#AND I SEE YOUR TRUE COLORS SHINING THROUGH

[tamagoneko]

TRUE COLORS

[iiryoku]

ᵀʰᵃᵗ ᶤᶠ ᴵ ᶜᵃᶰ'ᵗ ᵇᵉ ᶜˡᵒˢᵉ ᵗᵒ ʸᵒᵘ ᴵ'ˡˡ ˢᵉᵗᵗˡᵉ ᶠᵒʳ ᵗʰᵉ ᵍʰᵒˢᵗ ᵒᶠ ʸᵒᵘ ᴵ ᵐᶤˢˢ ʸᵒᵘ ᵐᵒʳᵉ ᵗʰᵃᶰ ˡᶤᶠᵉ ⁽ᵐᵒʳᵉ ᵗʰᵃᶰ ˡᶤᶠᵉ⁾ ᴬᶰᵈ ᶤᶠ ʸᵒᵘ ᶜᵃᶰ'ᵗ ᵇᵉ ᶰᵉˣᵗ ᵗᵒ ᵐᵉ ᵞᵒᵘʳ ᵐᵉᵐᵒʳʸ ᶤˢ ᵉᶜˢᵗᵃˢʸ ᴵ ᵐᶤˢˢ ʸᵒᵘ ᵐᵒʳᵉ ᵗʰᵃᶰ ˡᶤᶠᵉ ᴵ ᵐᶤˢˢ ʸᵒᵘ ᵐᵒʳᵉ ᵗʰᵃᶰ ˡᶤᶠᵉ

[bahablastplz]

Canvas: Hyunjin x Reader

Content: A late night with your boyfriend turns into something more as you both try something you had only talked about before; smut and fluff Warnings: p in v sex, unprotected sex, cockwarming, heavy heavy praise WC: 2500 Happy birthday Hyunjin <3

Hyunjin was painting again. 

As you roll out of bed in the middle of the night, this fact is apparent. The smell of paint wafts from the living room where he has his work space set up. A large tarp on the floor, a small easel propped up and a lamp set to illuminate his latest work. Paints lay haphazardly around him, a blend of colors and shades of hues mushed across the palette. The rest of the room was dimly lit, moonlight shimmering through the curtains and shining on your boyfriend’s face. God, he was breathtaking. One paintbrush is in his mouth and the other in his hand, gliding across the canvas. The sight makes you let out a breathy laugh. 

“Love?” He looks up at you now, watching your frame as you admire him from the wall. The lamp light reflects onto his dark-framed glasses when his gaze meets yours, and you smile at how the yellow and orange lights glow across his features. He smiles back. It’s a small gesture, and even though you’ve seen him smile hundreds of times the gesture warms your heart. 

You cross the room in your nightgown, the cold breeze from the air-conditioning causing you to curl into yourself slightly. Hyunjin beckons to the spot on the floor beside him and you take it eagerly, body curling around him and head resting on his lap. 

“Couldn’t sleep?” you ask him. He has the habit of sneaking away in the night, so as to not wake you, and painting until the sun starts to creep through the windows. It’s cathartic for him, a way for him to get away from his thoughts that trouble him in the night. In moments like this you love to watch him, how his brows furrow in concentration and his lips get caught between his teeth. Hyunjin was the most in his element when he had a canvas in front of him. 

“Mm,” he confirms. He checks his hand to make sure no paint dirties it before he rests it on your hip, drawing soothing circles on top of your nightgown. Your head nuzzles deeper into him and you breathe in his scent, letting out a content hum. 

“Did I wake you?” He asks a moment later. His hand moves effortlessly across canvas, dappling acrylic paint across a vision of flowers that was already the picture of perfection to you–but would probably take him at least a few more hours to complete. He was a perfectionist like that; he could point out every absence of color, needed highlight or small imperfection of his work that was near imperceivable to you. 

“No, the bed was just cold. I wanted to see where you were,” you hum against his skin. Your words were true, of course; because you get so hot when you sleep next to your boyfriend, the house usually stays a bit chillier but you notice his absence sometimes when he leaves the bed late at night. He now wears a dark colored hoodie that swallows his features, meant for his comfort when lounging around the house like this. His pants are also meant for lounging, the gray sweatpants soft but covered in remnants of previous art projects known lovingly as his ‘painting pants.’ 

“Do you want me to warm you up?” You nod and crawl into his lap, nuzzling your face right into the crook of his neck. He lets out a breathy laugh underneath you, arms wrapping around your frame to bring you closer as he continues to work. After a few minutes your boyfriend leans closer to the canvas, examining a piece of his work that must have not looked right to him. This action shifts your position, however, your core now pressed right against his clothed length. You tense against him and your breath hitches slightly, and you know that he’s caught on to your arousal. 

“How much longer?” You whine against him. He lets out a laugh and uses his free hand to stroke your back, long fingers moving languidly across your spine. The action is meant to soothe you but has the opposite effect, sending an electrical shock down your body and causing you to let out a small breath. 

“Why, love? Are you feeling needy for me?” You nod almost embarrassingly fast. While you love watching Hyunjin paint and could for hours, you can’t help the want that settles deep in your gut that begs for his touch, his attention, and his desire to be released toward you. 

“I was hoping to paint for a while more,” he confesses. You try not to let your disappointment show, but you let out a moan as the man’s hand finds your hips, pushing you harder against him. The friction that meets your core has you feeling more desperate and you buck into him and he’s smiling, and it infuriates you to know he’s intentionally trying to work you up. He has always loved seeing you pliant, needy and desperate for him, and you were unfortunately already in that state somehow. “Do you want to sit on my cock baby?” Your head reels back to look at him with wide eyes. “You can sit on my cock while I paint but you have to be good and promise not to move, okay?” 

You had talked with him about cock-warming before but it was never something you had actually done. Now, it must be just past 3 a.m., and you were finally turning the hypothetical into reality–it felt unreal. You let out an affirmative sound and nod your head, and he’s maneuvering your bodies to get you set up. He repositions you so that you’re on your knees above him, slightly towering over him where he sits on the floor. He’s lifting his hips up and pushing his pants down just past his thighs, releasing his cock and pumping it one, two times. He’s hard already, and you watch him in awe as he works to pleasure himself in front of you. It’s just for a second, but enough for him to have your breath come to a stop, which is exactly what he was waiting for. 

His hands find place on your waist. He’s hitching your nightgown up above your hips, leaving you bare for him. It’s no secret that sometimes you sleep without underwear on, but he smirks at you and stares in a way that leaves you feeling utterly exposed despite him having seen you like this hundreds of times. His fingers come up to your core, rubbing it and gathering your wetness to spread it around your folds. You let out a moan at the action, thankful for the contact before he’s dragging you down and placing his cock at your entrance. 

He leans back on his hands and looks up at you, waiting for you to do the rest. And so you do, piercing yourself onto him and sliding down his length, inch by inch. Hyunjin was well-endowed, so to speak, so it was never an easy fit to take him but it felt pleasurable nonetheless. Finally he is fully inside you, and your breathing and each moan is completely synced with one another. A hand comes up to bring a loose strand of hair behind your ear, and the movement is so domestic and loving that it makes your heart pang in your chest. 

“Beautiful,” is all he says. 

He brings your nightgown back down so that it covers you up, remembering your recent complaint about being cold. Your head finds its place back on his shoulder, in the crook of his neck like it’s your home. 

And, he continues painting. 

You’re not sure why you’re surprised–that’s exactly what he said he was going to do. Your boyfriend has a lot of self-control and restraint that you did not, and it was especially evident when you were intimate. While you often become wrecked from the start, he would let his pleasure build up and would reel from the delayed gratification of it all. 

Your knees find the ground and before you can help yourself, you put your weight on them. You’re propping yourself up, sliding up his length about halfway, before crashing back down. Your clit drags deliciously across his abdomen in the process, causing you to let out a heavy sigh of pleasure. You rock against him only one more time before strong hands find your shoulders, pushing you down hard. You try to bounce up again and find that you’re unable, his grip keeping you in place so firmly that you cannot budge despite your attempts. 

“Don’t,” he scolds. His words are sharp, not laced with venom but to remind you of his earlier demands. 

At this angle, his hands pushing you down causes his cock to be seated deeper inside you than before and you let out an embarrassing squeak. You feel so full, and you tell him so. 

He has an idea; he grabs you and leans forward, grabbing your legs and wrapping them around his torso. When he sits back down, you are now unable to give yourself the momentum needed to move your hips or rock against his length. You are fully seated on him and he is fully inside you, his arms wrapping around you and holding you flush against him as he continues his work. 

It’s silent, now, with the exception of your shallow and uneven breathing. You find yourself clenching against him over and over again, reeling in the sensation of him inside you. And it’s just that–you can really feel him like this, every ridge and vein, every pulse of him inside you, and it has you feeling lightheaded. 

“God, baby, you’re gushing around me,” he whispers into your hair. “Taking me so good.” His praise makes you smile and squeeze tighter around him and he groans. You feel smug to finally get him to lose his composure, but he starts spouting more praise that makes all thoughts vanish in an instant.

“So good for me, baby, you know that? Such a good pussy. You’re the love of my life, God, you were made just for me. You were made for me to love you, to hold you like this… So pretty for me. You’re all mine, meant to take my cock, yeah?” You whimper against him, the mixture of sweet nothings and sexual praise whispered to you making you feel dizzy. 

It’s several more minutes before you say something, finally coming to the conclusion that you would have to be the one to initiate it further, if he would even let you. 

“Please…” It’s all you can say at first. 

“What, love?” He teases. He knows exactly what you want. 

“Need you to move, please, Hyune… It’s too much. Need to cum,” You beg. You’re sure you sound pathetic but you can’t find it in you to care. If there’s anyone who’s not only willing but wanting to see you in your most pathetic and vulnerable states, it’s Hyunjin. 

“Poor thing, does it feel that good?” His voice asks with a small lilt in it. You’re sniffling now, embarrassed about the tears starting to spill down your cheeks but so overcome in pleasure and sensitivity; you can both feel it in the ways that you clench around him unabashedly. He brings his head back to see your face, to examine your tears. He’s seen you on the verge of tears a few times while having sex from being overwhelmed by pleasure, and though it always makes his heart tighten because he’s the one that’s doing that to you, he’s the one making you feel that good,  he knows it’s about time you’ve reached your limit. He wipes a stray tear away and you don’t even realize that he has dropped his paintbrush until he’s picking you up and bringing you over to the couch. 

He leans back, enraptured by you, and brings you in for a sweet but messy kiss. It’s open-mouthed and hot, and it feels like you’re breathing into him and filling up his lungs. Your tongues meet and you’re covered in spit, a mixture of yours and his, and suddenly his hands are on your hips and his feet are planted strongly on the ground. He doesn’t disconnect his mouth from yours as he thrusts up into you long and hard, but any coherence is long since gone and you’re not sure you’re even kissing back anymore, instead giving loud, high-pitched moans into his mouth. 

His hands move to the undersides of your thighs and he uses his strength to piston into you. In this way, you can only take what he gives but it’s more than enough, as he knows your body better than you do. 

“I’m close, love,” he confesses. He lets his head fall back onto the couch but his eyes never leave yours, drinking up your scrunched up face and open-mouthed pants. It’s no surprise that you’re both close to your arrival so soon, after sitting on him for so long your pleasure feels like it’s increased tenfold. 

“Me too,” you say, struggling to get the words out. You didn’t have to tell him, though. He could tell by the way you were starting to tighten around him. 

“Go ahead and touch your pretty clit for me, make yourself come.” You follow his command, hand snaking down to where your bodies meet. He was right, you were absolutely soaked, and you use this wetness to shakily circle around your clit. His thrusts get harder, deeper, the way they do right before he cums. Unsurprisingly, you beat him to it, clenching all over his length and throwing your head back as you release. 

He follows suit, thrusting into you a few more times before he finds his release, spilling deep inside of you. He holds you close, rutting into you now slowly and working you both through your intense orgasms. When he stills, you collapse into his arms and he holds you tight, embracing you and running a hand through your hair as he praises you. When he finally pulls you off of him you feel empty and this makes you whine. Hyunjin pulls up his sweatpants and carries you to your shared bathroom, placing you onto the sink as he runs the bath. It’s late, but you feel grimy and covered in sweat so the bath is more than welcomed. 

When you look into the mirror, you can’t help but laugh. Your nightgown is covered in paint at your hips and your waist. Though he had tried to be so careful, you suppose it was the risk that came with the reward. When Hyunjin sees the target of your laughter, he joins you and apologizes sheepishly, promising to buy you another. 

“It’s okay, this can just be my paint nightgown,” you joke. “I’ll wear it the next time we have sex while you’re painting.” He smiles at you affectionately, and when you finally get back to sleep it’s in his arms and your bed is warm again.

*** Masterlist Recs

[yan-lorkai]

Hi Lorkai! I really like your work! I hope I'm not breaking any rules, but could I request something?

So, Malleus hatched from an egg, right? I was thinking about a dragon egg magically appearing in his bed while he sleeps. When he sees it, he knows it's his and his darling's baby. Like, the egg manifests because he loves his darling VERY MUCH.

What do you think he would do next? Would he tell his darling about their baby, or keep it a secret? Would he use the egg to baby-trap his darling?

If you're uncomfortable writing this request, feel free to ignore it! It's alright, I understand. Have a great day!"

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ A/N: Hiii darling (⁠｡⁠･⁠ω⁠･⁠｡⁠)⁠ﾉ~, thanks for your gentle words. Wrote a little drabble and some hcs for you, hope you like it and have a good day /night too!

It was almost like a dream coming true, albeit a bit too early. Malleus was still courting his beloved, slowly expressing his interest through his gestures and words, but he loved his beloved so much that his feelings simply gave life to a whole new being. And as soon as he wakes up in the morning, his eyes water when he sees the egg, when he holds it and feels life pulsing inside. Malleus doesn't usually cry but he cries a waterfall while he holds his unborn child. He is just that happy.

His and his darling's child. Your child. He already imagine they would look. Would they look more like you or more like him? Would they smile so sweetly like you? Would they be sassy and funny like you? Gods, he already wished to meet them. Alas, dragon faes take a while to hatch.

Thunder rolls across the dark skies as a sea of ​​feelings passes through him. And while he holds the egg against his chest, Malleus sets out to find you and tell you the news. He knows where you are, he can feel it and in a shower of green fireflies he appears in front of you. Eyes still shining with tears and a light blush over his face.

"Meet our child." He says softly. Softer than anything he's ever said, so happy that he hands you the egg to hold while he explains to you how dragon fae are conceived.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Now, how Malleus act depends on how you react to the news. He could be a doting boyfriend (and someday in the future a husband) to you and an amazing father for the child. If you are happy with the news, he's going to be delighted, already planning your marriage and life in his mind, discussing names for your child and the color palette for their room. Overall the next days he's spending each and every minute by your side.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Though the moment the child is born, all of you are going home. A school is no place for a baby to grow up, if you still want to pursue your education then Malleus is going to hire the best professors to give you private lessons in the castle. And also to help you adapt to fae society if you are human.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ But if you are to reject him or deny being the other parent, Malleus will not take this lightly. The child is yours, no amount of denying will work. You may just be scared but this is no excuse to sprout lies, a new life was born for his love for you and dragon fae needs love from both parents to exist, or so he says. He'll guilt trip into becoming the other parent and to stay with him. He didn't have his parents growing up and he was so so lonely, his child will have both parents present, even if he has to use his magic on you for you to cooperate.

[nxuvillette]

“BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE!”

SPENDING CHRISTMAS W/ TR MEN

synopsis: spending the holidays with your boyfriend is like a dream come true.

❥- including : baji keisuke, kazutora hanemiya, chifuyu matsuno

❥- note : decided to write something sweet for christmas coming up !! also new theme.. so new post colors :> ! i hope you guys enjoy, reblogs are appreciated <;3.

content warnings : sfw, fem!reader, ageless + blank blogs dni, fluff, christmas activities, mentions of food (baji + chifuyu), use of pet names (babe , baby , princess), tooth rotting fluff.

♡ BAJI KEISUKE

you were honestly super excited that baji suggested building gingerbread houses together for christmas. you had seen many couples partake in the activity and now that you were in a relationship, you wanted to try it out.

baji came over with all of the supplies you needed. he even suggested that you two make little gingerbread men to live in your little houses together. he honestly thought it was super fun decorating their faces with different gumdrops and drawing on their smiles with delicious frosting. it was fun. both of you were having such a fun time doing it that you made multiple gingerbread men and you had even made them girlfriends to have. baji thought it was a cute addition.

it was all fun and games until you and baji got to the house making part.

neither of you expected it to be so complicated and so.. messy. there was frosting all over your fingers and the parts of the houses kept collapsing or caving in whenever you moved your fingers away. there were a few times that he thought it would stick together, but in the end, he was met with the same fate of the pieces falling apart and onto the placemat on the table.

although it wasn’t you thought it would be, you two were still having fun. you would both laugh whenever a piece of the houses would rip over or when the pieces of candy wouldn’t stick long enough. it was hilarious to both of you, so that’s why you continued trying to perfect the houses. baji kept making the same comment that the gingerbread men can’t be homeless and even if the house was falling apart they needed a roof over their heads. you had to agree with him on that.

after almost two hours of working, you both got your houses into decent condition. it was messy and didn’t look anything like the picture on the box, but you still had so much fun regardless. you two were honestly proud that you didn’t give up halfway through and throw them away. 

“well, we did our best!” baji exclaimed, popping one of the many gumdrops into his mouth.

you couldn’t help but laugh at how they looked, but what he said was true. “i agree!” you then came over beside him to take a photo of the houses.

baji snaked his arm around your waist, pulling you onto his lap. he dragged his thumb along the corner of your lip to wipe off the excess frosting. “had a little somethin’ there..” he smiled, pressing a soft kiss onto you. 

you couldn’t hide your grin, brushing your fingers through his hair. he honestly loved when you did that. your fingers always felt so nice threaded through his locks, brushing against his scalp. he could fall asleep like that if he wanted to. “i love you..” you whispered, looking into his chocolate brown eyes. 

he squeezed your body against him, bringing you closer. “i love you more, baby, don’t you forget that.” he intertwined his fingers with yours, spreading his warmth onto your hand.

♡ KAZUTORA HANEMIYA

it was actually your idea to go out and see christmas lights with kazutora. there was a festival that was planning a lighting ceremony and you decided to go with him. both of you were really excited, considering it was your first christmas together as a couple.

you bundled up in your winter clothes. it was going to be a chilly night, but neither of you minded the cold if it meant you got to be together when you saw the lights. it wasn’t a far drive at all and there were a lot of people who were waiting to see the christmas tree shine. the sheer winter wind nipped at your exposed skin, which brought you closer to your boyfriend. kazutora had a tight hold on your body, making sure that you weren’t shivering. he’d hate to see you feeling any kind of cold.

soon enough, the tree was lit. multicolored lights were laced around the trees branches, making them twinkle in your eyes. kazutora couldn’t help but smile at the sight of you gleaming like a small child at the pretty tree. you looked so cute. he just couldn’t help but admire you in the glow of the lights.

you then walked along the sidewalks, pointing at the different trees and bushes that had lights strung along their leaves. you and kazutora had even taken a few photos along the way. he loved nothing more than to spend time with you, even if that meant his toes were numb. you never failed to make him happy and that’s why spending holidays with you felt so special. you made them just a little more exciting than it usually would be. 

kazutora held your hand as you both viewed the different houses in the neighborhood. some people had decorated their houses beautifully. “baby, look! that snowman is adorable!” you pointed at the glowing decor with a smile on your face. 

he chuckled when his eyes focused on it. he had an image flow into his head. it was of you and him together in the future when you had your own house together. you’d be decorating the front yard with too many lights to count and you would have the brightest house on the block. he could never say no to you. 

“looks cute, princess, just like you.” he kissed your cheek, making your face turn warm from the sudden contact.

you shivered at the sudden gust of wind that danced through the air. the temperature had dropped even lower than it had originally started at during the beginning of the evening. “i don’t mean to c-cut it short but can we go home? i-i’m freezing!” you looked at your boyfriend apologetically.

kazutora draped his arm around your shoulder, pecking your lips in the process. “of course, babe. maybe we can make some hot chocolate when we get home, yeah?” he nodded, to which you agreed eagerly.

♡ CHIFUYU MATSUNO

you were excited that evening to spend time with your boyfriend for a little christmas date. he had been talking about it for weeks. chifuyu planned every little thing and he was so ecstatic to have you come over and be with him. he had even gotten you both matching pajamas to snuggle up in.

when you arrived, you were hit with the aroma of food and you saw what your boyfriend had done for you.

chifuyu had bought an abundance of snacks and drinks for you two. he had quite literally gone all out for you and it made you so happy. there hadn’t been a single man in your life that would do something like that for you. it honestly made you fall for chifuyu even harder than you already had before. he had this smile on his face and he looked so handsome in his pajamas.. even if there was a snowman on the shirt.

the two of you cuddled up on the couch with many blankets and watched classic christmas movies together. the food he brought was honestly great too. pizza, cookies, candy canes, he had even made hot chocolate with those extra large marshmallows that could hardly fit in the mug. it was absolutely perfect.

with the food and how late it was, you found yourself becoming sleepy. you had quite the busy day and relaxing with chifuyu was only making you want to drift off and sleep for as long as you could. he could sense by your hums and droopy eyes that you were indeed exhausted, so he decided to take you upstairs to his room so you could both retire for the evening in there. 

“tired, huh?” chifuyu asked, lying down beside you in bed.

you had your eyes closed, but you nodded in response. “yeah.. i was so busy today..” you scooched closer to your boyfriend to feel his arms wrap around your body. 

he pecked the top of your head, tucking you underneath his chin so you were resting against his chest. he smiled to himself at your sleepy form. you were so cute. there were so many reasons for him to love you, and this was just one of them. “goodnight, baby.. i love you.” he rested his chin atop the crown of your head.

a light snore came from your lips, making him laugh through his nose. he couldn’t imagine spending christmas with anyone else but you by his side.

© NXUVILLETTE ┆ all rights reserved, do not repost, translate, or claim as your own.

[yourfavpasifikacreator]

Another ^^

Clarisse x Fem Child of Aphrodite reader who is basically a copy of Clarisse but doesn't really like fighting. The Regina George of the camp (but calmer lol) She and Clarisse are partners in crime who are dating.

But she's like really really soft with clarisse, can't even bring herself to say no to her most of the time. Seeing her through rose tinted glasses

- Marshmellow :]

A/n: hii I loved this request sorry it took so long for me to do

Clarisse la rue x fem!reader

you and Clarisse were two of the most dangerous people to mess with in the camp like two partners in crime your mother gifted you rose-tinted glasses and you always thought your eye color was very ugly you had violet eyes.

you two were sitting on top of your bunk bed you had the top bunk bed decorated with a red rose color your mother's favorite color.

"y/n?." Clarisse said softly speaking to you moving her beautiful curly hair to the side.

"yeah?" you said softly smiling at her the ray of light coming into your cabin a shining in your face was like Cupid shot an arrow at Clarisse's heart.

"Why do you always wear those glasses?" she responded curiously

you sighed you really didn't know if she'd still like you if you told her the truth but her beautiful yet deadly look in her "Well, my mom gave these to me.." that wasn't fully true but then she put her hand on top of yours you felt like you could melt it was comforting knowing that she cared about you.

"look y/n I'm not going to judge you or look at you any way different," she said with such kindness in her heart you could feel it.

"what if I just showed you my eyes?" you said feeling some sort of confidence she looked at you smiling a just nodded "Okay, here" You slowly took off your glasses.

Clarisse just gasped a stroked your face near your eyes "Your eyes, must be a gift from the gods they are so beautiful, why do you keep them hidden away if there that pretty...?" she said so confused staring into your eyes her gaze is as soft a sweet like cotton candy.

"I never thought anyone would find me beautiful with eyes like this, well until I met you...?" your heart was filled with Clarisse's beautiful words.

"Don't worry, sweetheart whoever speaks like that to you I will make them pay" you giggled as she kissed your forehead "It's actually 'we' "

you said smiling as you held her hand softly

[crispypotatopie]

And I see your true colors shining through

[b0nten]

IT’S YOU AND ME AGAINST THE WORLD (THE CRUEL ONE I’VE DRAGGED YOU INTO)

[SYNOPSIS] ˚⁀➷｡ kakucho takes you to meet his family. or, the closest thing he has to one, besides the one made by you two.

[NOTES] ˚⁀➷｡ FIRST KAKUCHO FIC WOHOOOOO. timestamps may be a little off so yeah. sorry4dat. anon i hope you like it!

today is the day.

straightening your clothes with your palms, your eyes scan your body in the mirror.

“i thought i told you something casual was enough?” a shirtless figure emerges from down the hallway of the apartment, toned muscles flexing as he stretches.

“and i thought i told you you should ditch the blue and go natural, kaku.” you sarcastically answer, turning to him.

he’s got an amused expression painted across his face, eyes softly laid on you and mouth corners sewn into a delicate upward smile.

“so you really hate my aegean blue hair that much?” he jokes again, and, as if teleporting himself, emerges from nothing next to you.

“that’s not true, after all, this aegean blue is the one that charmed me the second time around, but your natural hair color is beautiful, and you know that!” by fake-punching his chest you earn a laugh, “i’ll dress casually when you stop dyeing your hair!”

“alright, alright,” he muses, “are you ready to go?”

“shouldn’t you get dressed first, princess?” you question back, stressing the second word and inspecting his ‘outfit’. “you look handsome like this, gotta give it to you, but i’d like ti think i’m the only woman that gets to see you like this.”

“shoot, you’re right.” he laughs as he grabs the neatly laid out shirt from a nearby chair, “what would i do without you?” he asks, awarding you with a forehead kiss.

“go to work half-naked, apparently..” you fake a disapproving head-shake and make way to the door. “i’m gonna wait in the car, try to not be late, please.” you warn, jingling his car keys in your right hand.

“yes ma’am.” kakucho fakes a military greeting rushing to the bathroom to brush his hair.

✣ ✣ ✣

looking at the high building in front of you, you let out a shaky breath.

“you ready?” kaku asks, blue hair shining in the hot summer sun.

in response, you only hum a weak ‘mhm’, accompanied by a slight nod. you ponder — are you really ready? — you know what kakucho does for a job, he’s a mafioso. not only that, but he’s the no. 3 of japan’s most feared crime syndicate. if every single one of his coworkers is as serious as your kaku is whenever he talks business on the phone (which happens very rarely, as he values his time at home and with you more than drug deals and murders) then you’re screwed, to put it lightly.

“hey, c’mon,” he looks at you, face contorting into a goofy grin, “you really don’t have to be nervous. they look scary but each one is dumber than the other, i promise you. you’ll like them, and they’ll like you.”

his reassuring words tug at your heartstrings a bit, and warm your worry-frozen heart just enough to get it to pump blood again. so, you take a deep breath and nod again, only this time, confidently.

“let’s do this.” with the corner of your eye, you see kakucho smile proudly, before stretching out his arm, allowing you to loop your’s through.

you enter the building: the lobby is cool and and feels so much better than the scorching heat of the outside. the decor is nice, it brings a certain richness to the place, with accents of gold and spanish oak and baroque elements here and there. it’s not flashy, and certainly not like any other japanese office tower interior you’ve seen before.

your heels smack against the macael marble as you allow yourself to admire the interior.

“ran redesigned this whole place when we bought it.” having observed you until now, kakucho chimes in with some fun facts.

“he really has the eye for art.” you add, and watch his eyes light up as he presses the elevator button.

“and he’s quite the snob too. god forbid we touch his montblanc pens or he goes apeshit.”

“oh, kaku…” you can only sigh as he bursts out laughing. “i really don’t know what to expect from you guys.”

he calms down his laughter before entering the lift, “and that’s just the beginning.”

the elevator ride is long, their offices being the second to last floor, which is not so bad as kakucho gets to tell you more about the guys.

“the pink mullet with the piercings is sanzu. he’s quite… eccentric, sometimes.. even uhm..” kaku swallows, uncertain if he should say more, but sure enough that this slip-up may cause you some fright.

“sometimes what, kakucho?” you urge him to continue his sentence.

“well, he can be scary or creepy sometimes. but just sometimes. other than that, he’s a dumbass.” your boyfriend scratches the back of his head, almost relieved. “he’s also no. 2.

as you know, I, your handsome boyfriend is no. 3, while the advisor is takeomi, sanzu’s brother. he really likes trench coats for some reason, so he’ll probably be wearing one today. he’s got a long scar on the right side of his face. oh, yeah, and sanzu also has two scars at the corners of his lips.”

“two down, five more to go, including montblanc guy.” you comment, leaving kakucho somewhat surprised.

“ye— wait, how do you know?” confused, his head darts in your direction.

“by paying attention to your phone calls, during conversations and doing some simple maths.” you reply, sarcastically.

“oh, my beloved einstein.” he kisses the crown of your head gently, “yeah, we have montblanc guy, ran, and his younger brother rindou. ran has short hair, black and pink and rindou also has a mullet, blue and purple. and they both have the tattoo on their necks.

then there’s mochi. well behaved guy, but his beard almost makes him look like an npc or the daiso version of a pimp. he’s the guy with the jumbo dumplings i told you about!”

“oh, that’s mochi! good to know, good to know!” you reply, just as excited as he is.

“and last but not least we have koko. he’s got really long blonde hair and a… unique hairstyle. his tattoo is on his head.

i think that makes them all.”

“are you not forgetting someone?” you quirk up a brow and kakucho mimics you. “maybe… that mikey guy? your leader?” you finally ask, long pauses between each word.

“it’ll be easy for you to see which one’s mikey once he enters the room. but don’t be fooled! he’s tougher than he looks.”

you nod and run through the information one last time before the elevator light pings and the door opens. you step onto a soft carpet, kakucho right next to you, eager to explain more about his workplace.

“we each have our own offices but usually meet in the conference room, where we do most of the work. for separate tasks we use our own spaces, tho. mine is… right here!” the turns left and points to a black door. it’s not hard to see it’s his thanks to the nameplate.

“across from mine is sanzu’s and the one behind us is mikey’s. over here is akashi takeomi, just beside the elevator is mochi, across from his is the conference room, and then there’s kokonoi’s, and the haitanis’ offices towards the end of the hall.”

you would’ve liked to see how the offices looked, being sure kakucho’s was just as neat as he keeps the one at home, interested in the older haitani’s the most, to be frank. you could’ve bet money he also took charge of the floor’s design, this time more simple and elegant than the ground one. muted colors, different textures and simple paintings; the guy really seems to know what he’s doing, maybe he should ditch organized crime and do interior design.

“let’s get this over with.” you turn over to kakucho, who’s just looking around, as if it’s also his first time visiting the place. when he hears you, he smiles, and takes small steps toward the conference room, hand still looped through yours.

you un-loop your arm from his, resting it on his shoulder as he opens the door. he enters, aegean fringe bouncing with every small step. you come in just behind him.

analyzing the room, you really can’t believe these are japan’s most feared:

ran is filing his nails. next to him, legs propped up on the table, is his brother, playing a video game on his phone, occasionally hissing as his eyebrows twitch in frustration.

across from them is sanzu, pink mullet covered by a long white towel, dripping on the wool carpet. just beside him is his older brother, takeomi, wearing a tan trench-coat. he’s reading — you rub your eyes to be sure you’re seeing everything exactly as it is — a guide to becoming a multi-millionaire through bitcoin.

mochi is doing paperwork, and koko — god have fucking mercy on their souls — is reading the same book as takeomi.

“can you close the fucking— ” the younger haitani bangs his fists against the table in a fit of rage, freezing completely when he sees you. “oh my god, it’s the lady whose picture he keeps on his desk! KOKO GIVE ME MY FUCKING MONEY YOU MOTHERFUCKER HE HAS AN ACTUAL FUCKING GIRLFRIEND!” he grabs his hair while pushing past every chair to get to the mentioned, disturbing ran in the process.

“rindou, try to look whenever you’re running around like a wild boar, i hurt my nail when you pushed me!” his brother accuses, but rindou is long gone.

when he gets to koko, he’s met with a book in his face.

“i’m not giving you jackshit, bitch!”

“come on man, you can’t go back now! we had a bet!” he whines and pleads, but koko is nowhere near turning his decision around.

all of a sudden, rindou kicks koko’s chair, sending him flying into mochi.

the bearded man looks up from his papers distraught, an evil look in his eyes.

“do you even know how long it took me to convince this corn company to deliver corn directly to my house?” he asks, and both shake their heads no. “do you have any idea how long it took me to write this goddamn ‘thank you’ letter?” he asks again, and they both shake their heads again. “THEN ARE YOU TWO GOING TO WRITE IT AGAIN FOR ME BECAUSE YOU JUST MADE ME THROW AWAY A MONTH’S WORTH OF CALLIGRAPHY CLASSES?” this time, they nod.

from the left, sanzu groans.

“CAN YOU FUCKERS STOP SCREAMING? MY HEADACHE IS GETTING WORSE.” he roars, ripping the towel off his face, ready to jump out of his chair. thankfully, takeomi holds him back.

“i think you should all calm down. this is no way to greet the lady.” he says as he closes his book and stands up, bowing to you from afar. “akashi takeomi, bonten’s advisor. nice to meet you.” he says, smiling slightly.

“thank you takeomi.” kakucho starts “this is y/n, my girlfriend, just like rindou has correctly observed.” he shoots the man a judging look, “we’ve been dating for a little shy of, what? nine years now?” he looks at you and smiles, and you give an approving note, signaling he has gotten the time right, “she wanted to meet you all, so i brought her here.”

he steps forward, stretching out his hand toward you. you take it and follow him, nearing the guys on the left side.

“y/n f/l. nice to meet you, everyone. i hope we can get along well. i heard lots about you.” you take your turn and bow, looking at every single one of the guys as you speak.

every one of them continues with the introduction, except for takeomi, since he had already done it while lecturing the guys.

kakucho pulls a chair out from under the table and gestures you to sit. he sits down next to you and surprisingly, the boys are all eager to talk as soon as they get the possibility to.

rindou and koko apologize for their behavior and you just shrug it off with a laugh, reassuring them smilingly that it was funny. you compliment ran’s interior design skills to which he seems very grateful and laugh with mochi, hinting that you know about the jumbo dumpling incident. sanzu compliments your ear piercing setup and asks you about some more jewelry and you offer to go with him shopping sometime, and bond with takeomi over your shared interest of the sengoku period, finding out that he shares the same birthday with his idol, samurai akechi mitsuhide.

everything is going smoothly, when all of a sudden, the door flies open, every one of the executives jumping up in an instant, with you closely behind. when they bow, you do the same, although you didn’t get to see who came in.

when you all pull your heads up again, the short blonde who has entered looks at you puzzled.

“who are you?” he tilts his head to the left, analyzing you carefully.

“mikey, this is y/n, my girlfriend. i brought her to meet everyone!” kakucho explains instantly, and watches him approach you.

“you… you’re the one … that makes those cute bento boxes for kakucho?” he asks, serious look plastered on his face.

unable to control your excitement for your work being recognized, you beam up, hands clasping each other happily: “yes! that’s me!”

as if he wasn’t the ruthless leader he is, mikey’s eyes widen with the childish love for food he’s had forever.

“do you think…,” he starts off shy, unusual for him, “but only if you have the time, do you think you could also make one for me?” the head of bonten inquires, eagerly awaiting your response.

ever so flattered, you smile so hard you can barely see anymore, screeching out in a delighted tone.

“of course!” you’re amped, ready to cook fifty bento boxes because of how happy you are, “do you have any allergies or themes you like?”

as if having been offered a million dollars, mikey answers you enthusiastically, “i don’t like spicy food, and… i like omurice, and if you could add a mini- flag on top, please…” he says, hands meeting behind his back.

“of course!” you affirm, high on the rush of dopamine and continue asking mikey about how he’d like his bento boxes. he himself feels like a kid in a candy store.

the rest of the guys are left dumbfounded, kakucho’s mouth having hit the floor long time ago already.

he picks it back up when mikey interrupts his own conversation.

“i’m sorry to cut it short, y/n-san, but we should start the meeting. we can discuss after it more, if you want!” he apologizes, subliminally saying he wants to talk about these upcoming bentos more with you.

“that’s alright, and of course!” you smile again, “kaku, i’m heading to your office!” and turn around to face your red-faced boyfriend.

“of course, i’ll see you there after we’re done.” he smiles, nodding, assuringly.

“kakucho, does she know where your office is? are you not gonna walk her?” mikey intervenes and before kaku can say anything else, he offers himself to guide you to your lover’s workroom.

“take your places, guys, we’ll start when i come back.” the blonde orders, closing the door behind him.

“looks like boss is gonna steal your girl, kaku.” sanzu teases his subordinate, while ran makes kissy noises and coos ‘kaku’ in the background.

“wait…” rindou interrupts abruptly, “you said you have been dating for nine years? that means.. koko! do the math, please!” he orders.

“you’ve been keeping her secret ever since kanto manji!” the blonde gasps in shock.

“you bastard! you kept her hidden through that— ” mochi is just as angry.

“and tenjiku too?!” kokonoi, having redone his math, is in utter disbelief.

kakucho tries to drown out the sound of the guys accusing him of treachery, thinking about the end of the meeting and heading straight for his office to get you home and spend his time with you, alone.

[toorurs]

COLUMBA

synopsis: rainbow roses represent love and passion. similar to the feelings you’ve harbored for lyney ever since the two of you were children, feelings full of determination and tenderness.you take the initiative to confess your feelings,  the cards are already laid out on the table, the choices have already been written out and decided. besides one: the one that reveals lyneys response. how will he react?

✧ pairing: lyney x reader | wordcount: 2.1k | content and warnings: fluff, angst, confessing feelings | prompt: unrequited love | oneshot

✧ authors note: i might dislike this one even more than the "wish you were sober" one... this one's just so much more choppier</3

✧ tags: @azullumi

event: STARCROSSED 2024

“and a rainbow rose for you!” 

the sly magician winks at you as he reaches out his gloved hand to yours. lyneys slender fingers are gracefully wrapped around the stem of the colorful flower. he looks at you, eyes full of anticipation as he awaits your reaction. 

his eyes twinkle like an amethyst - a gem that gleams and reflects the fluorescent light as it gets shone upon, presenting the purity that lies hidden beneath the depths of the pair of eyes. the irises that are drenched in a deep purple glint with a certain shimmer that you can’t quite make out. if you were to take a guess you’d say that they look hopeful, buoyant, almost fond. 

seriously, who were you to deny him? his smile is probably worth a fortune, it’s blithe practically dreamy. the ash blond is undeniably a beauty among the nation of justice - a seraphic seashell that lies buried in the fine sand, easily seeping through the tiny gaps of the palms as it is held with utter care. petite sand corns disappearing out of sight and the only object that remains in the hands is the mussel. 

it basks in the radiant sunlight and the sand that slipped out of the grasp of the fingers can only watch in envy, as the seashell continues to relish in the gentleness of the person who discovered it. the one who is allowed to see its beauty and all the secrets that are kept sealed beneath.

amid the vague living room light, lyney continues to shine as elegant as ever. his stage presence long-forgotten, revealing his true nature to you, the lyney whom you know, the one whom you grew up with, the one who makes your heart race. the lyney that shows himself to the outside world is simply just the celebrated magician of the court of fontaine but there was much more to lyney, so much more. 

to the people of fontaine he’s like the backside of a playing card, unaware of the image, the number, the symbol that is imprinted on it. but that’s not the case for you. unlike them you know lyney like the back of your hand. the two of you grew up together at the house of the hearth. under the care of father with lynette, freminet and the other children that resided there. 

no matter how many times lyney and lynette tried to trick you with one of their new learned magic tricks, you’ve always seen through them. nevertheless you weren’t able to deny that they were really impressive, especially for children of such a young age. naturally, over the years he grew up to be a grand magician, not only wrapping the audience that was seated in the rich red places in the court around his fingers, but also you. luring you in by coaxing mellow praises into your ear and simple gestures like this one, offering you a rainbow rose a day before a performance. 

an action that never fails to make you swoon.

his incandescent eyes, the ones that glow like a vibrant glass shard that got swept to the shore by the tide, his million dollar smile that is plastered on his pale face, they are the traits that make lyney look simply irresistible. 

(you don't think you could ever reject lyneys advances, after all you’ve already fallen far too deep into the bottomless abyss, also known as love, to search for your path out.)

right now, at this moment you think lyney looks absolutely majestic, heavenly even. taking a snapshot of this wouldn’t be enough to capture the beauty of lyney. neither would a portrait do the job well. the movements of the paintbrush are delicate, swiftly moving around the canvas, but they’re not enough. no matter how many brushstrokes were to be painted, they still wouldn’t be enough. 

(either way he’d outshine every other painting that gets hung next to his. he’s the muse that will always be out of everyone's reach.) 

simply because lyneys beauty, his bare nature, is something to keep etched into your mind, engraving it onto stone so that it will never fade or wash away, no matter the circumstances.

you reciprocate his action, accepting the flower. grasping the rainbow rose carefully, so that the stem doesn’t crinkle and eventually falls into two pieces or the blossom loses its petals. “my, what’s the occasion?” a performance awaits the folk of fontaine tomorrow. you already knew the answer, but, nevertheless you question him. lyneys honeyed voice is a sound you’ll never get tired of. listening to him as he talks never feels like a chore, rather, it feels like a voluntary course that isn’t important at all. but nevertheless you stick around, to not miss what others don't get to see.

“well, as you might already know, a performance awaits the folk of fontaine tomorrow.” the magician responds. you can only chuckle at that, predicting lyney has always been easy for you. 

“is that so? i can't wait.” you give him a small grin and take another peek at the flower. beautiful, you think to yourself as you look up to lyney once again. the corners of your mouth curve into a content smile. lyney stares right back at you and does the same, giving you a bright grin in return that makes your heart pump quickly. 

the brightness of lyneys smile competes with the one of the sun, it’s warm and welcoming. it works wonders like medicine, soothing and curing your wounds with a simple grin. lyney is out of this world, he's charismatic, making you fall for him head over heels. fun to be around, always making you laugh over stupid jokes. and not to mention caring. 

the first two buttons of his white dress shirt are unbuttoned, showing off his delicate collarbone. lyney was never particularly muscular, rather, he had a quite slender build.

“i’ve never put much effort into my physical training as in my shows. after all, i have an audience to bewitch with magic tricks, not my body."  you recall his words and the giggle he let out after.

some strands of his ash blonde hair are out of place, including his dyed one. his maroon colored hair slightly stands out, but you don’t mind, it's similar to the color of a maple leaf, vivid and lively. flying through the wind, admired by passersby as it floats around in the air. out of reach until someone takes the chance to grab it. 

“by the way, where’s the thank you?” lyney jokes in an offended manner. his sultry voice snapping you out of your former haze. 

“hm?” you tilt your head to the side.

“for the flower.” he points at the rose with his gloved finger. 

“ah, right. thanks a lot, it's really pretty.” you thank him by giving him another smile. before casting your gaze down to the rose again, admiring the colorful petals as you remember charlotte's words. 

“for example, magicians often use “rainbow roses” in their flower related performances to represent passion and romantic encounters.” her words stuck to you like a millstone around one’s neck. surely lyney knows what they mean, he’s not unaware what they symbolize right?

it makes you wonder if lyney is aware of your feelings, and possibly even returns them. lyney has always had a keen eye for the beauty of this world, attentively swaying his gaze around and admiring the elegance that lies within each individual. did lyney also see that kind of beauty in you? one that goes even further down, reaching into the inescapable depths. but then he’d face the ugliness that slummers at the bottom, despite that, how is lyney able to love you? 

for you the beauty of this planet has always been lyney. he’s the sun that you bask in, relishing in its warmth as the sun tendrils place delicate kisses on your body. the water that engulfs your body, plattering against your limbs and makes you feel refreshed. he’s the blood that runs through your veins, the one that makes you function properly.  

the question still lingers in the air: does lyney reciprocate your feelings? 

your grip around the rose is tight, fearing that it might slip out of your grasp when you’re inattentive and losing it. you watch lyney make his way to the stage, the crowd already awaits their renowned magician, waiting in and staring in awe as he performs another unpredictable magic trick. 

the air is thick, the tension increases at every passing second, for both you and the crowd. if lyney takes another step, you’ll lose the lyney you know, your lyney. instead you’ll have to watch as he takes up on his persona, even if it’s only for a mere hour, it always feels like an eternity to you, until you get to see the lyney whom you love again. 

besides the sound of lyney who was shuffling his cards thoroughly once again, it was dead silent.

“nervous?” lyney looks up to you, a knowing glint in his eyes. 

“huh?” you’re confused, what is he implying.

“the way you fiddle with your fingers.” he points at your hands with one of the cards, a red heart you notice. “you only do that when you're anxious.” lyney says. “come on, tell me what’s wrong, you know that i’m always here for you, right?” he gives you a reassuring smile, a genuine smile that isn’t there to satisfy his guests. 

sometimes you forget how easy it is for lyney to see right through you. you nod as a response to his observation. “yeah, ironic isn't it? i’m nervous even though you’re the one who’ll enter the stage at any given moment now.” you try to sound steady, trying to convince yourself. but your voice betrays you, it quivers.

“aww.” lyney coos at you. “you know i hate that expression on you, do you not?” the ash blond sighs dramatically, purple eyes still maintaining eye contact, a fond shadow casting over his pupils. “how am i supposed to go out and present, knowing that my best friend is dying from nervousness.” he jokes, shaking his head. before he looks up at you once again with a look that says “don’t worry.”

best friend. 

“lyney.“ you try to gather your courage, how does one confess their feelings to the person whom they adore?  lyney smiles at you “yeah? i’m all ears.”

“lyney, you’re probably already aware of my feelings. but i really like you.  i love you. i've loved you ever since we got introduced to one another, ever since we were children.” you don’t dare to look him into his eyes, too embarrassed by your confession just now. you play with the fabric of your freshly ironed shirt a bit, to distract yourself, as you await lyneys reactions.

“archons, since when were you this sentimental?” lyney laughs out. “that’s what you were afraid of telling me?” he takes a few steps so that he stands in front of you now. “gotten all shy now?” the magician teases before patting your head. the action makes you look up, greeted by lyneys smile . “i love you too. youre like another sibling to me.” he slightly tilts his head to the side. "even though we’re not blood related, it just feels like we’re family, don’t you think?”

“no! lyney that's not what i-” you protest but you get cut off by the announcement.

“and now ladies and gentlemen, presenting fontaines renowned duo, mr. lyney and ms. lynette! a big applause please!” 

“ah!” lyney looks behind him where everything was already set up and put in place. “i suppose that is my sign to leave. farewell!” he inches away from you. “let’s reunite after the show, shall we?” he winks at you and bids you goodbye before rushing off to make his way over to the stage.

you remain glued to the floor, frozen in place after you’ve just gotten rejected. you hope this is just another one of lyneys antics, a joke that he will later on reveal as faux and tell you that he reciprocates your feelings. but you know that he won't. yes, perhaps lyney is a liar, a good one at that. he has lied to a dozen people before, but never once to you. 

the rainbow rose in your head shines vividly in the dim lightning, its petals making it glow beautifully. you’re not sure what came over you, frustration, regret, remorse. you’re not certain. the petals that were once finely attached to the pistil, will be gone, you rip the petals off, one by one.

he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not.

e/n: "i got sibling-zoned." "that's rough buddy."

© TOORURS 2024. stealing, copying, translating, reposting my works on other platforms is not permitted.

[himechia]

“ ࣭⸰ ★ EYE OF AFFECTION . . . ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀NCT127 ; jeong jaehyun x fem reader (12.9k)

⊹ ⠀⠀ for as long as he can remember, jae's world has been in black and white - giving him no reason to appreciate his mother’s profession as an artist and the beauties that art can provide. however, an accidental meeting with you gives him reason to doubt his former beliefs - proving to him that there may be true beauty in a world that’s void of everything bright, that beauty being the sunshine that you provide. 

contains; colorblind!jae, painter!reader, jae's mom is reader’s art mentor, jae hates art, strangers to lovers, major crushing from both sides, slow burn but also not slow burn (like a nice simmering burn), swearing, fluff, kissing, reader acts like she’s on an adrenaline rush 24/7, jealousy, angst, explosive arguments, lowkey toxic, extremely inaccurate depictions of colorblindness!!, johnny is jae's bestie, happy ending! author's note; hi guys this fic is finally back in the nct tumblr world,, i have this posted on my main blog for blue lock under the name 'rationalism' if u see any name errors that's why,, enjoy!!

Whenever the sun meets its peak at the high dawning point in the sky is when Jaehyun knows it's a perfectly acceptable time to visit his oh-so-beloved mother. If he could, he would spend every waking moment with her - he’s a momma’s boy through and through - not only because she birthed him and taught him everything he knows, but because she’s kind and good. She’s also one of - scratch that - she’s the only person he can stand to be around for more than twenty four hours - and he takes great pride in having such a wonderful woman in his life.

However, despite how dearly he holds his mother to his heart, the issue with visiting her at this time of day is that she’s in her art studio. A place he loathes more than having to wear wet socks with sneakers. While it’s a beautiful space, with high wooden beams and floor to ceiling windows, he finds himself nauseous at the mere sight of the countless tubes of oil and acrylic paints. It’s not that the smell or colors are distasteful, it’s the fact that no matter how hard he squints and struggles, he cannot fathom what the simple color red looks like.

Complete black and white color blindness isn’t a life threatening condition in the slightest, but for Jaehyun, it feels as if he’s being stabbed through the sternum at any notion of the changing leaves or colorful streaks of light across the sun-setting sky.

He doesn’t hate his mother for being an artist, he simply hates the art itself.

And he especially hates pieces of art like the one sitting before him, now. With the blobs of squares and triangles against the supposedly white canvas, sitting perky on the easel as if to mock him - he decides to reach his hand out - and remind himself how emotionally detached acrylic paints make him feel. It’s wet, he observes, rubbing his thumb and pointer finger together to mix the possibly different hues. Jaehyun hopes he didn’t ruin the artist’s painting in any way, he wouldn’t know if he’d accidentally smeared shading or contrasting primaries - but surely the artist could fix it in a jiffy.

“Do you like it?”

Well, that certainly isn’t his mother’s voice.

“I tried using cooler tones in the corner here, and then migrated towards warmth in the lower portion.” You’re beside him now, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his position, and completely ignoring his personal space - all while he’s never met you before this day. Your finger is extended, pointing towards the artistic decisions you’re elaborating on that, in all honesty, he doesn’t give two shits about. “I’m thinking about sketching some paper cranes on top of it all, I want it to represent the change of seasons.”

“What do you think?”

You’re staring at him now, bright eyes shining with curiosity. Jaehyun is at a loss for words, mostly due to your unannounced appearance in the studio, but also because you’re possibly the most beautiful woman he’s ever laid his eyes on - which is shocking, considering the sight of thick paint smudged against a person’s face typically sends him running the opposite direction. He’s never felt an immediate connection to the women of his past - however you, a strange girl who resembles a dog waiting for its treat, has his heart beating at twice the rate.

“I like this shape.” Jaehyun purses his lips into a straight line, never having felt so awkward in his whole life. “This square is nice, too.”

You look utterly unimpressed with his evaluation. Your nose is scrunched in distaste and the fold beneath your right eye seems to be twitching in disapproval for your own artwork. “That’s all that you like?” You step ever so slightly closer to him, chin tilted up to meet his gaze, before retreating quickly and coddling your painting. “Perhaps I overestimated my color palette. I really thought it would be the outstanding moment of this piece, but I guess I could rework it if the shapes are all that matter—”

“Did you touch my painting?”

Oh boy, he’s in for it now.

A nervous laugh leaves his mouth, embarrassing him further as he reaches up to scratch the back of his neck in an attempt to look casual, only for you to grab his wrist out of thin air. “Oh my god, you did!” Your mouth is agape, inspecting his tattered skin in shock - yet somehow he knows that you aren’t truly upset with him - you don't seem like that kind of person. “Did you not realize that you’ve got scarlet red all over your palms?”

Jaehyun’s mind is blank, his ability to form coherent sentences is gone, and he can only muster up the cheesiest, most terribly dreadful joke that he’s said in the twenty three years he’s been alive.

“I guess you caught me red handed?”

There’s a moment of silence, with the two of you displaying the most aloof expressions either of you have ever made, until your face lights up with laughter. He doesn’t understand what could possibly be so funny - his joke was awful - but the sound of your contagious fits of giggles make his heart feel a little bit warmer in a place that he commonly feels suffocated in. For the first time, the studio gives him a sense of comfort rather than distress - and he knows it's because he’s developing a very clear crush on the pretty girl beside him. 

You’re hysterical, resembling that of insanity while Jaehyun is simply stuck in time. He can’t tell if he should be steadying you before you trip over your own feet or if he should simply take his leave and forget this day ever happened. 

“I don’t mean to be rude,” he begins, watching you wipe a tear of laughter from the crinkle of your right eye, “but why are you here? Do you have an appointment, because I could’ve sworn there weren’t any other people that were allowed in the studio at this hour—”

“Oh, I do know you!” The volume of your voice just seems to get louder and louder. “You must be Miss Jeong’s son! She always mentions how lovely her little boy is, I can’t believe I’m finally meeting you! Though, I expected you to be like six or seven, not my age. She should’ve mentioned that you were handsome, not cute - she really chose every adjective other than the ones that wouldn’t make you sound like a primary schooler.”

Does she ever stop talking? Jaehyun doesn’t think he’s ever heard another person ramble on-and-on like you do. Normally he’d have ended the conversation by now, walked away without a second thought of whether he acted rude or not, but he knows that his mother would strangle him if he was to blatantly disregard her current favorite student. The student that she loves telling him stories about at the dinner table every Sunday night as he’s just trying to eat his fingerling potatoes in peace.

The same student who he’s somehow enjoying talking to - though it’s mostly just you talking to his blank face - and is causing a soft yellow blush to form on his cheeks. He doesn’t actually know if yellow is the color related to blushing, but he thinks he’s read it somewhere before. 

“Anyways, to answer your question—”

Jaehyun feels like he’d asked you hours ago.

“—I’d walked all the way to the train station and realized I’d forgotten my wallet here - which is strange because normally I never forget anything. I’m a very organized person—”

Yeah, he doesn’t believe that. 

“—and then I had to run all the way back here—”

Your shoes are scuffed. You definitely tripped on the way.

“—where I accidentally ran into a stroller…poor baby—”

Yep. Tripped.

“—which led me to you!”

You’re smiling now and Jaehyun doesn’t think he’s seen so many teeth shining at him in all of his life. God, do you ever run out of energy? No matter, he knows exactly where your missing item is. The anonymous wallet had been the first thing his eyes had grazed over when striding towards your artwork - good thing it’s only an arm’s reach away.

He snatches the wallet from the art easel and is pleasantly surprised by the quality of the possibly monochromatic leather. The clasp is simple, requiring just one twist before the contents of your identity are laid out before him. “Well, it’s nice to meet you,” Jaehyun recites the name written on your license and holds the items out to you, to which you reach out, eager to reunite with your belongings. However, at the last second he waves it in the air - away from your dying fingertips - and clicks his tongue two times. “Try not to lose it again. It’s a luxury brand, isn’t it? I like the black color.”

“Black?” Shit. The tilt of confusion your head makes indicates that your wallet is not, in fact, black. “I’m either stupid or color blind, but this is red.”

Before Jaehyun can respond, he’s saved by the bell. Well, technically his savior isn’t an actual bell, but you get the gist. “Miss Jeong!” Thank god she’s finally here to distract you. He’s been fighting to maintain his pride throughout your entire interaction. “I made an extra trip to the studio and ran into your son, here! You weren’t lying when you said he’s a little quiet - honestly, I feel like I’ve been talking to myself this whole time.”

You quite literally have been doing that very thing for the past ten minutes. 

“Oh, Jaehyun! Have you been acting rude?” His mother’s expression is tense, stricter than the time he ‘accidentally’ took her (grey?) Kia Soul on a joyride that one weekend he and Johnny decided to go on a midnight run to the department store. “Please don’t mind him at all, dear. You see, he doesn’t exactly get out much - his social skills might be a little underdeveloped.”

She can’t actually be saying this right now. This is exactly why he hasn’t had a girlfriend in months - his mother embarrasses him in front of every pretty girl they come across in the first two minutes of saying ‘hello’. It isn’t that Jaehyun is a terrible flirt - which he is, but he likes to deny it - it’s that he loves his mother so much that he can’t bear to tell her that her attempts at ‘hooking him up’ are always bound to fail. 

However, you don’t appear to be phased by her words. If anything, you’re actually pleased by the sound of him being socially impaired. 

“That’s actually perfect!”

What.

The.

Fuck?

“He can be my portrait model!” You’re still talking. Please, for the love of God, stop talking. “You know how I’ve been trying to become better skilled in the emotional aspect of my paintings, he could definitely help me out by showing anxiety and embarrassment - and you’ve been telling me it’s about time that I found myself a model.”

The endless trail of words that continue to string from your mouth seem to reach their end. Rather than speaking in spitfire, you’re now crazily staring at Jaehyun, himself. Both of your fists are clenched together in a pleading hold and he doesn’t think that you’ve blinked since the start of your conversational rampage - but despite the absurdity of your proclamation, he believes you have good intentions. There really is no reason to deny the request - after all, he’d be helping out his mother in the process, she does love having successful students - but he just can’t imagine himself spending any more time in the dreadfully grey studio than he already does. 

“I don’t think that would be a very good idea, ______.” His mother catches your words before he has a chance to give you his own oral letter of rejection. “Jaehyun’s never been one for art.”

“Oh.”

All you have to say is ‘oh’? 

“I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable,” you continue. The expression on your face is suddenly stern. Has he offended you in some way by saying no? “I’ll figure something else out, Miss Jeong. I apologize if I overstepped.”

You’re bowing your head before him now, and Jaehyun is shell shocked. His first impression of you was undoubtedly a dud, considering how you actually do seem to have a rational bone in your body despite the hyperactivity you displayed just moments before. While he’s mustering up a response, you lift your eyes - lashes fluttering like upwards brush strokes on a canvas - and send a small smile his way. It’s as if you’re silently apologizing to him for the undivided attention you tormented him with, but he doesn’t want you to apologize. 

He just doesn’t know how to say that he actually liked your personality. 

God, he’s so bad at flirting. 

“Thanks for finding my wallet, though.” Your fingers are suddenly touching his, momentarily grazing against his skin as you pluck your wallet from his hands. There’s no chance that you haven’t noticed the rising heat that’s currently warming the blossoms of his cheeks, and he hopes that you find it endearing. While he isn’t great with words, he likes to think that he may be at least a little bit cute. His mother always calls him a ‘cutie’ - which he appreciates, but it’s also so degrading for someone of his age. “Maybe I’ll be forgetful more often, now.”

He hopes you’ll start being more forgetful, too.

You’ve left your entire bag this time. 

He can’t tell if you’re trying to be subtle and coy with the budding feelings that’re growing between the two of you, and you’re just as awful at flirting as he is - or if you’ve just given up on leaving small signs of attraction. Honestly, in the past few weeks of you leaving paintbrushes and lanyards in the studio, he’d assumed it was all naturally an accident. This, though? How do you expect him to believe that you left your entire satchel in the studio? Sure, you can be a little dense, but not that dense. 

It’s obvious that you’ve begun to lose track of your belongings for the simple reason that you enjoy partaking in the awkward exchange of items when you ‘hastily’ return to the empty renovated greenhouse and get to act surprised to see him standing there with his arms full of things with your name written all over them. In fact, this instance has happened so often that Jaehyun is beginning to believe that he actually enjoys it, too. 

Sometimes he thinks that maybe you should just write your name on him to speed up this dreadful ‘will they, won’t they’ process that you’ve been pacing together. 

He likes you. He really really likes you, and you both know it.

You’d picked up on his feelings from the second time you met - when he willingly stayed behind in the studio for an extra two hours just to hear you ramble about the difference between heavy and soft body acrylic paints. There was something about the way you grinned at him. How your chin would angle upwards to his height in order to have a proper conversation. How you weren’t afraid to say anything and everything that was on your sporadic mind. How your eyes would sparkle at the dedicated eye contact he was making - letting you know that he was hanging on to every word that left your lips (which he just recently found out are pink - and boy does he wish to know what that undoubtedly lovely color looks like against your skin). 

He hates to compare you to a painting - which he still finds a positively dreadful blob of nothingness - but to him, you are one. You’re a captivating piece of art hanging on the walls of the nationally acclaimed museum in his mind. 

A captivating piece of art whose art of subtlety is extremely lacking, considering that your phone number is quite literally painted on the largest white canvas your easel can hold, in bold lettering that he would have to be visually blind to miss, plastered behind the hiding place of your bag.

‘P.S. It's written in red paint. I know you have a thing for red.”

As much as he likes you, you can be such a pain in his ass. The bane of his existence, if you will. 

It pains him to notice how he hadn’t thought twice about typing the digits into his text bar, smiling to himself at the sight of your make-shift contact with the horrid selfie you’d taken on his phone to be your future contact picture. Your hair is an utter mess, with flecks of paint scattered across your hairline - which, to be honest, look like dandruff to him with their lack of vivid color, but he told you that they resemble snowflakes. He lied - but what you don’t know doesn’t hurt you. 

Without hesitating, he types a singular ‘hey’ before backtracking. What if you don’t know that it’s him texting you? What if you think that it’s a random stranger who just so happened to be in the art studio and thought to add your contact information to their phone? He better be more clear. 

‘Hello, ______. You know me.’

Perfect. 

In less than a split second, you respond. He can feel his nerves itching at the sight of the grey text bubble popping in and out of view. Jaehyun can’t even remember the last time his heart beat so fast. Perhaps when he was standing in front of his secondary school health classroom and he accidentally mistook a photo of the urinary system with the ovaries during a speech about the female menstrual cycle? The stream of liquid projected against the white board was in fact not what he thought it was (how was he supposed to see the difference between red and yellow?), which turned into a horribly disgusting presentation that Johnny still bothers him about to this day. That was dreadful - but this is definitely equally as dreadful, if not more.

‘Stalker much?’ Huh? ‘Hi though, Jae. That text was very…you.’

‘You added my number pretty quickly.’ Man, you text really fast. ‘You just couldn’t resist me, could you?’

He doesn’t know what to say back. It’s as if his mind has been scraped raw of all romantic material that one would usually use in this situation - the situation in which an unbelievably pretty girl is talking to him through a phone screen. Jaehyun is completely frozen in place, time, and thought. The only part of him that isn’t paralyzed is the hole in his chest that is beginning to be thawed by you. His frozen heart of past relationships has found its fire - and oh does it burn for you. 

“Cat got your tongue?”

Where the fuck did you come from?

Swiveling on his heel, he turns to face your approaching figure. Your footsteps are lighter than air, likely being the reason as to how you managed to stealthily sneak in so quietly while he had been distracted with his phone. The light denim jeans that cover you from waist to ankles are perhaps his favorite pair you own. You’ve painted on them over time, sketching out a garden of patterns that don’t require color to appreciate. Your artistic ability is uncanny - he can’t deny the fact that you’re incredibly skilled - and he believes that you should be given an award for making ‘art’s number one hater’ a growing fan. 

“You left your bag.” No shit, Captain Obvious. “Do you want it back?”

He’s so bad at this. 

You skip towards him, your left foot following your right in a rhythm of peppiness, and lean up towards him with a shine in your eyes. God, you look so pretty. Sure, seeing you from a comfortable distance with an easel separating your bodies was nice and all, but when you pull stunts like this - with no room for him to scurry off and run - he actually takes the time to digest your features in their true beauty. You’re the artist, yet he seems to be the one who’s always studying you.

“Do you have any plans for today?” You ask in a curious tone. Your hands are held together behind your back as you send him a beaming grin with an upturned lip. “—because I was thinking about grabbing some tea, and it would be so unfortunate if I had to go all alone and sit by myself with all of those strangers around me. Who knows what could happen? If only there were someone who could protect me in case a sleazy guy asks for my number…”

Are you trying to manipulate him, right now?

“I’ve got nothing to do today.”

—because he’ll gladly let you do so. 

The peaks of your eyebrows raise in surprise, not expecting him to accept the offer so quickly. Over the short time you’ve known one another, you’ve noticed that Jaehyun’s reluctance to spend one-on-one time with you has dwindled. He’s slowly becoming more comfortable in your presence and whatever inner turmoil that he’s facing is fading into the tide of your raging tsunami. There’s a peaceful gaze behind his brown eyes, now. One that you love to study whenever he isn’t looking your way (which isn’t often). 

“Then it’s a date!” Surging forwards, you take his arm in yours and link yourselves together. He’s initially shocked by the immediate physical connection you’ve managed to make within mere seconds, but he thinks that he likes it. It’s been so long since he’s even held hands with a girl, so he’s understandably tense, but you’re giving him time to adjust. After all, scaring him away would be your last intention. “I’ll even pay for your drink, since you were kind enough to find my lost satchel.”

“Yeah, your lost satchel was so hard to find.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He smiles to himself.

Yes, you do.

He isn’t sure how, but he’s somehow burned his tongue again. 

“Shit!” Jaehyun hurriedly places his mug down onto the circular wooden table that separates the two of you, while attempting to be gentle since he doesn’t want to waste the perfectly tasty coffee that you paid for. He groans, dabbing the corners of his lips with one of the complimentary paper napkins. “Why does it get me every time?” 

This is perhaps the third week in a row that you and him have ditched the studio and decided to claim the neighboring cafe as your designated date spot - though you’re still an unofficially exclusive couple. Unofficial as in Jaehyun hasn’t found the nerves to ask you to be his girlfriend, and exclusive as in neither of you are nor want to see other people. It’s a confusing situation for both parties to be in, but he just can’t seem to take that next step with you no matter how hard he tries to push himself towards the ideal solution. 

Jaehyun is a rationalist. He takes in the information given to him through interactions and associations, working through it with logistics on his mind, and tries to find the best outcome. It’s how he’s lived every hour and every day of his adulthood, and he’s fairly set in stone with his mannerisms at this point. He always known who he is, what he wants, and how to obtain those things. What he didn’t know, though, was that an unpredictable variable (you) would crash into his life and disarray the routine that he’d been building for twenty-three years. 

The hypothesis born of the situation isn’t a difficult one to solve, after all he’s had it written down for a month: if Jaehyun finds the courage to ask you to be his girlfriend, then you’ll likely say yes and the two of you will live happily ever after. Easy, right?

Wrong. He’s a chicken.

“Here. This might help you cool down.”

Your arm is extended, offering him your drink of the day without hesitation. Every time you come here, arm-in-arm, you order something different. ‘There’s no fun without surprise’, is what you tell him after the consistent strange glances he sends your way when you’re ordering, and he can’t help but disagree. You’re very different individuals - and that difference is extremely apparent with the light, mint garnished tea in your glass compared to the dark roast coffee in his. 

“Thanks, ______, you’re a lifesaver.” He sighs in relief as the cool liquid flows down his throat in an internal waterfall. “Holy shit, this is actually so good.”

You laugh, “I would hope so. I only got it because of the photo on the menu. It’s like a rainbow of color.”

And there it is. The thing that isolates him the most from your world. 

As much as he likes you, which is more than he can explain, he can’t help but have that itching thought at the back of his mind that you’ll never truly be able to connect with one another. You bask in the beauty of the world around you. From the apparent golden sun showers and bouquets of stark red roses - two things that you’ve described to him in great detail amidst your walks through the farmer’s market on Saturday mornings -  to the countless brush strokes against the white canvas at his mother’s studio, you adore a world in color. 

It’s a viewpoint that’s shaped who you are, from infantry to your current age of twenty-two, and it’s something that you’ll never be able to let go of. 

To be quite frank, it scares him. It keeps him up at night knowing that seeing the world through your eyes is impossible. That it’s a far off dream that is unobtainable, taunting him in his mind and heart like a bone dangling in front of a dog’s face. He wishes that he could admire the blue streaked skies and emerald green ferns that line the streets of the city. He yearns to feel overcome with pride at the sight of your watercolor drafts - which you attempt to show him after every class session to no avail - and congratulate you on the progress you’re making. There are so many things that he dreams of doing with you, dreams that exist solely in your world, as they’ll never be possible in his. 

He hasn’t officially asked you to be his yet, because how could he?

How could he bind you to him? You’d be miserable looking through his eyes - having to see only hues of black, white, and grey, similar to the pencil sketches that you’ve openly shown your hatred for in front of him. ‘There’s just nothing there,’ is what you mumble to yourself. ‘No life, no anything without color.’ To which you then drop a single ounce of paint against the seemingly dreadful piece of art - and the sparkle in your eyes as it comes to life is something that he loves to see but can’t understand… 

…as you see the world in a way that he can never understand. 

Jaehyun doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to tell you about his condition. It would end everything all at once, and he isn’t sure how he would recover from that kind of heartbreak. You’re so blissfully unaware of how much conflict runs through his veins on a daily basis. Hell, you don’t even notice how he orders a singular black coffee every time you approach the counter together. You don’t see how he struggles to agree with you as you admire the assortment of blended beverages with a forced smile on his face. You don’t understand why he chooses to indulge in such a bitter drink and make sure to comment on it every single time.

He can’t blame you, though - it really is disgusting - but he also can’t tell you that he orders his coffee black since it’s a universal drink that appears the same to everyone who sees it. At least when he’s holding the steaming mug between his large palms, he knows that it appears to you as it does to him. That the divide that’s ripping a ravine through your connected hands is lessened in a sense - and you’re truly viewing one thing as the same. 

Which is why he sits pretty and appreciates the short time that you do spend together, and suffers through piping hot coffee three times a week with no interruptions. 

“I think I’ve made some progress on my portfolio.”

Your drink has been returned to your hands now. The small, clear glass is ringing as you tap the sides with your fingernails. It’s somewhat soothing, the rhythm following the tune of one of your favorite songs that Jaehyun happens to know very well after walking in on you in the middle of ‘art therapy’, in which you blast the music at full volume and deafen all other sounds. You have a tendency to be impatient - art being the only thing that can really pin you down for a long period of time - yet you’ve made room in your heart for Jaehyun despite this. 

“Really?” Jaehyun dabs his mouth carefully, being ever the proper suitor in your presence. “My mom hasn’t given you any recent critiques?” 

“No, she has.” As your words continue, you take a long sip of your tea. He can feel his cheeks flush while you swallow. He loves anything you do. “Just little comments about negative space and color theory, but I’m getting there.”

“Nice.”

He doesn’t know how to respond to that.

“Yeah, nice.” 

Despite his seemingly rude reaction, you’re still gazing at him with a smile on your face. It isn’t an exceedingly joyful smile or one of excitement, but something of contentedness. You’ve become comfortable around him - shedded the hyperactive layers of skin that you display to onlooking strangers - and have begun to share the side of yourself that only your bedroom walls know. Seeing this side of you has made him fall even harder. Knowing that someone so confident, so bold, is just like him - caring so much about first impressions and likeability - and has their own insecurities is validating. Validating in the sense that you find him special enough to throw away the filter and be your true self in his presence. 

“You know,” you begin in a wistful tone, “you aren’t a man of many words, Jae - and if I’m being totally honest, my patience is running out.” 

He hopes this isn’t going where he thinks it is.

He’s not letting you ask him out before he can—

“What am I to you?”

Oh.

Your eyes are giving him an expectant look, now. 

What the hell is he supposed to say to that?

This is the quietest you’ve ever been, you aren’t even swirling the star-shaped ice cubes in your strawberry lemon tea. 

Why can’t he think of anything to say?

His silence is causing you to furrow your eyebrows in concern. 

This is so embarrassing. Just say something. Anything. 

“You’re my mom’s student.”

Anything but that.

“I’m…” the words at the tip of your tongue seem to dissolve like damp sugar cubes, “I’m your mom’s student.”

Your sentence is more of a statement than a question. It’s as if there’s a machine in your brain, working through his given answer and comparing all of the other possibilities he could’ve said. There were endless responses to your inquiry, and he somehow managed to pick the worst one. 

He needs to fix this. How can he fix this?

“You’re not just a student, though.” His words are tumbling over one another in somersaults and you seem to perk up at his continuity. The hope in your heart grows a little bit larger, pulsating and yearning for him to say exactly what you’d been wanting for weeks-on-weeks. “You’re my mom’s special student.” 

Oh God, he made it worse.

“What?” Jaehyun tries to reach for your hand in an attempt to compensate for his actions through physical touch, but you retaliate and instinctively jerk away. You quickly stand, drink in hand, and back away from him as he follows like a lost puppy. Your head is shaking from right to left, disbelief exerting from the pores of your skin like poison - sentencing him with death while it seeps through his gaping mouth and empty palms. “I’m a special student?” 

How the hell are you so fast?

Within seconds the two of you are at odds outside of the building. The weather is somewhat chilly - springtime having just come around with the cherry blossoms in full bloom - and it’s probably a beautiful day with the petals raining down on the pavement. You’d usually make a comment about how wonderful the horticulture was outside of the shop, but now you’re stomping over every fallen flower and budding stem that lies in the way of your rage-filled path. He’d always thought of you as a gentle soul, but apparently even gentle souls have their breaking points - and he never dreamed that he’d be yours.

“If I’m so special, what makes me different from the girl before me and the one before her?” This is the first time you’ve ever raised your voice at him. “Did you take all of them out for drinks? Did they all get to spend one-on-one time with their mentor’s ‘handsome’ son? Did you lead all of them on, too? Jaehyun, what kind of answer is that?”

You’ve found yourselves in an alcove now - about a block from the cafe in a small garden nestled between two buildings. The blossoming trees continue to surround you from all sides, perfectly framing the tragic picture of him saying anything and everything you absolutely do not want to hear. A large sigh leaves your lips, heaving from your chest as if he’s popped a balloon and is pushing all of the air out with the strength of his smooth hands. 

“That’s not what I meant!” He pauses as you halt in place, slowly turning to face him like you're something out of a horror movie - a monster who’s ready to murder their prey. A gulp runs down his Adam’s apple. You’re terrifying when upset. “Please, just let me explain!”

“Explain what?” Jaehyun flinches at your volume. “If you want to explain yourself so badly then tell me why the hell would you say something like that?”

“Sure, you aren’t the best with banter or having a crush - but dear God, you cannot possibly be that dense.” This is getting bad. “I’ve left hundreds of hints! Every single goddamn day - and you’ve picked up on all of them! You know, I thought that when you’d hold my hand or kiss my cheek that you actually meant something by it. I figured ‘he spends so much time with me, he can’t possibly not like me’, but no. I’m just a student.”

Your face is fuming with every dreadful word that comes out of your mouth. “Oh, sorry. I’m a special student.”

If this were a scene in an animated film, your hair would be on fire now. Flames as high as mountain tops would be spiking in sharp peaks at every end of sentence and statement spitting from your mouth. Your normally warm irises would be drawn as ice cold, not leaving any room for life as they skate across his timid features - wishing for him to reach freezing level so you could smash him into a million pieces. 

You’d always told him that red and blue - fire and ice - were two things that you admired most. With their ever changing states of matter and forceful power amidst the seasons, he found himself believing as you do. Jaehyun actually learned to appreciate their vast palette as if he could see it with his own eyes - but now? Now he thinks that they’re the two worst things in the universe - as their destructive nature has decided that their target is him, and he has absolutely no defenses prepared. 

“I should’ve caught on sooner, shouldn’t I have?” You’re still going, hot tears building up and threatening to stream down your cheeks. Never in his life has Jaehyun been at the receiving end of such anger - and never in his life has he learned how to manage a situation as such. So, he does what any clueless man would do - he returns the anger. 

“You’re not even listening to me!” His hands are violently moving while his words cut like knives. “You never listen to me!”

“I never listen to you?” He’s apparently hit another nerve. “Is that some kind of sick joke? Jae, all I do is listen to you! It may not look like it, but I see the way you tense whenever I talk about my passions and dreams. I notice the way your face drains when I’m asking you for your opinion on my works in progress. Sometimes it’s like I can physically hear your eyes rolling when they see me walk into the studio with my bag of brushes and materials. Yet, you think that I don’t listen? I take note of every single thing that you do when you’re around me, because I don’t want to miss out on a single moment with you, and you don’t even care!”

He can’t believe that you’re pinning this on him.

“How could you even say that?” Jaehyun can’t tell who’s in the right or wrong anymore - all he knows is that if he doesn’t stop speaking, you’ll walk away forever. “I’ve never cared about anyone as much as you! I’ve done my best to entertain your interests and the absurd things you ask of me—”

“Well, your best hasn’t been enough.”

You’ve got to be fucking kidding.

“Are you being serious, right now?” 

Your eyes are stoney, rock solid with stubbornness as you refuse to accept his side of the story and he knows that you won’t be budging from the beliefs that you’re choosing to hold against him. Jaehyun doesn’t know how everything went so wrong so fast, but he does know that he doesn’t have what it takes to save the situationship that he mistakenly put the two of you in. 

“What the fuck did I do wrong that you resent me this much? Not even an hour ago all you wanted was to see me get down on one knee and profess my ‘undying’ love for you.” He’s so angry. He doesn’t think he’s ever been this angry. “Now I’m some asshole who doesn’t give a shit about your wellbeing? If everything I’ve done hasn’t been enough, then I might as well go fuck myself, right? I’m sorry I’m not perfect like you! I’m sorry I can’t see the world through crystal lenses like you! I’m sorry that I’m not good enough for you!”

His face feels wet. When did he start to cry? Was it ten minutes ago? Five? Just now? The hurricane of emotions that he’s putting himself through is more than he’s endured in years - his mental blockage of his condition finally coming to light as his heart runs off of the rails - and you’ve definitely seemed to notice considering the concern etched into your expression. 

“I was never going to be perfect for you,” he begins with a softer tone. Perhaps his hot bundle of rage has subsided for a few moments. “I can’t be with you. I can’t understand how you see the world. I couldn’t spend the rest of my life listening to you ask me all of these questions and opinions on your work when I can’t even see it fully.”

You’re so close to him. Somewhere in the flurry of words, you took a step in his direction. “Jae, what’re you talking about?”

As he bites his bottom lip with the fear of judgment raging in his mind, his secret is set free. 

“I’ve always liked this shirt on you,” he solemnly smiles, “This shade’s my favorite color that you wear.”

You look up at him, pulling at the fabric against your chest in confusion. “Red?”

“Grey.”

He’s laughing lightly, making up for the thoughtful silence that you’ve found yourself in. It’s like he can physically see the gears turning in your head as they attempt to make sense out of his statement. “It’s more of a rich grey - almost black - and it compliments your skin tone. You know, my mom used to tell me that the way to a woman’s heart is through compliments. I’ve always tried my best to do that, but it clearly hasn’t been working.”

His hands somehow find yours as he shares the inevitable truth he’d been hiding so hard - and with a deep gulp, his secret is finally exposed.

“After all, how could I ever reach someone’s heart without even knowing what color their eyes are?”

He misses you. He can’t help it, but he does. 

The memories he has with you are a cassette tape on autoplay - constantly running through his mind on repeat, and always ending with the awful confrontation that you’d left each other with. Jaehyun wishes he hadn’t raised his voice. He wishes that he would’ve been honest with you from the very beginning, but he hadn’t, and there’s no changing the past. All he has now are two empty hands that would much rather be interlaced with your paint-covered fingers. 

“How much longer do you think you’re going to be moping?” Johnny’s call is distant from the turning gears within Jaehyun’s brain. He’s sure that his best friend has grown tired of his constant state of melancholy - having been forced to be his support system after you walked out the door - and Jaehyun feels awful about it. If he could, he’d rip his heart from his chest and allow you to step on it. To stomp and tear through the organs just as you’d done to those poor bystanding cherry blossoms on the sidewalk. 

“As long as she’s still upset with me.” He groans as his forehead hits the marble of the island counter. “I’m such an idiot.”

“Yeah, well we already knew that.” The dim-eyed boy beside him scoffs while taking yet another drink of his apple juice - which he has unfortunately had to drink for the past hour and a half since Jaehyun had somehow consumed his small supply of alcohol within the past few weeks that the two of you hadn’t been speaking. “I was really rooting for you, man. I thought she was the one to break your cycle.”

“Cycle?”

What the hell does he mean by ‘cycle’?

“Oh, you know,” Johnny continues without even taking a breath, “The cycle of life you’ve got going on with your inability to actually attract girls.”

Jaehyun hates him.

“You’re an asshole.” He grumbles, taking his own swig of the pint of orange juice he found in the back of his fridge. Is it expired? Likely yes. Does Jaehyun care, at all? Definitely not. Is he even more pissed off that he doesn’t understand the irony of why it’s called orange juice? He doesn’t want to answer that question. “An unhelpful asshole who should definitely stay over and cook dinner for me since he wants to make up for being said ‘unhelpful asshole’.”

Johnny scoffs, shaking his head whilst the thin, soft strands of his hair flit back and forth. His right eyebrow raises in a mocking expression, “You need to get yourself back out there, man. You’ll be old and grey if you keep waiting for the perfect girl to come knocking on your door, so just talk to her. Just fucking talk to her and put me out of my misery.”

“Are you trying to make this about you, right now?” Jaehyun stares at his best friend in utter disbelief, but he’s not truly upset. He knows that Johnny holds good wishes for him in all manners of life - this being no exception - and takes his words to heart. He’s right. Of course, he’s going to lose you if he doesn’t even try to get you back. “The sun must be falling out of the sky because I’m actually considering following your advice.”

“That’s a pretty picture to imagine,” his best friend chuckles, causing Jaehyun to roll his eyes. What’s the sensation that everyone has with mentioning imagery every five seconds? “Just talk to her, man.” Johnny continues, “Please, I’m all out of advice.”

Jaehyun takes his best friend’s pleas to heart. It is quite ridiculous that he’s spending his time depressed and lonesome when he could be reconciling with you. Perhaps it’s his fragile masculinity acting out and refusing to take blame for the situation, although he’s fully aware it’s completely his fault that you’re upset with him. 

It’s difficult for the gears to begin turning in Jaehyun’s head. They’re covered in brittle rust that’s been creeping deep into the crevices of his mind for his entire life - slithering down his spine towards his blackened heart that you had only just begun to breathe life into. He misses the feeling of spring that came when you called. The freshwater rain of your laughter and budding blossoms of your smile that washed away his loneliness and replaced the awful emotion with an overgrown garden of bliss. He still doesn’t understand how he managed to mow that garden down with one sentence. He might as well have taken a chainsaw and brutally hacked into every connection that he’d managed to make with you in your time of knowing each other. 

Now he’s going to be on his knees begging for forgiveness with his hands stained by the minced grass. Does grass stain green or yellow? Hopefully not brown, dear lord. He’ll be buried deep into apologies that should definitely be rehearsed, but he knows he’s not an artist with words and he won’t bother to waste your time with crumpled-up ‘I’m sorry’ notes and improvised tears. 

You deserve nothing but the best - so much more than he’s been giving you and he needs you to hear those words come straight from his mouth. 

When did you begin to mean so much to him? Jaehyun doesn’t even know. 

It could’ve been when you showed up to his concert unannounced, with first row seats and a booming cheer that he never knew he desired. ‘C’mon, Jae! I know you can do better than that! Sing louder!’ He nearly tripped at the sound of your voice, and falling on his face was the last thing he wanted to do in front of his group - but to be completely honest, he doesn’t remember much of insecurities on stage that day. Jaehyun was solely focused on performing well for you. The world stopped and he was given all the time needed to impress you. You give him a reason to be better, a selfless reason to do good. 

Perhaps it was when you’d shown him around your homey apartment, with maple art easels and splattered canvases lining the walls, and watched with glee as he made his best attempt at a finger painting (which may or may not have ended up looking like two worms kissing). ‘It’s abstract’, you’d say every time he found something new that was wrong with the art piece, ‘All it needs is a home. See?’ You hung his shitty little sketchbook paper on your living room wall, right next to your TV for the whole world to see. The way you stood there staring in awe still rattles his brain. You’ve always been able to find beauty in even the smallest things. 

Or maybe his heart had begun to beat a little faster that Saturday night on the way out of the theater. The romance of the film the two of you just witnessed was still on Jaehyun’s mind, provoking his alcohol-induced body to make a pathetic attempt at holding your hand - which resulted in him accidentally knocking you over into a street puddle that swallowed the heel of your shoe. ‘I needed to take a shower anyway, Jae, it’s fine!’ Your smile continued to be bright despite the low temperature and sprinkling rain, and he can recall wondering how you managed to stay so positive in such a dreary situation. As you discarded your soggy heels into a nearby trashcan and skipped barefoot on the pavement, you called, ‘Come on! Dance with me!’ The shared laughter between the two of you echoed through the seemingly empty streets that surrounded you - hands connected as you swung in circles around each other and fell over one too many times, until he carried your sleeping body home. He doesn’t think anyone’s ever been able to make him laugh as hard. 

The way the corners of your eyes crinkle amidst fits of giggles is his favorite image to replay. He doesn’t need to know the color to be able to see how beautiful they are - to appreciate the blinding sparkle that overwhelms your irises when he accidentally trips over the uneven sidewalk or knocks over your painting station - or even when he unintentionally makes a sexual innuendo that you just so happen to pick up on. ‘That’s a love hotel, Jae! Why would I have stayed there before?’ It was almost as if you were conducting a symphony of glorious laughter that night. The violins played the tune of your voice in a higher octave and the cellos added a punch everytime you’d bite your lip in an attempt to calm down. He hadn’t known what a love hotel was intended for before that night, but he’d also made the mistake to say, ‘I wouldn’t mind going to my first one with you, it could be a first for both of us.’ and you still haven’t let him live it down. Jaehyun’s honest with himself for the most part. He’s awkward, insufferable, and a bore to be around - yet, for some odd and unknown reason, those are your favorite things about him. Why?

Why is it that he can’t function like a normal person when your eyes meet his?

Why do his words rearrange themselves and become complete gibberish when he attempts to woo you with his charm?

What is it that keeps him coming back to you, despite holding such deep hatred for the things that you love most?

“I need to text her.” Jaehyun feels his chest vibrate as he finally makes a decision, the words pouring from his mouth in a short word vomit - forcing Johnny to piece together the jumbled mess and attempt to comprehend whatever it was that his best friend was trying to say, to which he jumps up from his seat at the island and aggressively pats Jaehyun on the back. 

“That’s what I’ve been saying, dumbass! Get those fingers movin’!” 

His phone falls into his hands in a millisecond, with Johnny eagerly awaiting to hear his poetry. He’s grateful to have such a supportive friend. Jaehyun knows that there aren’t many people who would be willing to put up with him for so long - having been moping around and complaining day-and-night of relationship problems that were solely caused by him - and he can’t imagine not having his support. Hopefully he’ll be able to introduce you, one day. You’ll both give him so much shit for his attitude. Oh well. It’ll all be worth it having two people he loves get along. 

…

Did he just…

What did—

There’s no way.

Did he really just use that word? That godforsaken word?

He’s trembling. Jaehyun’s phone is shaking in his hands as he finally comes to the realization that he does, with his entire heart and being, love you. In an instant, his entire world scrambles together with rapid dashes and line art that he can’t even comprehend. There’s no rules to follow with these types of feelings - this insistent need to see you. Hold you. Kiss you.

Fuck, he wants to kiss you. He can’t think of anything else he’d rather be doing. 

Like tapping raindrops that never cease their fall, his fingertips move against the keypad in a rhythmic motion - singing a song of love that can’t be contained into a simple lullaby. His heart pours out into the message, apology after apology being pasted in paragraphs, and hopes with his whole soul that you’ll find it in yourself to at least see him in person. There’s no way you won’t. Jaehyun knows you well enough now that he’s certain he’ll be seeing you again. All he needed to do was take the first step towards forgiveness, and he’s finally willing to be vulnerable and own up to his inability to be honest about his feelings, because he loves you. He loves you and he wants to tell you a hundred times, a thousand times, and a million times until you beg him to shut the hell up and kiss you. 

‘I’ll be at the studio tonight. I miss you, ______, and I’m sorry.’

He ends the message with a final apology, begging fate that you’ll read it in time to meet him while he still has courage - and with that, he’s on his way to the place he hates most, awaiting the person whom he loves most.

An hour has passed - well technically it’s been fifty-seven minutes, but who’s counting?

He’s counting.

The sun went into hiding ages ago and the moon now stalks him as he sits in his chair, lonely with two vacant eyes that wish they were gazing at yours. Jaehyun can’t even tell if you’ve read the text or not - the grey speech bubbles look the same as they always have, and the delivered sign is posted at the bottom with no response. He wants to send a follow-up message, just a little ‘hey, you there?’ but he knows that’s a little bit much. If you want to see him, you’ll see him and he’ll confess his feelings once-and-for-all - though, he’s feeling much less confident than he was an hour ago. Ahem, sorry. Fifty-nine minutes ago. 

Jaehyun has a plan of what he’s going to say to you, and hopefully it makes sense when the words begin to fall from his lips. He’s said it many times before, but he’ll say it again, he’s never been good with words or feelings or anything of the sort. He wants to get better, though - to become more emotionally aware for your sake, because he knows that’s a priority for you. You have an image of your dream guy that’s been in your wishes since primary school - tall, handsome, daring, dashing, yada, yada, yada - and he’s trying to be that guy. He needs to be that guy. He’ll be anything for you. 

Anything and everything…even the desperate guy who can’t get a text back. 

Y’know, for a moment - a brief and fleeting moment - the world seemed a little more beautiful in his self-realization of love. The stars glistened brighter and the street lights sparkled in their reflections. Before tonight, Jaehyun hasn’t ever been able to appreciate the natural beauty of what surrounded him. He never understood your fascination with replicating real life into paintings and sketches, but he seems to have digested the concept - at least a little bit. The only thing that could undoubtedly make his world more dazzling would be the sight of you, and holy shit there you are. There you are opening the front door - and your gorgeous, perfect reflection in the glass is looking straight at him. 

He doesn’t need the ability to see color to know that you’re the most fascinating and jaw-dropping sight in the entire universe - and that the rainbow should be rearranged in the letters of your name in honor of your ability to captivate attention and inflict a multitude of emotions on him that he’s never felt before. 

“Jaehyun?” Your melodious voice is the remedy that his ears have been yearning for. “Jaehyun, is that you? Why’re you in the dark?” 

This means you haven’t read his text, right? Otherwise, why would you be confused as to why he’s here? Wait, why’re you even here?

You begin to explain yourself without him needing to ask, “I left my phone in here earlier like an idiot and I’ve been looking for it all day. Isn’t that so dumb?” You let out a little laugh, amused at your inability to keep track of your personal belongings. Why aren’t you acting like you’re upset with him? The last time you talked, you could barely look him in the eye - yet now, you’re so casual, almost as if nothing happened. “Here I am looking for my lost phone, but instead I find a lost Jeong Jaehyun.”

“What are you doing here? Sitting in the dark?”

The repeated question is met with a pregnant silence as Jaehyun fails to piece together the rehearsed words he had come up with earlier, settling on a bear hug that nearly suffocates you. 

He’s so overwhelmed by the feeling of touching you again that he barely notices how stiff your posture is. You’re practically a piece of rock in the midst of being carved by its maker, frozen and unable to formulate an action in response - which, in this case, means that he’s your artist. Jaehyun relaxes his hold, urging you to reciprocate his warmth by nestling his face in your neck. Your right arm finds its place wrapped around his waist and your left around his neck, allowing him to engulf you further into his hold. You smell so nice. He notices the lavender perfume that he bought you is still rubbed into your skin, and he’s glad that you’re finally using it. 

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers.

Jaehyun’s fingers run through your hair in smooth waves, gently kneading out the small knots and helping you relax - and he can tell that your full attention is on him. For the first time in knowing you, there aren’t any distractions or excuses to avoid this conversation. It’s just you, him, and the bare truth. He just hopes he can execute this right. 

“There aren’t enough words to explain how sorry I am, genuinely. I shouldn’t have ever belittled you like that, ______.” He takes a deep breath, one of many, and closes his eyes. The scene of you stomping away from him has no end in his mind. It constantly plays at every hour of the day, re-run after re-run, to torment him and remind him how horribly he screwed up with you. Please, please forgive him. “You’re not just my mom’s student. You’re not just a friend that I get coffee with. You’re so much more than that and I’ve been such a fucking chicken and haven’t been able to be honest with you.”

“You couldn’t have possibly known about my condition and it was wrong of me to take my frustration out on you.” Jaehyun can feel himself begin to cry, his tears raining down his cheeks in cascades of pent up anger and hatred for how he made you feel that day. You didn’t deserve it. You didn’t deserve to be treated like shit by him. “Your work is important to you and I know it should be appreciated. What’s important to you is important to me, okay?”

“You love your art, and I love you.”

He says it over and over again. Those three special words rapidly become six words, nine words, eighteen, forty-two, and onwards as you look at him with an empty expression. Please, please say something. For every second of no response, he confesses his love to you. He confesses as if it’s his source of air - the only way that he’ll be able to survive this encounter is if he bares his emotions with no regrets. If this were a movie, he’d be the desperate protagonist in the climax of the story who fucked up his love life and is begging for a second chance - hell, this is real life and that’s exactly what he’s doing. Just, please, have a happy ending.

You open your mouth, yet nothing comes out. No words. No statements. No confessions. You’re simply staring at him like he’s just told you the most absurd news in the existence of the universe…

…and then a tear falls. 

One tear slips from your eyes, followed by another, and another…until your face is drenched in salty rain with black mascara creasing your eyes. You look like a raccoon. Jaehyun almost starts laughing. No. He is laughing; laughing because your false lashes have fallen into your hands as the glue refused to be waterproof - and now you’re standing before him in a puddled mess of makeup and disheveled hair. You’ve never looked more beautiful. 

Jaehyun brushes his fingers across your cheek, attempting to wipe away your tears like an artist covering up a beautiful mistake. If he were a painter, he’d paint you a million times and more - hanging every portrait on every single wall of his apartment, until there was literally no space left for a scrap of paper. You’re the most gorgeous girl he’s ever laid his eyes on, and the smile that suddenly bursts from your sobs confirms it. 

“What’s going on? I’m so confused, are you happy or are you sad?” He’s so concerned and his inability to read emotions correctly only makes him more helpless. “Talk to me, beautiful. C’mon.”

You lean into his touch and he instantly knows that everything is going to be okay. 

“I just never thought I’d hear you say that.” Your smile is directed at him now, and he feels a warmth that is so familiar yet unfamiliar and he can’t get enough of it. It’s similar to the feeling of being showered in sunlight or snuggling beneath a comforter in the winter - an overwhelming comfort that’s a gift from you to him. “I feel like I’ve been waiting forever. Fuck you for that.”

Now you’re both laughing, giggling, and beaming at each other. His heart feels so at peace. The civil war between his divided emotions, love and loneliness, has finally ceased. 

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

Neither of you can stop the flow of confessions that slip from your tongues and in an instant your lips are on his - clashing and colliding in a furious kiss that rivals the strength of a hurricane. It’s almost as if he can physically feel your love pouring into him and warming his heart into a heated flame, stoked by the embers of your touch. God, he missed your touch. The feeling of it is addicting. It’s his personal heroin and he’ll never get enough of it. 

Your lips are just as soft as he imagined them to be, perhaps they’re a rosy pink color with the slightest touch of strawberry lip balm that he keeps getting a fleeting hint of taste from. Never in his wildest dreams did he think you’d love him too. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. He silently repeats over and over - grateful that he’s been so blessed to know you…feel you…and love you in the awful world that he hated living on his own  - the world void of color that you’ve somehow brightened by simply breathing beside him. 

His hands are everywhere. Your hips. Your waist. Your breasts. Your neck. He can’t get enough of the feeling of you. With every passing second he’s falling deeper and deeper in love. You’re utterly perfect, he would kiss you for years if that was an option—

Aw shit, he knocked over an easel. 

“Goddammit,” he mumbles while briefly pulling away from you. Of course he had to interrupt the moment he’s been waiting months for with his clumsiness. He’s such a dumbass. If he could punch himself in the gut, he would - but that would be way too embarrassing in front of you - hold up, this painting is familiar!

“Well I'll be damned.” He chuckles and turns the canvas towards you, to which you burst out laughing. “I thought you’d have thrown this out.”

“No,” you gaze at the painting with love in your eyes. “I could never, that’s how we met.”

The painted streak he accidentally inflicted upon your artwork remains in the same position. It seems that you never even bothered covering it up and embraced the imperfection. While Jaehyun cannot decipher the magnitude of colors on the canvas, he’s sure that the various strokes look gorgeous and masterful. You’ve always been so talented. He’s so lucky.

As he places the painting upon a now-standing easel, you rest your forehead against his. He loves you. He loves you so much. So much so that he can’t help but take a step closer, not just one but many, and embrace the overwhelming love and passion he holds for you. There are so many words he wants to say, confessions that can carry on for an infinite number of lines, but there’s no need for that now. You have forever - and he decides to start that forever with his favorite thing…

…a kiss. 

“I love you.” You whisper.

“I love you more.” He replies.

This is a fancy-ass venue. 

Jaehyun can’t help but feel underdressed for the occasion, despite being clad in a fitted white button up and black tie, whilst his dress-shoes cramp his feet in the worst ways imaginable. He almost looks like that one moviestar in the romantic comedy you love so much. Was it the one with the rich guy in Singapore or the one where they worked in an office and he was a businessman? Jaehyun can’t remember. Whatever, it doesn’t really matter either way. He’s distracting himself too much, he needs to focus— tonight is one of the most important nights of your career. No, it is the most important night for your future career. His mother contacted every big art distributor and critic that she has professional relationships with. It’s your night…and wow did you kill it. 

It’s almost as if you’ve plastered yourself across the walls. Every art piece that his eyes roll over is exceptionally you - your personality, your passions, and your heart - and it’s obvious you’ve spent months curating the most perfect array of paintings a person could muster. 

He can read your story like an open book while he slowly makes his way through the gallery. There are paintings depicting your childhood, ones that remind him of the stories you tell him of your primary school drama and premature interests. That one must be when you broke your arm while learning to ride your bike. You’re particularly stuck on that story— strongly stating how upset you were because it was your dominant arm, halting your ability to paint for seven weeks. Referencing your painting passion, there’s a whole array of canvases dedicated to your love for art; beginning with inspirations of immaturity to skillful selections of texture techniques. Jaehyun is obviously no art critic, but if he were, he’d write a whole expose on how amazing you are. 

With his mind so engaged with your talent, he’s oblivious to the people passing by; so oblivious that he doesn’t even notice his own mother approaching. 

“She’s talented isn’t she?” 

Holy shit. The familiar voice of his mother startles Jaehyun, but he instinctively wraps a loose arm around her waist and greets her with a grin. She returns the affectionate expression and it’s painfully obvious that he got his smile from her, and even more painfully obvious that they’re all related when he notices they’re wearing the matching watches they got for Christmas last year; and when Johnny walks up with his teeth beaming, he also practically looks like part of the family. Long lashes and a toothy grin, the physical brand of the Jeong family; famous in not only arts, but good looks!

“Your girlfriend’s a pro at this shit, Jaehyun.” Johnny ruffles his little best friend’s hair and lightly nudges his shoulder. “I’m surprised anyone could like your annoying ass, let alone a pretty girl.”

Jaehyun rolls his eyes at his best friend’s quips, completely ignoring him and focusing on his mom. Johnny’s just jealous because he can’t get a girl to deal with his narcissism. He’d be surprised if Johnny actually kept a girlfriend longer than a month with his high standards and demanding schedule; but that’s a story for another day. What matters now is his mom’s praise of you.

“Y’know I always knew she had an innate ability.” Miss Jeong has a faint smile on her face, gazing at her youngest son with nothing but pure happiness. It’s a true display of a mother’s love for her youngest son, and Jaehyun doesn’t know what he’d do without her guidance. She squeezes his side and presses a gentle kiss to his cheek. God, he’d be so embarrassed if his groupmates saw this. “Though, I always thought she specialized in artwork.”

Hm? Jaehyun sends a puzzled glance in her direction. What is she going on about?

His mom continues, knowing her son well enough that he needs a clear explanation in order to understand anything at all, and presses her hand against his chest. “I didn’t realize she was so skilled at touching hearts.”

His heart is beating faster at the mere thought of your beauty.

There are tears behind Miss Jeong’s eyes and Jaehyun can feel the waterworks attempting to break his own dam. They’re an emotional duo, him and his mom, Johnny gets tired of their antics sometimes— but Jaehyun knows he loves them. Their mom always knows the right thing to say. “I never thought I’d see you like this, Jaehyun.”

Johnny smirks, nodding in agreement. “You seem so at ease. It’s cute.”

Reflexively, he pulls them both into a big hug— which is the first hug he’s given Johnny since he was nothing but a young boy, afraid and stressed, auditioning for the very first time. Jaehyun finally understands what it means to love and be loved, all because of you; and now he can apply that same love to his best friend, who’s been there for him for so long. The overwhelming comfort he feels in his family’s arms is the same warmth he felt when he made his first song and ran into his mother to celebrate his newfound passion. For a long time, Jaehyun believed that it was only possible to have that one singular passion. Oh how wrong he was. 

“I get it now.” he says softly into their ears. “She helped me understand.”

“And we’re happy for you,” Johnny pats him on the back as hard as he can, eliciting a threatening glare from his younger sibling, to which their mother laughs. 

“Check out the centerpieces down the hall.” Miss Jeong nudges Jaehyun on, standing beside Johnny. “I think you’ll love them, sweetheart.”

With their encouragement, he carries on with the gallery and down the straight hallway of evolving paintings. Every step he takes, seems to carry him into a new era of your life. It’s almost as if he’s time traveling through memories that seemingly morph from abstract to realistic art; and he learns more and more about you with each passing second, ultimately leading towards one large painting in the center of the room. 

Holy shit. You’re breathtaking. 

Never in Jaehyun’s life has his world stopped due to paint on canvas— but right now, it feels like every single brush stroke is a frozen second that he gets to relive again and again, just basking in the presence of your beautiful skill.

The way you’ve outlined your hair with thin lines and highlighted your lovely cheekbones, is nothing short of masterful. If he looks close enough, he can understand the comforting feeling of cupping your face with just his eyes. He didn’t even know you did self-portraits, but now he wishes he could hang this very one right above his couch; to show off the talent of his amazing girlfriend for everyone to see (not that he actually has many friends other than his groupmates). 

Where are you? He needs to let you know how special it is to be with someone like you—

“Cat got your tongue?”

Speak of the devil.

“Do you like it?” You raise your eyebrows at him expectantly. “What do you think?”

You said the same thing when you first met.

Jaehyun looks between you and the painting, now realizing that no matter how masterful your skill is, it’s impossible to capture just how gorgeous you are in any form of art. You’re simply exquisite. The most talented painter in the world wouldn’t know how to appreciate your beauty. Davinci? No. Botticelli? No. Di Angelo? Not even he could sculpt your features to perfection. However, despite his high standards, Jaehyun believes that your self portrait is the greatest thing he’s ever seen. 

The familiar feeling of flusteredness grows on his cheeks as he holds eye-contact with you, wondering what color it is you’re wearing. He bets it’s red, you always wear red around him. “I love it.”

As your right hand finds his palm, the left reaches up and cups his cheek. With a gentle touch, your lips are on his and Jaehyun feels his head take a spin on the merry-go-round of love. He can’t get enough of you. If he had a choice, he’d spend every waking second of his day peppering you in light kisses on every part of your body— and he’d make sure that you never felt loneliness again. You deserve nothing less than the absolute best, and he’s made it his life’s goal to give that to you.

Slowly, he begins to feel your smile against his lips and you pull away with a lovesick gaze. He pulls you into his chest, cradling your head and kissing it softly before whispering how proud he is, and it’s almost unbelievable how far Jaehyun’s come. Somehow you’ve lured him into a bottomless ravine where the only resource to live is to be hopelessly in love with you— and truthfully, he never wants to escape. You’re everything to him. 

“You love it?” your eyes are shining brighter than the sun. “You haven’t even seen my best work yet.”

“Oh?’ Jaehyun raises his brows, mocking surprise at your statement. “Well now you have to show me. It’s only fair.”

You place your hands on his chest and peck his lips before spinning him around. He’s confused for a moment, wondering what you’re doing when you could’ve just led him to the canvas instead of guiding him around like it’s a dance class…but then he sees it. 

He sees himself. 

Never in his life has he completely understood what being in love is. Yes, he's felt love. From his mother, who raised him to be the man he is; caring, thoughtful, and compassionate. From his best friend, who helped him understand ambition and sacrifice. From his groupmates, who challenge him to be the best he possibly can and to support one another without holding grudges. He's felt different types of love from so many people in his life. Familial. Platonic. Admiration. This is different, though. The love you show him is true love. It's the kind of love that movie stars win awards for portraying. It's the fantasy that kids dream about having when they grow up into big adults. It's the thing he thought was impossible to obtain, but was lucky enough to stumble upon you in that empty art studio on the best day of his life. 

He didn't know love could be expressed in this kind of way. Through the very same paint strokes and brush marks that used to make him nauseous with hatred. Seeing your masterpiece, he doesn't understand how he could ever hate something so amazing. Art is spectacular. No. Your art is spectacular. You are spectacular. 

"You love it right?" You're trying your best not to giggle at his awestruck reaction. "Want to know the best part?"

Jaehyun can feel himself nodding, desperately reaching for your hand in an attempt to ground himself from the air he's walking on— and you begin to explain. "It's a dual piece. Notice how we're facing each other?"

Oh my god, you are facing each other. He hadn't noticed it before, but he can see clearly now. You've placed him in the dead center of the room, giving him a full view of both of the paintings— opposite of one another on two opposing easels. "Tell me more, baby." His voice is nothing louder than a whisper, only for you to hear.

"I'm painted in black and white."

Oh?

"You're painted in color."

...Oh.

"I wanted to show how love knows no bounds. There's beauty in how you see me and how I see you. It doesn't matter that I'm colorless to you, you still look at me like I'm the prettiest girl in the world; and I only wish you could understand how vibrant your eyes are, Jaehyun. You're the most handsome man I've seen in my entire life."

He loves you.

He loves you so, so much. 

A part of his heart feels like he's falling in love with you all over again. It's growing larger and larger, unable to contain the capacity of feelings he holds for you. He's so overwhelmed with joy that tears begin to fight to escape his eyes, ultimately dripping down his cheeks like watercolor on paper, and he sweeps you into the tightest hug known to man.

There's really only one thing left to do. One thing to close this chapter and carry on with the rest of your love story, something that's sacred only between the two of you. Something that he hopes to say to you everyday, every night, every hour, and every minute that he can.

"I love you."

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀thank you so much for reading + supporting! ⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀reblogs are greatly appreciated!

[taborc]

I see your true colors shining through…

[iiryoku]

ᴵ ᶜᵃᶰ ˢᵉᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ᵖᵃᶤᶰ ᵇᵉʰᶤᶰᵈ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵉʸᵉˢ ᴵᵗ'ˢ ᵇᵉᵉᶰ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ ᶠᵒʳ ᵠᵘᶤᵗᵉ ᵃ ʷʰᶤˡᵉ ᴵ ʲᵘˢᵗ ʷᵃᶰᶰᵃ ᵇᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ᵒᶰᵉ ᵗᵒ ʳᵉᵐᶤᶰᵈ ʸᵒᵘ ʷʰᵃᵗ ᶤᵗ ᶤˢ ᵗᵒ ˢᵐᶤˡᵉ ᴵ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈ ˡᶤᵏᵉ ᵗᵒ ˢʰᵒʷ ʸᵒᵘ ʷʰᵃᵗ ᵗʳᵘᵉ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ᶜᵃᶰ ʳᵉᵃˡˡʸ ᵈᵒ ᴸᵉᵗ ᵐᵉ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᴬᶰᵈ ᴵ ʷᶤˡˡ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᵁᶰᵗᶤˡ ʸᵒᵘ ˡᵉᵃʳᶰ ᵗᵒ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ʸᵒᵘʳˢᵉˡᶠ ᴸᵉᵗ ᵐᵉ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᴵ ᵏᶰᵒʷ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵗʳᵒᵘᵇˡᵉ ᴰᵒᶰ'ᵗ ᵇᵉ ᵃᶠʳᵃᶤᵈ˒ ᵒʰ˒ ᴵ ᶜᵃᶰ ʰᵉˡᵖ ᴸᵉᵗ ᵐᵉ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᴬᶰᵈ ᴵ ʷᶤˡˡ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᵁᶰᵗᶤˡ ʸᵒᵘ ˡᵉᵃʳᶰ ᵗᵒ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ʸᵒᵘʳˢᵉˡᶠ ᴸᵉᵗ ᵐᵉ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᴬ ʰᵉᵃʳᵗ ᵒᶠ ᶰᵘᵐᵇᶰᵉˢˢ ᵍᵉᵗˢ ᵇʳᵒᵘᵍʰᵗ ᵗᵒ ˡᶤᶠᵉ ᴵ'ˡˡ ᵗᵃᵏᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ

[pursuitseternal]

“Rescue Me:” Risk, nsfw Romance, and sub!Ascended Astarion update for “The Rogue You Were”

Ascended Astarion x F!Reader | E | 4.2K rescue and nsfw reward

Summary: just a harmless hunt turns dangerous, an old threat from your Tadpole days resurfaces. Once your love has you rescued, you reward him handsomely for the effort.

CW: Canon-typical violence, bloodshed, Vampire Bride powers homebrew, protective Astarion, soft sub/dom dynamics, Sub!AA, outdoor sex, praise kink

My bloody Valentine for @marimosalad , @myfavouritelunatic , and @brabblesblog

Ao3 Link | Astarion Fic Masterlist

🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

The world is a wash of colors, a bouquet of scents, now that you step into it with all your vampiric powers. The forests around the city are colored as the trees begin to turn, reds like his eyes and golds like the treasure you’ve amassed as sovereigns. And your limbs are alive as you bolt under those trees. Reithwith is far behind you, the forests and wilds ahead. The only thing faster in the world rushes at your side

Astarion. Hair whipping wildly in the wind, eyes narrowed as he runs. Mouth grinning like a fool so wide, his pointy fangs peek from his lip.

You feel the same too. Alive. Powerful. The rush of speed and thrum of your vampiric vigor, it intoxicates you. Powerful. Like nothing can touch you.

“Bet I find and kill a bigger animal than you, my love…” you taunt right into his mind.

“Oh my dear, I’d like to see you try…” he pants with open mouth as he purrs back into your thoughts. “Nothing so delicious out here in these woods than me, my pet.”

“True…” you flash him an image of your razor-like fangs biting him all over… his neck, his thigh… that sweet, filled m-out swell of his own ass cheek, your hand fondling his balls from behind…

He nearly stumbles over the roots of some great oak at that. Regaining his sure footing just in time. “Tempting… but I’ll enjoy my spoils so much more by winning this little hunt you suggested, darling.” He slows a bit until you’ve caught up, until your shoulders bump as you keep in stride through the forest undergrowth. Even as it’s dying.

You toss your head, hair streaming from your face as you flash him your own fanged smile. “To the winner goes the spoils, then….” You give a giddy laugh before darting into the forest away from him and out of his sight….

It’s only after you’ve fallen a stag, feasting on its warm blood, that you realize someone stands behind you. Before plain lances throught the back of your head.

Before the world goes dark.

The forest has grown dark by the time you open your eyes, your head swims. Whatever they smacked you with, it left no lingering damage, not with your vampiric powers. Not when you have his blood in your veins. Slowly the world comes into focus, and you know you’re not alone. Three large male Drows stand guard over you, their armor thick and their eyes intense.

“Oh good, you’re awake.”

That voice. A female crosses towards you, her own armor dark like night, her red eyes shining as she scans you, bound with your legs together under you, your arms behind your back. The chains around your wrists and ankles sting, but it’s her gaze that makes you disgusted and slightly nervous. Those eyes flash between your mouth and your neck.

She wants your bite. And your blood.

“Araj…” you growl.

“I’m glad I made such an impression on you and your lord that I haven’t been forgotten.” She looks down at you, closing in on where you’re bound. Every urge in your body hums to life, you strain at your bonds, but they burn your skin the more you struggle.

“You know, he will kill you when he finds you,” you hiss, “Lord Astarion wouldn’t deign to drink from you, but he will enjoy spilling your every last drop.”

Araj laughs as she crouches next to you, “I should hope he tries, little consort. I cannot wait to study your blood. You little spawn, how does it feel when he compels you?” She runs a finger up the side of your neck, you pant as she touches you, you flinch. She is repulsive, her finger on your skin an insult to Astarion’s greatest creation. She strokes where your own two bite mark scars dip your flesh. “Does he drink from you nightly? Make you do all sorts of exotic and rigorous things, that Vampire Ascendant?”

Fangs bared, you hiss in her face. “You dare to touch what is his…” your mind spins, suddenly flooded with a surge of power. A warmth races down your spine and into your limbs. It makes you bold. It makes you laugh. “He is coming, you vermin. And he does not like having his things taken….”

Araj gives a nod to her soldiers, they draw their blades and fan out into the dark. She laughs, cackles more like. “Oh, imagine if I captured the Ascendant and his consort… if I had their blood to play with… their teeth to satisfy my dreams and curiosity…. You should have killed me when you had the chance instead of leaving me unconscious.”

Your voice shifts in your throat, you can feel him whisper in your mind. “Your hero is coming. I’ll be there soon, my lady….” You take a sigh of relief, feeling his haste, drinking in the wave of his rage as if it can nourish you.

And then, you speak, his voice in your mouth, his silken tones on your tongue. “I’m rather glad I did leave you… it will be far more satisfying to end you slowly now for what you have done… darling….”

Araj freezes at the sound of his voice. Eyes wide and frightened as she watches his power possess you. His power caresses your body, giving you a lasting sense of comfort. And you give the Drow a wicked smile. “We are going to love punishing you.”

The dark glade you’re in is suddenly filled with the sounds of bones crunching and blood spattering on the ground. One body… two… three bodies hit the dirt with a crunch. And Araj draws a little dagger. You laugh, your own sweet tones on your tongue again. “Oh yes, little prey, pull out your claws. Won’t stop you….”

“…from being devoured….” That low, velvety male voice caresses up your spine, his footsteps landing behind you.

Your hero, your lovey villain. Your master and mate. He touches the top of your head briefly, assuring you of his protection and presence.

Astarion’s hands pull your bonds apart. That roguish dexterity never leaving his beautiful fingers, the silver chains coming apart like butter in his grip. And even as you hear the little hiss of its power burning his skin, he gives no hint of pain.

Flinging the chains aside, he lifts you to your feet, steadying you, as if you weigh nothing to him.

The Drow’s eyes are wide, the red of her irises shaking up and down in her fear. Astarion growls, his twin daggers pulled from behind his back swiftly. You have seen it countless times. A chilling laugh comes from his mouth. “You really should have brought an army if you planned to touch what is mine… if you planned to take what is precious to me.”

“How else was I…” she tries to back away, stepping with a sickening crunch on the bones of one of her guards.

“What… darling? Fulfill your twisted little fantasy? Or find a way to sate your death wish?” he chuckles, his daggers twirling so beautifully, so gracefully in his long and bloodied fingers. “It took me all but a moment to rip all three to shreds… and you,” he points his dagger at her quivering form, head held high and shoulders squared, bloodied mouth ginning wide in the moonlight. “You’ll I’ll take my time with, darling. For what you tried to rob me of, my Consort, my Bride, there is no punishment fit enough for your crime, if I am any judge.” Another roll of dark laughter. “Which I was once, but now…” he closes in on Araj, feline and fast, “I’m your executioner.”

You watch, your stomach turning sour at the smell of her fetid blood. He’s so graceful, the way his body moves as he fights, not really a fight. It’s a dance, his movements fatal and swift, his little noises of effort punctuating the silent forest.

You draw closer, until he drops his blades into the mat of leaves on the forest floor. She’s still twitching on the ground, Araj, lover of all things sanguine, laying in a pool of her own life’s blood.

It’s more than enough vengeance for now. His arms sweep you up, taking you from the carnage.

Taking you to safety.

A clearing bathed in the moonlight… not unlike your first time. If only you knew the road ahead of you that night and all the pleasures and love that awaited.

You still smell fetid blood in your nose, you still feel the burn of silver round your wrist and ankles.

He sets you gingerly on the ground, his eyes looking everywhere but your face. His heart pounds so heavily, you can hear it as if it is your own. His touch pulses with it in his fingers, his hands turning over the burn marks on your pale skin. Hetugs where your sleeves and trousers have been torn to expose you, to make room for the silver chains to corrode into your flesh. “That bitch… I hope she does slowly, I hope she’s still in agony for what she did to you,” he spits, words hissing between his clenched teeth.

“Never,” he proclaims so loudly it hurts your ears. Suddenly both palms press into your face, making you turn to meet his glowing crimson eyes. He’s livid, silver brows furrowed deep, thick lips somewhere between a frown and a snarl. “Never again, I’m never letting you out of my sight again, darling. Where you go, I go. I will always be watching you everywhere you go. And never again will you stray from my side, do you hear me? Don’t you dare….” The ferocious snarl, the fearsome timbre of his voice, snaps in an instant.

His face presses against you, nose to nose, his forehead hot and damp with sweat where it crams against yours, his cheeks beginning to stain with wet. “Don’t… I can’t… I can’t lose you again.” He sobs, his tongue licking his lips from the salty strains of tears. “I’m not strong enough for that.”

His arms wrap around your head, pulling you into his blood spattered and embroidered jacket. His favorite one, with the golden stitched peacocks on a sea of cream silk. But it wasn’t cream any longer. You hiss as your hands and wrists brush his body. Instantly he recoils, concern etched across his handsome features. That mask of indifference he wears so often as Ascendant has vanished. And all you see staring at you in the dark woods, huddled on the ground, is the man who loves you, who stops at nothing to rescue you.

He pretends his cheeks aren’t wet, pretends that aquiline nose of his isn’t almost running. He brings your wrists to his mouth, kissing over the burn marks as if his lips could heal you.

As if his love could heal you alone.

You shiver in pain. The wounds are still fresh and raw with blisters. He instantly starts to work the buttons of that jacket, his pale skin exposed to the night as he wraps it around your shaking shoulders.

His heat saturates the fabric, his eyes and hands busy as he snugs it tightly around your frame. But behind his eyes, inside his thoughts he only hears that beat of how he needs to save you.

Just as you have always saved him.

Fangs pierce his own naked wrist, his blood, warm and tingling, drips with a hiss on your burned skin, blisters fading and raw skin knitting back together the second it connects with his powerful essence. Quickly, he moves to your ankles, making sure every little bit of your injuries is bathed in his blood.

Feeling returns to your extremities. You wriggle them, and Astarion leans closer, bringing his wrist to your lips, letting it whet your hunger.

Your stomach turns at the taste, instantly needing more in your belly, instantly losing all sense of pain. Or fear. Or loneliness. Not now that his power flows from his veins to yours. And you release your lips after a few swallows. Just enough to steady your head.

He’s shushing you softly, muttering to himself, “Never agains, never…”

“Astarion,” you breathe, “you are strong.”

“No,” he shakes his head, bringing you against his warm chest, “I can’t be if it comes to losing you….” His breath is ragged in his lungs, heart racing still from his rescue.

And fear.

“Then we are strong enough together, my love,” you force his face in your hand, turning it, making him, compelling him, to meet your gaze. “I knew you’d come,” you whisper, feeling him lean a little harder into your touch. “You fearsome Vampire Ascendant, if I need to be confident enough for both of us, then let me do that for you.”

He gives a wet laugh, “My consort, my queen, my right hand….”

“The hand that helps pull you up even when I’m the cause of your fall,” you give a tender smile in return.

He gives you a smile that resembles more of his rakish smirk, if still a bit tragic and a bit forced. “Maybe there’s something that hand of yours could pull… if you’re offering.”

Your hand strays down the soft skin of his chest… his stomach. “I wouldn’t want to spoil you, but you do so love when your acts of heroism are compensated, I recall….”

“Rewarded, my little love,” he tries to chuckle. Still weak, his body showing more of the despair that still blisters inside him that his words will allow to describe. “Why don’t you reward me,” he looks down on you with those big, wet crimson eyes, “haven’t I been so good to you?”

“Of course,” you whisper, pressing your hand in the valley of his chest, making him flatten out on the forest floor.

Not unlike days of old.

“You’re always so good to me, won’t you let me be good to you in return?” you slink your way over his body, spreading your thighs so straddle those hips of his.

“I have earned it, haven’t I?” He preens beneath you, just a small spark of that arrogance and seduction coming back. His hands haven’t left your body, pawing at your hips, running up your back.

As if he will never let you go, never let himself lose you again.

You shrug the weight of his jacket from your shoulders and pull the edges of your long tunic over your head, torn and dirty as it is, you breathe a sigh of relief. The dark of his pupils consume that ring of red around them, eyes dilating to see your breasts, a sight just for him. Instantly his hands reach for them, one in each palm, cradled in his touch, so soft and so perfectly. You long to taste him, to get the sour tang of fear and bile that still lingers in your mind, despite even the taste of his ascendant blood on your tongue.

His lips shake as they meet your own, almost unwilling to believe he gets to do this again. Disbelieving he’s managed to save you, to decimate your enemies with you so deep in their clutches.

He basks in the way your body clings to him, like he does every chance he has to sit curled in the sun. A little smile on his lips, even as they dance and devour yours. His touch reverently ghosts up your belly, tantalizingly light on your skin, tucking into the waistband of your trousers to try to slink them down.

But you smile into his kiss, brushing his hands away like gnats. “My love…” you rasp, “did you ask to try to remove those?”

“No,” he growls in reply, hands instantly slinking back up your body, brushing against your swaying breasts to cradle the back of your neck.

“Mmmm, that’s better,” you moan slightly into his mouth. Hands splayed on his chest, you raise yourself back up, feeling the heat and pressure of his growing erection beneath your body. A slight wriggle of your hips makes his mouth hang slack. “Let me just ride you, my love. Let me make you feel that I’m here with you.”

He groans at that. Hands planting firmly back on your hips, you slowly grind on that length, feeling it hardening under you. But you tutt your tongue, sliding down his thighs. “Can’t have you hard down your leg, can we?”

He shakes his head, “By the hells no,” he hisses as you reach in to adjust him. He groans as you take his shaft in your grip, a few gentle pumps aren’t enough for him over that steely hard erection. You sweep your thumb over that weeping slit, just enough to make the bead of precum slick your fingers before you let go, keeping his cock inside the waistband of his breeches.

Tongue running over one fang, he watches as you lick your fingers clean, as you slide your body back over to grind on his aching hardness. “Aren’t I worthy of a little more reward for my heroics?” He tries to sound demanding, but with each buck of your hips that rubs the heat and fabric where you join, he only grows more desperate.

“Good things come to Ascendant Lords who wait, my love,” you purr, slowing the way your hips gyrate over his just to prove your point. Fingernails claw into your hip bones, scoring and tearing your skin. His head digs back into the ground, the rustle of leaves beneath him a staccato to the way his breath pours out in a long pant. “Tch,” you lean down to capture that mouth that twists in agony. “Easy my love,” you whisper as his lips try to consume your own cold breath. His hands press on your shoulders, the back of your neck, holding you steady as he thrusts up into that warming crease between your thighs. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Damned right, you’re not,” he growls, a tenacity in his tone and ferocity in the way his fingers cling into your mussy hair. “And you’re mine…”

You shake free of his hold, sliding to slip off your trousers, the night air making every hair on your body prickle. Your nipples firm up harder than pebbles, even as your nerves burn to take his heat within you, for him to thrust his pulsing cock inside, to fill you with the friction you crave more to survive than blood.

But instead you settle back, your folds wet and pressing into the suede of his breeches. “Your reward is rather cruel, little love,” he hisses, nearly whining, even as his voice rumbles in his chest. “May I touch my spoils?” he whispers.

A wicked, gaping smirk on your lips and your head throw back as you demonstrate. “Like this, my lord?” You still on his prodding cock, lifting your hips just enough for his darkened eyes to watch your fingers slip loudly into your drenched folds. Your stroke, you circle and curl, whatever movements make the most sounds. Astarion’s hands slowly creep from your hips lower… lower… daring silently as he encroaches closer where you now ride your own touch.

You smile, closing your eyes, giving him a little nod, a little gift of your permission as his thumb slips inside where your fingers already play. His cock presses into you as his fingers slide over your clit. That bulge throbs through the now soaked spanse of suede, a satisfied smirk on his face as his touch catches you just right.

As your thighs grip him hard, as your own hand goes still inside your entrance, leaving you with just that merciful stroke of his thumb on your clit as he steals your breath. As the warmth of pleasure blooms from your belly. As you buck and writhe all the harder, all the more erratic until your vision swims.

Boneless, shivering, you’re pulled down to his mouth, fingers gently throttling you as you stil gasp for air from your climax.

It feels… so good. Saved. Rescued. Claimed. Good to be his.

His kiss is all tongue and fangs, those little growls and huffs he makes when he feeds on you filling your mouth as he caresses you. His hands slink into the new open space he’s made, fingers snapping his laces open. Finally almost freeing himself.

But you laugh, sinking your own fang into his lip to make him gasp and freeze in pain. “Naughty,” you breathe before sucking on that seeping blood. “You know better than that… you know to ask first, my love.” You chastise him, making him shudder under your lips. “But since you were so wonderful being my hero, saving your lady love, I’ll forgive you…” you raise up, feeling his hands tugging fiercely, not even finishing all the straps to release that aching erection.

“To the victor…” he raps, guiding your body to sink quickly on his shaft… He pants in delight as you squeeze around him at last, “go the spoils.” His chest rises and falls, pale skin catching in the moonlight, his sweat glistening. But you can’t tear away from his mouth. Not with how he works his lips on yours, his tongue tangling in time with every little thrust you make.

One of his arms presses you closer to join where he fucks up into you, where you soak his skin and slap hard against him. But that other, that other arm winds behind your shoulders, hand clawed into the base of your neck, keeping your breath as his breath, your tongue twisted with his. But it’s not enough… not hard enough or fast enough, even as you feel his breathing grow ragged.

You sit up, launching off his chest with two hands braced. He whines, whines to have you break from his clutches. A single finger crooking, you beckon him up to you. A rustle of leaves, the scent of damp, nighttime earth in your nose, and he obeys to sit up too. Eager, biting his fangs into his bottom lip. Hips rolling, back arched in deepest pleasure, you feel his tongue lapping up, a single damp streak between your breasts. Those dexterous hands grip into your skin, those powerful arms that snapped your enemies in half are wrapped tenderly around your waist.

He growls against your neck, too hesitant to bite. Warm lips wrap around your ear, the loud suck, the squelch of his tongue sends ice cold shivers of pleasure right down your spine. One more time, a loud suck, the clack of his fangs together in your ear, and you shatter, another wave of orgasm ripping you in two. Wetness squirts down your thighs, his cock is so slick inside you from your arousal, even as thick and hot as he has grown approaching his own release.

Even as your walls clutch and undulate through his thrusts into you that never relent.

His back is wet, dead leaves clinging to his shoulders as you hold him, trying to keep your balance against the flexing muscles of his back. Your rogue, your hero, he takes advantage of your breathless submission as you float down from orgasm to clutch you even harder. His voice grates in his throat, thick with desire and breathless from exertion. “May I…”

“What do you wish?” you murmur, slack in his arms as he thrusts with desperation, your body barely able to ride him much longer.

“I want…” he pants, “to fill you. For you to seep with me, to make you…” he groans as you shudder at that dark, deep tone in his voice, “make you full of my seed and scent. So I’ll always be able to find you, darling…”

“Yes,” you hiss somewhere in the middle of his words. A shuddering whine in his throat, and you feel every muscle tighten like a bow string. Rolling you to your back, he presses your legs into your body, the heat of your folds now open to the night air. Hips snap hard, reckless and with abandon. He fucks into you at his pleasure, at his mercy. His eyes don’t seem to blink as he stares into your own face. Dirt smudges his cheek, but it’s that haze in his eyes, that way his mouth twists in beautiful bliss that makes your own body hum to be used.

Pressing you, folding you bent and spread for him, he cages you into the earth this time. A smirk, wide and toothy, pants down from above you, those dark crimson eyes flutter shut as he bucks and shudders. One loud pant that sticks in his throat and your walls grow warm, coated as he does fill you, cum and arousal leaking into the dirt. Not for the first time.

Not for the last.

Breath heavy, skin damp, he hugs you into him, the echo of his beating heart in your own chest hard enough to almost be your own.

“Never again, my love, my consort,” he whispers, more to himself than for your ears. “I’ll spend the rest of our lives rescuing you… as you rescued me.”

With one last kiss, he softens over you, almost sleepy in his breath, and you wipe the mud from his cheek.

That roguish mud from his ascended skin. And nestled as he is, he smiles against your breast as you do.

[shiny-jr]

✍︎ damnation [ the diviner ]

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

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

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

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

– Pages: 40

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CRACK!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

✧   ✧   ✧   ✧   ✧

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

✧   ✧   ✧   ✧   ✧

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

✧   ✧   ✧   ✧   ✧

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yeah! Yeah! I––”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Whatchu’ lookin’ at?”

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

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

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

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

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Those razor sharp claws on his webbed hands appeared extra shiny today. They dug into the wooden edge where you both were peering over, carving little splinters of wood off as he hummed, “Hm, I dunno… Maybe I should dare. It would make you stay.”

There was no sign of him relenting, and it was beginning to make you nervous. If Floyd wasn’t willing to help you by the time the storm hit, then you could kiss your freedom goodbye. It almost made you lose your composure, but somehow you managed to stay cool and continue with a soft smile, “What would Azul say if he found out the plan failed because you were feeling possessive?”

Rolling his eyes, he laughed before it turned to whining, like an angry tantrum, “I don’t care what Azul says! I think the contract was stupid anyways. It’s not fair that he gets to decide your fate just because he wants some lame old artifact triton! It’s not fair! No fair at all!” Before he could bang his fists against the hull in frustration, he grabbed onto you, and you felt his weight dragging you down. He was literally trying to pull you back into the water. You couldn’t call for help because the humans would see you and everything would go astray, so you could only desperately hold onto the side until you were yanked down into the sea.

The cold water hit you, sending such a shock through your system, but you weren’t drowning. With your head above the water, you turned to Floyd who kept close. What unnerved you was that he no longer had a dopey smile on his face. “What are you doing…?! You’re going to ruin everything!”

That didn’t seem to weigh too heavily on his mind, because he only scoffed and his frown deepened. “Who cares about some stupid sailors and humans anyways?”

For a moment, you wished you had Azul’s strength so you could defend yourself here. Because you knew, Floyd was much stronger, and the only reason he wasn’t dragging you back like a ragdoll was because he respected you or liked you… somewhat. In his own weird Floyd-way. “I’m human, Floyd.”

“Yeah, maybe, but you're not stupid. Or boring.”

In the distance you could hear thunder rumbling. Oh no. The storm was coming, and if you didn’t change Floyd’s mind, he wouldn’t help you at all. In fact, he might try to get in your way. The waves were starting to become rough and wild, but the eel diligently kept you above the surface at all times no matter how savage the sea became or how the rain began to feel like needles pricking your skin or even how harsh the wind hit you. “I don’t want to live in that cave my whole life! Imagine if you had to live there, and the only way out was to ask someone else to take you or let you out. Wouldn’t you hate that?”

By now he had to shout to be heard over the howling wind, and he didn’t seem convinced. “Hmmm… yeah, but it’s not me. It’s you. Besides, I like you living right there with us.”

When lighting struck the white sails of the ship, setting the sheets ablaze, you knew time was ticking by. Yet you couldn’t snap, because that would only cause Floyd to snap too. You had to stay calm and think, quickly think of a way to convince him to help you. “Azul probably doesn’t want me to leave either, he’ll probably have some plan in mind to trick me at the last minute. Besides, I know you and Jade probably won’t let me leave anyways, even if I really wanted to. But think about it Floyd, if Azul gets that old triton and the land kingdom, he’ll have everything! Even stuff like those fireworks.”

That seemed to have a bit of an effect. You could only watch the ship, half ablaze, crash into jutted rocks, causing many on board to jump and abandon ship. Meanwhile, Floyd was still considering your words. Until what felt like an eternity later, he gazed down at you and spoke. “I wanna see more fireworks with you.”

“What?”

“Is your hearing going or something?” Annoyed, he repeated it louder this time, “I want to see the fireworks with you.”

Finally he was relenting. Hurriedly you agreed, growing more desperate with every passing moment, your calm facade had already cracked long ago, “Alright, we’ll see the fireworks together! With Azul and Jade too, we’ll use enough fireworks to paint the whole sky bright! We’ll even fire some ourselves. Does that sound like a plan to you?”

You impatiently watched his irked expression shift, having to squint your eyes to see through the rain and high and low rising waves. Had it not been for him holding onto you still, you probably would’ve been swept away in the powerful currents. Then, you saw it, a smile tugging at his lips, and he began cheerfully again, “Sounds like a plan~!”

“Great! Mmph––!” With no warning, he dove under the waves, moving much quicker under the water but you could only hold your breath for so long when you didn’t even get an opportunity to prepare yourself. You felt the pressure of the water push on you, soaking you down to the bone, but you continued to hold on to the eel as he swam at an incredible speed. When you heard the muffled sound of an explosion and saw a burst of fire above the water, you knew you only had seconds left.

According to the story, moments earlier, the princess must’ve gone back on the ship to save her dog from the inferno. Her foot would become stuck in the floorboards as the dog she carried made it overboard to a rowboat. But right then, the fires would reach the stored gunpowder, triggering the explosion that would blow the ship to smithereens and knock the royal unconscious, throwing their body into the ocean below.

When you reemerged above the water with Floyd, you saw the sharp jagged rocks, the burning ship slowly sinking, the debris floating all around you, and bits of wood on fire falling down from the cloud of ash and smoke in the sky. The eel had spotted the human princess at the same time you did, and he zoomed right over to her drifting form slipping off a piece of the floorboard. As soon as you were close enough, you grabbed her, holding her tight with both arms as Floyd, not particularly interested in the princess and more intrigued by the shipwreck, held you with one arm.

“I think I want blue fireworks. Do they have blue ones?”  

You can’t believe that during all this chaos and while you were still trying to save the princess, Floyd was still on about fireworks. Exasperated, but still trying so hard not to snap at him, you exclaimed with an incredulous sort of laugh, “Yes, they have every color, even blue! Can we please, for the love of god, Floyd, just get her back to shore and go home?”

Thankfully, Floyd didn’t cause any more trouble and the shore wasn’t that far away. You had found a secluded little beach, where you left Floyd in the water and dragged the girl onto the sand, away from the now calm tides. Before it was night when everything happened, but now it was the dawn of morning. You stayed beside the unconscious princess, checking for a pulse, which she still had. In the chaos, the ends of her skirt had gotten torn, she lost her shoes, but she didn’t appear to have any major injuries save for minor scratches and bruises. Slowly she breathed, a sure sign she was alive. Frankly, it was a miracle she even survived that explosion, and it was all for a dog.

Ah–– right. This was when Rielle was supposed to start singing, and the princess would slowly regain consciousness, and would see his face. That was not happening, you were not singing. You were not like that curious merman prince that had taken to happily singing to you whenever you met up with him. Slowly you placed your hand against her cheek, she was still as you quietly hummed, and after a few minutes, as the sun began to shine, she stirred.

A soft smile made its way on her pink lips as she unconsciously pressed her cheek into the palm of your hand. That’s when you noticed her eyes slowly, groggily, opened half-way, and her hand ghosted over yours. She was looking at you tiredly, she probably couldn’t see too well at the moment, but her blue eyes continued to gaze at you with growing awe. “You’re safe now, don’t worry.”

As soon as you heard barking in the distance followed by voices that were getting closer, that was your sign to go. You sprinted back to the water, diving in once deep enough and quickly being snatched up by two eels that took you somewhere hidden to spectate. You were led off to the side, in the shadows of some large boulders, out of sight, close enough to watch but far enough not to hear.

You recognized the large energetic dog that came bounding to its master, and you could guess that the person who followed and appeared quite messy was a servant of the princess that had also survived the shipwreck. The servant helped the royal up, looking incredibly relieved to see them alive. However, the princess, now more awake but still woozy, was frantically scanning the ocean’s surface and the beach around them. An amazed smile formed on her face as she stumbled forward away from the servant, saying something you couldn’t hear, but she held her hand to her heart. Still weak, the servant supported her weight and escorted her away, out of sight, with the dog following in tow.

When the humans and their pet were finally gone, you continued to stand beside the rock, glaring down at the twins. Specifically the one that’s caused you the most trouble so far. That’s when you broke your silence. “I hate you.”

“Awwwwww, I love you too!” Floyd teased, looking so very pleased with himself.

Jade glanced at the two of you, sensing something happened enough to annoy you, which made him smile. “It appears that things went swimmingly in my absence.”

✧   ✧   ✧   ✧   ✧

More weeks passed, you finally had a moment to relax as you allowed the prince and princess to marinate with their feelings for you. Floyd was somewhere, probably with Azul. When you got back from the mission, the two had gotten into a spat over how the mission nearly failed due to the eel’s mood swings. Which was fine, as long as it didn’t involve you, you didn’t care. You were relaxing, laying on the hammock you set up away from the water but close enough to the waterfall to hear the quiet and calming sound of the running water flowing down into the cavern.

As you lay there in peace, attempting to rest your tired eyes for a few moments. You heard movement. Jade was likely lingering about, doing whatever those eels did in their underwater portion of the cavern, but lately he’s been taking to using your half of the space for his new gardening hobby. It seems he really took a liking to the foraged items you bring, specifically the mushrooms you found. You would consider taking some from his garden and using them in a meal, but Azul warned you that for some reason, Jade liked the poisonous kind, so you were no longer keen on risking anything by going ahead with that idea of yours.

“I should make you aware, the prince came for you a few days ago.”

You stopped using your weight to swing you back and forth slowly on the hammock, only when it stopped did you peek one eye open to look at Jade tending to the various different types of mushrooms growing in the darkest dampest corner of the cavern. “What?”

“Prince Rielle came earlier than you expected. It seemed that he had his dispute with his father already destroying his collection of human artifacts, and you being absent from your usual morning chats with him made him so sick with worry that it drove him to take the drastic measures you predicted.” Jade wasn’t facing you, he was using the freshwater you gave him to carefully sprinkle over his beloved shrooms. “I must commend your odd new divination abilities, they were quite accurate, but not entirely correct. The prince did indeed trade his voice for a pair of legs which he declared he would use to walk and search for you in the land kingdom. The only thing that can save him now, is a kiss from you. So do try to avoid that. I thought it strange that Azul was not entirely… content with the deal, for whatever reason. It seems something was on his mind.”

You narrowed your eyes, focusing intently on the back of his head so he must’ve felt your stare burning holes into the back of his skull. You knew that he knew you were watching, judging by his quiet chuckle, the quick rise and fall of his shoulders from his short laugh. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Isn’t it common courtesy to compliment companions? I only wish to have a nice conversation with you, my dearest friend…” For a second he paused, he continued speaking clearly and smoothly, but everything he said in that tone he always used sounded like a lie, a trick, words meant to put you at ease and lure you into a false sense of security. Yet, you didn’t know if he was telling the truth or not, you couldn’t trust him. While his twin preferred to cause turmoil with his stubbornness that caused frustrations and wreckages, Jade preferred to go with the flow, confuse and disorientate his victims. “I only wish to help you with your dream of freedom. By the way, you needn’t worry about the prince or the princess. I made sure the tides and his friends carried Prince Rielle to shore. He happened to meet Princess Erika, and last I checked, both were searching for someone and they had joined forces to search for their true love. It seems that Princess Erika has spent the last weeks searching high and low across the land for you, while Prince Rielle has been concerned for you and plans to find you as well. Of course, neither royal knows they’re in love with the same person.”

For a second, you had to refrain from sighing. Actions spoke louder than words. Yes, you were relieved that the two hadn’t fallen in love with each other and were still focused on you, but you couldn’t let them stay together for long. If only you could actually choose both of them and live off the wealth their two kingdoms acquire, but alas, you already made a deal with Azul. Well, that aside, Jade had called you his dearest friend. Part of you didn’t know if that was just sweet talk to get you to lower your guard, or if he was being sincere. Azul had once mentioned that the twins adored you, but if this was their way of adoration, then it was weird and you didn’t want it. But, you decided to test your luck and prod with a scoff, mocking his previous words. “Dearest friend, hm?”

“Of course. However, you’ve become much more interesting these past few weeks.” Jade finally turned to glance at you with a sort of smile that you weren’t sure how to describe. His fingers ghosted over his beloved plants as he recounted, “When we were children, Floyd and I had never seen a human until you. When we lured you out to sea, you didn’t cry or scream, you were calm and amused us with your words. So, we became friends. Azul didn’t meet you until later, but he didn’t hold the same high opinion of you as my brother and I did. It was only later, when you were in your hour of need and with a kind word from us, did Azul finally take an interest in you as a tool for his business ventures. And I can’t help but notice that his disinterest in you lately has changed. It’s as if… you no longer are the same friend I once knew.”

You felt yourself go still, keeping your gaze on the few stalactites on the ceiling above, because you felt him staring at you with those mismatched eyes. Ever so slightly, his tone shifted, losing its charming feel to it.

“Should anyone I trust and call my friend choose to betray me, there is a special treatment I’ve prepared just for them. In truth, I’ve prepared several options, but I’m sure I can imagine more on the spot.” The longer he spoke, the more the growing horror slipped through your calm facade, making it crack as he went on and on with a cruel toothy grin. “The prince you fooled traded his voice away just to be with you again, so one could cut off your tongue and say you match him in muteness. On the other hand, there’s the princess you saved, I could tie you to a sinking surface as you pray she finds you before it’s too late. Ah, but then there’s your ability to breathe underwater longer, as granted by Azul. Well… in that case, I could still watch you drown as you wait with your waning breath, chained to the bottom of the seas with only fear and your thoughts swirling about as you reflect on every moment you tricked me and my brother until your lungs reach their limit and implode––”

There was no other way out, you were trapped in here with this monster. The only way out was the underwater portions of the cavern which you couldn’t reach because Jade would catch you the moment your toes touched the water. You would starve in this cavern, that is if they didn’t use some other twisted magic to bring about your demise. You would die here.

Then, his smile shifted as he noticed your visible panic and fear, before he tilted his head and chuckled, “Heh, of course, this is all hypothetically speaking. You weren’t my friend to begin with, so I hold no ill-will towards you. But I must tell you, you’ve been of great company to me recently. When Azul placed a contract on my human companion, I saw them begin to wither with the lack of freedom and heavy duties. But I’m assuming that changed when you, my new friend, arrived.”

That kind smile of his unnerved you after everything he said. To think you had actually been hanging out with this guy before and having nice conversations with him a few days ago, you were blinded by the gifts he brought you… That’s when a thought came to you. You felt your heart stop as you hopped off the hammock and demanded with as much of a composure as you could gather after his freighting words, “Does Azul know…?”

“...” His silence unnerved you, you wanted to snap and just tell him to spit it out, but you knew then that if you did that, he wouldn’t tell you at all. For now, he’d only hang the answer above your head, use it to make you impatient and frustrated. That was what he wanted. After a moment of seeing you remain calm, he slowly nodded, “This is Azul we are speaking about. I’m sure even in your short time here, you realize that he isn’t a man that leaves any stone unturned or coral unsearched when it comes to important business opportunities for him. And this opportunity you’ve presented him happens to be the most bountiful of all.”

Jade was right. It would be more shocking if Azul didn’t know by now. Afterall, you could only resemble someone you didn’t even know for so long. And if he knew, he was likely plotting to keep you here. You knew how the sea sorcerer worked by learning about him with your time here and by knowing the fairytales.  

By now, the eel had swum closer, apparently deciding that this conversation was much more interesting than his mushroom garden. “I’m assuming Floyd hasn’t yet realized, or else we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

Oh no, you did not want Floyd finding out. You had no clue how he would react. You were hoping that he was more fascinated like Jade was, but you couldn’t even be remotely certain as to how that would go. Ignore that topic, you switched it to another person to be wary of, the one you’d be tied to for an eternity if you didn’t escape his slippery clutches soon. “Are you going to tell Azul?”

For a moment he appeared to ponder on the idea, and as he lifted his head out of the water, you saw that grin that placed you on edge. Now, you were too nervous to get close to him in fear of the malicious threats spewing out of his mouth earlier. You had a feeling that he wasn’t lying about all that. His eyes seemed to glow a tiny bit as he hummed, “Contrary to what most believe, I’m not here for the money or because I’ve known Azul for years. He even instructed me not to let you out at all anymore unless he approved, especially now that he’s gone to retrieve his reward from the prince. It seems he doesn’t want you seeing others. But I serve whoever presents more interesting opportunities for me. I wonder, what more wondrous things and moments can you share with me, my friend, hm?”

Oh my god, Azul was minutes away from getting the triton, that is if he didn’t have it already. You had to get out of here. Now. “Actually…” You were beginning to concoct a plan of your own. Perhaps you could still fulfill your contract, even if the sorcerer would get in your way. If you had to guess, the twins were meant to be an obstacle. However, if you could get them on your side, then things would go much smoother. “I have something in mind, if you’re willing? But it involves me leaving the cave.”

Jade smiled, “No, I’m not willing.”

Well, that didn’t go according to plan. But you can’t say you didn’t try. Your last resort now, before Azul could return and somehow force you to remain as some eternal slave, was to escape on your own. You did your part, didn’t you? Sort of… You seduced Rielle so he entered a contract with Azul, you seduced Erika so she was always by the water now looking for you, it was the perfect set up for Azul. You did essentially everything he wanted you to do.

When the eel disappeared into the waters, that’s when you took action. You weren’t going to risk swimming and getting lost in those underwater tunnels only to get caught by Jade, oh no. If you couldn’t escape below, you’d escape above. With all the nets you had gathered from your scavenging and the time you had alone behind the waterfall, you made a fine sort of escape to climb, if you do say so yourself. It was definitely long enough to reach the very top where the water was coming from. So when Jade was nowhere to be found, you tied one end of the net to a hook and tossed it to the top. Pulling on it, testing its strength so it wouldn’t drop you down into your own personal prison, once you deemed it sturdy, you began to climb. You couldn’t manage to escape last time in your world, but now you could, and you’d get the freedom you desired.

Once at the top, you heaved a giant sigh of relief, part of you not believing it was that easy to get out. The only reason you got out with no issue was because Azul wasn’t present to open his hand and beckon you to come closer, with the magic shell necklace dragging you forward. As you picked up the pace to a run, you tried to remove the necklace, smash the shell, something–– but it never budged. The necklace was the shackles tying you to the sea sorcerer. You could only hope that it had some limit, like it wouldn’t work if you’re several miles away from this place. At this rate you don’t care where you went, you just had to get away before he became too powerful and dangerous.

Hey, on the brightside, maybe with his new power over the sea and part of the land, he’ll lose interest in you entirely! Yeah! If you were in his position and had control over the entire ocean and a whole kingdom on land, you wouldn’t care for anyone else, not even a human who had helped you get to that point. If you were Azul, you’d forget all about the human and instead focus on your newfound riches and power all at your disposal. That placed you at ease, and cleared your mind enough to allow you to focus on the most important matter at hand: your escape.

You needed to get far far away, go somewhere new and start with a fresh slate, seduce some lords or heiresses, maybe even a king or queen, and begin the life of luxury and wealth you deserved. You found your ticket out on a boat preparing to set sail. Yes, it was risky, but according to the tale, the sea witch never sunk any ships. The ships she had been impaled with and tried to use were all older vessels that were already at the bottom of the sea. So, you would be good. With ease you snuck onto the ship as the crew was nearly done loading the cargo. You blended in as one of the people onboard, only feeling better when the ship officially left the port.

The sun was setting, but you could enjoy its fading warmth on your skin and listen to the waves that rocked the ship gently like a cradle. The sky was painted a deep purple, the orange and red fading the more the sun inched down the horizon, making it darker and darker. For the first time in a while, you were at peace, you felt free already. There were no eels to torment you or no octopus to pester you, not even the merman that sang about love or the human princess––

“Excuse me?”

The sudden voice caused you to snap out of your train of thought. Slowly you removed your arms from the edge where you had been leaning, and you glanced back, prepared to smoothly slip your way out of this one should it be someone questioning who you were and why you were on this ship. However, as soon as you turned your head and quickly flashed your practiced smile, it dropped just as fast as you put it on. There, standing behind you, was the human princess, gazing at you with those beautiful icy blue eyes.

“I’m sorry, but you look so familiar…” As her eyes stared intently at your face, she visibly brightened up, a smile forming on her lips as she spoke hopefully, “We’ve met before, haven’t we? I knew it!” Taking your hand in hers, she continued to peer up at you while going on joyfully, “You’re the one! The one I’ve been looking for! What’s your name?”

It took everything not to just jump overboard right at that second. In your head, alarms were blaring, but you somehow managed to keep in your mess of emotions as you forced that smile back into place on your face. “It’s… V.”

“V… V!” She laughed, embracing you tightly, much to your surprise. “I’m so happy I found you! I wanted to thank you for saving me, but I couldn’t find you anywhere, no matter how much I searched! To think that you would end up here, on the ship I prepared to search for you on! I couldn’t find you in town or in the woods or anywhere! So I figured the only other place you could be was maybe in the water, maybe you lived in the coves or caverns! And here you are!”

You needed to get off this damned ship––

“Well, well, there you are. I was worried for a moment when you were nowhere to be found.”

At the end of the ship, near where the captain was supposed to be steering, was the very person who you were running away from, your captor and now, based on his new accessories, the new king of the sea. The five sharp white shells stringed with tiny pearls decorating his silver hair like a halo, made him look like royalty. It must’ve been a crown. In between his slim fingers, he tightly held the large golden triton. The triton glimmered like a giant knife in the fading light now blocked out by an increasing number of gray clouds heavy and pregnant with a storm. He had spoken loud and clear, causing everyone on board to notice his presence, making all onlookers gasp in horror at his inhuman appearance.

When his eyes turned to you, you felt a chill travel down your spine. There was no escape.

His black appendages curled around him in an unruly mass, taking up a considerable amount of space. Although he may have looked like a monster to everyone, including the princess standing protectively in front of you, you might’ve been in awe if you weren’t so fearful of losing your freedom. Part of him was beautiful, but his endless greed and this sort of crazed look in his eyes made him look frightening.

“You left our cozy little abode, but you led me right to the princess, so I can’t be cross with you. I couldn’t ever stay mad at you, my precious treasure. But… I was prepared to give you everything your heart could desire, my dear diviner. The world would become your oyster. I’ll lift shipwrecks off the ocean floor and empty them of all their treasures for you. I’ll summon storms and waves to drown any enemy you name. I’ll use all the magic in my disposal, all the magic in the world, just to amuse you and keep you beside me longer. Everything… Everything would have been yours…!” He stopped his growing rant, taking a deep breath, a forced sigh as he breathed, “But at least I’ve found you.”

Your necklace! He was still tracking you, he did still want you for whatever selfish reason. And now, he had the triton in hand. Which meant he must’ve already encountered Rielle again, and forced the king to give up himself in order to replace Rielle’s name in the contract. Who knew what he did to Rielle? He likely used the triton to end him swiftly, to make sure no one would get in his way.

Azul eyed the princess with disdain, “I no longer want that useless girl. No princess or even a prince could ever live up to your worth.” Without warning, he started crawling, and fast. With no legs, he couldn't run or walk like a human. So he crawled like some desperate creature, clawing his way forward with his tentacles dragging behind him, terrorizing all those on board and making them run and part ways for him to continue forward like a train at high speed. When he closed in on them, it only took one appendage to slap away Erika like she was nothing but an annoying buzzing fly in his way.

At inhuman speed, he grabbed you as you fought in his slippery grasp and screamed, “I have nothing more to give you!! Why can’t you just let me go?! You have everything!”

“Not everything, angelfish.” He chastised, wasting no time jumping into the sea until you were both under the cold water. When he tapped your chin with the sharp end of the triton, he instructed, “Breathe. Let’s make another deal, this one you will want to hear out.”

Hesitantly, unsurely, you breathed, watching bubbles emerge from your breaths, surprised to see it worked. It must’ve been the magic of the triton he touched you with. That’s when you finally spoke, snapping, “Why would I make another deal with you, you lying cheat?”

For a moment, he actually looked hurt, before he snapped back. “That’s amusing, coming from you. You were ready to run away before our deal could properly be completed!”

“I did everything you wanted, you had all the pieces! You won’t grant me the freedom you promised! I know how you work. You’re a sham! You planned to keep using me as a tool!”

Pursing his lips, Azul paused before replying, “Yes, I did. But that was before. That’s when I believed you were the V I knew before, but then I noticed you were acting strangely. Your so-called prophecy dream, your words, your actions, it was all off. You weren’t the same person.” As he spoke, his appendages let go of you, but they remained lingering behind and around you, trapping you in like a cage where your only option out was him. The sea sorcerer. “I saw it clearly. Those wretched little royals don’t deserve you! Prince Rielle is gone, and I ordered Floyd and Jade to sink Princess Erika’s ship, they get to do as they please with the humans on board. You won’t be seeing neither the princess nor the prince anymore, they won’t be pestering you. Onto more interesting topics. You’re something special, something otherworldly, am I wrong…? I read it in ancient texts once, about how sometimes there are people who mysteriously replace someone, and those people are not from anywhere known. You were banished from your world, just as I was banished from my home. They forsake us because they fear us, but we’re better now. You know what it’s like to be looked down upon, and you loathe it, don’t you?”

When he saw you were frozen, hanging to his every word with familiarity flashing in your eyes. The judges looked down at you, and the mere thought that everyone back home was watching your last moments at the trial with disdain… You must’ve been a criminal because the court said so, right? At that moment back then, you wanted to prove everyone wrong. You weren’t just some lowly nobody that should be forgotten and left to rot. You had worth, and skills, looks, personality, everything that could outweigh anyone.

He knew he was right. “I’m right, and you realize that. I said I don’t have everything. There’s one more thing that can make me the happiest man in the world. And that is… you.”

You felt his tentacles against your back, forcing you closer and closer to him until you were inches away from his face, his eyes gazing at you with a mix of greed and pleading.

But his voice, his assertive voice, was losing his confidence. The more he spoke, the more frantic and desperate he sounded, making you believe that even though he was pleading, you wouldn’t exactly be granted a choice in whatever he was about to offer up to you. “Let this be our final eternal contract. Be mine not as a tool or property, but as a partner. W-With you, we can rule not only the entire ocean but every inch of land too! I know what you want, I see it in your eyes and I know it because you’re like me…! I need you...! You need me! You don’t want freedom, you want wealth, power, and glory!" Slowly, steadily, all his appendages wrapped around you, constricting you, binding you in place. There was no real choice, no freedom, that was an illusion. The only choice he was offering was him. "Join me, sign the new contract, and you can have it all… But only if you choose me. Come on now, make your choice, we don’t have all night, my Dear Diviner!”

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Could you do the OM bros seeing a friendly, opmistic, kind , funny Mc who's actually a cunning and a manipulative seducer/seductress. Always keeping a poker face in order to get what they want which is power and gets away with it but the brothers realize it too late( I know Lucy, Satan and Belphie are smart enough but It is possible for them to get "tricked" by Mc since they love them.)

Two-Faced Reader | Yandere Obey Me!

Power is what you’re after and you’re used to doing whatever you feel like to get it. Including acting like the innocent lamb that gets all of them wrapped around your fingers. Now whether you intended for their infatuation with you or not it's bound to further your agenda or more likely their own:

Leviathan 

“Whooooa talk about mad twists!”

Thinks it's hot when you switch from the sweet ingenue to domineering master 

Kind of likes the way switch 

And the curiousness if its some condition and you only do it with him

Oh how he hopes

At your command, he summons Lotan on the daily 

Sometimes completing sidequests without you telling him

Like offing those conspiratory NPCs

Satan

“I see what game your playing and I’m intrigued.”

He knows your games

And man does he love playing them

Your ambition rivals his own and he can’t help but want to encourage you

He’s not going to say he’s whipped but he’s certainly willing to cause all kinds of mayhem in your name

A shame that he’s not roped in by your fake personality

Asmodeus

“Oya~my baby wants them gone? Promise to give me kisses?”

He falls head first for you’re precious persona

So innocent, so cute

It makes pining for you all the more fun

And killing for you even more satisfying

He’s someone who’s not going to flip when you’re personality shines through

Your still his sexy lamb 

And he so badly wants to keep you

Even if it means using his beauty to deceive those who get in your way

And the ones he just doesn’t like

Beelzebub

“Don’t accuse them of such things, they hardly know how devildom works.”

Falls hook line and sinker for your persona 

No doubt easily deceived by your little acts

And in your defense, he’ll eat just about anyone 

Even when it’s revealed, the truth of your true colors he can’t help but still believe

That you’d been deceived 

That underneath the cunning persona is still the poor human that needs protection

And is number one in your crew for most likely to usurp 

You don’t know what you’re doing so maybe he and Belphie should bother with the bad guys out there

Belphegor

“...Right. But they still want that one out of the way and we promised to do that right?”

Sees right through you 

And originally isn’t all that fond of Beel’s perception of you

He thinks you tricked his sweet brother 

But in a way, he finds that he agrees

You're a stupid, in over your head human

And who better to intervene in your shenanigans than the two of them 

Plus he enjoys your bloodthirsty behavior

Though it's nothing compared to his murderous drive you’re still cute

If anyone is more likely to initiate the usurpation its him

Lucifer

“You think you’re so slick, I can’t help but be enamored.”

He doesn’t immediately see it

Playing into your hands for a short while 

Before catching on and switching from compliance and not

He thinks both sides of you are cute

But you're just so naive to think enabling their murderous tendencies will end with only who you’ve designated a threat

He and his brothers can easily see more than you 

So trust in that

[windienine]

the best game of 2024 was an hour-long visual novel demo, and i can't tell you how it ends

attack and dethrone god.

okay. oh my god. soul of sovereignty by ggdg (of lady of the shard & deltarune fame) is discounted for only a few more days, so i need to get this one out while the iron's hot.

so: i'm inviting you along on another journey. we're following a polite gentleman of the wizardly inclination (loïc) who is approached by a sickly woman in dire need (ysmé). all she requests, in her plea, is an escort to guide her to the nearby temple. his decision to support her may turn out to be the most important choice he ever makes.

... have you ever enjoyed the kind of narrative that traps two people with heavily contrasting motives and personalities together in an unbreakable contract? do you like stories of absolute devotion?

i could look at this shot forever ngl

... are you compelled by immersive speculative fantasy worlds where the use and study of magic heavily influences the rhythm of people's day-to-day lives?

(really intriguing magical linguistics system going on here)

... do you ever promise too much of yourself to others, sometimes, even when it's a bad idea?

... if it was possible -- if you could -- would you abandon your humanity for the power to change your world forever?

and, whatever you may feel in your heart about the above...

do you want to see behind the eyes of a hot trans girl as she bullshits her way into a truly volatile level of power and influence and gets everything she wants?

(+ her pet dilf lovely assistant)

if even one of these elicited a "yes," i think you'll love this story.

i'll go out of a limb:

i think, if you open up your heart, you'll find yourself falling for both of the leads. It's a game that really wants you to look at it from every angle, take it apart, and ask questions about loïc, ysmé, their stories, and what they believe to be true about the world and one another. subtext -- especially the charged subtext this story throws at you and hopes you'll piece together -- is a beautiful thing.

the number of talksprites in this demo is kind of staggering

the jrpg-inspired world of the mosaic and its surroundings is as vibrant as it is profoundly lonely, color folded into every facet of its character as you move through it. appropriately, it's really invested in a lot of questions that arise not just from high fantasy as a genre, but from the modern fantasy sensibilities of jrpgs and the interrogation of what divinity even means in a world where the gods are forces you can interact with and draw power from, however indirectly.

what can i even say? that gg and toby fox's collab score for the prelude is downright heavenly and made it onto my work playlist right alongside the deltarune ost the day it came out on bandcamp? that gg's art, especially their use of light, conveys every scene with vivid beauty?

i wouldn't be posting so much of it if i didn't want to eat every CG. oh my god. he's so pretty. it's not even fair

beyond all of that, i think the game's main resonance point with people is that gg's writing is genuinely thoughtful. they use art detail and deft character writing to convey everything about the leads, using the limited time you get with it to paint layers and layers of information on who these people are and why they make the decisions they do. soulsov's roughly an-hour-and-change of text, expressive talksprites, and lush CGs is infused with so much heart and so much horror and so much intrigue that it leaves you feeling like you're a part of this world, carried along for the ride right alongside the two leads. gg clearly really adores these two, and that level of passion makes everything loïc and ysmé do shine even brighter. in spite of (or perhaps because of) all their friction and flaws, they're easy to love.

(it's really fun to read aloud as a script, too! ysmé's a hoot.)

i hope you experience it with high expectations and an open heart. i don't think it will disappoint. it is, perhaps, just a little bit magical.

i hope you see it through to the end!