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dreamylittlesugarcube · 2 months ago

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The Agency (Part 1)

Genre: EXO AU

Characters: Baekhyun x Female Reader

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1400

Summary: Running a top-rated dating agency was difficult enough….. But running a top-rated dating agency for paranormal beings was almost impossible. When a rival approaches you with a life-changing, yet dangerous offer, will you stay safely on the sidelines or jump directly into the fray?

A/N: A very happy holiday to my EXOL Secret Santa, @vampwrrr! I’ve enjoyed our correspondence over the last few months and I’m so glad to have made a new friend here! I was very inspired by our conversations and plan to make this into a short series, so I hope you enjoy Part 1 dedicated to you!

*Also, not my photo. From Baek’s IG.

~*~

“Alright Mr. Weylan, can you tell me a little bit about what type of person you are looking for?”

As he spoke, you surveyed the highly-coiffed man in front of you, noting the sky blue cashmere Brioni suit and the distinct scent of cologne that smelt like it cost $500 a bottle.

Despite the urge to roll your eyes as the being in front of you listed his requirements–predictable to say the least–you schooled your features. Flashing him your charming ‘service’ smile you gamely assured him you had just what he was looking for.

After seeing your client off, you sat alone in your office, going through the motions of getting his matches set up. Your mind wandered, something that had been happening quite a lot lately.

Sigh.

When did this job get so…so…boring? Your former youthful enthusiasm of years past had been replaced with ennui at best and apathy at worst.

Was it your clients? Or was it you?

Lately, your clients seemed so predictable. Where was the uniqueness? The fire?

Before a client walked through your door, you were able to guess their type with upwards of 90% accuracy. You broke it down was follows:

Vampires: Delicate, sexy (but virginal), tall. Luminous skin, with a preference for bite play.

Goblins: Short (because they’re short kings), mischievous, intelligent, and into forging.

Frankensteins: Compassionate, loving, and kind. Literally couldn't care less about appearance. Good at sewing.

Incubi/Succubi: Good sex. Period.

And lastly, werewolves–

Werewolves: Voluptuous, sensual, and sturdy. Typically not as picky about appearance and–

“Boss, your 8:00 is here,” chirped the phone on your desk.

Strange. Mr. Weylan should have been your last client for the night.

“Elsie?”

“Yes, Boss?”

“We talked about this already, I have a date at–”

“Yes, I know, Boss. But trust me, you’ll want to see this one.”

“For your sake, I’d better. Fine, fine, send them in.”

You’d always known that helping immortals, many of whom didn’t sleep, find romantic fulfillment was going to be a 24-hour job, you just never anticipated tiring of it all.

Open 24/7 just like a fucking minimart.

No life. No lover. Forever fucking alone. God, the cliche of it all.

Turning to look in the mirror behind your desk, you fixed your hair, wistfully thinking it unfortunate that your date-night outfit had gone to waste.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of your neck tingled, giving you the distinct impression that you were no longer alone.

A familiar pair of eyes met yours in the mirror, belonging to the last possible person you’d expected to see.

Your surprise must have shown on your face, as a sly, knowing grin spread across the asshole–your visitor’s–face.

“Ah, Mr. Byun, to what do I owe this distinct pleasure? I thought we had concluded our business relationship, per your request.”

Seated on your plush couch was Byun Baekhyun. A man who had made his fortune in tech, owning one of the biggest cybersecurity firms in the world. He was a big deal, everything he touched–businesses, inventions, people– turned to gold. There were rumors that he had ties to the underground, but this was just a rumor.

He was a big deal alright and a big pain in your ass.

“Aww, don’t be salty, Boss. A misunderstanding is all that was,” Baekhyun cajoled, patting the seat next to him on the couch–your couch–as if he owned the place.

You crossed your arms, taking a seat across from Mr. Byun. “I wouldn’t call you referring to my company as, “the worst t” on national television ‘a misunderstanding’, would you, Mr. Byun?”

Mr. Byun uncrossed his legs, learning forward. “Alright, let’s call it an unfortunate occurrence then. And please, call me Baekhyun.”

“Is there something I can help you with, Mr. Byun”, you said pointedly, refusing to take the bait.

“Why, yes. In fact, I believe you can. You see, I have a proposition for you.”

A proposition. A proposition?! What kind of proposition could this Grinch possibly have for you?

It must be business-related. Of course, it had to be. You weren’t naive enough to assume your charming good looks and effervescent personality had been enough to totally reverse this person’s worldview.

Was he in the market for a lover? You highly doubted that. A quick scan revealed a suit worth a minimum of $30,000, a watch worth double that, and loafers worth more than your monthly car payment. Not to mention, the swarm of media coverage that followed him from place to place showed he never had any trouble finding quality partners.

You decided to play it cool. “Proceed. I’m listening.”

“I like a woman who’s decisive,” he remarked appreciatively, eyes flickering from your head to your feet.

You pinched the bridge of your nose, trying to hide your annoyance. “Mr. Byun, I have many things–important things–that I could be doing right now.”

“Oh no, so sorry, did I interrupt your plans for a hot date?”

Your stony look accompanied by silence confirmed his theory.

“Ah, so I did. Oops, my apologies,” he said smugly, not sounding the least bit remorseful.

“Make your point, Mr. Byun, or please leave. Don’t waste my time.”

Mr. Byun put his hand over his heart, moaning and theatrically clutching his heart. “You wound me, Boss. Has anyone ever told you you’re a bit too serious?”

“Many times. Has anyone ever told you you’re annoying?”

That stupid, smug smile reappeared on his face. “Annoyance isn’t the usual reaction that I get from women, no.”

“This should be character-building then.”

“Indeed.” Mr. Byun chuckled.

Mr. Byun’s face turned serious and you hoped he’d finally get to the point of his visit here.

“As you know, I own a company–”

“Byun Solutions. I’m aware.”

“Yes, Byun Solutions is my public-facing company; however, I own another….side hustle, you might call it.”

“A side hustle?”

You couldn’t imagine why a man like him, a filthy-rich man like him would need a side hustle. You stared at him skeptically, a bid for him to continue.

“We’re a guild, of sorts, taking on requests and executing them per our clients’ wishes–”

“ –which I’m guessing aren’t all legal,” you guessed.

Mr. Byun’s eyebrows raised. “What gave you that idea?”

“If your activities were legal, this side hustle would be public knowledge. I haven’t heard one peep about it, so I assumed some of your activities might be on the other side of the law.”

“You’re quick, Boss, I’ll give you that. We’ve had a client request come in that requires some outside expertise. Yours, to be exact.”

He paused, not elaborating any further.

“This is all very interesting, Mr. Byun, but I’m going to need more information than that.”

“Of course, there’s just one teensy, tiny thing first.”

You smacked your hand across your forehead. “For the love of gosh, what?”

Mr. Byun reached into his briefcase, pulling out a thick, legal-looking document. He flashed you a brilliant smile, one you’re sure had charmed thousands of businessmen and women alike.

Pushing the stack of papers toward you, he pulled out a Montblanc pen and placed it on top.

“Just a simple non-disclosure agreement, you understand, I’m sure?”

Something felt off about this whole thing, but you couldn’t put your finger on what it was. Was it the fact that your #1 most-hated enemy was in your office asking you to sign some suspicious document? Yeah, actually it probably was.

“Come on, Boss. A little adventure wouldn’t hurt, no? Aren’t you tired of the same, old monotony?”

How the fuck did he know that? Was the man a god-damned mind reader?

You bit your tongue, not wanting to admit to this aggravating man that he was right. Hadn’t you just been thinking that very same thing moments before he walked through your door?

You cleared your throat, picking up the stack of papers to glance through them.

“Then I’ll need to read this through, thoroughly…you understand, I’m sure.”

Satisfied, Mr. Byun grinned, extending his hand in consent, his body relaxing into your couch, though his eyes remained intent on you.

When you were satisfied he wasn’t trying to con you into some illegal ponzi scheme or sell your organs on the black market for cash, you signed the paper with a flourish.

“Now that that’s out of the way, can you tell me what this ‘assignment’ is?”

“Of course”, Baekyhun replied gamely, “I need you to help me kill someone.”

~*~

Stay tuned for Part 2!

#exolss24 #baekhyun fanfic #baekhyun fic #exo baekhyun #exo #exo fanfic #exo fic #baekhyun #exo fanfiction

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wolveswithblackpearls · 2 months ago

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Bring Me To Life

Genre: Angst, Power Era, MAMA Era, Open Ending

Summary: All is well when Chanyeol returns from his patrol. The red force is probably still licking its wounds from their last confrontation, right? ...right?

Word count: 4 k

Warnings: major character death, revival / coming back from the dead, coming back wrong

A/N: Happy Holidays @exo-xexo! I (admin j aka @breeze-of-sunlight) am your secret santa~

I wish for you to be able to end this year peacefully and find some rest in the coming weeks. Hopefully you'll enjoy this little fic - let me know what you thought of it if you want!

For all those unfamiliar, this fic was posted as a part of the @exols-silver-christmas event 2024. Please check out the gifts from this and the past years if you want to see some beautiful creations by all kinds of EXO-Ls. Happy holidays to you too, santa admin. As usual, thank you so much for hosting!

May you find time for yourself in these last days of the year, dear reader.

"Chanyeol, duck!", is the last thing Chanyeol hears before something hits his shoulder and promptly dissolves into goo all over his neck and back.

And it had been such a good day until now.

He can hear Kai and Sehun cackling behind him as he tries to shake off the worst of it and pull the more resistant parts of the novaberry from the hair on his nape. "Real mature guys, incredibly funny! You're off duty for five seconds and immediately behave like little shi-"

"Sorry, I tried to warn you, but I guess my timing was off.", Suho tries to placate as he makes his way to Chanyeol opposite of where the still snickering duo stands.

"Apology accepted, but only if you send these two right back on patrol again."

Suho huffs a laugh at that and brushes off a piece of the berry Chanyeol had missed. However, a frown replaces his easy grin and he turns to address the others. "Could you come over here, please? I need to ask you all something without yelling my lungs out".

"Sure", Kai hollers back and reaches out to grab Sehun's neck. The later only has a short second to let out an undignified squawk before they get teleported across the field and materialize next to Suho.

"Ugh, I hate it when you do that! Could at least warn me beforehand?"

"I could."

"But? You won't?"

"Boys,", interrupts Suho, long suffering of his brother's antics, "could we please focus for one second?"

"One.", echo Kai and Sehun at once but stay silent afterwards. Chanyeol can smell Suho’s hair greying.

"Have any of you noticed anything different or suspicious on you patrols today?", Suho makes a point of staring each man in front of him down until they shake their heads one after the other. "Has anyone heard back from Baekhyun yet?"

Chanyeol feels his face drop. "No, why? Is something wrong? What's going on?"

Sighing heavily, Suho lowers his head and pinches the bridge of his nose. "There might be." When he raises his head back up, he admits " Baekhyun is not yet back from his mission. I talked to the others too, but no one has heard from him since he left this morning. And we can’t reach him via transmitter right now. Quite frankly, I'm worried."

And you're definitely not alone with that. Chanyeol adds mentally. Baekhyun has never been their most serious member. On the contrary, nothing seems to bring him more joy than to aggravate the others. But not coming home from a standard patrol? Not even trying to contact them about any anomalies altering his usual routes? That's simply not a line even he would cross for the sake of a prank. He must just have forgotten.

"Kai,", Suho pulls Chanyeol back from his thoughts, "I want you to teleport to his usual checkpoints. See if you can figure out whether he's been there today."

Kai nods solemnly, the mischief from a few moments ago long forgotten.

"I don't want you to face this alone and walk into a potential trap. Take Kyungsoo with you."

"Wait, hold up!", Chanyeol interrupts, "What do you mean 'Take Kyungsoo with you'? I'm literally right here?"

“Chanyeol, do not take this personally, but Kyungsoo tends to be a lot more levelheaded than you are in these situations”, Suho tries to calm him down. And Chanyeol can see the reasoning in that, but-

"And we literally need you right here, idiot.", Sehun raises his brow at him. "We're already down a guardian who can cast a shield of light over the tree of life. If this happens to be a trap, we don't need our actual firewall gone too."

Feeling his cheeks heat from being scolded by his younger brother, Chanyeol turns away from the group. A petty fine barely had the time to leave his lips when their transmitters light up simultaneously.

"Guys,", Xiumin’s grim voice filters through the devices, "we found him."

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

There have been few days Chen has felt so much negativity in their hallowed halls. Or rather, beneath the tree of life. For good reason. While the tree is not all powerful, it at least grants its guardians one thing: quasi-immortality. In the long time they've been guardians, they have never had one of them dying.

That doesn't change the fact that Baekhyun’s cold body lies before them anyway. Looking all the more fragile between the massive roots.

But it simply must be him, from his long fingers to the small freckle over his lip, Chen is certain about it. This is Baekhyun. Xiumin could have dumped an entire frozen ocean's worth of ice over Chen's head and he still couldn't have been more frozen in pace.

Chanyeol, as expected, is not quite as silent about the matter.

"Lay, I know your power is health stuff and all, but how in the world is this supposed to work? He's not missing a finger; he's missing a heartbeat."

"'Health stuff and all'? Watch your tongue, Chanyeol. I know this isn't easy for you, but damn, neither is it for us!", Xiumin hisses back, feline eyes narrowed in agitation.

Lay, with his usual calm collectiveness when faced with a patient to attend, pulls Baekhyun's head into his lap and settles a hand over his brow. "Could you all please stop snapping at each other? This is going to be dancing on the edge of the possible already. If you keep distracting me, it's certainly going to go south."

"Besides,", he raises his head to stare into Chanyeol's eyes calmly, "it's not like we have any different options, do we?"

Chanyeol tsks in lieu of an answer but otherwise drops his arguments and resumes pacing. Chen tries to reach out to offer him tactile comfort but his hand gets pushed away. No one but Baekhyun himself could calm him down, it seems. Chen refocuses on the situation at hand instead.

With bated breath the guardians watch as Lay closes his eyes and tries what they've thought was impossible up until now. While Chanyeol is right and their powers have their limits, performing this act of revival right below the tree of life is the best chance they're going to get. If Lay manages to tab into the trees power source, then surely, surely...

Lay shifts his hands, running the tips of his fingers down Baekhyun's head from scalp to chin and then settling next to his temples. The rest of them watches, watches and stares as Lay's hands start glowing. And they glow. They glow and glow and glow and begin shaking slightly after minutes (or hours? Who can say.) pass by. Baekhyun's chest still isn't moving.

Inhaling deeply, Lay tilts his head back in a way easily recognizable to the rest of them. He's trying to tap into the tree's power. Usually, the tree would start winding roots or branches around whoever asked for aid - the energy is easier to transfer that way. Right now, though? The tree does nothing of the like. The branches stop swaying in the gentle breeze, the leaves becoming completely silent. Adding to the eerie atmosphere that has befallen them.

The tension under the tree could be cut with a knife, even Chanyeol has stopped pacing and worriedly glances back and forth between Baekhyun and the tree. Until Lay finally drops his hands, covered in sweat from head to toe, and breathes heavily as though he held his breath the entire time. While he leans down, he whispers something against Baekhyun's face - too quiet for Chen's ears to catch. Lay presses their foreheads together and then slowly wiggles himself out from beneath the body.

Before Chen can react, he hears a gasp next to him and Chanyeol shoots off to kneel down in front of Baekhyun. "No, no way! Baekhyun, can you hear me?"

In full disbelief Chen also storms forward to sink down next to Baekhyun. He faintly notices how Suho grabs Lay by the shoulders to support their healer after was undoubtedly the most complicated use of his powers to this day.

Baekhyun in the meanwhile has not only opened his eyes but is also currently wiping the tears from Chanyeol's face. "What's going on? Why are you crying Yeollie?"

Which of course only results in Chanyeol sobbing harder.

Chen catches one of Baekyhun's hands between his own. "Baekhyun,", Chen begins when he caught the other's attention, "you've been dead for at least the last hour."

Baekhyun's face falls slowly, as if he had to remember how to do it first.

"What?"

"Don't you... don't you remember anything at all? Xiumin said he found you on his patrol, but-", Chen stammers, squeezing the hand harder as Baekhyun beings staring off into the distance.

"But you had no pulse", Xiumin finishes for him, leaning over his younger brothers’ backs. "Baekhyun, are you sure you can't remember anything else?"

"How about you let him come back to himself first?", Chanyeol's head snaps around and he glares alternatingly at his two members. At least until Baekhyun tries to sit up and lets out a long gasp of agony.

"Where... are we exactly?"

Chen makes a bewildered eye contact with Chanyeol as they try to stabilize Baekhyun between them, "Baek, we're under the tree of life. You're home".

"Huh", Baekhyun breathes and cranes his neck around slowly. His eyes dance up the bark of the tree up into its crown. Even slower, Baekhyun tries to lift one arm and reach out to one of the branches dangling above him.

The branch, however, flees his grasp as if repulsed by him. Chanyeol catches it with a still furrowed brow and brings it close to Baekhyun, who in turn promptly touches it. As if burned the branch jerks back and turns black where Baekhyun has laid his hand. The discoloration spreads along the branch, twitching as though it's in pain. The leaves start rustling in convulsion. Chen has never seen the tree act like that, much less after touching one of them.

Xiumin, quick as always, reacts first and summons a blade of ice to cut off the branch above the growing discoloration. The still twitching appendage falls with a heavy thud. In a radius around it the roots begin twitching and rearranging themselves, not wanting to come in contact at all.

With an open mouth Chen tears his gaze away and studies Baekhyun instead. It's as though the man's face has turned to stone, nothing but apathy to be read there. "Interesting."

And suddenly, as if the past hours hadn't happened, Baekhyun smoothly rolls to his feet and dusts off his pants with an air of disinterest.

"Woah there, take it slow Baek! You really shouldn't strain yourself", Chanyeol rises next to him, although with far less grace and holds out his hands as though scared the other will collapse at any second.

"Oh, don't worry,", Baekhyun's gaze fixes on Chanyeol, "Lay did a pretty sound job there."

Something is off about his smile, but Chen can't pin it down. Has this quiet intensity behind his eyes been there a minute ago? Why does he look at them like a predator stalks his prey?

A soft wheeze pulls Chen's attention to Lay instead. The healer has braced himself on hands and knees, one hand lifting to cover his heart. Although he had managed to slow down his breathing before, it now seems to get worse again. Suho has started quietly murmuring to him again, gently stroking his back to calm him down. Kyungsoo lets himself down next to him, naturally gifted at grounding people and offers him a shoulder to lean on.

Baekhyun, apparently, has also noticed their struggling healer and coos mockingly. "Aw, poor one. Did you overexert yourself trying to save your friend, huh? You tree huggers are even more pitiful than initially estimated."

And this? This is the straw that breaks the camel's back. Despite all his teasing and shenanigans, Baekhyun would never let one of them suffer without offering help - let alone make fun of anyone in need. So. What if Lay hadn't brought back their Baekhyun at all? What if he summoned something entirely else into their friend's body.

"You're not really Baekhyun, are you?", Chen asks in a low voice. He subtly shifts into a more battle-ready pose and summons a small string of lightning to dance around his fingers. The quiet flickering of the electricity suddenly grows a lot louder as Chen feels a wave of power and relief wash through him. It's the most encouraging signal the tree has sent him all day.

"Who are you?"

Baekhyun's eyes are widening in pure joy at the open challenge, his smile turning even more manic. "Wouldn't you like to know, weather boy?"

Before any of them can react, Baekhyun performs a spinning move and summons an orb of unforgivingly blinding light. Chen flinches and covers his eyes, afraid of being blinded even though he was only exposed for a split second. From Chanyeol's pained scream he concludes the others aren't faring any better.

He wills his lightning back down again, knowing far too well how foolish it is to shoot at a target he can't sense in any way.

Kyungsoo, however, does not seem to have such reservations. A rumble goes through the ground as he summons an earthquake. Additional to not being able to see, now Chen can't hold his balance either. While sinking to the ground as carefully as he can manage, he at least hopes Kyungsoo manages to shake Baekhyun off his feet as well.

Instead, he feels the telltale rustle in the air that comes with Kai's teleporting and the light vanishes. Soon after, the world stops shaking and Chen warily blinks open his eyes. But Baekhyun is nowhere in sight. And although Kai is still here, his limbs are entangled with Sehun, the two of them must have fallen into one another when the earthquake caught them all by surprise.

"What? Where is he?", Chanyeol asks while heaving himself off the ground, turning in one direction after the other. Chen would comment on him looking like a helicopter during takeoff if the situation wasn't so dire. “He can't have gotten far in so little time!”

"Guys.", Suho gasps an interjection, "Our tree!"

And sure enough, there is a dark, rotting hole in the tree’s bark. Oozing a dark liquid as if it's bleeding, spreading from where Baekhyun must have made contact. The tree’s branches have drooped as though all life was sucked from them; its roots aren't so much as twitching although some of them are currently squished between two slates of earth in a way that must hurt.

A forlorn no is hushed from Lay's lips. He struggles to push himself upright, but instead just falls back against Kyungsoo's chest. "What have we done?"

"He's gone", Xiumin states grimly. Gaze sweeping over the meadow and through the forest surrounding them. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. If it wasn't for the last hour, one might even say it was peaceful.

Chen picks the pebbles that bore into his skin during the earthquake out of the palms of his hand. "We have to find him immediately. Maybe if we can get that possession or whatever that was out of him, it'll teach us how to reverse the damage."

Kai, who has by now managed to detangle himself from Sehun and pulled the latter to his feet, fetches a holomap from one of his endless pockets and boots it up. With the three-dimensional star map projected in front of him, he walks up to Xiumin. "Show me where you first saw him. Maybe I'll be able to track from where he came - and see if he passes by there again."

Xiumin begins gesturing around the map, trying to point out certain coordinates as precisely and quickly as he can manage. Meanwhile, Chen sees how Sehun rids himself of most things in his pockets and even begins taking off his shoes. Clearly preparing to take flight through the woods for long hours. Searching where the rest of them can't follow him with their larger space shuttles. At least not efficiently.

Chen feels the telltale rustle of teleportation behind his back. The sensation makes him pause for a second. Kai couldn't have teleported earlier, except if he teleported himself into Sehun. Which seems unlikely at best. Yet, Chen is sure he felt the same sensation right now as he did before Baekhyun disappeared. You get familiar with the supernatural surrounding you when you live together, after all.

"Now that we're talking about it, how did Xiumin manage to find Baekhyun? Their routes are nowhere near each other."

Xiumin swivels around: "Are you trying to say this is my fault? That I'm a traitor - or possessed by that whatever-it-is as well?".

"Calm down, Minnie, no one here believes you're an imposter", Suho placates, trying to keep them united even when his own nerves must be lying raw. "What's your point, Dae?"

"I'm just saying, what did Baekhyun even do out there? If he went that far off his actual checkpoints, he must've sought out Xiumin specifically. Do you maybe think that he saw the thing coming and tried to warn you?"

"And when he realized he couldn't he sacrificed himself instead", Suho furrows his brow.

"Just a thought."

"Or,", Sehun pipes up, "did any of you stop and think about whether or not we have the real Baekhyun in general?"

Chen is certain he can hear the grass grow over the silence that descends above them.

"Sehun, what the-?"

"No, hear me out.", Sehun intercepts, "We found a body, that miraculously looked like Baekhyun somewhere he shouldn't have been in the first place. When Lay breathed life back into him, the tree of life did not help at all. Don't you think it would be a little keener to help one of its protectors get back on his feet? The twig that thing touched literally wilted at first touch, there's an enormous hole in the tree - that keeps on growing, by the way."

"And we have no actual means to find out how Baekhyun got where he ended up being", Suho adds on. "Fuck, Sehun, you might be right. This basically reeks of red force, doesn’t it?"

"Did we just bring a red force clone of one of us to life?", Chen asks breathlessly.

"Did said clone manage to escape so that he can now spread the knowledge he gained to his master?", Xiumin comments wryly, his lips pressed together in a thin line.

"We're screwed", Chanyeol exhales as he drags his hands down his face slowly. "If the red force knows where the tree of life stands, how long do we have until it starts attacking?"

"And how long", Lay pipes up from where he lays in Kyungsoo's arms, "until we can't trust each other anymore because we can't tell us apart from any clones."

And truth be told, Chen hadn't even considered that. "You think there are more of them? But how? There is no other Lay, no- no, X-Lay, right? How is that X-Baekhyun supposed to bring them to life?"

"No, I don't think X-Baekhyun can do that. But think of it, if the tree can create guardians, it's not too far off to assume the red force can too. And if it's goal with X-Baekhyun was to simply scout the area and find the tree, there's no reason to send all of its subjects and risk potential fallouts."

"And it comes with the added benefit of taking out some of us as well," Kyungsoo murmurs, stroking a comforting hand up and down Lay’s arm.

"I'm not down, I'll be fine in a few minutes."

"Just don't strain yourself. We still need you."

Suho starts massaging his temples. "That would also explain his quick getaway. If there already is a Kai clone, we can stop wondering how he pulled that off."

"So, what now?", Xiumin stares down the hole in the tree darkly. "The force weakened the tree so now it can come back with the big guns and completely claim it? And all we can do is set up wards and hope for the best?"

Chen doesn’t have it in him to respond in any way. He hasn’t felt this foolish and helpless in forever.

"We might not be completely defenseless", Kyungsoo answers quietly instead. "There's something I've read a… while ago. But it's experimental and I might not remember all the details."

Suho sighs heavily. "I can't say I'm thrilled at the thought of more experiments today."

"It's not like we have a lot of other options, though", Kyungsoo counters. Suho nods in agreement and waves his hand to encourage Kyungsoo to keep talking.

"Simply put, we would essentially split the tree in two. Hide each half in a pocket dimension. Each a mirror world of the other. The same skies over different grounds. The same grounds under different skies. That way the red force can't find it based on where it is now. Over time the tree could grow and heal itself. When it's strong enough, we'll reunite it again. Until then we have to find Baekhyun, the real Baekhyun. And we best get rid of any clones or other units of the red force as quickly as we can. I'd rather not take any chances here."

Sehun raises a brow in disbelief: "Won't we just make ourselves vulnerable if we split up? What if they find one half of the tree, charge in there with full force and completely destroy that half of the tree? This just sounds like we're presenting the tree on a silver platter."

Kyungsoo heaves a heavy sigh, as if the worst still lies ahead of him. "There's another thing. Due to the split of our current dimension, we will create some problems with space-time. Which means we're most likely not going to be able to get in touch the conventional way. I'm not sure if we'll even be able to contact each other at all. But that also means the force will get separated. It won't be able to reconnect to its other units and neither can it switch dimensions at will. Not unless we can too. The only other way for it to do that is to wait out until the two dimensions have aligned and we merge the tree once again."

Chen isn't sure how many more hits he'll be able to take today. He locks eyes with Chanyeol, who looks back at him with similarly forlorn expression. When he lets his gaze drag over the different faces of his friends, his family, he sees the same silent emotions. In the way Sehun picks anxiously at his fingernails, in the way Suho is again pinching the bridge of his nose, in the way Lay stares up at the trees crown with glassy eyes. In the tear he can feel rolling down his own cheek.

"This is goodbye then?"

"Yes", answers Kyungsoo, voice barely above a whisper. "But only for a while."

Suho turns away from the group, hands already on his transmitter. "I'll page Kai. We should meet at the ritual grounds. You guys should get a headstart, we won't be far behind."

Chanyeol and Sehun relieve Kyungsoo of his Lay-safekeeping-duties, their taller frames better equipped for carrying around a person. Lay keeps on protesting vehemently that he can walk on his own, but his complaints fall on deaf ears. Neither of them is willing to let go of their friend in what could be the last time for millennia.

Suddenly Chen's field of vision is obscured by a face. Xiumin's worried face. "It will be okay", he promises quietly. "We'll be back together in no time, you'll see. And the tree will have blossomed brighter than ever! Won't that be nice?"

"Yeah, sure it will", Chen snivels softly and tries to muster up a smile for Xiumin's sake. He clearly isn't very successful judging how the grief grows stronger on Xiumin's face as well.

"Just never lose yourself, okay?", Xiumin's finger rise to gently swipe away the tears Chen hadn't noticed rolling down his face in streams now.

"Just be brave. A new world shall open up."

A/N: And that's a wrap! I took some liberties with the whole MAMA intro, but I hope you guys like it anyway :] Please consider leaving me a comment or a reblog, that would make my day! And if anyone's in the mood for it, here's the link to the EXO-K MAMA mv. Take care, everyone!

-admin j

13 notes · View notes

hellohailu · 2 months ago

Text

☽ under the moon, we collide ☾

㊐ one : collision ㊊

SUMMARY │Born and raised in a small isolated village, Ajla has never had any reason to question the beliefs and traditions she was raised to follow. Yet, on the most important day of her young life, a chance encounter with a traveler from the outside sparks a strange and haunting vision. Torn between her devotion to her village and finding the answers to her questions, Ajla must now decide the path she wants to walk.

PAIRING │Jongdae 종대 / Original Female Character

RATING │ T [SFW]

GENRE │ Fantasy!AU, Mythology!AU

LENGTH │ 7,089 words

NETWORK │ @exols-silver-christmas

MANY THANKS TO │ my two extraordinary betas, L. and C. I couldn't have done it without you !

AUTHOR'S NOTE │ This story was written for Ju (@breeze-of-sunlight) for the 2024 EXO-L Secret Santa event ! It is cut into three parts ; the remaining two will be posted sometime in the beginning of next year. This is my first story, so likes, comments and reblogs are very much appreciated ! ∼ Hailu

BEFORE YOU READ │ One of my original characters [Luan] has a name that is very similar to the name of an ex EXO member [Luhan]. Please keep in mind that these characters are not the same person ! While Luhan might end up mentioned in the other parts, Luan has a much more central role in the story and is bound to appear quite often.

Click here to listen to the little playlist I made for this story.

Grandmother once told me that this land was not always ours. It seems hard to believe, seeing how well acclimated we are to the mild weather and gentle winds of this place. Our people have lived here for a very long time: I was born and have grown up here, in this little village, as was Grandmother. The stories she tells, about foreign grounds and harder times, she learned from her own grandfather, a stern warrior who came here from the North with a few hundred others to seek shelter in a more welcoming land.

I am not sure what became of the people that were calling this place their home before we did. Grandmother said they were a peaceful kind, with strange customs and even stranger gods. I heard, most of them left, and the remaining ones adopted our traditions and practices. Eventually, our culture was the only one to remain.

A long time has passed since then, and our Holy One has allowed us to prosper and live in peace. Of all the villages my people have established in this region, I live in the smallest. Our numbers hardly reach a hundred souls, and I know that on this day, each and every one of them is going to attend the ceremony. It takes place every three years, in midsummer. On the day of the second full moon of the season, we can finally reap the fruits of our yearly labour. As a sign of devotion to our Holy One, every daughter who is at least twenty springs of age ought to enter adulthood through an entire week of uninterrupted prayer, after which she will finally be considered adult enough to marry and bear children.

“Ouch !” I say, reaching up to massage the part of my head where Mother has pulled my hair a little too hard. I stop right in my tracks when I hear a disapproving sound behind me.

“Don’t be a child, Ajla,” she sighs. I lower my hand, my scalp still throbbing. “Why is your hair always so tangled ?”

In a sudden moment of realisation, she grabs my shoulders and makes me turn around so I can meet her eyes. I instantly lower them to the ground, as I almost always do.

“You untied it for the night, didn’t you ?”

“I just… it was pulled too tight, I couldn’t sleep,” I tentatively try.

“Remember Ajla, the Holy One despises the arrogant and the vain. I should have cut your hair a long time ago,” she lets an exasperated sigh escape her. “We don’t have time now, we still have to help with the preparations for the ceremony and go get your prayer dress for tonight.” She finishes brushing my long messy blond hair in a hurry, and then braids it into a tight updo at the base of my neck. I hold back a wince at the harsh treatment she gives to my head.

“It is good you got a little sleep nonetheless. You’ll need all the energy you can get for the Prayer. Our Holy One will test your strength in a way you have never experienced before. You’ll never be quite the same after you come out of the Sanctuary, Ajla. It was the same for me.”

I listen silently. It is the first time Mother talks about how hard of a trial the Prayer can be. She is a stern woman, hardened by the trials of life, but she likes to talk about the Holy One, and she reveres Him in a way I don’t think I’ll ever really be able to understand. Our whole community, myself included, is very devoted to our divinity, but Mother believes in His power with her whole heart. She says, her faith in the Holy One is what gives her strength.

I know what the Prayer entails, everybody does, but the gap between knowledge and experience can sometimes prove to be dangerous. An entire week of prayer, locked in a small room with only enough food to keep us alive. It is complete isolation, no contact to the outside world allowed. The Prayer is supposed to test our faith and devotion to the Holy One, and no one is allowed to interrupt. Not that there would even be a possibility to interrupt, as the opening of the praying rooms get nailed shut to ensure nothing will distract the participants.

“Get dressed, we’re going to the storehouse first,” Mother says before leaving me alone in the room. I sigh, and walk towards a small hook attached to the wall. The women of our village must always walk around with their body covered to maintain modesty : for that reason, it is common that we wear a flowy upper garment on top of our dresses, that we call “kiva”. Mine is long enough for the sleeves to almost reach my fingertips. As is tradition, it also has a hood so I am able to properly cover my hair. Father mentioned once, that showing my body too much would only bring me dishonour, that what I was hiding was to only be shown inside of my home in the presence of my close family and, when I am wed, of my husband. That this was the Holy One’s will. Sometimes, I wonder if we do the things we do for the Holy One, or for the sake of some old traditions that have existed since long before my birth.

After making sure my kiva is on correctly, its hood held in place with pins in my hair, I join Mother, who is waiting for me at the doorstep. In a few short weeks, summer will yield to autumn ; the days will become shorter and the leaves will turn orange and yellow. Right now though, the heat, if not quite stifling, is still well present. We start walking slowly towards the storehouse, where we keep all our food, and apart from the bustle of the final ceremony preparations, this day feels like any other summer day.

Yet, when my eyes land on a small stall filled with strange items and foreign designs, I understand that something about today will be different from usual. Today will bring change.

They look different, misplaced in this little village of mine that is not accustomed to receiving visits from foreigners. They are dressed in various colours, some bright and some dark, a stark contrast to the sea of cream and brown coloured clothes that my people commonly wear.

I see a middle-aged woman smile gently at the passersby, showing a few of them the items she is selling. She does not look like me, or any of my people, but I find her utterly beautiful. Her hair is long and dark, draping over her shoulders in messy curls, and she’s wearing a strange embroidered headband. Her long tunic is a deep red colour and decorated at the seams with patterns I have never seen before, leaving part of her shoulders bare, exposing golden, sun kissed skin. It is a couple tones darker than my own, my kiva perpetually keeping it hidden from sun and moon alike. Her eyes all of a sudden find mine, and she smiles at me from where she stands, behind her stall. I look at her curiously, and find myself wanting to smile back.

It is at this moment that I feel Mother’s hand on my back, urging me forward. She takes her place at my other side, positioning herself between the woman and me, blocking my view.

“Do not talk to them, Ajla. I forbid you to even look at them, do you hear me ?” she whispers, her tone serious and authoritative.

“Why so, Mother ? We do not see foreigners very often and–”

“And it is best that way. They are heretics, Ajla. They are not like us.”

I can sense from the tone of her voice that she will not accept any more discussion about the travellers, so I stay quiet and we walk the rest of the way in silence. The storehouse is always a flurry of activity, especially during harvest season. My people mainly thrive thanks to the fruits and vegetables we grow within the walls of the village. While we sometimes eat meat from the small animals we raise, we no longer hunt like our ancestors did. Seeking larger prey would mean stepping a foot in the forest, and the woods are dark and scary, the foliage of the trees thick enough that it is not possible to see the sun from the ground. I have never left the village – Father says, it is best I stay where I belong, in the safety of the walls that have seen me grow – but I heard rumours once, about how the forest and the mountain are places that the Holy One cannot reach.

My thoughts are interrupted by the rumpus of men and women in the storehouse, gossiping loudly as they wash the produce we harvested a few days ago so it can be prepared in the kitchens. Had today been any other day, the presence of foreigners in the village would have surely caused a commotion, but everyone seems to have forgotten them now that the Prayer is approaching.

“Mother ! Ajla ! Over here !” my brother yells, waving his long arms to catch our attention from the very back of the room.

I shouldn’t feel this way, but it breaks my heart just a little to see Mother’s face instantly break out into a bright smile. I have no memories of her ever looking at me with that same affection in her eyes. I had an older brother once, who was Mother’s pride and joy. She was never quite the same after his sudden death at the age of six, brought on by a feat of uncontrollable fever. She cried for years, prayed for days on end, tried everything in her power to give birth to a second son. I can barely remember his face, but I’ll never forget Mother’s tears. In hindsight, I think a part of her died with Adem. Luan was the one that gave her a new breath after three long years of mourning her lost child. And then there is I, Ajla, always stuck in the middle, between Adem’s memory and Luan’s sweet smile, neither truly seen nor completely invisible.

For the next couple of hours, I help with whatever needs to be prepared. It’s hot inside the storehouse, and the effort starts to make me sweat, my kiva keeping my arms and my hair covered not helping with the afternoon heat. Luan’s chatter is a welcome distraction from my thoughts of family, faith and foreigners, even though I still feel nervous about the upcoming ceremony and Prayer. When he asks a question excitedly, I turn and smile at him, answering with as much liveliness as I can muster. He does not seem to pick up on my thoughts and somewhat sour mood, and I thank the Holy One for that. My little brother just turned twenty summers old, and by the time the next ceremony takes place, he’ll be aged enough to be married. Luan has always been adored and doted on by the whole family, including me, and despite his tall stature and long limbs, childlike features still linger on his face, giving him an uncanny resemblance to the older brother that he has never known. For that reason, and to Luan’s dismay, Mother has a hard time letting him out of her sight.

I stop working when I feel the gentle press of a hand on my shoulder. The girl looking at me is dressed in a similar fashion, with a long dress and cream-coloured kiva to match. Under her hood, her hair is some shade of blond, a characteristic shared by many of our people, though her striking grey eyes are a little unusual. She takes my wrist in her hand and smiles warmly. After hours of working here, it seems we are both ready to escape the storehouse mission we’ve been given. We just need to ask for permission first.

“Master, it is getting late and both Ajla and I still need to stop by the tailoress’ shop. I was planning to go now, would you mind if we go together ?” Ema asks, her gaze low. Father is not a bad man, but he is tall and intimidating, and even though Luan is growing up to share most of his traits, I hope he retains the gentleness that has characterised him since he was a baby.

“Rona, didn’t you want to go with our daughter?” Father asks his wife.

“I… I was planning to, but she might as well go now. We have work here still,” she says, and I would be lying if I said I am not a little glad to finally have a chaperone my age.

Luan smiles at my friend. “They will also not be able to see each other again until after the ceremony, so it’s important to enjoy each other’s company now. Right, Ema ?” he smiles at my friend. His back is turned to our parents, and his teasing wink is lost to them. Ema’s cheeks redden, but she nods politely.

Father looks at my brother and accepts without too much of a fight. Other than the fact that Luan has had our parents wrapped around his little finger since his birth, he also has the advantage of being male, which the Holy One has decided would be the stronger and wiser gender. His support is precious, even if we soon will be wed and not part of the same household anymore. Ema and I leave the storehouse, and though the walk to the tailoress’ shop is short, it is filled with excited ramblings from my friend, who seems to be in a vastly different mood than I.

“I can’t wait to prove myself to our Holy One,” she says, and I look at her a bit perplexed.

“Aren’t you scared ? That you are not going to hold up with so little food and rest ?”

“Well, there aren't really any alternatives, are there ? And then we’ll be out, and we’ll finally be able to get married !” She exclaims. “Do you have anyone in mind ?”

It wouldn't matter in the end, the decision is not ours, just like it had not been my parents’ choice to be wed. But I know that Ema is already aware of that fact, and I do not want to crush her spirits. This casual banter feels somewhat good.

“I do not,” I say truthfully. “What about you ?”

“Oh– um, yes, I actually do, you know, have someone in mind,” Ema answers, her face becoming redder by the minute.

I smile to myself. It’s Luan. My friend thinks she's good at hiding her fancy of my little brother, but I am convinced that everybody, including Luan himself, knows about it. I hope the people of my community will take Ema and Luan’s wishes into account when making their decisions. I hope they choose someone good for me, too.

Ema and I were never really close until a few years ago, around the time of the last ceremony. To participate in the Prayer, all girls must be aged of at least twenty springs, but I was born at the very end of the summer, making me half a season too young at the time. Ema was born in the autumn a couple weeks after me, and we both bonded over the knowledge that when our Prayer would come around, we would be the oldest participants.

The shop is small, but peaceful. The business used to be held by a man, until his death a decade ago. His wife has taken over the affairs of the shop since then, handling the business with an iron hand and a heart of gold. Everybody in the village likes Nona, but I like to think she and I have a closer bond. She was Grandmother’s dearest friend, and talking to Nona feels a lot like it used to feel talking to her.

I see the old woman at the back of the room, adjusting a big piece of ivory-coloured cloth. She smiles instantly when we greet her, the curve of her lips accentuating all the wrinkles on her face. Her hair is covered, like mine and Ema’s, but I can see a hint of grey where her hood is a little misplaced on her head.

“Look who’s here ! Aren’t these girls a little late ? Everybody else has collected their dresses already,” Nona says, with a tiny hint of disapproval in her voice. Nonetheless, she heads for the backroom and comes back only a minute later, carrying in her arms two identical outfits.

The shape and looks of the ceremonial outfits never change from one ceremony to another. Year after year, they stay the same simple flowy dress and kiva, and are not decorated with any patterns or symbols. They look very similar to our daily clothes, except for their colour, an almost blinding whiteness, that is meant to represent the participants’ purity, both moral and physical. I have seen this dress on so many girls, yet it’s still hard to realise that in just a few hours, I will be the one wearing it.

“They’re beautiful,” Ema gasps next to me, taking her outfit in her arms with the utmost care, as if it was some fragile thing going to break. This dress has meaning for my people, as the ceremony dates back to long before most of my ancestors were born. It is stunning, and one of the most beautiful pieces of clothing that I will ever wear. Yet, I am not sure how to react, as the weight of what such a garment means slowly but surely crashes on me. Feeling Nona’s gaze on me, I settle for thanking her for her hard work. She gives me a carefully guarded smile.

“You remind me so much of your grandmother,” she says fondly, with a hint of melancholy in her voice. “She was scared too.”

“I– I’m not scared, Nona” I stutter, a little panicked that she would doubt my faith in our Holy One, that I would dare be frightened by the prospect of honouring Him.

“Oh but you are, Ajla. We all are, before we step foot in the Sanctuary. And then we endure ; the hunger, the weariness and the weight of the confessions we make. You’ll learn to endure too. In the Prayer and in life, you’ll endure.”

She slowly grabs my hand and takes something out of her kiva’s pocket to put it in my palm. It's a white handkerchief, embroidered with beautiful pink flowers, a rarity in my community, where clothes are plain and neutral in colours.

“This belonged to your grandmother. She got it from her own mother. She was wearing it on her wrist when she did her Prayer. She wanted you to have it. Her only granddaughter. She wanted you to find your way, for our Holy One to give you strength.”

Even though it is not written in law that the participants to the Prayer must not have any additional garment or accessory, it is not conventional enough that Grandmother thought it would be safe to give me her handkerchief through my parents when my time came. I am not surprised ; for all the love Grandmother had for her culture, her people and her customs, she always found Mother, her daughter-in-law, to be a little too stern.

I thank Nona profusely, and part ways with Ema in front of the shop. We both have to return home now, and we live on opposite sides of the village. I walk slowly, as if getting home later was going to push back the time of the ceremony. With both hands busy holding my dress high in my arms to avoid creating creases, I can only lightly grasp the handkerchief with the tips of my fingers. The sun will set in a couple hours and the heat of the early afternoon is long gone, replaced by steady winds.

I gasp when Grandmother’s handkerchief slips from my fingers, stolen away by a gust of air, and I hurry past surprised passersby, trying to catch up with it as it dances further and further away from me. It seems as if the winds are having fun playing with something I hold so dear to my heart. The delicate piece of cloth swirls around, as light as a feather. Each time I come close to it, the handkerchief starts its crazy escape again, seemingly mocking me.

Eventually, it slips under a table filled with goods on sale, and one of the merchants bends down to pick it up. I stop right in my tracks. Grandmother’s handkerchief is in the hands of one of the foreigners I saw earlier on my way to the storehouse with Mother. I am still a good distance from them, but he’s undoubtedly male. The heretic cradles the cloth in his palms like it's some fragile treasure, and seems to gently brush some dust off of it before raising his head and starts looking around, obviously searching for the owner. Searching for me.

Flustered and still out of breath, I duck behind a nearby wall, a hand on my chest to calm my racing heart. What shall I do now ? Mother said not to talk to them, she even forbade me to get too close. I should let it go, pass them by without sparing a glance in their direction.

On the other hand, I do not wish to let go of the only thing Grandmother has left me. She said it would help me, she said it would bring me strength. Besides, what could happen if I just asked for it ? Surely the stranger will give it back ? I just have to make it quick, so Mother will not see me if she returns from the storehouse earlier than planned. Yes, that is what I should do. What Mother does not know, can not upset her.

I fold my uniform in my arms, forgetting all about not making any creases, and start to make my way over to the stall, with an assurance that is not quite authentic. It is not the first time I see travelers, but it is the first time Mother has explicitly forbidden me to talk to them, her earlier words of distrust engraved in my mind. It is obvious that they do not worship the Holy One ; as otherwise their women would not show their arms and their hair so openly. They could be dangerous, but our numbers outweigh theirs and we are in the heart of the village. The day of the ceremony is the best to trade and sell goods. There is a crowd in the streets, all the shops are open. Nothing can go wrong.

The heretic calmly watches me get closer, his gaze fixed on me. I stop right before the stall, a table filled with various colourful items, the only thing separating us. Up close, I am able to see him better ; he looks about my age, maybe a little older. Unlike Father or Luan, he is not very tall or imposing, only outsizing me by half a head. Like the other foreigners, he is wearing an embroidered headband, the piece partially hidden under loosely curled hair the darkest shade of brown I have ever seen. Though all headbands have similarities in design, patterns and colours differ, making each piece completely unique. He is dressed in a simple blue tunic that is creased and folded all over, and closed at the shoulders by two pins, allowing whoever is looking to see his entire arms.

Busy as I am staring at the man in front of me, I realise a minute too late that he is examining me as well, the shadow of a cheeky smile tugging at the upturned corners of his lips. Not wanting to spend more time than I must in the presence of the stranger, I extend my arm towards him, palm upturned.

“I have lost my handkerchief. I would like to have it back,” I try. He keeps looking at me with the same expression on his face, and I wonder for a moment if we speak the same language. “Please ?” I add tentatively. “Um, it seems like the winds were mocking me, making me run around like that after a stupid cloth,” I explain, conveniently forgetting to mention how dear said stupid cloth is to my heart.

This time, the foreigner’s mouth stretches into a gentle, full-blown smile that reaches his brown eyes, and I wonder for a moment what could be so funny.

When the young man before me starts speaking, he sounds strong and powerful, although not unkind. He has a very light accent I can not quite place. “The winds are mischievous, they love to play. They love to make people dance.”

I still, astounded. I was not prepared for that answer, and I do not know quite how to respond. In the end, I decide to let the conversation run its – hopefully short – course.

“Yes, um, I… guess they do ?” I whisper. “I am not sure I liked this dance very much though.”

“They’re nice enough, once you learn to know them,” he says, smiling brightly as if he did not just talk about the winds as if they were living and breathing. He’s mad. He’s mad, and my handkerchief is still in his hand.

The young man must sense my increasing discomfort, because he lowers his head. Once free from his dark gaze, I slowly exhale a breath I did not realise I was holding. The stranger absently traces the pink flowers embroidered on Grandmother’s handkerchief with his thumb.

“This is very fine and delicate work. The person who made it is very talented. Were you the one who embroidered this cloth ?” he asks.

“I– no, it is very old. It belonged to my grandmother, and to her own ancestors before that,” I finally admit.

“Then it must be very dear to you ?”

“It is,” I simply say.

“Then I’ll give it back. Here,” he says, extending his own arm, the cloth in his hand.

He has nice hands. They are not very big, and they are more calloused than mine, but he has long and slender fingers. His nails are clean and clipped short. He’s wearing several bracelets, some of them made out of colourful threads knotted together, and some thin circles of golden metal that glint in the late afternoon sunlight. None of my people wear jewellery, or any decorative adornments for that matter. Showcasing one’s beauty is to bask in vanity, and the Holy One does not like vanity.

I frown when I notice tiny markings on the arm he’s extended towards me. Scars ? No, not scars. It’s a tattoo. A tattoo made with white ink and barely visible on his skin despite his tan. Fascinated, I let my eyes run along the length of his arm. The patterns and symbols extend from the back of his hand to the crook of his neck, swirling and intertwining delicately around his wrist and his elbow. I stop staring when I hear the man clear his throat. I close my eyes and chastise myself. I can almost hear Mother and her stern voice at the back of my head. Ogling a man – an impure heretic – like that, you should be ashamed !

“Thank you,” I finally whisper, finding nothing else to say. Our arms are both extended, as if waiting for the other to cave in and get closer first. In the end, eager for this conversation to end, I sigh and take the handkerchief in his hand, my fingers brushing his for the shortest of moments.

Time seems to slow and speed up at the same time, and I feel slightly nauseous. I close my eyes, overwhelmed, as sound surrounds me, making my ears ring painfully. Why is the world so loud all of a sudden ? After the first few seconds, I get used to the noise and notice a voice in the chaos of sounds. Sometimes, it laughs, the laugh of a young girl, so clear and soft, and sometimes, it sings songs I have never heard before. Several other similar voices then join the first one in a chorus of melodies, and I think I can hear them speak to each other. Some are surprised and some are amused, and I hear them whispering faintly about someone they call “the foreigner”.

When I feel like my heart is beating at a normal pace again, I open my eyes to find myself in a place I have never seen before. Where am I ? Why am I here and how did I get there ? I do not know this place. Trees surround me, casting gentle shadows on the water I find myself standing in. Looking around, I see I am in a forest, although I have never ventured out of the village. I do not know how to swim, yet I am waist-deep in the water of a small lake, wet and shivering. I’m cold. The voices are gone now, barring one ; the chuckle of a man coming from behind me. I turn around and raise my head. After a few moments of blur, my eyes finally focus on the silhouette before me.

The heretic stands on a big rock on the shore, dry and dressed in the same tunic I saw earlier, albeit in a different colour. It is only long enough to reach the middle of his thighs, showing off long but muscled legs. He is barefoot, and he is still chuckling – is he laughing at me ?

I should feel outraged, and angry, that he is allowing himself to be so familiar with me – we have only met for the first time today after all – but somehow, the only feeling I can muster is mild annoyance. I give him a dark glare, and I find myself speaking his name with a scolding tone. I can not quite make out what name ; unable to control my lips or hear the words coming out of my own mouth. I feel like an actress in the middle of performing a play that already has a set ending. At the sound of his name, the man stops laughing and apologises. He looks around, glaring and I find myself doing the same. There is nobody but us here.

Then his gaze is back on me and I feel his eyes slowly slide down from my eyes, to my neck, to my chest, and I wonder for a moment what he is looking at. Then I check my reflection in the water.

I am dressed entirely in white, in my ceremonial clothes, wet from head to toe ; the weight of the water has pulled my kiva off from my shoulders, leaving them almost naked. My dress is drenched, and has become transparent under the effect of the water. My lower body is thankfully still under the water line, but my neck, chest and belly are fully visible. I gasp in shock, immediately crossing my arms over my chest so I feel less exposed ; so the man before me is not able to steal glances at my body more than he already has.

My reaction seems to wake him up from a trance, and both his cheeks and mine start turning red. At least he seems to feel ashamed of his staring, of making me uncomfortable. As he starts to open his mouth and apologise, I blink, and the moment I next open my eyes, I am back at the stall, in the middle of my village. The young man is still before me, but he has taken a few steps back, clutching his tattooed hand as if the contact has burned him. His mouth is open in shock, and though I can not see myself, I can guess he is mirroring my own expression.

I clutch my handkerchief in my hand. And then panic sets in.

“I- what just happened ? Was I dreaming wide awake ?” I ask, more to myself than to the stunned foreigner before me. What sort of spell has he bewitched me with ? Was this dream a trick from the evil spirits Mother is so scared of ?

The man raises his hands before himself, obviously trying to defuse the situation but it does nothing to reduce my anxiety. I take a few steps back.

“I– I must go now. There is still much to do,” I say, on the edge of panicking. My eyes can only stare at nothing, unfocused, as I try to register what happened in the dream, and how real everything felt.

“Listen, I didn't mean… I didn't mean to– to show you anything,” he stuttered. “Don't be scared, no please–”

But I’m already running past the passersby and away from him, my dress balled up in my arms and my handkerchief tightly grasped in my fist, as I try to hold back confused tears. My tiny world feels like it has collided with something much, much bigger. Something unknown. Something frightening.

The rest of the day passes by in a blur.

I see but I am not looking, I hear but I am not listening. I feel like I am wearing someone else's skin.

I keep moving, but it's just habits, as if my movements are controlled by some puppeteer.

Soon my family comes home. They change into their ceremonial clothes, and Mother does my hair again, pulling and twisting the tresses until they are shaped to her liking. My head is throbbing, but I do not feel the pain.

The sun is setting when I finally take my place in the line of maidens who are going to be subjected to the Prayer. I recite the oath that I have learned by heart under Mother’s supervision ; I do not stutter, and the words come out clean and well-spoken, but I feel empty. I am given a bag of provisions, that contains the only things I will be given to eat for the next seven sunrises.

As the crowd celebrates all around us, I feel the weight of someone’s gaze on me. I follow it to find the foreigner staring from a distance, unmoving as the rest of his people pack up their belongings as they prepare to leave. Tomorrow they will be long gone, and I will have forgotten all about what I saw earlier, too engrossed in prayer to care. However, today, my memories of the dream are still too fresh in my mind, and I find my lips softly mouthing the name I spoke in the lake. This time, although the crowd around me is loud and excited in celebration, I can clearly hear what is coming out of my mouth. “Jongdae,” I speak, looking at him. I have never heard of this name. From afar, his eyes seem to widen, but he does not move. We watch each other for a few more moments. He looks sad. I hope this time I am not mirroring his expression.

I am the last one to be led to the Sanctuary. It is near the entry of the village, as it was the first structure that was built here. The Prayer room that has been assigned to me is located in a corner of the building at the very end of a long hallway. I step in, and look around. The wooden walls of my room are thinner than I thought they would be. There is an altar, but no bed, as I am not expected to get much rest. Two giant eyes are painted on the wall, dark and foreboding. They, too, stare at me, intense and intimidating. The space is so small, no matter where I am, I feel seen. Vulnerable. A chill courses through my body when I hear the opening of the room being sealed shut with nails that will only be removed once the Prayer has ended.

First, I do not know what to do. I stand, as if paralysed, in the middle of the room for a long moment. Then I remember Mother, and I remember my oath. I must pray now. I lower the bag of provisions to the ground and kneel on the hard floor in front of the altar. Mother has told me what to say as the opening of a Prayer. We have recited it, again and again.

Forgive me, my Holy One, for my sins. I am here to confess and earn your forgiveness.

Yet, somehow, the words that come out of my mouth are different. More honest.

“Forgive me, my Holy One, for I am not quite sure what to say.” Then I start praying, whispering the words under my breath.

For a moment, I pray for my family. For Father's health, for Mother’s peace of mind, for Luan’s happy spirits to remain and for Adem’s soul to rest in peace.

Then I start praying for my village, and for my community. I pray for peace, for a good harvest and for a mild winter. Talking about winter makes me realise the night has fallen. I shiver and wrap my kiva tighter around me in hope of keeping some warmth.

When time comes to confess my sins, I think back to that moment in the forest ; of the evil spirits that possessed my mind and made me imagine this unholy scene of me almost bare in front of a man. I am ashamed, but I am not sure this vision was my own doing. Do I need to confess if it was not my fault ? In the end, I decide to keep my mouth shut about this event and instead to ask for forgiveness for untying my hair last night.

After that, I realise I have nothing more to say. I try to think, but nothing comes to my mind. As I search for something to pray about, I sit with my back against the wall opposite from the altar. Instead of looking at His eyes, I start looking at my hands. Grandmother’s handkerchief is tied around my wrist, the only touch of colour in my entirely white outfit, and I start thinking of the foreigner.

This dream was not my fault, I am sure of that. Otherwise, why would he have apologised ? The look in his eyes makes me think that he might have known what was going on. Does he know what I have imagined ? Or worse – has he seen the things that I have seen ?

And this place, what was it ? Where was it ? Never would I have dived into water without knowing how deep it was first. Did he push me ? Why would someone do that ?

The more I think about the events of the afternoon, the more I realise my fright is turning to curiosity. Mother said it is not right to be curious, that I must wait for our Holy One to provide the answers. Like a poison, it runs slowly through one’s veins and takes over the mind. It pushes people to do things they would not normally do. Then I realise something else : in this room where I am alone with the Holy One, Mother can not reach. What she does not know, can not upset her.

In between the quiet of prayers, I hear people outside my room, one of which I recognise as the village chief. However, the voices are not coming from inside the Sanctuary ; this building is sacred and not a place for gossip. Instead, the voices come from beyond the wall that is directly to my right, which means they are standing outside the village. The chief is speaking to several people,but I can not make out what they are talking about, nor do I recognise any of the voices he is conversing with ; not until I hear a familiar voice, strong, powerful, and slightly accented, start thanking my leader.

“I would thank you a thousand times if I could, village chief. Our provisions were running low for the rest of our trip and it was urgent we exchanged some of our belongings for food and money. I know you do not welcome strangers often within the walls of your village, and for your generosity I will forever be grateful.”

Jongdae ? He must be leaving the village with his people now.

“You are very welcome,” my leader says, seemingly pleased by the compliments. “Had today been any other day, you would have been quite the sensation. I hope you got what you wanted, for as gracious as I am, I will not be able to let you in the village tomorrow,” he grumbles.

The young foreigner hardly waits a second before replying, probably louder than one should be during a private conversation.

“This is no problem, my community is already grateful for your help. We are going to stay a few more days in the small clearing we saw in the forest, only long enough to allow us to hunt and replenish our provisions.”

They exchange a few more words after that, but I am not focused on their conversation anymore. I simply stare at the painted eyes on the wall.

“What do you think ? What should I do now ?” I wonder out loud, my voice barely louder than a whisper.

Before the dream, I would have listened to Mother and stayed put. I would have prayed about anything and everything, I would have confessed my sins.

But I can not help but feel like something important occurred this afternoon. Who is this man, and who are these people ? Is he working with the evil spirits to plant seeds of doubt in the minds of innocent young women ? And if so, why did he apologise to me ? I have to know what happened, I have to know if he saw the same vision I did, and if so how was it possible ?

Today, my tiny world has collided with something bigger, much bigger than anything I could have ever envisioned. But this time, I am not frightened anymore. I will find this foreigner, and defend myself and my honour. I am in need of answers, and I know there is only one way to get them.

I must leave the village.

#exolss24 #hailuwrites🌻#exo #kim jongdae #chen #exo chen #exo fanfiction

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burningcrab · 5 months ago

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warframing……. wisp finally building after Too Many fights with That Fucking Bird. the ropalolyst is a fun bit of story and i LOVE natahs dialogue during it but oh my god it is so buggy

like in the final run the attack where it Grabs You glitched out and left me unable to use any inputs except movement, including the chat window somehow. so i was sort of walking around under it with no ability to shoot, jump, or communicate, while my poor inexperienced teammates tried to fry it with the laser ten times without breaking the synovia. eventually they worked it out and i had to wait out the extraction timer since i couldnt parkour to the exit even. and then i got the systems and i never have to go back there again

i also started gyres parts building but i still need to run bounties for her main blueprint. i took a break because the two T4 and T5 bounties on offer were "do void cascade for a long time (10 exolizers)" and "do void flood for a long time (12 ruptures without breaking 70%)" and i would rather wait for, like, a mobile defense round

#i LOVE void cascade. do not love doing it in random bounty squads #steel path omnia fissure is the best way to do zariman modes #warframe

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blizzardfluffykpop · 1 month ago

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2024 Writer’s Wrapped

Thank you so much for tagging me @sungbeam in this cute little wrap-up! And here is where you can find Beam's wrapped!

This took me hours to make for some reason? Idk. So- I will not be making divider images 🫣😔 But my 2024 Masterlist came in absolute clutch. I def would have forgotten a fic or two if not for it.

Tagging (if you wish to ofc!): @prettywordsyouleft @proudahgase-exol @amelee23 @uhhkpop & anyone else who wishes to do this! These are just the first couple of people that came to mind!

( @jinkoh ik you've already been tagged by Beam- but you were involved in many of the fics below so voilà)

Anyways, last chance to escape me rambling on about my fanfics.

First Fic of 2024:

Lover Boy (Hui X Reader)

Published on January 16th, 2024.

I was recovering with my fanfic winter story au- when Hui announced that his debut album was coming out. As a Hui bias- I was living on that high- and this fic would come out the day Hui’s comeback was released. It was inspired by his ‘Whui Is Me’ Concept #3 & #4 (rocker/crooner concept) and was originally inspired by Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy by Queen.

Last Fic:

Confession (Chanhee (New) X Reader)

Posted today - December 27th, 2024.

While my friend did donate the idea- I completed it like weeks later- in shambles over him. I didn’t get any Chanhee requests, and since purchasing his (& kyu’s) fromm (after having their bubbles). I’ve been a disaster- a muddled mess over this guy. I was so in my feelings writing this…

Longest fic:

Partners (Younghoon X Reader) with 5,582 words.

One of two the mafia aus I wrote this year. This is also my first tbz fanfic. This idea came long before The Grims but their ideas both came from The Convoyz. This fic in parts is sad, and it’s very angsty but it’s also a story of two lovers who would go to the end of the earth for each other and god I could have written so much more, but it needed to end at some point for the sake of my health. (Special thanks to Kebbi for putting this idea into my mind)

Longest Winter fic: A Creepmas Party (Changmin X Reader) with 3,061 words. (This fic came from a halloween nightmare turned dream- but was toned down for the season)

[Just for fun I’m including my longest fic of all time- from last year- at 40,163 words: Bedroom Talks (Changkyun X Reader)]

Most Popular fic for 2024:

Under the Glow of Candlelight (Juyeon X Fem! Reader) currently has 121 notes.

This is such a tame fic, considering early that month I had written what I had considered my “dirtiest” fic Blackout earlier that month. But god, genuinely I’m such a slow & soft Juyeon enthusiast. And I just ran with it. I can’t remember writing tbh, but I remember rereading it throughout the process and just being *melted* over it. So, knowing that others felt that way with this fic makes me genuinely happy.

Most Popular winter fic: Warm (Sunwoo X Reader) currently 34 notes.

Personal Pick:

Wish You Were Here (Changmin X Reader)

My personal comfort kyu fic since seeing them perform in nyc. I couldn’t bring myself to write a Vienna fic for him. But Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd was as close as I could get. This song played in my head for days after trying to write a fic for them- it finally clicked. And now, whenever I’m driving, and I hear this song it takes me back to this fic and to nyc for that briefest moment. And yeah, it means a lot to me even if it's just a drabble.

My favorite smut I’ve written is Scared? & My favorite winter fic was either Missing You or Xmas Movies.

Total fics written:

27 reg. fics + 15 winter fics = 42 fics in total (TBZ alone has 39 fics)

I separated these for the simple fact that I consider my winter writings in a different aspect of myself. That prolly doesn’t make sense. But yeah- they just operate on two different time basis needs. Reg fics can be done whenever. While winter fics have a deadline and I consider the me that writes them a different breed bhebhea. Also thought the Tbz statistic was quite fun, considering that means I dedicated basically my whole writing blog to them bhebhea. Outside of three, Hui^, Hyungwon, and Kihyun fics- it was a tbz writing year.

Total Words Written:

64,721 reg. fics + 24,036 winter fics = 88,757 words in total

Honestly, a little less words than I was expecting but I wrote more fics under 1k this year than any year before. And I’m quite content with it.

Top Artists Muses:

Kim Younghoon

At the beginning of the year he was my muse, he got ~5k fics back-to-back. As stated before- he is also the first tbz member I wrote a fic for. He’d get a total of six fic this year. Which are: Partners [Mafia au], Broken Belts [Mechanic au], Puzzle Pieces, Little Surprises, First Snowman Together❄️, and Dancing & Laughter❄️

Ji Changmin

I think this one is obvious (considering my new icon & header image)- but once he took over the ult spot- it brought madness upon me. There are eight fics about him, and like 3+ drafts… (he doesn’t leave me alone). Anyways his eight published fics are: Just a Bad Dream [Drabble], Scared? [Smut], Playing Strangers [Smut], Wish You Were Here [Drabble], Xmas Movies❄️, Blizzards ❄️, Christmassy?→❄️, and A Creepmas Party [Suggestive + Vampire au]❄️

Kim Sunwoo

I may not bias him- but oh boy- I love writing fics for him. Mostly because his personality reminds me a bit of my teenage self. And so, it’s very fun to heal my inner teenager writing about him~ He garnered five fics! Which are: Run Away, Saturday Night [Smut], Duty Calls [Smut + Android au], Warm❄️, Baking Cookies❄️

In Conclusion:

This has probably been my happiest year writing since I last actively wrote for Got7. While I’ve wanted to write for tbz in the past- this year because of the release of babydoll- writing for tbz came into fruition. Deobis remind me sm of ahgases with how kind and welcoming everyone is. It literally makes me feel so nice writing for my newest ult group. Honestly, I didn’t expect how quickly they would take over my whole life. I was so content just waiting for Mx to return and/or adding Svt(or ptg) to the full ult chair again. After all, I had just watched svt's concert in a theater & Hui had released his comeback. But once Hui’s album promo concluded- Tbz was right there- and it was history. I seriously wrote 3 other fics outside of them (93% of my fics were tbz 🫣). This has been a red-letter year for getting all my winter fics queued the night/morning before they were "due". And I finally decided to take smut requests~ Anyways, while I have many ideas for future fics (ex: Playing Killer! Hyunjae, Babydoll Line Poly au line, and possibly posting the alt. poly au ending for Blizzards) But- that comes with a stipulation. I’m entering a new job that’s more mentally taxing than physical. So, it may affect the number of fics I write... 😔 But as always quality over quantity~ So, we will see!

Thank you to everyone who has requested this year. And to all the new mutuals I made! Anyways, love you guys! Thank you so much for everything 🥰💖

#2024 wrapped #2024 writers wrapped #kpop writers wrapped #tagging games #tag games #tagged #beam 🐿️🌟#icy's year in review #i haven't used that tag in forever omg #2024 fics in review

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mrspark7777777 · 1 year ago

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https://www.tumblr.com/mrspark7777777/730435580873342976/httpstwittercomdailyjmthvstatus1709569065394?source=share

really anon??

i'm sorry but as an army and a fearnot, pls shut the actual fck up

they're under the same label (hybe)

he commented laughing under a tiktok of her viral moment (https://x.com/elsserafim/status/1692180175516291286?s=20) where she messed up her speaking part during their song 'fire in the belly', MANY other idols have made fun of it or referenced it, in fact most of south korea has as well, it's a meme at this point, which we know jk loves to make fun and reference things (jimin, g dragon, namjoon, basically all of bts lol, k dramas, ect)

he's a fan of music in general and likes gg songs. also boy is basically a tokki (new jeans fan) and would not surprise me if he was a fearnot (le sserafim fan), he played fearless (their debut single) in his camping vlog, he was asked to sing antifragile many times (including by namjoon, who also seems to be a fan of them)

bts as a whole have been nice and supportive of their juniors (as they did not really have seniors in the company or industry to do that for them), namjoon, hobi, tae, jimin, and jk have all either done a dance or sang a song from new jeans and/or le sserafim

le sserafim is filled with ARMY, most if not all of them have mentioned bts as someone to look up to/that they like, kazuha is fan of jimin and inspired by him as she is a former ballet dancer, yunjin was literally on army twt (https://x.com/saxophonist95/status/1651896094442373120?s=20), doing army selca day and very much a tae bias, they (like the rest of hybe lol) did the 'run bts' dance challenge, did tiktoks with hobi, jimin, and yoongi, one of my favorite interactions was when sakura and kazuha were asking jimin if he'd do a tiktok with them for 'unforgiven' (where he was the sweetest shy baby 🥺, giving older brother/grandpa energy 😭), yunjin and chaewon even sang part of 3D recently on a wv live (the "body to body" part) (https://x.com/Jungkook_SNS/status/1708553475356029022?s=20)

he commented under JIM BEAM's ACCOUNT, not le sserafim's or chaewon's personal account (like instagram or wv) about the SUGAR CONTENT OF THE DRINK, a question to the DRINK COMPANY. chaewon is just a new model for their highball drink ad, which we know jk likes to drink, including during his recent wv live and on suchwita, he's been dieting to the point he's not eating all day, drinking on an empty stomach, and getting fcking ivs for energy, all while he can't sleep (this boy worries me 😞😞)

gg stans love to fcking over exaggerate things, making jk out to be a pervert and p*do (even when chaewon is 23) bc of the bs people have been spreading about him towards women, to the point k antis are trying to get 3D (even the clean version) age restricted on k charts and get his 3D performance canceled

most of the people being weird about jk were not even fearnots (a lot of army also stan or casually like le sserafim), but unfortunately part of the fandom are also blinks, exols, or other kpop groups stans who don't really care about bts/jk and will do or say ANYTHING to make him look bad bc they're bts antis

jk literally said he does not have a girlfriend or feel the need for one, stop implying he's lying bc you're being weird or insecure about him interacting with something where a woman is present

let opposite sex idols be fcking friends, anytime male and female idols interact y'all make sh*t weird, most if not all of bts have female friends but for some reason (heteronormativity and homophobia) y'all can never be normal and just let them be friends. it happens all the time, especially with namjoon and jk. joon is nice to megan the stallion > he wants to fck her and y'all make him have a fetish with black women/people (people do this with jimin too...), joon is nice to halsey > he wants to fck her/is flirting, joon hangs out with so yoon (the girl he did smoke sprite with) > they're dating (even if there is a very likely chance she's gay/queer), joon attends somi's listening party (like jitb for hobi) > they're dating or he's trying to fck her

it's gets even weirder with jk bc since he was a MINOR people have been sexualizing him, he's thrown into the most bs dating rumors bc he sat near or looked at a woman (hell he doesn't even need to interact with them and psychos connect random sh*t as "proof"), plus i've seen/heard jk say/do things 1,000 times more sus with jimin, but y'all are going to look past that bc it's a woman jk's interacting with... most people (including me lol) don't think mingyu and jk are dating (outside of the jokes the fandom loves to make about anyone jk interacts with, except jimin) when they're out here hanging out together, getting drunk and looking at eo starry eyed while giggling on wv live, wearing matching outfits, jk was liking a shirtless tiktok of mingyu, they were in busan together, jk using mingyu's wv account to comment on one of their other friends' wv live, and many other things that were more sus. also that one time jk slapped his idol friend's butt at an award show and a fan (of that idol) started accusing jk of sa and bh had to sue

also tiktok algorithm is a thing, we know jk follows all hybe groups (including le sserafim), he likes memes and funny videos, he likes alcohol (especially highball), so it's not that far off to say that it might just have showed up on his feed (like i'll call out a solo on twt/x and suddenly my 'for you' section is filled with fcking pjms or jjks 😞, and i then have to spend a couple minutes blocking and clearing my tl), and not necessarily him looking it up bc he wants to fck her or is an obsessed fan (saw some chaewon solos and fearnots (including some big fan accounts 😐) say he's chaewon biased which might have led to kpop stans losing their sh*t)

also i found out chaewon fans (gg stans in general) have a tendency to be overprotective (some guy gave her a rose as part of a scripted thing on a variety show (i think??) which chaewon knew about and agreed to do and they (fans) lost it and threatened the guy to the point he came out and said he's no longer going to interact with female idols), and sometimes i get it bc south korea isn't the best place for women and even less in the idol industry (especially with the amount of grown ass male stans of ggs), like even when le sserafim on this variety show where one of the hosts has a reputation of messing with young female japanese idols (member of twice i think?) and he was making weird comments towards kazuha (she was 19 and is japanese) and every corner of kpop stan twt (including army) were upset and protecting her

pls let just jk interact with people (especially women 😞) without assuming he's fcking them, go outside and make friends (even of the opposite sex), and deal with your sex deprived bs elsewhere anon!

if y'all (kpop stans/weirdos) ruin my sseratan interactions istg....

i need eunchae and jk to interact badly bc that basically his daughter/twin (https://x.com/vyunmiin/status/1609513373414326272?s=20) (https://x.com/jjksamore/status/1610615833754992641?s=20), also i need to see yunjin around her bias (tae 🥺😭)

Damn. Anon came prepared. I don't think I need to add anything else. Anon, please accept this heart. Good job

#jikook antis #ask mrs park #jungkook #jeon jungkook #the fuckery

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way-of-the-sun · 1 year ago

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Even when it rains

@exols-silver-christmas

This is my Secret Santa gift for @tao-lay. It was a lot of fun to participate again this year and I hope this little story warms your heart during these cold months.

Genre: fluff, tiniest bit of angst

Prompt: something soft, something domestic, something that soothes the soul

Pairing: Kim Junmyeon (Suho)/Kim Jongdae (Chen)

Drabble

Words: 1.012

——————————————————————

Junmyeon was sitting at his desk, trying and failing to come up with some lyrics for his upcoming new solo album. His eyes were unfocused and he was gripping a pen lightly between his fingers. It must have been hours of him sitting there, trying to be productive but his brain just wouldn’t cooperate.

Junmyeon sighed and lifted his gaze to look out of the window. The sky was grey and it was raining heavily. The raindrops falling against the window were making a calming sound and lulled Junmyeon even further into a state of listlessness. A deep sigh left his mouth.

The last few weeks were stressful for all of Exo but Junmyeon bore a heavier burden as the leader. There was so much criticism, so much hate against one of their members and all of this made for a melancholic and emotional atmosphere. A few weeks ago Jongdae announced that he was going to be a father and the backlash wasn’t pretty.

Junmyeon got blind sided by the news when Jongdae first told all the members about his growing family. But he was happy for him nonetheless. Just like all the other members. Everyone encouraged him and Junmyeon could still remember the happiness that lightened up Jongdae's face when he received all the love from his Exo members. He remembered hugging Jongdae tight for longer than necessary and how Jondae's arms tightened around his body when he whispered words of support into Jongdae's ear.

But even though all the Exo members were happy and supportive, Junmyeon feared that Jongdae would get lots of hate for starting a family and marrying his girlfriend from some fans and in the end Junmyeon‘s fears came true. It hurt to know that his member, his dear friend for many years had to go through all this trouble just because the industry and some fans couldn’t accept that even though they’re idols, they still have a life outside of their job.

Lightning brightened the sky and the following thunder pulled Junmyeon out of his spiralling thoughts. He sighed again and buried his hand in his hair.

„I have to get it together…“ he murmured and gripped the pen tighter. Just when he wanted to start working on his lyrics again a knock on the door interrupted his half-hearted attempt.

Junmyeon put the pen down and turned to face the door.

„Come in.“ he said and waited for the person outside to come inside. A small surprised sound left his mouth when he saw Jongdae standing in the door frame. Jongdae was clutching an umbrella in his right hand, raindrops falling down onto the floor. He was wearing comfortable clothes and it looked like he came to visit Junmyeon straight after finishing his daily vocal lessons.

„Hyung…“ The unusually silent voice surprised and alarmed Junmyeon. There has seldom been a day when Jongdae was quiet. Junmyeon mustered his unexpected companion and saw deep circles under his eyes. The whole aforementioned situation seemed to affect his friend more than he wanted to admit maybe even to himself. Junmyeon knew that he had to be strong for Jongdae right now so he did what he did best and straightened his spine, put on his most comforting smile and invited Jongdae in.

„Come, sit down.“ Junmyeon gestured to the comfortable couch which was a new addition to this room. After a few too many nights of him falling asleep on his desk, trying to write lyrics, Junmyeon decided that he needed a place better suited for taking a nap. After pestering his manager he finally got his brand new couch where Jongdae now gingerly sat on. He looked smaller than normally sitting there. Exhausted and sad.

Jongdae’s facial expression plucked at Junmyeon's heartstrings and he knew that he had to interfere. So with the gentlest voice he asked this one important question.

„What is bothering you?“

Jongdae lifted his head and looked straight at Junmyeon, exhaling loudly.

„Hyung… shouldn’t they be happy for me?“ This quietly uttered question nearly broke Junmyeon’s heart. He immediately knew what Jongdae was talking about so Junmyeon stood up and walked over to the couch and sat down next to his friend. He put his arms around Jongdae’s shoulders and just hugged him tight for a moment. Jongdae returned the embrace and melted into the warm and strong arms surrounding him. When Junmyeon felt Jongdae melting into his embrace he started to speak again.

„They should. And I know for sure that so many people are happy for you. Including all of the boys and including me.“ Junmyeon stroked Jongdae’s hair. It had gotten longer and Junmyeon knew that Jongdae would trim his hair in the near future. But for now Junmyeon just let the strands of hair run through his fingers, occasionally playing with the ends of Jongdae's hair.

„Everything will be fine.“ He whispered. Jongdae didn’t say anything for a few seconds but then his quite voice could be heard.

„Thank you.“ Jongdae's arms squeezed Junmyeon's waist.

Junmyeon didn’t say anything any more just nodded and cradled his precious friend inside his arms. It didn’t take long before Jongdae’s breathing got deeper and his body sagged against Junmyeon’s. Smiling softly, Junmyeon relaxed into the couch and looked down on his friend sleeping in his arms. All the sorrow seemed to have left Jongdae’s face and Junmyeon felt the urge to just protect him always.

Junmyeon kissed him lightly on the brow and gripped him tighter, not wanting to let him go. The scent of Jongdae's shampoo drifted into his nose and Junmyeon took a beep breath, enjoying this closeness.

Jongdae was shuffling deeper into the warmth of the couch and the body heat of his companion. Junmyeon gazed at him full of affection and love.

„I will always be there for you.“

Junmyeon listened to the rain that was pelting against the windows. The sound was lulling him to sleep. He closed his eyes and just before he drifted off to sleep a soft whisper left his lips.

„Even when it rains.“

#exolss23 #exo fanfics #junmyeon #jongdae #suho #chen #exo fanfic #exo-l secret santa 2023

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neojayink · 1 year ago

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Bonus sketch dump for side order hype. Pls excuse the roughness lol

2 new wpn classes

Juggernaut - water jug hammer

Turf board - hover board / surf board with water jets

Double sided Markatana - jotter class lightweight fusion. Attacks faster and swings twice but does half the damage of the original.

(Markatana 2.0 reworked incoming since we now know how swords work in Splat)

Bubble bands - working concept for “gloves” / dauber wpns. Unconfirmed wpn as of now.

Pallet board - sub wpn concept for reflecting enemy projectiles. Unconfirmed.

Expired Octolings. Another look at the “zombie” theme for potential hero mode shenanigans. They would use bones and ink to create monstrous anomalies. Idea was too similar to the dlc enemies so it’s scrapped for now. Using this energy on “exolings” check other posts.

Light saber inspired hero markatana.

I don’t believe this is the first stage I’ve shown but sharing this concept because we might actually see something like it in the real game. I’ve scrapped my idea for an airport stage bc I thought it wasn’t splatoon appropriate but there’s yet another idea I liked that I can actually say I’m happy to see.

But back to this stage. This train station is huge and underground. Idk how safe battling would be here but for safety reasons let’s just imagine that when trains are arriving there’s a clear shield wall around the rails. When trains are gone you can still fall out of bounds though.

For its turf war gimmick I could see the trains leaving and all the turf you’ve accumulated on top of (or inside) the train will be like a reserved area of ink that leaves the stage and acts as turf that’s permanently claimed. Imagine the trains as surface area that leaves mid match like a reverse of Mahi, where the change adds turf. In this case the change will hold on to turf as points that cannot be overwritten and a surprise after the match when the train returns to the station for calculating points. Just concepts for now tho. Might not even keep this gimmick idea.

#sneo concept #splatoon 3 #splatoon

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theboytatu · 11 days ago

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girl you’d make the olden days even more fun, wdym?? you’d be one of the sane ones, god know we needed those. also i didn’t mean to upset you with my ask, i’m sorry if i did. just…stanning exo was toxic but also we had our corner of normal exols where we were getting regularly fed with good music and good content in an industry that took itself a lot less seriously.

and now…well you know how it is now…it’s genuinely insane to see how much things have changed and how it’s mostly not for the better…😔

lmao dw it's all good 😭 i just wish i had been an exol during the golden age like i know it was probably insane to witness them at their peak and to get like... actual content with all of them in the same room.... maybe instead of being traumatized by one direction and swearing off boybands forever i could have come into exoplanet before it imploded. like the party ended four years ago hfkfmvnkd but anyway guess what im still here!!

#asks

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mybiasisexo · 17 days ago

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Hey friend, can i be vulnerable in your blog?

I gotta admit it hurt a little to see kyungsoo making time in his busy schedule to go to his friend's fm and his pop up store but not to go see suyeol at smtown where he supposedly left in good terms and all (unlike cbx) like lay traveled all the way from china just to see them and he couldn't do a 30 minute drive on a sunday?

Also he released his solo lightstick and it felt like getting rid of the last thing linking his solo career to the group

Idk I'm sorry for being dramatic, i don't hate him or anything it just felt like a lot in the current situation and after seeing only suyeol fighting for their lives to keep the name of the group alive ngl it was pretty sad and the promise of a new album in this economy seems kinda unreal but I'm holding to it

I'm sorry if this is annoying i just got very emotional this past weekend after seeing all that and i wanted to talk to someone about it ❤️

Yeah I totally get that 😔. It does feel like out of all the members ksoo feels like he’s distancing from the exo name the most. Like when he dipped he was GONE 🏃‍♂️💨!!

I know it’s nothing personal with the boys tho. I genuinely think the members all love each other deep and their friendship will never falter!!!!

The whole light stick thing…I understand where you’re coming from I do I do. It makes sense to me. He’s establishing himself as a soloist and it’s the next step for sure esp if he’s planning to tour soon. The only thing that really bothers me is his bitch ass solo stans 🙄🙄. This ain’t a victory for y’all!!!!

Yeah the timing was v bad. Us exol are v sensitive with these kind of things so again I completely get where you’re coming from. It was def bittersweet seeing just suyeol on that stage 😥😥. And it does feel like they’re (and yixing my fucking HORT) the only ones fighting to keep exo alive 🥺

And girrrrl that cb??? I’ll believe it when I see it. They’re the new Rihanna to me 🙃

You’re not annoying!! I’m glad you felt safe enough to share this with me! And like I said, being hurt by the members choices is not a bad thing! It’s actually v normal cause these men gonna do everything BUT what we wish they’d do smh.

I’ve mourned the exo we’ve known for years now so I feel like I’m v numb to these things. I guess it’s just one of those things we have to come to terms with. Exo isn’t dead but…they’re not the same 😔. And it suuucks but this is our new reality 😭

#I hate being an exol lolololololol #gonna become a solo stan 😗✌🏾#….#never mind I was gonna say idk which member BITCH !!!#…#it’s Kai duh!!!#anyways thank you for sending this and feel free to send an ask my way whenever!!!!!#ask #anon

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tao-lay · 1 year ago

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Spinning Around You

@exols-silver-christmas

Hello @way-of-the-sun! This is my little gift for you, and I hope you like it. I had several approaches when I received the prompt, but I really hope this gives the prompt you left some justice. Happy Holidays!

Title: Spinning Around You Genre: Fluff, BodySwap, Soulmate Characters: Kim Minseok, Do Kyungsoo Words: 1,394

Minseok learned the hard way that a large salad plate, and a champagne flute cost 50 bucks; especially if they’re the good kind. His tips for the night were wiped out because of a rookie mistake he could have avoided if he had just stopped to let a family pass instead of trying to squeeze past them. He sighed as he handed the last dollar to his manager, pocketing only a measly 6 dollars into his pocket at the end of the night.

"See you tomorrow," he called out, adjusting his backpack behind him before waving at his coworker who was assigned to be the closer for tonight.

Once he reached his apartment three blocks away, he plopped down on bed only to stare up at the ceiling. 'I guess i can skip dinner?' he thought to himself. Minseok could feel his eyelids flutter shut but his stomach growled just before he could be lured to sleep.

He glanced at his wall clock then sighed, pushing himself off the bed then slipping on his shoes. Minseok decided to make his way to a nearby fast-food restaurant that offers value meals. Once he was there, he opted for a meal that had chicken, rice, and a drink. The restaurant was quick with his order and he decided to have the food taken out so he could eat his meal in the privacy of his own home.

"Watch where you’re going," said a gruff voice as a hand lightly pushed at Minseok’s shoulder.

"Sorry," he replied. The man was a good foot taller than he was and he wasn’t trying to pick any fights tonight. He caught a glimpse of a familiar face under a black cap behind the said gruff man, though. The man had a fair complexion, complementing the dark clothing he wore, and the plumpest lips he had ever seen up close. He looked familiar but he just couldn’t put his finger on who that might be.

Minseok did as the bigger man said, and minded his own business. He headed back home to eat his meal in peace. It wasn’t the most mind-blowing meal he’s had, but it was still food for his stomach so wasn’t too disappointed at it. Minseok threw away the disposables then resumed his lying position on his bed. He whipped out his phone and looked up the latest performance of this one singer he had been having a crush on for the past couple of months.

With his body being tired, his stomach full, and his heart slowly filled with lyrics and song, he eventually drifted off to sleep.

Minseok woke up to an alarm. It wasn’t his alarm but he shut it off out of instinct. He patted around the bed to feel for his phone. And... Well, he felt a phone, it wasn’t his. But he managed to unlock it with his fingerprint? Everything is a blur, but he was sure he was awake.

Why is it 4am? Why was he waking up to an alarm that was two hours earlier than he was used to? Why was his bed so big and soft?

He sat up on his bed then stepped on the floor, seeing something that freaked him out more than being able to unlock a stranger's phone using his fingerprint. He saw feet that weren’t his. It was connected to his body, sure. But they weren’t his! He stumbled out of bed then headed over to where he thought the bathroom was. It was the walk-in closet. Minseok padded out then walked to the other door he could find in the room. Thankfully, it was the bathroom and right there, in the mirror, staring at him, was a face that wasn’t his. Instead, it belonged to a famous singer whom he was a fan of.

He was in the body of the very soulful singer, and gifted dancer do Kyungsoo. The singer that he had been crushing on for three years and counting. The singer whose concerts he went to even if he was just seated in the general admission section. The celebrity who he has met in person after winning a raffle draw from buying his album. The singer who gave him the warmest smile and told him that he recognized him, even though it was their first time meeting in person.

Minseok gasped loudly upon the realization then covered his mouth, making the idol in the reflection also cover his mouth in shock. He looked down at his hands, turned them around over and over before he ended up lightly slapping his face.

It was real, he wasn’t dreaming. He was definitely in this celebrity’s body and it most likely meant that the same celebrity was now in his bed, waking up in a dingy apartment. Minseok wants to run to where his apartment is and apologize to the celebrity.

Minseok made himself decent; wearing a simple pair of jogging pants, a plain shirt, and a cap to cover his current identity as this artist. This artist had won several awards on music shows already, able to hold decent and high notes despite dancing flashy choreography. It was only one of the reasons why Minseok has a crush on him, but that wasn’t the time to gush. If he could get to where his apartment was, and maybe talk to the person whom he switched bodies with, they could successfully return to their own bodies.

After successfully dodging two big security guards, several "loving" fans who were "staying" in the room beside where Kyungsoo was staying at in the hotel, and managing to get a hold of a cab, he finally arrived at his apartment. His fancy yet casual clothing stuck out like a sore thumb in his own neighborhood. He stepped inside the apartment then adjusted his cap to cover his face in case anyone would recognize him. When he reached his apartment, he knocked on the door twice.

The door opened not soon later, his own eyes staring right at him. Unlike him though, he was met with excitement and with glee instead of sheer confusion. The door flung open and he was met with a body hugging his own.

Now he was more confused?

When Kyungsoo in Minseok's body pulled away, he was looking at the other with wide and sparkling eyes. He was looking at the other so lovingly, one would think that it was Kyungsoo (in Minseok's body) that was the fan.

"I have been waiting for this day," Kyungsoo said, gently leading Minseok back into the small apartment. "And I had been hoping it was you."

Minseok was so confused. Yes, it was his idol telling him all these lovely things that are making his toes curl and his stomach flip, but why?

"If you remember during the third grade, when you helped a kid buy milk from the canteen because that kid didn't have enough money.." Kyungsoo was blushing, and it was strange for Minseok to see himself blushing, but he welcomed it. He vaguely remembers the story, though.

"That kid was me," Kyungsoo hummed, almost melting with the way his voice crooned. "And I had the biggest crush on you that time,” he nodded, lightly fiddling with the hem of his shirt. “But our family moved away even before I could tell you how cool you were, and how you made me feel seen. My crush was rekindled when you won my fansign event. It was just so unfortunate you didn’t recognize who I was."

Now it was Minseok's turn to blush.

"So now," Kyungsoo smiled widely, "Shall we.. Return to our own bodies?"

"But how," Minseok croaked, voice hoarse from not using it the entire morning.

"Like this," Kyungsoo's smile grew wider as he leaned closer to Minseok then pressed a soft kiss to his lips afterwards.

When Minseok opened his eyes afterwards, he was looking at Kyungsoo. It had indeed worked; they were back to their own bodies. Before Kyungsoo could utter another word, it was Minseok who closed the gap between their lips again.

As they pulled away again, Kyungsoo smiled at Minseok, lightly adjusting his cap. “By any chance, do you have three dollars?”

Minseok tilted his head in confusion again.

“I kinda.. Have a craving, and I want to buy milk from the convenience store.”

#exolss23 #exo fanfics #exo fanfic #exo-l secret santa 2023 #minseok #kyungsoo #d.o.#xiumin #exo #kpop

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