#I'm going to be returning to this ask

[saengak]

Just popping over here as if I did not use your ao3 user to find your tumblr a few months ago hahaha. (this is probably the most coherent i'll ever be bc i'm typing from a laptop but i'll probably sound really intense and bonkers so sorry about that haha)

I wanted to come over here in the least weird way flat spin is genuinely such a treasure to read. thank you so much for posting it and taking the time to write such a spectacular world of character dynamics. it's easy to read in the sense that you know this wasn't an easy thing to right. every chapter and decision feels so thoughtful and i can imagine the agonoy of deciding which path the characters took.

i understand it was a prompt fill and i read the original prompt and wow, if i was that person i would be over the moon. you took the prompt and made it into this multi dimensional world with it's own intricacies. stuff like the reg office, never would have thought about that but it fits so perfectly into the world and it makes sense, it's impact on the characters is rippling. i feel like a crazy person but i can't stop thinking about the most recent chapter. i keep coming back to the "if you love something set it free, if it comes back it's yours but if it doesn't it was never meant to be"

i just, i'm obsessed and in awe. thank you, take care. if a hiatus is what you need take one for as long as you need. if you really wanted to you could end the fic here haha, anything more is a bonus. you've gifted us a masterpiece, thank you

Hey hey! :') Please go completely bonkers and feral and rest assured that I absolutely love all your comments, thank you so much!! <3

Honestly when I starting writing FSHOS, I had not even thought that it would get to where is it today. We just hit 1000 kudos a few days ago, can you believe it?? I continue to be amazed at all the love that it is getting. Just totally blown away.

I might be giving my thank you speech too early when the fic isn't even finished, but I just want to say that most of the things you mentioned? I could only manage to write those out because of OP's amazing prompt which kickstarted this whole project and all the incredible comments and support from y'all (especially you! yes!).

Fun fact: in my original draft, half of Ch3 and half of Ch4 didn't exist, Ice and Mav made up by the end of Ch6, and the story ended soon after (with Mav going back to Top Gun). As you can tell, the fic has been rewritten and extended A LOT haha. I literally re-evaluate my plans for the rest of the fic after receiving comments for each chapter because y'all have such incredible ideas and point out a lot of my blind spots. (Oops there goes my authorly omniscience but that never existed anyway.)

I feel like I'm running a book club and I LOVE IT. I'm just overjoyed with every interaction, y'know?

Ok ok I need to stop gushing ahaha :') I just wanna say: thank you so much, I've reread this ask so many times and I can hardly believe how highly you think of my writing <3 I can't wait to return with more IceMav, so please take care too as well in the meanwhile!

[14dayswithyou]

That is all thank you

ANSWERED: Art credit for da first Ren meme goes to @meo-eiru!!

BUT HELPPPPP THESE ARE SO FUNNY JDSGJH T_T The Moth meme + Uno meme had me CACKLING lmaoooooooo

[hoofpeet]

<;--previous ... Reunion gets fucked up by the hell portal

[chiscribbs]

Sorry for the big gap in uploads. These past few weeks have been crazy busy (as is this one) and I've been feeling a little under the weather lately, as well. Not great for productivity.

So, while you wait for the shenanigans to continue, here's a little sneak peek of the next AU comp comic:

[sleepanonymous]

is there a solid way to tell apart ii, iii, and iv? i always mix them up : (

Hello Anon 🖤 Ty for the ask. I've actually answered this in this post for III and IV. I'd be happy to go over it again for you here and include II more. I'll be honest, the majority of the time they've been on stage, the three band members have worn literally the same sort of clothes, and it doesn't help that they all have blue eyes either lol. It gets easier eventually, I promise. This might sound odd, but you'll soon start to recognize cheekbones, hand veins, eye shape, and overall mannerisms that the Eepy guys have.

Some quick tells are: II - Drums, double scythe necklace, black painted nails, cola/redbull stains on his mask, short king III - Bass, checkered socks, man bun, stage right, long boi IV - Guitar, black paint stains on his mask (from Vessel's kisses and his own fingers), jewelry, stage left, also a short king

Something I didn't mention in the first post is that there is a single scythe necklace that's been passed around between Vessel, III, and IV. Most recently that necklace has been worn by IV but I wouldn't count it as a valid indicator unless you know who was in possession of the necklace at the time the photo was taken. Rings, on the other hand, could be a valid indicator. I've only ever seen Vessel and IV wearing rings on stage (if I am wrong about this, someone please correct me).

Something I did mention in the other post (and is quite honestly one of my favorite ways to tell the Eepies apart) is utilizing Vessel as a measuring stick.

If the Eepy guy is taller than Vessel, you have a III.

If the Eepy guy is shorter than Vessel, you have a II or IV.

[mangofanarts]

Tallulah asking Bad if she could spend more time with him another day! Since she's going to bed

[genericpuff]

LO comes back next month and the chance of another time skip not being zero terrifies me. I'm not strong enough to go through it again.

I'm right there with you pal. If the comic comes back and it opens with "it's been 10/100 years since the dawn of winter and the return of Ouranos" I will deadass throw a shit fit the likes of which no one has ever seen before, it'll probably actually give me a stroke ╰（‵□′）╯

[hoom]

imagine thinking any dynamic on this british alien show could beat this (it can't and it won't)

[thefirstknife]

rip gambit you will be missed 😔

Don't even know what to say tbh.

For those that don't know, the big State of the Game article came out detailing incoming changes and adjustments and all the big stuff. Gambit was mentioned! But at what cost. Basically, they are ceasing any kind of support for Gambit. What we have now is what it is. We will get the Dreaming City map back in TFS and they will add Shadow Legion and Lucent Hive as enemy factions in TFS. That's all.

Full text:

As many of you have noticed, we’ve been quiet on Gambit since last year’s overhaul that launched alongside The Witch Queen. In that revamp, the team made significant changes across five categories in Gambit: core activity fundamentals, Primeval tuning, invasions, ammo economy, and rewards. Unfortunately, these updates didn’t move the needle for player engagement. Although we know our Gambit fans mostly care about new or returning maps, this is an area of the game with lower engagement that would take resources away from more popular parts of the game to shore up.   While we don’t have plans to dedicate more resources to significantly transform Gambit, we do have a few updates planned for the year of The Final Shape. These include porting the Cathedral of Scars map and its beautiful Dreaming City setting into the latest version of Destiny 2, as well as adding the Shadow Legion and Lucent Hive enemy types. 

I don't know how to tell you this Bungie, but the reason "engagement is low" in Gambit is because Gambit sucks. Ever since half of it was removed with DCV, it just sucked. It has no variety, the gameplay is largely busted, it's not sufficiently updated, ammo changes suck, invasion cycle sucks (why is the enemy even getting a portal when their Primeval is at 5% health and the other team is still in mote collecting phase is beyond me), there are no cool armour sets to chase (just look at Iron Banner and Trials stuff, imagine dedicated cosmetics) and finally there are simply no weapons that are worth anything. Both Vanguard and Crucible have more weapons and also adept versions. There is zero reason to go into Gambit without major changes to Gambit. And now with the further changes to how playlists and challenges will work, there will be even less reason to go into Gambit. Observe:

Before then, we’re making Gambit entirely optional to maximize your rewards unless you’re looking for a piece of gear that’s specific to the mode. Gambit will continue to serve as a source of Exotic engrams via weekly challenges, though as we mentioned above, you’ll be able to complete all your weekly challenges in any ritual you’d like starting in Season 22. If you want to stick to Vanguard or Crucible challenges without touching Gambit, now you can.  We’re also reducing the number of Gambit-specific Seasonal Challenges starting in Season 22, so players won’t need to bank motes to be able to earn that big purse of Bright Dust for completing nearly every challenge in the Season. Finally, we’re adding Fireteam Matchmaking to Gambit next Season, which will replace the Freelance node and should result in faster, better matchmaking by combining both Gambit playlists. We’ll keep an eye on reception and player engagement after these additions take place, and we hope you’ll visit ‘ol Drifter next Season to get your hands on his new Void Machine Gun. 

Ngl, but I don't think anyone besides like a total of 6 people will play Gambit next season. The incentive to go in there is completely removed. You won't even have to go in there for pinnacles or for challenges. The Void Machine Gun will not be enough of an incentive because the chance of that gun being better than two recently available craftable Void Machine Guns (Commemoration and Retrofit Escapade) is very low. And besides, once you get it at the end of your first match, you can leave Gambit forever.

This is the feedback loop that just reinforces the idea that people don't like Gambit. And I mean. Who would at this point. I'm pretty sure that if Crucible had stayed the same as it was at the start of Beyond Light, engagement would be low there too. But you know. Crucible has received major updates pretty much every season since with multiple new modes, several Trials overhauls, Iron Banner overhaul, competitive overhaul, new armours and weapons added and YES, even new maps. God forbid even 5% of these resources went into Gambit.

Anyway, this is the whole section about Gambit in 6500 words. It's basically a "you guys aren't playing this so we're doing the bare minimum of keeping it in the game as is, no new work will be done on it ever." Thanks I guess.

And for the record, something I also added while having a rant in my discord, I want to make it clear that I don't want anyone to spiral into a Bungie hate train. Even for this. I understand perfectly well what's the community attitude towards Gambit and what it's been for years now. People just don't like it and they're not incentivised to like it and they're actively encouraged to hate it. Spending resources into a game mode on the hope that maybe you can change people's minds would be insanity. Like, the amount of change Gambit would need to MAYBE start appealing to gamers would be beyond any reasonable time and resources Bungie can put in. And if you could guarantee that people would love and play Gambit then, fine. But you can't. Most likely, even if major changes happened, people would still just do their weekly stuff and bail. It's simply not worth it. In order for people to like it, it needs to be completely and thoroughly overhauled in a way that would need more time and effort than the entire Light subclass overhaul and it's just not a reasonable expectation, nor is it guaranteed to work. So I get it.

I'm still disappointed and annoyed about it because I believe it wasn't given a fair chance at all. I also know how good it can be and how Gambit Prime could've been improved upon over the years if they tried. Instead, it got removed and that was honestly the death sentence for Gambit. It's unfortunate. It's my favourite game mode that could've been so much better was it given even a fraction of attention of Crucible.

I'll still be playing it. You will find me in the Gambit queue waiting for 2 hours to find 7 other lunatics to play with, don't worry about it. But I'm absolutely incredibly sad about them being basically forced to axe the potential of the whole game mode that is incredibly creative and fits with the type of game Destiny is perfectly.

There's other interesting stuff in the article and some upcoming really cool improvements and changes to the game. But if you're a fan of Gambit in any capacity, this is a death certificate for the mode. I suggest coming to terms with it quickly because Bungie changing their minds about this is highly unlikely.

[azu1as]

dumb rotmhs fanfic idea where chung myung doesn't reincarnate and instead turns into a lost ghost on mount hua.

that is, until his spirit stumbles into yu iseol chasing after their lost plum blossoms technique that he begins to slowly regain his memories.

Got inspired by @dew-in-the-morning's tweet here!! You can also read the original fic thread :DD

»—————————–✄

yu iseol doesn't know who the one-armed stranger was. she had opted to ignore him when she first noticed his presence in the far distance upon arrival at the clearing. but he'd been observing her for almost two hours now, and it seemed as if he had no intentions to leave at all.

"come out." she tells the one-armed man, but frustratingly receives no response at all.

she makes a move towards him but he disappears within a blink.

a part of yu iseol becomes unsettled, but she decides to brush it off as nothing more than a one-off encounter.

she's quickly proven wrong.

the following night, she once again finds him in the same spot, facing her direction. it continues that way the next night until the next week. the man is consistently there and always leaves whenever yu iseol outwardly acknowledges his presence.

after almost two weeks of this occurring, yu iseol decides to stare just as intently at the man as he did at her sword.

she doesn't often feel conscious about how others perceived her, but something about the way the man's eyes visibly narrows when she swings or stabs her sword makes her every move feel like they were being scrutinized and dissected.

and that her results were unsatisfactory if the random clucks and tsks she hears off to the side whenever she overextends her swings were any indication.

the man's robes were clearly from mount hua. but she quickly realizes that what she initially thought were shadows on his garbs were actually dark blood stains.

then a sense of uneasiness washes over her when she notices that she could see the edges of a tree through him.

it seems that her nightly companion was some sort of supernatural entity.

she doesn't feel any true fear though because no amount of malice or resentment was ever turned her direction since she began seeing the man.

"who are you?" yu iseol finally asks.

but, as expected, the man disappears and she's left alone in the clearing.

%%%

"are there ghosts on mount hua?" yu iseol asks the sect leader much to his bemusement.

"perhaps." he replies to her after a beat passes. "what brought this on?"

yu iseol silently huffs at the admittedly lackluster reply, but responds politely, "i just saw something."

before she could turn away, the sect leader hums pensively and gently adds,

"maybe what you saw was the ghost of an ancestor watching over you."

clearly, it was intended to be an acknowledgement of her nightly sword training and visible efforts towards attaining mount hua's swordsmanship.

yu iseol, however, took the message quite differently.

that night, yu iseol lets out a breath and lowers her sword as she once again catches sight of the semi-translucent man observing her from behind a tree.

her attention zooms in on the bloodied embroidery of a plum blossom on his chest and the sword sheath strapped to his waist.

she steels herself as her eyes locks onto sharp, pink ones. she was certain that whoever this man had been, he was a strong swordsman with the way he held himself even in death.

and if the way he attentively observed her sword training was a potential indication....

"excuse me," yu iseol begins, fists clenched, "do you know how to make plum blossoms bloom?"

there was a long pause between them. for a moment, yu iseol worried that she was mistaken and that the spirit of this ancestor would disappear as he usually did.

but then the one-armed man steps forward for the first time into the clearing and replies by unsheathing his sword.

it glints against the moonlight despite its translucency and yu iseol knows that she couldn't miss the next moments no matter what.

the ghost of her ancestor holds it aloft in the air for a brief moment. And then he swings his sword into an arc.

in yu iseol's chest, the uncertain flicker of hope ignites into an unstoppable wildfire.

[iindigoeyed]

I don't want to start shit but the funniest argument you can have against feligami is that felix somehow is manipulating / controlling kagami. You mean the guy whose whole thing is that he hates sentis being controlled. As if he holds any power over her. Ah yes, the same guy who detransformed in front of her willingly because she was about to pummel him with a fucking chair, totally powerful. And the part where he showed her he meant no threat by throwing his fan away so it would get her mother off their trail-- so awful and menacing of him. I'm so scared for Kagami, yall. He might have put himself in harms way by going against Tomoe (who turned into like the size of a skyscraper and multiplied four times at this point) literally just so he could get to know her; but let's not forget that he's COMPLETELY EVIL and wiped out the entire planet with the help of his amok... which he promptly stopped doing after being told that he shouldn't do that by Kagami herself. The fact that Kagami has years of fencing training and could easily defend herself from him-- hell, the fact that she's best friends with Ladybug and could have turned him in to the heroes at any moment in those sewers if she was uncomfortable around him-- no, none of that brings me any solace. i'm quaking in my boots at this 15 year old boy built like a twig. He's a monster guys.

Look at them at the pool together -- she looks so afraid, clearly he forced her to be there. Ignore the part where she's happily sat next to him of her own free will. He's gonna hurt her for sure. Kagami needs to be protected from him, because she cannot take care of herself obviously. The horror.

[realisticjojoxreader]

if requests are open….jotaro getting jealous over some guy flirting with y/n🥺🥺

IGNORE THAT THIS IS OVER TWO YEARS LATE.

jotaro x reader (?), kind of an au i guess. he's part 4 age, 1.3k

"Hi, honey," says a voice, clearly directed at you. When you turn around, you see some guy standing there, shooting you a frankly stunning smile. He's not just some guy… he's Some Guy, and when he winks at you, you feel yourself flush despite everything. You're normally less susceptible to flirting from random strangers but holy shit, this guy is cute as hell. What's a person like you to do? Not react? Ridiculous. Perish the thought. "Come here often?" Oof.

Despite never having seen this man before, and despite the completely generic, awful pickup line he just used on you, you decide the guy is worth your time. He's just too damn hot to let go. If you don't shoot your shot, you're going to regret it for the rest of your life. So what if he's kind of an idiot? Look at that jawline! Those curls!

"Hi," you reply shyly, twirling your hair around your finger. If he's allowed to be ridiculously cliche, then you are, too. It's called equality. "I do, actually."

His eyes light up with delight, for some reason, even though your reply was incredibly boring. You guess that makes sense, considering the guy's opener. He's probably just kind of a boring guy. At least he's gorgeous. "Does that mean you can help me out here? I'm kind of lost."

…Lost? How is he lost? This is a boba place. There are menus on every available surface. Ordering boba is really not all that complicated but hey, it's a foot in the door with this sexy, sexy man, so whatever.

In an extraordinary show of patience, you walk Some Guy through every step of ordering bubble tea. He is very hot but he is not very smart.

When he asks you what your favorite flavor is, you smile shyly and tell him your exact order. With a big dumb grin on his face, he turns to the cashier and orders what you helped him decide on, as well as your favorite, confirming your suspicion that he's buying you a drink. (That basically makes this a date, right? Right.) The cashier, clearly thankful that the two of you are finally done holding up the line, rings it up and shoos you both toward the pickup end of the counter.

Over on the pickup side, you damn near have a heart attack. You don't know how you didn't notice it before, but the employee here—who has apparently been here the whole time—is the most handsome man you've ever seen in your life. He is so beautiful he makes Some Guy look like just some guy. (Wait, wait, he gave a name for the order… Daniel? You think it's Daniel. Let's go with Daniel.)

The employee is just kind of standing around, waiting for the drinks to be made. To fill the silence, Daniel chats mindlessly, standing a little closer to you than is probably warranted, but you don't mind.

Handsome Employee, however, looks at Daniel like Daniel killed his fucking family, all narrowed eyes and furrowed eyebrows. You think that if Handsome Employee looked at you like that, you'd pee your pants, but Daniel doesn't even seem to notice it. Hot, dumb, and ballsy, that Daniel. He's like an anime character.

Daniel, all smiles, wraps his arm around your shoulder, pulling you into a side-hug. While this might have been nice earlier, when he was Some Guy, now he's just some guy and you're not really loving him touching you unprompted. Handsome Employee doesn't seem to be loving it, either, which is interesting. He looks… Well, more than pissed, he looks kind of jealous?

There's no way, though, right? He must be seething over something else.

Blithe as anything, his arm tight around you, Daniel looks at Handsome Employee and teases, "Everything good? Y'got a mighty frown."

Somehow, Handsome Employee's expression sours further. He looks like he's trying to blow Daniel up with his mind. "Kinda handsy," he says, voice like gravel. And what else could it possibly be? He's jealous.

But why? Does he… Oh, God, he likes you, doesn't he? This is the best day of your life!

It makes sense, you think. You look unusually adorable today—Daniel approached you, too, remember—and this is your favorite boba place. You're here, like, all the time. It's not unreasonable to think Handsome Employee noticed you! You definitely notice regulars at your job, so why wouldn't he notice his?

His gaze is pure poison. It makes you giddy. You feel stupid with it. You know you should step away from Daniel, should try to clear up the misunderstanding, should flaunt your availability, but… Well, it's kind of nice to be wanted!

As if reading your mind, Daniel pulls you even closer. "This one doesn't seem to mind," he says, jostling you a little.

You blush. You nod. Handsome Employee looks apoplectic. Instead of commenting, though, another employee arrives, two cups in hand. They hand them over to Handsome Employee and quickly turn away, perhaps sensing the rancid vibes. Voice caustic, Handsome Employee holds up your drink and the monstrosity that Daniel ordered and grits out, "Order up."

Neither of you move to grab the drinks.

Handsome Employee's eye twitches. "Order up," he repeats meaningfully, his knuckles whitening around the cups. "Let go of that freak and get your damn drinks."

Wow. It's kind of a wonder the guy hasn't been fired, with customer service like that. Calling Daniel a freak right to his face! You forgive Handsome Employee, of course, because he's so handsome, but still. It's a little rude.

Daniel smiles wide, opens his mouth, but Handsome Employee cuts him off with, "You're not cute, Devin."

Oh. It's Devin. You were close!

"I'm the cutest," says not-Daniel. He looks self-satisfied and punch-drunk. He looks like today is the best day of his life, though you can't fathom why. He's about to lose you to a lowly boba shop employee! "And you're jealous!"

"If you don't come grab these drinks," growls Handsome Employee, his eyes like fire, "I'm going to throw them."

Upon hearing that, you spring into action, because this is your favorite top and you'd really rather it not get covered in milk tea and that toxic slutch Devin ordered. Wiggling out from under Devin's arm, you zip over to the counter, arms outstretched. You only grab yours, though. Devin's on his own.

Instead of just letting you take your drink, though, Handsome Employee grabs your arm and pulls you towards him with a frankly unwarranted amount of force. His skin is so warm it almost burns. He leans forward, and you can't help but lean in, too.

You feel giddy. What's he going to say to you that he couldn't say in front of Devin?

"Touch my boyfriend again," says Handsome Employee, "and you're going home in a body bag. Now get the fuck out of here." And with that, he lets you go. The sudden release sends you flying backwards. You land heavily on your ass, probably bruising your tailbone.

Looming over you with a smarmy grin is Devin. "Thanks for all your help, you were a peach," he says, and he has the gall to fucking wink at you. "It's hard to get Jotaro riled up, you know? So I appreciate your sacrifice." He grabs his drink from his boyfriend, punctures the lid like a pro, then takes a long pull. "Delish! Alright, babe, I'm outta here, I'll see you at home. Byeeee!" Then he's out the door.

A beat of silence. You feel dizzy. You want to cry. "How long are you going to sit on the floor?" Jotaro asks acerbically, and you just can't take it anymore. You fling your drink at him. As if on instinct, he punches it away from him, and it, of course, explodes in a shower of milk tea and tapioca pearls.

Scrambling over the counter, Jotaro is on you in a flash, grabbing you by your collar like a naughty kitten. He drags you out of the door. "Never come back here!" And with that, he tosses you bodily, and you land with a wet splat in a nearby drainage ditch turned canal with the recent rain.

All that and you didn't even get to drink your boba.

[deoidesign]

I was scrolling and saw your art and it made me really happy because I realized you made time and time again!!!

It’s literally one of my favorite things I’ve ever read, so cool!!!

This is so sweet, thank you for sharing!

It's sort of "illusion breaking" so to speak, to think of my art being both out there in a way that someone could happen upon it, and then further that someone may happen upon it twice, and finally that on doing so they find it recognizable...

I always think of myself and my work as something that sort of sits behind the curtain. The idea that it might take up space in this way is unreal!

This is the kind of thing that means more than you could imagine.

So thank you!

[deiaiko]

#19.3 Unravel

It had been some time since Agni felt this nervous. Not even talking with Jinsung Ha recently had made him feel like this. He fiddled with the mask on his hand as he waited for Grace to come back. He had thought hard on how to deliver the news, but he knew that no matter how he phrased it, Grace would be upset. Velt nuzzled under his palm and Agni gave her a few pats, before deciding that she would be better inside her bowl in his lighthouse, just in case the shinsu acted up around Grace after he received the news.

Grace came back wearing the comfiest shirt and shorts Agni knew Grace liked to wear on lazy days. He joined him on the floor, and they ate dinner together. Agni always finished last, so while waiting for him to finish his meal, Grace told him about his day with Bam. Grace was intrigued by how much his way of thinking had changed, and how glad he was to be able to be by Bam's side when he was having a bad day. It reminded Agni of the hidden floor, when Grace faced his sworn enemy.

They left the used bowls on the coffee table and went to brush their teeth. Afterwards, they turned off the light and went upstairs to sit on their bed. Grace's curious gaze never left him, and Agni curled his feet nervously.

Grace was the one who broke the silence. "So…what is it?"

Agni's breath hitched. This was the part he dreaded most. "I talked with the crocodile earlier. Did you know that he could manipulate stone already?"

"Huh." Grace needed a few seconds to let the information sink in. "Didn't Rak learn it on the Hell train? How does he know it?"

"Turns out our crocodile also traveled back to the past like us. He found the young crocodile and taught him."

"What?!" Grace gasped, wide eyed. "That means our Rak is–!!"

"He's dead." Agni quickly snuffed out that hope. They had been in delusion for long enough; it was time that they faced the bitter truth. "He suffered a fatal injury from the explosion. He couldn't have lasted long without proper help." Agni omitted the actual cause for Rak's death, but still kept his words true. "I'm sorry."

"…Oh." Grace looked lost, just like Agni was. His lips parted a little, but they closed before any sound escaped.

Agni gently squeezed Grace's hand, encouraging and comforting as he let the silence stretch on, giving Grace some time to process the information.

"Agni…" Grace whispered, "do you think Hatz and Isu…?"

Agni bit his lip and avoided his gaze, as the nightmare of that day replayed in his mind. He witnessed Hatz get his arms ripped off when trying to protect him. He could still recall the clang of a sword hitting the floor, and Hatz's suppressed scream that gnawed deep at his guilt. He witnessed Isu get beheaded after being taken hostage, the memory of warm blood painting them both still vivid like it happened yesterday. 

Agni refused to acknowledge their possible deaths, because it felt like a nightmare that one day he could hopefully wake up from. He avoided the topic when Grace brought it up, so he wouldn't have to say it aloud and make it real. He had been so hard on himself, because he couldn't get rid of the feeling that he had failed Grace and everyone else involved.

Agni knew this had to change if he wanted to live better, now that they had gotten a second chance. So he swallowed down the lump in his throat that had built up over the years and asked mostly to himself; "What are the odds of their survival?"

"There's always a chance–"

"Grace." Agni looked him straight in the eye. "They were already severely injured before the explosion hit."

Grace fell silent and went still.

Agni felt a pang of guilt upon witnessing Grace's reaction. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap." Agni fiddled with his hands. He realized that he didn't know how much Grace knew of what happened. "My scar…do you know how I got it?"

"I…was told it was from the family heads' battle." Grace looked thoughtful. Agni knew he was trying to be careful with his words. "A stray attack?"

"It could have been worse." The memory of the scorching heat on his skin felt like it had only happened yesterday. He passed out right when he was about to heal Isu, and only found out later that he also lost sweetfish at that time. The days he spent recovering from the burn, to withstand the excruciating pain every second he was conscious, and finally coming to terms that it'd be a permanent scar, was one of the turning points that had changed him forever. Were Grace not there to care for him, he might have ended up destroying himself even more.

Agni hadn't realized he had his left hand clawing on his cheek until Grace pried his hand off and frowned, "You're doing it again."

"Maybe I should wear the mask…" Agni muttered to himself. After all, Grace gave it to him less so he could hide the scar but more to prevent him from unconsciously hurting himself. The only time he could safely take it off was when Grace was around.

Agni bit his lip nervously when Grace didn't reply. He no longer had the courage to look Grace in the eye that spoke so much concern, so he leaned close and rested his head on Grace's chest. "Rak, Isu, Hatz and Hwaryun were trying to get me out of that damned place. But we were caught while escaping, and…it was a bloodbath. I was…too occupied to react to the incoming heat. Rak shielded us from the explosion. And when I woke up…"

"They weren’t with you," Grace finished it for him after Agni trailed off a moment too long.

Agni nodded dazedly, "I've been telling myself that they're still alive, after a blow that could kill rankers. But…who am I kidding? I was lucky enough to survive with just this little–" Agni vaguely pointed to himself– "inconvenience."

Agni felt a hand gripping his arm, and he pulled away to see Grace looking at him with a pained expression. His eyes were glossy and his lips were pulled into a thin line. Trusting his instinct, Agni reached out to gently trace and cup Grace's cheek with his free hand.

"I'm sorry," Agni muttered. "I'm sorry, for not telling you sooner."

Agni silently witnessed tears that streamed down on his love's face. It was a bitter sight that Agni wished he'd never have to see again, that he had tried to avoid for so long by not telling him. He pulled Grace in and held him close to his chest, as if Agni was trying to gather his own crumbled heart back together.

Grace mumbled their late best friends' names as he held onto him tighter, shaking from each breath he took between sniffles.

Agni felt his own eyes sting with unshed tears. He remembered the years he spent climbing the tower together with his old team. Despite their banter being his source of headaches, Agni knew he too had come to acknowledge them as his cherished friends. Only when they were gone did Agni realize how much he'd miss having them around. Seeing the younger them didn't exactly close the gaping hole in his heart, but at least the emptiness was more filled.

Agni squeezed Grace tighter. "We have their younger selves with us now. We will protect them better this time."

Grace only nodded and sank further into his embrace. And Agni planted kisses on his hair, relishing the thought that after everything he had gone through, Grace was still a constant in his life. As long as he had him, everything would be okay.

When Grace started shaking again, Agni caressed his hair and hummed a comfort song they had known by heart. Still, it didn't make falling asleep any easier for Agni, especially not after admitting that his nightmare was very much real. However, as he had been through grief…this, too, would pass.

Masterlist

Previous

Next

Let me know your thoughts in the reblogs <3

☕ Buy me coffee ☕

[winepresswrath]

I think I would need to reread the first book to really commit to this opinion but imo some of the horror of book!claudia is that she really is a terribly inhuman monster. she was a vampire child, so she never learned to be human. she was a vampire child so she'll never grow up and fulfill that potential. companionship is a necessity for her because she can't look after herself and that makes her bitter and disdainful of people who want love for its own sake, especially in the context of Louis and Lestat, who damned her to her current state to fulfill their own emotional needs. it's a stark contrast to show Claudia, who yes, is a vicious mass murdering vampire and has fun with it, but is otherwise a lonely woman who craves companionship and understanding because she's a person. Her beef with Louis is still about his failure to prioritize her and his assorted bad idea relationship choices but the undertones are so different and I really feel like the tragedy is that he didn't put her first and not that he could never have made her happy no matter what he chose.

[amethystina]

Hello, I hope you're doing better.

I just wanted to tell you that since I read the latest chapter of Who Holds The Devil you have revived in me some ideas and scenarios I had in mind about the show.

Like what if everything worked out for Yohan's plans after episode 12 (when Gaon left Yohan and Elijah) without K or Soohyun dying? What would happen then?

Yohan will definitely leave after some point to Switzerland with Elijah because he already planned it for her treatment, even if he is not a criminal in Korea or presumed dead. But how long will it take him to leave?

And what will Gaon do? Will he start dating Soohyun or keep whatever they have between them as it is? If he dates her, will they work out or realise they were better together as friends and family but nothing more? ( I personally believe that when they start dating at the beginning, everything will seem perfect. But as time goes on, they will realise that it won't work out between them as they took a very long time to get to this point, and that it was too late.)

Will Gaon stay in contact with Elijah? (Maybe.) Or Yohan? ( I doubt it.)

Will Gaon miss them? Will he ever realise that Yohan loved him or that he had some kind of feelings for Yohan?

Basically, what would've happened if all the baggage from the last episodes never occurred. After the rejection on Gaon's part in episode 12, I believe Yohan will want to stay away from Gaon but I could be wrong.

The latest chapter reminded me of all these ideas and questions I had, but now we have a lot more baggage and issues to work through which makes me even more excited to explore what will happen next.

I trust your storytelling abilities as they have not once failed me for all this time I was following this fic.

Take care of your self, and when you feel better come back with a new amazing chapter as always.

I'm doing better, thank you 💜

Wow. Yeah, that's a lot of thoughts! And very interesting ones! And I think some of it depends on exactly how Yo Han decides to finish his plans. Like, killing people on national television would still make him a criminal, so I'm guessing that's not what he does? But he still gets his revenge somehow?

But yeah, he'd definitely still go to Switzerland since that has clearly been a part of his plan for years. And I think he'd actually go as soon as possible. Maybe he'd give Elijah time to say goodbye to Ga On, but that depends on what terms he and Ga On are, I'd say. If we assume that none of the baggage happened (including Soo Hyun dying, Ga On attempting to murder Yo Han, etc.) I think that Yo Han would keep his distance from Ga On, yes. Out of sheer pride and self-preservation, if nothing else. And Ga On has Soo Hyun so he wouldn't seek Yo Han out, since he knows that Soo Hyun doesn't like Yo Han and he wouldn't want to upset her.

So, sadly enough, I think Yo Han and Ga On would drift apart. Maybe they'd still cooperate somehow to take down the baddies, but, as horrible as it may sound, Soo Hyun's death actually brought them closer together. Even Ga On trying to kill Yo Han did in some ways since, from that point on, they're forever tied together what with Yo Han carrying the scar Ga On gave him. And without that? With Soo Hyun there to plead with Ga On not to do something dangerous? Ga On wouldn't chase after Yo Han. And Yo Han wouldn't chase after Ga On since he's already been rejected and is too prideful.

So I think that Yo Han would leave for Switzerland with Elijah and Ga On would stay in touch with her, yes, but not Yo Han. Maybe he'd try a couple of times, but Yo Han wouldn't respond. And, eventually, Ga On will stop trying because who is Yo Han to him anyway? Just his weird boss who he lived with for a while — and kind of wanted to take care of because he seemed so lonely — who was also a terrible influence on him. So, clearly, it might be for the better that they don't talk anymore.

(You keep telling yourself that, Ga On)

As for Ga On and Soo Hyun, I think they would start dating, yes, and I think they'd be pretty happy there at the beginning. If in a pretty boring and uneventful way. Like, there's not really much passion between them, is there? But they'd be content. It'd be safe and sweet.

I'm not sure if they'd notice that there's something wrong, though. I think that both of them have been waiting for this for so long that they'd be determined to make it work, even if that means ignoring the warning signs. I honestly think they'd both pretend everything was fine long after the point where it's not. And that both of them would silence the niggling doubts by saying that this is just how all relationships are — there will be dips. Nothing is perfect all the time. And it's not like they're arguing or anything.

It's just a little dull, that's all.

In short, I think they'd be stuck. Not in a way that makes them genuinely unhappy, but they certainly wouldn't be honest with themselves or each other, either. Which isn't the worst way to live, but it's also not the best one.

And I think that Ga On would miss Elijah and Yo Han, yes, though he wouldn't be honest about why he does. He'd just say it's because he cares about them and it's sad that he can't talk to them as often — or at all, in Yo Han's case. And, in a similar vein, I don't think Ga On would try to explore his feelings for Yo Han, or Yo Han's feelings for him. Because Ga On would be able to tell that danger lies in that direction and he'd rather remain in denial.

But he would think about Yo Han a lot. And probably do a doubletake every time they mention Yo Han or show his picture in the media. And he'd ask Elijah about how Yo Han is doing. He'd find himself cooking Yo Han's favourite food, even if he's not there to eat it. He'd miss the house. He'd miss the quiet nights reading.

He'd still wear the watch.

And all that longing would only make Ga On double down and be even more determined to make things work with Soo Hyun. Because the alternative is just too scary. He doesn't want there to be another explanation as to why he misses Yo Han. He wants his safe and happy life with Soo Hyun.

Everything else is shoved aside, pushed down, and ignored.

And, eventually, I think Soo Hyun would notice that something is wrong. But she doesn't know what and, even if she kind of hates herself for it, she's too afraid of the answer to ask. Because she doesn't want to lose Ga On and, deep down, she can tell that he is slipping away from her, slowly but surely. Just from the fact that his smiles are a little too hollow sometimes, and he's often staring off into space, lost in thought. So she tries her best to help him, as always, but, for some reason, it doesn't seem to work as well as it usually would.

But of course it'd eventually come crumbling down. And — since I'm a dramatic bitch — I suggest it'll do so when Yo Han and Elijah eventually drop by for a visit (mostly Elijah's doing, of course, with Yo Han reluctantly agreeing). More specifically the moment when Ga On comes face to face with Yo Han again for the first time in months — maybe even a year? — and everything he's been trying to suppress rushes to the surface and hits him like a freight train.

Because he's been living comfortably with Soo Hyun, sure, and he loves her dearly, but there's not much of a spark. But the one he had with Yo Han? That's been just a softly glowing ember since they parted ways?

Turns out that seeing Yo Han again — and being faced with all that intensity and enticing hint of danger once more — is all it takes to ignite it again. To turn it into a wildfire.

All of a sudden, Ga On is reminded of what real attraction feels like.

And the fact that it's not aimed at his girlfriend is definitely going to be a bit of a problem.

... aaaaaand maybe I should stop now. Because I'm not sure if you actually wanted me to answer what I think x'D

Anyway! Yes, very interesting things to ponder! And I think there are several ways to go, depending on what angle one wants to take and what happened during those last episodes. Like, if Yo Han and Ga On reconciled after their breakup, I think some parts would obviously play out differently. But, if they didn't? I'd go with something like what I said above.

But, again, that depends entirely on what you want to accomplish. Trust me when I say that there are always ways to tweak what happens to your liking but still make it feel in character and realistic. I'm somewhat of an expert on that, I've been told xD

Thank you so much for sharing, anyway! It was a very fun thought experiment! And I do hope to be able to get back to writing sometime soon. I'm actually feeling better than I have in a long time, but I think I'm going to make a separate post about that. We'll see.

I hope you have a great day! Take care 💜