lin know you understand waving her off as you go back to sleep for a couple more minutes.

*

Fixing your sleeves as you roll them up, you make your way up the lift to the docking bay and only see Lin standing around with a confused expression on her face before raising your sleeves a bit to look at your watch, “I’m not that late. Are the kids in the ship?”

“No, I thought they would have come with you.” Lin groans and pinches her nose and you look around the area scratching the back of your head.

“Maybe they’re on their way now. How long have you been waiting?” You turn to her as you lower your hand “Fifteen minutes at most”,

“Okay, let’s wait another fifteen. If they haven’t shown up we’ll go look for them” you offer - “You’ll wait five minutes before heading out and look for them. I’ll stay here in case those nitwits show up”

“Sounds good… well I’ll check on the animals in the meantime” you walk over towards the airship when Lin stops you,

“They’re not here either” Lin grumbles then sighs and your eyes widen then turn around, “Wait what?“

“How many minutes has it been?!” Lin grabs your wrist and looks at the watch “Three minutes”

“I can’t wait anymore. Go look for them” Lin puts her hands on your waist and pushes you away “Okay, how about I go check the guest houses and you check the grounds.”

“Fine.”

After checking all the guest houses, you came up empty. No one inside, not even the animals. You scratched behind your ear, it was weird that you haven’t seen anyone and you start to get a sinking feeling in your gut. You head towards the Beifong estate and see Lin coming in from the grounds then notice Su talking to two guards on the bridge as you and Lin approach her at the pavilion.

“Where is everyone? I've been waiting to leave for half an hour.” Lin asks her sister annoyed to not have seen the teens.

“Good morning, y/n and good morning to you too, Lin. Now, don't get mad. Korra's fine. I'm just waiting to hear if she tracked down Aiwei yet.“

“What?!” You and Lin respond in unison. You’re shocked then groan face palming while Lin furrows her brows “You let Korra go?! I thought we were on the same page about this, and then you go stab me in the back?”

“Oh, don't be so overdramatic. You can't control the Avatar's every move.”

Lin storms off “I can try.”

“I can’t believe you lied to me, Su. I told you not to do it!” you exasperate causing Lin to stop and turn around “Lied to you? You knew about this?!”

Your cheeks blush slightly as you realize you probably fucked up, “Su told me about her plans--” Lin’s eyes start to narrow “--but I told her about not wanting to put the kids in danger. Su assured me that she, herself, was going to search the mountainside with Kuvira and a couple guards.” you tried explaining yourself but Lin is seething.

“And you didn’t tell me about this! When did this plan happen?!” Lin narrows her eyes as you direct her arms towards Su. You try coming up with the words “Last night after everyone left. I was going to but Su said she was going to tell you in the morning!”

Su finally steps up and stops Lin “Don’t put this on y/n. This was all me. y/n helped me under false pretenses and for that I apologize” she looks at you feeling slightly guilty for asking for your help. “y/n told me they weren't going to go behind your back again.” Su looks at Lin and watches her glance between her sister and you. You look down, your hand resting on the back of your neck upset and hurt by this whole situation “Typical Su” Lin spat out

“Wait let me make it up to you two somehow!” Su catches up to you, putting a hand on your shoulder to stop you “I can get a Jeep ready for you and you can catch up to them.”

“May Raava forgive me if any of those kids get hurt, it'll be on you, Su” you point your finger at her as you storm off.

*

Lin drives the jeep along a rocky desert path. Both of you kept quiet for the most part of the ride. “You should have told me about Su’s plan” Lin looks down the road as she passes a pothole and keeps following the other set of tire tracks.

You sigh “Forgive me for trusting your sister’s word, anyways who were those other three people with Zaheer?” you ask, trying to change the subject. Lin turns her head at you for a second pursing her lips then continues on,  “The lavabender is Ghazan, the armless waterbender is Ming-Hua, and the third eye freak is, P'Li, a powerful firebending criminal who we all saw can combustion bend.” lightly tapping on the door of the jeep as you gather the names and bending of each criminal then look up, “--wait where did the tracks go?”

Something catches your attention and you point over to the right “Over there” Lin follows the tire tracks that turn into a small shady clearing between a couple of boulders. She stops the car at the rocks and changes gears, reversing, and then turning her wheel toward the clearing. There are two abandoned vehicles “Well we found Aiwei and Team Avatar’s jeeps”. Lin pulls up, stops the car, and gets out to inspect the team's vehicle while you look over Aiwei’s. She is about to search the back seat when a flash of white jumps out at Lin. Naga snarls at the Chief who yells with surprise. “Lin!” You quickly turn around and run to Lin. You watch Naga growl, then sniff around and quickly recognize Lin,  circling around her and licking the cop's cheek enthusiastically, messing up a bit of her hair. “First you scare the life out of me, now you want to lick me,” Lin says dryly “She likes you babe” you smile as Naga licks Lin again, who wipes her cheek. You pet Naga as she licks your cheek while you look up at her saddle, “Where’s Pabu?”

As if he heard his name, Pabu pops out from the jeep, jumping onto Lin and circling around her body. Lin grabs him by the scruff of the neck and glares at the fire ferret as he whines. Lin places Pabu on Naga and reaches into her pocket. Naga sits and waits. Lin hands out a couple of sticks of dried meat jerky.  “Here, chew on this, and leave me alone.”

“Where’d you get the jerky?”

“There was a shoulder pouch filled with it on my couch” Lin zips the pouch “I forgot I bought that. Look at you going soft of them” you smile and Lin rolls her eyes “Just to get them off my back”

“Sure... I don’t blame them for liking you” you watch Pabu and Naga eat the jerky greedily before heading back to your inspection as she walks over to the radio in the jeep and picks up the receiver.

“Tonraq, you read me?”

Tonraq over the radio “Yes. We copy”

“I found Korra's jeep, but the kids aren't here. Meet me at the Misty Palms Oasis.”

You look in Aiwei’s jeep for any clues, lean down finding a crumpled up map and note seem to have blown onto the floor. You smooth out the note and read the message ‘Xai Bau’s Grove, sundown.’

This must be where and when Aiwei's going to meet Zaheer.

“Tonraq is going to meet up with us with Lord Zuko on Druk” Lin walks over to you “Druk?” you ask weakly “Dragon” she responds and you curtly nod. She notices you focused and exchanges glances between the note and map “What are you looking at?”

You hand Lin the note “This was crumpled up but it seemed to have been folded before. Maybe the kids found it and went after Aiwei.” Lin looks over the note as you smooth the map on the hood of the jeep.

“But it’s weird….”

“What is?” Lin looks up and walks over standing beside you as you scan the map “I’ve been almost all over the Earth Kingdom and I’ve never once heard or seen anything named, Xai Bau’s Grove”

“Could be a secret hideout” Lin suggests as you nod folding the map “maybe...”.

Two blue crow spirits land on the hood and caw at you, “Hi there” you smile softly then look up as five crow spirits have come to join, one landing on your shoulder and another on your head. While the other three fly around Lin landing on her shoulders and the top of her head. You greet the spirits kindly while Lin shakes them off of her, shooing them away “What is it with animals attacking me” she growls.

You roll your eyes and smile as Lin grabs your arm and pulls you towards the jeep “Come on let’s go before any more beasts show up”

You chuckle and get in “Okay, but Naga and Pabu should join. We can’t leave them behind” you call for Naga and wave her over as Lin starts the car and drives towards the town.

“We can meet up with Tonraq and Lord Zuko at the local cantina” Lin drives down the short road as you look out at the small town and gets out the car “You go on ahead. I’ll search around the town for any clues on the kids”.

“What? No.”

“Don’t trust me, Chief? I’m offended.” you raise an eyebrow and smirk, folding your arms.

“No, but it’s best we don’t separate… for safety reasons” Lin stammers and you smile  “I appreciate the sentiment but only one of us is needed for the reunion with Lord Zuko and Chief Tonraq. I’ll be back shortly.” you assure Lin resting your hand on her arm looking at her.  “Plus the animals can protect you” you quip and Lin rolls her eyes as she steps inside the cantina.

*

Walking down the street you notice a Tavern Owner looking particularly depressed as he sweeps the front of his building “Excuse me, sir.” the owner stops sweeping and brightens up a bit “Oh a potential customer”. You awkwardly smile and tug on your collar “Actually, I was hoping to ask you a question...”

“Oh...seems to be a lot of that today…” he sweeps a bit “Questions?” you encourage, and the owner nods “Yeah, two boys were here earlier asking all sorts of questions about some guy”

“Did one of them have a red scarf?” you questioned him and he shook his head “No, they were wearing yellow raincoats and goggles”

“Raincoats and goggles? In the middle of a desert?”

“Not the weirdest thing to see in these parts”

“Well what about that guy they were asking about? Was he by chance sixty, balding, wearing glasses, a long green robe, and has a piercing that goes from his nose to his ear?”

“Yup, that’s the very same description the boys came asking about. Is he some sort of celebrity or wanted criminal?”

“Uh, no….. The boys are my cousins. I was supposed to meet them here after my car broke down. I was hoping to find either one to catch a ride back to Ba Sing Se with them.”

“What about the old man?”

You wave him off “My jerk of an uncle” you try playing into your story as you look around the town “Anyway sorry to take up your time. Here's...a gold piece for your help. Thank you” you dig in your pocket and give him a gold coin before walking away. Looking for any other possible leads.

You catch a couple across the street at a nearby inn. The male nudges his female companion and the woman looks up at him, confused. He then motions his head towards you and the woman turns in the indicated direction. Your green eyes widen as you focus on the poster the lady is holding and see an image of Bolin as Nuktuk. The lady seems to notice you staring at the poster and holds it tight to her chest and she grabs the man’s arm and tugs him down the street. Your eyes follow them and start walking after them “Hey!” they run down the street with you following after them. The couple duck into an alley and you slow down and approach with caution. The female jumps out to attack you and you evade it “Woah woah woah, I’m not here to fight you!” you yell out waving your hands up

“Then why were you chasing us!” the man huffs,

“I saw the Nuktuk poster” you pant, reeling a bit from the scare.

“Oh so you saw the autographed poster and wanted to steal it from us!” The woman steps up to you causing you to put your hands up defensively and take a step back. “Wait, you say an autographed poster?”

“Yeah!” a crazed smile appears on the man’s face

“We met Nuktuk at the Inn over there!” The woman points in the direction of the inn and the man steps beside her “We're his biggest fans.” Both of them have this wild expression as she pets the poster on Bolin err Nuktuk’s face.

“May I see? I promise not to take off running” the lady glares at you and steps back “Or…you could just let me see it? I’ll put my hands behind my back if that helps” you smile, and she eyes you suspiciously “I’m also a big fan. I just want to admire Nuktuk’s autograph. You guys are so lucky!” you try in your best fan voice and the couple exchange a look before agreeing. You look at the poster with your hands behind your back and see the inscription

“Lily and Macao, Nuktuk says to always reach for the stars!”

That is definitely Bolin’s handwriting. Bolin and Mako were definitely around here.

“Oh wow that’s…. incredibly lucky!” you smile

“I know! We’re so happy. We made him a plushie doll and everything. He was so nice to us.”

You look back at the direction where the woman pointed earlier “You said the Inn was in that direction?”

“Yeah! Oh maybe he can sign something for you!” the man smiles as he puts an arm around the woman’s shoulder.

“Oh well I don’t know but I hope so” you force a smile and wave at the couple “Thank you for your help”

You walk until you find a building with a ‘Misty Palms Inn’ sign that seems to be the one the couple had pointed out and walk into the establishment and approach the check-in counter. Smiling and speaking politely “Good Afternoon. I was wondering if you happened to see my cousin, Bolin. He’s known as Nuktuk. Maybe you saw him walk around these parts?” you watch the old lady’s eyes widen

“Oh yes! But he and his friends are gone” she frowns and closes her ledger and sets it under the counter.

“What do you mean gone?” you grab on the counter and look at her,

“The two girls left on their large polar bear dog but Nuktuk and his male friend fought and got captured by some waterbender. They got thrown in a truck. Poor boy had a bruise on his eye. The make up was so realistic...I didn’t know they were filming a mover here!”

“Oh, um yes. It’s a surprise. Filming is top secret.” you quickly add and turn around “Thank you, have a nice day!” you run out before the Innkeeper can ask any questions.

Walking around the streets you find your way back to the cantina stepping inside the establishment hearing jazz music playing in the background. Lin looks up and stands up from her table as Tonraq and Lord Zuko look up following her gaze as you walk over to her at the back of the tavern.

Tonraq greets you “Captain y/n” you nod back with a handshake and squeeze on the arm “Chief Tonraq, sorry to see each other again under these circumstances”.

“That always seems the case with Korra involved” he tries to lighten the mood and you give him a slight smile before turning your attention to Lord Zuko and respectfully bow to him “Lord Zuko, it is an honor to meet you, sir.”

Lord Zuko stands and returns the bow “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Captain y/n.” You turn your attention to Lin who seems ready to question you, sighing and shaking your head motioning for everyone to sit, you take the seat across from Lin. “They were definitely here, but Mako and Bolin got captured by Ming-Hua, most likely taken back to Zaheer.” you look at Lin’s eyes before turning to Tonraq “What about my daughter?” a sense of urgency in his tone.

“--and Asami?” Lin asks you, her eyes slightly softening as she asks about your friend. You shrug, shaking your head once again, not knowing the answer “Korra and Asami seem to have evaded getting captured. A witness recounts seeing Korra and Asami leaving on Naga--”

“But Naga’s here and Korra isn’t!” Tonraq rebutted and you nod “I know, neither is Asami. Our only hope is that they escaped Zaheer.” You look at the three important figures sitting around you.

“Korra wouldn’t leave Naga. She will come back for her. It’s best we stay here in case she returns” Tonraq suggests and you nod “Understood.”

“Well no use worrying until they return. After that long trip we could use a good meal” Lord Zuko speaks calmly and calls for a waitress, ordering food for everyone.

*

After eating, you decided to order something slightly stronger than tea. The four of you are seated at a table at the back of the tavern. Korra and Asami run up to the table “What are you all doing here?” Everyone at the table turns their heads towards the teens Tonraq is the first to stand up “Korra, you're safe.” He shares a hug with his daughter. As you stand up and tackle Asami in a hug “I’m so glad you’re safe too” as Asami returns the gesture.

“Yeah, we made it out of the desert, thanks to Asami.” She looks over at her. Tonraq gives a nod of gratitude at Asami. Tonraq walks Korra over to Zuko as the ex-Fire Lord stands up to greet her.

“Do you remember Lord Zuko?”

“I met you when you were a very young girl. It's good to see you again, Avatar Korra.” Lord Zuko greets the young Avatar “It's good to see you, Lord Zuko.”

Lin gives Korra a little glare of annoyance “Thanks for ditching me back at Zaofu” she says bitterly.

“Yeah, sorry about that. But how did you all find us?”

“I am a detective, you know.” commenting dryly as she raises an eyebrow and you hide a snicker behind your hand.

“Did you find Mako and Bolin?” Korra looks at Lin. Lin looks over at you causing a sigh from you, as you step toward Korra

“Some people at the inn saw them get captured by Zaheer's crew.” Korra and Asami frown with concern when Lin finishes your report “We don't know where they are. “

Tonraq turns to his daughter “Did you hear about the Earth Queen?”

Korra looks up at her father confused by the question “What about her?”

The radio at the bar blares to life and everyone turns their attention to it.

“Once again, the Earth Queen's reign has come to an abrupt and violent end. Ba Sing Se has descended into chaos. Rioters and looters have overrun the palace.” The radio broadcaster announces the events going on in Ba Sing Se. Your face softens growing with worry about the family you have in the city.

“The Red Lotus” Korra looks down in quiet anger

Tonraq scowls “What's that?”

“The name of the group that's been trying to capture me and just took out the Earth Queen. I'm afraid this is only the beginning, Dad.”  she tells her father.

Ba Sing Se has fallen. After Zaheer and the Red Lotus toppled the Earth Queen’s administration, the city descended into chaos. Things just got bad.

[middleofnowhere92]

Until the Sun Rises in the West and Sets in the East (Chapter 3)

Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Relationships: Azula/Sokka (Avatar) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Game of Thrones Fusion, Game of Thrones References, Game of Thrones-esque, Game of Thrones Spoilers, Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Incest, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Verbal Abuse

Read below the cut or on AO3

The khalasar had broken camp the morning after her wedding, moving east towards Vaes Eveth. By the third day, Azula thought she was going to die. Saddle sores opened on her bottom, hideous and bloody. Her thighs were chafed raw, her hands blistered from the reigns, the muscles of her legs and back so wracked with pain she could scarcely sit. By the time dusk fell, her handmaids would need to help her down from her mount.

Khal Sokka ignored her when they rode, as he had ignored her for most of their wedding, and spent his evenings drinking with his warriors and bloodriders, racing wolves. Azula had no place in these parts of his life. She was left to sup alone, or with General Zhao and her brother, and afterwards cry herself to sleep. Yet every night, sometime before dawn, Sokka would come to her bed. He always slept pressed against her back, for which Azula was grateful. That way her Lord Husband could not see the tears that wet her face and she could use the pillow to muffle any further sobs that poured out of her. He would snore softly with Azula beside him, her body bruised and sore, hurting too much for sleep.

Day followed day, and night followed night, until Azula knew she could not endure a moment longer. One night she decided she would kill herself rather than go on.

Yet when she slept that night, she dreamt the dragon dream again. Father was not in it this time. There was only her and the dragon. Its scales were black as night, wet and slick with blood, her blood, Azula sensed. Its eyes were pools of molten magma, and when it opened its mouth, the flame came roaring out in a hot jet. She could hear it singing to her. She opened her arms to the fire, embraced it, let it swallow her whole, let it cleanse her and temper her and scour her clean. She could feel her flesh sear and blacken and slough away, could feel her blood boil and turn to steam, and yet there was no pain. She felt strong and new and fierce.

And the next day, strangely she did not seem to hurt quite so much. It was as if the spirits had heard her and taken pity. Even her handmaids noticed the change. “Khaleesi,” Ming Hua said, “What is wrong? Are you sick?”

“I was,” she answered, standing over the dragon’s eggs that Uncle had given her when she wed. She touched one, the largest of the three, running her hand lightly over the shell. Black and scarlet, she thought, like the dragon in my dream. The stone felt strangely warm beneath her fingers… or was she still dreaming? She pulled her hand back nervously.

From that hour onward, each day was easier than the one before it. Her legs grew stronger; her blisters burst and her hands grew callused; her soft thighs toughened, supple as leather.

The Khal had commanded the handmaid June to teach Azula to ride in the way of the Tribe, but it was her wolf who was her real teacher. The wolf seemed to know her moods, as if they shared a single mind. With every passing day, Azula felt surer in her seat. The Water Tribe were a hard and unsentimental people, and it was not their custom to name their animals, but Azula still thought of her as Nymeria, the warrior queen Azula had been told tales of as a child. She had never loved anything as much as she loved her wolf.

As the riding became less an ordeal, Azula began to notice the beauties of the land around her. She rode at the head of the khalasar with Sokka and his bloodriders, so she came to each scene fresh and unspoiled. Behind them, the great horde might tear the land and muddy the rivers, but the lands ahead of them were always white and pure.

They crossed rolling hills, past small villages where the people watched anxiously. They forded three wide placid rivers and a fourth that was swift and narrow and treacherous, camped beside a high blue waterfall, skirted the tumbled ruins of a vast dead city where spirits were said to moan among blackened marble columns. They raced down paths a thousand years old and straight as an arrow.

Her agony became a fading memory. She still ached after a long day’s ride, yet somehow the pain had a sweetness to it now, and each morning she came willingly to her saddle, eager to know what wonders awaited her in the lands ahead.

“The Water Tribe Sea,” General Zhao said as he reigned to a halt beside Azula on the top of the ridge.

Beneath them, the icy tundra stretched out immense and empty, a vast flat expanse that reached to the distant horizon and beyond. It was a sea, she thought. Past here, there were no hills, no mountains, no trees nor cities nor roads, only the endless snow, the white mounds rippling like waves when the winds blew.

Azula heard the sounds of voices and turned to look behind her. She and Zhao had outdistanced the rest of their party, and now the others were climbing the ridge below them. Her handmaid June and the young warriors of her khas were fluid as centaurs, but Zuko still struggled with the short stirrups and the flat saddle atop his wolf. Her brother was miserable out here. He ought never have come. Uncle had urged him to wait in the port, but Zuko would have none of it. He would stay with Sokka until the debt had been paid, until he had the crown he had been promised. “And if he tries to cheat me, he will learn to his sorrow what it means to wake the dragon,” Zuko had vowed , laying hands on his broadswords. Uncle had blinked at that and wished him good fortune.

Azula realized that she did not want to listen to any of her brother’s complaints right now. The day was too perfect. The sky was a deep blue, and high above them a hunting sea vulture circled. The snow swayed and sighed with each breath of the wind, the air was cool over her face and Azula felt at peace. She would not let Zuko spoil it.

“Wait here,” Azula told General Zhao. “Tell them all to stay. Tell them I command it.”

The older man smiled. General Zhao was not a handsome man. He had a neck and shoulders like a bull, and coarse black hair covered his arms and chest so thickly, that there was barely any left for his head. Yet his smiles gave Azula comfort. “You are learning to talk like a queen Azula.”

“Not a queen,” said Azula. “A khaleesi.” She turned her wolf and rode down the ridge alone. The descent was steep, but Azula rode fearlessly, and the joy and the danger of it was a song inside of her. All her life Zuko had told her she was a princess, but not until she rode her wolf had Azula Sozin ever felt like one.

At the bottom of the ridge, the tall snow rose around her. Azula slowed her wolf and rode out onto the plain, losing herself in the white, blessedly alone. In the khalasar, she was never alone. Khal Sokka came to her only as the sun was about to rise, but her handmaids fed her and bathed her and slept by the door of her tent, Sokka’s bloodriders and the men of her khas were never far, and her brother was an unwelcome shadow, day and night. Azula could hear him on the top of the ridge, his voice shrill with anger as he shouted at General Zhao. She rode on, submerging herself in the Water Tribe Sea.

The white swallowed her up. Many of the tribespeople wore light blue and white furs, their brown skin contrasted with the environment around them. One of the first days that they had begun their journey, Ming-Hua had presented Azula with a dark blue parka, dress and leggings trimmed with fur. Sokka too wore light colors like his people, so Azula inquired about the difference of her furs. Ming-Hua had given a small smile and said, “The Khal fears he will lose you in the snow, with your light skin. Says you need dark colors so he can find you.” That was the first indication Azula had that the fearsome warrior she had married might have some sense of humor.

The air was rich with the scent of fresh snow, mixed with the smell of damp wolf fur and the scented oil in Azula’s hair. They were smells of the Tribe. They seemed to belong here. Azula breathed it all in, laughing. She had the sudden urge to feel the snow beneath her, to curl her toes in the thickness of it. Swinging down from her saddle, she let Nymeria rest while she pulled off her high boots.

Zuko came upon her as sudden as a summer storm, his wolf rearing beneath him as he reigned up too hard. “You dare!” he screamed at her. “You give commands to me? To me?” He vaulted off his wolf, stumbling as he landed. His face was flushed as he struggled back to his feet. He grabbed her, shook her. “Have you forgotten who you are? Look at you. Look at you!”

Azula didn’t need to look. She was barefoot, with braided hair, wearing Tribe furs her husband had gifted to her. She looked as though she belonged here. Zuko was soiled and stained in silks and ringmail.

He was still screaming, “You do not command the dragon. Do you understand? I am the Lord of the Four Kingdoms, I will not hear orders from some peasant or his slut, do you hear me?” His fingers dug into her flesh painfully. “Do you hear me?”

Azula shoved him away, hard.

Zuko stared at her, his golden eyes incredulous. She had never defied him. Never fought back. Rage twisted his features. He would hurt her now, and badly, she knew that.

Crack.

The whip made a sound like thunder. The coil took Zuko around the throat and yanked him backward. He went sprawling in the grass, stunned and choking. The riders hooted at him as he struggled to free himself. June held the handle of the whip and asked Azula a question. Azula was still so shocked to see her brother thrashing about that June repeated herself as General Zhao and the rest of her khas rode up, “Would you have him dead Khaleesi?”

“No,” Azula replied, “No.”

One of the men barked out a comment and the others laughed. Zhao translated, “They think you should take an ear to teach him respect.”

Her brother was on his knees, his fingers digging under the leather coils, crying incoherently, struggling for breath. The whip was tight around his windpipe.

“Tell them I do not wish him harmed,” Azula said.

Zhao repeated her words. June gave a pull on the whip, yanking Zuko around like a puppet on a string. He went sprawling again, freed from the leather embrace, a thin line of blood under his chin where the whip had cut deep.

“I warned him what would happen, my lady, “General Zhao said. “I told him to stay on the ridge as you commanded.”

“I know you did,” Azula replied, studying Zuko. He lay on the ground, sucking air noisily, red-faced and sobbing. He was a pitiful thing. He had always been a pitiful thing. Why had she never seen that before? There was a hollow place inside of her where her fear of him had been.

“Take his wolf,” Azula commanded Zhao. Zuko gaped at her. He could not believe what he was hearing; nor could Azula quite believe what she was saying. Yet the words came, “Let my brother walk behind us back to the khalasar.” Among the Tribe, the man who does not ride was no man at all, the lowest of the low, without honor or pride. “Let everyone see him as he is.”

“No!” Zuko screamed. He turned to Zhao, pleading in the Common Tongue with words the tribesmen would not understand. “Hit her, Zhao! Hurt her! Your king commands it. Kill these Water Tribe peasants and teach her!”

The older man looked from Azula to her brother; she barefoot, with snow between her toes and braids in her hair, he with his silks and steel. Azula could see the decision on his face,“He shall walk Khaleesi.” He took her brother’s wolf in hand while she remounted Nymeria. She gave one last mournful look at her brother, mourning the man she had thought he was, only now beginning to realize it was a facade.

Zuko gaped at her, and sat down in the dirt. His eyes were full of poison as they rode away. He said to the wind, “My honor, my throne, my country...I’m about to lose them all.”

Soon he was lost in the snow. When they could not see him anymore, Azula grew fearful. “Will he find his way back?” She asked General Zhao as they rode. “Even a man as blind as your brother should be able to follow our trail,'' he replied.

“He is proud. He may be too shamed to come back.” Zhao laughed, “Where else should he go? If he cannot find the khalasar, the khalasar will most surely find him. It is hard to drown in the Tribe, child.”

Azula saw the truth of that. The khalasar was like a city on the march, but it did not march blindly. Always scouts ranged far ahead, alert for any sign of game or prey or enemies, while outriders guarded their flanks. They missed nothing, not here, in this land, the place where they had come from. These lands were a part of them...and of her, now.

“I hit him,” she said, wonder in her voice. Now that it was over, it seemed a strange dream. “General Zhao, do you think...he’ll be so angry when he gets back…” She shivered. “I woke the dragon, didn’t I?

Zhao snorted, “Can you wake the dead, girl? Your cousin Lu Ten was the last dragon, and he died at the Wall. Zuko is less than the shadow of a minksnake.” His blunt words startled her. It seemed as though all the things she suddenly believed were suddenly called into question. “You-you swore him your sword..”

“That I did girl,” Zhao agreed. “And if your brother is the shadow of a minksnake, what does that make his servants?” His voice was bitter.

“He is still the true king. He is…” Zhao pulled up his wolf and looked at her. “Truth now. Would you want to see Zuko sit a throne?” Azula thought about that. “He would not be a very good king, would he?”

“There have been worse… but not many.” The man gave his heels to his mount and started off again. Azula rode close behind him. “Still,” she said, “the common people are waiting for him. Uncle says they are sewing dragon banners and praying for Zuko to return from across the narrow sea to free them.”

“The common people pray for rain, healthy children, and a summer that never ends,” Zhao told her. “It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace.” He gave a shrug, “They never are.”

Azula rode along quietly for a time, working his words like a puzzle. It went against everything Zuko had ever told her to think that the people could care so little whether a true king or a usurper reigned over them. Yet the more she thought on Zhao’s words, the more they rang of truth.

“What do you pray for, General Zhao?” “Home,” he said. His voice was thick with longing. “I pray for home too,” she told him, believing it.

Zhao laughed, “Look around you then, Khaleesi.” But it was not the snow Azula saw then. It was the Capital and the great Red Palace that her ancestors had built. It was Dragonstone where she had been born. In her mind’s eye they burned with a thousand lights, a fire blazing in every window. In her mind’s eye, all the doors were red.

“My brother will never take back the Four Nations,” Azula said. She had known that for a long time, she realized. She had known it all her life. Only she had never let herself say the words, even in a whisper, but now she said them for General Zhao and all the world to hear.

Zhao gave her a measuring look. “You think not.” “He couldn’t lead an army even if my lord husband gave him one,” Azula said. “He has no coin and the only knight who follows him reviles him as less than a minksnake. The Tribe mocks his weakness. He will never take us home.”

“Wise child,” the man smiled. “I am no child,” she retorted fiercely. Her heels pressed into the side of her wolf, rousing her to a gallop. Faster and faster she raced, leaving Zhao and June and the others behind, the sharp wind in her hair and the setting sun red on her face. By the time she reached the khalasar, it was dusk.

Her tent had been erected by the shore of a small pool. She could hear rough voices from the hill. Soon there would be laughter, when the men of her khas told the story of what happened in the snows today. By the time Zuko came limping back among them, every man, woman and child in camp would know him for a walker. There were no secrets in the khalasar.

Azula gave her wolf over to June for grooming and entered her tent. It was cool, but not unbearable. As she let the flap close behind her, Azula saw a finger of dusty red light reach out to touch her dragon’s eggs across the tent. For an instant, a thousand droplets of scarlet flame swam before her eyes. She blinked, and they were gone.

Stone, she told herself. They are only stone, even Uncle said so, the dragons are all dead. She put her palm against the black egg, fingers spread gently across the curve of the shell. The stone was warm. Almost hot. “The sun,” Azula whispered. “The sun warmed them as they rode.”

She commanded her handmaids to prepare her a bath. Jin built a fire outside the tent, while Ming-Hua and June fetched the big copper tub-another bride gift-from the pack horses and carried water from the pool. When the bath was steaming, Ming-Hua helped her into it and climbed in after her.

“Have you ever seen a dragon?” she asked as Ming-Hua scrubbed her back and June sluiced small icicles from her hair. She had heard that the first dragons had come from the Spirit World. Perhaps some were still living there, in realms strange and wild.

“Dragons are gone, Khaleesi,” Ming-Hua said.

“Dead,” agreed June. “Long and long ago.”

Zuko had told her that the last Sozin dragons had died no more than a century and a half ago, during the reign of Azulon, who was called the Dragonbane. That didn’t seem so long ago to Azula. “Everywhere?” she asked, disappointed. “Even in the Spirit World?”

“No dragon,” Ming-Hua said. “Men kill them. It is known.”

“It is known,” agreed June.

“A trader once told me that dragons came from the moon,” Jin said as she warmed a towel over the fire. June and Ming-Hua were older than Azula, almost twenty and five. Jin was of age with Azula. Her brother had found the girl at a pleasure house in Ba Sing Se.

Jet black wet hair tumbled across her eyes as Azula turned her head, curious. “The moon?”

“He told me the moon was an egg, Khaleesi,” the Earth Kingdom girl said. “Once there were two moons in the sky, but one wandered too close to the sun and cracked from the heat, A thousand thousand dragons poured forth, and drank the fire of the sun. That is why dragons breathe flame. One day the other moon will kiss the sun too, and then it will crack and the dragons will return.”

The two other servants gave her a perplexed look. “You are foolish, Earth peasant,” Ming-Hua said. “Moon is no egg. Moon is spirit, woman wife of sun. It is known.”

“It is known,” June agreed.

Azula’s skin was flushed and pink when she climbed from the tub. Ming-Hua laid her down to oil her body and scrape the dirt from her pores. Afterward June sprinkled her with vanilla and winterberry perfumes. While Jin brushed her hair until it shone like onyx, Azula thought about the moon, and eggs and dragons.

Supper was a simple meal of fruit and cheese and bread, with a jug of wine to wash it down. “Jin, stay and eat with me,” Azula commanded while she dismissed her other handmaidens.

Jin lowered her eyes when they were alone. “You honor me Khaleesi,” she said, but it was no honor, only service. Long after the moon had risen, they sat together talking.

As the girls began to eat, Azula asked, “Why did the trader tell you that story about dragons?” Jin gave a soft smile, “Men like to talk after their pleasure. It is when they are happy”

Azula thought on it as she took a sip of wine, “Can you- can you teach me how to make the Khal happy?” Jin chewed thoughtfully, “You have done it though, yes?” Azula glanced sideways, “Yes, but-” “But you want him to feel for you?” She wasn’t sure, but Azula responded, “Something like that.”

Jin nodded, “How does he take you?” The Princess was slightly affronted by how brazen her handmaiden was, but she answered “As all the Tribe does.” Jin chided, “No, no. You must look upon his face. You must use your eyes to make him feel for you. It was said that Irogenia of the Northern Air Temple could finish a man with just a look. Men traveled across the world for a night with her. They sold their riches. Fire Nation men burned her enemies just to have her for a few hours with her. They say a thousand men proposed to her and she refused them all.”

Azula poked at her food, “I don’t think the Khal would approve of me on top of him.” Jin looked at her knowingly, “Do not worry Khaleesi. You will make him enjoy it. Men want what they have never had. The Tribe take women like wolf takes a bitch. You are not bitch, you will not make love like bitch. You are Khaleesi.”

The Earth Kingdom girl stood from where they were eating and beckoned Azula to her, “Come Khaleesi. I will show you.” Azula tentatively followed this girl that seemed to have no issue instructing her Khaleesi. Azula sat on the floor of her tent and Jin shamelessly climbed into her lap. She took Azula’s small hands and put them on her hips as she began to sway, “Like this Khaleesi.” Azula felt Jin’s body press into hers, rubbing together through their many layers of furs.

Azula thought upon her handmaiden’s earlier words and easily flipped the other girl underneath her. Jin let out small laugh, “You are fast learner Khaleesi. Out there he is mighty Khal, but at night he is yours.”

The princess pulled back, “This is not the way of the Tribe.” Jin sat up following her, “Khaleesi, if he wanted way of the Tribe, why did he marry you?”

That night, when Khal Sokka came, Azula was waiting for him. He stood in the door of her tent and looked at her with surprise. She rose slowly and undressed, letting her furs fall to the ground. “This night we must go outside, my lord,” she told him. For the Tribe believed that all things of importance in a man’s life must be done beneath the open sky.

Khal Sokka followed her out into the moonlight, his long’s wolf tail blew in the breeze. A few yards from her tent was a bed of soft furs, and it was there that Azula drew him down. When he tried to turn her on her stomach, she put her delicate hand on his massive chest. “No,” she said in the Tribe language she was still stumbling on, “This night I would look on your face.”

There is no privacy in the heart of the khalasar. Azula could feel the many eyes on her as she undressed him, heard the soft voices as she did the things Jin told her to do to give a man pleasure. It was nothing to her. Was she not Khaleesi? Her Khal’s eyes were the only ones that mattered, and when she mounted him she saw something in his face that she had never seen before. She rode him as fiercely as ever and when the moment of his pleasure came- Khal Sokka called out her name.

They were on the far side of the Watertribe Sea when Ming-Hua brushed the soft swell of Azula’s stomach with her fingers and said, “Khaleesi, you are with child.”

“I know,” Azula told her.

It was her nineteenth name day.

[giuliafc]

Stuck in a Cabin (with you) chapter 3

Read on Ao3 || FFN || Wattpad (link to chapter 1)

Summary: Summoned to save his Lady's life, Adrien gets stuck with her in a cabin during a blizzard. Identities get revealed, feelings come out...but who's been plotting to kill Marinette? Will the culprit be punished? Read to find the answer :) (Adrienette)

Read previous chapter here on Tumblr

Written by: JuliaFC

Betas: Khanofallorcs, Agrestebug, Etoile-Lead-Sama and genxha. Thank you all so much!

Cover Art credit: Rosehealer02 on Deviantart

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc, TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Chapter 3 — Prince Chat-ming

“WHERE IS SHE, TIKKI?” cried Chat Noir when they reached the lake. The place was silent and not even the sound of the cars in the distance seemed to come to his ear, probably muffled by the billowing wind and the snow that had already wrapped the whole park in its white canopy. If he hadn’t been this terrified, the view would have been breathtaking. But the adrenaline rush running through his body kept his concentration on the task. His eyes darted around, looking for the signs he had seen the evening before when he had come here after the first half of the photoshoot. But he couldn’t find any, they were all vanished in thin air.

A really bad feeling started growing in his gut. This looked like a set up!

“I don’t know…” admitted the kwami, breaking his thread of thought. “I had gotten a couple of landmarks but the new snow must have covered them.” She zoomed away and started zipping around the whole length of the lake, appearing to be always more reckless and anxious. She zipped at the centre of the lake mostly, then she went on the other side, then back there again. Until she erupted in a scream.

“Here, Chat Noir, here!” She pointed at where she wanted him to be.

He ran as fast as he could, while he picked up the blue slice of cheese and put it into his mouth shouting, “POWER UP!” he barely managed to transform into his aqua form before diving into the water. For a second he literally turned into ice. God, it was bloody freezing! The water seemed to be stabbing his skin everywhere even if he was wearing his suit. But he forced himself to get used to the temperature and to the dim light quickly, and his gaze started darting in the water trying to find his Lady.

And that’s when he saw her. His heart stopped.

‘No. It can’t be. It can’t be her. No, no, no, no, no… that’s impossible!’

“MARINETTE!!” he screamed, as he swam towards the motionless form and grabbed her with one hand in a manic frenzy, using his enhanced swimming capabilities to get to the surface quickly. It didn’t seem to work, his limbs were too cold and the water felt almost thick against his arm. Shoot. He looked at Marinette’s face and his heart skipped a beat.

His very good friend Marinette. The one whose smile always lit up his day. His everyday Ladybug. The cute, shy, awesome girl who was also one of the strongest people he knew and had been able to stand up to his dad when they had gone to New York. Creative, sweet, determined Marinette. She was his Lady. How did she manage to trick him that well? He clearly remembered having suspected her, but having changed his mind when Kwamibuster attacked because he saw her next to Ladybug! Did she use the Fox Miraculous? She was too clever for her own good.

‘FOCUS! Don’t think about it. Save her now. Freak out later!’

Suddenly, he thought back to the time they faced Evillustrator, when Marinette had shown him how to use his own baton. His lips curled into a small smile. Of course. He picked up his baton from the small of his back and extended it, while holding it tight. The baton reached the bottom of the lake and then started propelling them up and up, until they were out of the water. He waited until it reached a long enough length to have a panoramic view of the lake, and then used the baton to make himself and his Lady fall to the snow-covered grass on the shore. His eyes were full of tears as he held Marinette bridal style to his chest, his heart pounding inside his throat. Was he too late? She was so pale! And cold!

“S-SHE’S N-NOT B-B-BREAT-T-HING!” he said with his teeth chattering, in utter panic, as his ear pushed on her chest to see if she had a heartbeat. A new layer of snow was starting to dust her figure and her hair was already almost covered.

“She must have started to drown, Chat Noir! You need to help her breathe.”

Chat Noir tried to think, although the shivers running through his body and the chattering of his own teeth were so distracting. “I-I n-need t-to… C-P-R…” he managed to say, but then he hesitated.

“What are you waiting for, Chat Noir? Please help her!” begged Tikki. “I can’t do it.”

Although the cold was still biting at him like a rabid dog and he felt his hands slowly turning into ice, he couldn’t help blushing as he nodded warily at Tikki’s plea. Luckily, his father had demanded that he take a first aid course when he had started modeling, as part of the health and safety regulations of the Gabriel brand, and there he had been explained what to do when performing CPR. He knew he had to do it, or she would die.

But it still felt so much like a kiss.

‘Focus, Adrien. She’s dying!’ he thought and gave himself a firm slap in the face to shake himself up. With a determined frown, he moved her head up by pushing on her chin, to give her more room to breathe. Then he put his hands on her chest as he had been shown in the course and started compressing (why had that been such a long time ago? Shouldn’t he have gotten refreshers from time to time, he wondered), trying to remember what to do and how long to count.

Thirty compressions.

Then he gulped and with a firm movement, he opened her mouth and started blowing air into it.

One. two.

Repeat. Chest.

Thirty compressions.

Repeat. Mouth.

One. two.

Repeat. Chest.

Thirty compressions.

Repeat. Mouth.

One. two.

His heart was racing madly in his chest, hoping that he was doing it correctly, as he remembered from the course that if it was performed the wrong way it could have been even more detrimental.

‘Please, Marinette. Please breathe! Breathe for me!’

Hands on her chest. Thirty compressions.

Air in her mouth. One. T—

Marinette started coughing and a massive sigh of relief filled his lungs. He suddenly remembered something that his instructor had said and refrained from hugging her, paying attention to move her a little on the side so she wouldn’t choke again on the water coming out of her mouth. The sound of her laborious breaths was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard. Now that she had breathed a little, he dared picking her head up and gave her a hug, tears flowing down his eyes on his cheeks, almost getting frozen mid way.

“I need to take her to the hospital,” he announced, picking her up bridal style. She had fallen unconscious again.

“She needs to be warmed up, Chat Noir, and quickly. Do you know where the closest hospital is?” asked Tikki, zipping in front of him and floating on his nose.

He sighed. “No idea. But,” he picked up his baton from the ground, “we can easily check.” He turned on his communicator and saw yet another news alert. He opened it up and saw Nadja Chamack already talking. “—ed. I highlight: Code Red. Stay in. Stay safe. More accidents have been reported on the road. The queue at the local hospitals has increased to three to four hours just to be registered, and even longer to be seen. If you don’t need to go out, sta—” The screen of his baton flickered and turned black. Chat Noir blinked and gave it a shake, trying to get the screen to turn on again.

“What’s going on?” he said to himself, not really expecting an answer.

“Either your phone has died in the cabin or there’s a loss of GPS signal so big that the baton cannot function properly,” said Tikki.

“Shoot!” cursed Chat Noir under his breath. “My phone was nearly dead earlier. What do I do now?”

Tikki sighed. “You heard Madame Chamack. Marinette doesn’t have three to four hours to wait, she needs to be looked after now.”

“Usually, emergencies are dealt with much faster,” argued Chat.

“Can you take that chance?” Tikki looked at him with utter concern in her big blue eyes. Chat Noir lowered his gaze.

“No,” he said in defeat. Then he looked at Tikki again. “I’ll look after her. The cabin should have some blankets, and it’s much warmer than outside.” He saw the wee Goddess of Creation finally curl her lips into a smile and he held Marinette more safely in his arms, bridal style.

“S-so c-cold—” muttered Marinette in his arms, shivering like a leaf. That was the final incentive. Chat Noir grabbed his baton and used it to propel himself forward, trying to reach the cabin as quickly as possible.

oOoOoOoOoOo

“Claws in,” said Adrien as he placed Marinette carefully on the small sofa in the cabin. He made to look for a blanket into the cabinet near the heating system, but as he was walking towards it, Plagg zoomed in front of his face.

“CHEESE!” he demanded.

Adrien raised an eyebrow. “You’ve eaten it all earlier, Plagg. How big is your stomach exactly?”

“You have no idea!” whined the wee black furball, but Adrien didn’t give him any more attention. He opened the press and started rummaging for a blanket, which he found almost immediately. He walked straight back to Marinette and made to wrap her under the blanket.

“That won’t be enough, Adrien,” said Tikki, flying in front of him and stopping him. “You will only make the blanket wet.”

“What do you mean? She’s cold, she needs to be covered up.”

Tikki kept her tiny body between the blanket and Marinette. “You need to take her clothes off. She can’t warm up wearing freezing wet clothes.”

“WHAT?” Adrien's face flushed the color of Ladybug’s suit. “Tikki, I-I c-can’t undress her!”

Tikki gave him a scrutinous look and frowned. “Why? You have two perfectly functional arms and hands. You can certainly take her clothes off.”

“I-I’M A BOY!”

“And she’s a girl who could die of hypothermia!” Plagg appeared munching a crumb of cheese he must have found somewhere in the room, and floated next to Tikki, giving him an amused stare. He folded his tiny paws on his chest and added scornfully, “Who cares if you’re a boy, a girl or even a dog?”

“B-B-B-B-U-T…” Adrien started breathing heavily. “She’s going to kill me!”

“I don’t think so,” said Tikki and Plagg continued, “You need to do it or she will die. I’m sure she will be grateful, gamin.”

“C-cold…” muttered Marinette from the couch. He dashed to her to check if she had woken up — but no, she was still unconscious, probably talking in her sleep. God, she was so pale, she was still shivering badly, her teeth were a constant chattering and her lips were blue. He touched her hands, and they were pieces of ice.

He took a big breath. “O-okay,” he said and started taking her coat off, and then her black blazer, and put everything on the ground next to the small sofa. When she was left in her bra and underwear, he gulped and hesitated.

“Would this be enough?” he asked, looking at his two small companions with a fearful frown. To keep himself occupied he started drying her skin with a dry towel. She was still shivering.

“Would you like to sleep with freezing wet underwear on?” asked Plagg in response.

No, he wouldn’t. But… he couldn’t possibly justify. No, he couldn’t. He ran a hand through his hair and thought carefully of the situation, scratching firmly the nape of his neck. He tried to gain some time by picking a towel and starting to dry her hair. He suddenly realised that she was still having her hair combed into her pigtails, so he put the towel down to take off the elastic bands that held them together.

Shoot. He’d never thought that it would be that hard to detangle elastic bands from wet hair. He felt her wincing as he gave the elastic a firm push and took it off. Quite a few strands of hair came off with it—he felt terrible, but he picked up the towel and carried on drying her hair for a few moments, trying to take away most of the wetness.

He still had the other problem, the wet underwear, which he didn’t want to remove. At least not without her being covered. Wait, that’s it! His face brightened and his lips curled in a triumphant smile, as he’d just had an idea and it could really work. He picked up the blanket and placed it on the now soaking wet leather sofa. Then he quickly dashed to the cabinet and got another blanket, which he wrapped around Marinette’s body. Good, now that she was covered, he breathed easier. He moved her towards him and put his hands inside the blanket, starting to fiddle with the little hooks on her bra. Finally, after some effort he managed to open it up and take it off, with some struggle (he was trying to prevent the blanket from falling off as he did so). Then, he picked up a smaller towel and passed it blindly on her wet skin to dry it, making sure that he wasn’t touching anything inappropriate with his bare hands. But as he proceeded to move to the other piece of lingerie that was left on her, he stared at his hands, literally shaking.

“Told you he was useless, Sugarcube,” muttered Plagg from somewhere behind him, his voice full of mockery and mischief. Adrien turned his head to glare at this little friend.

“I’m not,” he argued.

“You are,” argued back Plagg. “Take that piece of fabric off already. You covered her, right? You won’t see anything.”

Adrien sucked his breath in. His heart was in his throat right now. He moved his hands underneath the blanket and had to run them on her body trying to find the border of her knickers. Oh God, she was so cold! When he found the underwear, he pulled it off, let it fall on the floor on top of the other clothes and gave even that part a blind and very quick drying.

When he let even the towel slip on the floor, he breathed better, his head resting against the blanket that wrapped Marinette. Thank God, that bit was done. He thought he was going to die! He carefully let go of Marinette and placed her on top of the blanket he had wrapped on the sofa.

“Good, about time,” muttered Plagg. Again, the wee black furball zipped in front of his nose and looked at him, a gleam of mockery shining through his electric green eyes. “Now it’s your turn.”

Adrien gave Plagg the most confused look ever. “Huh?”

“Adrien,” said Tikki moving next to Plagg, as her little paw touched Adrien’s cheek. “Marinette needs body heat. You need to undress and get under that blanket with her, and hug her until she warms up.”

His heart stopped. “I NEED TO DO WHAT?” he squealed, his eyes as big as saucers as he looked at Tikki in pure and utter terror. "She's naked, Tikki!"

“Come on, you’ve always wanted to do this. Take your clothes off and cuddle her already!” Plagg snorted.

Tikki blinked and then rolled her eyes. “Stinkysock! You’ve got no tact, at all.”

“It's not a question of tact. I know him, Sugarcube. If we let him take his time, Pigtails is going to freeze to death.” Plagg snorted again. “Gamin, come on. Man up and do your job. You want to protect her, right?”

“Adrien, please. The longer you wait the worse Marinette will get. Do it for me. Or for h—”

“—or for whomever. As long as you do it. Her lips are getting bluer than Duusu.”

Adrien gave them a pleading look. Then he gulped, looked at Marinette’s blue lips, shivering limbs and pale complexion and gave them another pleading look.

“Please, Adrien, we would do it ourselves if we could, but we’re too small!”

Adrien whimpered, but his hands started working their way to his coat. He took his coat off and his skin was greeted with the cold temperature of the cabin. God, it was freezing! Did the heater even work? He hadn’t turned it off before getting out of the cabin, it had been on all day! He proceeded to take off his overshirt, and then his black t-shirt. He shivered.

“Ugh!” he muttered and folded his arms around his chest, trying to warm up. The heater was at full heat, he noted, but the cabin was still freezing.

“Come on!” ordered Plagg. Adrien glared at him, but stood up and took his jeans off. Uh, bloody hell, he had goosebumps!

“What are you waiting for, Christmas?” asked Plagg when Adrien had been left with only his boxers to cover him. Adrien forced himself to get out of his self-induced panic and slipped into the blanket, shaky hands reaching the body of the girl of his dreams and pulling her close.

She. Was. A. Piece. Of. Ice! Oh God!!

He gasped so loudly that Tikki flew near him and looked at him with a frown.

“Are you okay?” she asked worriedly.

“Just being spineless,” spurted Plagg mockingly, gaining another glare from his chosen.

“She’s so cold!” whimpered Adrien, but forced himself to embrace her firmly with his arms and squeezed her against his chest. He wrapped his body around her, trying to keep contact with as much of her skin as possible. His hands started rubbing her back and arms, trying to create heat from friction.

Slowly, very slowly, so slowly that for a while he thought that Tikki and Plagg had been mistaken and he really should have taken her to the hospital, Marinette began warming up. As she warmed up, the rigidity in her limbs faded and without waking up, she started hugging him back.

When he realised that Marinette was finally warm and out of danger of hypothermia, Adrien detangled himself from her hold and let himself fall off the front of the sofa.

“Are you hurt?” asked Plagg, looking at him with no real concern from the cushion he had placed himself.

“No,” answered Adrien, “Marinette isn’t frozen anymore. I want to find some clothes to change her into. You know, to prevent her from killing me when she wakes up.” He shivered as the freezing cold of the cabin hit his bare skin, but he proceeded towards the wardrobe.

Plagg sighed and shook his head. “I told you way too many times that you worry too much, gamin. Sleep and when she wakes up she can dress herself!”

“At least a t-shirt, come on…” muttered Adrien chattering his teeth. He rummaged among the spare photoshoot clothes that were left in the cabin — sometimes a t-shirt or a pair of trousers didn’t fit the ensemble and had to be changed. There was no lingerie (and if there had been, Adrien wouldn’t even have touched it. Ew!), but after a quick scan, he finally emerged from the pile holding an XXL t-shirt that he would easily be able to put on Marinette. It was so oversized that he was sure it would cover enough of her minute figure to make it safe. It wasn’t really nice to look at, but it was something.

He approached Marinette and lifted her head softly to put the neck hole of the t-shirt on. Then he proceeded to put one of her arms in the arm hole, and as he was doing that he noticed that Marinette had opened her eyes. Blood drained from his face.

“Mhhhhh,” she murmured, and drifted off back to sleep instantly. Adrien breathed a sigh of relief. He finished to fit her arm on the t-shirt and then moved her slightly to put on her other arm, making sure that the blanket was covering Marinette’s chest. When the t-shirt was on, he pulled it down and admired his work. Yes, it was reasonably okay, the t-shirt was covering her enough.Of course she was still naked underneath it, but at least it was one layer to separate her from… him. With one firm movement, he buried himself again underneath the blanket, and as if she’d been there waiting for it, Marinette wrapped herself around him again subconsciously.

Soon after that, Adrien’s adrenaline rush dissipated. Marinette was finally warm and soft against his body and the smell of coconut and wildflower coming from her hair hit his nostrils. Her regular breathing was tickling the crook of his neck, and he found himself gently stroking her hair, the only part of her body that was still a bit damp, and cold. Her hug had grown stronger as her temperature raised, and now she was holding him tightly.

It was becoming always more difficult for him to keep his eyes open. He hadn’t thought about it as he panicked trying to rescue her, but the run and the manic CPR session, had really taken a toll on him, even if he’d been transformed. Add to that the long day in school and the even longer afternoon posing for the photoshoot—Adrien was exhausted. He placed a light kiss on her forehead.

“Mhhhhh, me and you against the world, mon Chaton,” she murmured in his ear.

His heart started racing as a smile curled his lips. He grabbed one of her hands, tugged around his waist, and placed a kiss on her knuckles.

“Always, My Lady,” he whispered before drifting off to sleep.

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

Author’s Note:

Hi again! Here’s chapter 3. Marinette is safe. Adrien… hum… don’t know about that XD

In the next instalment of “Stuck in a cabin (with you)”, “Trapped”:

— “What can be more urgent than the ceiling risking to fall on our head?”

— “Look at me, I’m the IMAGE of calm.”

— “Well, this gentlecat deserved a reward, right?”

So… I hope that you enjoyed the fluff at the end of the chapter. This isn’t the end, though. Let me know what you thought about it and drop me a comment! I will continue soon :) can’t promise I will publish every week, but let me know what you think and I’ll publish as soon as I can. Please subscribe if you’re interested in knowing what is going to happen, so you will know when the next update is!

And please check out my other WIPs, “When Magic Fails”, “Caught in the Loop”, “Errata Corrige” and “La Caverne du Papillon d’Or”!

Last but not least, as usual, if you read this and you’re not part of our wonderful Discord server already, but you enjoy reading, writing and talking about Miraculous, please join our Discord server, Miraculous Fanworks (for people on FFN, discord dot gg slash mlfanworks). See you there soon. Not sure when I will update this story but it won't be too long! Promise!

[oswildin]

The Goo Times ~ Dhawan!Master x Reader

Request: Hey hey.. Are taking requests... If yea.. Imma leave something here... Reader and Dmaster... Where they are traveling together and after some trip they end up covered from head to toe in some goo.. So reader decided to go for some ocean planet.. And do some skinny dipping... And master for first time seeing readers scars and tattoos... Add some smut if you are comfortable.. If not then ignore the last part... Sorry if this sucks ( @g00dl13 )

Summary: The Master thought it would be fun to go to an alien planet... and blow up its inhabitants... leading to you being head to toe in alien goo.

Warnings: No nudity but some flesh on show oh la la

The Master was doing what he always did best. Cause chaos. You had landed on Raxacoricofallapatorius. Which ended up with you being stuck between two of the planets inhabitants... With the Master stood next to you looking rather annoyed by their presence. They were ultimately trying to kill you, or ‘hunt’ as they liked to put it. You looked at the Master.

“I hope you have a plan, cause I did not plan on dying today.” You told him, staring at him as he wore a knowing smirk on his lips. He quickly reached into his pocket, whipping out some sort of liquid. You furrowed your brows, confused at what he had planned.

“Now! I wouldn’t do anything rash if I were you!” The Master called over to the green aliens. “Do you know what this is? Hm?” He tilted his head slightly, showing them the large vial in his hand. “One drop on your skin and boom.” He dramatically told them, eyes crazed. The aliens grunted, stepping back as they eyed the vial.

“What is it?” You asked quietly, eyeing him as he turned to you, a brow raised.

“Acetic acid. Potent stuff for these big guys.” He grinned manically. “Think of the worst allergic reaction you could possibly get, then imagine it ending in explosions.” You pulled a face at the mans words, imagining the mess the aliens would make.

“Great.” You grimaced, forcing a tight smile on your lips.

“I know!” He exclaimed, missing your sarcasm as you rolled your eyes.

“Let’s just go.” You nodded towards the opening to freedom, seeing the aliens backing down. The Master sighed, beginning to walk away from the aliens, however, they had another plan. They roared as they began to race towards you both. You yelled as you jumped away, the Master throwing the vial over the aliens as they froze. They made a gross fart sound before exploding... all over you both. The Master closed his eyes, accepting the disgusting goo whilst you screamed as covered your whole face. The Master opened his eyes, a wide smile on his lips as you gagged at the stench.

“This is minging.” You coughed, wiping the goo from your hair as you tried to not be sick. Roars were heard from the distance as you gasped, the Master grabbing your hand, the sound of your hands squelching together as you pulled a disgusted face. You both began to run towards his TARDIS as you fled the scene. You stood in the console room as you began to feel uncomfortable in your soaked clothes.

“You have a lot of making up to do.” You told him sternly, looking unimpressed at the state of yourself. He laughed manically as he danced around the console, setting in coordinates. “Now where are we going?!” You exclaimed. “It better be somewhere with a shower.” You narrowed your eyes, looking at him accusingly.

“How about a whole ocean planet?!” He exclaimed, pulling a lever. Suddenly the ship landed with a bump as you instantly rushed to the door, hoping he wasn’t lying. You stepped out, seeing you were surrounded by water. He had managed to extend the field, allowing you to stand on top of the ocean beneath you. He appeared beside you as you instantly began to remove your grossly covered in alien goo jacket. “Water! There you go.” He looked proud of himself. “You said you wanted a shower.” He raised a brow as you glared at him. He was such an ass.

You began to remove your t-shirt as he instantly looked surprised at you. He couldn’t help but stare at you as you continued to dress down, preparing to soak yourself in the water. You kept your underwear on as you looked over at him, seeing a mischievous but also shocked look in his eyes.

“Don’t just stand there.” You told him, gesturing to his goo covered clothes. “Time for a soak.” You jumped off the force field, into the water. Luckily it was luke warm, not causing your body to be shocked by the impact. The Master felt heat flow into his cheeks as he hesitantly began to remove articles of clothing. You relished in the warmth of the water, sighing in content as you felt the goo wash off your body. You couldn’t help but peer over at the Master. You weren’t going to lie, you were totally checking him out. What? You were only human.

After finally getting clean, you both got out the water, the cold air of the TARDIS brushing your skin as you shivered from the drastic change in temperature. You stood by the console, walking over to the sofa as you grabbed a blanket from it, wrapping it around your body, missing the Master’s stares from across the room. Were you trying to kill him?

He swallowed the lump in his throat as he noted the marks that graced your body, the tattoos... the scars... the freckles. All of those things made you more appealing to him. Each tattoo and scar having its own story. It was intriguing. You sighed, feeling the warmth of the blanket wrap your body as you turned back round to face the Timelord. He didn’t seem cold at all, as he proceeded to navigate the ship.

“Aren’t you going to cover up?” You asked, raising a brow.

“I thought you were enjoying the view?” He teased as you felt your cheeks blush. He smirked at your reaction, feeling pleased with himself.

“Like you weren’t.” You challenged, wiggling your brows as he pursed his lips, tightening his jaw. “I’m going to go get changed, and relax.” You told him, beginning to walk past him. “And if you were blow up an alien in my presence again, I won’t hesitate to use you as a shield.” You threatened, pointing at him as he smirked.

“Noted.” He winked as you rolled your eyes at him, disappearing from the room.

God. You would be the death of him.

[5hining-aus]

SHINee Proposing

proud-cat-mommy said to 5hining-aus: hi!!! i dont know how your requests work, but i would really like to read a shinee scenario with the proposal, and maybe one with the wedding planning! love your scenarios so muuuuch ♡

Hi there! I could’ve sworn that I had already done this, but I guess I haven’t! Anyway, I definitely had some ideas. Enjoy!

Onew

I know I’ve used this before, but I really like the idea of Jinki accidentally making you think he was breaking up with you when he was, in fact, doing the exact opposite

Just imagine it: you two are at a fancy restaurant, just finishing up dessert, when Jinki takes your hand in his, looks you right in the eye, and says “Y/N, I think we should stop dating”

The couple sitting at the next table is scandalized and you’re just sitting there processing your boyfriend’s (ex-boyfriend’s?) words

Like, he couldn’t have sprung this on you before the main course? And he was so nonchalant about it too

The weirdest thing was that he was still holding your hand and looking at you with nothing but love in his eyes

While you’re still trying to piece his words and actions together, Onew, oblivious to the mental gymnastics you’re performing, reaches into his suit jacket pocket and pulls out a small velvet box

Inside is a ring with the BIGGEST diamond you have ever seen. Seriously, this thing is a sparkler

You’re confused, the couple at the next table is confused, your waiter (who was hiding around the corner because he had come out just as Jinki said “We should stop dating”) is confused. Everybody is confused except for Jinki, who is waiting for your reply

Obviously, once you figure out what the heck is going on, your answer is an enthusiastic yes (though you do give Onew a light smack on the chest for making you think he was leaving you)

Jonghyun

It’s Jonghyun, we all know it’s going to be the sappiest, most sentimental proposal there ever was

He’d probably bring you somewhere that’s special to the both of you, like the place you two met or where you had your first date

To be honest, you kind of knew the proposal was coming

Your boyfriend is wonderful, but he isn’t exactly the stealthiest. He isn’t the best at hiding engagement rings either, considering the fact that you just stumbled upon it while looking for a sweater

You only saw the box, and you didn’t peek, but it was very obviously a ring box

You were still going to act surprised though

He has a whole speech prepared about how much he loves you and how happy you make him

Literal strangers who just happen to be nearby are getting teary-eyed because of how sweet his words are

He doesn’t even manage to finish his speech before you launch yourself at him, pulling him into a kiss and accepting his proposal

Key

This is another one where you know the proposal is coming before it happens. Only difference is that in this one, you know because you and Key had discussed marriage plans beforehand

You knew that there would be a proposal, but you didn’t know when or how it would happen

Basically, the proposal is a surprise, but the engagement isn’t

Anyway, that being said, Kibum’s proposal is this giant thing that probably has the media talking about it for like a week

It happens at one of his concerts. He had told you earlier to be ready and that he was going to do something. You figured that he meant something along the lines of him shouting “Y/N, I LOVE YOU!” at some point during the show. You were wrong

Instead, he pulls you up on stage and proposes to you right there, during his final part in Married To The Music

The other members are 100% in on it and they’re almost more excited to hear your response than Key is

All the Shawols in the audience are losing their minds (in a good way) and so are all the Shawols who are streaming. If you’re also a celebrity, then all your fans are freaking out as well (once again, in a good way)

You and Kibum both knew that the answer was going to be a yes (he wouldn’t have asked so publicly if he wasn’t 1000% sure of your answer) but you decided to tease him a bit and reply with something along the lines of “ hmm, maybe, I’ll think about it.” You make him wait until the end of the show to get his “yes”

Minho

Oh boy, you know that Minho has something big planned for when he pops the question

Two words: scavenger hunt

I am just now realizing that I must really like the idea of Minho planning scavenger hunts for his S/O, since this is the second time I’ve included that in a scenario

Anyways, he gets all of your mutual friends in on it and stations them at random places throughout the city, each one with a clue that’ll lead you to the next person

Well, the places aren’t totally random. They’re places that are important to the two of you, like the place where you and Minho had your first kiss (Jjong’s stationed there), or the café that sells your guys’ favourite muffins (where Jinki is stationed)

Ming put a lot of planning into this. He even made sure that you’d visit all the spots where important milestones for your relationship occurred in chronological order

And he even made all the clues into little riddles (with some help from the others)

When you finally find him (after pretty much running around the whole city), he’s all dressed up and waiting for you in a place that he had obviously been busy decorating for hours

You start putting everything together in your head and, before you can even say “oh my gosh,” Minho’s dropped to one knee and is pulling the ring out

Taemin

So, Taemin had a plan for his proposal. Keyword being “had”

His proposal plan was actually really sweet and, in his imagination, included you swooning and him sweeping you off your feet, whisking you away oh-so romantically

Yeah, it didn’t go as planned. Like, at all

He had gotten a call from the jeweller earlier, telling him that the ring was ready. He had to go to practice the next day, so he was going to pick it up on his way home from that

Well, that morning you asked him what he was doing for the day

I think we all see where this may be going

“Well, first I need to run some errands, then I’m going to go buy some groceries, go to practice, pick up your engagement ring…”

He realizes what he said pretty much immediately, but it’s too late. You had heard what he had said loud and clear

You both agree that you’re going to act surprised when he pulls the ring out later though

[lumau]

In the snow + Longing + Froststorm please? c°:

I hope this is sufficient longing... 🥺

❄🖤🤍❄

He was vaguely aware that he was keeping Fei Hong busy much longer than it should have been necessary, but his mind kept trailing off. The servant, who was currently waiting for him to continue his dictation, looked at him expectantly. Li Ming would have known not to stare. It made him nervous.

“Read me the last sentence again,” Ao Shun demanded and got up to slowly pace towards the window, turning his back on Fei Hong. He had to think of Li Ming’s voice, always steady and smooth, whether he gave a presentation to the conference of ministers or read to him in private from his favorite collection of poems. How there had been the slightest, almost imperceptible tremor to it when he said ‘I can’t wait to see you again.’ almost 4 months ago.

“Your Majesty?” Ah. He had not heard one word of what Fei Hong had read. Maybe he should simply give up on the correspondence for today, it was getting late. In his mind’s eye he saw Li Ming slightly raising an eyebrow in disdain of the thought to leave an unfinished task for the next day. Ao Shun suppressed a frustrated sigh.

“Once more, please.”

With some effort he managed to focus long enough to get to the end of the letter. While Fei Hong finished it for him to sign, he stared broodingly out into the rain. It was completely dark now. The closer the evening drew, the heavier the clouds had piled up, and the heavier his heart had felt. Especially towards the end of the day the emptiness where Li Ming was missing became more pressing. He had grown so used to their routines and his calm, unobtrusive presence. This had been his longest solitary journey. After a few visits to finish matters of business, he had been required by his family for a row of ceremonies and services in memory of his brother.

Five more days until he would return. Sometimes Ao Shun already had butterflies in his stomach at the thought that he would be able to close him in his arms again soon. But more often he still felt his absence weighing heavily, and loathed the time of waiting and anticipation, wishing he had him with him again already.

Something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye and pulled him from his thoughts. There, again - lighter flecks began to show in the wind and rain. It was November now. When Li Ming had left the summer had been at its hottest - now it seemed he would miss the first snowfall of this winter. Ao Shun raised his hand to the ring he was wearing on a chain around his neck. He felt it cool and smooth against his skin under his shirt. Before they parted, he had had these two made for them. He wished that there was a way to communicate through them across worlds, but he had to be satisfied with the clear feeling he got from the token, a certainty that Li Ming was well and safe.

His heart ached with longing as he thought of that night when he had shown Li Ming the pair of rings. He had been aware that Ao Shun had commissioned them, of course, as they were made with their combined blood to link them together. The king had collected many of such tokens over the centuries. He never let go of them, and each of them was unique and significant in its own way.

A sudden inspiration made him open the sliding door that led out onto the balcony. It protruded far out above the valley, the dark forest deep below the palace. As every dragon Ao Shun took comfort and solace in indulging in the unrestrained elements. Up here he was as close to the weather as he could get without taking flight.

The wind had settled, and as he stepped out, snowflakes drifted silently around him. The rain had completely turned into snowfall now, the small, wafting crystals in stark contrast to the black night sky. Ao Shun stepped up to the balustrade and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths of the cold air. The scent was so familiar, one that he had fallen asleep with and woken up to many times. There was a biting edge to the breeze now, but instead of making him shiver, he felt warmth spreading inside him.

Snow drifted around him, speckling his hair, skin and clothes. He once more closed his hand around his ring, and felt a low, rhythmic pulsing. His lips relaxed into a soft smile, as he turned to look up towards the sky. Snowflakes gently kissed his face, his cheeks and lips. He could almost feel Li Ming’s cool finger running tenderly along his jaw, the soft touch of his lips against his own.

Despite the freezing cold, Ao Shun felt warm all over. While Li Ming was still days away, this onset of winter came like his harbinger. Not long now.

[minmotl]

Chapter 26: Sui Zhou Asks Tang Fan To Move In With Him

Context: Tang Fan has arrested his landlord Li Man for killing his lawful wife Lady Zhang, while Wang Zhi has given Pan Bin an impossible task to solve, so Tang Fan heads to the Northern Administrative Court hoping that he can find either Xue Bing or Sui Zhou to help him.

Happens after The Marquis Wu An Case and marks the start of Tang Fan’s domestic life with Sui Zhou and Ah Dong.

Introduction Post | Masterpost

—

Highlights under the cut

Unfortunately, Xue Bing was not at the Northern Administrative Court, and the men currently on shift are unfamiliar faces to Tang Fan, so Tang Fan asked a few questions and seeing that they were reluctant to reveal any information to him, he did not force the issue, turning around to leave.

However, a familiar, cold voice sounds from behind him, “Why are you looking for Lao Xue?”

Tang Fan turns around and grins, “Guang Chuan-xiong, you have returned?”

Sui Zhou still has that stoic, icy face on, but the moment he sees the genuine delight on Tang Fan’s face, his eyes reveal that little bit of happiness, and he nods, “Hnn, you were looking for Lao Xue?”

Tang Fan smiles in return, “I was intending to look for you and made a trip here a few days ago. Lao Xue told me that you left on a trip, so I didn’t expect you to return so quickly. If it is convenient for you, I do have some things I would like to discuss with you.”

Sui Zhou replies, “I did hear about the request you made of him.”

Pausing for a moment, Sui Zhou looks to the side slightly to indicate at the person standing behind him, “In the future, if both Lao Xue and I are not around, you can look for Pang Qi.”

Pang Qi is similarly dressed as an Embroidered Uniform Guard, but at a glance, his position seems to be slightly lower than that of Lao Xue’s. He is also younger with a child-like face, the kind of person who smiles constantly and gives off a gentle and harmless feeling.

Yet, Tang Fan would not underestimate him just because of this. Any person who works at the Northern Administrative Court and does not bat an eyelid even at the sight of various kinds of prisons cannot be judged with the standards of a normal person. Out in the world, one should not read a book by it’s cover, and it is often that the more harmless a person looks, the more capable he is.

Tang Fan nods at the man in acknowledgement and introduces himself, “I’m Tang Fan, Tang Run Qing, a prefectural judge at Shun Tian Prefecture. We met the day you accompanied Guang Chuan-xiong to Hui Chun Tang for the investigation.”

This person before Pang Qi calls Sui Zhou by his birth name, and after hearing Sui Zhou himself tell the man that he can look for Pang Qi next time if he needs to, even if Pang Qi was dumb, he knows that this man has a very good relationship with his superior. This is a man that Pang Qi cannot afford to offend, and so he puts his hands together and greets, “Tang-daren is too polite, if there is anything you need in the future, just let me know!”

Sui Zhou turns impatient, listening to the both of them exchange unnecessary pleasantries, and so he interrupts them, “Jian Xian, you can get back to work first.”

“The location of that White Jade Horse that you asked Lao Xue to search for, we’ve found it,” Sui Zhou continues.

“Where is it?” Tang Fan asks quickly.

“In the house of the Eastern Depot’s Head, Shang Ming.”

Tang Fan’s expression turns strange at that.

Sui Zhou adds, “Shang Ming was the one who paid a high price to buy the White Jade Horse from Ying Guo Gong, and Wang Zhi wanted one at the same time but was unable to snatch it out of Shang Ming’s hands, so he’s not involved with that object.”

Tang Fan laughs wistfully, “Pan-daren is in a difficult position if that’s the case. Why did Wang Zhi prank him like this without any reason?”

It was futile, because even if he knew the location of the White Jade Horse, how could Shun Tian Prefecture go to Shang Ming and ask for the object? The fact that the White Jade Horse was originally Shang Ming’s aside, even if it was not, with Pan Bin’s position, if he really went to ask for it, would Shang Ming have simply given it to him?

Considering this from another perspective, wouldn’t Wang Zhi have known that the object was at Shang Ming’s? And yet, he still asked Shun Tian Prefecture to look for it, is it not clear that Wang Zhi is putting Pan Bin in a spot?

Is Wang Zhi really as the rumours say, an arrogant and selfish who marches only to the sound of his own heartbeat?

Sui Zhou thinks about it and says, “Wang Zhi has always been enemies with Shang Ming, his motive could be simply to disgust Shang Ming.”

Tang Fan puts out both his hands, “Pan-daren who has nothing to do with this was dragged into this when he he was never involved in the first place.”

“Then how are the both of you going to handle this?”

Tang Fan shakes his head, “I’ll go back and let Pan-daren know about this. Oh right, there is something I wish to tell you.”

He briefly explains the situation with Lee Man murdering his wife and his mistress, surname Chen, disappearing, before mentioning the White Lotus Sect mark again.

“The White Lotus Sect has risen from the ashes again, and all they will do is create trouble from the dark, I will get my men to keep an eye on this.”

He doesn’t know why, but once Sui Zhou says this, Tang Fan knows for certain that the man will treat the matter seriously. On his part, Tang Fan is also assured, as if he has entrusted this important task to someone reliable.

Perhaps there are simply people who handles tasks well and are naturally able to set others at east, and Sui Zhou is exactly this kind of person.

Tang Fan smiles then, “Then I will leave this to you. I should be sitting down with you and having a chat with you since you have just returned from your trip, but because of the White Jade Horse matter, Pan-daren has been very concerned so I have to quickly head back and let him know. Let us reschedule for another day?”

Sui Zhou makes a sound of assent and they slip into a moment of awkward silence, before he asks abruptly, “What time will you get home today?”

“If nothing else comes up, the court will be dismissed at the usual time and I will go home then, what is it?”

“Then I will find you tonight,” Sui Zhou says.

Tang Fan unconsciously agrees, and looking back now he thinks that something is amiss, but what exactly is wrong with what Sui Zhou suggested?

The incredibly intelligent Tang-daren thinks hard about this on his way back, but is unable to come to a conclusion.

Pan Bin’s dilemma over the news of the White Horse Jade is put out of his mind for now. Without Ah Dong sending snacks over to him, Tang Fan usually settles his dinner outside after he is dismissed from work before going home, but considering that Sui Zhou said he is coming over, Tang-daren veers off to the side of the street and buys some meat stewed with soy sauce from a snack stall, and also buys a bottle of rice wine from the wine stall next to it.

He makes a huge detour and by the time he makes his leisurely way home, he realizes that someone is already standing at the door to his house, and isn’t that Sui-qianhu?

“If I’d known you were coming over so early, I would have come home first and save you the wait standing outside my door!” Tang Fan increases the speed of his footsteps as he walks towards Sui Zhou, an apologetic smile on his face.

“It is no bother,” Sui Zhou says.

Tang Fan realizes that there are also some snacks in Sui Zhou’s hands.

“My house is quite a distance away from yours, I will just stay here tonight, you don’t mind, do you?”

“Ah? I don’t mind at all, it’s a rest day tomorrow, we can take the opportunity and chat through the night!”

Tang-daren lives the legendary bachelor’s life. Other men, when they become officials, even if he is not married and has a family, he would at least have one or two companions at his side, but only Tang Fan lives alone. He faces the moon in the night, nibbling on snacks and reading his novels, and this life can be considered quite entertaining as well.

Of course, with one more person around, the place becomes more lively, so it cannot be helped that once night falls, it feels colder and emptier. Even though this person is often expressionless and doesn’t like to talk much, it is better to have company than not.

Both men put their things down. Tang Fan goes in search of cups for the wine, while Sui Zhou opens the paper bags containing snacks.

Tang Fan bought pig’s ears and tongue stewed in soy sauce, fragrant and delicious, and is the best snack to have with wine.

Sui Zhou brought peppered pig intestines, crispy-fried tofu, slated peanuts and raw cucumbers mixed with sauce.

“Since you are visiting, why did you still bring things over? You and I are so familiar with each other, you must not spend the money on this next time!”

Tang-daren says these pleasantries out of courtesy only, taking a bite out of the crispy-fried tofu. The tofu skin has been fried to a crisp, but once he bites into it, the inside is white just like beancurd, so soft that it almost drips out, the aroma of the tofu fragrant.

“Where did you buy this crispy-fried tofu from, why is it so delicious?” Tang Fan asks, bewildered.

“I had some ingredients at home,” Sui Zhou answers simply.

“You know how to cook?” Tang-daren asks, astonished.

Sui Zhou’s mouth curls upwards, the motion a rarity, and stays silent.

After a few breaths, Tang Fan is still immersed in his surprise, “Guang Chuan-xiong, you can actually cook? This is… is… this is…”

He stammers for a long while but is unable to come up with the right words for it, and that’s when hurried knocks sound on from outside.

“You’re really great!” Tang-daren exhales, finishing his thoughts on the matter before getting up to open the door.

Ah Dong is standing outside, and without waiting for Tang Fan to open his mouth, she blurts, “Tang-daren, save me!”

The girl is about to kneel down, but Tang Fan stops her, “What happened?”

With tears on her face, Ah Dong answers, “Ah Chun jiejie told me that tomorrow Master Li will get the dealer to come over, and they’re going to sell me!”

Tang Fan startles, “They’re selling only you?”

Ah Dong nods, “They sold off a batch of us a few days ago. The steward knew that I wanted to come over to your place and didn’t have anything to say about it originally, but who knew that they would suddenly change their minds today, saying that they are going to sell me off!”

She held back her tears and told her story in detail through gritted teeth, but when she got to the end of it, she could not help but choke, “Tang-daren, what do I do, can you please go tell the steward, that I don’t want to be sold off!”

Tang Fan knows that this is definitely not the steward’s intentions, and it is likely the idea of the Li family’s young master Li Lin.

Li Lin probably resents Tang Fan for what happened this morning,  but at that time he was unable to oppose Tang Fan directly, so he decided to act first to gain the upper hand and sell Ah Dong off so that Tang Fan would end up empty-handed. She is after all the Li family’s slave, and no one can say otherwise.

As his thoughts come to this, Tang Fan finds himself momentarily struck speechless.

When Lady Zhang was still alive, he met Li Lin a few times and the boy was shy and a person of few words then, but because they were both scholars, Li Lin admired Tang Fan for passing the imperial scholars examination at a young age, and Tang Fan did give him some advice in the past.

Who could have known that with the passing of time and changes in the family, Li Lin’s character would change so drastically, becoming this irrational. He wonders what Lady Zhang would think of her son under the netherworld.

It is true that it is Li Lin’s right to sell Ah Dong off and it also holds true that Tang Fan is unable to do anything about it. He was intending to think of a solution to Ah Dong’s situation, but who knew that Li Lin plans to sell her off immediately. If she’s sold into a bad family, Ah Dong will have to suffer through some tough days ahead.

Looking at this adorable young woman, Tang Fan cannot bear the thought of that happening to her.

“Let’s do it like this, don’t panic. Go back to the main house first, I’ll think of something.”

Ah Dong has a natural sense of faith and trust in Tang Fan, and so after listening to his words, she obediently nods and heads back, wiping her tears away as she goes. She snuck out earlier, so she cannot leave through Tang Fan’s main door, and when she leaves, she makes a detour and leaves by the back door as well.

As Tang Fan watches her figure disappear from his line of vision, he thinks about what can be done.

Behind him, however, someone says, “You want her?”

Tang Fan nods, then realizing that the sentence could be understood in a few ways, he explains Ah Dong’s situation briefly.

“Coincidentally, I am short of a helping hand that can help me with household chores and cooking. Ah Dong is hardworking and can do the job well.”

Sui Zhou nods, “This is not a difficult matter, you don’t have to concern yourself with this anymore, I’ll settle it for you.”

Where would he go and find such a loyal friend, and Tang-daren is touched by the gesture, hurriedly putting out both hands, “Then I’ll have to thank Guang Chuang-xiong!”

Sui Zhou adds, “Since you’ve fallen out with the Li family, then what are you going to do about your accommodation?”

Tang Fan did not tell him about how he was currently searching for a house, but for Sui Zhou to actually notice this detail, he can see just how meticulous Sui Zhou is.

“Jing City is large and there are many houses, I can still find one,” Tang Fan says.

Sui Zhou is silent for a moment, before he suggests, “If you are willing, you can move out and come and stay with me.”

Tang Fan startles, “This… it’s not appropriate, is it? Won’t sister-in-law be unhappy?”

Sui Zhou returns coldly, “I have not yet taken a wife.”

“Then you should at least have a lady of the house…”

Sui Zhou is now upset, “Since I have not yet wed, I do not dally with any servants either.”

Before Tang Fan can ask further questions, he continues, “My parents stay with my older brother, I have moved out on my own, you do not have to worry.”

Since he has said so much and with Sui Zhou’s sincere invitation, if Tang Fan continues to refuse it would not be good. He puts his hands forward and bows, and says with sincerity, “Then I’ll have to impose on Guang Chuan-xiong temporarily.”

In reality, even though Sui Zhou seems cold at times, he’s not a difficult person to be around, and the both of them have common topics to talk about. Most importantly, not only does Sui Zhou cook, his cooking is more than a hundred times better than Tang Fan’s.

Now that he thinks about it, Tang-daren is feeling quite excited about moving in with Sui Zhou.

The end of Sui Zhou’s lips finally curve upwards a little.

“You and I are so familiar, you don’t have to stand on ceremony.”

===

Notes:

*北镇抚司 bei zhen fu si - Northern Administrative Court

This is the organization that the Embroidered Uniform Guards 锦衣卫 (jing yi wei) belong to, and they are primarily in charge of the imperial prison. They are authorized to make arrests, interrogate, torture and execute suspects, and they don’t have to go through the usual process that other departments have to. They’re known for having a variety of torture methods and in cases where there is a big investigative case, it is possible for the cases to bypass the legal and law enforcement department 刑部 (xing bu) and go straight to the Northern Administrative Court. During the Cheng Hua years, the Northern Administrative Court reported directly to the emperor, and not even the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s Commander could interfere in this process.

Translated as Northern Administrative Court as per iQiyi’s English subtitles.

*千户 qian hu

There are four ranks within the Embroidered Uniform Guards - 千户 (qian hu)、百户 (bai hu)、总旗 (zong qi)、小旗 (xiao qi) arranged highest to smallest rank, aside from the Commander 统领官 (zong ling guan).

*老薛 lao xue

This is referring to Xue Bing where Xue is his first name and Bing his last name - In Chinese we usually affix terms such as lao-, xiao-, a- etc. to names and this usually indicates familiarity with the other person. In this case they used lao- to indicate someone who’s older as a nickname for Xue Bing.

*广川兄 guang chuan xiong

As mentioned in my introductory post and on courtesy names, Sui Zhou’s courtesy name is Guang Chuan, surname Sui. -xiong can be affixed to the end of someone’s first names and means ‘brother’. I’m not translating it as Brother Guang Chuan because it looks weird, so I’m settling for typing out -xiong instead.

*回春堂 hui chun tang

The name of the medicine hall involved in the first case. Hui Chun in general means to ‘return to spring or youth’ and Tang means hall.

*字 zi

Courtesy name, as in 表字 (biao zi). As I explained in the introductory post, a courtesy name is a name chosen by someone’s elders or significant person like a teacher etc once they turn of age and to be used in public from then onwards. In this novel’s case, the courtesy name is not used usually and people are addressed by their given birth names, and only those who are close to each other can call the other by their courtesy names. A little counter-intuitive, I know, but that’s how it is in this novel.

*唐大人 tang da ren

Tang is Tang Fan’s surname, followed by da ren as in Lord. It literally translates to ‘big person’ but it’s general term that most officials use regardless of their ranks i.e. for most civilians, when they see Tang Fan (who’s a sixth rank official in the beginning and then a third rank official later in the novel) or Sui Zhou (who is a qian hu and then vice-commander later) it’s alright for civilians especially to simply address them as da ren rather than their formal titles/ranks.

*见贤 jian xian

Pang Qi’s courtesy name.

*白玉骏马 bai yu jun ma

This is a white jade horse decorative piece that can come in the shape of a horse or refer to a white piece rectangular or oval plaque-like piece with a horse carved on it and they used to be very expensive and valuable. Now you can buy one for less than 40 bucks on Taobao.

*英国公 ying guo gong - The Grand Duke

The closest equivalent would be a duke. It’s a title, among many others, used to indicate royal and noble ranks. In the beginning it was used only for members of the royal family, and then shifted to be used to promote rankings of well-performing officials in court as a reward.

*黄酒 huang jiu - Rice wine

Originating from China, this rice wine can be made by fermenting various types of rice and wheat, and the alcoholic composition is usually between 14-20%.

*人牙子 ren ya zi

A slave-dealer or slave smuggler back in those days.

*管家爷爷 guan jia ye ye

Guan jia means butler/steward (someone who takes care of the house in literal translation), while Ye ye means grandpa. Ah Dong refers to the steward as a grandpa due to his age and likely grandfatherly role in her life.

*九泉之下 jiu quan zhi xia

In the netherworld or underworld. Literally means under the ninth stream/river, which is traditionally used to mean the deepest point in the ground, where a corpse is buried.

*京城 jing cheng

Cheng means city, and in this case jing cheng is actually today’s Beijing, and is noted as China’s capital city where the Emperor and most royals reside in.

*嫂夫人 sao fu ren

Sao as in sister-in-law, usually meant to refer to an older brother’s wife. Fu ren means wife.

*纳妾 na qie

To take in concubines. A usual Chinese family in those times would have one lawful wife 妻 (qi) in the main house, and then several other 妾 (qie) concubines. Who becomes the lawful wife and who becomes a concubine is dependent on status of the woman and reputation, especially in big reputable families. For example, a prostitute that a man takes home and weds may not be approved of as his lawful wife (by his family usually), which is reserved for a woman who comes from a family of ‘good upbringing’ or with money etc. It’s possible for a man to take in concubines without having an official wife in a sense, which is why Tang Fan refers to Sui Zhou possibly having a lady of the house even if it’s not a lawful wife.

*侍婢 shi bi

Also very common for men to have female servants to serve them - whether in household chores etc. or in bed.

[sunmaylight]

TGCF Book 3 Reaction pt.4 - Wind & Water Master Arc: The Water Master Side & Ghost City pt. 3, Party City in the Crimson Light

Here we are. At the second (?) half of the Wind and Water Master Arc. I don’t know about the rest of the community, but I now consider that the Wind and Water Master Arc to be split on which of the two Elemental Masters are focused. With Wind Masters’s arc first and Water Master’s arc second.

I am excited cause the Water Master side had a going in it. Especially since the Black Water Sinking Ship - He is going to be introduced. I wonder how his lair will be compared to Hua Cheng’s. Can’t wait

Obviously, what I forgot to mention earlier. If you haven’t figured it out already,

SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK

Ch 119: Xie Lian says Four Supremes, but someone corrects him that it’s the Four Calamities.

- Me: lol. He forgot Qi Rong is part of them.

Famous saying in the Underworld: “Crimson Rules the Land; Black Masters the Waters.”

- Me: Wow. What a quote from the book, got to note that down.

Pei Ming: Demon Xuan.

- Me: ...wait. Scholar He. Demon Xuan....SQX has He and Xuan as part of his birth name..... MF!

How to ride a Flying Shovel 101 with Ming Yi and Shi Qingxuan

1) Have the owner step on the handle

2) Have the guest stand on the spade of the shovel

3) Fly

Hua Cheng soaking in Xie Lian protecting him like a cat

- Me: That is one smug cat.

Fangxin is an old blade and has to fly for a long time

- Me: Oh, so it’s grand-sword Fangxin instead of Uncle Fangxin

Hua Cheng is standing on water while holding Xie Lian

- Hehe. Christianity reference could happen. Hua Cheng = J**us

The two get swept up by the waves and land on shore. Xie Lian sees Hua Cheng isn’t breathing. Xie Lian gives him CPR

- Me: Wait, do Ghost need to breath?

Hua Cheng opens his eyes

- Me: Oh! MF

Ch 120: Coffin Boat building

- Me: The ‘wilderness survival episode’

Xie Lian telling Hua Cheng that to him, “...what matters is you, not the state of you.”

- Me: *wipes tear away from eye* I-I’m not crying. Are you crying?

Riding the waves in a closed coffin that is designed to house only one person.

- Me: Well, I can think of a lot of ways where this can go wrong and horny.

The entire coffin scene until they break out to see who/what is whacking their ‘boat’. The are greeted to the sight of Pei Ming and Shi Wudu staring at them

- Me: Well, this is like what, the second time Pei Ming caught Hua Cheng and Xie Lian in a romantic situation?

Pei Ming taking Demon Xuan’s minions and forming them into a basketball

- Me: Hi, I need visual of this entire scene please

Action scene! The invisible water demons.

- Me: oh yay! I was wondering when that would happen. 

- Also me: You know, I would love to see a book of spells and hypological structures of how ghost biology is

Lake mirror shows another realm. SQX is trapped in a prison with others. Everyone, except Pei Ming jumps into the Mirror Lake

- Me: Well, what reference can I put for that? Through the Looking Glass? Wonderland? Movie thing?

Xie Lian asks Hua Cheng for Spiritual Power and has to emphasize on the ‘little’

The other side of the mirror lake is a place where spiritual powers fail. Xie Lian is the only fighter of the group now...besides Hua Cheng if  he decides to do something

- Me: Xie Lian, I hope you become a great MVP

Ch 122-123: Revealed that the group has ended up at the Nether Water Manor. They go to the manor and have a jump scare from a skeleton that literally jumps at one of them at a certain phrase said.

- Me: Oh, yeah. I think things are being pieced together in my head now...not a pretty picture.

They find a Distance-Shortening array that can only teleport one person at a time. Ming Yi is the only one who can activate it among the group.

- Me: Well, isn’t that the perfect timing to separate the group.

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng end up at the Puqi Shrine with the rest of the group is unknown. Xie Lian understands who the Reverend/Demon Xuan is. 

- Me: Called it

Xie Lian learns that Hua Cheng and Demon Xuan had some agreement in the past that makes the two unable to sabotage if it’s something important to the other.

Ha Cheng seeing Xie Lian do a familar hand seal: “...gege?”

- Me: *sob* I can hear so much emotions from Hua Cheng when he said that as the Ghost King realizes what Xie Lian is going to do. Confusion, realization, fear, concern, and so much more

Xie Lian is now with SQX in the horror game: Survive on Nether Manor Island. It is filled with running, hiding your intentions from your ‘best friend’ and trying to find your brother. Try your best to survive, or else your fate will be decided by Black Water.

- Me: Well, that is a horror show that I didn’t put much notes in. Must be because of how absorbed I was in the story at that time.

Xie Lian monologuing about his discoveries of everything so far. How he connects the dots and realizations to everything about Ming Yi’s identity

"Ming Yi” utterly destroys Water Master’s fan attack with a flick of the wrist and takes the fan away from him.

“Ming Yi” dissolves into Demon Xuan like water flowing down paint to reveal the actual picture underneath. 

- Me: I need visuals so bad.

He Xuan drags SQX and SWD to some dungeon like place. He Xuan gets his own brand of ‘justice’.

- Me: No comment. Read this for yourself

The horror of the climax of the Wind & Water Master arc ends with Xie Lian ejected from SQX’s body at the most crucial moment. He awakens to the sight of Hua Cheng sucking the spiritual energy out of his body to cancel the spell. Hua Cheng is kissing Xie Lian

- Me: Wow. Efficient. Don’t know how to react to seeing this romantic scene after something horrific though

Ch 125: Qi Rong ruins the moment

- Qi Rong, I would start running now.

The aftermath of the Wind & Water Master Arc ends with them picking up Pei Ming. Also learn a new side to He Xuan, he is a lonely man whose thirst for revenge fed him for so many years. 

“No one can know what he’s thinking.”

- Me: Now I feel sad for He Xuan. Even moreso now then before.

It is revealed that the fisherman were dragged into the sea during the Water Master’s Heavenly Trial by a third party.

- We have a possible thi- fourth party. Previous three: XL & HC, Heaven, He Xuan

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Ch 126: Xie Lian and Hua Cheng try to learn who is this other mysterious party is for dragging Xie Lian to Banyue pass, and now this.

- Me: Concern. Who is dragging Xie Lian around? Why are they dragging him around?

After the funeral for Water Master, Qi Rong is behaving funny. Hua Cheng barges in and takes the two away to Ghost City.

- Me: Ghost City pt. 3, Party City in the Crimson Light? ((Oh, that should be the other header))

The group is at Ghost City, without someone.

- Me: Wait! They forgot Lang Ying ((MY SON!))

 Hua Cheng and Xie Lian are by themselves. Hua Cheng practices calligraphy again at Xie Lian’s encouragement. 

Ch 127: Ghost are going out of control, Qi Rong escapes, Hua Cheng is acting clingy to Xie Lian. In the background as Qi Rong escapes, it appears that he has a routine with Ghost City 

- Me: lol. Even in this pain, they have a routine that is uninterrupted. 

Qiandeng Temple is sealed shut. Hua Cheng and Xie Lian are trapped. THAT ENTIRE SCENE OF XIE LIAN CALMING AN ALMOST BERSERK HUA CHENG

- Me: Wow. What a night that was for Xie Lian and Hua Cheng.

Next day, Hua Cheng doesn’t remember and explains that it was a sign of Mount Tonglu opening.

- Me: Man, Hua Cheng, you missed out big time.

Ghost have escaped from imprisonment in Heaven. Xie Lian is tasked to work with Qi Ying.

- Me: Qi Ying? That one guy that threw a bed at Pei Ming?

Xie Lian goes back to Puqi Shrine all mope. Lang Ying is around, though. He tries to help Xie Lian, but during lunch(?) Xie Lian burnt the food. He is about to throw it away, but Lang Ying eats it instead.

- LANG YING! Ahhh, no! Please be alright soon. Please don’t get food poisoning.

Xie Lian is laying down in bed thinking of Hua Cheng.

- Me: Xie Lian missing Hua Cheng like a wife missing her husband on a business trip

Quan Yizhen is on the floor choking on Xie Lian’s cooking. He is revealed to be the one giving Xie Lian the gold bars

- Me: Xie Lian. What kind of ally did you make? QYZ seems like an instinctive guy.

Lang Ying speaking up and being bolder.

- Me: Did Hua Cheng do something to Lang Ying to make him grow more of a backbone?

Now that QYZ is here, Xie Lian debriefs him on the new mission. Find the Brocade Immortal Robe

Ch 128 author (MXTX) notes: No one can eat Xie Lian’s cooking besides Hua Cheng.

- Me: Wow. Way to give a spoiler. But okay, that makes sense.

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Ahh, the Mount Tonglu arc is coming soon. First there has to be the chaos that the opening of Mount Tonglu brought.