#this is only 3.5k so its on the shorter side

[vnti-vnxiety-recs]

Rage Quit (M)

★  PAIRING: Gamer!Haechan x Reader

☆ WORD COUNT: 3.5K

★ GENRE(S): Established Relationship, Smut

☆ SUMMARY: You and Haechan get into an argument about something small, and when he goes back to playing his video games, he can't find it in him to focus. When he loses a match against Jeno, who's notorious for his terrible skills, it makes Haechan even more upset. Who better to take it out on than the one who caused him to be so distracted?

★ ☆ WARNINGS: unprotected sex, 18+, MDNI, degrading words.

☆★ NOTES: Happy New Year yall! Gonna try to write shorter fics and see if I can write a lot more this year!! I saw this tiktok and wanted to see if I could turn it into a fic.

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It was stupid; it always was. You and Haechan rarely argued about anything serious, but when you did, it was typically over something trivial or insignificant. He had a bad habit of having to be right about everything, and you didn't know how to lose, which is why you're at each other's necks now.

Haechan had been home all day, glued to his gaming chair, when you returned home from a day out with friends. You unlocked the door, and the key turned with ease, but when you went to tug on the door, it didn't budge. Haechan must have put the deadbolt on by mistake when you left. That itself wasn't the issue; the issue arrived when you called his phone five times with no answer and pounded on the door to no avail. You were making such a racket that even the neighbors poked their heads into the hallway to check what was going on. You smiled politely and dropped your head slightly to hide your embarrassment. The ajumma smiled back and returned inside hesitantly. You were just about to try calling his phone again when the door swung open, revealing a disheveled Haechan, his headphones still propped on his head as its LED lights illuminated the apologetic look on his face.

“I'm so sorry babe; I just saw your text. I must have locked it by mistake,” Haechan pleads, taking a step to the side to finally let you in.

After being out all day, you were beyond tired, and this definitely ruined whatever good mood you were in. Honestly, you shouldn't have been so upset; you were only out there for 10 minutes; at least that's what Haechan tries to argue. Normally you wouldn't be, but the sight of his gaming headset indicated that he didn't hear you because he was too busy playing the game. You could tell he wasn't going to turn it off for another hour. You didn't mind when he played, but today you just wanted to spend time with him, wrapped up in the warmth of at least two blankets, drinking hot chocolate, and watching movies for the season. What was the point of being cuffed during cuffing season if you didn't get to participate in cuffing activities?

“I called you five times, Donghyuck.” You roll your eyes in annoyance and head to your shared bedroom where you dropped off your things.

He winced at your icy tone. “I had my headphones on; I couldn't hear you."

“It's fine, I'm not even mad, I'm just tired,” you explain as you undress and change into something more comfortable.

“You're clearly upset if you're calling me by my full name.” He's hot on your heels, reaching out to touch you, trying to make you face him, but you turn away each time.

“If not Donghyuck, then what should I call you?” You furrow your brow, waiting for his response.

“I'm your Hyuckkie,” he tries, smiling sweetly. He tries to smooth things over with you, circling his arms around your waist.

“No,” you say, breaking away from his hold. ”I'm upset right now, remember? Just let me cool down.” You finish grabbing your things to get ready for a shower. You make your way to the bathroom, giving him the cold shoulder.

“If you're gonna be like this, I'm getting back on the game,” he grumbles.

“Go play your little games babe.” You smirk patronizingly over your shoulder as you shut the door behind you.

You hated being petty, especially over small things, but once you're upset, you just need a second to cool down. You both knew by the time you got out of the shower you would be begging for some of Hyuck’s special lovings. That's what you thought, at least.

You exit the bathroom fully refreshed, a cloud of steam billowing out behind you. You had finished your nightly skin routine, and you were ready for bed. That's when you heard Haechan raging at someone on the other side of his mic.

“No, I'm not worse than Jeno! Im just not on my A game.'' Haechan says, aggravated.

You figured he must have been getting his ass handed to him in the game, and you giggled evilly.  You had already started feeling better, but knowing that Haechan was still on the game dampened your spirits again. You had been in the bathroom for at least an hour getting ready for bed, and he’d been playing all day. You figured he’d had enough by now.

At the very least he was playing poorly, and that little fact lifted your petty spirits just a tad. You make your way over to the bed that sits in the middle of the room and make yourself comfortable on your side, trying to stifle your laughter as the room was filled with more of Haechan's disappointed groans that were followed by arguments that Jeno should not replace him as squad leader.

After more ridicule from his team about his poor gameplay, Haechan finally decided to call it quits for the night. He bid his friends a vulgar farewell with a few obscene choice words and disconnected from the discord call. He wasn't upset at you initially; he was just annoyed at the fact that you were holding this small mistake over his head. He's usually really good about leaving the toplock off. After your argument, he just wanted to finish up his game with the boys, hoping to take his mind off of it, but he couldn't put his head on straight. He was making mistakes he normally never would, and that turned his dial up from annoyed to frustrated. He was playing so badly that Jeno had to step up and carry the team to victory, and he would never let Haechan forget it. If he hadn't been upset before, he definitely was now.

You anticipate a bit of attitude from Haechan when he gets into bed next to you, but you don't expect the rough hands pulling at your hips to tug you under him. The light from his computer screen behind him faintly lights up the room, illuminating his silhouette as he hovers above you.

“You really wanna do this now?” You give a disdainful look. Still feeling a little neglected, you decided you didn't want to make it easy for him.

"I guess you can say I'm not done playing my little games,” he challenges.

"Well, play by yourself; I'm too tired tonight.” You lie as you try to turn over and crawl back under the covers, but he pins you down with his hips. Your darling pink satin nightgown and matching panties were all that separated you from feeling his heavy length as it sat confined between your legs. All Haechan wore around the house was a white tee and his sleep shorts. He preferred to go commando underneath so you could feel all of him through the thin fabric.

“Should have thought about that when you were over here laughing pretty.” Even when he's being a menace, he still makes your heart flutter with his compliments. “You broke my concentration earlier; it's only fair if I break yours.”

You huff exasperatedly; once he got like this, it was easier to hear him out than ignore him, so you wait for him to continue.

“You wanna cum? All you have to do is count to 100," he challenges as he gently nudges your neck with his nose.

“Who says I need you? Don't think I can take care of myself?” You defiantly tease back.

“Don't think I know you? Your pathetic pussy is probably throbbing right now, begging me to fill it. You wanna bet?” He remarks as he grinds his hips against yours again.

“For you to be on a losing streak today, you sure are eager to wage more bets,” you stall.

You knew the moment he trailed his lithe fingers down your middle, you were in trouble. Your stomach was flipping the moment he pinned you under him, calling you his pretty plaything. Such a simple-minded creature you were, but you couldn't help it. Haechan looked so good. His hair had grown out, and it sat in a curly heap on his head. The way he looked at you under his long bangs had you fighting back prayers. His scent floods your senses as you lay under him, and his warm skin is inviting against the cool air of the a/c that blows gently in the background. He was like a magnetic force that drew you further into his grasp the more you peered into his pretty doe eyes.

He doesn't say anything; he just raises an eyebrow at you knowingly. It didn't matter anyway; the real challenge still awaited, and he was going to make damn sure he drove you insane. He's slow when he moves. There was no rush; he had you all to himself all night long, and he was going to make every second count. He kisses your neck softly and sweetly. His kisses are so faint you can barely make them out. His hands stay stationed at your hips, lazily dragging up and down your waist, not exploring your body any further. He kisses up your neck to your ear, placing quick kisses behind it.

“You ready to play, or do you still want to fight the fact that you're soaked through your panties?” There wasn't much between you two; you're amazed you didn't leave a bigger stain on his shorts where the two of you were joined.

Haechan leans back to examine your lips before delicately pecking them. You pursue his lips, reuniting them with yours in a scorching kiss. You should have known better to fall for his trickery, Haechan's feather-light kisses, and his gentle touch? He was only getting you ready for what was to come, putting your willpower to the test.

"Want it?" he asks, leaning away from the kiss. He kisses your neck once more, then comes to the valley between your clothed breasts and kisses there as well, kissing you hotly through your clothes. He looks up to meet your eyes, half his face buried in your chest as you make eye contact. He waits for your response, and you nod.

“You'll have to earn it first." He smiled wickedly.

The hands that previously roamed your waist finally make themselves useful. One hand slips between your thighs, while the other pulls up your nightgown, exposing your nipples to the cold air and making them harden. Shifting your panties to the side, he strokes your entrance, coating his fingers in your essence. He pulls his hand back, letting the fabric snap back into place before laying a few crude smacks against your cunt. The sound your soaked panties make when he lands another blow rebounds off the walls of your room; the wet sound taunts you.

Haechan joins in to mock you further. “My baby is so wet for me, and to think I was going to go easy on you?"

You wouldn't want that anyway.

"So nasty,” Haechan teases. Once he's done coating his fingers, the real fun begins as he sinks his middle and ring finger knuckles deep into your heat.

“Stay focused sweetie, get to 100 and we'll do everything you want. '' Haechan reminds you before burying his face back into your chest, laying a kiss across the expanse of your chest hungrily as he pumps his fingers at an even pace.

He's being nice…for now. You don't buy it for a second and begin to count, hoping to get far before he starts making trouble for you. You get to about 20 before he ups the ante. He adds another finger, stretching you out further and increasing his pace. He takes a nipple into his mouth and sucks on it intently. He pulls back with it still in between his teeth before letting it go. He watches as it bounces back into place before nipping the bud again and moving on to the next one, giving it the same treatment. You fumble a few times when counting, but you recover quickly, and you're at 50 before you realize it. You're halfway there, and you can't help but feel a bit smug. This wasn't as hard as you thought. You look down at Haechan, ready to boast, until you notice him getting comfortable between your legs as he takes off your panties. He slips his arm under your thigh, pulling you closer and locking you in place. You just know that the moment he gets his mouth on you, it's over.

You start plotting right away. You knew it was a bad idea to try to fool the King of Con, but it was worth a shot. The determination in his eyes told you everything. He was getting serious. There was no stopping Haechan once he set his mind to something. You're not going down without a fight.

You’ve been together so long that competitiveness is just second nature between you two. You hated to lose almost as much as he did. You wanted to wipe that cocky grin off his face, so you gripped his hair with one hand and pushed at his shoulders with the other. You try your best to hold him off as you resume your counting. He admires your effort and, in return, lets you count up to 60 before he's gripping your wrist and pinning them down. It was stupid to think you could hold Haechan back, but it was worth a shot. Once he's got you pinned down and spread open to his liking, he presses a kiss against your lower intimate lips. You can feel him smirk against you, and that's all the warning you get before he licks deeply into your heat. He licks a fat stripe up your center until he's sucking at your clit, messily spitting against it, adding to the slick mess that's been created between your legs.

He knew he had won the moment he saw your eyes flutter close before fully rolling to the back of your head. The long moan that escaped your lips was another indicator. When he felt the harsh tug of your hands as you aggressively rode his tongue, he knew he had effectively wiped your mind clear of everything but him. It usually took a lot from him to coax you into fucking his mouth like a slut. You would normally be embarrassed by the way you pathetically chased his mouth and cried his name as you made a mess of his face, but you were so far gone now that you didn't care. You had thrown your own leg over his shoulder in your craze, needing to feel more. He didn't let up for a second; his eyes were glazed over with lust, and he panted in between deep sweeps of his tongue. It was too much; your hips began to squirm, and he had to chase your cunt with his mouth, latching his lips back onto your clit whenever you managed to slip away. Your hips stutter and thrash at his relentlessness.

“Fuck-slow down baby, please.” You try to bargain with what little sense you have left.

“You done playing? Give up?” Haechan slurs.

He's almost as fucked out as you. Completely pussy drunk but still trying to call the shots. If you were in your right mind, you would use this to your advantage, but the way his mouth continues to move on you has you arching your back.

“Let me cum.” You demand.

“You give up?” He tries again.

“PLEASE!”

“That's not what I want to fucking hear!” He reprimands you with a harsh slap to your center.

"I'm sorry," you sob pathetically.

"and? Is there anything else you want to tell me?" Haechan slows down just enough for you to continue.

“I give up; you can have all of me, however you want it, whatever you want. You can have it.” You hiccup and tremble, as you finally admit defeat.

As he pulls away from your sopping cunt, licking his lips clean, his trademark smirk returns.

"Now, was that so hard?” He pecks your trembling lips lovingly. He loves when you get like this, completely broken and obedient.

“I'm going to fuck you, and you're going to take it just like you said, and you're not going to cum.” He says, positioning himself in between your legs.

“Although you're my good girl now, you still disobeyed me; I told you to count, didn't I?” Haechan reminds you displeased. “Now we do this my way.”

You totally forgot. How stupid could you be to enter into a game like this with Haechan? He was brutal and stern, and he would see to it that you received your punishment.

He pushes down his sleep shorts and slips into you easily, starting off slow. Your full lips intoxicate him further as he gets lost in the feel of your slick heat sucking him in each time he tries to pull out. It was addicting, and he couldn't help but become an addict as he drove his hips deeper for more, greedily picking up pace as he pumped his thick length into you again and again.

Haechan didn't care how difficult it was; he was going to have his fun and you were going to behave. You wanted to end tonight as his good girl; you wanted to show him you could listen, but you could barely hold yourself back from cumming. The way he gripped your waist and manhandled you, pinning your thighs to your chest, you were seeing stars. You tried to squirm away, but he wouldn't let you, practically fucking you into the mattress. You almost felt sorry for your neighbors as your headboard noisily slammed against the bedroom walls, but when you felt lightning strike in your belly, you didn't have time to worry about anyone else. If you didn't lock in and starve off your orgasm, you'd be in big trouble with Haechan.

Haechan was enjoying himself, watching your internal struggle above you. He was so close, moaning at the feel of you under him. You needed him to cum quickly; you were not doing a good job at holding on. You hold fast and clench tightly around him, hoping this might push him over the edge. Haechan's hips stutter as he throws his head back, his eyes rolling back as he gasps at the feeling.

“Fuck just like that, make me cum, make me fill up this pussy,” he grunts shamelessly.

He's pussy drunk, and you have enough wits to use it against him this time. You push at his chest, and he takes the hint, lazily sitting back. You use the space to lower your legs that he had pinned to your chest and wrap them around his hips, pulling him in close. He's about to argue, but you drag him down for another passionate kiss, swallowing his protests. You help him fuck into you as you hook your ankles together at his lower back and push his hips into you on each downstroke, effectively shutting him up further.

“Like you mean it, hyuck,” you tease.

You were definitely power-bottoming, and Haechan was too far gone to realize it, but when you reach behind his head to graze your fingertips at the hair on the nape of his neck, he knows what's coming next. You tug harshly, and he moans into your mouth like a slut. His hips snap into yours at the feeling, and a few more thrusts later, he's resting deep in your gut and releasing. His hips stutter as he gives you everything, making sure to fill you up.

“Cum” He pants breathlessly; it's all he can manage before overstimulation takes over.

You tighten your hold on his hips with your thighs and grind onto his softening length. You fuck yourself onto his length, in a hurry before he goes completely soft. You felt pathetic scrambling for the leftovers of his arousal to bring yourself to completion, but this was as generous as he would be. He does his best to help you and lazily rubs at your clit whispering cruel degradations in your ear. You cum at last and can't stop the tremors that wrack your body. Haechan bites his tongue at the feeling of your cunt spasming around his abused length. He eases out slowly as he feels you come down and drops his deadweight onto the mattress beside you. You both struggle to catch your breath. You chuckle through your harsh breathing as you turn to your lover.

“I think you're a sore loser,” you joke.

“Hmm?” Haechan looked puzzled; he almost forgot how you two even got to this point. “Nah, Jeno just didn't deserve that win."

“Sorry for earlier; I know you didn't mean to lock me out. I shouldn't have given you so much attitude about it.” You apologize sincerely.

“I'm sorry too; I'll try not to lock you out again." Haechan adds

You snuggle into his side, relieved that you two didn't go to bed without settling the small quarrel from earlier. You couldn't stay mad at him for long, anyway. Haechan gets out of bed and grabs a warm cloth to clean you up. He tenderly apologizes and kisses the bruises he left. You slowly drifted asleep to his gentle caresses, trusting he would look after you. In the morning, you'd thank him. You're out by the time he softly tucks you into his side and joins you in slumber.

[gremlinmodetweeker]

Hope is in Buns, Life is in Stars, Promises in Vain (Pt. 2)

I did promise to put up part two today. I am keeping to that promise. I am not a monster, I assure you. This part is much much shorter, but I think it adds some important stuff.

Again, Executioner Konig is the au I put the most effort into. I plan to make it into a published work some day. I hope you all enjoy what is an essentially free first draft of a novel/graphic novel.

Please feel free to share this work (with credits) because this is the fic I'm most proud of.

Part 1

TWs: mentioned forced homelessness (no weight to the threat, your aunt is just mad), pregnancy referenced (not happening... yet.)

Wordcount: 3.5k out of 11.7k

Art from This Post

Hope is in Buns, Life is in Stars, Promises in Vain (Pt. 2)

It didn’t take long before The Axe was guiding Hunter to stand outside your home.He hopped down and tethered her to a fence before he turned to help you off Hunter’s smooth back, guiding you with one hand in your own and the other on your waist. You giggled when he kneeled so you could use his thigh as a footstool.

“You don’t have to kneel in the dirt for me, silly,” you giggled.

“It’s the right thing to do,” The Axe shrugged, a bit giddy to still be talking to you.

“You know,” you smirked up at him as he guided you to the front door, “if I didn't know better, I’d think you were a nobleman, what with how fine you’ve treated me all Densis’s-watch.”

The Axe stiffened slightly before bowing his head, “I only learned how to treat a woman from the teachings of my father.”

“And was he once a nobleman?” you asked.

“I am from a long, long line of Criah’s folk,” The Axe answered sadly.

Your face fell slightly at the memory of his family’s struggles before you perked up again, “Well, he was a perfect gentleman if that’s how he treated the women in his life. You’re lucky to have learned from him. I’m lucky you learned from him! I mean, it’s nice to see a man who doesn’t balk at the concept of chivalry, despite his class.”

The Axe looked away bashfully, but he let you through the door. When you watched through the fogged window, you could see him practically skip over to Hunter before leaping up onto her back. As the final fingers of night released the purple and blue bruised sky, The Axe rode off into the distance.

Once he was out of sight, you scurried up to your bed and buried under the covers. You grinned gleefully as you replayed the events of the Densis’s-watch over and over in your mind. The buns, his words, the promise, it all tickled you so. You felt a bubbling yellow glow warm your body from the tips of your toes to the ends of your hair. You were completely abuzz with giddy excitement.

You only managed to sleep for at most a watch before you were woken by the sounds of metal pots clanging and children cheering from downstairs. Evidently, breakfast was well on its way. From the smells of it, it was something spiced and nutty.

You joined your family downstairs swiftly, not wanting to miss out on any of the morning’s breakfast before the day began. After all, it was the fuel you needed to be able to work the entire day. You needed every bite you could scarf down to take on the day ahead of you.

Your aunt eyed you carefully when you stepped into the kitchen.

“Looks like you’re up bright and early,” she muttered as she spooned ladles of porridge into your cousin’s bowls. From the smell, it seemed like she’d added some of the spices from the traveling merchants and some berries from the previous turning-time to the mix, giving it a warm and homely smell.

“I had a rough time sleeping,” you told her as you went to help by her side, “went out for a walk at one point.”

“I noticed,” your aunt clucked her tongue, “and in this turning-time? Goodness girl! You could’ve caught a cold out there!”

“Oh hush your fuss,” you chuffed as you set out to prepare a jug of juice, “I’m just fine.”

“Mama! I want more kayomberries(17) in my porridge!” the youngest, Georgie called out as he banged his spoon on the wood table.

“We’ll have to wait for next Chaos’s-turn for more of those,” your aunt huffed, “we went through the last of them a few days ago.”

“But that’s so far away!” Georgie whined.

“Mama, we haven’t run out of rosers(18) though, right?” Anna, the eldest asked. Her little brown eyes made your heart melt each time she looked at you.

“I’m sure we have some,” you immediately turned to look through the pantry for her.

Your aunt huffed, “You’re giving her some? Just like that?”

“Why not?” you asked.

Your aunt glared at Anna, “Well, what’re you supposed to say when you want something?”

Anna squeaked, “Oh! Um, may I please have some rosers in my porridge?”

Auntie nodded, “That’s better.”

“Well,” you chuffed, “since you asked so nicely, how can I say no?”

Harry, the second oldest boy, frowned and crossed his arms behind the table, “Mama, Georgie didn’t say please. Why are you getting mad at Anna?”

Your aunt grunted as she pulled the pot up to place it in the center of the table, “Didn’t matter if Georgie said please at all. He wasn’t getting any!”

Georgie crossed his arms stubbornly as the other four kids laughed at him. Even you couldn’t help snickering at how he put out his little brown lip in a pout.

“Look, Georgie,” you offered, “if you really want kayomberries, you might be able to ask nicely for some from your teacher.”

“Miss Bess? Why?” he asked.

“She works a lot with the winter preparation guild,” you explained, “she often has access to the town stores. She’s responsible for the rations, so maybe, if you ask her really nicely, she might give you some.”

“Oh don’t go giving him ideas,” your aunt grumbled.

“Why not?” Anna asked.

“She’s a rations master!” your aunt explained as she set to cleaning out some pots on the stove, “she can’t just give out rations willy nilly! If anyone could just go up and ask whenever, we’d never have enough rations for winter!”

You sheepishly nodded your head, “Okay so, about what I said Georgie?”

Georgie nodded brightly, his loose dark curls bouncing around his face.

“Don’t ask for extra rations,” you grimaced.

“But you just said I could!” Georgie whined.

“Didn’t you hear your mama?” you raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh…” Georgie sighed, “yeah…”

“And that’s that,” your Auntie snapped, ending the conversation immediately.

The rest of breakfast was spent trying to stop Harry from flinging spoons of goopy oats at Helen while Anna helped feed Georgie. Meanwhile, your aunt brought you aside to the blazing oven, out of earshot of the children.

Her dark eyes narrowed as she looked down at you, “I noticed The Axe’s rations are missing.”

You slunk down immediately.

Your aunt glanced around nervously at the children, then faced you with a ferocious look, “I don’t want you seeing that man, but I can’t stop you. Your uncle said as much. But if you get hurt?” she bared her teeth in a growl, “you’d best not expect a lick of help from me. I warned you plenty, and that’s enough help from me.”

You opened your mouth but were quickly cut off.

“He’s a dangerous man, young lady,” your aunt continued, “and I’m telling you that it’s in your best interest to cut contact while you still can. He’s not even really a man. He’s an animal. A beast. Men don’t kill men like that. Not a good one, anyways.”

“But he’s not an animal!” you spat back under your breath, “he is a good man!”

Your aunt threw up her hands as she whirled around, “I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to know what you did with him during last Densis’s-watch, but whatever it was it can’t be good. That man is evil. And if you come back in a few weeks with a swollen belly, well, you might as well be out on the streets for all I care!”

“But auntie, if you just met him-”

“If he steps one foot over our doorstep,” your aunt sucked in a lungful of air, “oh I don’t even want to think about it. What would your uncle say? Oh you haven’t even thought about him at all, have you?”

“Why doesn’t uncle like him? He knows The Axe! He knows he’s not a bad man!” you retorted.

“Your uncle is too soft-hearted and you know that,” your auntie snapped, “you and him are too much alike for your own good! You know, if it weren’t for your uncle, I’d be beating your backside until next Hollinwake! But he said to let you be,” she held up a finger, “but you make one wrong step? I’ll have you bent over my knee like a seven-cycle girl!”

You winced at the lashing, but felt strangely vindicated despite it. If your auntie wasn’t going to stop you, this gave you more leeway than you expected. It wasn’t much, but anything was better than sneaking out at night. If nothing else, maybe you could get more time with him at the church. Surely your guardians couldn’t oppose to you meeting on holy ground, now could they? Of course, being under the stars brought a certain intimacy, but the walk to his place wasn’t safe during Densis’s-watch. It was a wonder some vandal hadn’t accosted you out in the woods, prowling as they were of infidels and scoundrels.

When breakfast was over and you’d eaten your fill after sending the children to school, you carried a bowl of the spiced porridge upstairs to your uncle.

For the first time since he’d fallen ill, he was sitting up in bed to greet you when you walked in.

“Ah! Good to see you this waking watch!” your uncle cheered from behind his round golden spectacles.

“Uncle! It’s good to see you up in bed!” you smiled at him.

“It’s good to be up,” your uncle chuckled as he took the bowl of porridge from your hands, “soon enough I’ll be back on my feet, don’t you worry. I know your aunt’s been worried sick about me.”

“I hope to see it,” you said as you sat on the stool by the bed, “but your right. Auntie’s been going crazy without you around to help.

Your uncle hummed as he tucked into his breakfast with a smile, “Your auntie is a good woman.”

“She’s a woman alright,” you huffed.

Your uncle brought his thin brows together on his round face, “Oh? Did you get into an argument with her today already? I thought she might wait a bit before bringing it all up…”

You raised an eyebrow at the suggestion, “You knew there’d be something between us?”

Your uncle quietly stirred his porridge and said, “Well, I know she doesn’t approve of you seeing this new man.”

“You mean The Axe?”

Your uncle cringed into himself, “Yes, that’s the one.”

You rolled your eyes and leaned back as you crossed your arms, “I don’t understand. You know he’s not a bad man, right?”

“He’s not,” your uncle admitted quietly.

“So then why are you so against it?” you huffed.

“Well…” your uncle said slowly, “he’s an executioner. He’s not a man blessed by Halax’s light. He’s in the shadow of Criah and Densis. It’s just not right for someone like you to be seeing him.”

“But you don’t treat the morticians nearly half as cruelly and they follow Criah,” you pointed out.

“The morticians deal with the already dead. They don’t go adding to the pile,” your uncle glared at you, “and it doesn’t help that… Well… He’s just a weird man. He’s not normal.”

 “Maybe not, but he’s not a bad man,” you insisted.

“Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. I don’t know, and quite frankly I don’t care to know. All I know is that he’s quiet when he takes his rations. Doesn’t talk to me much, I don’t talk to him too much either,” your uncle said firmly, “and that’s how I like it! The less I deal with him the better. But now,” your uncle shook his head, “now you’re off trying to see him after dark! I heard you going down those stairs during Densis’s-watch, and I know you were out for a good few watches. I know you were with him. As soon as your auntie told me his rations were gone, I knew, and I told her about it. She was mad, but that’s not the point!

“The point is, I know you think you’re young and that you’re capable of taking on the world, but don’t get your wings clipped by falling into the wrong crowd so early, okay? I already deal with you being friends with those strange women in town, but now this? You’re going to bring a bad name to this household if you aren’t careful!”

You stilled. You hadn’t thought of the household the entire time you’d been out with The Axe.

“Think of my kids,” your uncle sighed, “think about them growing up connected to this. I don’t want shame on their heads before they’ve even gotten an education under their belts. Who will teach them a trade? Who will take them on as journeymen? Who will go on and marry Anna and Helen if they hear about you sneaking around with the local executioner?”

You bit your lip and turned away, “I’ll be careful about it.”

“I know you’re thinking about yourself,” your uncle reasoned, “I was the same way when I was your age. Your aunt had just come up from the south. She was new and different in the village and her father was a strange man with strange ways. Once his business was taken over by those bastards, people started to really turn against her.. People said horrible things about her all the time. They took one look at her skin and made up their minds, but I went out of my way to get to know her, and it’s turned out well for us! I do understand your desires to see someone for who they really are, I do.

“But you came into this family a long time ago. When your mother died and your father went galavanting off wherever (I don’t care), I took you in. You’re my family, I’d do it time and time again. I will never, ever regret that,” he pushed his spectacles down his nose to look over them at you, “you also can’t go ruining my family name. Our family name. There’s other people on the line here. It’s not just you going out on your little adventures like your father.”

You shamefully looked down into your hands, hanging your head in shame. The comparison to your father stung particularly harshly.

Your uncle grunted as he leaned over to put the empty bowl of porridge on a side table and then leaned back to look at you. He frowned and rubbed his graying beard.

“But I’m not telling you no.”

You glanced up at your uncle’s soft face.

“If you think he’s not that bad, so be it. Your aunt tried to tell me to stop you from going off with the first man you’ve shown interest in, but you’re a grown woman finding her place in the world. If it’s by his side? So be it,” your uncle shrugged before his face fell into a cold glare, “but we won’t be with you. I can’t bring my whole family down for you. I took on enough shame bringing you in, I don’t need to ruin my children’s lives before they’ve even begun.”

“So if I choose to be with him…”

“You’ll have to do it alone,” your uncle concluded for you.

“But… Can’t I at least visit?” you asked with a trembling voice, “I mean, won’t we still be family?”

Your uncle laughed and lightened, “Of course you can visit! But not in public. In public I can’t be seen near you if you go off with this man. I can’t have you working here, either. You’ll need to find your own place in the world if you go off with The Axe. I love you, but I can’t protect you from what the others will say.”

You frowned and nodded. You hadn’t fully considered what life would be like alongside The Axe. If what he said about his life was true, it’d be a lonely life indeed.

“Do what’s best for you,” your uncle finished his advice, “and do what’s best for us as a family. Think of your cousins before you go off dancing around together in public.”

You blankly looked down at your hands.

“It’s a lot to think about,” your uncle offered you, “I don’t envy your positon, but I’ve been there before. I dealt with this with my parents when I chose your aunt. If you want to be with him, you have to know the consequences.”

The consequences. What a terrible way to phrase such a thing. The thought of having to call a life with The Axe a series of ‘consequences’ only put further weight on your shoulders. The thought of dragging your entire family down with you sombered your spirits. Going down the stairs to breakfast you had been light as a fly. Now, sat in your uncle’s rocking chair, the weight of the world hung on your shoulders.

“I’ll think about it,” you told your uncle as you slowly rose to your feet.

“I’m not like your aunt here; I’m not telling you no,” your uncle reminded you, “I’m telling you to be careful. And look, he’s just the first man to catch your eyes. There might be others!”

You smiled faintly, “I will be. I’ll think about it.”

With that, you bid your uncle a good wake and left to go down to the kitchen where your aunt was already prepping another long day of baking.

“Well?” your aunt raised a dark eyebrow.

“I spoke to him,” you said, “and… It’s a lot to think about.”

“Is it now?” your aunt snorted sarcastically.

“I just hadn’t factored everything in,” you admitted.

Your aunt watched as you tied an apron around your waist and set to roll up your sleeves. She eyed you irritably as you washed your hands, then stood before her with a determined look.

“You’re still going to see him,” she said, flat as the fields around you.

“I am,” you replied, equally dry in tone.

Your aunt rolled her eyes, “If I fall into the gutters because of this, you’re out on the streets. Hell, you heard me earlier, if you get knocked up by that man you’d best pray he’ll let you move in with him!”

You nodded as you set to measuring the dry ingredients, “I know.”

“And if anything happens to any of my kids-”

“I won’t let anything happen.”

The steel edge of your voice had your aunt faltering briefly. She paused her work, then let a small smile grace her sun-worn features.

“Good girl.” 

With that, she finally looked away from you and turned to her own recipe.

You worked quietly, diligently. Your aunt didn’t comment when you increased the yield of the recipe by a couple of extra buns. You didn’t comment on how she sighed whenever she thought you didn’t see her looking at you. Neither of you yielded, but a certain respect was bridged between you both that day, hammered out of stubbornness and a common interest in the five young children currently walking to school.

You wouldn’t dare say it, but a part of you found a new level of respect for your aunt. She was a strong woman, born of the hot sun and cool breeze of the beaches of the south and brought up as a young woman to work with her merchant father in the north. She had the complexion of the south, she had the temperament of a surly boxing beetle(19), and she fought tooth and nail for every single thing she’d managed to nab since her father’s business was taken over by vandals. She fought long and hard over the years, and you’d both be damned if one upstart niece from a broken home was going to take away everything she’d scrapped together since losing everything she’d ever had.

You made a mental promise to ensure that you’d ensure that your family never came in harms way because of your relationship with The Axe. You swore upon your soul.

Kayomberries - Little lime green berries in clusters of four to ten. Grow only at the very beginning of Chaos’s-turn. Can be dried out for spices or food additives. Add a notably citrusy taste to foods.

Rosers - Little red flower buds that add a floral taste when added to stews and stocks. In such wide abundance that some consider them a (tasty) weed.

Boxer Beetles - A colourful iridescent beetle with a hard carapace and a powerful demeanor. Known for its stubbornness and refusal to back down. Often used to pull plows or to do hard labor in difficult conditions. It has poor eyesight, average smell, but has excellent tremor sense. Cannot fly due to the heavy weight of its armoured carapace (which is sometimes harvested and used as light armor in militias). Despite its small size, being not even a meter tall and less than two meters in length, it’s known as a microbeetle. It’s one of the few microbeetles that is used for hard manual work and not kept as a family pet. Omnivorous.

Konig Dump

Alternate Universes

Part 1

[a-killer-obsession]

🔞 Minors DNI 🔞

A search for a rumored Vegapunk weapon leads the Kid Pirates to an unexpected new crewmate, with a bloodlust that rivals their own and an incredible power.

CW: Please check AO3 for all current warnings, but general warning for smut, slow burn, serious gore, and really dark themes. AFAB reader, she/her pronouns.

Masterlist || AO3 || Chapter 1

Chapter 36 - Breaking Point, Side A

Tensions flare in the aftermath of a traumatic night.

Word Count: ~3.5k

Taglist: @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @tremendoushorsepatrolgoth @iggy5055 @eyes-ofhell

Dawn's crying woke you both up only a few hours later, Heat quick to urge you to rest and collecting her from the crib. You sat up, knowing full well she was probably hungry. You didn't know how old she was but you guessed only a few months, she probably wanted to feed every four or so hours. Your breasts were aching for release anyway, now that they had been drained once it felt like your body was kicking into overdrive, your breasts noticeably heavier and firmer than they had been the last few days. Maybe this is what the books meant when they talked about your milk coming in. Either way, you were just as eager to feed her as she was to eat, her cries making your breasts leak and wet your shirt. You held your hands out for her and Heat lowered her to you carefully, as her little arms escaped from the swaddle and refused to let go of his finger.

She was quick to latch again, and you could see now in the daylight that her eyes were a sparkling blue. It hurt, with the blonde puff of hair and blue eyes she looked the way you imagined your own baby might have. Come to think of it, you hadn't even named him. You couldn't afford to dwell on it now, there was a very much alive orphaned little girl currently on your breast who needed you to keep your head. So young and yet she'd already been through so much. Heat watched with fascination as she made small squeaking sounds and kept his finger in a surprisingly strong grasp, forcing him to cuddle up against you, not that either of you minded. You let yourself rest against him, his free hand squirming its way behind you to wrap around your waist, giving in to the fantasy that this was your little family. That nothing traumatic had led to this strange situation, this was entirely normal and comforting, before the stress of reality reared its ugly head.

“What are we gonna do Heat?” You sighed.

“I'm gonna go out and grab a bunch of stuff as soon as you're okay with me heading out,” he replied, “whatever you need, I'll get it”

“My mask,” you pouted, “it's back on the ship”

“I'll get it,” he clenched his teeth, “you just stay here and rest, just focus on yourself and Dawn, I'm gonna take care of both of you don't worry about anything. The doctors said you need to be on bedrest for at least a week, after last night I'm enforcing that. You're not lifting a finger till you're recovered”

Together you made a list of everything you thought you needed, and against his desires he left to fetch them, putting a very milk drunk Dawn back in the crib before heading out, leaving you to get a little more much needed sleep. He decided to do the hardest part first, heading back to the Victoria to grab your mask. He hoped everyone would be asleep as it was still very early morning. He sauntered up the gangplank as quietly as he could and head underdeck to the infirmary where he'd last seen your mask, after Mohawk removed it during your operation. Thankfully it was still sitting in place on the back counter, a little blood on it still but otherwise unharmed.

“You wanna explain where the fuck you were going with my girlfriend and packed bags last night?” An aggressive baritone came from behind him. He turned to the masked first mate, a scowl on his face as he used his height to feign confidence over the shorter blond.

“She's not your girlfriend, or did Kid not pass on the message?” Heat spat back at him, “she said, and I quote, ‘he and I are over, we're done’. You pushed her too far Killer, she's done with you hurting her”

“Me? Hurting her?” He let out a laugh, a genuine unhindered one that threw Heat back in surprise. “She killed my fucking baby, she should have fucking listened when I told her it was too dangerous”

“A marine killed your baby Killer,” Heat yelled, surprise quickly overruled by anger, “her baby, that she grew and nurtured and could feel inside her. A baby you didn't even plan on having! You're not the only one grieving, you're just the only selfish prick acting like it's all about you. Hasn't she fucking been through enough? She delivered her own fucking dead baby in the middle of a battle and you won't even look at her. She needed you and you fucking abandoned her, just like you always do! It took her so long to let you back in after your last fuck up and in the blink of an eye you managed to fuck it all up again”

Killer punched Heat hard, his jaw making an audible click as his face was forced sideways. If he was anyone else he might have been sent flying, but he was just as strong as the blond, bodying the hit like it was nothing. He turned his head back to Killer and grabbed a fist full of his shirt, raising him off the ground like he weighed nothing.

“You want a baby so fucking bad? Go knock some whore up,” Heat spat, “because apparently that's all she was to you. Just a fucking broodmare. She'll never carry another child again, so you better go get to work finding a new incubator cos she can't do it anymore. Did you ever even love her or was she just convenient? Just a quick way to get what you wanted?”

“Of course I loved her!” Killer shouted as he forced his way out of Heat's grasp, “love her” he corrected himself.

“Then fucking act like it,” Heat shoved him hard, Killer's back connecting with a infirmary cot. “She spent the last three days waiting for you to man up and go to her, and instead you just sat around here twirling your hair and acting like the whole world is against you. Pull your fucking head out of your ass Killer. She just went through something traumatic and you're too busy grieving the dead to see the living. You know where Wire found her last night? On the edge of a fucking cliff. Getting ready to fucking jump. You did that, you drove her to think shes worth so little that she'd be better off dead, her death would have been blood on your hands Killer”

“She… I didn't know,” he said quietly, mask tilted away, unable to look at Heat for the shame he felt.

“Of course you didn't, because you haven't fucking talked to her,” Heat growled, “if you had then you'd know how fucking torn up she is, how much she's blaming herself. She thinks you only loved her because of the baby. You know what she said to me when she woke up in the infirmary, after your stroppy ass stormed out without even looking at her? She said tell him I'll make him another one, you should have seen the heartbreak on her face when I told her she couldn't, because she thinks the only reason you want her is to make babies. She'd just lost her baby, fought for her life after almost bleeding to death, and found out she'd never carry another child, and all she was thinking about was you, how disappointed you'd be with her. It's fucked Killer, you're fucked for putting those thoughts in her head. All you had to do was fucking be there for her, but you were too fucking selfish to do the bare fucking minimum”

Killer slumped down against the cot and put his head between his knees. A harsh sob came from him, but Heat didn't have it in him to comfort him, he didn't deserve comfort, not after the hurt he'd inflicted on the woman Heat loves. The firebreather gave him a tsk and started rummaging in the cabinets for pain medication for you, knowing you were still physically hurting immensely even if you didn't say it when you made the list.

“I'll… I'll do better,” Killer cried.

“That's what you told her last time,” Heat scorned.

“I didn't mean to shut her out, I just… I needed someone to blame,” he said sadly.

“Then blame the fucking marines! Don't go blaming her! She didn't do shit!” Heat yelled, “and for the fucking record, it could have happened outside of battle anyway, its not uncommon. Would you still have blamed her then, or would you finally have some fucking sympathy? How much does she have to suffer before you decide she's worthy of your comfort?”

“Where is she?” Killer asked.

“None of your fucking business,” Heat growled. “You and Kid have three days to apologise and grovel before the log pose resets, otherwise you're sailing away without the three of us. You wanna talk, you talk to me, I have my mini den-den, you're not getting near her till I say you can”

“Three?” Killer asked.

“They didn't tell you shit did they?” Heat half laughed, “she went to that cliff to kill herself, but instead some lady with the same idea handed her a baby and jumped”

“I… I saw it last night… I thought it was a ghost,” Killer's eyes were wide with surprise under the mask. He'd seen the small bundle, asleep in your arms, but it hadn't made any sense so he'd chalked it up to a mania induced hallucination.

“Yeah well, she's keeping it, but not on this ship, not after what Kid said,” Heat scorned.

“What did Kid say?”

“He called her a worthless whore and a life ruiner,” Heat tutted as he gathered some shit in a plastic bag, “real nice stuff to someone who just lost her baby and was forcibly sterilised, like we hadn't just found her trying to kill herself”

“I wanna talk to her,” Killer grabbed Heat's pants as he walked past. Heat kicked his hand away and kept moving.

“Too fucking bad, she's busy and she's tired and she doesn't want shit to do with you,” Heat replied coldly.

Killer watched Heat move as a realisation dawned on him. Heat had never spoken to him or Kid like this, the man was usually obedient and loyal, more akin to a puppy than the territorial wolf he was being right now. “You love her, don't you?”

“So what if I do?” Heat replied, “even if she never loves me back, I would never hurt her the way you have. She deserves better.”

“Oh, and you're better?” He scoffed.

“Well Killer, I didn't fucking leave her to mourn on her own after she lost her baby,” Heat spat, “in fact, I was the one there for her, every second I could be. I'm the one who was with her every minute I could be for the last three days, when all she wanted was her so-called loving boyfriend. So yeah, I'd say I can do better. I am doing better. I'm picking up your fucking mess but I'll do it happily because she means the fucking world to me.”

“So what, you're just gonna go play house with her and some stranger's baby?” Killer laughed.

“If that's what she wants, yeah,” Heat replied, “and if she doesn't, I'll support that too, because she's a fucking human being with her own thoughts and feelings that deserve to be recognised, not just a hole for you to breed. Maybe it's for the best, this way she gets to have a baby and she isn't stuck tied to your pathetic excuse of a man. You're a fucking coward Killer, you talk big game but when it comes down to it you're just a scared little boy who thinks he can just ignore his problems till they go away. The worst thing is that people still care about you, but you ignore them too. Hell she probably still cares about you. But you act like the whole fucking world is against you. Really it's just you, hiding away in your room and tearing shit up, refusing to take your meds just so everyone will treat you like the victim, when you could have been out there comforting her when she needed you. She never would have gone to that cliff if you'd just fucking let her in, if you'd let her mourn with you. You're fucking lucky some random woman decided to hand her a baby and off herself or Yin would be dead right now. Even if she ever forgives you, I might not, because what you did was selfish and cruel, and you almost took her from me because of it, from all the people who care about her. So much for the dangerous Massacre Soldier Killer, you're just a pathetic little man who can't even comfort a woman when she so desperately needed you. You should've stuck to whores, emotions are clearly too advanced for you.”

“Are you done?” Killer growled, standing now with his arms crossed in front of Heat as the taller man cussed him out.

“Far fucking from it,” he growled, “but she needs me, and unlike you my head isn't too far up my own ass to see, so I'll be going now. Have a nice life, Massacre Soldier”

Manic laughter followed Heat out into the hall, all the way until he reached the gangplank and fled far enough for the sound to no longer travel.

Dawn was back on your breast when Heat returned, making you jump at first before his wild mop of blue hair appeared, using his ass to open the door because his hands were too full. Comically, he was wearing your mask on his head to save hand space, but it was clearly far too small for him, sitting on a mound of hair instead of his actual head. You snorted as he entered the room, putting down the large armfulls of bags with a heavy sigh of relief. He pulled the mask from his head and set it on a dresser before collapsing on the bed next to you, his hands over his chest and his eyes closed.

“She sure eats a lot huh?” Heat noted, turning his head to the side to watch Dawn. Her little arms were wiggling around like she was searching for something, so he turned to his side and offered her his hand. Her fingers wound around one of his and he couldn't help but blush. Given his big, somewhat scary appearance he wasn't used to small vulnerable things being so fearless with him. “Small but strong too”

“I don't know how old she is, but she seems to want to eat every three or four hours,” you replied with a yawn, “God I'm so tired. And hungry”

“I got you some food from the bakery down the street but you'll have to wait till little miss here releases me so I can grab it,” he laughed, trying to reclaim his finger but her grip was iron tight.

“You're the fucking best Heat,” you smiled, half lidded in your exhaustion. He didn't envy you, he hadn't exactly had much sleep either between when the nurses kicked him out of the hospital and when Kid had called them all for an emergency meeting about Killer, but then he wasn't putting all his energy into feeding another living being while recovering from a traumatic birth and major surgery. By the time Dawn was thoroughly milk drunk and nodding off again, you were nearly asleep, leaning against his chest with his arms around you to keep you upright, now that the small one had released her insane grip on his finger. He took Dawn carefully from your hold and put her back in the crib, admiring her for a moment before returning his attention to looking after you.

He rummaged in the bags and brought over the baked goods and a bottle of water, and you could barely open your eyes as you accepted them and sleepily nibbled. He had to take the remnants from your hand as you started to slouch over, a fond smile on his face at how cute you were in such a sleepy state, your lips turned upwards just the tiniest bit at the corners.

“Heat, do you love me?” You mumbled against his chest as you both got settled under the covers, your warm breath tickling the bare parts of his chest through the lacing of his corset. His breath hitched at the question, taken entirely by surprise and feeling like a deer in headlights. “Sorry,” you apologised, feeling the way he tensed, “I just… last time we slept together, it felt like more than just two friends fucking. I thought maybe you loved me. It's okay, I'm not mad if you don't, I just… thought”

“I do love you,” he breathed, his whole body still tense. He thought he might puke from the anxiety, worried the next words out of your mouth would be disgust or rejection. Nobody had ever loved him like that before, not in a romantic way. He was used to meaningless hookups during short stays at islands with people he'd never see again. The way you made him feel was entirely foreign, which is probably why it'd taken him so long to name the feeling.

“I know I said once that I didn't think I could fall in love with you,” you said softly, intertwining your fingers with his, making him relax a little, “but I think maybe that was a lie. You give me butterflies, Heat. And you make me feel so safe, you always have.”

He let out a shaky breath and a tear rolled down his cheek, he didn't realise just how stressed he was till you noticed the glistening trail and wiped it with your thumb. Your eyes bore into his, suddenly more alert now as you inspected his perpetually sad face before pressing a soft kiss on his mouth. You pulled away with a sigh, your forehead resting on his.

“I didn't notice you falling for me, I should have noticed,” you whispered,”I'm so sorry Heat. I'm… I'm going through a lot right now, but just knowing you're here, that at least one person in this godforsaken world wants me is enough to make me want to live”

“I thought you were dead,” his tears flowed freely now, his hands shaking as he finally processed the last three days. He'd been trying so hard to keep it together, to stay strong for you, because he knew you needed him, but those walls were crumbling so fast under your warm touch. “After the hospital said you left, we followed your vivre to where we knew the cliffs were, and it was burning. I knew physically you were fine, but for your resolve to be so set that your vivre burned… I… I thought I'd lost you. I only just realised how much I loved you after Quincy hurt you but I thought you were going to die last night thinking nobody loved you and I just… I never would have been able to live with myself. I should have told you sooner but I was so scared you'd hate me for it or that it'd ruin our friendship”

“Oh Heat,” your own tears started to meld with his as you pressed your cheeks together, your arms tight around his shoulders as he started to sob against you, the dam collapsing under the immense pressure of his emotions. “I'm so sorry, I'm so fucking sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, I was just so fucked up and I just couldn't take it anymore. I should have seen you there, I should have known you were there for me like you've always been, I've been such a ghost lately that I didn't see” You held his head gently in your hands, his dark eyes glassy with tears as he sniffed and looked at you, “I'm not ready right now, but I have no intention of leading you on. I'm gonna find the strength to say those three words Heat, because I know I feel them, I just can't bring myself to say them right now. Please don't stop loving me, you're all I have”

His lips crashed against yours, pain and fear and love and overflowing intangible emotions bursting at the seams as his tongue fought against yours and his hands held you close against him. You could feel his growing erection against your thigh so you slid your hand down his front, threading it under the waistband of his baggy pants, desperately needing to make him feel good, to alleviate your guilt after the hurt you'd put him through. He let out an almost pained whine as you started to pump him, his kisses messy and half focused as you serviced him, till he couldn't focus on anything else anymore and all he could do was pant against your shoulder. It didn't take him long to cum, so wound up from the overbearing stress that the release you gave him had him letting out a stuttered groan as he came, his seed spilling over your hand and lubricating his cock as you worked him through it.

“Shh, I've got you,” you cooed as you made your final slow strokes, his breath hot on your shoulder as he gripped you tight like he was afraid you would disappear forever if he let go. It was almost painful, given your sore breasts and surgery site. “Heaaaat, loosen your grip baby, I'm not going anywhere, I promise”

He let go a little but refused to entirely remove his hold on you, but you were more than fine with that now that the pressure wasn't painful. You held his head close to your heart and stroked his hair, and your steady heartbeat and tender caresses in the afterglow of his orgasm finally lulled him to sleep. You breathed a sigh of relief that he was finally relaxed, and you soon followed suit to take advantage of what rest you could get before Dawn inevitably woke you up again.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

[descendantsramblings]

Thank you baby, sorry for messing up that post the first time, I might be stupid, so your ask is a touch cut off on both sides

Anyway, back to the show

And I decided that this takes place in 1985 even though we don't have a set year so I could reference '84 movies. Do y'all even know what a VCR is? Is that gonna confuse y'all? I had blues clues on a bright orange VHS as a kid and I miss it every day.

Scales

Morgie le Fay x Reader

Pronouns used: they/them/theirs

Summary: Morgie could think of about 100 things he’d rather do that coparent a dragon with Merlin Academy’s sweetheart

Warnings: Morgie is a little OOC due to being in a bad mood (and hating dragons), Swearing, reader is implied to be shorter than Morgie (idk how tall Peder is and don't really care so sorry if I made y'all reallll short with that), this reads pretty platonic so sorry if that's not what you wanted, Reader calls Morgie "Daddio" but i assure you it's not how you think

Word Count: 3.5K

   There was no class that the sorcerer hated more than “Care of Magical Creatures”. The only magical creature he had any interest in was himself, he was a lovely magical creature, a shape shifter. He knows how to care for himself, what other magical creatures could he have to learn to care about? But this? This just made the class even worse. Of course, Merlin would clock him on how often he was skipping the day that Dragon Parenting week started. Maybe graduating wasn’t worth it, he could fail his senior year, he’d be okay with that. If it meant he didn’t have to pretend to care about a dreadfully scaled little creature, he could fail. He’ll graduate next year, that’s fine by him. Who cares what his dreadfully evil mother would say about him failing? He does, he cares about it. Guess Morgie is stuck here.

   Madam Harleen is wandering around her classroom, a bright pink clipboard in her hands as she does. “Now, one big part of this project is making sure that you have a randomly assigned partner. I took the liberty of using a RNG to make sure that each of you were fairly assigned to your co-parent for the week.” His eyes roll back into his head, of course she would. As long as he didn’t get Bridget Hearts or either of her exhausting little friends, Morgie could care less. The last thing he needed was to deal with Uliana complaining about him hanging around one of them while he was caught up with handling a creature so absolutely dreadful. Maybe they could find a cool one, if they went first they could. Morgie had peaked into the box of dragon hatchlings as he passed Madam Harleen’s desk, there were some pretty cool looking ones. As long as he didn’t get stuck with the scrawny little purple and orange hatchling he would be okay.

   “Mr. le Fay and Mx. (L/n),” Madam Harleen is obviously proud of the duo as she says it, looking between the two teens. Of course, who else would Morgie be paired with except for sunshine itself? (Y/n) (L/n) with their sweetheart personality and gentle hands and adoring smiles. The only royal in this entire school who was somehow nicer than Bridget. Today was on its way to ending him. Or at least his reputation, he may as well just go ahead and ask Hades to send him to the underworld. There was no way that Uliana would ever let him hear the end of this, if he could even get through it. Yet here they come, with that stupid bouncy walk and the gentle smile as they make their way to his side. Falling beside him with one of those big sugar sweet smiles. “So,” they reach out a hand for him to shake, “Are you so entirely excited for this project like I am? Because I love dragons, they’re the absolute cutest.” As they realize he isn’t going to shake their hand they draw it back, letting it fall weakly at their side. “Not really.” A frown meets their lips momentarily before something seems to flicker through their eyes. Frown quickly replaced by another excited smile, “Well, if you don’t like dragons, does that mean I can pick our hatchling? There was one I absolutely had my eyes on when we walked in.” 

   Hazel eyes roll in their sockets, a hand waving the excitable royal off, “Yeah, sure , whatever you want. Just don’t make me get up.” What Morgie is pretty sure is a squeal slips from their lips, (Y/n) bouncing out of their seat and over to the box up front, leaning over it with this big sweet smile. It could almost be admirable, something that Morgie would never admit out loud. The person who swallowed the sun in real life. An actual picture of the love of life, painted out right before you. There was something about them that was almost beautiful, or at least they could be. Maybe, if they weren’t coming back to him with the scrawniest little purple and orange hatchling cuddling against their chest. Its head against their chest as if it was listening to their heartbeat. Maybe it was, Morgie was almost sure that their heartbeat had to somehow be prettier or sweeter than other people’s. His sounded different, surely there were other people who had different heartbeats too. Perhaps that was just due to him being a shapeshifter? 

   “Okay this little tag on his collar says he’s a boy, isn’t that fun?” Morgie looks the dragon up and down, nose scrunching with distaste. “Honestly I always saw myself as more of a girl dad.” His comment earns him an eye roll and a giggle, “You know, Morgie, you’re really taking all of the fun out of this.” Now he’s the one laughing, glancing between the royal and the dragon. It hisses at him, a minor puff of fire coming with the sound which makes the boy jump, laughter dying for a look of shock. “There was never any fun in all of this. And that thing hates me.” “He’s not a thing, he’s our son, at least for a week.” The comment makes the boy look even more disgusted, staring at them as if looking for the second head they seemed to be growing. “He’s a pet at best, we do not have a child together. We will never have a child together. Don’t word it like that.” 

                               ╔══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╗

   He’d been away from (Y/n) and that dreadful little creature for a few hours now. If Morgie was lucky, they would recognize he was ignoring them and just take all the work, that was his hope at least. But of course, since Merlin and maybe even the gods above hate him, sunshine incarnate found him while he was sitting with his friends. Calling his name like a song as they come up behind him, that awful little dragon curled up against their chest. He pinches his eyes closed, head falling back with a groan as they approach, that perfect little smile on their face. “Okay, so I had him in all of my classes today and I already went and bought dragon food and things of the like since you were nowhere to be found. So I think it’s more than fair for you to take Viper for the first night, and I’ll come get him when your classes are over tomorrow for my night with him.” 

   Morgie doesn’t mean to let his jaw fall the way it does, his intention wasn’t the way his brows raise. But no one spoke to his friends like that, outside of them- they could actually be impossibly bossy with each other. “Yeah, no thanks,” he attempts to turn back to the poker game before them when he feels a hand snag his shoulder, forcing him to stay facing them. Okay, maybe sunshine was more of a rainbow. There was definitely some rain hidden behind them. “No. You aren’t scary enough to trick me into doing all your work for you. You get Viper tonight, I am not doing everything for you. I might be friends with her, but I am not Bridget. No one is pushing me around.” Maybe rain wasn’t the right word, fire. This was fire, and Morgie might be able to get something out of fire. 

   “Viper? I don’t remember agreeing to that.” There’s this odd look of satisfaction on their face as (Y/n) drops the dreadful collection of purple scales into his lap. “I thought you would like it, serpent boy. You’re both snake themed.” Of course they thought like that, why would he ever think otherwise. “Have fun with our kid, Daddio, I’ll collect him tomorrow! He better be alive and well,” Something about their voice is almost mocking, it draws a smirk to the boy’s face. Maybe Merlin Academy’s sweetheart had some tricks up their sleeve. Less of an angel than people thought, huh? He looks down to the dragon, the thing glaring up at him from its perch on his lap. “Well, I bet they’d be mad if I released you, wouldn’t they?” His hand reaches towards it and the dragon snaps its jaws, Morgie quickly recoiling. Wonderful, it hates him. 

                            ╔══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╗

   The last three days have been torture for Morgie le Fay, and not in the fun masochist way. (Y/n) (L/n) was exhausting, nothing he did was right. Of course, to be fair, nothing that he tried to do was correct. He knew that. Morgie had no interest in parenting a scaled flame thrower. He hated that thing, and Viper hated him right back. If it bit him one more time he was positive he would lose a hand. Morgie was good with animals, of the normal variety. The type of animals he could shift into were wonderful. But the only villain that the dreadful thing liked was Maleficent, the girl holding it more often than not when they were all together. Morgie likes to believe it was because she could turn into one of the dreadful things, and honestly he was starting to see her as less likable because of it. 

  But, he didn’t have to see it today. Tonight was (Y/n)’s night with it, he was free for just one night. No fights in the morning, no loss of sleep due to an overgrown lizard hoping on his feet and biting them.  At least, he was supposed to be free. So why was sunshine standing in his doorway, holding the creature he oh so dearly despised? Morgie drags a hand down his face, letting out a groan. “Why are you here, (Y/n)?” The perky smile they give him would be comforting if he wasn’t positive that they were planning something. “Well, Morgie, I think we got off on the wrong foot, all three of us,” they force their way into the dorm as they speak, that smile never faltering. “You, me, and the overgrown lizard?” “Baby dragon.” “Whatever,” he sighs, leaning against his door as he takes in the sight. They stand in his dorm like they’re meant to be there, smile ever so warm and bright.  Sunshine in the dark, villainous room. It was nauseating. 

    “So anyway, I thought that maybe the three of us should try bonding. I can’t tell for sure but I think that Viper agrees with me. So I am going to leave him here, and then I’ll be back with stuff for the three of us to have a movie night.” “Absolutely not,” Morgie scoffs, staring at them as if they had gone and lost their mind. “No, it’ll be fun Morgie. Plus everyone knows that you and Hook have a VCR hidden in here and I just bought ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ on VHS.” He stares at them, waiting patiently for them to do something that lets him call their bluff. But they’re smiling, toying with their fingers as the dragon sits beside them, pawing at their leg. “You have Elm Street on VHS? You like horror movies?” They nod, an eager and fast motion that he was sure made them dizzy. “Yeah, who doesn’t? I also have jiffy pop and cold cokes. If you’re down that is,” there’s this longing hope in their eyes that seems to make his stomach churn. “You, little sunshine and rainbows. Mx. Giggles and cupcakes and tutoring, like horror? Like genuinely like horror movies?” “Is that so hard to believe?” It was. They were the picture of perfect and proper. Shouldn’t they be all over “Sixteen Candles” and “Footloose”? This would let him call their bluff, surely they were just trying to look good in front of a villain. 

   “Alright, go get it then.” A squeal comes out of their lips, the royal literally bouncing on their toes as they clap in excitement. “Perfect, you watch Viper and I will be right back!” They’re running out of the door before the boy can argue, typical. The little dragon jumping from where he was in the center of the room to the door, clawing at it with little barks and whines as if it was a puppy. He was kind of cute like that, not in the way an actual puppy would be, but still kinda cute. He’d actually gotten a little bit bigger since the two of them took him in, all (Y/n)’s doing Morgie was sure. They had been the one to pick out the food, and seemingly the only one who could get the thing to do any tricks. It could care less about listening to Morgie. The sorcerer was beginning to wonder if this was how Maleficent’s mother felt, having a little dragon refuse to listen because it hates you. That would be something. 

   “Get off the door,” the boy groans, throwing himself on his bed. It doesn’t seem to care what he said. “Dragon, stop,” he groans, shaking his head as it seems to get more aggressive. “Dragon! Stop scratching the door!” Though he can’t see it, Morgie can feel the way that his eyes flash into snake eyes, something that only seemed to be involuntary when he was angered. Why did that stupid lizard need his project partner so badly? What made it hate him from the second they met? This is ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. He was a sorcerer of dark magic, a shapeshifter, that stupid animal should like him more than Mx. Sunshine and lollipops. What is this thing’s problem? 

   When the door’s catch clicks, Morgie lets out a soft sigh, thankful that (Y/n) was back to make the creature stop. “What the fuck?” Hook hollers, jumping back as the dragon hatchling shoots past him, somewhere between running and flying as it tries to get away from them. “Mate, your awful little pet got out,” he snaps, making a b-line for his bed as he strips from his jacket. He hated that thing. Morgie was absolutely positive that he hated that thing, so why is his stomach dropping to his feet? In a flash, Morgie had clambered to his feet, dashing to the door and snatching it back open. 

    (Y/n) wasn’t expecting Morgie to snatch the door open in their face, his own a mix of terror and shame. “Morgie, what in the world-” They don’t get to finish before he snatches the VHS and snacks from their hands dropping them on the table the boys kept by the door before pushing past them. “The dragon wouldn’t stop trying to get to you and then Hook opened the door and the little thing got out.” “You let him get out?” They could feel fear running through their chest as they realized their new companion, their biggest grade of the semester, was godmother knows where. This was bad, this was insanely fucking bad. “Hook let him out, not me!” “This is so fucking bad,” they nearly whimper, staring down the hall the opposite way from where they came to see if maybe Viper would still be visible. “You swear?” 

    They turn to him as if he’s crazy. “You are focused on the wrong thing right now, le Fay. Now come on,” their hand encircles his wrist, dragging the boy down the hall. He would normally fight it, but they looked so scared, and he felt so guilty, so his feet keep pace with theirs. Where do dragons hide anyway? Where would a dragon go if looking for them? Not their dorm, it went the wrong way for that. “Courtyard,” it's straight forward, gentler than he’d ever spoken to them as they pause for a second. “What?” “We hand Viper off in the Courtyard. If he’s trying to find you, that’s where he is.” A smile breaks across their lips and for a moment they let them both stop to breathe. “What?” It only gets bigger, all bright and sunny again, “You called him ‘him’, and his name. You haven’t done that all week.” He stares at them, his own little smile cracking out across his lips, “Yeah, well, it matters to you.” (Y/n) stands on their toes, tapping the tip of Morgie’s nose, “I think we’re growing on you, serpent boy.”  He hums, rolling his eyes but he can’t break the smile, “Yeah, whatever you say. Now come on, let’s go get our dragon.” 

   The two should have let go of each other by now, they know that. Yet (Y/n)’s hand stays firmly on Morgie’s wrist as they make their way to the courtyard. Both teenagers were hyper aware of the fact that something had changed between them, some little weight lifted from both of their shoulders. Not that they’d mention it, not now anyway. They aren’t supposed to exist in the same world, the week would be over and so would any idea of friendship that might be blooming in their minds. A villain and someone who was friends with Bridget could never be friends. That was law. They get to the courtyard in a comfortable silence, the only one that had ever existed between them. Of course, the little dragon wouldn’t just be out in the open, they should have both known that. But that doesn’t stop (Y/n) from getting a little anxious, eyes whipping around the yard wildly in a panic. 

   “Morgie, he’s not here. He’s not here, we lost him. We’re gonna fail and I’m going to lose him. This is awful.” He doesn’t realize he’s reaching out to them until his hand lands adoringly on their shoulder, forcing the royal to turn to him. Once they are, his hand slides to rest under their chin, tilting it upwards. “Hey, he’s probably just hiding because he got scared when you weren’t here. Let’s split up, check the bushes on either side of the yard. I bet you half the bag of haribos in my room that he’s just curled up somewhere.” They nod, taking a deep breath as they step away from him, turning to go check the left side of the courtyard. Leaving him with the right, and the speed he makes towards the bushes shocks even him. This little dragon meant far too much to them, he couldn’t be the thing that let it get lost. Even if it was Hook’s fault, in a way it was his, wasn’t it? He never tried to care for Viper, never tried to bond with it. So of course, he wouldn’t want to be around the sorcerer. He caused this, and if they couldn’t find him, Morgie would own up to that. Maybe Madam Harleen would give (Y/n) a do over? 

   Not that they would need one, when he checks his third bush in the courtyard, something hisses at him. A tiny puff of fire coming with the sound. “Viper,” the name comes out on a sigh of relief as he reaches down for the little dragon. Delicately lifting him up and against his own chest. “You had us worried sick, you know that?” At the comment, (Y/n) turns around. Their face lights up as they stare at the little dragon, the hatchling fighting in Morgie’s arms to get to his preferred owner. Sunshine itself bounces up to Morgie, relieved and excited hands reaching out for him to hand Viper over. He waits until they’re close enough and softly slip the hatchling into their hands. Watching with a strange adoration as they nuzzle their nose against the top of Viper’s head. “Don’t you ever do that again.” Like a mother scolding their child who ran off in the mall they reprimand the little creature, smiling up at Morgie when they’re satisfied. “Thank you.” 

   “Thank me? I’m the reason he got out.” “But, you cared enough to help me look for him. So whether it was for him, or me, or our grade. Thank you.” He smiles back, reaching out to scratch Viper between the wings. “Yeah, well you can make it up to me with movie night.” They smirk, raising their eyebrows, “Maybe. Depends on what type of Haribos you’re hiding in that room of yours.” Of course they would harp on that, the creature of sugar and sun that they were. “Happy colas, but if I pull them out and Hook sees he will for sure demand that I share with him.” He’s met with a hum, and a playful glint in their eyes as they seem to be plotting something. “Yeah well, we can hide them between us. I’m sure you’ll end up clinging to me anyway. I bet you’re a bitch when it comes to horror movies.” He should be offended, he know he should, but instead Morgie’s body is racked with laughter. “Oh you do swear! Who would have thought? Does your mommy know you act like that?” “Oh shut up!” They’re laughing too, smirk falling to a real laugh. “Does Bridget know you act like that? I thought I was the bully here.” He catches a playful smack to the shoulder, laughing as they grab his hand, “Come on. Let’s go before the Jiffy pop gets all gross.”

[undiscovered-horizon]

"Que sera, sera" - Morpheus x Wisdom!Reader

[TW: grief/loss of a child]

Pillars of Eternity Universe: [Pillars of Eternity] [The Just and the Wicked] || [Sandman-inspired playlist]

SUMMARY: Following his invitation, Morpheus and Wisdom visit Time on the Seas of Oblivion. What seemed like a social call, turns out to be a call for help.

WORDCOUNT: ~ 3.5k

[Been gone for a while but look, guys, I just started a new term and I'm 'plotting' another novel.] I recommend listening to "To the Moon and Beyond" by Gavin Luke while reading

How have you been while I was gone? Oh, I'm pleased to hear that! Shangri-La was lovely, thank you. The tree where the Spear of Ages resided for centuries is still growing strong. The swing my parents hung on one of the branches is still there. It's a wonderful thing that our world keeps changing and Shangri-La refuses to.

I'm still weary from my travel, so I'll tell you a shorter story today if you don't mind. I don't have as much vigour as I used to have in my younger years, I'm sorry, dear student. But despite the tale not being as long as the previous ones, I promise it is just as thrilling. It's about Dream and Wisdom, after all!

Before we start, have you ever heard people say they're running out of time? Ha! It always amuses me just the same. As if an ocean could run out of water! Hear me, little student, and remember this: water slips through your fingers because you're not holding it properly. Learn to handle time, become friends with it and not try to be its master. Befriending Time would be easier for people if they met that lovely old fellow...

Morpheus only heard stories about the Seas of Oblivion. He's never actually seen them, mainly because until now he had been unable to. Those uncharted waters lay beyond realms he was able to reach. Even dreams, as it appeared, were confined to a certain space but more importantly - they were bound to the grains of sand inside the hourglass and so was he. Morpheus may have been Endless but he wasn't Timeless like you.

"Seas of Oblivion are treacherous waters, dearest,” you warned him. “Underneath those sapphire waves lay memories of countless souls. The more vividly they are remembered by the living, the more vivid they appear: they might look alive, they might sound alive, they might even act like they're alive. But they are only an echo of somebody’s love."

With a blink of an eye, quite literally, Morpheus had found himself standing on a trawler, on the open sea. Cold water and salt spraying his face. A faint yet distinct aroma of algae and sludge filled his nostrils. The waters around him were about as black as the sky and if it wasn’t for the breathtaking aurora borealis, it would be quite impossible to tell where the horizon lay. There were neither stars nor moon nor planets above him - only stripes of beautiful colours so strange he wasn’t sure he could ever name them. The longer Morpheus stared at the lights the more he began noticing just how impossible they were in the way colours glided into different shades; the blues were purple after a while but when he focused a little more, he became sure that the lights were actually green. Or maybe yellow? They weren’t any colour he knew all the while shining in every shade he could possibly imagine.

His eyes, or maybe Morpheus himself, grew tired of the troubling aurora borealis and turned to examine the infamous waters. It’s hard to say whether he thought about it at the moment but in that cycle of life, he was to be the only Endless to ever see them. The impenetrable black waters were strangely shimmery as though there were silver particles drifting along the waves. Sometimes, he thought that the glimmering oddments took on meaningful shapes, only to scatter once more the moment he blinked. If he could only look at it a little longer, a little closer…

"Don't stare too long at the water.” Your words pulled him out of that strange headspace that lured him into leaning dangerously far out the side. “ It's hard to say what will stare back."

Understanding the seriousness of your warning, Morpheus looked up, away from the murky ocean but then his stare lay on something equally suspicious and thought-provoking: a black, slimy rock protruding from the indigo waters. As far as an eye could see, there was nothing resembling land. At first, the formation looked completely inconspicuous and perhaps that’s exactly why Dream’s gaze lingered on this black lump of slime - it was a little too unobtrusive.

Then, a yellow, fishy eye appeared on the surface of what Morpheus had assumed was a rock. A black rhomboid pupil stared at the Lord of Dreams with animalistic blankness as though the sea monster had the privilege of never entertaining even a single thought. Considering the distance between the yellow ocular and the boat, the eyeball itself must have been around Dream’s height in diameter. Morpheus felt a delicate shiver travelling down his spine: if that was only the eye, how big was its owner?

“Good day to you too, Charon,” you called out to the monstrum.

The beast let out a whale-like whine, then a low grumble before slowly submerging. Its yellow eye continued to stalk the floating boat.

“That is Charon?” Morpheus asked with a sense of wonder in his voice.

“Human legends do not do him justice, I agree. As they repeated the story of Time, Charon and Seas of Oblivion, the tale must have twisted and people now speak of Charon sailing Styx and a terrifying Leviathan lurking below the waves. Time should be down in the cabin.”

You turned the knob and the lock clicked. Although quiet, the Seas of Oblivion were exceptionally peaceful, so the sound of doors opening was well-audible. The two of you were about to go down the narrow steps leading to Time’s cabin when suddenly:

"Father?” 

That voice… If Morpheus had a heart, it would stop beating at that very moment.

Sitting on the side of the ship, you saw a boy, barely old enough to be called a young man, with curly brown hair and an eagle nose. The tunic he was wearing was torn in many places with seaweed sticking to the material as well as his curls. He was absolutely drenched, black water dripping onto the deck of the trawler.

“Is that you?" the boy asked in a wavering, hopeful voice.

You put your hand on his shoulder and Morpheus winced slightly, suddenly and unexpectedly all the more aware of the reality surrounding him. "He's not real,” you whispered in a soft voice. “Not in the way you'd want him to be. I'm sorry."

Morpheus heard himself quietly gasp as Charon’s black, slimy tentacle wrapped around the physique of his late son, pulling the spectre under the tide. The Seas of Oblivion were quiet once more.

“I’m sorry,” you repeated while tightly holding his arm. 

He didn’t answer. In the colourful light of the aurora borealis above you, his teary, bloodshot eyes glistened in a way that was both heartbreaking and poetically captivating. The thought of picking a fight with your siblings passed through your mind - you could undo this even if you shouldn't - but you discarded this idea about as swiftly as it had appeared. Impulse was unwise. Morpheus squeezed your hand and directed his steps down the stairs leading to the only cabin on the trawler. His silence was deafening.

Entering the inside of the trawler, guests were welcomed with a broken, old radio playing the chorus of one song on a loop. From the depths of the cabin, a hoarse, pleasant voice quietly sang along:

Que sera, sera Whatever will be, will be The future's not ours to see Que sera, sera What will be, will be

“Oh, there you are!” Time exclaimed in a raspy voice the moment Morpheus and you entered the small connecting room with a table and four barrels-turned-chairs.

The old man looked like the stereotypical sea dog: pearly white hair, a hat, calloused hands, wellies and a raincoat, even if it didn't rain in this part of the universe. As it so appeared, you had interrupted him while Time was sharpening an oyster knife. His steel eyes were barely visible as he smiled wide at you and chicken feet decorated his bright, wrinkly features.

“It’s so nice to see another face! Put the kettle on, will you? And grab something to eat out of the cupboard, dear.”

Morpheus sat across the table from Time as you walked farther into the cabin. Waiting for the turquoise kettle to whistle you looked for the aforementioned food. The inside of the cupboard was exactly what you had expected: oranges, sardines and jerky. Unchanged cuisine of Seas of Oblivion since, quite literally, the beginning of time. An amused sigh left your lips as you grabbed a few of each. Little did you know, Time had a good reason to ask you to complete this little quest for tea:

“Can you keep a secret, Lord of Dreams and Nightmares?” Time quietly asked when you were out of earshot.

“I know countless of them.”

“Good because Wisdom would hate for me to tell you this but seeing your pain hurts my old heart. Hear me, Dream of the Endless, just a sip out of the Seas of Oblivion can make you forget all that sorrow you carry. It will not change the past and its consequences but make the very fibre of your existence forget about it. You do not have to suffer.”

Morpheus stared at him for a moment, clearly pondering the extraordinary claim. He was seriously entertaining that thought. “Thank you, I…” he hung his voice for a moment, “Maybe one day.”

Just as he gave Time his answer, you entered the connecting room with the kettle in one hand and a less-than-impressive choice of food in the other. The oranges, jerky and sardines were piled up on your hand in a suspiciously physics-defying way but it would be a ridiculous lie to say that either of the men was even a little bit surprised. Their worlds were a lot stranger than the convenient ignoring of gravity.

Without asking him to, Morpheus got up from his seat only to take some of the things out of your hand and put them on the table. Watching the boiling water pour into the mug, you began the conversation: “How are you doing, Time? I hear that humid air is bad for joints.”

The man only laughed. “So is old age, dear Wisdom. I am doing just fine. The Seas are calm, the echos rarely make themselves known… It’s peaceful out here. Some days I think I don’t want my sail to end.”

"Why's that?" Morpheus asked him. To him, such reality sounded like a pipe dream and he tried his best to chase those bleak thoughts away.

"I grew to like this stubborn boy.” Time vaguely pointed at the small, circular window to your right. Out there, among black waves of the Seas of Oblivion, you noticed Charon’s tentacles peaking above the impenetrable waters every now and then. “Maybe he looks imposing and isn't exactly pretty but he's got a heart of gold, I tell you that. And to think that when I come alongside he will be unmade.” Time sighed and shook his head. Yes, that day must arrive no matter how unwelcome - the day he finishes his journey and another cycle must begin. “Speaking of Charon, he’s been strange lately as if he had fallen ill, all fussy and crabby... Or maybe he’s going to be?” Out of frustration, Time took off his cap and scratched his balding head. “You have to forgive me, old age makes me a little confused about timelines. On bad days, like today I suppose, it’s hard for me to tell future and past apart.”

“It’s alright,” you reassured him as you sat down next to Morpheus, across from your host. “Recently, one of the Palaces of Justice died. Perhaps that had made Charon unwell.”

"Oh, fiddlesticks! I didn't know they can die. Well, a time comes for everyone, I suppose." Time snickered at his own pun. “Truthfully, Charon is the reason I asked you to come.”

You furrowed your eyebrows. “Had something happened to him?”

“I think he’s just… lonely. He needs a friend. Endless seas and just one, poor, little Charon. I’d hate for him to grow bitter, he’s lovely if a bit tough on the outside.”

A quiet, repetitive cracking resounded in the room - it was Papsukkal, one of your crows, snacking on shelled peanuts spilling out of a massive bag placed in the corner near the stairs. Perhaps magical but he was a crow nonetheless and that meant peanuts had power over him. Used to the ever-present voice of Doris Day, you stopped even noticing the repetitive music coming from the scratchy-sounding radio.

"Why haven't you asked Aether?" you coaxed. It was no secret that your sister would be a better choice to ask such a favour.

The old man shook his head in a defeated manner. He let out a tired sigh before answering. "Wherever she goes, Abyss follows. I'm afraid she wouldn't quite understand this loneliness."

You raised your eyebrows at the bold implication. "Should I?"

Time’s steel eyes stared at you with a mildness that befits only people of ancient age. His calloused hand scratched his pearly white beard. "Only you can answer that,” he stated with a certain disinterest in his voice as though you had just asked him a question he could never even begin formulating a response to.

"I know the secret of Aether's power,” you said after a moment of silence. “I can imitate it but not recreate. Whatever ‘friend’ I make for Charon will appear alive and perfectly normal but will remain soulless. Such a creature will lack autonomy and awareness, doing only what it is told. Nothing more and nothing less. It will neither feel nor think,” you warned him.

“Please,” Time said in a quiet, mild tone. A sad smile appeared on his face. His wrinkly, calloused hand reached out to hold yours. “Charon deserves a better friend than I can be, someone to venture into the waters with him, to share his burden.”

“So it shall be,” you nodded quietly. “Come Papsukkal,” you called the bird.

Visibly reluctant to end his peanut feast, the crow flew to sit on your fingers. Morpheus and Time followed you outside of the cabin, both silently anticipating the miracle of creation they were about to witness. Although Dream had more occasions to see the scope of your power, he was just as smitten with the current possibility. Even more: he was a creator himself and yet your craft was so different from his. The major contrast was that his power was finite while yours was anything but, opening an entire uncharted realm of possibilities.

“Goodbye, dear friend,” you whispered to the bird. Its flaming eyes stared at you curiously.

Without much effort, your free hand barely tapped against the crow’s chest. Suddenly, the bird let out a deafening caw and it split into two separate entities: a black, completely ordinary crow still sitting on your hand and the strangest green ghost of a bird that appeared to be a flame brought into life. The crow-shaped spectre took flight, circling above your head.

"From the water I raise you and to water you shall return,” you said in a firm tone. Your voice wasn’t exceptionally loud and yet the black water began foaming restlessly. The trawler began shaking more than it should. “A monster of endless seas, protector of the damned. Guide the spirits of these waters, wash away the sorrows of their earthly lives. Do not fear the changing tides but learn to float along them. May the rivers of time flow in you, Silver Whale of the Oblivion Seas."

The green crow of fire let out a bright, booming caw before diving into the black water. For a moment, everything was silent, terrifyingly static. Then, a loud whine - a strangely white blue whale with green, burning eyes leapt above the impenetrable waves of Seas of Oblivion, only to fall back under the tide with a great splash.

“What a big boy!” Time exclaimed between chuckles. “Thank you, Wisdom. This is… I don’t know how to put it into words.”

“Then don’t. I know your gratitude, Time. Now we can only hope Charon and…”

“Barry,” Time stated. “He looks like a Barry.”

“Very well.” You couldn’t help a small smile entering your face. An entity so vital to the existence of this universe and he chose the simplest name one could think of. His exceptionality, like with everyone, lay not in his intrinsic nature but in his actions and choices. “Now we can only hope Charon and Barry get along as well as we want them to.”

In the distance, you could see Barry floating on his back and a thick, slimy tentacle curiously poking the whale’s exposed stomach. Once again, Time let out a raspy laugh.

“We should be returning to Dreaming,” you said as your hand gently grabbed Morpheus’s elbow. “It was a great pleasure, Time.”

“The pleasure’s all mine, dear Wisdom. Come by anytime you want.” You almost missed the quick, meaningful glance he gave Morpheus. “Thank you, again. Charon seems happy or at least happier than he was.”

The trawler, old sea dog and black, endless water faded into the marble walls Morpheus knew so well. Suddenly, it felt strange not to smell seaweed and sludge but the general dryness of his palace was incomparably better than the overwhelming wetness of the boat. Additionally, there were no ghosts haunting Dreaming.

Suddenly, someone barged into the room you had been in. Lucienne had her arms full of books and papers. Her lips were pushed together, no doubt an effect of the amount of work she had to take care of in a record time. Bless her heart for having such strength.

“Before you leave, my lord Morpheus,” she spoke fast and somehow impatiently but it was hardly her own fault, “the Order of the Burning Rose requested an audience as soon as possible. The patriarch sounded… upset, to put it lightly.”

“Thank you, Lucienne. I will take care of it,” he answered in a strangely absent voice. In rushed footsteps, she disappeared into the long halls of the palace and Morpheus looked at you with a curious glint in his eyes. “How long have we been gone?” he asked.

You shrugged your shoulders slightly. “I can’t be exactly sure but I’d say around five minutes? Maybe seven?”

He had a strange, and probably not at all conscious, habit of tilting his head upwards when he felt thrilled or fascinated. Morpheus could, of course, make a comment about how remarkable you were but it seemed pointless - who in their right mind makes a note of the wetness of water? Or the darkness of the night? “Now, if you’ll excuse me, lady Wisdom, I have a kingdom to reign.”

“Do what you must, my king.”

And with those words, he had to return to his regal duties. You, too, went back to what you did most of the time - sitting underneath the hazel tree, listening to the whispers of countless realms that were, are and yet will happen; the chattering of cycles of life.

It was hard for you to say how much time had passed when you heard a bizarre and utterly unexpected sound: a whale’s singing. You opened your eyes only to see a large fin disappearing in the sky as though its owner dived farther into the firmament like it was water.

Sparing no time, you searched for Morpheus and possible answers to his sudden change of heart. Finding him wasn’t exactly difficult - he stood on the staircase leading up to the castle’s entrance. Wrapped in his ridiculously long coat, he simply admired his new creation, no matter how narcissistic that might have seemed.

“I see you’ve been busy.”

Morpheus looked at you but only for a moment. Something about the humpback whale swimming across the firmament was a little too captivating. “For the first time, I looked at my own sky and realized it was empty despite all of these stars.”

“It’s beautiful.”

As though the whale had heard your compliment, it sang happily eliciting a laugh from you. Your eyes followed the graceful, slow movements of the mammal, while Morpheus’s gaze was stuck on you. It appeared that there were things more captivating than whales in a starry sky.

I’m afraid my tale ends here, dear student. There is still some time until nightfall. You’re welcome to linger at my home but I’m tired and, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get some rest. There should be some oranges in the kitchen if you’re hungry. Oh, and before I go, because I might forget this and it’s quite important, there are two things I need you to remember: if you dream of a humpback whale, don’t be afraid of the challenges ahead, you will succeed. The second thing is when you visit me next time, remind me to tell you the story about the patriarch and the Burning Rose. I’ll see you soon, dear student.

[sanstropfremir]

by request, the first post-kingdom stage roundup! this one is a best to worst by group!

some introductory notes:

i’m not going to be ranking the 100sec stages in here because they are too different of a scale. but i will be talking about them as a part of the process. i’m not going to be including the team stages here either, since i talked about them in my episode seven and eight reviews and i do think they stand separately from the individual group stages, because we don’t know who the creative teams were behind them. this is not meant to be an overall best of all the performances, i’m intending this more to be a look each of the groups’ stages overall; seeing how they adapted and improved and how effective the trajectory of their journey as a whole was. also, a very important definition to make right at the start so i don't have to explain it every time: by ‘worst’ i do not mean the stage was actually bad. by ‘worst’ i literally mean ‘not the best.’ if i break it down, i’m ranking these by ‘most amount of successful components’ to ‘least amount of successful components.’ there were no stages that were actually bad or unwatchable; they were all successful in one way or another, but some of them more so. i’m ordering these in my own personal ranking of reverse who did the best overall, which obviously is not how the actual show rankings went down, but we all know my thoughts on the official rankings.

in case you want to catch up and read my more in depth thoughts, here’s all of my episode reviews: one, two (with added tbz costume breakdown), three, four, five, seven, eight, nine, ten! oh and also here’s my very first review of the dance solo performance film, since i’m also going to be referencing this a bit.

tbz

monster - the least involved with their overarching story concept and it’s stylistically the most interesting because it’s a departure from the glittery royalty concept we have primarily seen them in. it also helps that it’s a great song that they did a relatively good cover of.

kingdom come - the solidity of the choreo is the thing that puts this stage up here, because it’s some of their best. and it’s not as explicitly reliant on the game of thrones theme as their other stages.

o sole mio - this has real potential as a good small concept vaudeville themed stage; it starts off really strong and then they blow it by shoehorning in the unnecessary lore.

no air - they tried to start off with a big conceptual bang in the first round with a semi-explicit narrative, but it relies entirely too much on the viewers knowing the references for it to make any sense.

to be honest, i’m not that surprised about how tbz constructed their stages and how they turned out. i know a lot of people have been disappointed with how lackluster their stages have felt in comparison to their rtk ones, and i think that’s fair because i agree, i don’t think they ever captured the same energy they did for danger or for shangri-la. if you’ve been following along (or have just read all my reviews now) than you know most of my complaints about how tbz have been working with their lore and concepts, so i won’t rehash them here. but i do think it’s warranted to point out that theoretically, being first in rtk would logistically put you at the bottom of the initial ranking for kingdom. i know they’re not technically the youngest group, but in the execution of their stages in comparison, it does make sense to me that they come out looking as the most inexperienced group. even though they were intending to have a similar overarching story like they did on rtk, it was not at all very fleshed out and there wasn’t a strong enough connection between that story, the themes of their stages, and the narrative shapes of those stages. which is a shame because they are not unskilled performers, and they have the most members of all of the groups on the show, so they had a lot of opportunity to be doing interesting choreo and blocking work that never seemed to materialize. i also think they never truly got used to the size of the stage in comparison to the rtk stage, and they were always struggling to fill it in an intentional way. they tried valiantly to recoup their ground and bring everything together in a full circle for their last stage, and even though they somehow came in second, i think by the finale they had been worn down and lost a lot of their steam. it also doesn’t help that they lost a member to injury right near the end, which can be very demotivating, especially for a young group.

skz

god’s ddu du ddu du - the most stylistically different and interesting of the bunch, with a lot of interesting elements and well designed movement, even if the overall arc was half baked and lackluster

i’ll be your man - this was an actual attempt at a departure from their normal bluster and even though it never makes it all the way there and they don’t do that great of a cover, it’s different enough.

wolfgang - although watchable for hilarity and/or cringe value, nothing about this stage demonstrates a significant amount of growth from the first one. it fact it just feels like they injected a load more money and time into the premise of their 100sec stage, without any of the reflection that this kind of circular final stage concept should have. it’s exactly the stage of a group that’s been propelled to first in every round through an artificially inflated system.

god’s menu/side effects - the most scattered of all their stages. there’s not quite enough material to tie everything together and it feels underformed.

we all knew what the outcome of the show was going to be the moment that very first round of fan voting came in. now i don’t actually care about final outcome of the show, because the most valuable experience of a show like this is learning from what your competitors around you are doing and how to improve your work for further rounds. if the ranking system had been solely expert + judges based, all of the weekly rankings would have looked a lot different and skz would have actually had a chance to grow from this experience. but because they have the biggest and most aggressive fandom, their stages constantly ended up in first place and they never actually had the opportunity to sit back and reflect on their performances to figure out how they can do better. because the truth of the matter is that they did not have the best performances on the show. they consistently made stylistically stagnant stages and never managed to correct any of the issues that have been plaguing them since the 100sec round. the closest they got was god’s ddu du ddu du, which was aesthetically the most different and had the most interesting subversions of the stage format, even if it ultimately fell flat because they still missed the mark on managing the shape of the narrative. if you watch all their stages back to back you’ll see that there’s an overreliance on the same types of stylistic decisions and thematic elements, including in the sound and feel of the work. this is a bit hard to explain, but even though the stages all look different, they don’t convey any nuanced emotion or intention other than ‘stray kids world domination.’ now nuanced intention is not necessary for a kpop song performance, but skz took it upon themselves to try and tackle some fairly complex thematic ideas, which is commendable, but they fall flat because the members themselves don’t know how to act. and acting is supremely important when you are doing themed stages. i talked about this same principle in this response about orange caramel and wjsn chocome, but most newer idols don’t approach performing as a character, they approach performing as themselves, and skz are big victims of this. that’s why even i’ll be your man, where they do actually attempt to be a bit more nuanced in their delivery, still comes off like all their other stages. they don’t ever push themselves beyond their performance boundaries (physically yes, obviously. i mean mentally) and so every stage has a little checklist of skz-specific personality traits that round out in the bigger picture to the same general feel. this kind of strategy works great for music shows and for general promotion because it’s super marketable, but in this particular setting, where we spend an extended amount of time with all the groups, it doesn’t facilitate the same amount of growth that letting those of personas go would.

ikon

at ease - really clear cumulation of their performance, group colour, and design elements over the entire show.

classy savage - well designed and decorated with an interesting concept, but has a few flaws that keep it from being their best work.

inception - again, very well designed; the set is so inventive and features a lot of carefully blocked movement, plus the colour palette is tight and used effectively, it just doesn’t reach the same scale as the latter two stages.

love scenario/killing me - it’s the first stage and it clearly suffers from a bit of underd evelopment as they were getting used to the format of the show. it’s still an interesting and well performed stage with the start of elements that we can see them develop further in the next rounds.

ikon had the most lackadaisical attitude toward the whole show, which i think was the best way to approach it, but also they didn’t really push much beyond their boundaries as performers. i’m not faulting them for not wanting to, they’re a very well established group and honestly don’t really need improve on anything. they did however, do a really great job of improving on their design quality and intergration after the first round, which is the one thing that this program definitely facilitates for. they’re also the only group where their finale stage was demonstrably their best stage, so they really did nail that slow improvement progression. they got what they wanted out of the show, which was new friends and a chance to make some fun stages that they wouldn’t have otherwise been able to. like i think i’ve said in every other review, there’s not that much to say about them as a whole because they just put their noses to the grindstone and did the work while maintaining a chill and fun demeanour, and those efforts paid off even if they didn’t end up ranking very high.

sf9

the stealer - great integration of theme into narrative and design, small scale concept with big impact.

believer - smart use of camera work and choreography in conjunction with the design elements. although not very narrative focused, it’s a clear and thoughtful elaboration on their intro stage that’s very well executed.

move - a risky choice that pays off fairly well for them, even if it doesn’t capture all the depth that it could have.

jealous - it’s their first stage of the competition and the first time they had worked on something of this scale before, so it only makes sense that it’s the weakest of their run. despite that, it shows a strong understanding of an unusual concept and it still holds up.

sf9 were the clear underdogs of everyone and the rankings pretty clearly reflected that. but as a group they really put in the work to improve their skills and i think they showed the most dramatic improvement of everyone, especially between the first and second rounds. they repeatedly made comments about how they were focused on creating good stages and it paid off. their stages were all conceptually and visually interesting without relying on much external lore or overly dense themes, even if some of them were more effective than others. they had a lot of strong emphasis on costume in particular and they were very well styled. their finale stage was a very clear synthesis of all of the experience and knowledge they gained over the course of the show and it wraps a neat aesthetic and thematic bow on their journey. they absolutely did not deserve last place; they were the ones hardest hit by the fan voting system and i hope that the group doesn’t internalize the official outcome too much, because they did a lot of good work that they should be proud of and deserves a higher due than it was given.

ateez

rhythm ta - simple concept with a clear narrative that uses a lot of visual referencing as exposition without being cluttered and too reliant on the source material. impeccable use of limited design elements to create atmosphere and it’s a strong reinvention of the song.

wonderland - an absolute banger of a first stage that does all the same things as rhythm ta just to a slightly less polished scale.

ode to joy - both stylistically and tonally a departure, this stage relies a lot on group lore but also has a very clear message that was surprising for its maturity and temerity.

the real - purposefully pulled back in scale and ambition as a pointed critique of the competition as a whole. looser in design aesthetic synthesis but has more freedom for the members to show more dynamism in the group’s abilities and colour.

the youngest of the six groups, i don’t think anyone was expecting ateez to come out swinging in the way that they did. oh, we were all expecting them to put up a fight, but i know that i wasn’t expecting much beyond the capabilities of what we’d seen from skz and tbz, since they all share the dubious honour of being similar aesthetic performance based fourth gen groups. but oh baby did they prove us all wrong. the fact that they have incredible performance abilities and stage presence is what carried them half of the way, but they also proved to have a top notch creative team working behind them that knew how to visually craft a great performance. wonderland and rhythm ta are two of the smartest designed stages, and i’d put rhythm ta as the best designed stage, because it does so much in such a small amount of time. this ranking was tough because all of their stages intentionally prove a point and i dont think there are any that are demonstrably weaker. wonderland and rhythm ta served to prove that they had the capacity to keep up with their seniors, and that they were ambitious and hungry and had a solid team foundation. both stages ranked them first in non-fan judging and once they saw how the fan judging skews the final results, they smartly and ambitiously made a choice in the round BEFORE the finale to make a stage that rebuffs the laurels of the competition show they were at the pinnacle of, specifically for their fans. there is so much care and thought put into the ode to joy stage that it feels wrong to rank it as their third best, especially when it also contains one of the greatest 40 seconds of acting i’ve ever seen on a kpop stage. just the dichotomy of the stage’s melancholy feel with the choice of song is so compelling, and in its context as a part of the whole now the show is over.... i’m out of words. the brain on the person who came up with this, i would LOVE to talk to them. and having the real as a followup stage? where they have the freedom to have fun and be stylistically themselves while thumbing their noses at the show? a perfect follow up and rounding out of the expression of their abilities.

btob

back door - perfect. simple concept and simple narrative extremely well executed. excellent attention to detail and atmosphere.

show and prove - perfect reflection of their journey on the show as a whole.

blue moon - same as back door, just with a slightly larger scale.

missing you - only last because it doesn’t have the same strength of narrative and design concept as the other three stages. it’s still a better stage than 80% of the stages on the show.

we all know this, but btob are the real kings. all of their stages were phenomenal and they all hit my personal top ten, so this ranking is more of a ‘which stage was the best of the best.’ they did an incredible job of playing to their strengths and they knew exactly what they needed to do in order to craft the best performance. this was actually very difficult for me to decide because they never fucking missed. watching missing you for the first time in like two months smacked me right upside the head because that stage is beautiful. the intro in the forest with changsub and eunkwang is fucking gorgeous; the lighting and atmospherics are so effective and the trees do an incredible job of obscuring the stage architecture. and their costumes. this stage screams elegance in a way that no other stage managed to capture and this was the first round. and i’m putting last on this list, which should be telling about the quality of their work. and honestly it only goes up from here. they took that one maybe valid expert critique that they got of utilizing more narrative and they RAN with it. i put back door as first because it juuuuust inches out blue moon and show and prove for smart camera work, but honestly all three of these stages could take top spot, they’re of equal rank.

btob came into this show at a pretty distinct disadvantage: they’re old, and there’s only four of them. and as we know, thanks to rtk and the fourth gen groups, this show has a reputation for big acrobatic blowout spectacles, which is just not something they can do. but they also had a distinct advantage: they’re old and there’s only four of them. they very smartly foresaw that they wouldn’t be able to compete with the fourth gen groups in athletic ability, so they specifically chose to highlight the areas they were the strongest in, which you can see right from the start. their intro stage specifically highlights their vocals, and even in minhyuk’s dance solo the design is music show themed, as a gentle reminder that they know how to work a stage. and as the show progressed they started to solidify that assumption. they used narrative extremely well to give their stages an element of emotional investment that kept the audience engaged without banking on individual idols’ popularity to keep them afloat, and spent their time on the show being gracious and generous competitors, intent on being as watchable offstage as they were on. and it worked. by the time the finale rolled around, we knew who these men were and we had seen them be individuals, so they were able to cast off the need to play to narrative and to character and instead they were able to loop back around to that very first stage; simple, clean, emphasis on vocals, with a very important addition of uniformity. the current trend in kpop costuming is to have group members dressed similarly, but not exactly the same, partially in order to be able to everyone apart, but also because the ‘sameness’ of the boy band model has fallen by the wayside. btob took all their previous stages where they had clearly been individuals and as the culmination of their journey they chose to look exactly the same, to clearly send a message that they are a singular unit and they are proud of that. and they absolutely stuck the landing. this was a perfect run for btob, they should be really fucking proud of the work they did.

[fleursdemeduse]

Remembrance AU: The First Time

So this isn't the first one I wrote for this "series", but this is the first one chronologically, so I decided this will be the first to be posted. Depending on how well this one and the other two I've written do will help me to decide if this is an AU I wanna continue or not. Feel free to send in asks and stuff about the AU!

Warnings: Violence ; Death

Words: 3.5k

You hated the nether. The thick dry heat choked you in a way that made you feel as if you had stepped into a wildfire in the middle of a desert, but worse. The smell of sulfur seemed to cling to your clothes in a way that made you gag every time. To be honest, you probably wouldn’t even be here if you didn’t appreciate the piglins. You were able to barter with them much easier than the villagers back home, and they had much better stuff. You snorted at the thought, and the large brute before you copied the action.

Home.

The village you had set up base in wasn’t really your home. Just a convenient place that you had set up your bed. A bed which now sat on the other side of the portal you had built on the lower level of the bastion below.

You were grateful to have access to the only thing you really needed in the nether. Trading with the piglins gave you a way to achieve more ender pearls so you wouldn’t have to kill the poor enderman on the surface. You held out another gold ingot to the brute, but he didn’t take it immediately. He was looking at something to the side of your exchange and you turned your head slightly to look too.

The heat of the nether was nothing compared to the warmth that immediately bubbled in your stomach. Everything seemed to fizzle out of existence aside from the large man that had entered the bastion. Which turned out to be your mistake.

Searing pain in your back made you grunt as you were knocked forward into the brute in front of you. You turned to see a ghast behind you that breathed another fireball. The piglin, upset at suddenly being “attacked” started to slice at you with its sword and you hissed at the damage you were taking. You didn’t want to kill the piglin. It didn’t understand that it had been an accident.

You cursed at yourself. You hadn’t realized how hungry you had been all this time, and your health felt dangerously low. Another hit from the explosion of the fireball and a swipe at the brute’s sword replaced the pain with nothing as you died.

You cursed when you woke up in your bed next to the portal. The mattress felt almost too soft as you struggled to remove yourself from it and fling yourself back through the portal. You flew up the steps, your feet taking them two at a time and you hoped your items hadn’t despawned.

You couldn’t help your sigh of relief when you saw Technoblade examining your items. You had been fast enough. You jogged up behind him, a grin on your lips, both relieved for your items and excited to finally meet him. “Hey!”

You immediately jolted to a stop at the sword now placed at your throat, but you could help but laugh at yourself. You should have expected that. You held up your hands in what you believed to be a non-threatening manner as you looked up at him.

“Sorry about that! I’m [y/n].” You watched him slowly lower the blade, eyes behind the mask narrowed at you. He looked both exactly how you expected and not how you expected at all.

“Technoblade.” You couldn’t help the giggle that spilled from your lips as you moved around him to collect your items and put back on your armor. Who hadn’t heard of him?

“Man, I hate ghasts. I worked really hard to save up all those levels, and now I have nothing.” You took a cursory glance at your levels. “Oh, I’m sorry, I have two. Fat load of help that would be. Glad I don’t need to enchant anything for a long while, hm?” You turned back to him once you had your golden boots buckled. You were totally going to take advantage of this opportunity to follow him like a puppy. No one else you had met seemed to actually understand you and the chance at an interaction with someone had you almost crawling up the walls. “Where are we off to, then?”

Techno just stared at you. You were much shorter than he was. At least a foot, if not more. How tall was he again? In this form, about seven feet, he thought. You were very short compared to him. The thought made his lips twitch before he turned, walking in the direction of where he last remembered there to be a fortress.

Chat was going crazy at the discovery of this new anomaly. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t met people he didn’t share a couple lifetimes with before. He had met plenty where they just didn’t meet in a life or two, such as George or Schlatt. But never someone he had shared none with. No one here seemed to speak of anyone new either. It was always the same people, a different storyline. As if DreamXD -or maybe Kristen? He had only met her once, but she had been very kind. Would this be her department, then?- just kept recycling their souls into new realities like a -what did that lifetime call it? A movie? Chat confirmed his thought- played for their own entertainment until they got bored and it was onto the next.

He glanced at you out of the corner of his eye. You were talking again, but the roar in his brain was louder, so he didn’t pay too much attention to your words, despite how the soft timbre of your voice made something bubble in his chest. What were you even doing here? He had seen you trading with the piglins before your death, -you had respawned so quickly, anyone else in this lifetime took two or three days but you seemed to reappear in what felt like seconds- so why were you following him now?

Chat’s whispers echoed through his mind.

E.

I wonder who they are.

They can’t be older than Tommy.

E.

Maybe we should kill them again, see what happens this time.

Wilbur will want to know about this.

They said their name was [y/n]?

Maybe they’re like Phil.

Pog.

E.

Blood for the blood god.

E.

They’re probably closer to Wilbur’s age.

Stab them.

Jump off the edge.

Push them off the edge.

E.

Techno, will you call my friend Rachel a nerd?

All warfare is based on deception.

His fingers twitched around his sword at the thought. Was this all a trick? It couldn’t be.

Could it?

He glanced at you once more, focusing on your words, finally.

“-like they seem to notice, y’know? I just kind of walk into their houses, take from their chests, and move on. Hell, I even put my bed in, I think the library? Not one of them batted an eye! It’s almost scary, to be honest. I can loot their things, sleep in their beds, practically dismantle their homes, and I get nothing but a “Hnn.” in response!” A small pout found its way to your lips and Techno hummed in response. This seemed to be what you wanted to hear because a smile replaced the pout and you looked up at him. “So where are we going again?”

“Fortress.” His words were short, tone clipped, as if he didn’t know if you were gonna shove him into the lava, or if that was what he planned to do to you. It didn’t matter, to be honest. You were just thrilled he was letting you accompany him. Heart soaring at the feeling of interacting with another intelligent being once more. He even seemed to be listening as you rambled! That had to be a good thing, right? You hadn’t really met anyone else on the server yet, aside from distantly watching Dream, George, and Sapnap build the large building that stood in the center of what they dubbed the Dream SMP. A small giggle fell from your lips. That would have been a cute name had one of the members not been named it. Rather, it just felt self-centered because of that. You were mildly afraid of approaching the trio. You were almost afraid of how they would react when they met you.

You edged closer to the bridge to the fortress with Technoblade and you felt your heart speed up a little. Ash floated across your vision and you felt it hard to breathe for a moment. The sweat that made your clothes stick to your skin under your armor made you feel clammy. You had only been in one of these once since coming here when you wanted to try your hand at learning how to craft potions and needed blaze rods.

That.. hadn’t worked out in your favor.

You had only had one set of diamond armor, and you hadn’t even enchanted it at the time. When the wither skeletons had overtaken you and murdered you without a thought, you remembered racing back and trying to get your items back. This had only led to yet another death, however. Your eyebrows furrowed as the question entered your mind.

How many times had you died?

You remember when you first came to this world, waking up next to a river with a chest filled with bread, a map, a wooden axe, and a few other paltry items sitting before you surrounded by torches. The gentle babble of the water easing you awake and the smell of fresh flowers floated through the breeze. You almost didn’t mind the ants that were crawling on the ledge just a tad too close to you. You remember being so confused and the days being so hard at first. You didn’t even sleep the first couple days because you hadn’t found a village yet. The stupid phantoms that had attacked you had made you way more aggressive than you had meant to be. But you were tired and you were frustrated and you just wanted to find a stupid village already. You had been residing in the one you were in now since you had first found it your third day here. The first two deaths happening on your second day. One because of said phantoms and one because you had fallen from a cliff. You were devastated at the lack of supplies and progress when you just respawned next to that river, awaking to a few scattered zombies and a skeleton or two. You had dug yourself a hole and cried in it while you waited for sun-up. Many more deaths had happened since, but you couldn't seem to be able to remember the number now.

You hadn’t planned on returning to a fortress until you had better equipment, fearing another death. Something better than your diamond armor and golden boots and your sole netherite sword, but who were you to miss the opportunity to go exploring with The Blood God? Besides you had a bow with Power IV you had stolen from a skeleton that had been in the village. You didn’t know how durable it still was, but it was better than nothing, right?

The rattling of bones brought you out of your thoughts. Already a couple of blazes and some wither skeletons were approaching. You drew your sword, heart hammering in your chest. This wouldn’t be like last time. You had Technoblade to back you up. The top PVPer. The winner of the potato war. The Blood God. You could do this. You could do this.

A lucky swing from one of the wither skeletons caught you in the arm and you hissed as the wither effect immediately took hold and you jolted at the feeling. It was numbing. You felt nauseated. Another hit and you gasped when you felt your health drop to a dangerous level. You sliced up with your sword, removing its head from its spine with a gnarly “click” and you immediately moved out of fire to drink some milk and eat a couple of the pieces of salmon you had brought with you.

Whilst you were letting your health regenerate, you removed your bow from your inventory, aiming at one of the blazes, only to watch something white hit it first. You hesitated, looking towards Technoblade, only to see him ignoring the wither skeletons that were approaching you and focusing on throwing snowballs at the flaming mob. Your lips twitched. Fine. You’d take care of the skeletons, then.

You grabbed your sword once more and began attacking the skeletons in front of you with reckless abandon. You were growing mildly frustrated. Your arm hurt now and Techno seemed to be leaving you on your own to fight off the horde that was slowly amassing. There had only been four of them at first, but now four more had sprinted over to join the fray when they saw the two of you. Now, minus the one you had already taken care of and the two Technoblade had killed within the first ten seconds of their approach, there were five. You winced when you heard the sound of both blazes being taken care of and you hadn’t even killed one more.

‘-so she throws this apple, she just chucks this apple and says like, only the hottest goddess can take this apple.’ Chat loved it when he told them mythology stories, despite them being there when he had read it.

E.

Greek mythology pog.

Semi-demi god for the win!

Speaking of discord, how’s the new person doing?

E.

Persephone is definitely the hottest.

At the mention of you, Techno turned his attention to the sound of metal hitting metal and was surprised to see you still standing there, despite being crowded by wither skeletons. Just another thing to tack onto the list about you. He watched you kill another one, followed by a yelp as you took another hit, the wither effect turning the flesh around your wound a purplish black before you killed one more. You backed up on the bridge, drinking more milk and eating another piece of fish. He could see how the action pained you, but you were resilient.

They’re stupid.

Look at them wave that sword around, do they even know what they’re doing?

E.

They haven’t died again yet?

They can’t be one of Schlatt’s people.

Save them.

Technoblade, wasn’t Eris the daughter of Zeus?

E.

He decided to wait and see what you did. If you died, there was more for him to loot. If you didn’t, then it was a lesson. Either way, he wouldn’t have to worry about protecting you further into the fortress. His nose twitched at the smell of your blood and of rot that seemed to ooze off the skeletons. He still needed more wither skulls.

The remaining four attacked you again, despite your low health, and you felt as if you were going to cry. You hated the nether.

Two more were dispatched a lot faster than the first ones had been and you swallowed. Adrenaline coursed through your veins and you felt just the slightest bit more confident in yourself.

Two more left.

You ducked at a swing, movement still slow. You only had one more milk left, and that scared you. You couldn’t, wouldn’t, get hit again with their stupid swords and their stupid wither effect. You sliced with your sword, hooking the metal into the rib cage in front of you and sending the skeleton careening into the other just as it swung down, making the attack miss.You flinched at the sound of metal hitting stone, but you recovered faster than the skeletons in front of you. You could do this.

Another hit, your sword cutting through the skeleton’s vertebrate and killing it. You could do this.

One more.

Your sword was met with metal as you blocked its attack and you grunted, knocking it back. You could do this!

A downward slice had you throwing yourself back onto the side of the bridge as you dodged. You couldn’t die. Not here. Not now. Not in front of Technoblade again. You shoved another piece of salmon into your mouth as you backed up. You really hoped there weren’t any more blazes around. Or more skeletons waiting for you. You shoved yourself off the wall, hitting the wither skeleton with your shoulder to knock it back again before you struck once more, across the neck, beheading it.

The sight of three wither skulls in your inventory made you fall to your knees and you let out a sigh in relief. Your arms ached. Your wounds ached. Your head ached. Your vision doubled for a moment. Closing your eyes, you took a deep breath. You felt great, despite how dizzy you felt at the moment. You looked at Technoblade, hoping to find him still there.

He was leaned against the wall of the fortress, watching you with crossed arms.

Was he waiting on you?

The thought made you perk up and you scrambled to stand, rushing to him while holding the skulls. “Here! I got them all!”

He merely blinked at you as you handed him all three skulls you had gotten from your fight, placing them into his inventory after a moment. He didn’t speak, just turned to descend further in. Were you supposed to follow him?

You did anyways, feeling proud of yourself. He had waited on you!

The rest of the fortress had been like that. You continuously fighting wither skeletons, blazes, regular skeletons, zombified piglins, and magma cubes, only to turn over your loot to the large warrior who would patiently wait for you. You kept a few of the bars of gold, some diamonds, and one of the saddles you had found, but ultimately, you were just spare hands to help him. The experience you were gaining was more than enough, especially since he seemed to be listening to you ramble on and on. He’d occasionally hum or grunt in response, but not much more than that. It was still such a sweet sound in your ears, despite the constant crackle of fire that just filled the nether.

He didn’t speak when he decided he was finished, just started walking back the way you came and you immediately fell into step next to him when he walked past you.

Despite your exhaustion and the pain you felt, this trip felt more than worth it.

When you returned to the bastion where you two had first met, you grinned up at him.

Techno felt his breath catch in his throat at your smile. That smile almost made the sweltering brightness of the nether feel cold and dark. He had never had someone, aside from Tommy, smile at him with such warmth. No one had a smile like yours. They were all weighed heavy with the memories from lifetimes no longer in reach. But you? You were so tired from accompanying him, still wounded from fighting for him. Aside from the couple small treasures you had hidden away, you had given him everything. There was really no reason for you to have gone with him when you received virtually nothing in return. And now you smiled at him like that? You were-

TechnoSIMP.

E.

Look at how cute they are.

They’re stupid.

Take them back with us.

You should give them something for helping.

Hug them.

Awww look at them!

All warfare is based on deception.

He stopped that thought before it could fully finish.

“I should get going. I don’t know how dark it is and I want a bath.” He nodded at you. “I’ll catch you some other time, alright? Don’t be afraid to come by sometime if you need a buddy again, okay?”

He only hummed in response and watched you glide down the stairs of the bastion to a portal he had never noticed before.

A buddy? You weren’t a buddy. What did he really know about you?

You respawned faster than anyone else he had met. There hadn’t been another chance to test that, but you seemed unphased with your death. When you held up your hands, he couldn’t see the usual hearts on your wrist that they all shared. Even when normal members lost a life, he’s noticed that the normally red hearts are cracked and black. Phil himself had one on the center of his wrist. But yours were bare from the mark. You weren’t immortal, were you? Had he come across a god?

He chuckled at the thought.

Such a tiny god compared to him.

For now, he had to return to Pogtopia. He had to tell Wilbur about you. Perhaps write to Phil and ask if he knew anything about people with no or unlimited lives. He would repay your kindness at a later date.

He only hoped you wouldn’t be on the other side of this war.

[hxt1b]

Isn’t It Lovely All Alone | 2

PART TWO

Masterlist 

If would like to send a request please take a look at my Prompt List, I have a list of ideas that you could use if you’d like whilst sending in the request. 

Yuta x Reader (Some Doyoung x Reader) 

Genre: Angst, CollegeAU (HockeyPlayer!Yuta) 

Warning: MATURE/DARK CONTENT. Mentions of drunk driving, death, swearing, cheating, (by NO means do I condone cheating, this is a story based around fictional events so please in the real world don’t do this.) Mental Health. SMUT. 

WC: 3.5k (I know its shorter than part one by a lot but I didn’t want to drag it out too much.) 

Accompanying Story: As Long as I’m Here

A/N: You do not have to read the accompanying story, this can be read as a standalone, however if you do want to read it, I’d suggest reading it before this one. PLEASE let me know what you think, feedback is very much appreciated! 

Please excuse the grammar, I read over it but things may have slipped through. 

I’d also like to thank both my best friends for helping me with this story without their feedback it would not have made it here. So thank you guys! 

Part One. Part Two.

You hadn’t seen Yuta for three weeks; you hadn’t seen any of them for three weeks. Doyoung stopped calling and texting you. You went to your classes and hoped you wouldn’t run into anyone. But luck wasn’t on the side of people who did terrible things, and you had done some terrible things in the past month. 

Doyoung was standing across from you in the empty hallway, both of you froze as you looked at each other. You looked away first, the hatred in his eyes was so lively, you could feel it fill the space around the two of you and you knew you deserved it. You were about to walk away when he scoffed. 

“You know I don’t know what I did to deserve this, but it must have been something really fucking bad.” Your eyes closed as they began to sting. 

“You don’t deserve this Doyoung.” You said softly, “you didn’t do anything to deserve this.” 

Doyoung was in front of you in a second, his frame backing you into a wall. 

“Look at me then.” He said, as his arms caged you in. You kept your eyes closed and turned your head away from him. His hand grabbed your chin lightly tilting your face up to his. 

“Look at me.” He said softly, you opened your eyes, latching on to his. His eyes were full of anger, such a contrast to his actions. Every thought in your head about how much of a monster you were amplified in your head as you took in his face. He looked exhausted; his skin was pale, dark circles under his eyes. You did that to him, tears gathered in the corners of your eyes and you blinked to keep them at bay, but a few slipped through. 

“Why are you crying?” He asked and pushed away from the wall. His hands fisting at his side, his anger amplifying as he looked at you. “What the fuck are you crying about?” 

You couldn’t move, you couldn’t speak, and you couldn’t stop the tears. You didn’t have a right to cry but looking at him and seeing what you did to him there wasn’t anything else you could do. 

“Fuck you.” With that, he walked away from you, and you broke down. 

--- 

Yuta hadn’t left the hotel in three weeks. He hadn’t gone to hockey practice, he hadn’t gone to classes, he hadn’t gone back home. He lived in the robes that the hotel provided and stayed in the four walls. Johnny called him, so had a few of the other boys but he ignored everyone. What was the point? He didn’t deserve them. 

Leaning his head onto the back of his couch, he ignored the ringing again it was Johnny. He blinked at the ceiling; he knew he couldn’t live here forever he also knew that he’d have to see all of them again at some point. The semester would end, he’d need to grab his stuff from the house, but he chose not to think about it. That was for later. 

The ringing stopped only to start up again, and again, and again. On the fifth call, Yuta sighed grabbing the phone off the couch beside him. He stared at Johnny's name for a second before taping the green icon on the screen. 

“Yuta?” Johnny’s voice was quiet, soft. 

“Yeah.” 

“Where are you?” He asked concern in his voice. Yuta shut his eyes and sighed. He didn’t want that concern, his gut twisted with guilt again. 

“Somewhere.” He replied 

“Yuta come home. You can’t drop everything; we’ll figure it out just come home.” Yuta shook his head even though Johnny couldn’t see him. 

“I can’t.” He hung up. Home, Yuta laughed to himself. He couldn’t go there, he couldn’t face Doyoung. He couldn’t look at his friends. He couldn’t risk seeing you, because even though he’d done everything wrong and even though he knew he didn’t deserve anything his mind was still calling to you. He still wanted to hear your voice, your smile was still in his head, the way you looked at him and made him feel it all haunted him. It all made it worse for him. He ran his hand through his hair, How could he go back there? 

His phone rang again he grabbed it again even though he assumed it would be Johnny again. His breathing stopped as he looked at the caller ID. Taeyong.  

--- 

You stopped going to your classes. Your room was the best place to stay. You were curled up in your bed scrolling through your contacts you realized you never got Yuta’s number. You existed the app and went to Instagram, searching up Yuta’s name you stared at the blacked-out profile. Sighing you shoved the phone under your pillow and closed your eyes. 

You were startled awake by loud banging, quickly sitting up in your bed you took in your surroundings. Your eyes narrowed in at the door of your room, the loud banging continued shaking your door. Grabbing your phone, you checked the time; eleven fifteen pm. Rushing out of your bed you made your way to the door, looking through the peephole you saw Doyoung. 

Quickly you unlocked the door he stumbled back as you did. 

He was drunk. His eyes were red, he smiled at you before he shook his head. 

“No, no.” He said to himself and pushed past you into your room. You closed the door sighing and watched him as he made his way over to your desk, he opened the top drawer and grabbed the box of condoms he had put there. 

“I think I’ll just take these.” He staggered as he stepped away from the desk and tripped on the leg of your chair. In a second you were by him grabbing him to make sure he didn’t fall. He shoved out of your grasp. 

“No, don’t touch me.” 

You muttered an apology and stepped away from him holding your hands together at your back as you pressed yourself against the wall again. He was breathing heavily as he looked around your room. The condom box was crushed in his hand. 

“Sorry,” he scoffed. “You’re not sorry. If you were you would’ve actually talked to me when I tried...” he trailed off at the end, bringing the condom box closer to his face he picked at the broken cardboard. You could tell he’d started to cry from the way his shoulders shook, all you could do was stand and stare again. 

“Why’d you do it?” he asked. You opened your mouth to say something, but before you could reply he had his hands on you, pulling you to him shaking his head adamantly. 

“Don’t answer that. I won’t care j-just tell me do you have feelings for him?” You froze in his grasp, his hands moved to your face softly tilting it up to look at him, “please. Just say you don’t.” Your heart broke as he begged, his tears streaming down his face. 

“I-I can’t.” You replied as tears began to stream down your cheeks. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. He took large breaths to control his breathing still holding you against him. You both stayed like that for a couple of minutes until he let you go. 

Dropping the box onto your bed.

“Keep them.” He muttered and left. 

You stared at the closed door as you cried, for the hundredth time this week you broke down into sobs. 

--- 

Yuta stood in his room, coming home didn’t change much, he still didn’t go to class or hockey and he stayed in his room, in fact it just made it harder for him to eat anything but he accepted it. Johnny and Taeyong would knock on his door to try to get him to come out but he hated every time they looked at him. They looked at him with worry, he wanted to puke every time from the guilt that would punch into him.  

“Yuta?” Johnny’s voice came from the other side of the door followed by a knock. Yuta walked over to the bed and sat down turning his head to the floor. 

“Come in,” he said quietly. Johnny lightly pushed open the door and stepped into the room. Yuta didn’t look up at him. “You have to come to practice man. The coach is pissed at you.” Yuta only shrugged in reply before falling back into his bed as Johnny sat down next to him. 

“What about classes man. You gotta finish them and graduate.” Yuta didn’t reply to that just turned over away from him. Johnny sighed and hit Yuta’s side. 

“What the fuck man!” Yuta exclaimed grabbing at his hip where Johnny punched him. 

“Stop fucking running man, stop and face what you did. You aren’t alone you still have us, no one is saying what you did was okay but no one is abandoning you, you're running away from us.” 

--- 

The last person you expected to see at your door at nine am was Yuta, but here he stood in front of you. His hands pushed into his pockets his head hung low, and his eyes not meeting yours. You didn’t breathe as you let him into your room, no words were exchanged. He moved past you looking around your room. 

“Look Y/N/,” He started his voice soft, “I- we, I came to say that we can’t-” 

“I know.” You cut him. It hurt; your heart twisted in your chest as he finally looked at you. You missed him; you use to wonder what you liked about him. You’d say you barely knew him but as you looked at him it made sense; you like him. Yuta the man that was so broken and yet still managed to smile. The boy who was so misguided and tortured by events that he had no fault in, that he looked for a reason to make the world hate him constantly. The boy who hides all the time, and was so alone, and now you were. You did know Yuta.

You realized a long time ago that you wanted to be there for him, something drew you to him and that was that it couldn’t be helped. But what could be helped was the way you went about it, the steps you took could have been helped. So, as you stared at him, eyes stinging, you took him in. Because you agreed, there was no us, there was just him and you.  

“Fuck,” he said leaning his head back and looking up at your ceiling. “I have to leave.” 

Slowly you started to go back to your classes, you realized that since you transferred here this semester all of your friends were Doyoung’s friends and you actually didn’t have anyone here. You called your mother every day, she only knew that you and Doyoung had broken up you didn’t tell her the details of why just leaving it at it was your fault.  

After your business ethics class, you made your way to the cafeteria, you looked around as you got in line to buy something to eat. The cafeteria wasn’t as packed as it usually was, but the hockey team was there, at their table you caught Yuta’s eye as you stared, he quickly looked away. It hurt. You slowly moved your eyes away from him and caught Johnny’s he gave you a sad smile before replying to whatever Taeyong had said from his left. Doyoung was on the other side of the table, you bit your lip as he laughed with his friends. You were glad to see that he was doing better. It had been two weeks since Yuta came to your room, two weeks since you last spoke to Doyoung too. 

As much as you hated your life, you were glad to see that Doyoung, was getting his back. He deserved it.

 Doyoung looked up at you, as you watched him, his eyes narrowing at you before he quickly looked away. His laughter was gone. 

You frowned and got out of line. That was the last time you went to the cafeteria. 

--- 

Doyoung was drunk again and the boys couldn’t find him. Ten had called saying he ran out of the house. Everyone was out looking for him. Even Yuta. 

Yuta felt miserable as the time ticked on, they’d been looking for about an hour already. The night air was getting hella cold, clouds were gathering in front of him every time he breathed. Yuta didn’t know why but he remembered something Doyoung had said earlier this semester about a winter festival, he seemed excited, Yuta remembered him saying if it went well that Doyoung would have a surprise for them. He didn’t know if he’d be right, but he left his feet to carry him towards the fairgrounds. 

He looked around not seeing Doyoung, realizing he was probably wrong he started to make his way to a different place. 

“Yuta.” 

Yuta snapped his head to his left, Doyoung was leaning against a tree his legs sprawled out in front of him. He was laughing. Yuta furrowed his eyebrows and made his way over to him, pushing his hands into his pockets as he did. 

“You know this is the first place I brought her in this city.” Doyoung laughed again, “She said if it impressed her enough, she’d transfer. I guess I impressed her because she moved to be with me, well until she fucked you and then I wondered maybe I should have never asked her to come to see the winter festival.” 

Doyoung closed his eyes after he finished speaking a sad smile still on his face. Yuta looked down at him, speechless. He was like this a lot, words not being on his side often. 

“You know I hate myself; she couldn’t tell me she didn’t like you. She couldn’t say it, she couldn’t even lie. Now I feel guilty like I’m getting in your way.” Yuta shook his head moving closer to Doyoung. But Doyoung began to get up. “But you two deserve each other, fuck you and fuck her!Shitty people should be together.” Doyoung stood up straight only stumbling slightly, “I hope I never have to see you again after you graduate.” 

Yuta’s head ached as he walked home behind Doyoung, he’d texted everyone to go home that he’d found him and would bring him home. He watched Doyoung as the younger boy stumbled slowly in front of him, but he didn’t reach out to help him. He knew Doyoung enough to know that wouldn’t actually help. So, he walked behind him in silence to Doyoung’s house. He waited at the end of the driveway as Ten opened the door and pulled Doyoung into the house. Yuta only walked away when the door closed, his head hung low as he let his feet take him home, but he didn’t end up at home. 

He ended up on campus right in front of your door. His hand knocked before he could think, and seconds later you pulled open the door. Your eyes were wide as you stared at him, he didn’t say anything just moved towards you taking your face in his hands. His lips connected with yours kissing you roughly, aggressively like he would never get the chance again. 

“Yuta,” You mumbled pulling your lips away from him. He rested his forehead against yours, his eyes closed. 

“I don’t know why I’m here. But I – I have to-” He cut himself off by kissing you again, stealing your breath. You kissed him back, his hands pulling at your clothes as he kicked the door closed and pushed you towards your bed. Laying you down onto your back he climbed over you, your shirt and bra gone.

His mouth connected with your jaw, leaving open–mouthed kisses down your throat towards your chest. 

“We can’t after this.” He mumbled as he took your nipple into his mouth, his head was hazy with lust as you whined when he lightly pulled at you. Sucking you into his mouth before letting you go with a wet pop. 

“But today, today I can’t stop.” He sounded desperate as he moved down your stomach, nibbling at your skin, you moaned as you moved your hands into his hair. His eyes moving to you as you pulled at the strands lightly. His heart was beating in his chest threatening to explode as he watched your eyes tighten shut as he moved your leggings and underwear down your legs. 

“Do you have a condom?” He asked you.

“Yeah, I’m on the pill though.” He nodded as he sat up onto his knees pulling his shirt off. He looked down at you taking you in, your hair was fanned over your pillow, your lips were swollen, and your eyes were filled with desire that mirrored his own. “But we can still use one if you want.” 

Yuta shook his head and dove back down connecting his mouth to yours as his hand made its way between your legs. He groaned when his fingers connected with your slit feeling how wet you were. He moved his tongue into your mouth as his finger connected with your clit, rubbing slow circles on you he let himself enjoy the way you bucked your hips up into his hand. He smiled into the kiss as he moved his hand lower dipping a finger into you before slowly moving it in and out. You twisted your head to the side, taking your lips away from his. 

He let you, taking the chance to look down at you as you closed your eyes your face contorting with pleasure. Yuta groaned when you clenched around his fingers softly moaning his name, he pressed a kiss into the side of your jaw, right by your ear as you arched off the bed towards him. 

He began to rub your clit with his thumb again as he pushed another finger into you, random words spilled out of you, but Yuta didn’t mind as you climaxed around his fingers. He memorized the way your face tightened with pleasure, the way your lips parted letting breathy moans slip past. His dick was painfully hard as he pulled his fingers out of you. You slowly opened your eyes, he stared down at you before moving to the side of you to take off his pants, you sat up moving over him your hand going to his dick, but he caught your wrist. 

“No.” That was all he said, and he moved back over you, connected his lips to yours again, the kiss was slower he wanted to take his time, but he didn’t know if he could. 

You whined under him, your hand going to his erection taking it in your hand and rubbing the tip. Yuta groaned letting his head fall into the crook of your neck as you lined him up with youself. 

“Please.” You didn’t need to beg him twice; he pressed a kiss to your shoulder as he pushed into you. Moaning into your skin at how tight you were. He stilled for a few seconds allowing you to adjust to him before he began to move. His hand weaved into the hair at the top of your head holding your head as he reconnected his lips to yours. With each thrust he came closer to his own climax, your moans muffled against his lips were driving him crazy as the room filled with the sound of his skin against yours. 

You moaned loudly pulling your lips away from his again as you came for a second time clenching around him. Yuta closed his eyes letting his forehead drop against yours as the sensation become too much for him he thrust a few more times drawing out your orgasm as he finally hit his. He slumped into you as he breathed heavily. 

“I like you.” You said holding him tightly against you. His heart clenched at your words. 

“I know.” He replied and pulled out of you, moving your hands off him. I like you too. 

He had liked you when he didn’t know a thing about you, and he liked you now after knowing how caring and kind you were, after realizing that he wanted to know everything about you even the smallest things. But he couldn’t. 

“We ca-” You cut him off as he got off the bed and grabbed for his clothes 

“I know.” His heart hurt as he got off the bed and pulled on his clothes. He didn’t look down at you as you stayed in the bed and pulled the covers over yourself. 

“Goodbye Y/N.” 

He walked out the door. Tucking his hands back into his pockets. He didn’t feel guilty this time, but he knew that this was all he’d get. 

Because people who fuck over girls and let them die, people who let their friends suffer from their choices. People like me don’t deserve anything other than being alone. 

A/N: I hope you guys liked it, please let me know your thoughts on the story as a whole, let me know what you think or any opinions you have! If you have any constructive criticism on the short story please don’t hesitate to tell me. It’ll help me to make my future works better. The next work that accompanies this will be Doyoung’s, so please look forward to that!

[hitoshisbabygirl]

Author's Notes ♡: okay uhm the more characters I do the more I’m learning I’m a simp-

Anyways welcome to another BNHAREM collab that I had the pleasure to be in! I had fun trying to turn our league of villains leader into a hero/vigilante! A quick side note, his personality here is more of what I think he could’ve been/acted like if he was treated better and taught how to control his quirk without hate qwq without further waiting here’s my addition to the already wonderful collaborators! Make sure to check their stories out too in the masterlist! ~ bunny ❥

Warnings : None!! Fluffy and awkward Shiggy for the win! Also please ignore typos if any they’ll be fixed later </3

Word count : 3.5K

Paring(s) : Tomura Shigaraki x F! Reader

Summary : When the city you live in is rampant with villains what happens when your seabed by a cold and off putting vigilante (that’s my best summary I’m sorry </3)

Enjoy ♡

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Turning off the TV [ ] couldnt help the trembling of her hands as she realized the mayhem that had been spurring the last couple of weeks with the new arrival of villain groups wasnt subsiding. life was hard , the struggle of not to take the news seriously and feeling like all hope was lost was a common feeling between each day, the chore of getting up early during the daylight time so you could get what you needed before crime became rampant was adreanline fueld.. It was nerveracking, living your life on the edge and feeling unable to believe the ones in and on duty would protect you. After weighing the options about staying in or hurrying down the street for food before the curfew kicked in [ ] reluctantly got up, grabbing her keys , phone and a light jacket as she headed throught the decrepit streets, hearing the distant sirens that never failed to doing their job of setting her nerves ablaze. As she saw the neon signs of the store ahead of her she was able to enter and grab quite a lot of things, the warm feeling of being safe surrounding her as she heard more and more sounds from blocks ahead. “Are you okay sweetie?”

An older lady with a young man asked the anxious girl, a smile on her face as she answered the woman “Ah yeah im sorry ma’am just trying to find the best way home without being in the crossfire” Shaking her head in agreement the older woman spoke again “Its running rampant out there, its why i brought my grandson with me” ponting to the male beside her he gave [ ] a smile, holding a bag fro the lady “Now you be safe dearie, look both ways and use the lights to guide you home!” Waving to the pair [ ] felt a bit more relived as she started the shorter but dreaded walk back to her townhome. The area was better than most in cities, just because of how it wasnt in the full downtown that was in a disarray. Even so it was still dangerous and hearing a loud crash and explosion from in front of where [ ] was walking could never be a good thing. As she walked further she saw a group of people blowing up a strip that included a jewelry spot, a small back and shopping center she knew something bad would happen if she got any closer. Walking backward she headed to an abandoned alleyway, slowly trying to get herself in a safe distance away from whoever was destroying the buildings. As she got into a corner she could hear the people talk and yell, the sound of glass breaking and another boom. Jumping form the sound of the explosion getting closer she moved into a doorway of one of the undisturbed buildings in the strip.

Soon however she felt a hand on her arm as one of the guys caught her. As [ ] tried to fight them off she head them chuckle, one taking her face in his hand as the others tried to go through her bags “Well well well hello ther girl, whatcha doing in the Scorpions part of town” One of the men, who [ ] presumed was the leader snared at her, grinning when she turend her ace away from his. Pulling her face back to his he tried to get her to talk, pushing her cheeks together as he laughed “I like them feisty , why dont you just be nice to me and my guys huh?” before she could form her lips to try to get a smart response a sound of pain came from one of the destroyed buildings. Catching the leaders attention he called out to someone before they all heard a yell of watch out. The building, which they had destroyed was now falling over and onto them who were in its path. All [ ] knew was that the guy who grabbed her arm let her go and shoved her before everything whent black.

A cracking sound , one of breaking concrete broke through [ ]’s head as she opened her eyes to blackness, everything around her covered in the sheet of night as the same cracking sound could be heard. Soon a faint voice could be heard from above her. Lightly she yelped which mustve been enough for whoever was above her as teh cracking sound got lounder before she could see light from the moon above her “H-hey is ther someone down there?” A voice called out as [ ] yelled back to them “O-oh yes! Please help me im stuck and i cant move!” She yelled as she felt her leg get tighter as she tried to wiggle.

“Cover your face if you can” The now more male sound voice said as she did such, felling pieces of cement and gravel touch her arms as she moved them to see long whitish blue hair appear before a gloved hand reached out “Can you reach?” The mystery male asked as she jumped up bepfre yeliping in pain. Hearing the sound the male took his ungloved hand and seemilngly dissolved more concreate taht held her and her leg in place. “Hold on….Im coming dont move, you could hurt yourself if you do.” Hopping dwon the hole with her the male saw how she was twisted in her spot and pained expression that covered her facial features. Faced with a challenge the male gave her his gloved hand as he used the uncovered one to break up the rocks and concrete that held her still “Just a little more okay? Youre close I almost got you” He reassured. Soon [ ] felt herself slip up and into the arms of the mystery man who she noticed had his face covered. As he brought her out of the ruble and into the light from the mood and streetlights she looked at her savior. He wasnt large in stature but her was fit and quite strong to pull her up with one arm. Feeling the girl he just saved staring at him , the male turned to her and simply stated “You should go home” Before starting to head off “W-wait! Please, let me thank you properly. You didnt have to save me yet you did” She said as he turned to her “......Theres no need to thank me, just doing what the heroes arent” Starting to walk again [ ] couldnt help chewing her lip before running to join his side “Well can i at least thank you properly , or just get your name and be able to find you again?” stopping in his tracks he moved his hair from his face before crimson eyes glanced at her “Tomura” He said “Huh..?” “My name...Tomura..or MC” He whispered as she shook her head “Tomura...okay well thank you Tomura for saving me , my names [ ]”

Shaking his head Tomura started off again, shoving his gloved hands in his pockets, this time heading off for good. As he trucked along [ ] heard the sirens appear closer to the damage that was the destroyed store that covered the criminals that tried to get her before. Starting to walk off her own she noticed a shining necklace on the ground. Picking it up she noticed it was one you could put pictures in it. Peeking inside she saw a woman with black hair holing a little boy with just as black ahir and piercing red eyes, the woman happily smiling as she held the child. Closing the locket she took with her , feeling strangely drawn to it. As she heaaded home she thought about the mysterious Tomura, someone who looked like a normal civilian like her and others seemd to have a strong quirk, and was more than what he seemed on the outside

As a few days turned into a week rolled on [ ] noticed that the streets were still bad, but the men who had cornered her had been captured after the building had collapsed. Feeling herself sigh and relax [ ] headed for the store once again, this time during the day as she needed to replace the food she had tried getting before that was lost during the the collapse. As she left once again she saw a familiar tuff of periwinkle hair go around the corner. Peeking her interest she followed himas she heard him curse under his breath before turning around straight into her “ow, wait….its you again” He huffed as his crimson eyes looked into hers “Yep! Hey tomu!” The quirky nickname caused head to fill in the mans face as he was glad it was covered. “[ ]....hello” He said back as he continued to pace around the old scene that stil had some concrete in the land “Whatcha looking for…?” She asked as he still looked around “Something important of mines” “Well can i help out?” Sighing Tomura turned to the hopeful girl that for some reason, didnt bother him as many did

“Fine. its a silver locket..” pausing [ ] thought about the locket she found when they first met “It….wouldnt happen to have a woman and a boy in it would it?” As soon as she said that the periwrinkle haired boy turend to her “You found it? Where” reaching out he went to grab her hands only to stop himself and put them at his sides. Ignoring the gesture as nerves she gave him a smile “Well..I found it the day you saved me, it was actually in the rubble” looking at the sparkling eyes of Tomura she couldn’t help but let her smile grow before sighing “Only thing is...it’s at my house now” still looking at him he gave her a smile behind his covering before shaking his own head “That’s fine..if you don’t mind me coming with you, or you just bring it I’m not really.,,yeah” Giggling at his nervousness [. ] put her hand ont his shoulder “It’s fine! Uhm..have you ate dinner yet? I can even cook you something!” Holding up her bag Tomura felt his heart thump as he agreed to eat with her, the two headed for her place.

Looking around Tomura noticed how clean and kept together her place was. It was warm, and inviting, something he wasn’t too used to “I’m sorry it’s a mess here! I was trying to move things around and make it look better but..I feel like it’s still weird!” Laughing she turned to face the powder blue haired boy who stood still in her doorway. “You can come in or would you need a helping hand?” She teased as she held her hand out. Hesitantly held his gloved hand out before pulling away slightly “S-sorry im just.. nervous” he said softly before [. ] gave him a knowing smile, before taking a step back “Well there’s no rush, take a seat and get comfortable, I’ll get your locket and I’ll start dinner!” Walking away [. ] went to her bedroom as Tomura sat there looking at his hands. They held so much fear in them, life and death. Over the years he learned how to control his power, even able to touch things without gloves and them not dissolve. But witr him nervous, he was afraid one wrong touch would hurt or even worse...destroy the one nice person he’d ever met in the midst of the all of the mayhem. In the mist of him thinking [. ] came back and saw him.

Feeling bad and not sure of how to approach him she tenderly held the locket and placed it on the table, which snapped him from his thoughts “Here you are! I did clean the silver so it was more shiny and not as dingy from the dirt” taking the piece from her hands Tomura place it down to see it better than he remembered and still having his grandmother and him inside of it. “Thank you [ ]. It means...alot to me, more thna youd ever know” Going into her kitchen she started some rice as she tried small talk with him “So...have you always been a vigilante?” Thinking abut the response her messed with a piece of his hair “ Well no...i wanted to be a hero one day but...my quirk is less helpful and more destructive” starting to get the steaks out she seasoned then placed them in the oven before siting down at the table with him “I think the power to disintegrate things could be wonderful as a rescuer! Hell you even saved me! And think if you didnt have that quirk , how would you get me out? Plus youre strong, you got me out with only a hand, youre really strong Tomu” Crimson eyes barely met her gaze.

Seeing her own energy mads him smile, hidden beind the mask he wore. “Uhm...may I?” Reaching for a hand [ ] looked at his eyes aas he wavered, sliding them away from her own “When i get nervous i feel like i loose control” Tomura said before [ ] just gently place her pinky on the glove “Im not afraid taht youd hurt me , i trust you okay?” Taking more of his hand in hers she rubbed the back of his glove, feeling the way he tensed wehn she traced his knuckles “See? Its okay yknow!” Smiling she got up to check the food, failing to see the way Tomura was going though a crisis under his mask, face flushing as she stirred and turned it off , letting both the rice and steak cool a bit before serving. Turning around [ ] saw how handsome her savior was. A soft , almost baby looking face was hidden under that protective mask , turned in a small frown as he fiddled with his hands “Wow...youre handsome” Scaring him from his thoughts Tomura couldnt hide the red that flushed his face as she giggled “Thanks...Ive never been told that before” Hearing him say that made [ ]’s heart twinge before grabbing two plates “Well they must not know the true beauty under your mask hm?” bringing over what she made she sat in front of him, handing him a fork before sitting infront of him “Here ya go! I wont say im a chief but I enjoy cooking yknow?” Now able to see him smile without a protection over majority of his face [ ] couldnt help her heart speeding up as he did. A comfortable silence feel between them as they ate and finished dinner, occasional jokes and small talk happening between them. She learned more about the powder blue haired male, that he wanted to be a hero but because he could disintegrate , they made fun of him and called him a villain instead. But finding a locket with a note attached from his grandmother changed that. She was strong, and a hero herself. She encouraged him to be one, for them to meet someday when he was older and him to become a great hero. It kept him strong, and its how hes a vigilante now. Happy to know more of his story [ ] explained how she wanted to be one too, but also wanted to make uniforms for them. The two went on into the night, talking about the issues outside and the running rapid of the villains whileist other things. Tomura learned that she liked video games which opened a whole new world of things thye could do together.

As midnight rolled around he started to get up , grabbing his things which caught [ ]’s attention “Your leaving?” Looking back at the doe like eyes he couldn't help but sigh and smile at her “Yeah...should go out and see whats to been seen” before he left she got up and strolled over to him “Well its unsafe out there, could you...maybe..stay?” With each word her voice got quieter before she was just silent, messing with his fingers “You want me to stay with you?” Tomura asked before she shook her head, eyes meeting his “Yknow youre nice..and i am a bit of a drifter..” Thinking over the odds out loud he gave her a small smile “Ill stay”

And that's how it was for weeks, them staying together in [ ]’s home, eating together, playing games, shopping for groceries. It was a comfortable thing between the two, sharing the place together like roomates. Tomura was like her protector, not letting her get very far without him and [ ] took care of him when he was injured or just needed reassurance. All and all everything was good except….he knew he had fell for her. [ ] was sweeet to him, gentle and overall just careful of how she helped him. She didnt rush him to anything, was gentle and gave him time to relax and to be comfortable with her. It was painful, for them to be close but yet have different opinions on how they feel about being close and for Tomura it was harder than usual for him having a crush on her.

Fiddling with a pen in the kitchen, Tomura heard [ ] come down the hall , skipping up to him as she gave him a smile he learned he was smitten for “Hey Tomu whatcha up to?” she asked as he gave her a smile of his own back “Ah just thinking about something….whats up?” He asked as the girl came over and gave him a hug, something he wasn’t used to but something he craved every day more than he’d like to admit. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders he chuckled as she slightly squeezed him tighter “Just wanted to check on you that’s all.” Going to move away [. ] felt Tomura pull her closer, burying his face atop her head “Tomu...whats wrong?” She asked as he said nothing, tightly holding her even more as she rubbed his back, knowing this was his silent way of showing he was worried about something “wh’ nt y be m’ plr wo” the male said, muffled on her head. Laughing, she moved her chin to his chest “What're you talking about?” He reluctantly pulled away , their eyes locking as he soon looked down, scratching his arm “I..nothing...thinking out loud. Don’t worry about it” Beofre he could slip away she grabbed his arm, turnighg him back to her. “Tomura...what is it?” Chewing his bottom lip he sided before taking her hand in his, rubbing the smooth skin with his rough glove “I said..why can’t you be my player two” Blinking almost comically [. ] giggled “Well I can be! What game do you wanna play?” Shaking his head Tomura dropped her hand , stepping back as he barely glanced at her “This game called life [. ]...I want to...have you around me all the time, I..really cherish having someone so sweet to me and who cares about me and how I feel..you make me feel more alive and comfortable in my skin then I’ve ever felt before..and I..want to be selfish and make you mine..” He finished with a sigh before looking out the window “ But I know you won’t feel the same so..it’s quite alright”

As soon as he said that he felt a hand at the back of his shirt, pulling him back to his crush, a woman he couldn’t face and now that he laid his feelings out he didn’t want her to pity him. “Tomura look at me” Hearing his full name scared him but Turning around he was surprised to see [. ]’s small smile growing to a larger one once he faced her “Here, give me your hand” Holding her own out he put his hand in hers. To make him even more disarray she undid his gloved to reveal his hands, damaged and scarred from before he could control his powers. Soon he felt soft lips his the bare skin, which every kiss an electric shock went through his body before he felt her fingers lace in his. Wide crimson eyes looked at soft [. ] ones as she took in a breath “I..I’m so happy you told me Tomu, I was afraid you were gonna leave here aha..” letting out a soft laugh she unwrapped a hand to hold his face “I would love to be your player two, I’ll be here for you as long as you need me okay?” Giving her a slight pout he barely lifted his own hand to trace a pinky on her cheek “But what if I need you forever” laughing again and moving closer she stood on her toes to rub noses “Then that’s what it’ll be” Becore he could stop himself he realeased her hand and pressed his lips against hers, hearing the soft gasp she let out as he pushed his lips harder on hers before he felt her relax, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissed him back just as hard. As the kiss got from hard and desperate they slowly started to get more intimate, the kiss softening up until Tomura pulled away breathless as [. ] was too, the both of them letting out light giggles “Wow..that was..” “Great..” Finishing his sentence [. ] gave him another hug, the two of them holding eachother in the middle of the floor “Hey [. ]..” he said as she hummed, before he continued “Let’s kiss again” Giggling she moved her head to meet his , lips sealing for another round of needed affection, the Rü them of their hearts drowning out the mayhem that brought them together.

[hunidlo]

Call of Fire

CHAPTER 4 - The Stranger

Rating: M

Word Count: 3.5K

Pairing: The Mandalorian x F!Reader

Warnings: slow burn fic, language, a lot of angst and tension between the main protagonists

Summary: You don’t like him. At all. Simultaneously, he manages to aggravate you with his silence and terrify you when he decides to speak occasionally. Yet, in hyperspace you have some time to get to know your mysterious chauffeur a little bit more.

Previous Chapter  //  Masterlist  //  Next Chapter

***

You wake up to see the Mandalorian kneeling beside you, holding your shoulders and shaking you. He’s surprisingly gentle.

You’re lying on the floor and the last thing you remember is getting to the cockpit of the Mandalorian’s ship and him telling you to buckle up after the strange ship attacked you.

“Um, what happened?” You touch the sore spot on your head—the consequence of how you knocked yourself out when the laser blast hit the ship and threw you against the wall. “Ouch!” You sit up with your back against the cockpit wall. There’s a small bump on your head—a brand new addition to your collection of bruises and wounds from the day before—and you can tell that the split lip the bandit gave you is now bleeding again.

“You didn’t listen to me … that’s what happened,” the pile of beskar beside you says. “If you had strapped in—”

“Okay, okay …” You wonder how many times he has criticized you for something in the course of the past two hours. Three times? Four times? And now he’s getting on your nerves again. “What happened with the ship that was shooting at us?” you ask, trying to deviate from the topic of you disobeying his order.

“No longer a problem … shot it down,” he announces matter-of-factly. “How’s your head?” he continues, leaving you no time to ask more questions such as Who were they? or Why did they shoot at us?

“It’s fine,” you say. It’s spinning and my face hurts but it could be worse, is what you mean.

You look around the cockpit. You have only a very hazy memory of the last time you were on a starship—it was fifteen years ago just before your parents left you with the villagers on an unknown planet. It’s quiet, you think. For some reason you expected the ship to be louder. Stripes of white light are flashing behind the viewport. The phenomenon looks familiar and makes you assume you’re probably in hyperspace, meaning far away from the only place you remember calling your home.

When you turn your attention back to the Mandalorian, he seems to be studying your bruised face, his helmet cocked to the side a little. He is quiet, gradually making you more antsy, the longer he keeps glaring at you without moving or saying anything.

Just when you think you should say something to end the silence, a gloved hand comes up and towards your cheek. Your instincts tell you to jerk your head backwards to avoid his touch, partially afraid of it causing more pain to your beaten face, and partially taken by surprise of the unexpected intimacy of his movement.  

Immediately, you realise that he most probably didn’t mean any harm. But it’s too late now … 

Seeing your reaction, he clenches his hand into a fist and lowers it again to rest it on his thigh, bowing his head down.

Before you can open your mouth and say something he stands up and strolls away towards the ladder to the cargo hold.

“Are you taking me to Hoth?” you quickly ask after him.

He does not respond to you, swiftly slides down the ladder, leaving you alone in the cockpit, still sitting on the floor.

You wonder whether he always deals with uncomfortable situations by silence and solitude, and you eventually come to a conclusion that he most likely does. Apparently, expressing what he thinks or wants to do with words doesn’t come naturally to him as it does to you, and you realise that he probably spends most of the time by himself and isn’t used to talking to other living beings very often.

You get to your wobbly feet and follow him down the ladder. 

You feel an immense need to rest now.

Shit, your backpack!

Where did you leave your backpack? Ah, yes … your hideout behind the crates.

You sit on one of the crates, take the bottle of water from your backpack and drink like you have spent the last two days on a desert planet. 

The Mandalorian is cleaning his blaster at the workbench acting like he hasn’t noticed you joining him in the cargo hold. He sure does a great job ignoring you when he wants to. 

“So …,” you interrupt the insufferable silence, “how long until we get there?” Despite trying hard to hide it, you are still a bit scared of him and are not sure what his intentions with you are right now so you tread lightly, testing the waters first with a simple question.

“A day ... “ the Mandalorian starts after a beat.

Oh, that’s shorter than you—

“... to Navarro,” he finishes.

Wait, what?

“Navarro?” your voice is more pitched than you originally intended. “We should be going to Hoth?”

All sorts of questions are now emerging in your head like Why is he taking you to Nevarro? And what the hell is Nevarro?

He doesn’t say anything for a while, so you continue but decide not to deviate from your initial request. “My parents are rich, you know?” you lie, trying to negotiate with him—motivate him to give you what you want. Mandalorians are mercenaries and bounty hunters, right? So he would definitely not refuse an opportunity to gain some credits, you assume. “I’m sure they will be more than generous if you delivered me to Hoth as soon as possible.”

“We don’t have enough fuel to get to Hoth,” he says dryly without looking at you.

Evidently, your tactics are not working.

“But, we have a deal—”

“No, we haven’t.”

Oh, come on! You’re losing your patience again. 

“I need to get to Hoth!” You stand up and give him one of your infamous frowns as if being stubborn has so far got you anywhere with this indomitable metal oaf.

“Hoth was a week away from your planet. I need to refuel first,” he’s indifferent to both your demand and the way you just raised your voice at him. “Plus, the ship needs fixing, one of the engines suffered damage.”

Maybe he’s not making it up after all.

“Fine …,” you sigh in defeat and roll your eyes. You’ll go to Nevarro with him, let him fix the ship and then you can continue to Hoth. It’s not like you are in a hurry, right? You waited fifteen years, surely you can wait a couple more days. “… Where do I sleep?”

He doesn’t reply with words, just lazily waves his hand around the cargo hold. Take your pick, is how you read it.

Is he joking? He must be joking.

“There’s only one bed.” You assume it’s his, and you’re sure as hell the hand gesture wasn’t an invitation to his bunk. “Where’s the other one?” You quickly scan the hull again and see nothing resembling a second bunk. 

“Does it look like an inn here to you?” Only now does he turn his visor to look at you.

No, it surely does not, a venomous comeback runs through your head but you know better than to utter it out loud so you just sigh.

So he wasn’t joking, he’s gonna let you sleep on the floor of his dirty fucking ship. How rude. 

On the other hand, well … he’s sort of right. You don’t want to admit it but if you’re being honest … What were you expecting? Bed and breakfast and a bedtime story? Deep down you know you should be grateful that he hasn’t kicked you out of his ship yet. He lets you stay and eventually might even take you to your parents—although you are not so sure about the last part. After all, you yelled at him, threatened him with his own gun, and broke into his ship. Twice.

Then again … you are not going to admit it so yeah … he’s rude and you don’t like him one bit. 

He’s obviously fed up with the conversation and is about to leave for the cockpit but you don’t feel like being finished yet—

“I’m dirty,” you blurt out. 

Shit, that didn’t sound right … 

He stops in his tracks, turning his visor to rest his look on your face again. It seems you have caught his attention. You can almost sense him raise his eyebrows and smirk as he cocks his head.

“I mean … I need to take a shower and wash my clothes.”

The silence that comes after almost everything you say to him is maddening.

After a moment—when he’s finally done scrutinizing what you said—he simply points his finger towards the ‘fresher at the end of the hull.

“And-um …,” you mumble, looking at your toes now, “I don’t have anything else to wear so …”—you already suspect what you’ll get for an answer before the question leaves your lips—“I was thinking you could lend me some clothes until mine get dry?”

…

“Asshole,” you mutter when he’s halfway up the ladder having no decency to reply to you before he turns and leaves. He probably hears you but decides to pretend he hasn't.

Later in the ‘fresher, you frown at yourself in the mirror. Fuck! Your face is a mess, and so is your hair and clothes. The bruise on your face is starting to change its colour from purple to repulsive yellow, and opening your mouth is a challenge on its own due to the sharp pain shooting to your jaw every time you try. When you're finished inspecting your numerous wounds, one by one you detangle the twigs from your hair, then take off your muddy clothes and wash them in the washbasin.

The shower is definitely the highlight of this day. For a moment, you just relax and enjoy hot water running down your tired limbs and washing away the events of the past couple of days. Even if you doubt the feeling will last. 

Okay, now … soap.

You cautiously sniff the content of the bottle that you’ve found on a shelf in the shower, just to be sure you have the right thing. From what you’ve seen, it could well be some oil for the Mandalorian’s armour or whatnot. To your surprise, it smells fresh, masculine, and a little bit like forest. 

“That grumpy bastard sure smells nice under all that beskar,” you smirk to yourself as you pour a decent amount of soap in your palm.

But when you get off the shower … oh, no … 

… there’s only one towel—his. You haven’t thought of that before.

Well, desperate times, desperate measures.

***

You decide to hang your wet clothes in the cargo hold, hoping they would get dry soon. 

A dull thud comes from behind you, making you jump scare and turn around.

The Mandalorian is standing motionless under the ladder to the cockpit, his visor boring into you.

“What?” You cross your arms on your chest perfectly aware that you are currently wearing just your underwear and his towel wrapped around you. “I told you I had no spare clothes.” 

He doesn’t seem to be bothered with your reproving tone though. His visor moves awkwardly slowly, following your silhouette from your feet up to your face where his look lingers for a beat. Then, without a word, he passes by you to get to the workbench. 

After a moment of searching in the boxes on the top shelves, he shoots his hand backwards, clutching a black long-sleeve shirt.

"Cover yourself," he commands with his back turned to you. He sounds almost angry.

"Gladly," you snarl back and snatch the shirt from his hand.

You turn away from him to put the shirt on. It’s not quite as long as you’d like but it’s better than nothing—and it smells just like his soap—so you’re not going to complain about it. 

When you turn back—still not decided whether or not to thank him—you find yourself facing the blackened visor of his helmet. He’s close. How did he get this close without you noticing? In his hands, the Mandalorian is carrying two neatly folded blankets, a pillow, and some sort of ointment—most probably intended for your face. He extends his hands just a little, and the simple gesture—being the first pure expression of kindness so far—stuns you. Maybe he isn’t as hard-hearted as you initially thought.

He tilts the chin of the helmet to the side as if thinking hard about something. 

“Do I smell … Did you use my soap?” By the tone of his voice you can tell that the brief moment of softness has just ended and he’s back to being his usual cold pissed self again.

“Well, I didn’t have time to pack mine, did I?” You allow your mouth to get loose. “I like it though,” you smirk when he turns the visor to pierce you with his look again. “... smells good.”

The silent faceless look is still so hard to read for you. 

The hand by his side twitches and for a split second you think he’s going to reach for your face again.

You don't know why but this time, you would let him.

He doesn’t though. Instead, he turns and walks away from you, across the hull to his bunk. 

“You have something in your hair,” he says matter-of-factly as he’s clambering into his bed, before the hatch shuts behind him.

You stand there dumbfounded for a second before you reach in your hair … 

“Nice,” you exhale, pulling out a twig with leaves from your wet hair.

***

Zullu is standing in front of you.

“You’re special,” the voice echoes to you through the void.

There’s a shadowy figure behind her.

“Zullu!” you cry out. “Watch out!”

Zullu falls to the ground—motionless.

The same figure is now standing behind you. They extend their hand and lay it on your shoulder and shake you vigorously.

“No!” You jolt awake and sit up breathing heavily, looking at the Mandalorian who is crouching beside your makeshift bed represented by several crates that you pushed together and put a blanket on them.

His hand is still on your shoulder while your hand is currently squeezing his arm to the point that it’s definitely hurting you more than him.

“You were screaming from sleep,” he says when he sees your confusion and you both let go of each other. “... Woke me up,” he informs.

Perhaps, you’re still too emotional from seeing your best friend die in front of you again to think rationally but his rather innocent announcement bewilders you.

“I’m sorry, my nightmare disturbed your slumber,” you snarl, words dripping with sarcasm.

You can’t help it, for some reason you just wish to elicit a reaction from him, other than the usual silence—the omnipresent, insufferable, deafening silence which he evidently enjoys so much but has been driving you crazy. From the moment you first saw him, you just have to keep guessing what he’s thinking and feeling—and you’re done with him being this fucking enigma for you all the time.

However, he’s apparently not willing to give you the response you want because he just wordlessly climbs up to the cockpit—the loudest sound in the quiet hull being the angry thuds his boots make on the ladder rungs.

You sit on your bed—head in your hands—frustrated with your own irracional behaviour. 

You should probably go and apologize to him, you think, realising your overreaction was bloody stupid. Then again, maybe it will be wiser to let him cool down a bit before you try to approach him.

***

You can’t sleep.

It’s been a good two hours since the Mandalorian left the cargo hold in the middle of the night and you have been unable to fall asleep again.

Should you go after him? … What should you say? … What is he doing up there, anyway? goes through your head making it impossible for you to rest.

You finally get up and clamber into the cockpit. You carefully approach the Mandalorian who is sitting in the pilot’s chair. 

When you’re close enough, you notice that he’s resting his helmet on his shoulder—he’s sleeping.

He looks so peaceful now with his hands folded on his chest, his legs outstretched and crossed under the control panel. You wonder whether his neck hurts when he wakes up after sleeping in such a position with his helmet on.

God!—you realise—you haven’t seen him without his helmet. Actually, you haven’t seen him taking off any part of his armour. Zullu’s grandmother used to talk about the Mandalorian armour, but never said anything about who they were under their impenetrable gleaming beskar shells. That realisation makes you wonder what he looks like under the helmet.

Against your better judgement, you hesitantly wave your hand in front of his visor to make sure he’s passed out, take a deep breath—mustering all your courage—and start gingerly lifting his helmet.

You are able to lift it by mere inches before a hand shoots up and catches your wrist, keeping a tight grip on you almost painfully. You immediately let go of the hem of the helmet.

“What are you doing?” His voice is quiet, tone dead serious. If he wasn’t irritated before, there is no doubt he’s mad at you now.

Fuck. Fuck! You have overstepped, you’re sure of it.

His next movement is swift and sudden. Before you can come up with a reply or do basically anything, he’s towering above you and cornering you against the control panel. He’s so close that you can feel each of his furious heavy breaths as his chest plate presses periodically against your torso with every inhale he makes.

You gulp thickly, not daring to move a muscle. You got the reaction you so desperately wanted from him and now you regret ever irking him.

“Don’t ever do that again!” His voice is impossibly low and threatening.

This time, it’s you who doesn’t speak.

He quickly let’s go of your hand and backs up a little when he feels your body slightly flinch under his deadly stare and sees the glimpse of fear in your eyes.

You use this opportunity to rush from him as fast as you can, leaving him where he stands in the cockpit.

You would be able to hear the Mandalorian sigh if you weren’t trying so hard to push back a whimper as you climb down the ladder to the hull.

***

You slump into your bed and stay there until morning. 

You hate him. You should have never come to his ship. Each wave of remorse about leaving your village is choking you until you seriously consider paying someone to fly you back as soon as you get to Nevarro.

But … you can’t go back. Apart from not having enough credits, there is nothing waiting for you there. You need to keep going—find your parents and figure out how you were able to kill that bandit with just your mind. You have to do it for yourself, and for Zullu.

Interrupting your train of thought, the Mandalorian appears in the hull. He’s quiet. He approaches you and slowly lays a tray with something that looks like processed food in front of you without saying anything or looking at you.

Is … is this his weird way of apologizing?

He sits down on one of the crates in the hull in front of you, pulling out his rifle to clean it.

It is an apology, you realise. And you feel like it’s your turn now.

“I’m … I’m sorry.” Your voice is thin and almost inaudible. “I’m sorry, I snapped at you, and I’m sorry if I … offended you.”

He doesn’t look at you, just nods almost imperceptibly. “And I’m sorry if I hurt your hand,” he says eventually.

“It’s okay,” you say and rub your wrist. He didn’t really hurt you but you think it’s quite considerate of him to mention it.

“So what’s up with the helmet?” you hesitantly ask. “Don’t you ever take it off?”

“No.” 

“Why not?”

“This is the way,” he says simply.

“I … apologize, I didn’t know.” You didn’t. How could you? You never met a Mandalorian, you only heard the stories and Zullu’s grandmother never mentioned that they don’t show their faces.

“It’s fine. Just don’t try to take … don’t do that again.” he says quietly but definitely, and you somehow know you are not supposed to ask anymore.

You silently nod to let him know you understood. 

You eventually eat the food he has given you and watch him quietly tinker with his rifle.  

You still don’t like him but feel that somehow this brief conversation cleared the air between the two of you meaning you are finally able to relax a bit in his presence.

Neither of you say anything for the rest of the way to Nevarro.

The silence—however—doesn’t feel as thick and suffocating as it did before.

***

Previous Chapter  //  Masterlist  //  Next Chapter

[vampiresuns]

Corazón Sufriente, Corazón Sangrante

3.5k words. The Crews of The Jagged Ruby and El Corazón Sangrante spend the night in Hinode. However, Captain Syd and the crew of Inuwashi cross the waters of the Strait before they even set sail the next morning, rattling the beings that inhabit it. Having no option but to sail as soon as they can, they are forced to face the storm waiting for them in the water.

The crew of The Jagged Ruby, El Corazón Sangrante, and Inuwashi belong to @apprenticealec​​. You can also check her map and lore about the Strait of Sirens here.​

This is the second and last instalment of Part VI of Secrets of An Ancient Moon Series. 

Want to read more of these series? You can find it’s masterpost here.

CW: Brief mentions of unhealthy family dynamics.

Rodrigo was something completely different from Jacqui. An entire different type of fish — an analogy he had hated. Not that him hating it was about to stop Jules from using it. 

They had known him for less than a day, yet they had already argued about at least five different topics. All of them unprompted. They had argued about slang, about whether their shared mother tongue was actually called Alzor or Nopali; Jules said both were acceptable, Rodrigo wasn’t so convinced. They had also begun bickering because Rodrigo, finding them again after docking in Hinode, tried to make for their ‘interrupted’ introduction earlier that morning, only to be met with Jules laughing through their nose and telling him he was shorter than Saoirse. They did not expect to touch a nerve, but they did.

Then it was some random thing neither of them knew how they ended up talking about, Jules ‘hoarding’ Jacqui, and finally because Jules had had the gall to make an assessment out of Rodrigo and be right about it.

“You too, huh?” Jacqui asked him. “What did they tell you?” 

Rodrigo grumbled something about ‘hearts’, and ‘choices’, and people like ‘us’. “Anyway, I told them there could be an ‘us’ if they wanted to, grabbed their face and the next thing I knew fucking Saoirse was standing right behind me, like what the fuck.” 

Jacqui laughed. Rodrigo looked at him as if he had just told him the worst of insults. 

“You know they do that because they think it’s funny, right?” 

“Shut up, Jacqui.”

Rodrigo’s Quartermaster looked over his Captain’s shoulder, snorting at the same time as Saoirse said: “Hi, Rodrigo,” making him jump from his chair.

None of those wouldn’t be the last of Julianus’ offences against Rodrigo that night. The crown jewel of them all would come when they asked him and Jacqui for how long they had been together. While Jacqui clammed up, Rodrigo answered ‘20 years’ like it was nothing. However, when Jacqui tried to tell him Julianus didn’t mean as Captain-and-Quartermaster, he laughed, and left. 

“So it’s not like—? Oh.” Saoirse laughed softly, and kissed their temple.

In hindsight Jules should’ve anticipated Rodrigo coming back to steal their drink, since they “weren’t going to finish it.” 

In any other circumstances, Jules would’ve rolled their eyes, yelled something smart back at whomever took their drink, and carried on. That drink, however, had pisco mixed with a soft drink. It was a popular mix in Altazor, but slightly harder to find in other places — mostly due to the lack of pisco— and, it was Rodrigo who had taken it. 

“Hey! That’s mine!”

Rodrigo began walking away faster.

This would be one of those moments which Julianus would never forget. The blur of faces as they chased Rodrigo in the tavern part of the Inn, Manolo’s and Manuela’s concerned faces. Walking over someone’s table after climbing on a chair without thinking too much about it. Or rather, without overthinking about it. There were no what-abouts, no ifs, no what-will-whoever-thinks. Just them, trying to calculate their odds as they tackled Rodrigo into the ground. He yelled something about his coat getting dirty, Jules told him he shouldn’t have stolen his drink. 

Neither of them were putting on a real fight, though at the same time they were. Rodrigo fought better, but Jules was more slippery and had, per Saoirse’s own confirmation and now for everyone to witness, an unexpectedly strong thigh-lock. 

Meredith was yelling insults at Rodrigo and cheering on Julianus, with either ‘you go, Sanlaurento’, or ‘that’s my legal bastard’. J. C. would not register it until hours later, and while they suspected it was solely because they were fighting Rodrigo and had tackled him to the ground, it still brought a smile to their face. 

Looking at them as they fought, Saoirse and Jacqui stood together. Jacqui refused to get involved, claiming this wouldn’t have happened if Rodrigo had not stolen their drink. 

“You know those fights between siblings which start to get too serious?” He asked Saoirse.

“No, not really.”

“Well, this is a little like those.” 

After a moment or two, he spoke again. “So, this is ‘your Julie’.”

Saoirse’s smile was the brightest Jacqui had ever seen in them. “Sometimes I think I will anticipate their thought process. Sometimes I do. Others…,” there it was again, the smile, “I have no idea.”

The fight ended when Saoirse got Jules another drink, and helped them get off from Rodrigo who was yelling at them not to get his face, while Jules yelled at him that he got theirs first. They were both perfectly alright, despite their dramatics, but in the morning Julianus’ forehead would develop a small bruise right where their hairline began, Rodrigo having accidentally elbowed them. It was, for once, a legitimate accidental blow. 

Later, Saoirse would say that Jules had a very thick head, as they held ice to their forehead just in case. Jules was sharing a bedroom with Theo, and while the ship’s medic would’ve been able to do just the same, Saoirse wanted to do it. They, on the other hand, had to sleep in the same room as Meredith, to keep the Queen safe. 

Theo had offered to change places with Saoirse, swearing ‘most ardently’ that he would never let anything happen to Meredith. Saoirse, bound by the code by their own choice, declined.

When the two of them were alone, Saoirse having left to their own bedroom, Theo gave Jules a sympathetic look.

“You look melancholic, my dear friend. Empty bed blues?”

“No, not really. I do know how it goes, and besides, it’s their job. You don’t see Saoirse complaining about my law books, do you?”

“So what is it? If you wish to talk about it,” he said as he sat on Jules’ bed, “I am happy to be your faithful confidant.”

“Thank you, Theodore. Do you promise not to think it’s stupid?”

Theodore crossed his heart, then put his open palm above it and raised his other hand. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”

Jules was silent for so long, gathering their thoughts, that the doctor thought they’d never speak. However, they did, turning to them with such vulnerability in their face that Theodore, poetic and candid as he was, almost gasped. 

“I’m not used to being in a place where I want to find out what happens tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after. It’s like my mind decided to have this moment, out of all possible moments to realise I am not going anywhere.”

“Anywhere how? Oh, Meredith wouldn’t turn you away!”

“No, not like that. Anywhere as in here, in this world. That this is my life and I get to live it, for many more years than I ever thought I’d get to live.”

Theodore hugged them. Jules didn’t expect the gesture tensing for a fraction of a second before fully leaning into it. Theo was hugging them with both his arms, but he was doing it around their side, not in front of them, which made returning the hug a little awkward. Jules still did their best. 

“I’m so very glad we are friends.”

Jules smiled. “So am I, Theo. You deserve good things.”

“So do you.”

“Just take the compliment.”

“Pot and kettle! You take the compliment!”

They bickered some more, like old friends who have known each other for their whole lives, until Theo sent them to bed on Doctor’s orders. 

They would both sleep happy, soundly. Julianus would dream of sweet nothings and their feet would stay warm all night with the weight of Marcius over them. Yet that wouldn’t last until the morning. Everyone slept in a little later than they did at Sea, only to be woken up with alarm from members of both crews announcing Inuwashi had crossed the waters of the Strait.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

They could’ve waited a couple days to pass, but the fear of not making it to Ethari on time was worse — Jules had no idea until then, but due to a couple of reasons beyond anyone’s control (namely the weather and some routes alterations) they were behind schedule and could not afford any more delays. It meant they’d head to risk going through the waters with its very, very angry sirens. 

This time, no crew song appeased them. The message was clear: anything or anyone they got their hands on would not see the surface again.

On the distant horizon, Julianus could see the outline of a ship. It looked tiny in the distance and by the way Meredith cursed in it’s direction, they assumed it must be Inuwashi. Meredith cursed again — it had begun to drizzle, and it looked like a storm was beginning to brew. 

Saoirse, for once, looked concerned. “Jacqui says Rodrigo exhausted his illusion magic, they’re too uncontrollable for him to properly cast anything on them.” 

To make matters worse, a ripple went through the water. With a violent halt, both of the ships stopped moving.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck! If I could kill Syd, I fucking would!” Meredith yelled.

“I know,” was Saoirse’s serious reply. “But I don’t think that was Syd.”

“You’re seriously going to tell me that wasn’t Gharial or however the fuck they’re called?”

“No, it was, but Syd is not stupid enough to endanger you right before a Quinquennial Meeting without a loophole, and Gharial just likes getting Syd into trouble.”

“It doesn’t fucking change anything.”

It was chaos as everyone snapped into action to make the ships move again. The sooner they were all out of the Strait the better and by the turn of events it was going to be a long, tiring task. 

“Alright!” Meredith yelled, raising their voice so everyone listened to her. “Keep everyone from the railings and if you can move with a lifeline, do it. I want all of them secured! I will only say this once: if anyone falls, we will not be able to retrieve them so anyone with a range weapon — do whatever idiot that falls a favour if they do.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

What nothing told you about life or death experiences was how absolutely absurd they were. There were no big revelations, no reel of your life going before your eyes, no philosophical moments where the ulterior meaning of life was revealed to you. It was just you, and whomever else was with you in that moment, running around as survival instincts kicked in. As they did, the realisation that you might as well die came to you, and instead of thinking about everything you did not get to do, or everything you could’ve done differently, all you did was noticing really stupid details, about really stupid shit. 

Julianus didn’t need to wait to have another experience with death to know whomever said otherwise was fucking lying. 

Instead of thinking about anything that would’ve risen up to the dourness of the hour, they were thinking about their art teacher from Altazor, the one they had when they were in primary school and they had taken an art extracurricular. When they were around ten, they went through a phase where they only wanted to paint the sea. Their teacher had shown them a Neviv painter who painted ships and stormy seas, and Julianus had decided they only wanted to paint the sea from then on. 

The sky looked like the paints of that painter. Julianus couldn’t even remember the name of the painter.

They had stopped taking the extracurricular not long after that. Part of an ongoing issue they had associated with lack of confidence in their sense of self, and their struggle to keep habits. The former had to do with having been indirectly punished for their openness of self, which left them more vulnerable to other people’s opinions. A vulnerability they were never given proper tools to deal with. When they tried to find who they were in front of the world, too many factors had convinced them for years that who they were was inherently wrong. From mean peers to their own parents, or the expectations of their family, and no matter what image they projected, it all weighted them down. 

The other had to do with a long time undiagnosed hyperactivity and focus divergency. No one believed them about it until they took the matters in their own hands, because how could someone ‘as smart as them’ have it. It simply had to be laziness, or something other. They had been over this already, about how too many people had opinions on who Julianus Sanlaurento had to be, or was, without actually bothering to check who they actually were, or even given the chance. 

The other extracurricular that succumbed to all of that was magic. However, they had taken it up again in their last years of schooling before university, as they had in free hours they were left alone to their own devices. That halt in their studies had made them more knowledgeable in the history of it and the relationships different cultures had with it, than to the practice itself. It was one of the reasons why the Sea Palace had had no interest in them, besides the fact they thought (both Jules and the Scholars) they did not have any particularly differential ability in it. 

They never stopped practising it after that, even if they never mentioned to anyone, unless they were forced to. They had taken it up under a mentor again in Firent, where they took it as a university extracurricular with a magician who was adept to energy manipulation — electricity in particular. Jules had taken to it like fish to the water, even if, once again, they ended up using it for little. 

She always said plasma and electricity weren’t harder to manipulate than other types of matter. People tended to be more afraid to do it, because it required the magician to make themselves a receptor of that energy, and for a series of reasons, people did not seem comfortable with malleable matter that may or may not zap you. 

Somewhere to their right, Drew hissed. 

“Are you alright, darling?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yes, I just grabbed my knife and I got a static shock.”

Jules snapped out of their trace. “Swords work as conductors of electricity, right?” 

“What?”

“Like, you can catch electricity with a sword, can you not?”

Drew and Elizabeth looked at them with concern. Also, like perhaps, they had gone a little crazy. 

Theo, however, had their answers. “It’s metal, so in theory it would work. Though not all metals conduct the same way, but that’s the principle of a lightning rod… why do you ask?”

“If I do something that’s potentially really stupid, involves magic, and I technically know how to do but haven’t done it in years and never outside of the context of a classroom, do you promise to not let me fall into the water? I don’t actually want to die.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Julianus was either a genius, insane or terminally stupid. They were about to find out.

Storms had always been their favourite weather and they knew an electric storm had to be in the making. Sounds around them were too clear, humidity was annoyingly oppressive, there were no birds flying, Marcius was hiding under the covers of Saoirse’s bed (Jules double checked he was safe) and it smelled like a storm. 

Electric storms came with lightning. With the right magical knowledge, anyone could manipulate them. However, they needed to get to the Beak of the ship, and there was no way Saoirse would let them do that if it put them at the risk of falling into the water. El Corazón Sangrante, however, wasn’t that far away from the Ruby. It was a sensible jump, even by their poor eye-estimation of distance.

All they had to do was try. 

From the perspective of anyone else in the crew, this was what happened: Julianus used a rope from the rigging to jump from one ship to the other (a very bad experience, which they would not like to repeat). They told something to Jade, Rodrigo’s sailing master, and for some reason, Jade agreed to it. Perhaps, she was as desperate as everyone else to get out of the strait. Meredith, still on the Ruby yelled-asked who let Sanlaurento do such a thing. Saoirse looked at them with confusion as they ran with the rapier they had gotten for them during a raid in hand; said confusion turned into dread when they realised what part of the ship they were running towards. 

The panic they felt when they saw them climb past the forecastle and onto the very narrow surface to stand before the bowsprit began, threatened to dissolve the body they chose to use every day. They ran towards the bow of the Ruby, ready to jump into the water if they needed.

“Julie!” They yelled, trying to make them turn, but it was like they didn’t listen.

A thunder broke behind them as they lifted a leg over the railing. That’s when they saw it. With both arms extended, their sword on the left hand pointing towards the sky, a lightning strike hit Julianus. 

Jules condensed it in their free hand as it sizzled and crackled without harming their skin. Angling themselves, they threw it into the water, hitting one of the sirens straight on the chest.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Having to face the Siren songs that close to the water was, perhaps, one of the worst life experiences Jules had ever gone through. It was something about their rabid eyes and the promises they sang of.

They could see them, almost. They could see themselves in it. A model child, a partner, two children and a pet. A stable job. A good relationship with their mother. Esteem and respect from the social circle they had grown in at the expense of nothing. The sirens sang and they went to a different school, they had different tastes, they had more knowledge, a better capacity to concentrate, a different career, they were more athletic. They were immaculately perfect, always pleasing everyone and always knowing the right thing to say. Whomever that abomination the Sirens sang about was, it wasn’t Jules.

They could see why. They could see how they would twist their fear of never being enough, their fear of being utterly mediocre, against them. They could see how they took that away, and left a perfectly sanitised carcass that, in a lower point of their life, they would’ve given into. 

The wind played with their hair as they felt one thing, and one thing alone: rage. 

Their frown was set as they began feeling static build around them and with steady breaths they stood in posture. They lifted their sword as their angry, teary eyes met with the fishy ones of the sirens in the water. It wasn’t about being stronger than them or more powerful than them. Neither was the case: They were just Jules. 

Just Jules. Poetic, hopeful, intelligent, strong-willed, imperfect, full of love and terrified to give it, yet determined to plant the garden of their life no matter how many times it was destroyed. Jules who was full of grief, and full of happiness, and Jules who knew they would never have the life that was promised to them, because that life required of them something they would never be able to be without sacrificing who they truly were. 

It was okay. It was okay not to have that life and not to be that person. Whoever they were now was better anyway. 

Lightning struck their sword. They knew what to do. 

When the Sirens went quiet, numbed by the electric sock, they slid their back against the wood of the ship. Hanging on some rope and their sword for dear life they sat down with their head between their legs. 

Saoirse found them moments later, pulling them up and carrying them back to Meredith’s ship in their arms. 

“I can walk you know, I’m just a little dizzy.”

Saoirse didn’t put them down. “Were you going to tell me you could manipulate lightning, or was I supposed to find out this way?”

“I didn’t think it was relevant to mention. Did it work?”

They let out a noise of annoyance. “Yes, yes it worked. But if you want to do that again, it’d be better you practised. You could’ve fallen into the sea, you could’ve—”

“But I didn’t. I’m here, Saoirse.”

They shot them a look, but the relief that it worked, and the wonder that their Julie could do such a thing won this time. They kissed the crown of their head. “Don’t scare me like that again.”

“I can’t make any promises.”

“I mean it. Let’s get you some water and something to eat.”

“I’m sorry I scared you, I really am.”

Saoirse sighed. “You’re forgiven. You did great.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Beyond the Strait of Seals, Captain Syd of the Inuwashi looked at the lightning strike back in the waters of the Strait. Hideko stood besides them. 

“I didn’t know Saoirse could do that.”

Heron spoke behind her. “Are we sure that’s Saoirse?”

“Well, colour me surprised Cabin Boy, I don’t remember asking your opinion.”

[offtopicoverload]

Can I request a TaliaxMC oneshot where after they get out of the villa and are given back their phones, MC immediately looks up the One Direction fan fictions Talia wrote?

OH MY GOD ANON YOURE A GENIUS

I feel like I need to put disclaimers -

I don’t remember like any details about her writing so I just went with the ask and had some fun

I havent really been seriously involved in fandoms before this year so I have no idea what the culture in ~2011 was like outside of what people have talked about, i was essentially a toddler but not actually

I dont remember shit about one direction either so take that as you will

I know her writing as a 16 yo probably would have been pretty good by that age, but I’m just going to pretend it wasnt lmao

I looked up fanfics for this and holy shit i regret it

Dont publically humiliate people or do idrc you do you fam

Teenage Musings

Talia x MC (Lilac)

~3.5k

“Come on, come on, come on,” Lilac mutters to herself, bouncing on her toes as the producers pass out the finalists’ devices. The finale wrapped filming fifteen minutes ago, and the ex-Islanders were all eager to catch up on socials, nearly storming the production staff to get their devices back. Lilac’s gaze tracks the producer as he moves down the line of gathered ex-Islanders, starting with Erikah and Reese, with Cherry and Jake up next.

She huffs, crossing her arms over her chest and halting her bouncing, switching to tapping her foot impatiently as she waits for them to hurry up. It shouldn’t take this long to just figure out whose phone belongs to who!

“What are you so excited about?” Talia nudges her shoulder to steal her attention, meeting grey eyes with her own ocean blue, smiling down at Lilac fondly. “Is there someone you’d rather be talking to right now?” she teases.

Lilac shakes her head furiously, eyes trained on the producer handing Jen her phone back, a daffodil painted on her pale blue case. As soon as he stops before her and Talia, she nearly attacks him for her phone, starting it up and unlocking it immediately, tapping to her search engine on her home screen. She pulls up Wattpad, of all sites, immediately opening the search bar.

Talia drops her own phone to her side after restarting it, moving to look over Lilac’s shoulder to see what she’s so excited about, but she jumps away, angling the screen from Talia’s field of vision. “What are you hiding?” she asks, squinting her eyes in suspicion.

“Nothing!” Lilac blurts out far too quickly; she’s not letting Talia ruin this. Ever since she found out Talia wrote One Direction fan fiction as a teenager, it’s all she’s been able to think about, to the point that she was investigating potential usernames in the middle of the night. She’d always ask when Talia was too sleepy to be fully aware of the fuel she was giving Lilac, what exactly she was signing up for. ‘1d.dorkie.lover’ seemed to be 2011 Talia’s preference, and it’s her best guess.

She types it in the search bar as fast as she can move her fingers, carefully backing away as Talia continues attempting to catch a glimpse of her phone screen, Lilac quickly travelling along the lawn to avoid her gaze. But she’s not quick enough, Talia catching sight of her screen as Lilac tries to maneuver out of the way, her eyes bugging out of her head as they jump up to Lilac’s.

After an expectant, tense, terrifying pause, she gives chase, lunging for the phone encased in silver sparkles with all her force, “Li!”

But Lilac spins out of the way at the last second, Talia stumbling as Lilac darts into the empty Villa kitchen in search of refuge. She almost immediately finds something entitled ‘LARRY 4 LYFE’ as she rounds the corner of the counters and immediately starts cackling. Talia follows her into the room, unable to slow her momentum and slamming into the countertop while yelling, “Don’t you fucking dare!”

Lilac stands on the opposite side of the island, poised to sprint away again as Talia looks at her with wild eyes. She pounces, running around the kitchen island to try and catch Lilac off guard, but she begins running in the opposite direction as soon as Talia starts moving. They circle each other as Lilac fumbles to read the notes aloud, “‘I’m new but I love Larry!’ in all caps and a million exclamation points,” she narrates, “‘So cute and cuddly and awwwww and ohmygod!’” she laughs between the words, still keeping a careful watch on Talia circling across from her.

All of a sudden, Talia switches directions, fast enough that Lilac stumbles when she tries to switch too, Talia barrelling into her and wrapping Lilac in her arms as she shrieks, sticking her hand in the air to keep her phone from Talia’s reach, tilting her head back to keep reading, “‘Harry likes Louis, but he’s not supposed to! He can’t like him ‘cause they’re in the same band - a really, really good band!’” she shouts, Talia’s hand grabbing at her arm to steal it.

Talia drops her to the floor, using her height advantage to snatch Lilac’s phone from her hand, flicking it off and towering over Lilac with her eyes alight and a frown on her lips, a crease between her brows. Lilac turns in her arms, taking a tiny step back, and smiles sweetly, swaying on her feet with puppy dog eyes and her hands clasped before her. “I hate you so much,” Talia groans.

“Nope,” Lilac beams, singsonging, “You love me.” She sways on her feet, looping her arms around Talia’s neck and dropping her hips against Talia’s, their upper bodies leaning apart and colliding their eyes like the sky, clouds and air blending into a perfect painting.

Talia frowns at her, but coils her arms around her waist all the same, “Nowhere near enough let you read that.”

Lilac pouts, “Pretty please?”

“No.”

“Please?”

Talia meets her gaze seriously, “No way in hell.”

Lilac’s lips twist as she frowns, triumph shining in Talia’s eyes as she watches Lilac, the gears in her mind turning as she works out a solution to her newfound problem, a problem she absolutely must solve. She trails a nail down Talia’s arm suggestively, “You sure?” and cocks her head, an eyebrow raising challengingly.

Blue eyes scrutinise her, scanning her features as her finger trails further down Talia’s arm. The black-painted nail passes the crook of her elbow, the bracelet on her wrist, her sharp knuckles, tight as they clutch Lilac’s phone. She smiles winningly, just as she steals her phone back, quick and sneaky, springing from Talia’s grasp and immediately running.

She races out of the kitchen, scanning the lawn until she makes a beeline for Jake by the bar, standing and chatting with Tim and Rohan, with Talia hot on her tail as she bolts for the boys. “Lilac, I swear to God!” Talia shouts, running as fast as she can in her heels, Lilac quicker in shorter wedges.

She crashes into Jake, slipping behind him to use him as a human shield, hands poised on his sides for maximum efficiency as she meets Talia’s wild eyes, already unlocking her phone again with one hand, raising it to her line of sight to prevent a surprise attack. “Whoa there!” his hands clasp Talia’s shoulders as she nearly rams into him, “What’s going on here?”

“Talia’s trying to kill me!” Lilac accuses, Jake glancing over his shoulder at her in confusion as she attempts to look as innocent as possible, batting her eyelashes for the most effect, her hands falling from his sides to knit together before her.

Talia growls, attempting to slip out of his hold to lunge at Lilac, but his hands only tighten on her shoulders, “Okay, let’s all calm down,” he attempts to placate the girls. He waits until Talia stops squirming, “Why are you trying to kill Lilac?” he holds her at arm's length, looking down at her as she scowls at Lilac behind him.

“I’m not trying to kill her, just trying to break her phone,” she says through gritted teeth, eyes on fire as they burn holes into Lilac, nearly sparking her into flames.

“Destruction of property is still bad, Talia,” he nudges her shoulders to earn her gaze, but she doesn’t give it. He turns, moving his grip to Talia’s upper arm and holding tight, “What’d you do Lilac?” He looks down at her with raised eyebrows, expectantly waiting.

“I was just trying to read,” she shrugs nonchalantly, averting her gaze to dig the toe of her shoe into the concrete below them, phone clutched in her hands behind her back.

Rohan steps up beside Talia, his drink abandoned on the bar as he joins whatever chaos has exploded before him. “What exactly were you trying to read? And why are you trying to stop her, Talia?” he inquires, glancing between them suspiciously.

There’s no response from Talia, her jaw clenched tight and every muscle in her body tense, with her blue eyes not moving from Lilac, who only sticks her bottom lip out in a pout and meets her eyes from under her long lashes. It doesn’t achieve its intended purpose, Talia only continuing to glare at her, somehow harsher.

Tim sidles up to Lilac, throwing his arm over her shoulders to lighten the intense mood that’s settled next to the bar, “Aw, Talia look at this,” he cups Lilac’s chin, squeezing her cheeks between his thumb and fingers, “How bad could it be for you to be mad at this?” Lilac plays it up, pouting to the best of her ability with Tim’s hand on her face.

“Bad,” the dark-haired woman spits through gritted teeth.

Jake turns to Lilac, head on now, “Alright, you oughta fess up. What’re you trying to read and why is it making Talia violent?” He puts his hand on his hip, mimicking the appearance of an exasperated mother with ease.

Lilac sighs in defeat, “It’s Talia’s old fan fiction,” she squirms under the weight of Tim’s arm, ducking her head to avoid Jake’s disappointed expression.

“Oh, well, then read it out loud,” Jake answers calmly, Lilac’s eyes flying up, a huge, excited grin splitting across her face as she starts bouncing on her toes again.

“What?! No!” Talia breaks his hold on her, launching for Lilac to steal her phone again, grey eyes widening at the incoming collision.

“Nope!” Rohan loops his arms around her waist, pulling her back and swinging her to the side as she kicks against him. “Read it, Lilac!” he shouts over his shoulder, working to subdue Talia.

But she continues struggling as Lilac reopens her phone, glancing around for a makeshift stage. She settles on a stool set up at the recent addition to the lawn: the bar. “Tim, a little help?” she glances to the lad, accepting his hand as she climbs up.

Once she’s on the stool, with Tim and Jake standing beside her to make sure she doesn’t fall and break or sprain something, she announces, “Come one, come all, for the reading of ‘LARRY 4 LYFE’ by our one and only Talia!” She smiles down at her girlfriend sweetly, gesturing with an open palm and earning a scowl in response as Rohan keeps her trapped.

A few of the other ex-Islanders gather out of curiosity, Jen looping an arm around Tim and Allegra smiling wickedly at the scene before her. Lucy stands from across the other side of the bar, crossing with a drink in hand, and leans against the counter to watch.

Lilac turns to her phone, “So, let’s see… How about we just start from the beginning?” she grins at the crowd, a few cheers encouraging her as Talia shoots death glares at everyone gathered, still squirming slightly in Rohan’s arms.

“‘Harry likes Louis, but he’s not supposed to!’” Lilac begins, “‘He can’t like him ‘cause they’re in the same band - a really, really good band! But Louis likes him too, he just can’t say it back, ‘cause he’s not supposed to like him back. The other boys all know, but they don’t say anything because they can’t! If they confess there’ - t-h-e-r-e, mind you,” Lilac notes, “‘love then the band’s ruined.’” Lilac says the last word dramatically, to laughter from the assembled crowd.

Talia has resigned to her fate by now, Rohan’s arms around her loosening as her own cross over her chest, watching Lilac with gritted teeth and furious eyes. “‘And if the band’s ruined, that’s bad for the whole world, so they can’t do that. But now everyone’s unhappy and that’s not fair. So Harry has a plan. He’ll tell Louis and then they’ll keep it secret to protect the band.’”

“‘Except Louis wants to tell him first, but he can’t keep a secret. So the band will be over and everyone will be sad. Harry has to say it first but he keeps getting scared. And the other boys are annoyed with them because they won’t just say it but they all know it already so they should just say it. But they can’t! Because the band will fall apart, but they want to and they will,’” the crowd chuckles softly, Rohan’s arms now entirely removed from Talia, and Lilac swears she can see her fighting a smile.

Lilac turns back to the story with invigorated energy, “So Harry wants to tell him but he doesn’t know how. He can’t with other people or the band is. Ruined,” she repeats it dramatically once again, glancing up to find a quirk in Talia’s lips. “‘They have rehearsals every day so he wants to tell him then but he doesn’t know how. Maybe a letter. That’d work pretty good, right? Or with a gift! That’s even better!’ Were you just writing what you were thinking as you went?” Lilac looks to Talia with a smile, her girlfriend shrugging in response with an unbridled, amused smile.

“Okay, anyway,” Lilac chuckles, “‘It’s Thursday now -’ What day was it before?” she laughs, Talia echoing her. “‘It’s Thursday now and Harry made a card with flowers on it and he filled it up with nice things about Louis and he’s kinda scared to give it to him but at least he doesn’t have to see his face so that’s nice and he bought real flowers to leave him but he doesn’t know when to give it he thinks after practice but Louis always leaves before him so that might not work but he’ll still try because he really needs to tell him.’” Lilac takes an exaggerated breath.

Talia laughs loudly from the audience, “Why was that sentence so long?” She steps closer, looking up at Lilac with a grin, still laughing slightly.

“Don’t ask me, you wrote it!” Lilac beams down at her as Talia stops before the stool she’s standing on with crossed arms.

“Keep reading!” Allegra jeers, frowning at the pair in front of the bar.

Talia waves her hand over her shoulder dismissively without even glancing over to the heckler, “Chill out, Leggy, she’ll get there.”

“Okay,” Lilac stifles a laugh, “‘He put flowers by Louis’s bag and the card under the flowers but -’” Lilac laughs, “‘but Louis missed them and Harry got sad then cryde -’ spelled very wrong ‘- in his car and Zayn had to comfort him with a hug. Then Louis bought flowers and put them by Harry’s bag at rehearsal but he missed them too! So now they both failed and are sad and don’t know but everyone knows and they can’t tell anyone and it’s bad.’” Lilac stops to scroll, frowning at what she finds, “The end. That’s it,” she turns to the crowd with a shrug.

“Ugh, Talia, you couldn’t even finish it?” Allegra groans, turning from the bar with a roll of her eyes, scampering back into the crowd without a second glance or a response.

Jake claps his hands together, “Looks like the shows over already, folks,” and starts ushering the gathered crowd away before turning back to the bar and grabbing a drink, following after Cherry as she strides off.

“Aw, it was just getting good,” Tim frowns, genuinely disappointed and stalks off with his head hung, shoulders sagging, and arms folded over his chest.

Jen shakes her head as she watches him go, “I should probably go make sure he’s okay,” and scurries off after him, throwing an apologetic smile over her shoulder as she goes.

“Well, that’s my cue,” Rohan grins, disappearing into the crowd without another word, leaving the pair alone as the others disperse.

Lilac climbs down from the stool, stepping up to Talia and takes her hand, palm up, placing her phone in Talia’s hand, “I’ll be good, I promise.” Talia quirks an eyebrow, expression unbelieving and one half of her mouth raised up in a smirk. “I swear it,” Lilac grins, hand on her heart.

A sigh slips past Talia’s lips, her eyes rolling in her head as she pockets Lilac’s phone, tucking her now free hand in Lilac’s and pulling her along. She tugs her over to the empty side of the pool, dropping onto the coping and pulling off her heels. Her feet slide into the water, her torso falling back as she looks up to the dark sky.

Lilac joins her, legs bent at the knee and feet still dry, but she settles beside Talia all the same. “I was a closeted kid with no representation,” Talia finally says after a quiet spell. Lilac turns to face her, watching the lights of the party play off her profile, every mountain and trench across her face. “The idea of some of my favourite artists that I really looked up to being like me was a huge thing for me when I was younger,” she explains gently.

Lilac watches her lips crash together and break apart incessantly, blue trained on black blanketing them from above. “I know it’s fun to laugh at, and it is funny as hell, but I don’t want it to seem like I was stupid or weird as when I was sixteen. ‘Cause I was, but there was more to it.”

“I’m sorry,” Lilac murmurs, guilt slowly building in her stomach as Talia’s lashes flutter with each blink, her chest rising with each breath, her hair blowing with each gust of wind.

“It is really stupid, I’ll give you that,” a smile graces Talia’s lips as she glances to Lilac, smirking softly.

Lilac beams as blue crashes into grey, heavens clashing against the Earth’s seas, “It’s so stupid but it’s still good! You liked it and put it out there, and that’s amazing, babes,” she encourages, turning on her side to better face the woman beside her.

A laugh shakes Talia’s throat as she turns to meet her, smiling openly and genuinely, “Yeah, I mean, I enjoyed it then and at the very least it’s fun to laugh at now. Too bad I didn’t actually write that much,” she frowns before shrugging her shoulders, plastering on an easygoing grin.

Lilac’s lips lift on one side, “Or, maybe there is more? Just for us? I may have lied about the end of it,” she grins wickedly, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Talia sits up sharply, swinging her legs out of the water and splashing Lilac without care, “Wait, what? How much more was there?!” She grasps Lilac’s forearms, leaning forward intently, her eyes boring into grey abysses.

“Pages and pages,” Lilac smirks, leaning forward to meet her confidently.

Talia pecks her on the lips quickly before pulling out Lilac’s phone, shoving it in her hands and curling her fingers around it, “Well read it, you idiot!”

Lilac starts laughing, and she doesn’t stop until she’s breathless, nearly collapsing as Talia tries to hold her up, scolding her even as she laughs along, eventually stealing Lilac’s phone and unlocking it herself. She forces Lilac upright, giving her the sternest look she can muster, “Read. It.”

Lilac falls forward again, her head dropping into Talia’s lap as her entire body shakes with furious laughter, the sound from the party spilling across the pool to them, filling the open air around them and providing a background as their conversation eventually resumes, once Lilac’s regained her composure.

For the remainder of the night, they ignore the rest of the party, spending it tucked against each other and laughing at the incomprehensible words from teenage Talia printed on the screen until they run out of air, until the party’s collapsing across the pool, until Jake’s looking down at them with his arms crossed, chiding them for staying late and only reinvigorating their cackles. Even as they walk out of the Villa for the last time, their cheeks are flushed and their throats are sore as they giggle amongst one another, Jake’s disappointed glances simply fueling the flames.

They finally settle as they climb into a cab, leaning against each other as their lashes slowly flutter shut, the day’s events finally catching up to them. Talia has to force herself to remain awake, a smile on her lips as she recounts her favourite memories, past and present, from her teenage years to every minute of 23-year-old Talia’s recent journey. All with Lilac slumped on her shoulder, dead asleep as the cab leads them away from the place that has held their entire relationship. And Talia’s okay with that, okay with leaving it behind, just as long as they have more moments like the one that just passed them, laughing at her teenage musings.

[bow-woahh]

She-Ra Fics Masterlist

(It’s 100% Catradora but hey)

Started: 12/10/19 Last updated: 28/10/20

Multi-chapters:

Catradora —

What drove her insane... (Canon Divergent)(Completed) (4/4)(13k+)(Ao3 only)

There were a lot of things Adora would do that would get to Catra. A lot of things that would make Catra melt inside or combust. Or both. Things that would make her feel this intense feeling in her stomach, these flips, these... butterflies, is what she thought of them as.

Similarly, Adora didn't think she had many weaknesses, but most things Catra would do drove her up the wall. In a good way. In the best way. In a way that made her heart feel like it was about to hop out of her ribcage, that made her feel she was about to faint, from an unfamiliar, yet familiar, dazed dizziness.

Both of them drove each other insane.

Heal me after hurting (Modern AU)(Completed) (3/3)(29k+)(Ao3 only)

A million feelings she’s been fighting off for months threaten to overwhelm her: feelings of deep and utter care; of complete adoration; feelings of hot and harsh hatred; of absolute disdain; and abandonment, definitely abandonment; to confusion, anxiety, all bubbling as she tries to calm herself down; eyes closed, chanting the mantra:

you are in control, you are stronger now.   ___

Catra gets sick and someone unexpected turns up to help.

bloom (just for you) (High School AU)(Ongoing) (8/?)(68k+)(Ao3 only)

She was probably about to tell her to fuck off, though maybe—hopefully—she'd say it nicely. Catra closed her eyes and hoped when she opened them that this whole situation was just a figment of her imagination. Instead, she saw a one word reply. One single word. 

bet.

*

Adora Grayskull is the popular jock, the golden girl, the one that everyone loves. Catra D’riluth is the opposite. Yet despite this, they form an unlikely bond.

One shots:

Catradora —

What (Who) drives her to this? (Canon Divergent)(2k+)(Ao3 only)

Both Catra and Adora are tired. Both Catra and Adora reach a breaking point. Both Catra and Adora need to stop thinking. And when they do what will it drive them to do?

Catra’s Last Day (Canon Divergent)(2k+)(Ao3 only)

Catra has been anticipating this for months now, and now it's finally come - her last day at the Horde.

As the Sun Sets (Canon Compliant - Post S1)(1k+)(Ao3 only)

Watching the sunset was one way to end your day back at the Horde...

damn you, unrequited love (High school AU)(7k+)(Ao3 only)

Unrequited love sucks. That's what both Adora and Catra think.

Don’t sneak into the kitchen (Unless your girlfriend tells you to) (Canon Divergent)(2k+)(Ao3 only)

Catra has a bad habit of getting into mischief and Adora has a bad habit of agreeing to get into mischief with her.

Or

They sneak into a kitchen and make a mess.

As the Petal Falls (Beauty and the Beast AU)(1.5k+)(Ao3 only)

Shadow Weaver comes to kill the beast and take back Adora, who to her knowledge is a hostage there, when she has actually chosen to stay there - with Catra.

If I was perfect (Modern Family AU)(2.5k+)(Ao3 only)

Call it a coincidence, but just as Adora said the word “baby” (for the second time actually), Catra had choked on her own saliva.

How had children not crossed her mind before?

Two Sides Of The Same Coin (Gang AU)(1k+)(Ao3 only)

"Come on, Catra! You know better than to trust the horde!"

"And you know better than to trust the Rebellion!"

"The Horde is manipulating you!"

"At least they don't hide it and do it behind your back!"  

OR AU where the Rebellion is manipulating Adora and she doesn't realise (but Catra does)

I could get used to the sound of her voice (Royalty AU)(3.5k+)(Ao3 only)

Princess Adora was lucky enough for her parents not to marry her to a man. But, Princess Adora didn’t feel lucky in the slightest when she learned her wife to be was a right pain in the backside – or so she thought.

Or

Who knew that all it would take for Princess Adora to fall was her voice?

Fiction will make you think (what if it was real?) (YouTuber AU)(8k+)(Ao3 only)

All of a sudden, a new thought hits her like a train. Why does it matter so much? Image? Catra doesn’t exactly have a good one anyway, and if anything, it would be worse for Adora. But she is already in most of her videos, so clearly Adora doesn’t care either. So what would actually change?

Wait, Catra’s train of thought stops. Why am I thinking about dating Adora anyway?

OR

A YouTuber AU

Perspective (Prison AU)(25.5k+)(Ao3 only)

"Like you caved in Adora, you took the dive, and was it worth it?"

Adora looked at Catra, biting the inside of her cheek.

"I guess not."

Although, Adora couldn't deny that she felt almost lucky to have met someone like Catra, even if it was in here.

OR

Twelve months. Adora had earned herself twelve months in Prison — it was virtually hell on earth. Or it least it should have been, if not for a certain someone.

Sink my teeth to save you (Vampire AU)(1.5k+) — Ao3 link —

“How did...what are you?”

The stranger stroked her chin, pondering something, then said, “Well, I’m the tall dark stranger your parents warned you about," flashing her abnormally sharp fang like teeth, almost in a grin, though it felt more like she was just showing off.

I'll be your crutch to cope (College/Modern AU)(1.5k+) —Ao3 link —

A late night (or early morning) text from Catra’s roommate leads to more than she bargains for.

Do you know any spells to get rid of this thing? (Modern with Magic AU)(2.5k+)—Ao3 link—

“You know, like, spells and stuff, right?” Adora asks, hold a little looser on her wrist.

“Uh...yeah?” Catra replies, baffled.

Or

Catra’s a mage in training and Adora comes to her with a ridiculous request.

Christmas wouldn't be so bad (with you) (Modern Christmas AU)(1.9k+)—Ao3 link—

Catra wants to reject her responsibilities and problems for one night. Though, she can't avoid the one right in front of her for much longer.

As our differences divide us (Canon Divergent )(3.2k+)—Ao3 link—

Adora believes in the Horde. Catra doesn’t.

Or

An AU where Adora (with the sword) stays with the Horde and Catra leaves for the Rebellion.

Lost my heart (now you've taken it back) (Valentine's AU)(1k+)—Ao3 link—

Catra decides to make her first Valentine's with Adora a memorable experience.

Demons hiding underneath (Modern Gang AU)(3.3k+)—Ao3 link —

She kept plummeting deeper and deeper into the once beautiful blue abyss. And the further down she got, the more Adora realised it was closer to darkness than blue. It seemed she would continue falling, falling into the darkness until—

“Adora?”

—

They may be running away, escaping from their problems, but that doesn’t mean Adora can avoid her own too.

Distressing (over you) (Modern Superhero AU)(3.1k+)(Ao3 only)

Wearing her signature smug smirk, she stood, hands on her hips with a knowing look. Despite how many times she'd seen her in the familiar getup before, it somehow always managed to get her stomach lurching: those thigh highs which somehow weren't impractical; the crimson red suit which clung to her body in all the right places (arguably there were no wrong ones); the black sleeves which came up to cover her hands; and the red mask with pointed ears obscuring her face. However, the blue-gold glow of her eyes was still inexplicably Catra. It still captured her essence. At least to Adora.

things you said with clenched fists (Modern AU)(1.5k+)—Ao3 link—

Alone, at loss for words, but still – I've won and I've lost but I've fell and I've fucked it up

Or

An argument which stems from lies, deception and the past.

things you said when you were drunk (Modern AU)(1.6k+)(Ao3 only)

As Catra took her hand, with her mismatched eyes gleaming, and flashing her pearly white teeth in a grin, the smells, the noises of all the people around them dissolved into nothing more than white noise. 

The aftershock (of your touch) (Modern Soulmates AU)(28k+)(Ao3 only)

“When one finds their soulmate, they don’t immediately know that is the case. Some believe it is a way for the universe, for the great First Ones to test our ability to listen to its calling, to let us steer the wheel to our own fates. Others believe it is an act of cruelty—to try our patience, to punish us for being unable to love without any inhibitions. No matter what one believes, it doesn’t rid us of the fact that finding one's other half does not allow for instant gratification.”

—

Catra, jaded by her past, moves to Bright Moon to start a new life, and finds herself growing increasingly closer to her neighbour, Adora. Initially, she's apprehensive, but no matter what she does, something draws her to the girl, and a revelation causes it to make a lot of sense—and none at all.

all the time in the world (Post-Canon)(1k+)—Ao3 link—

In space, it feels like they have all the time in the world. All the time to relearn the new parts of each other, all the time to indulge the old parts of each other, all the time to simply just be.

You have their attention (and I want yours) (Modern AU - Actors)(1.9k+)—Ao3 link—

It’s all made worse when Catra does look in her direction, searching for none other than Adora’s eyes. She sees her sitting there, seething, and all she does is raise an eyebrow, then after a moment, grin. She can tell. And that only makes Adora more agitated as Catra turns back to the crowd and that girl is practically hanging off her arm. Now, Adora really is contemplating going up there, kissing the smirk of Catra’s face where everyone can see.

a regular customer of mine (Modern AU - Bakery)(3.9k)(Ao3 only)

Catra works at a bakery and Adora comes by every day trying to build up the courage to ask her out (unbeknownst to her).

Headcanons + Shorter Works: 

Catradora —

Fate Only Plays a Part (Canon divergent)(Ao3 only)

Adora finds a wounded and almost lifeless Catra in the woods and decides to bring her back to the castle.

I want to be with you when I grow up (Canon Divergent)(Ao3 only)

They are supposed to be fighting- they should be killing each other.

But they never can. And they never will.

Bad Dreams (Canon Divergent)

She tastes like coffee (Modern AU)

I like me better when I'm with you (Modern AU)

Adora's birthday (Canon Divergent)

The Start of Something Wonderful (Canon Divergent) 

Catradora Summer AU (Modern AU)(Snippet)

things you said when we forgave each other (Post-Canon)(Written before S5)

Reunion (S5 speculation)

[chimtaesty]

BH8 | episode one

pairing: bts ot7 x reader | 3.5k words

warnings: none

plot: You're big hits first ever artist and only solo artist. And since bts are your only label mates (we are not including txt yet pls) bighit decided to built up a reality show called “BH8”

The happenings will be written normally but the commentary and the editing on the episodes will be written in cursive

A/N: hi there bbys! I've been so busy even though I have thousand requests and unfinished work. I hope you can wait for me. This thing will be a series I can update whenever I want to just spear me the consistent uploading. I hope you like it!

-

(a collab song between Y/N and BTS plays for the intro while the artists laugh and have fun)

BigHit’s 7+1 makes BH8 slides across the screen as you sit there with the MC’s and the boys next to you.

A show combining the most successful artists of this century. A legendary solo artist who debut 12 years ago and the superstars bts combined in one show. Does that make you as happy as it does us?

You smile slightly as the clip of you fighting with them in front of the pool where they tried to push you into the water is played. The first to start is your day. Your alarm goes off and a groan is able to be heard. Uh? Who has to get up this early? the camera focuses on your bed and in the same moment you kick the blanket off to reveal you and your cats. You are dressed in some shorter, not hot pants-short, pants and a hoodie. “Mh, mocca. We have to get up” You shake your cat softly and your other two cats are quick to save themselves under your blanket.

You sit yourself up and stretch your limbs. Within a second Jangmi is in your lab just to rub his head against your tummy. “So you have three cats Y/N?” Jo Kwon asks you with a kind smile and you nod. “Yes, I originally had two last year but since I won a grammy last year I got Jaehee as a present. She’s the youngest” Jo Kwon nods and you all concentrate on the show again.

You take your cat and start to kiss Jangmi enthusiastically on her face. She dislikes it and starts to try pushing you away with her paws Eomma, stop. I don’t want kisses this early hovers over Jangmi’s head in a pink bubble. You laugh and put her down. The slippers find your feet fast and you take your leave to the kitchen where you open the blinds mechanically Everything works on its own in this home. You open the fridge and take out some leftover pizza from yesterday. Huh? Pizza for breakfast? What kind of life are you living Y/N? You smile at the pizza and grab the remote for your stereo system. Immediately BTS’s Fake Love fills the room. At least she has taste in music. Then you start to dance with the pizza in your hand. On the side you’re making yourself a cup of coffee. Suddenly Jaehee jumps up onto the kitchen isle and snatches a piece of pizza. You stop dancing and shout loudly. “Jaehee! No! Come back, that’s my pizza!” she jumps off and runs as fast as she is able to.

Then a different frame is shown, a frame where Jangmi runs across the hall Look, i stole my mom's pizza. You stand in kitchen sighing with fake love in the background

The boys laugh loudly as Jangmi snatches the pizza and you yell cutely. How your face frowns looking after your cat like she just ripped a piece of your life out of your hands. The MCs laughing as well, Jaesuk almost falls down on the floor. “Jesus, you eat pizza this early?” You giggle and nod. “Since i don't really have a sleep rhythm anymore i eat anything at any time” Namjoon leans against your shoulder trying to contain his laughter.

Let’s see how Y/N's labelmates morning is going The camera focuses on the kitchen isle where Jin and Taehyung are placed. “Hyung, we have to get going” Jin smiles and agrees. They leave to the hallway over to the rooms of each member. “Namjoon-ah! Wake up” he knocks on the door and within minutes a sleep-crushed Namjoon stands in the hallway. You have to laugh as you see his slightly closed eyes. Suddenly the phone rings and a loud crash is able to be heard. The door to Jungkook's room swings open and he sprints down the hallway to the kitchen “I want to answer! Y/N-noona promised to call by breakfast-time.” Jin laughs and you as well. You can’t hold it in and reach over to Jungkook and pet his shoulder.

A second of waiting and he’s on it to answer the house-phone. “Jeon Jungkook, who’s there?” you giggle and he smiles “Noona!” The others gather around him, partly still asleep. A frame of you two on the phone takes place on the tv “I just wanted to ask if breakfast in an hour is alright” he nods, not taking in that you can’t see it “Of course, where should we meet?” you smile as well. “You wanna come over? We can leave to the company together then” he nods and you smile “Yes, we’ll be over in an hour” you turn around and leave to the bathroom. Then it changes to the boys again. The boys leave to their rooms in a hassle to dress themselves and get themselves presentable.

Then you are shown again as you brush your teeth and your hair. Then you continue with your make-up and that’s something everyone comments on normally. You put on your eye make-up first, a nice pink eyeshadow and a big eyeliner with some lashes. Your base comes as the last step and then you straighten your hair. Mocca peaks her head into the bathroom. Mh, what is mommy doing in the bathroom? She jumps up onto the sink and rubs her head on your tummy while you put your hair into a high ponytail. You smile “Mocca! You want cuddles?” she purrs and you take her into your arms as soon as your are finished.

With the cat in your arms you leave to your dressing room to put on some clothes you can leave the apartment with. Jangmi and Jaehee follow you Why is mommy walking so fast? you open the door and let mocca hop down on the floor.

A high waisted jeans, a crop top and a jeans jacket should be it. A pair of black sunglasses and white sneakers finish the look off and you leave to the door to get something to eat. Jangmi meows loudly as you approach the door Mommy! Don’t leave us alone you smile and give her a kiss on the head before you leave the apartment with a small goodbye.

Your apartment complex normally doesn’t get mobbed so you leave the apartment without security. The sunglasses sit on your nose as the sun kisses it gently and the fresh spring wind brushes through your tied up hair. Cars and buses are able to be heard, people talking and the silent wind in the trees and bushes make you smile. You gotta appreciate the small things.

The cameraman follows you silently and you just bow at him politely. Even here Y/N is showing her best side, where is she going? you take a left turn to the main street and immediately three girls wave at you and you smile. Not to be recognised is nice, yes, but a cameraman following you isn’t the most inconspicuous thing. The bakery is to your right and you open the door as far as for the camera man to step inside first Such a polite move, take notes kids!

The girl behind the counter smiles brightly as you take off your sunglasses. “Good morning, Y/N-Unnie” her sweet smile makes you smile as well and you tell her what you would like to have. She packs it up for you and you pay. “Do you want anything?” you ask the camera man and he rejects nicely. You nod and you leave again. On your way back you stop at the closest bookshop because Namjoon has made you a list with books that are good in his opinion and since you're already outside you will go out of your way and buy them. “Namjoon made me a list with good books so I am going to look if they are available right now” you smile into the camera.

As you take a look at Namjoon he actually looks kinda proud. “Do you often take advices from your juniors?” you nod. “Of course, especially Namjoon. He knows a lot and he helps me willingly with everything.” “We Like helping each other out, Y/N-noona is very good with producing and singing so she spends a lot of time with Yoongi and Jungkook in the studios but she's very very good at dancing as well so she sometimes helps us choreograph our songs” Namjoon praises you. You smile and thank him.

As you step into the bookshop you hold the door for your cameraman open again. The book shop actually isn't as crowded as you expected it to be so you take your sunglasses off. With steady eyes you search for the books Look how concentrated Y/N is! You already have almost all books as a big crash is able to be heard and the camera loses you from the frame and the cameraman falls to the floor.

Huh? Where did we go? You immediately whip around. Suddenly you're in the frame again as you hover over the camera man to help him up. The knight in shining armor Next to the cameraman are three girls with album's in their hands. “Are you okay?” you ask the poor man and he nods “Girls, you have to be more careful.” You softly scold them. “Y/N, OH MY GOD. Could you please sign my album?” you smile slightly and nod after you helped the camera man stand up and flee behind you.

You sign their stuff and take some pictures before you pay your books and leave.

On your way back you stop by a automat and buy a coffee. You stop and hand it to the camera man “I hope you're okay” you smile and he thankfully takes the coffee.

“Wow that was something, you even gifted him a coffee?” Jo Kwon asks in a way of wanting to know the reason. “I felt so bad for him. He ran into the girls who waited for me to finish looking for the books and he fell quite harshly. So I thought a coffee would make it a little bit better” you explain yourself.

The next frame is the boys. “Jungkook! Where is the perfume Y/N bought me last week?” Namjoon shouts through the apartment and you can't contain yourself so you laugh slightly. “I don't know Hyung. Look in the bathroom” he shouts back. Then Taehyung is being shown. He holds a blue jeans jacket with a tiger on the back. “Y/N-noona gifted this to me when we won our first daesung” he smiles into the camera and it warms your heart. He puts it on and grabs a pair of gucci sunglasses. Jimin still stands in front of his big closest not being able to decide what to wear. “I want Y/N-noona to compliment me today” he whispers more to himself than to the camera. He grabs a big colorful sweater and and pair of darker blue jeans.

“Are you all ready? We have half an hour left!” Yoongi shouts from the kitchen just to get some Ois back.

“Did Y/N gift you a lot of things?” Jae Suk asks and they nod unitary. You laugh loudly. “Y/N-noona spoils us whenever she is able to” Hoseok smiles brightly. “But it's not always pricey gifts, she often takes us on vacations or we just spend time together” Jin ads with a big smile.

The next thing is you opening the door to your apartment. Your cameraman stays outside ready to film your leave with the boys. Mocca meows loudly at your arrival Mommy! Welcome back flies across the screen. You're quick to pick her up and kiss her head as you leave to your dressing room. You sit her down on the couch placed inside the room before you take your jacket off and put a big black hoodie on. Then you leave to the kitchen and place plates and cutlery on the big dining table. Then you place some mugs and glasses on the table and the bought food. After that you take out your books. You place them on the kitchen isle as the doorbell rings.

With fast steps you open the door to seven smiling men “Y/N-noona!” Jungkook cheers as he embraces you in a bone crushing hug. “Jungkook-ah!” you smile as you hug him back. You give them some space as you take mocca into your arms. “Jungkook! Would you please go to the table, make sure that Jaehee doesn't snatch something off it?” he nods and leaves immediately. You help the rest after you hand Jimin Mocca with the jackets and stuff. "Jimin-ah, you look handsome today!" you smile and he thanks you with a shy thank you

Then you leave to the kitchen with them. “Coffee?” Jin, Yoongi and Jungkook shoot their hands up. “Really Jungkook? I have some banana milk left” you say smirking as you pour the coffee into the mugs. He smiles sheepishly “Really?” you nod and pour the banana milk into his mug. As you take your seat Namjoon pours you some juice and Hoseok gives you a roll. “Did you hear that we are practicing together today?” Namjoon asks and you nod “We are practicing the mama award performance today. I already spoke with the company and we are going to link our performances together to make it as iconic as possible” you smile. “With a dance break and stuff?” you nod “I thought about singing each others song, a epic dance break and some next level combined show” They smile happily.

“So do you plan the shows yourself now?” Jo Kwon asks curiously. “No not on my own but I put my ideas in a lot. It took very long for my mind to pass their will!” he nods and the show continues.

“Let's get going” They agree and you all get going. Mocca protests with continuous meowing “Mocca, baby. Stop” you hug her tightly as you give her pecks. Don't leave me mommy hovers over her head. Jungkook holds you while you put your shoes on because, what's balance. Jaehee jumps onto your back but Taehyung snatches her off and puts her onto the floor after petting her. “Let's gogo” you smile.

You leave to the parking lot. There you have three cars you regularly use, the others are at your parents place. “Chose” you smile. Jungkook is fast to chose the pretty BMW bus you use to take big things such as dresses and stuff to events but taking friends with you is easier in this one too. You smile and jump into the car. You start the car and drive out of the parking spot without a problem. Before you started the car you linked the car with your spotify. “Play Playlist number 2” you speak to your car and Jungkook looks surprised next to you. She talks with the car! “Playlist number 2 will be played” the car responds and suddenly your favourite bts song magic shop plays. Namjoon groans almost. “Oh come on Joonie it's a great song” you laugh.

You hit the high notes effortlessly as you drive the car elegantly. A real life princess stays written underneath your face as there hovers a animated crown above your head.

You drive into the parking lot of the company. There you park your car and leave with the boys to the practice room. “Good Morning Y/N. Can we start with you today?” Lucas, the choreographer asks and you nod with a smile. “Sure” you put your stuff down as the boys place themselves on the further part of the room to watch. Lucas gives you a mic and you get ready with some stretching. Your limbs crack and you're ready to start. Your character switches and your gaze changes completely. Within seconds you're dancing and singing. Then you're managing the dance break on your own, without backup dancers and the boys are stunned.

“That was great Y/N” you smile A true performer The boys take over with stunned looks. They perform their part with you cheering like a crazy fan. The choreographer shows you some things you would be able to do together.

“For the dance break I thought about some acrobatic elements. Jimin could start off with some Ballet like dance joined by Y/N” you nod with Jimin happily throwing an arm over your shoulder.

Jo Kwon looks at you with wide eyes “You can do Ballet?” you laugh as you nod “I learned it as a kid but I've never perfected it like I did with my current dance style” Jo Kwon nods “I'm so excited!” Jaesuk smiles brightly “I've always liked your dancing”

Lucas takes you and Jimin to the front of the room and shows you what he was thinking of. “So, Y/N, you're going to come up here and Jimin, you from there. When the music starts I want you two to jump at each other and intertwine your arms. Y/N you'll stay on Jimin like this” He shows you the figure he means. You try your best to not hurt Jimin in the process. He looks at you concentrated as you try your best to stay on your foot which is still connected to the floor to take your weight off of Jimin. “You can lean on me” he whispers, without the mics it wouldn't have been able to be heard.

You smile and do as he says. “That's it” Lucas cheers and you clap. “That looks so pretty” Jae Suk smiles and you pat his shoulder smiling.

Two pretty people doing pretty stuff.

“Let's go get lunch!” a staff-unnie announces and you're fast to run off to the door but you don't see the bag laying right in your way so you fall to the floor with a loud thumb. “Y/N!” Lucas rushes to your small form. “Are you okay, noona?” Taehyung asks as he tries to help you up. “I hit my knee” you whisper as Lucas picks you up. And suddenly tears emerge from your eyes. The dam breaks A habit you were never able to get rid off. You cry like..always. Any inconvenience or bit of pain gets you to cry.

You cry in Lucas arms as he carries you to the couch located in the room. “Ah, Y/N. It's fine, you're not hurt badly” Lucas tries his best to calm you. Jungkook makes his way to you, kneeling in front of you. “Noona, look!” he catches your attention and the painful feeling in your chest stills for a moment. drawing the attentions helps! There on his phone is a dog. Just a plain picture of a dog and you love it.

It breaks the crying and you're able to think straight again.

“God, Y/N. You cry so easily” Jae Suk says making you nod mildly embarrassed. “I don't know why, but I cry really easily. When someone yells at me it doesn't even take me a minute to break into tears.” You sigh but Namjoon is fast to wrap his arms around you. “Everybody reacts differently in certain situations. Jimin cries really easily as well, as for Yoongi, he cries rarely. That's diversity” He defends you. You give him a small smile and pat his arm.

The show continues with a small laugh from you. “Feel better yet?” Kook smiles and you nod. Jimin pats your head and you lean into him “Let's get lunch” you nod and get up after Jin hands you a tissue. A staff member offers you a glass of water and you take it with a small thank you. With slow steps you and the boys leave to the cafeteria. Food for the hurt baby sounds good followed by a pacifier edited to your mouth.

“Does it still hurt?” asks the cameraman and you shake your head laughing. “I'm okay, thank you for asking”

As you arrive at the cafeteria, you take a seat next to Jimin and Jin. “What do you want, Y/N-noona?” Jungkook asks waiting for the orders of everyone. “Chicken and a glass of orange juice, please” you answer him and he nods. “So, everything's okay again?” Namjoon asks, sitting across of you. You nod smiling a little “Everything's okay”

“It's so embarrassing to be honest. ugh” you almost laugh. Jae Suk smiles understanding.

“It's not such a big deal, we understand you” Jo Kwon laughs.

Jungkook comes back with the plate and nods at you encouraging you to eat. With a stuffy nose you take a bite of a nugget and the others start talking. You phone vibrates and you take a look trying to sip from your drink at the same time.

Your manager-unnie texted you just now Grab the boys, the try ons for the mama stage outfits is ready up in the second dance practice room!

“We need to go to check our stage outfits” you announce and catch their attention. You grab two more chicken nuggets and leave with them.

Let's have a fashion show started.

And suddenly the end of the episode emerges. Check out bts & y/n trying on their stage outfits and new stuff surrounding their lives. Until then Army & Y/F/N!

[obliteratethefrog]

ELEGANCE

Rami Malek!Freddie Mercury x Male!Reader

3.5k words

——��How much longer, Deaky dearest?” Freddie croaked out, voice breaking slightly as he yawned, stretching out as much as he could in the front seat without smacking poor John in his forehead. “Just a few more minutes everyone, but don’t think we’ll be jetting out of the door before my mum decides to pinch all of our cheeks, especially you Freddie, you’re my mum’s favorite..well, after me, of course.” John continued, chuckling softly as Freddie’s eccentric laughter rang out in the tightly packed Black Volkswagen Beetle. After at least 15 minutes more, the foursome rolled into the Deacon resident driveway, instantly hearing an excited squeal come from the open garage door. Roger, Brian, and John all got out to gather up their respective luggage, begrudgingly taking one of Freddie’s 3 overly stuffed bags with their own.

“John, my boy! Come give your mum a kiss!” Mrs. Deacon shouted out, bringing her son into a tight hug while kissing his cheek repeatedly, sending the usually quiet man into a fit of childish giggles. “Mum!Mum! Stop that, you’re gonna embarrass me in front of the boys!” John squeaked out between each giggle that escaped his throat. “Well I couldn’t help myself, son, you’ve been gone for almost a year, and you expect me to keep my hands off my own son? You must be mad, boy!” Mrs. Deacon shouted out, lightly hitting her son’s chest as she turned to the three others that stood behind him, all with giant grins spread out across their faces.

After at least an hour’s worth of a house tour, a quick phone call from “Miami”, and everyone getting somewhat settled into their own rooms, they were informed of what time to be ready tomorrow for their “family” get together, which mainly consisted of the boys and John’s parents. The band crowded around John’s Beetle, Freddie and Roger smoking a cigarette as they chattered amongst themselves. “If you guys want to take a trip into town, I can show you an old friend’s dance studio..” John suggested, taking an obvious step towards the driver’s seat. He’d been itching to go see his childhood friend, a lad quite similar to himself, as in being somewhat reserved, yet more confident in himself. “Dance studio..in a town this size? Sure, why not.” Brian replied, getting the other two to agree as they filed back into the car, awaiting a short 3 minute drive to the small, but spacious 2-story brick building.

The group filed out of the car, John was the first to hit the cement sidewalk in excitement as he walked over to the glass door, looking over the text that read “(L/N)’s School of Dance:Contemporary and Classic”. “I’ve never seen Deaky so excited to go into a dance studio, of all things!” Roger exclaimed as he walked in behind Brian, noticing how the bottom floor was more of a greeting area, filled with chairs and tables that were tucked into corners, along with vending machines located at the back wall by the open staircase. “Deaky does usually give a bit when we’re on set, if you haven’t noticed, Rog.” Brian said to distracted blonde. Freddie was right behind the both of them, listening in on their conversation as he took in the modest decor of the first floor, before ascending the stairs with the rest of them.

Once the four had reached the top of the stairs, they were met with four very spacious rooms, their walls being replaced with one-way mirrors, leaving its recipients to be seen and the ongoers to go unnoticed. One of the doors was left ajar, letting the lyrics of “Sweet Lady” flow out at full force while a young man-at least in his mid-20’s-danced along to the beat of the song, body flowing in many ways that some could call distorted, and others call art. John grinned widely as the other three were entirely enraptured by his friend, the corners of his eyes crinkling up as he watched their reactions. “That’s my friend from High School. His name’s (M/N), and this is his family’s dance studio. I remember coming here after getting out of school, and (M/N) would sprint off, throwing his bag aside just to dance.” John reminisced, his smile going down to a soft line. “Well, he sure does love what he does.”Freddie finally spoke up, eyes still transfixed on the male with shoulder length, (h/c) locks that curled in just the right places. Brian and Roger nodded in agreement as they turned to John, beginning to pester him that he should’ve brought (M/N) to one of their concerts, to which John replied that everytime he had offered, (M/N) would decline, saying he was busy helping his mum with the dance studio.

(M/N) was an only child, being raised around music and dance through his parents. His dad was a luthier, well respected due to his craftsmanship on any string instrument that consisted of a neck and soundbox. His mother was an exquisite dancer, having performed with large accompaniments and even some famous musicians of her youth. The two were still active in their occupations, his father being out of town for long stretches of time to work with a range of performers, whether well-known or just started, while his mother is still teaching dance, even if it is to an older audience. (M/N) panted heavily as the song ended, walking barefoot to the folding chair that held his water bottle and towel. His red sports shorts cling to his well toned thighs, having gained muscle mass through puberty as well as his many dance practices. He was somewhat of a tall and toned type of guy, (s/t) complexion complimenting his very handsome features. His white tank top clung to his body as sweat cooled against his heated skin. As he sipped greedily from his water bottle, his eyes caught sight of a familiar tuft of brown hair outside of the open door. His legs carried him over as he released the now empty bottle with a satisfied huff. “John, if you’d’ve phoned me before you got here I would’ve looked more presentable than I do now.” (M/N) stated, leaning against the door frame that barely held his 6’0” form. “Good to see you, (M/N)!” John exclaimed happily, hugging his old friend, who brought him in more, playfully lifting him up before releasing him back to the ground. “These your band mates?” (M/N) inquires, receiving a nod from John. He flashed them a kind smile before waving them inside, going to the record player in the corner to remove the album and place it in its case.

“May I say, (M/N), darling, your dancing was quite exquisite. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you, and if I’m honest I wouldn’t really want to tear away even if you weren’t performing .” Freddie flirted casually as (M/N) turned around, giving him a broad grin as he wiped off his face. “Thanks a lot. You must be Freddie, right? John’s told me a lot about you.” (M/N) replied, holding out a hand for the front man to take, and once he did, he squeezed it softly before bringing it up to his slightly chapped lips and lowered it back to the shorter man’s reach, letting Freddie take it back to his side. To say Freddie was speechless was an understatement. Freddie was merely mesmerized by the ethereal being before him. (M/N) wasn’t the first man to flirt with him, God forbid he’s anything like that douche named Paul Prenter, but he damn well was the first to catch Freddie’s attention without even buying him a drink first.

———————

John took notice of Freddie’s demeanor that night at dinner due to his lack of conversation. He wasn’t the only one who had noticed. Freddie’s actions began to worry both Roger and Brian, hell he even worried John’s parents. Freddie was sat at the windowsill of the Deacon’s living room, watching the nightlife of the tiny town as a glass of wine was balanced in his hand. The only thing on Freddie’s mind had been (M/N), ever since their brief interaction at his dance studio, the boys had to leave after John reminded them that there was still an entire town waiting to be seen, and (M/N) had a class coming in soon. It disappointed Freddie to no end that he had to leave the enchanting man so early, but he had to comply with his dear friend’s wishes to explore his hometown, even if it wasn’t as alluring as watching the dancers performance.

“I haven’t seen him that interested in anything except when we were working on our album..” Brian had said once the discussion at the dinner table had calmed. “(M/N) has been known to have that sort of affect on people, but the boy’s nothing but a saint!” exclaimed Mr. Deacon, a well aged gentleman who Brian was discussing a possible meeting with (M/N)’s father, who was the small town’s very own luthier. “I have no doubt in that, Mr. Deacon..I’m just worried about Fred..I don’t want him to end up in a situation like his last one when we were on tour..” Brian replied, hearing Roger mutter a soft “We don’t need another Paul Prenter incident.”, before he continued swirling the remainder of water in his glass. Mr. Deacon hummed in agreement as he turned back to his son, beginning a new conversation about their American tour.

Mrs. Deacon made her way towards the band’s lead singer, a plate of biscuits nestled in her hands as she sat beside him, displaying them in front of him. “Oh..thank you..” Freddie said once his trance was broken, taking the orange tinted sweet with powdered sugar, taking a bite before humming in delight at the slight pumpkin spice that invaded his taste buds. “This is phenomenal!” he complimented, receiving a soft chuckle from the older woman. “They’re (M/N)’s favorite..I usually make some for him when he comes over, but ever since he’s had classes at the studio, he hasn’t come over in a while. I still make them though, and I deliver them to his home when his mother’s there.” she said, setting the plate down before looking up at Freddie. “He has good tastes then.”Freddie replies before taking another bite, setting his wine down. “I was thinking of sending some to him today, but I haven’t had the time to go out and deliver them..I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind taking him some? I’d send John, but his father already has him wrapped up in conversation that I believe he’ll still be in the same chair come morning.” Mrs. Deacon said, turning to look at her son and husband. “Oh, well if you insist. I’ve actually been itching to get back outside, and now that we’re here, I’m able to step out without being stricken down by camera flashes.” Freddie replied before standing up to follow Mrs. Deacon to the kitchen, taking the biscuits that were carefully secured in a tupperware container.”Thank you, dear. Here’s his address, and be sure to ring the doorbell twice, knowing him he’s probably in his room.” Mrs. Deacon advised before Freddie stepped out of the side door in the kitchen, watching down the short flight of stairs before his platform shoes hit the weathered asphalt roads.

20 minutes of missed turns and misread street signs later and Freddie finds himself in front of a quaint two story English country home just at bend of the avenue. He stuck the now crumpled piece of legal pad paper into his jacket pocket before approaching the door, taking note of the small step up into the house before hovering his finger over the doorbell. ‘Come on, Mercury, you play for thousands upon thousands of people, yet you’re hesitating to ring a damn doorbell..’ Freddie scolded himself before pressing the glossy button twice as he was instructed. Heavy footsteps could be heard from outside just before the door opened in front of him. And there he stood. (M/N), hair dripping from his shower, only clad in his plaid pajama pants as a towel was hung across his shoulders, toned muscles on display before Freddie’s own prying gaze. “Oh, Freddie..wasn’t expecting a visitor tonight. Do come in, it’s a bit nippy out here and I don’t want you to catch a cold.” (M/N) said as he stepped aside, letting Freddie waltz inside to look at the modern decor that decorated the walls and tables. A multitude of guitars were strobe about in the living room, some in cases marked as ‘FINISHED’ while others were ‘IN PROGRESS’. A record player was stuffed into the corner, a classical vinyl playing quietly as Freddie took a seat on the beige couch, appreciating the warmth coming from the fireplace just in front of the coffee table. (M/N) had run upstairs to throw on a shirt before descending the stairs, hair ruffled up and family laying against his shoulders, some stray pieces in his face. “Mrs. Deacon asked me to bring you some biscuits she had made..for you.” Freddie said as he held up the tupperware, shaking it gently. (M/N) took it with a broad grin before setting it on the table, sliding into the spot beside Freddie. “Give her my thanks when you leave. I’m sorry I didn't look quite presentable when I answered the door.” “Don’t be sorry, dear. I didn’t mind, not at all.” Freddie quipped, looking at the framed pictures and posters that were hung along the walls and adorning the tables. (M/N) smiled softly as he looked at the exotic male before him, taking in his deep set eyes, contoured cheekbones, sharp jawline, and the adorable way his teeth would peek out from his mouth. Freddie drew his gaze back to (M/N), flushing a soft red when he saw the the dancer was looking at him as well, and also taking notice that his (s/t) arm had been thrown across the back of the couch. “So..you dance and..do you play?” Freddie started as he pointed to the guitars, beginning the conversation that continued into their shared interests and dislikes.

By the time the two drew away from the conversation, it was nearing midnight. Freddie has been drawn into (M/N)’s chest as he listened to his story. “And when i had told my parents that I liked men, they had me sit down and talk. They were so serious when they told me to sit that I thought they were going to throw me out. Instead, they asked if I was seeing anyone, which I wasn’t at the time, and then they told me that they were proud that I had told them instead of dealing with it by myself.” (M/N) drawled on, his voice barely raising as he rubbed soothing circles onto Freddie’s arm, leaving goosebumps to rise under his fingers. His jacket had been taken off and placed beside him, having gotten stuffy due to the open fire. “You’re so brave to tell them..I had come out to my ex-girlfriend as bisexual, and she didn’t take it that well..but we are still quite close. It..it was hard to find a way to approach the conversation, but i’m glad I told her.” Freddie said, hesitating between each sentence. The wound from Mary’s breakup was still somewhat fresh, and he didn’t want to cry in front of (M/N). “I’m glad you two are still close, and I’m sorry that the topic is still somewhat sensitive to you.” “No, I wanted to tell you..the boys know of my sexuality too, so it’s completely fine.” (M/N) brought Freddie into a side hug as he rocked them both gently, feeling the singer bury his face into his neck. “John was actually the first person I told that I was gay. Our last year in high school, I had pulled him into the art room and told him there. I was surprised that he took it well...or at least well enough.” (M/N) reminisced, rubbing his free hand through Freddie’s black locks.

Freddie pulled his head from (M/N)’s neck, looking up into his (e/c) eyes, watching as they were filled with admiration, and possibly even affection? He didn’t quite remember who leaned in first, but the way (M/N)’s lips felt in his just felt right. Freddie’s hands immediately began to card through his semi-dry (h/c) hair, moving to straddle his lap and deepen the kiss. (M/N)’s large hands we placed on Freddie’s hips, rubbing soft patterns as he pulled away, beginning to leave chaste kisses along his jaw and neck before making his way back to his lips. Freddie’s heart was beating rapidly in his chest as his thoughts ran into one another.

‘I don’t want this to be a one time thing.’

‘What if he’s just kissing you to get a shag out of you?’

‘He could easily turn this interaction into the tabloids and have you mixed up in even more shit.’

‘What if-‘

He couldn’t finish that thought before (M/N) pulled away, moving his thumbs to collect the tears that Freddie hadn’t noticed streaming down his cheeks. “What’s the matter? Did I overstep my boundaries? I’m sorry if I kissed you so suddenly. Here,” (M/N) started as he took Freddie’s hand, flattening it and holding his wrist gently. “Slap me if I’ve read the signs wrong.” “Slap you? Darling, why would I do such a thing? My mind was just swimming with my negative thoughts. It’s not your fault; You read all the signs correctly. I wanted to kiss you.” Freddie replied, moving his hand to caress (M/N)’s cheek, rubbing his thumb against his cheek. (M/N) leaned into his touch, moving to place a soft kiss to his palm while covering Freddie’s hand with his own. The two stayed the that position for what felt like forever until the ringing of the phone beside them interrupted the intimate moment. Reaching over, (M/N) plucked the receiver from its hook, bringing it to his ear. “Hello? (L/N) residence. Oh! Hello John..yes Freddie’s here..yes we did lose track of time, blame that on me, I had gotten so caught up in conversation that I hadn’t looked up at the clock...yes I’ll tell him to head home soon, wouldn’t want to worry your mum..alright i’ll see you later..goodnight.” (M/N) ended before putting the receiver back, sighing heavily through his nose.

“I don’t want that kiss to be the only thing between us, (M/N). We’re staying in town tomorrow and into the weekend, and I’m more that certain the Deacon’s wouldn’t mind you coming over for their “family” dinner tomorrow.” Freddie said, roping his arms around (M/N)’s neck as the two relaxed on the couch. “I was hoping you’d say that..I wouldn’t want the kiss to be the end of the start of something beautiful..”——-

“Then what happened after that, Uncle (M/N)” said Brian’s daughter, her curly hair bouncing about as the band members all chatted in the garden not to far from them. The other kids were off playing or staying near their mothers, while (M/N) was sat on a bench beside a patch of ready to blossom pansies, now shorter cut hair moving as a soft Spring breeze passed by. “Well, Louisa, I did have dinner with Uncle Freddie at the Deacon’s..and then I kept having dinner with him until I eventually moved in with him at his London home, which is this home. And after a few more years, he gave me this ring..” (M/N) replied before motioning to the gold band that sat comfortably on his left ring finger. Freddie had the same band, on the same finger, except his was slightly rougher around the curves due to his constant bumping into random things about the house. Louisa looked up at her non-biological uncle with a wide grin, displaying her two missing front teeth before she was called over by her step sister to play dolls. As the young May ran off, (M/N) stood, stretching his aged legs before sauntering over to his husband.

Freddie had been so enraptured in conversation that he was startled by (M/N)’s sudden appearance behind him, but that didn’t stop him from cursing up into his hold.

“So, what’re we talking about?”

“Just the up coming tour. I’m surprised people still want to see us.”

“Oh hush now, Deaky! It’s 1992 and we’re still rolling out albums! Why wouldn’t anyone want to come see our concert? We’re Legends!”

—————————

**A/N: yes, i know i put 1992 on there, because in this fic, Freddie’s alive and well. hope you enjoyed this fic! i plan on writing some more when i can, just give me time!

Tags:

@darlingyourebeingabore

[7wanderingpaws]

1st MOONSTAR.

⭐Star Gazers and Moon Watchers🌙. *A GOT7 SERIES.*

Genre: friendship / dreamy AU

Word count: 3.5K

GOT7 members present at the Starry Hostel tonight: Jinyoung, Yugyeom

☔ Weather forecast for today's meeting: Clear, starry skies with no clouds; fullmoon is over however the moon’s light is still strong. No wind but the temperatures at night time are chilly. Please, dress warmly.

                                     29th August 2018

The summer was slowly coming to an end and the sunsets came faster and yet lazier. Sunshine was no hotter as it was reflecting on the people seas that were gently hugging the shores of Jeju Island. Only the sound of waves was the proof of life still moving on, Earth still rotating and lives getting crashed.

The Starry Hostel, as it was called, was very well known among Koreans for its peacefulness and one of the nicest views of the stars. All the astronomy fans would end up reserving a room in this magical, cosy host just so they could properly observe the sky that seemed still and yet all of it was moving.

There was a local legend being whispered among locals that if a true friendship would be made under these skies, thousands of stars would fall and all the wishes the friends would come true.

Despite it being a legend, there were some who would insist that it did, indeed, happen and all of it was magical and almost unbelievable. Those people left the country to live in Hawaii.

“Right. That right there ruined all the glory around the silly legend. No wonder those people never came back. It isn’t true,” said Matilde, pushing her black hair out of her face as she was working on dough in the hostel kitchen. Her hair was quite the curiosity for people who noticed; under the right angle her hair had shades of deep purple.

“Matilde, this is just a legend. You don’t need to get worked up over it,” said Gyuri, the older lady who owned the Starry Hostel. She was on the meaty side and had a generous smile that left wrinkles around her warm, brown eyes.

“Yes, I know,” sighed Matilde. She grabbed the dough and brought it to the other counter to fill it up with minced meat. “It would just be so nice to have such a friendship, you know?”

“Of course, dear, but you do have friends. There is no reason to be sad about anything.”

True. Gyuri seldom said something that wouldn’t make sense in Matilde’s eyes but this time she felt a pang in her heart at the thought of her friends. All of them already left for Seoul to prepare for the start of another semester in uni while Matilde was still stuck on the islands with issues that suddenly attacked her and her family.

A sudden ding coming from the entrance made Matilde stop. She wiped her hands in her apron. “I’ll go answer. There are new guests coming today,” she murmured on her way out.

“If they are job applicants, tell them we don’t want any new workers!” shouted Gyuri from the kitchen just as the door closed. Matilde nodded for herself and stepped into the tiny lobby that was of bright yellow colours making the tourists feel like they were on a sunny island.

“Hello, how can I help you?” She asked kindly as she stepped behind the tall desk and looked curiously at the two young men standing in front of her.

“Hello, we made a reservation for one night,” said the taller one with blondish hair. He was probably the older one.

She nodded, focusing her gaze on the computer screen. “Can I ask for your name?”

“It’s Kim Yugyeom and Park Jinyoung,” answered again the older one. He handed her his ID and was a little shocked to find that he was younger than her. Oh. A 1997 liner.

Geez, I’m old, thought Matilde trying not to show her surprise. Then how old must have this black haired guy been? Don’t tell me he is from 2000s!

“Alright, it’s all set. I see you already paid for the reservation. You will be staying in the room number 3 with a lovely view of the ocean. The breakfast is from 6am until 10am so make sure to catch it. We cook quite delicious food here,” Matilde said with a kind smile, handing them the keys.

“Korean food?” asked Jinyoung with a spark in his eyes.

She nodded. “Yup, fresh octopus all day everyday!”

They laughed and said their farewell as Matilde let them go.

She quickly typed in the necessary information when the doors opened again. A shorter girl danced her way to the reception looking way too excited.

“Hello, I’m looking for a job here-”

“Sorry, we are not looking for anyone now,” interrupted Matilde before she could finish.

“But this hostel is so nice and cosy, I could clean - I’m very good at that - and I also like to cook-”

“I’m really sorry. Maybe try the next season,” answered Matilde with a sad face.

The girl looked very disappointed as she nodded, thanked and left, her shoulders down.

Matilde sighed and looked out of the window. There was still sunlight but she could see that the sun was going down now. The colours of the sky were turning light and tired. Time for stars to come out.

⭐🌙

When it was the right time, Matilde left the hostel with the necessary food and beverage, her notepad and binoculars and eventually the black cat of the hostel. She just followed people around but she was a good kittie.

“Look, Pancake, it’s all out and beautiful again,” Matilde whispered excitedly to the cat, making her way to the beach just behind the hostel. It was quiet, there were no city lamps disturbing the sight in front of her and she held her breath in as she was soaking up the beauty.

The sky seemed a little purple tonight, the shade of Matilde’s hair.

Before Matilde could make herself comfortable in the sand and enjoy her shrimp chips, two taller figures were approaching from the hostel towards her little place. They were talking quietly in a respectful manner and when they saw Matilde looking at them with big, squirrel eyes they bowed and stopped not far away from her.

“Wow, the sky is beautiful,” sighed Jinyoung in amazement. He wanted to take in all the glory in front of him but his eyes could see only so much.

“Where are your glasses? It will be better with them,” said Yugyeom.

“It’s actually the best if you just lie down and stare. Your eyes will adjust after some time,” Matilde said, the pack of shrimp chips still unopened in her chubby little hands.

She was surprised when they walked towards her. “Mind if we join you?”

Matilde nodded, gesturing with her hand on the sand. “Please.”

She was used to talk to the guests. She was quite chatty and was not embarrassed easily which was for some people admirable. Although she had her little circle of friends at Jeju and Busan (where she was studying), there was always a special magic weaving around the guests who would come and stay at the Starry Hostel. That’s why she actually found herself enjoying the company of strangers.

These two were, not surprisingly, no exceptions. Yugyeom was a bubbly youngster with honest and the warmest eyes and highly respectful manners. He was too tall for Matilde’s liking but he was a gentle giant as some dreamers would call him. He said he was entering uni this upcoming semester and he was looking forward to it very much. He was going to study music as he aspired to become either an indie or an R&B singer. He intended to create his own style that would be unique.

Jinyoung, the quieter one, had a pleasant laugh and he was actually older than Matilde by two years. He loved reading books and not talk too much if he didn’t have to. He was studying in Busan as well which surprised Matilde. “I’m from the south so I always felt closer to the southern cities than the northern ones,” he would say. Despite having two sisters, he was still shy around women (Jinyoung didn’t say that, Matilde made the obvious observation).

“And what about you?” asked Jinyoung once he finished his resume. “What is there to know about you?”

She sighed. They were all full of Matilde’s snacks now, lying down and staring at the stars. Sometimes one of them would point out a special sight but otherwise they would just murmur random information.

“Hm, what shall I say... I also study in Busan. But that’s not important to know… Hm, maybe this was one of those harder summers for me so I can’t wait to get out. On the other hand I wish I could stay,” she said and smiled kindly, turning her head towards Yugyeom who was lying beside her. “What a feeling, huh?”

“It’s a very annoying feeling, to be honest,” answered Jinyoung, intertwining his hands behind his head for support. “You love the place where you live but the circumstances make you want to leave it. Sometimes, they even make you hate it.”

“So true,” sighed Yugyeom. “I was growing up in a town not far away from Seoul and I used to love it. There were many kids playing on the streets. We actually used to dance a lot, coming up with silly choreographies,” said Yugyeom looking up but his stare was far away. Jinyoung looked at his good friend with worry. “But later in life, one of the friend’s turned their backs on me when they heard what my family had been through. They judged me and made fun that I would end up the same way.”

Matilde frowned unhappily at the thought.

“I love my family, don’t take me wrong,” said Yugyeom quickly, “I would do anything for them and I want to support them financially as much as possible but I felt so embarrassed at the time.”

“People are stupid,” snarled Matilde and turned to face Yugyeom. He looked at her quizzically. “People are stupid and shouldn’t be taken seriously!”

“So should we laugh at you now?” joked Jinyoung, smiling at the furious girl.

“I mean, you can trust me! But-but the thing is that there used to be this extremely addicted alcoholic and he was very aggressive. Sometimes even abusive if you wouldn’t play the correct note around him. We wanted to help him so much; we were ready to pay the hospital bills, to put him into rehab in order to save him.” Matilde shrugged and leaned back on her back, looking at the stars who witnessed her story. “But he wouldn’t want to hear about it. He would scream and shout, call us all the beautiful swear names that possibly exist on this Earth and do nothing all day but drink cheap vodka. It was quite miserable. He was dragging everyone around him down.”

“Why didn’t you just stop caring for him? I mean, obviously he didn’t want any help from anyone. Why waste the energy?” asked Yugyeom.

Matilde smiled kindly at the younger boy. “For the exact same reason you got judged. We didn’t want people to judge, to laugh at us, to point at us that we are mistreating someone.”

“But why was he important anyway?” asked Jiynoung in confusion. He wiggled his toes, focusing on one particularly bright star.

It took some time for her the reply. And even that one was faint. “He wasn’t.”

Silence fell over the trio when Matilde decided to continue. "After some time and lots of abuses, he became sick. People would talk because they would blame us for how he ended up. Apparently, we didn’t take good enough care of him. We ditched him.” She laughed bitterly. “We were at fault but nobody saw what was happening behind the closed doors. He was a massive cross to bear for us. That’s why, dear Yugyeom, don’t pay attention to anything other people say. Don’t let it get to you. It is worthless and takes your energy.”

Yugyeom nodded, acknowledging her words. “I didn’t mean to upset you at all.”

Matilde let out a genuine laugh. “No, you didn’t. Usually, I don’t talk about it but here I am.”

“It’s the stars, I’m sure,” said Jinyoung. “And I have to agree with you, Matilde. It isn’t important what other people think. The only thing being important is you and yourself only.”

You all eventually laughed.

It was interesting how some strangers could feel so close to someone they never knew before. Matilde for sure felt closer to these people than her closest friends. They wouldn’t give two damns.

“So what are your plans exactly over here?” Matilde inquired.

“Enjoying the night sky, which we are already doing,” said Jinyoung. “We are just bummed our good friends couldn’t be here. You would like them too!”

Matilde nodded as Pancake nudged her hand to pet her. “I’m sure I would.” Just then, somebody was calling from the back porch of the hostel.

“Matilde! Come for the cakes!” Gyuri.

The boys looked up in question as Matilde got up on her legs. “Friends, would you like to join me for my midnight cake feast?”

And this is how the three of them ended up in the hostel’s kitchen while Gyuri was telling them a story about how she started managing the hostel by herself. She was a loud talker as Jinyoung and Yugyeom found out.

“You know, nobody told me anything! I was just thrown into the deep!” Gyuri was saying, her hands all over the place as she was gesticulating.

Jinyoung nodded as he stuffed his mouth with another yummy muffin. Yugyeom didn’t even bother to acknowledge he was listening; he was so into the sweets.

Matilde was smiling the whole time. She knew Gyuri’s story better than her own, but her voice was still a lovely background noise. It was so lively, so passionate it gave Matilde a motivation to work harder on herself.

“But kids, you don’t eat enough!” shouted Gyuri as she brought another plate full of cakes.

“Oh god,” sighed Yugyeom. “I’m so full I can still feel the food down in my throat.”

“Don’t be disgusting,” scolded Jinyoung. “And eat.” He smiled cheekily.

Matilde could sense he had some degree of savageness into him as she was observing the charms both boys had. However, she knew there was something behind the curtains.

  If it wouldn’t have been for them, maybe he wouldn’t become such a mess as he was now.

“Jinyoung!” shouted Yugyeom when he saw him in the school corridor. “Heey, nice to see you!” The younger one jumped on the back of Jinyoung, making him laugh.

“Ah, look at you, you monkey,” grunted Jinyoung, hoisting Yugyeom up on his back. “You have training?”

“Yup, in twenty minutes. Make sure to come and watch after you are done with your literary club,” said Yugyeom and Jinyoung put him down. He smiled at him.

“I will.”

They were walking down the corridor, both of their backpacks full of books, their uniforms ruffled from the whole day spent in school. “Jinyoung, how come you look always so happy?”

Jinyoung’s smile froze for a moment, startled with the sudden question. Yugyeom was genuinely curious about the secret behind Jinyoung’s smile. The wrinkles around his eyes were always deep and there was no doubt once he was going to get older, the wrinkles would be prominent and forever tattooed around his big eyes.

“What do you mean, silly?”

“Just,” Yugyeom shrugged. “You are always smiling and it seems like there are no bad things in your life whatsoever. I want to know what it is so I can also be so happy!”

Jinyoung gulped and gave his friend a weak smile.

If only you knew...

Jinyoung was barely two years old when he remembered his mother cheating on his father. They would be both smiling brightly, put him in front of the TV in his little chair and disappear... Flashbacks of the dark bedroom would appear in front of his eyes whenever he recalled those moments.

People say we don’t remember our childhood. Jinyoung, however, knew better.

It was almost twenty years later, before Jinyoung left for Busan to study, that he brought it up.

“Mum,” he said, walking into the kitchen where she was cooking rice cake soup – his favourite. “Have you ever cheated on dad?”

She didn’t even bother to act surprised as a pleasant smile grew on her face. “What are you talking about, dear?”

“Just answer me. Did you or did you not?”

“No, I didn’t,” she replied kindly, looking at her son. “Why would you think that way? Do you, perhaps, remember something?”

That right there proved Jinyoung his right. How could someone be so careless? How could his own family laugh in his face? Wasn’t he old enough to know the truth?

“It would be much better if you would say yes if it meant saying the truth,” muttered Jinyoung, his mood extremely cold and annoyed.

It was known that Jinyoung’s parents didn’t have the best relationship but they still decided to stay married and live together. Until the guy who his mother had secret relationship with decided to reappear in their lives.

“You are not his son if that is what you are asking me!” she shouted from the kitchen.

“I wouldn’t even question that but good to goddamn know!” he shouted back. He stormed up into his room, slamming the door behind him. First thing that came from his room was a massive bang as his fist landed on the wall, creating a little whole.

The pain was overwhelming but god, did it feel good. Angry tears were rolling down his cheeks.

“How come you are always so happy?”

“Sometimes, Yugyeom, the people who smile the most are the ones who are hurt the most.”

And Yugyeom knew. When his friend said those words, he knew them all too well. Jinyoung was definitely someone to look up to but Yugyeom also knew his own truth.

Before his entire family was the one to be pointed at in the streets, to be laughed and to be judged, he already knew that it was not an ordinary life he was leading.

“When are you finally going to stop caring about what others think?!” screamed Yugyeom’s older sister. “Don’t we already have enough problems? Do you have to create more?”

“It isn’t about that,” replied Yugyeom, too calm. “It’s the fact that we have these issues. We shouldn’t. I am not going to accept that they point at us while they know absolutely nothing about us and our problems.”

His sister snickered. “Sure, Cassanova. Then go, spread love and peace but this world is too ugly for it to care about your pure heart, Yugyeom. You either learn how to fight or you let yourself be beaten up, just like you are doing it now.”

Yugyeom squeezed his eyes shut, not liking to hear the truth. He opened his teary eyes. “I don’t want it to be this way. I just want to be happy finally.”

“And you will be,” said his sister, coming closer to her brother to soothe his aching soul. “You will be happy, once you decide for it yourself.”

Yugyeom sighed. “How do I do that?”

Her smile was cheeky, her eye gaining a mischievous spark. “You just be it. You care only for yourself and make sure your intentions are always pure and honest. This way, no guilt will eat you up alive, no frustrations will attack you because at the end of the day, you can lie down in your bed and say: I did my best.”

“People who usually come to this hostel have interesting stories to tell,” said Matilde as they lied back down under the bright night sky, their tummies full, their souls satisfied. “I knew you guys wouldn’t be any exception.”

“I think it depends on the point of view after all,” said Yugyeom. “Those who went through a lot can see others’ problems in a lighter way than those who actually have them.”

“That’s why it’s good to talk to others about your issues,” expressed Jinyoung, trying to find various constellations with his eyes. “They can give you a totally different perspective about your issue.”

Matilde nodded. “Yes, that’s true! I don’t know about you guys, but it really helps me when I tell my issues to my friends and they just laugh because they can see a resolution so quickly while I feel like I’m walking in viscous circles.”

“True,” nodded Yugyeom and he smiled. “You should meet our friend Jaebeom. He is exactly like that – always seeing solutions, not panicking... I wish he would be here with us.”

“Hey, don’t forget Mark, Bam, Youngjae and Jackson.”

“Wow, you guys have international friends from America?” asked Matilde, surprised.

“Oh, no. Well. Actually, they are internationals but they speak pretty good Korean, right? And they are from all over the world,” said Jinyoung, nudging Yugyeom with his elbow.

“Hell yeah!”

“Nice,” smiled Matilde. “Hopefully, you guys get to meet each other under this same night sky.”

“Soon,” replied the two guys in unison.