#Today's work had an extremely reasonable price tag | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

xnchxntmxnt · 2 years

Note

hihi!! i saw your event and i love the theme jdbsjs <33 also happy (early?) birthday to both you and koi!!

can i request a 4 star pull for genshin impact? the trope would be they forgot your birthday (hurt/comfort pls) ☺️☺️ with xiao, diluc, and gorou?

thank you so much!! if i didn’t request correctly pls feel free to dm me :,)

when they forget your birthday...

etc: established relationship, modern au![character] x gn!reader, gn pronouns used (they/them/mx.), food mentions (not descriptive), probably very ooc i'm sorry

notes: the favoritism is real in this one :,)

reblogs > likes ! <3

preface: he gets home late from his work and has yet to say anything about it being your birthday. reasoning that he has a surprise for you, you decided to stay up. but as the hours went by, you drift asleep, the creak of the door when he finally returns waking you up. pretending to be asleep, you could barely contain your excitement. he whispers your name, but no response (you have to commit to the act after all), so he showers and gets ready for bed. as he gets under the blankets, he pulls you closer and kisses you goodnight. yet there's still nothing about your birthday...

xiao

doesn't realize until he sees his reminder too late

it's already the morning after: he wakes up to find that you're not in bed but hears the kitchen sink running so he assumes you're doing the dishes

picking up his phone, he notices the notification he had failed to see the day before "y/n's birthday - yesterday"

sits up in a panic, thinking back to see if he had even wished you a happy birthday (he realizes that he did not)

he even goes so far as to remember how sad you were that he was scheduled to work on your birthday (but you brushed it off, saying that as long as you could spend some of it with him, it'd be alright)

he scrambled to throw some clothes on (he has not checked the time yet but it's 11:48am - he doesn't wake up early, anything before 12 is a miracle)

reasons that he should at least get you something, so he thinks back, desperately trying to remember anything you stared at for too long or tried to subtly hint that you wanted (he knew what you were doing and always tried to keep a mental list of everything)

remembering something, he rushes out (you don't hear him as you were listening to music as you were doing some house chores to keep yourself distracted)

makes it to the store with the item still in stock (it was the last one) and immediately buys it (doesn't even look at the price tag, just shoves his card at the employee - but politely because he's not rude)

notices a flower shop and stops by to get you a bouquet of your favorite flowers (he asks the florist for the prettiest and best arrangement they could make, assuring them that he could pay for it and not to worry about that)

when he gets home, he notices that you made him lunch when you didn't have to since you were bound to be at least very upset with him if not extremely (his stomach growls, he's used too much energy on an empty stomach)

he's not the type to make lame excuses, he gets straight to the point, apologizing that he forgot that it was your birthday and asking if there was anything in particular you wanted so that he could make up for it

also hands you the gifts he got for you, noticing that you're trying to fight back your smile (he thinks the way you're trying to keep up your anger is adorable, but he knows that now's not the time for that)

does absolutely anything and everything you ask (within reason of course), treating the day as if it were your actual birthday

finally earns a thank you kiss from you at the end of the day and lots of cuddles

diluc

is up before you (he has to supervise today)

but is most definitely stalling, savoring the time that he gets to see you as he gets ready to leave

kisses you softly, whispering that he'll be back soon and not to miss him too much

doesn't realize until one of his employees mentions it casually ("oh, mr. diluc, what did you get mx. y/n for their birthday?")

he freezes, like actually freezes and is like "what did you say?"

never once has he forgotten your birthday, and to think he's started now makes him literally sick to his stomach

he's demanding to know the day and when he learns that he indeed did forget your birthday, he flips

gives everyone the day off and puts up the closed sign

he makes lots of stops afterwards

the first is the jewelry shop (he decided last year that he was going to get you a ring this year, and so he does)

despite being in a rush, he takes his time with his gifts - he's looking through all of the displays, finally deciding on what he deems the most perfect and purchases it

next is the supermarket, he's going to make you your favorite so he takes his time to choose the best ingredients

third is a flower shop to get you the basket of flowers you had always wanted (yes he remembers even though you mentioned it once on your first date together)

his final stop is the bakery to choose out the best cake and if there wasn't any, he would go to each bakery within a 10 mile radius to find one

it's later than he had hoped when he returns home to you - he finds you sitting on the couch hugging a pillow and watching a show on the tv

whether you noticed him or not, he didn't know, so he set everything on the kitchen table and walked up to you, hands gently holding yours as he pulled you into a hug, burying his nose deep into the crook of your neck, whispering how sorry he is for forgetting and promising that it would never happen again

he then takes your hand again and leads you to the kitchen to give you all the gifts he had gotten you today

he spoils you a bit more than he usually would but he doesn't mind, because the smile you give him afterward makes it all worth it

gorou

is tossing and turning as he slept - something itching the back of his mind kept him from sleeping peacefully, as if he were forgetting something

shoots awake as he looks at the time (03:17) when he notices the date too

is flipping out and he looks at you with your back turned to him, the steady rise and fall almost lulling him back to sleep, tempting him to fall back into his pillow and cuddle with you until he fell asleep again - almost

but he shakes you awake, "let's go somewhere"

you're both in your sleep clothes as you walked around the neighborhood, making it to the street lamp where you both had shared your first kiss

his heart always beats a little bit faster whenever he passes by this street lamp, lips tingling as they remembered the feeling of yours on his

he spins you around before his hands find their spot on your waist, and as he gently pulls you in, he whispers “sorry i’m late, happy birthday, my love”

and of course he kisses you (you’re literally at the place where you shared your first kiss with him, why wouldn’t he)

he’s tempted to make it a tradition now (but on time obviously) so he does

next year, you can expect him to pull you out of the comfort of your shared bed, walking through the neighborhood to the lamp

but today he calls in sick (he told you that he was lovesick, and therefore needed the day off to spend cuddling with you - he didn’t tell his boss that of course)

would also vow to himself to just take the entire day off on your birthdays from now on as to not let this happen again

love, koi

p.s. ALSO I DON'T HATE GOROU OR ANYTHING I SWEAR it's just that i got super carried away with xiao's and diluc's :,)))))))) thank you miso so much for joining!! <3

#birthday event 2022 #genshin impact x reader #genshin x you #xiao x reader #xiao x gn reader #xiao hurt/comfort #diluc x reader #diluc x gn reader #diluc hurt/comfort #gorou x reader #gorou x gn reader #gorou hurt/comfort #genshin x reader

546 notes · View notes

pfreadsandwrites · 3 years

Note

40 for Yamato pretty please 🥰

100 follower celebration

Okay, so let’s get a few things out of the way - I’m sorry you’ve had to wait so long. I don’t even know if you’re still here and it’s literally been a year to the day since I last posted an actual fic and this request has been sitting here slightly longer than even that. I don't wanna get into a bunch of excuses, life’s been kicking my ass for various reasons, etc etc. Secondly, a Yamato request. Thank you for having faith in my writing enough to request a different character, but please forgive me and give me feedback if you feel I’m missing the mark here but I really appreciated the opportunity to explore him more. It was a bit of a challenge, but in a good way! I should say that this is *extremely rusty* because it's been a long time since I wrote properly.

warning: 4.4k, very rusty (it's been a year!), the fluffiest fluff, proposal (attempts), STUPID humour, cameos from team 7, a very smitten yamyams, a lack of abillity to portray yamyams but I TRIED, mention of a suggestive joke i guess, oh and some really shitty plant names (but i know people that have used these as plant names so take it up with them) , there may be mistakes

taglist: (also, note to those on my taglist - feel free to tell me to remove you if you're no longer interested in being on here, or if you aren't interested in reading non-Kakashi works - you obviously never have to read anything I post, but I'm aware that anyone who wanted to be on here was probably wanted to because of Kakashi, and also it's been literally a year since i last tagged anybody. Totally understand if you're over this, no hard feelings ) @madaras-housewife @datblobbyfish @praisingkuroosbedhead @allthingskakashi @enchantedpendant @aineirisha @cinam00n @feelingsandemotionsnotexplored @tachibrii @drunkenfists @daffodin @apricitobio

40. “Will you marry me?” (Yamato x reader) AO3 Link here.

回

In hindsight, it’s an easy decision.

A quick one, too.

It doesn’t take much, and though Yamato is never one to indulge himself the luxury of sentimentality - he might even have prided himself on that trait, once upon a time - that all melts away with you.

It isn’t like you do much, but then, it isn’t like you have to, either.

There you are, again.

Giving the poor shopkeeper a run for his money, intent on haggling your way to what you’ve decided is your fair and deserved price, no doubt - he’s sure you’re right, of course - and then, as if it never graces your face in the first place, your defiant expression disappears.

You turn away, and before it even registers in his mind, something else occupies your attention, and you vanish from his frame of vision. It disappoints him, briefly, and yet again, he begins to contemplate the ridiculousness of this situation as the wooden box in his pocket prods his thigh. The ridiculousness of him, of you, of how you manage to entrance him without trying every single time. (And every single time, he is left unable to come up with an answer.)

He’s still pondering - though he looks more perplexed than it makes sense to be - when you chirp up behind him.

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you all over today.” There’s a lilt to your voice, and you shove his shoulder in mock-punishment harmlessly, but he stumbles anyway. It’s also ridiculous that of the few people in the world who can catch him off guard effortlessly, you’re one of them.

Yamato looks at you, smiling your carefree, strong smile, the way you giggle and lean against his side to steady him. He’s thankful you don't seem to notice the small wooden box in his pocket - not least because you’re the type to make a silly joke referencing his mokuton (to his detriment, you know from experience how beetroot it makes him) - but because you’d see right through him.

He can see it now, you persistently demanding an explanation from him in your infuriating way, just like how you’d demanded a discount from the merchant just now, until he does end up proposing to you in the middle of this tired Monday marketplace desperate for some excitement. No. He doesn’t want that. It’s not even the audience, though he doesn’t like that either, but it’s too small. Too trivial, too unremarkable. And you’re anything but.

“You don’t need to look so worried, Yamato. It’s not for any particular reason,” you smile again, and Yamato’s heart just might burst out of his chest, “I just missed you, that’s all.”

It always astounds him how easily words like that flow out of you, words that affirm your own feelings and his own significance to you, as if you just breathed them.

And just like that, he feels as if he’s taken his first breath of the day, the one he didn’t even realise he’d been holding.

(Every single time, he’s reminded that he doesn’t need to find an answer, as ridiculous and unbelievable as his situation is. The answer is you.)

*1回*

“So, what’s your name?”

You had only asked that once, not even looking at him when you did.

Even though he knew exactly what you were asking, and you knew that in turn.

But you just concentrated on the small, but persistent, effective fire you’d built. The one where Yamato had only provided the kindling after he’d insisted; strange, he thought, you knew all about his ability. And yet it didn't even cross your mind, to use him to build some kind of lodging, let alone create firewood. To use him like his comrades were supposed to, to use him for the purpose he’d been created. Instead, you had just set about your task silently, independently.

“I could have built us a shelter, you know,” Yamato said, for the second time. The first time, you’d just shook your head and continued scrambling for branches, forgetting to mind your already mission-scraped hands and splintering yourself more on the way.

You finally looked up from your handiwork, meeting his gaze with the ghost of a smirk. Though your eyes were just as worn, as tired, as his, it belied an energy. Something playful, but simultaneously shrewd. “I know how exhausted you are, Yamato. It’s a warm, clear night. I’ll - we’ll - be fine.”

He didn’t know which was kinder. Your concern, unfamiliar though not unwelcome, or the fact that you didn’t repeat your question. And as gratitude for either, or both, he found himself answering it. The only way he knew how, anyway. “I’ve had a lot of names. Names are complicated for the ANBU, and that goes double for me.”

You just hummed, ruminating on his soft, matter-of-fact words as they settled into the liberated air around the two of you.

“That’s sad,” you said after a moment, bereft of judgement or pity. Matter-of-fact, just like him. “Your name and identity tied to your missions like that.”

“Not all the names I’ve had are like that. Some stick. Some feel right.”

“Oh yeah?” You brought one of your knees to your chest, hugging it in a casual, comfortable gesture as you listened to him with a contrasting intensity. Bringing a simplicity, a gentle breeze to this surprisingly intimate conversation that Yamato hadn’t felt in a long time. “How’s Yamato?”

“Yamato is pretty good. I like it. But it’s not the only one, nor my actual name.”

You smiled, just smiled, and Yamato felt the fatigue that weighed so heavily on his shoulders, dissipate, just a little. “Well, it would be nice if I learnt that other one someday. Maybe.”

He smiled back in turn, because, how could he not? “Maybe.”

The time where you’d hug his neck, calling him Tenzou behind closed doors, doors that you’d finally let him build for you, would still be a little while off. But nowhere near as long as Yamato would have thought, even in his wildest dreams.

Even though you only asked his name once.

**2回**

A plant.

It was the first gift he gave you. And the second, embarrassingly.

(But that wasn’t his fault, he’s sure; it’s still a point of contention between you even now.)

Of course it was going to be a plant, Yamato knew that, and he assumed you would too - but why shouldn’t he stick to his area of expertise, predictable as it was?

Somehow, Yamato didn’t think you would mind.

Even if you teased him first, for which he was certain you would, it would be worth it. In fact, that was exactly what he was counting on - he had come to learn, rather quickly, that what he looked forward to most, the closely guarded secret, was your laugh. Whether it was at his own expense was irrelevant; you both knew you didn’t mean it.

He settled on a succulent, after some careful deliberation, much like all his tasks. Not that this was an ordinary task, of course, because it was for you, but that only made him all the more determined to get this right. And finally, he was satisfied; succulents were notoriously hard to kill, perfect for novices (if your pitifully empty apartment was anything to go by), and an aloe plant in particular would be useful - every time he saw you, mission or not, you’d acquired some silly new bruise or cut with an even more silly story behind it. The last time, it had been something about falling into a rabbit burrow and dealing with the aftermath from its very angry inhabitants. And though you’d jabbed him in the shoulder when he pointed out the absurdity of a jounin being so clumsy, the fact that you let him apply some ointment to your scrapes told him you weren’t angry. Something about that uncharacteristically shy smile. Something about that ‘thank you’, something about that barely audible murmur.

And, as if he needed more, he could practically see that infuriating smirk, hear the lilt in your voice as you’d ask him ‘just what are you trying to say?!’ in your eternally playful tone, prodding him, just like you, all of you, prodded at his self-control each time he saw you. That thought - that you might end up depleting it one day, one day soon - it made his chest flare, not just with anxiety, but something striking, unfamiliar, intangible but definitely there. Maybe he wouldn’t mind that day coming faster.

Yes, Yamato thought, decisively. He’d chosen well.

Not even the confusion that graced your features when you opened your front door, something that ordinarily would have halted his enthusiasm and hastened his doubt, stopped him.

“Yamato,” you smiled.

It might have been optimistic, especially for a man like him, but Yamato was sure he could chart the moment your expression evolved from surprise to something akin to content, comfort, peace. It was even more optimistic, probably too optimistic, but he liked to think that he had something to do with it. It would only be fair, after all. God knows you had done that two-fold for him, and it came much more naturally, he was sure.

He realised he’d been watching your face a little too long when he saw your eyes dart to the plant in his hands, and a wry, bemused smile began to form on your lips. He had to pull himself away then, and back to the task at hand, because he was more than a little scared of what you would say - and what he would do, in turn - if you noticed just how distracted he was by your lips.

“I brought you something. A plant. An aloe vera plant.” He held it out to you, more awkwardly than he would like, but that smile changed once more anyway. Small, soft, touched. Just like that time he’d tended to your cuts.

“You know, I might not be a nature expert like you are, but that much I could tell,” you retorted, in a way that didn’t match your expression. “What’s the occasion?”

“None. I thought you might like it. It’s a gift.”

“A gift? I’m honoured.” The way you took it from his hands into your own - carefully, delicately, holding it close to your chest - told him you really were. It surprised him; he’d prepared himself for more teasing, more jokes. What he hadn’t prepared himself for was for you to look so… soft. So happy. It might have been what he wanted, the best possible outcome in fact, but he didn’t think you would honour him with it. He didn’t think he would be that lucky, and if he ever would be, it wouldn’t be so soon.

“I also thought you might find it useful. You can use the matured leaves as ointments for cuts.”

“In case I upset any more rabbits, right?”

“Or any other woodland creatures,” Yamato chuckled, with an ease he rarely felt. One he never felt, if he was completely honest, before you. And when you giggled in response, it only magnified that ease, and the ground beneath him felt light. He felt light. How miraculous you were.

“I really do appreciate the gift, Yamato. But unlike you, I don’t have much of a green thumb.”

“Don’t worry, they’re a relatively low-maintenance plant and good for beginners.”

“Hey… Just what are you trying to say?” you asked, laughing, just like he knew you would. Just like he had been counting on. But somehow it was better, greater. “Because if you’re saying I don’t know what I’m doing, you’d be right.”

When you leaned forward, encroaching on the ever-shrinking distance between you, somehow bold and vulnerable simultaneously, it sparked something in him. Something that had been there, for a long time, longer than he cared to admit.

“Well, I’d be happy to give you all the help you need,” he said emphatically, with an unexpected courage. Unexpected even to you, if your wide eyes were any indication. “Whenever you’d like.”

“I’d like that.” Your response was quick. So quick, that it seemed like something had been there for you too, and Yamato wanted to kick himself. Could he really have wasted so much time?

Yamato never made empty promises, as he would make sure you knew, when he showed up again at your apartment the next day.

“Herbie looks lonely,” you’d sighed wistfully, after enthusiastically showing off your beloved gift on the windowsill. Yamato did think that perhaps you were too proud, prematurely confident - it had only been a day, after all - but you were so damn adorable that he kept his mouth shut.

“Herbie?”

“That’s his name.”

“His?”

“Yes,” you said simply.

“He doesn’t have herbs, though. Leafy makes more sense.”

“Names don’t behold to reason, Tenzou,” you smiled, and when you moved to shove his chest, you stopped just as your palm pressed against his muscles. Yamato noticed. You must have been flustered - and it looked adorable on you - because you moved to change the subject. “But Herbie is lonely, though. I think he needs another friend.”

He would make a note of that, but it was a little too late. The atmosphere was different now. That name brought with it intimacy, just as your hand did just now.

So it became easier than Yamato ever thought it would be to close that distance. And when you didn’t stop him, replacing that hand and pressing your own chest flush against his broad one, it only ignited his courage once more. He brought himself closer, lips edging closer, closer, brushing against yours ever so tentatively.

And you didn’t stand for that. You tugged the fabric covering his chin, kissing him with more force than he had dared to. He smiled against your lips, strong hands pulling you even closer, returning your zeal with his own twofold.

He had been counting on that, too.

And when he showed up at your apartment again, with another aloe (what would you call this one? Leafy? Please?), when you responded with raucous laughter - he’d been counting on that too.

“You said Herbie was lonely!”

“That’s right, I did. But he’s not the only one,” you snorted, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards you. He didn’t deny you, because, how the hell could he?

You would tell him, only a little while later, that you hoped he would do that, listen to you so earnestly, even if it was silly - because you’d been counting on that too.

And only a little while later, Yamato decided that maybe, just maybe, he might like to spend a lifetime like this. With you. Counting on each other. For laughter, for light. For love. That something he found so hard to name.

Even if that meant gifting the same plant twice in a row.

***3回***

The third time Yamato did this, it wouldn’t be a mere attempt.

No. Of that he was certain. Even if he had to use his mokuton to keep everything in its place and everybody away. Because he would absolutely not have three proposal attempts thwarted. Not by Kakashi, not by Naruto, and not by -

A bird squawked somewhere, again, Yamato was certain, but when he looked around, there was nothing to be seen. He’’d been hearing the damn thing all day. Some kind of crow, maybe even a magpie, he guessed, yelling, ringing in his ear. Mocking him. So clear that it even sounded like a word.

Caw. Caw. Caw. (Idiot). Caw. Caw. Caw.

Again!

He craned his neck with a reaction speed better suited to battle, but, unsurprisingly, nothing. Again.

Get a grip, he decided with an exhale. He was a shinobi for heaven’s sake; surely he couldn’t let himself get so stumped by some birds, real or imaginary. Never mind that - he had better return to the task at hand. It was probably his own nerves getting the better of him, and who could blame him? It was nerve-wracking - the act, not the decision - and it had failed twice already. But not thrice. Steeling himself, he turned on his heel. He would find you, and he would ask you that question, and you would be surprised.

Attempt #1 had seemed promising enough, at first. A midnight walk. Simple, but the end point would be what had become one of your favourite spots: on the outskirts of the village, in that maze of forest and woods, was a little enclave. It wasn’t the only one, but you had claimed it as your own. Something about this one was special, surrounded by all those trees, the way the moonlight trickled through the leaves and illuminated that clear ground. Safe, grounded, yet somehow magical too. You looked natural there. Yamato still remembered the way your face had looked when you marvelled at the stars the first time he brought you here, luminous, ethereal. A face that left him speechless. He thought he might want to see that face again, lit up for an entirely different reason.

But when he met you at your apartment door, and you popped out, looking, well, he never had the words - the one that was speechless was him. That was typical, but that didn’t make him any better at adjusting to it. Fortunately, you spoke to fill the silence, locking the door behind you and grabbing his arm swiftly.

“I’m excited. We haven’t been to our secret base in so long!”

Yamato smiled. Our secret base. How many more things could be ‘ours’, he wondered. Maybe it was greedy of him, to want so much of you, to want so much with you, but he couldn’t help it.

“The missions have been hectic lately,” you continued. Though he was the one technically ahead of you, it still somehow felt like you were the one pulling him along.

“You’re telling me. I half-expect Kakashi or Genma or someone to show up from around the corner and summon one of us.”

“Ugh, don’t put bad vibes out there. I think they do it on purpose.”

“Right. Sorry.”

The wooden box thudded against his leg the whole walk there, appropriately matching the sensation inside his chest. Fortunately, you hadn’t seemed to notice either, chattering happily about this and that. The walk went on, long but not long enough, but then, they never were. Affirming and reaffirming Yamato’s decision with each step you took. This was going well.

That is, until you almost reached your destination.

Just a few metres from your secret base - which perhaps wasn’t so secret anymore, if it ever was - a smooth, low voice stopped you in your tracks. A familiar voice.

“Hey, guys. You wouldn’t believe how long I’ve been looking for you. I-” Kakashi stopped, his one visible eye darting from Yamato to you. The mask was hiding it, but it was damn obvious the asshole was smirking. “By any chance - could I be interrupting something?”

Before Yamato could retort, and figure out how to answer his senpai’s question without floundering, you already did, gritting your teeth. “Yes.”

“That’s too bad. I’m sure you had something special planned. It is a beautiful night, after all-“

“What do you want, Hatake?” You folded your arms. It wasn’t that you disliked the silver-haired bastard, despite referring to him as such. You just had this uncanny ability to wade through his bullshit. Something at which Yamato both was astounded and envious.

“Ah, right. The Hokage has summoned you, Tenzou. We need you to fix something. The foundation of one of the buildings in town is a little shaky.”

“You’re not supposed to call me that! And right now? But-“ Yamato began, before you laid your hand on his wrist gently, glancing back at him with a warm smile he was familiar with, but wasn’t expecting.

“I warned you about putting out bad vibes.”

That you did.

Yamato sighed, and turned back towards Konoha. Again, he found himself grateful for your laugh, accompanying him back, and even while he rebuilt the foundations. Of course, they weren’t urgent.

And of course, Kakashi vanished as quickly as he appeared.

Attempt #2, just in case, would take place in the village. It was cherry blossom season, so, appropriately romantic, and space under the trees was already filled with the picnic blankets and lovingly packed bentos of so many couples that it would camouflage the two of you quite nicely. Even if Yamato would prefer to do this in isolation, right now, this was the same thing. No one would notice you in the crowd. Definitely not.

“You know, when you said you wanted to go flower-viewing, I didn’t think you’d go all out like this. I would have helped, you know. And I didn’t think you’d go when it was this… lively.” You tucked your ankles underneath you and to the side, getting comfortable on the blanket. Yamato watched the way you sighed in respite, wrists behind you as you leant back, just as mesmerised by you as you were by the cherry blossom petals. “Not that I mind. It’s beautiful.”

Beautiful - yes, yes you were. Yamato cleared his throat. “It is.”

He suspected you noticed his gaze, but you were gracious enough not to draw attention to it, for once. You just looked at the hanami bento with perfectly apt salted sakura onigiri, sushi, kamaboko and countless other intricate little delicacies. “I still can’t believe you put all this together.”

“It wasn’t so much work,” Yamato lied. Pointless, because he suspected you knew he was, too. He crossed his legs in an attempt to get comfortable, and when he did, the ring box damn near fell out of his pocket. He stammered, shoving it back in as inconspicuously as possible. “B-besides, before we get to the food, there’s something else.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes. You see, for a while now-“

“Oh dear. Better make it quick,” you interrupted, sighing, collapsing from your wrists onto your side.

“Better- what?” Had he done something wrong already? That would be impressive, even by his standards. He hadn’t even started yet.

You didn’t respond, only pointing to something behind him in resignation with your eyes closed.

“Wow, all this food is gonna go to waste, Captain Yamato!”

“Don’t worry, we can help you with that!”

He shouldn’t have been surprised - why should he get anything he wanted? Why should anything go well? It was him, after all. He didn’t even turn around to look at Naruto and Sakura. And he didn’t have to, because they went ahead and joined you both on the blanket anyway. Lack of space was no obstacle, as nothing was. Sakura at least made a show of guilt, apologising when you sat up to make room for her, where as Naruto just planted himself next to Yamato himself, chuckling as he dug straight into the bento.

“So, what were the two of you doing?” Sakura asked knowingly, surreptitiously nibbling on one of the sakura onigiri. Yamato didn’t even feel like arguing; he had to admit it was picture perfect.

“Exactly what it looks like! Trying to have a hanami party without us,” Naruto said indignantly between mouthfuls.

“We almost got away with it too,” you murmured, giving in and taking an onigiri for yourself, but not before nudging Yamato’s foot with your own.

Next time.

Next time it would be, Yamato resigned, and resigned himself to the fact that his proposal had become a team picnic, funded by his truly. Because, why should their actual leader do it, right?

Next time, the third time would not be Attempt #3 of #?.

Next time, he would ask you ‘will you marry me?’ In no uncertain terms, and you would give him an answer, in no uncertain terms.

回

In hindsight, it’s an easy decision.

When he sees you standing there.

When you smile at him with that unwavering smile.

When you run to him, as if you’re even happier to see him than he is to see you (that’s impossible), when you giggle and his world is just a little brighter, lighter. Easier.

When he thinks about how you asked his name only once, and when you finally used it, he feels more like himself than anyone else.

When he thinks about how you graciously accepted his gift, and how it led to the kiss of which the memory still gives him goosebumps.

When he thinks about how you let him go back to his duties that night with a smile, and you didn’t leave his side the whole night.

When he thinks about how you let the kids ruin your picnic, and though you were probably disappointed, you shared the food and laughed with them for hours anyway.

When he reaches into his pocket, and you laugh.

“I wondered if you had something in there. I thought you were just very happy to see me.”

Yamato stops, shaking his head and smiling in disbelief. The blush doesn’t settle on his cheeks this time, because, well, of course. Maybe you weren’t completely unpredictable.

And he wasn’t completely predictable, as you would come to know in a few seconds.

It’s not like him to do something so impetuous, so unthought out, so unprepared - but then, then he hadn’t planned for you either. Not to mention, his thought out attempts were just that, attempts. Which is something he suspects the entirety of Team Kakashi now knows.

He holds the box in his hand. It had been hard to craft, which he’s sure you won’t believe, because, why would you? But it had.

When he sees you still staring at him, in your inquisitive, adorable way, in something that looks a little like bewilderment - it’s rare, but he very much likes it on you - he flicks the box open. He doesn’t have to think about it anymore.

“Will you marry me?” Yamato asks quietly but emphatically, matter-of-factly.

When you throw your arms around his neck, forgetting to mind where you are, he figures that’s a yes. Even if he wishes that you’d studied the ring at least a little - he’d worked hard on it - and even let him slip it onto your finger.

But it doesn’t really matter, he admits, and holds you closer.

There’ll be time for all that.

Because Yamato knows now, that simple, but all-consuming fact.

It’s an easy decision for you too.

#yamato x reader #yamato #naruto #naruto fanfiction #yamato imagines #yamato scenario #pfwrites #please say YES to this man he loves you SO MUCH #finding a yamato gif was so hard #he's always with someone #he seems to be only thought of because of his connection to kakashi :(#speaking of the kaka-man.... y'all want something spicy?#cuz the next request...#idk if it'll be the next one i work on there's just so much spice requested and like... loads of other writers do that way better than me

162 notes · View notes

kravkalackin · 4 years

Text

It was a fool proof plan, if Lup did say so herself. She was really quite proud of it, and her mastery of the art of the grift in general.

The fancy restaurant was extremely crowded, and also much more expensive than either her or Barry could really afford. Considering all that, there was really no reason for them to have made a reservation on valentine’s day, especially considering they weren’t even dating.

No reason to, except Lup wanted to treat herself. And also Barry. And also lord it over her brother that she got to eat here before he did. So she came up with a plan, and valentine’s day was the best time to play it out for maximum effect.

It was a genius twist on an old classic really. Simple, but just unexpected enough that no one would see through it. Her and Barry were going to enjoy their dinner, acting as a sickeningly in love couple for all to see, highlighted by the valentine’s day atmosphere.

As soon as dinner started to wind down, Barry was going to propose. Most grifts would leave it at that, but this kind of place wouldn’t offer a free meal for a proposal, not on valentine’s day of all days. The most they could get was probably a free desert. No, they needed to go bigger.

Barry was going to propose, and all Lup had to do was turn him down. Awkwardly grab her stuff and shuffle off, leaving him all sad and dejected.

And them bam! Free steak and shrimp and wine. They would still leave a tip for the waiter, but otherwise Barry would meet her outside and it would be hilarious.

Lup had just about finished up her meal now, and damn it was nearly worth the ridiculous price tag. She was laughing over something Barry had said, and really the easiest part of all this was the whole pretending to be in love with him thing, mostly because she really didn’t have to pretend.

She saw his eyes flicker to hers, and then off again. She didn’t look, but she guessed the waiter was starting to head over. She stopped laughing, giving him a quick, subtle nod. With a nervous smile, he stood up. They had already been holding hands across the table, and he didn’t let go now.

“Lup,” he started, and it was adorable how red his face already was. She knew he didn’t enjoy being the center of attention, so she would have to find some way to make this up to him later.

“Lup, we’ve been together for a long time now. Ever since you came into my life I’ve had to wonder every day how I could have possibly gotten so lucky to even know you. Getting to actually share my life with you? I’d say it’s a dream, but there isn’t a dream out there that could live up to you,” he continued, and she could feel her face starting to heat up now as well. She hadn’t been expecting a speech.

Probably a smart move. Garner up even more sympathy.

“How someone like me could possibly be worthy of someone as intelligent and loving and beautiful as you, I’ll never know, but that day in eighth grade when you called me a nerd and made me help you and your brother catch the class mice you accidentally let loose was legitimately the best day of my life. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without you, and I don’t ever want to let go.”

“Shit,” Lup whispered under her breath, having to blink rapidly as her eyes started to get all moist. She didn’t expect him to be so good at this, why was he so good at this?

“I love you Lup, with all of my heart,” he said, finally getting down on one knee now. With the hand that wasn’t holding hers, he pulled out a small ring box, having to finally let go to actually open it.

“So I need to know. Lup, will you marry me?”

“Yes.”

Barry’s eyes widened, genuine surprise on his face instead of the fake devastation that was supposed to be there. It took Lup’s brain a moment to catch up with her words, and when it did she nearly slapped her hands over her mouth.

“O-oh? Awesome,” Barry said, clearly trying to recover from her going incredibly off script. When he reached over Lup let him slide the ring onto her finger.

And well, there was nothing left to do but fucking lean into it, so when he stood back up Lup pulled him into a kiss. The restaurant broke into cheers around them, and when they finally pulled apart Barry looked like a tomato.

“Might I be the first to say congratulations,” their waiter said, and Lup forced herself to grin up at him over the wishing for death she was doing inside. Well, the wishing for death mixed in with the absolute euphoria of finally getting to kiss Barry.

“Thank you,” she managed, watching as he put down what she could only assume was a free heart shaped chocolate cake with vanilla ice-cream.

And also the check.

“Uh, Lup?” Barry asked after a moment, seeming to have finally gotten the ability to form words back again. Instead of responding Lup quickly reached over, flipping the check before she could actually see any of the numbers.

“If I don’t see the numbers they can’t hurt me,” she said in a rush, and Barry was looking at her somewhere between befuddled and endeared.

“I don’t- I don’t think that’s how it works,” he said, and Lup shook her head. Taking a spoon, she started shoving cake and ice cream into her mouth. If she was going to pay for this, she was going to enjoy all of it.

“Nope, totally how it works,” she said. Barry chuckled at that, starting to eat some of the dessert as well.

“Fair enough,” he said, and it was quiet for a moment.

“I’ll... pay you back for this,” Lup whispered quietly. Barry waved her off, and she could see that he was eating more of the ice cream than he should. Considering the night though, she couldn’t blame him.

“Don’t worry about it,” he insisted, but they both knew that wasn’t going to happen. After a moment she could see his eyes glance towards her hand, which was still wearing that engagement ring. “Hey do we... do we need to talk about uh, anything? After this?” he whispered, and Lup kind of wanted to die.

But she also really wanted to kiss him again.

“Maybe. Can we make out again first?” she said, and despite the shade of red of his face Barry quickly nodded.

“Definitely,” he said.

“Cool,” she said, and yeah, there was going to be a lot they needed to talk about, but also really not that much.

They had already pretty much said everything.

#taz #the adventure zone #blupjeans #lup #barry bluejeans #nothing says valentine's day like blupjeans #lup: this plan is fool proof i just need to pretend to not be in love with barry for a minute #ten minutes later: ThIS plAn WAs NoT fOoL PRooF #I am The Fool

481 notes · View notes

ryosmne · 3 years

Text

Safe Place.

Yakuza! Nanami Kento x gn Reader

Hello everyone, this fic is in collaboration with my dear friend @sunfloweroranges you can read their fic here :D

I kind of changed my writing style for this one, I'm trying out different things so let me know how it goes, feedback is always welcome, that's all from me hope you have a good time reading 💜

Summary: You're clueless

Warnings: mentions of blood, mature themes, mentions of murder and head chopping, language, yandare Nanami if you squint.

Grocery shopping is never fun when you're alone, especially making your way back home in the cold winter months, it gets dark so early.

A slight twist of your gut had made you walk back home in a faster pace. Turning your head every couple of steps, you never saw anything, yet this feeling never left even when you got through the main entrance of your apartment complex.

The elevator was broken once more, and you were already out of breath from rushing back, as you took the first steps up, your next door neighbor, who looked way too scary for your own liking bumped your shoulder on his way down.

Jeez he's in a hurry today.

Mumbling a quick apology, even though he was the one that was at fault, you quickly found the strength to run up the stairs and lock yourself in. Some short of commotion was coming from outside the complex that you didn't really care to hear.

That pink haired guy, your neighbor, who was build like a damn door, always got himself in some short of trouble, hearing him yell profanities or even throwing punches was a far too often occurance.

Why did he have to live right next door?

It's safe to say you did the best to keep the hell away from him, not that he seemed to bother with you, neitherless he was fucking scary.

Kento was ten minutes late, he was never late, except for the days that he had to clean up someone's mess, the days someone underestimated the power he held or the days someone dared speak your name. He wouldn't even tell them 'dont you dare speak their name' or anything along those lines. There was no warning when it came to mentioning yo,u only taking immediate action.

Naturally you were in the dark about all of that, Kento -or Ken as you would often referred to him as- kept you far far away from the darkness of his world. That was his way of keeping you safe and at the same time having you as his personal way out of his work and in his defence he didn't completely lie about his employment. He was an investor, just a bit of a different stock market than what you had in mind.

As far as you knew, Nanami Kento was an extremely successful business man, he chalked up his tattoo covered body as just his preferred style, since he is this good at what he does, he likes to say that his work place doesn't give a damn about his ink covered skin and the expensive gifts that he always pressures you to accept are just another benefit of his high profile job.

"Darling, I hope you didn't start without me." Wrapping your arms around your extremely sweet boyfriend you left a small kiss on his lips watching as the corners tagged upwards in an equally sweet smile the moment your lips left his.

"Of course not Ken, it's Friday remember?" Fridays are the established date nights in, you and Kento cook and dine together. More often than not you end up slow dancing to some jazz, or with you laying on his chest Infront of the fireplace, listening to his heartbeat, talking about life while he strokes your hair until the dawn.

Tossing him an apron, after he -like the gentleman he is- tied yours, you got to work on today's dish: Chorizo carbonara.

"You're never late on Fridays, bad day at work?"

You spoke while slicing some papers.

"Yeah, the stocks are all over the place and it's getting me stressed, but it's our night darling, anything else isn't of importance."

Kento always found a way of distracting you when it came to talking about his day, he is always quite vague and when his palm rested on the small of your back gazing down at you with those adoring eyes, it's hard to keep focused on anything other than him.

"Why don't you tell me about your day love?"

He always asked you that, Kento is in awful need of the calm that the mundane life you live carries. He craves to feel that, he still loves the power he holds over people, the way the mare mention of his name makes others tremble in fear of what the man will do to them shall they not comply to his requests -more accurately orders-

"Thankfully work was pretty good today, I finished grocery shopping so we could cook, I got us that wine you really loved too. The neighbor is being weird again but that's not new, maybe moving out isn't a bad idea."

Everything was like music to Kento's ears untill that last sentence. You had mentioned moving out before, but Kento always found a way to convince you not to. The rent was good, this house is close to your work, he would always reason with you until you changed your mind. He never pushed too hard fearing that you'd suspect something, but you only smiled and ended up agreeing with him.

You see, unbeknownst to you, your weird neighbor is Nanami's most trusted man, he's protecting you twenty four hours a day, even as you walked up the stairs today he dealt with another threat that was headed right your way. No, you cannot move before you know everything, but Nanami can't bring himself to break your bubble, he loves you and you love him, the real him, he would never scare you by letting you take a peek at his point of view. Maybe he should run away with you afterall.

"He doesn't look that bad, love. I'm sure he wouldn't hurt a fly."

Nanami knew he was capable of a lot more than that but it was true, your neighbor was an ally and although he would hurt lots of people, you were on the list of people to be protected and Sukuna took his bosses orders very seriously.

"Besides, my love, anyone would have to get through me first before attempting to lay a finger on you."

With the way his lips moulded on yours and his velvety tone, how could you not believe every single word that just came out of his mouth. Kento would die before letting anything happen to you, that little statement helped bring you comfort.

"You must really love my house Ken, can you pass me the butter?"

The moment your back was turned, Kento let out a breath of relief. That little voice in his head he always pushed away yelled at him to tell you everything, he burried it in the back of his mind once more.

"Can you believe that? I swear she drives me insane- Ken are you listening to me?"

That was weird, Kento always gave you his full attention. Perhaps he was tired today.

"Yes darling, you were talking about that Satoru guy, the one who annoys you at work."

Yeah you were, but that was while you were still eating, about twenty minutes ago.

"Babe, you're tired, let's go to bed, we can pick up where we left off another time, you need to rest."

The habit of staying up all night on Fridays had really stuck, but sleeping when your partner clearly needed to, is very much on schedule although it rarely ever happened.

Getting up from the sofa, tagging at Kento's arm to follow you to the bedroom had Kento irritated at how concerned you grew for him. He still feels you're too good at times, all the time to be exact.

You only heard him sigh before he pulled you back on the sofa, having lost your balance in his sudden move, you landed on top of him.

"Stay with me a little longer my love, I'm sorry I spaced out, I'm all ears for you now."

Another invitation for you to just talk to him, he didn't care about what. Kento loved the tone of your voice, how it changed pitch depending on what emotion you held or what you were talking about. His voice was quite monotone, like everyone else's around him. He had to grow thick skin and throw away all short of feelings, but everything he locked away years ago came rushing back the moment he spilled coffee on you six months ago. You hadn't even complained about the burning sensation on your skin as he helped clean you up, you just gave Kento a smile telling him that everything was fine and these things happen.

In his world they don't, someone can breathe the wrong way and lose their head, all it took was your damn smile and that statement to get him to need something different than what he had. Kento never thought he missed a thing, he found out how wrong he was that very day.

Sometimes he wished he never took the time to help you out back then, but that was only because he didn't know that he'd put you through all this.

"So I'm just sat there in a staring contest over the last price of cake, I won but my eyes still feel a bit dry."

You laughed, Kento stared down at you with a fond smile, your head on his lap and your hands tangled in his, brushing his knuckles and examining every bit of his skin with such care, God you were beautiful all over.

While Kento's hands were very interesting a small detail in the cuff of his shirt got your stomach to drop.

"Ken, is that blood?"

He swore he cleaned up, he always cleaned up before coming back to you, he never missed a single splatter. Maybe rushing home after not one, but two people tried to harm you today put him on edge.

He had missed a single drop. He was absolutely disgusted that even that tiny part of someone who dared to say the name y/n out loud infront of him and even threatened your existence was anywhere near you.

"Sweetheart that's probably tomato sauce from cooking, thanks for pointing it out, you know I hate staining my clothes, I'll go change."

Your meal didn't contain tomato sauce.

Why was your gut telling you that something was off?

Kento seemed a bit tense tonight, was it just a bad day at work?

He never really conversed on his profession. The huge dragon that started from the back of his thigh, ended on his left shoulder covering his entire back was just his 'style'. You swore you heard him talk to the pink haired man who lived next door but he told you he was on the phone. Everything little bit of suspicious behaviour you had previously payed no mind to, came to you. On top of that what was his reason to lie about a drop of blood on his sleeve? He could've said it was a paper cut or something, Why did he lie?

Behind the bathroom door Kento only cursed at him self.

Why didn't he lie better?

#jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #nanami x reader #nanami kento #nanami kento x reader #yakuza nanami #au nanami kento #jjk drabbles #jjk anime #jujutsu kaisen drabbles #jujutsu kaisen oneshot

171 notes · View notes

sevlgi · 4 years

Text

bubblegum pop

requested: no

group: twice

pairing: sana x fem!reader

genre: fluff

contents: rich girl!sana, college!au, cashier!reader.

warnings: none

synopsis: An unfortunately hostile encounter with the school’s sweetest rich girl might just lead to more than you ever expected.

a/n: inspired by @pearicot‘s mean girl rosie series! (by the way, i’m not trying to feed into the “dumb sana” stereotype with this; i just thought that her personality fitted the character i was trying to achieve! does anyone wanna request continuations or scenarios in this universe 👀

word count: 3.3k

Something about Mondays the week of finals always got you in a bad mood, especially when you had to work double shifts at the same stupid ice cream shop you’d worked at for the past 2 years of college.

So maybe, just maybe, there was reasoning behind you snapping at the love of your life during your first meeting.

Actually, there really, really wasn’t.

There were plenty of mean girls on campus who you wouldn’t regret yelling at whatsoever, but you just happened to blow up at one of the considerably nicer rich girls.

Minatozaki Sana didn’t mean anything bad when she innocently held out a hundred dollar bill to pay for a $5 ice cream. She didn’t mean to seem pretentious, nor did she mean to mock you and your minimum-wage job, but you just so happened to take it that way.

“Really? You have to rub it in my face like that?”

Sana stared at you, the money that she held out wavering in the ear. “Sorry?”

Pinching the space between your eyebrows, you huffed out an exasperated breath. Luckily, there was no one else in the shop about to witness the stupidest meltdown of your life. “You think I don’t know that I’m poor? It’s five dollars for God’s sake, no need to bring out the big guns. Oh, or are you doing this to avoid seeming more pretentious with your daddy’s black card?”

The brunette’s hand retreated quickly, the heels of her Louboutins clacking softly against the pastel-toned linoleum of the ice cream shop. Fuck, you hated that linoleum. “I... I didn’t mean any of that, I swear! Um, is there an ATM near here?”

Once again, the girl meant well, and you took it badly. You scoffed, glaring disbelievingly at her. Some part of you was screaming out that you were putting your entire job at stake, and your morals as well, but you disregarded any common sense remaining in your brain. “An ATM for 5 bucks? Dude, just don’t.” Dipping your hand into the tip jar, you scrounged out a lousy crumpled bill and threw it down on the counter, shoving the bubblegum-flavored sweet to Sana. “Okay? Now get out, I don’t want to see your privileged ass anywhere near here.”

The dense gray clouding your mind somehow missed the hurt expression on the girl’s face as the staff door swung open. Wendy’s hands, though gentle on your shoulders, shoved you behind her with surprising force. “I am so sorry, Sana, it’s finals week. Surely you can understand? The ice cream’s on the house.”

“No, of course it’s okay!” Sana sounded genuine enough, that was for sure; you caught her glancing worriedly at you a couple times, nothing malicious whatsoever in her eyes. “I can pay though, are you sure?”

“I’m sure. See you in class,” Wendy called out, smiling all the while until the girl disappeared into the Lamborghini parked by the curb. As soon as that happened, she turned back to you, concern tugging at the corner of her lips. “Y/N...”

“Yeah, I know,” you mumbled as you crossed your arms. Already, you were regretting what you said, though you were far too stubborn to actually apologize on the spot. “No arguing with customers about capitalism. Sorry, Wendy.”

The girl bit her lip, scanning the store to make sure that there wasn’t about to be an influx of customers. Usually she enjoyed working with you; you just had absolutely terrible mood swings sometimes, and those days were nothing short of hellish for her to deal with. “Just head home. Focus on your finals, and come back next week. Okay?”

You hesitated to agree, knowing that you needed the money, but the grim expression on Wendy’s face told you that you had no other option. “Okay. Sorry.”

As you snatched up your stuff and shoved the door to the street open, you missed the sight of Sana watching you through the tinted windows of her 6-figure car.

“Really? Sana?”

“I know,” you groaned, biting down on the plastic spoon in your mouth. The flavor of the month (the only one you could eat completely free) lingered unpleasantly on your tongue, the taste of it oddly salty. “She was so nice about it, too.”

Jeongyeon and Mina exchanged glances, not touching their respective cups of “Ocean Caramel” either. It was extremely kind of them to come and accompany you on the slow days, both of them even offering to suffer through the gross ice cream with you. “If it was Park Roseanne I might understand, but Sana,” Mina winced. Jeongyeon nodded in agreement; after all, everyone on campus knew about the reputations of Roseanne and Sana.

On one end of the “rich girl” spectrum, Roseanne was quite possibly the bitchiest one of all. She and her Bugatti Veyron, the college upgrade from her old McLaren, absolutely weren’t to be messed with. People who went to high school with you often told story of the G Wagon she smashed, the locker room she lit on fire, and so many other horror tales of a spoiled girl gone wild. You were sure that had you gone off on her, even Wendy wouldn’t have stopped you.

But on the other end, Sana was notoriously kind. Sure, her family raked in an income close to that of the other girl’s, and her wardrobe was just as expensive, but she made a point to donate to charities every time she went shopping. She tipped in the hundreds, and she didn’t ever ask for her designer clothes back when she lent them to strangers. She paid any dinner bill in full when she was there, and sometimes even when she wasn’t invited.

No one was entirely sure about the relationship between the two, but Roseanne seemed to hate Sana more than she did other people. The two fought publicly occasionally, but Sana’s kind heart made it so that even Roseanne couldn’t carry a fight very long. She didn’t respond to insults, it seemed, nor did she ever seem to actually take them personally.

Stirring her half-melted soup, Mina continued, “Hopefully she doesn’t hold it against you. She doesn’t seem like the type, but...”

Jeongyeon shook her head, opening her mouth just as the doorbell rang. You froze when you looked up to find a designer-dressed bombshell, a sweet smile outlined in Chanel Rouge Allure. She looked completely out of place amidst tired college kids spending their last paycheck on ice cream, white gauzy sleeves and blue dress shimmering under LED lights. If you were being honest, you’d say that she was the most beautiful person you’d seen in your life, but you were always well versed in lying to yourself. “Y/N, you better go.”

“Why?” you whined, pouting at your much more responsible friends. They ignored your puppy face, though; Jihyo was usually the only one you could sway, Momo sometimes if she was feeling merciful. “I’m on break.”

“Only when there’s no customers,” Mina argued, shoving you to stand. Jeongyeon smiled at you, waving you away. “Go, and don’t screw it up this time.”

You forced a smile onto your face when you reached the counter, bowing and adjusting your name tag. “Hi, what can I help you with today?”

“Hi, Y/N!” Sana grinned, bowing back. The fact that she remembered your name only made your guilt worse; if she forgot who you were, you could at least pretend that she didn’t remember the incident at all. “Ah, could I have the same thing as last time? Bubblegum Pop ice cream, on a sugar cone today. 3 scoops?”

Nodding, you moved to open the case, avoiding the girl’s gaze as you did. “Of course.” She was quiet at that, staring at the ceiling so as not to rush you. Without prompting, you blurted, “I’m... I’m really sorry about last week, by the way. I don’t know what I was thinking, blowing up at you like that.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay!” she protested, waving a manicured hand in the air. “I promise I understand you. We all have our bad days.”

You wanted to apologize again, if just to assuage your guilt, but you held off on it, joking, “How do you deal with them? Yell at Gucci assistants?”

Sana looked honestly offended as she accepted the cone proffered to her, eyes widening in shock. “I’ve never done that, I swear! Besides, I don’t like Gucci much.”

A light smile quirking at the corners of your lips, you handed the receipt to her as well. She didn’t ask for it, probably not caring about the measly price or having the space for it in her tiny bag, but took it anyway. “I’m sure you don’t. Your total is $5.23, will that be cash or card?”

“Cash!” She held out a 10 dollar bill, pride shining behind that gorgeous face as you raised your eyebrows in surprise. When your hands brush together, you were reminded of how much better she was than you, how you probably weren’t worthy at all to be touching her with your shop-issued baseball cap and grimy apron. But Sana doesn’t seem to mind, still smiling that airy smile at you and not moving away. She broke your stare by offering, “I don’t want to sound rude, but keep the change.”

“Not rude at all,” you fully laughed that time, dishing out the remainder to stuff in your tip jar. You still felt terrible that she felt the need to apologize about such a normal comment, asking, “Are you sure it’s okay? You can have this one free too, if it makes up for me shouting at you...”

Sana shook her head, sugary light pink already mixing into her lipstick. She walked away, still waving with that gorgeous smile on her face. “It’s okay. I’ll see you soon, Y/N, you look really pretty today!”

Turning back to your friends, you whispered, “Damn. She’s really nice.”

You planned on spending your one day off from school and work cozied up with a good book and your favorite hot drink, but you supposed that getting into a fight with Park Roseanne wasn’t the worst way to go either.

As soon as you entered campus, book in hand and blasting music in your earbuds, you found a crowd of at least 3 dozen people right in front of the library building. It was unlike you to butt into others’ business, especially when it might lead to a ruined day, but Roseanne’s voice carried loud over the hushed whispers of everyone else. “--huh, Sana?”

It wasn’t any of your business, but for some reason, Roseanne’s tone when saying Sana’s name angered you immensely. Frowning, you shouldered your way through the crowd. The closer you got to the center, the more expensive the clothing that brushed against your own rough jean jacket was, cotton and leather becoming silk and velvet. You originally planned to just fit in with the other spectators, but with a shove at the small of your back, you were thrust into the center too.

To your shock, Sana’s eyes were red and shining with tears, the tip of her nose cherry-colored as well. Her head was almost bowed as she stared at her shoes, but she looked up to you when you almost bumped into her. You stuttered out, “H-hey. What’s going on?”

Instead of an explanation from the Japanese girl, though, your gaze was drawn to the blonde across the courtyard. “Didn’t you hear? Little Miss Perfect here got broken up with,” Roseanne scoffed, an infuriating smirk on her perfect face as she tilted her head at you. “By a future CEO, no less. I guess she isn’t a gold-digger, or maybe there’s some other reason that he didn’t want her anymore.”

Your hand shot out to protect Sana, a scowl making its way onto your own face. “Excuse me? From my standpoint, any future CEO is still way outta her league, so forgive me for doubting that he’s the one who didn’t want her. You’re the one dating someone who makes a tenth of what you do.”

Roseanne rolled her eyes, lips thinning. “Don’t talk about my girlfriend like that, Y/L/N, or you’ve got another thing coming. There aren’t many lesbians in this damn school.”

“You know me, don’t you?” Sana’s voice was wavering as she spoke, but it was strong enough to echo in the courtyard. To your surprise (and somewhat satisfaction), the blonde girl’s eyes widened as Sana stood forward, her lips jutting forward. “That’s why I’m not dating him anymore. I like girls, too.”

Somehow, you’d never expected that Sana was attracted to girls, but it made perfect sense. An irrational part of you wanted to cheer, but instead, you forced yourself to speak.

“R-right.” You continued to glare at Roseanne, who finally seemed to be speechless. “Yeah, so how come you’re tearing Sana down? We should be supporting each other, but you’re being so rude to someone so kind, and that says all I need to know about you.”

Reaching out, you latched onto Sana’s upper arm and pulled her out of the circle, people parting to let the two of you through as Roseanne wasn’t able to conjure up something to respond with. You didn’t stop walking until there was only silence surrounding you under the shade of a swaying tree, finally stopping to let the girl sit. “Are you okay?” you asked, brow furrowed as you knelt to be mostly face-level with her.

Somehow, there was a smile on her face; a slightly snotty smile, but nonetheless the most beautiful one you’d ever seen in your life. You ignored the uncomfortable leap of your heart when you reached out to take her hands into your own, somehow forgetting about the hostility you’d felt towards her from the beginning. “You- you stood up for me.”

“Yeah. I did, I guess,” you shrugged, smiling slightly. “I’m sure that was rough, though, to come out. How’re you feeling?”

“Honestly, much better,” Sana sighed. She leaned back, fingers curling slightly around yours as the afternoon sun shone golden brown in the locks of hair spread out on her shoulders. “It was good to get it off my chest. I didn’t even know you were into girls, you know.”

Reaching up to scratch your head, you chuckled, “Well, I am, if it makes you feel any better. What happened between the two of you, by the way? She seems to hate you so much.”

The girl laughed, as bubbly and airy as her regular voice. “I may or may not have dated her girlfriend before. But it was a long time ago, and I’m still friends with her! Roseanne just can’t forgive me.”

You feigned shock, swatting at her arm. “How terrible of you! I’m so disappointed.”

You were stuck simply smiling at each other for a good minute or so before you looked away, picking at your shoelace for something to do. “So. Uh, Roseanne knew the whole time?”

“She did,” Sana confirmed, nodding. “She just never talked about it.”

“Well, it’s good to know that she isn’t the only other one in the school with me,” you sighed, sitting back on your heels.

Sana lurched back forward, hands clasping together at her chest. “Then we should celebrate! We can go shopping or something, and we can just be happy that we aren’t alone anymore.”

It suddenly struck you how quickly you could change the girl’s entire outlook, a smile coming onto her face with no effort from you whatsoever. But even more surprising, you smiled even larger than she did just looking at her.

Laughing, you sat back on your heels and shook your head lightly. Seeming to take it as a rejection, Sana’s eyes widened. “Oh, only if you want to, of course! We can go wherever you want, we don’t even have to go shopping if you don’t want to!”

“No, we can go shopping,” you answered, reaching back over to squeeze her hand and pulling her up with you when you stood. “Come on, then. Let’s go celebrate.”

Sana wasn’t a great driver, but you didn’t expect much else. You were practically sick to your stomach by the time that you reached the mall, face green as you swayed out of the car.

“Ah, Y/N, I’m sorry!” Her hands rubbed lightly at your back as you squatted in the parking lot, fist held tight to your mouth. It wasn’t like you were actually going to throw up, but you didn’t want to risk ruining the girl’s expensive shoes. “I’ll let you drive next time.”

Next time? you wanted to ask. But you managed to stand, nodding quickly to ease Sana’s worry. “Yeah. It’s fine, I’m fine. Should we go?”

Immediately, she latched onto your hand, swinging between the two of you as she started to rush forward. “H-hey, lock your car first!”

Sana had unsurprisingly expensive tastes, but also surprisingly understated ones. She was fun to shop with, that was for sure- she loved to offer you clothes and also to offer to pay for them, but you didn’t necessarily hate a pretty girl telling you you’d look gorgeous in a certain sparkly dress.

She didn’t do any of the typical stuck-up things you expected her to- Sana carried her own bags, and she never forced you to follow her instead of doing what you wanted to. She did like to try on outfits and show them to you, but that could be ignored when it was just another opportunity for you to stare at her.

Eventually, you ended up having ice cream at one of the stores in the mall. You balked at the price, but Sana swiped her credit card without hesitation. “I have to admit, this bubblegum doesn’t taste as good as yours,” she pouted.

Chuckling, you savored the rich flavor on your own tongue. “You should’ve picked an expensive flavor then. Vanilla and chocolate are always good in these kinds of stores.”

“You know a lot about ‘these kinds of stores’ for someone who claims to be poor,” she teased, eyes widening as soon as the words slipped out of her mouth. “Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean-”

“Nah, it’s fine,” you smiled, leaning on your palm. “I’m good with it, since we’re friends now.”

Sana grinned at that, her eyes curving charmingly. “We’re friends? Most people don’t want to be friends with me, I’m really glad you’re willing to.”

“Why wouldn’t they?”

Looking down for once, the girl mumbled, “They say I’m dumb. You know that everyone says I’m nice, but they also think I’m dumb because I pay for everything. I just want to be kind, but no one takes me seriously.”

A wave of guilt rushed over you for previously feeding into the stereotype. The more time you spent with Sana, the more you realized that she was as brilliant as any other, and far more kind. “Well, that’s stupid. You are kind, Sana, and you’re amazing. I’m lucky to be your friend.”

She clasped your hand over the table, soft skin warm over yours, pink flushing in her pale cheeks. “Thank you, Y/N. You know, this is the best time I’ve had in a while. My boyfriend didn’t even listen to me this well,” she laughed.

Despite the fact that she treated it as a joke, you felt horrible. She was all too used to thinking the worst about herself and not believing that she was worth any better, and that was the worst possible thing you could imagine for a girl with a heart of gold. Jabbing your spoon into the remaining ice cream, you blurted, “Then go on a date with me. A proper one, not just a normal hangout like this.”

Sana instantly blushed, looking down as if it’d hide her face at all. But she missed the heat that rose to your cheeks too, the nervous biting of your lip as you waited for a response. “I would love nothing more,” she smiled, her eyes shining brilliantly. “And I can’t wait.”

459 notes · View notes

thiscrimsonsoul · 2 years

Text

{out of paprikash} So... my laptop decided to fry its harddrive this morning, and that means a lot of very negative things for me. Explanation and bit of a rant below, but I can’t promise how much writing I will get done tonight. It depends on time, mood, muse, and whether I even feel like being here, given my extreme mood drop. I will try to do what I can.

This has hit me hard for a number of reasons. First, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t backed up my files in six months. That means I’ve lost six months of writing progress on various projects, six months of work on Tumblr (files with tags, info dumps, headcanons, icons, reaction gifs, anything I’ve updated in my archives... it’s just how I organize my brain), and six months of music and photos.

The most heartbreaking of these losses is the writing/editing progress I’ve lost on various WIPs, but also I lost an entire folder containing pictures and videos of a pet that died recently. I had removed them all from my phone already, thinking they were archived on my computer, but hadn’t backed them up yet. It’s like losing him all over again. I also had pictures from my grandmother’s birthday, going out with my dad to our favorite pub, and other family things I can just never get back.

Understandably, and especially given that lately I’ve just been hit with one thing right after the other for several months now and I’m exhausted, this has very much taken me down and made me feel quite defeated. It is especially infuriating because I was planning on backing up all my files today, since I would have some time to finally do it and I just had a terrible feeling like I needed to do it soon. One more day... could have changed so much for me. But here I am.

I do have a backup laptop that I am using right now, but it is very old, very slow, and it has the processing power of a drunken snail. I can’t do the majority of daily things I do with my main laptop on this one, but at least I can still work and answer email so I won’t lose my job and I can do basic writing. No games, nothing with pictures or videos, but just basic stuff. But of course, that won’t help me get any of my files back. My dad is going to work on the drive to see if anything is salvageable, but there is absolutely no guarantee at all that it will be.

But the worst part... is that as of midnight tonight, my students have their first two forums assignments due. Which means... by tomorrow... I will have 600 forums posts to grade by Thursday, and now I have to do that on a slow, old, clunky computer that freezes up or shuts itself off if you so much as look at it funny. To give you an idea, it usually takes me about an hour and a half to grade one section of students. I have five sections. And that timing was with my fast-as-hell main laptop. On this slow ass boi? Who knows how long it will take me now.

And lastly, I cannot be without a fast, reliable computer. My entire job is online. The majority of my hobbies are as well. So... I will have to run out in the next day or so to purchase a brand new computer, having very little time to research which one I want to buy and paying full price because there are no sales going on right now to speak of. This is going to kick my finances in the ass like you would not believe. And when I get it home, I will have hours’ if not days’ worth of installing, configuring, file populating, organizing, anti-virusing, and settings adjusting to accomplish ASAP.

I will likely be getting the new computer Wednesday, since tomorrow I have to work all day, and I need tonight to try to do some research on what to buy. I’m not going to go on hiatus from all my blogs because I think doing some writing will help keep me sane, but my activity may be low until I get the new computer and can situate myself with it.

I’ll update on my other blogs as they are scheduled this week to let you know what’s going on. Please bear with me and sorry for yet another reason why I can’t just be here to write like I want to. Eventually the universe has to run out of things it can fuck up in my life, right? Right? R i g h t ?

#{ out of paprikash } ᵒᵒᶜ #{i had actually been looking forward to today}#{i was going to write the whole day and get a lot done}#{back up all my files}#{it was going to be great}#{and it was like the universe said oh no she's trying to be happy again}#{and get her shit in order}#{we can't have that now can we...}#{i swear i pissed off some primordial god somewhere and he has it in for me because fffffcuk}

4 notes · View notes

robininthelabyrinth · 4 years

Note

Thank you "Worthwhile Trade". The idea of Baxia turning into an guai is so interesting. I liked imagining the part where she hit NMJ for his idiocy. My brain is projecting "married couple" vibes, omg. I admit despite how weird WWX spoke about the events, the time travel part flew over my head until the tags spelled it out for me. (TBC)

(Cont'd) Also... did NMJ mean it in THAT dual-thing way when talking WRH's prefs? And the last part, where WWX used resentful energy to sub NMJ's qi. I assume he can still cultivate since his core's still there, if emptied? But I wonder what'll happen to his energy once restored Can't help but think his renewed qi will inevitably be affected by the traces of the previous energy that once circulated. He's not going to become a walking stygian tiger or something, is he? Off the wall guess, sorry!

----

sequel to Worthwhile Trade (ao3), also on tumblr

Wei Wuxian didn’t understand Nie Mingjue.

He didn’t understand the way he thought, the way he acted – the way he smiled when he woke up, the way he opened his arms when Nie Huaisang threw himself into them with a wail and said, “It was worth it for you, didi; it always is if it’s for you. Don’t you know that?” the way Wei Wuxian had always shamefully thought of saying, as if something like that could just be said like that, out in the open.

The way Nie Mingjue shrugged when the doctors said his cultivation would likely never recover, that he should have died, that they didn’t understand why he hadn’t; the way he said, seeming even satisfied, that it was a worthwhile trade.

It’s not a trade, Wei Wuxian wanted to scream at him. It’s a sacrifice! It hurts and you’re sad, no, worse, you’re resentful about it and you shouldn’t be because it was your choice, your decision, but you see someone else with everything that you worked so hard for and you’re angry when you shouldn’t be angry and you feel bad and you turn away; it hurts them when you do and you’re glad, you miserable thing, you’re happy that they’re hurt because why should you be the only one whose hurt –

Perhaps the problem wasn’t that he didn’t understand Nie Mingjue.

Perhaps it was only that he saw in Nie Mingjue his own faults, his own deficiencies, the ones he’d tried so hard to hide in the sea of his poor memory.

“You’ll die if you don’t find a way to cultivate,” he said instead, hovering by the door. He’d say that he didn’t mean to ruin the mood, but he kind of did, and Baxia’s eyes on him were cold as if she knew.

As if she knew everything.

How he’d gone back to the past, how he’d changed things, how it was his fault that Nie Mingjue – who’d never done a single thing to hurt him, who’d been upright and righteous and good and whose brother loved him enough to –

Wei Wuxian had made a point of avoiding Baxia.

Not that she was that easy to avoid. She was tall for a woman – not as tall as Nie Mingjue, but proportionate to him in the sense that she was as much taller than the average woman as he was taller than the average man – and she walked as though people should flee before her, a tread that only felt heavy because of the almost visceral rage that surrounded her like a cloud.

Nie Huaisang had found robes for her, somehow, and they were the least feminine robes Wei Wuxian had ever seen a woman wear, though he supposed he still hadn’t seen that given that Baxia wasn’t exactly a woman. Cut in a martial style, a dark shimmering grey that seemed in some lights to be almost red – she had been born as a human in a mantle of blood and she would not let anyone forget it.

“I should have died already,” Nie Mingjue said, as if the world’s scariest guai didn’t have her hand on his shoulder right next to his vulnerable neck. “You came up with a solution, Wei-gongzi, and for that I thank you. Even if we are not able to solve the next stage, being able to see my loved ones is worthwhile.”

Wei Wuxian could learn to hate that word.

“I have a solution, of a sort,” he said, irritated and not entirely because his reveal had been preempted. He’d hoped to sort of ease into it, somehow. “You lack the capacity for regular cultivation, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use demonic cultivation.”

“What? No, we can’t do that,” Nie Huaisang said, biting his fingers anxiously. “Anyway, doesn’t demonic cultivation harm the temperament?”

“You mean my temperament can get worse?” Nie Mingjue teased, and Nie Huaisang smacked him so lightly that it didn’t even displace his clothing. “I don’t know any means of demonic cultivation, Wei-gongzi –”

“Call me Wei Wuxian,” Wei Wuxian said. “Please.”

“Wei Wuxian, then,” Nie Mingjue said. “All the methods I’ve ever heard of were forbidden for very good reasons – but perhaps those conditions are not the same in the method you know.”

Wei Wuxian tensed. “How do you know that I know one?”

“You saved me, didn’t you?” Nie Mingjue said practically, and well, yes, Wei Wuxian supposed he had a point – “And anyway, Baxia can tell.”

Wei Wuxian shivered. “I don’t use it,” he argued. “How can she tell?”

At Nie Huaisang’s instigation, Baxia had recently started experimenting with smiles. She put one on her face now.

It was terrifying.

“Tell me about it,” Nie Mingjue requested. “The powers and the price, all of it.”

“You’re actually considering this?” Nie Huaisang exclaimed. “But da-ge…!”

“Wei Wuxian was not wrong when he said that I would die if I didn’t find a way to cultivate despite having given up what I have,” Nie Mingjue said. “If I die, what will you do?”

Oh, not much, just become a mastermind capable of puppeting the entire cultivation world to enact revenge for your death. Nothing big.

“But – da-ge has always put such a priority on remaining on the righteous path…”

“That’s why I asked about the costs,” Nie Mingjue said patiently. “I will not abandon righteousness simply because I adopt a new method of cultivating.”

“Everyone will revile you even if you are righteous,” Wei Wuxian warned him.

Nie Mingjue shrugged. “Who is everyone? What do I care for them? You do the right thing because it is right, not for the sake of fame.”

Wei Wuxian had once thought the same.

“If everyone in the cultivation world thinks you are evil, they will paint you as evil no matter what you do,” he insisted. “No matter how righteous your motives –”

“Let them think he’s evil, then!” Nie Huaisang exclaimed. “He could be the most black-hearted cultivator in the land, but he’s still my da-ge; my Nie sect and I will protect him!”

“Huaisang! No! That is not how righteousness works – if I ever truly become evil, you are to cut me off at once, kill me if necessary –”

“No way!”

“Huaisang – Baxia, tell him; evil cannot be endured –”

Baxia was looking at her fingernails. She’d picked that gesture up from Sect Leader Ouyang, when he was trying to be pointed about ignoring someone; it was extremely irritating to absolutely everyone who wanted to know who she was and what she was doing here and Nie Huaisang and Wei Wuxian had teamed up to convince her to keep doing it.

Possibly a mistake, in retrospect.

“Baxia. I know you agree with me on this. Evil is evil, and must be eradicated no matter who it may be.”

She gave him an unimpressed look.

“I know I’m not evil yet,” Nie Mingjue argued, apparently understanding her without any difficulty whatsoever. He’d just woken up from a month-long coma and he could already speak fluent human-saber, it was really unfair. And this man had succumbed to Jin Guangyao’s wiles? Lan Xichen had more to answer for than he knew. “But if I ever become evil – what? No, we will not burn that bridge when we come to it, that’s not even the right idiom, who is teaching you these things –”

Nie Huaisang coughed and hid his face behind a fan.

Wei Wuxian was not going to laugh.

Nie Mingjue growled at them all and turned back to Wei Wuxian. “Explain,” he demanded. “The rest of you, out.”

“But –”

“Out. One of us has to cultivate the righteous path, and if it can’t be me, it has to be you. Baxia?”

She picked Nie Huaisang up by his collar, for all the world like a mother dog picking up her pup by the scruff of its neck, and walked out.

Nie Mingjue picked up demonic cultivation faster than anyone else Wei Wuxian had ever met or even heard of. He wasn’t sure if that demonstrated an unnerving aptitude or if it was simply that Nie Mingjue was surpassingly talented – Wei Wuxian had never met anyone like himself before, someone for whom all things came easy, and it was an unexpected delight to meet a kindred soul somewhere where he’d long ago given up hope. He’d never planned to unveil demonic cultivation in this life unless he truly needed it – he didn’t want to hurt his Lan Zhan the way he had in his first life, and anyway Jiang Cheng and Uncle Jiang and Madame Yu were all alive, with hundreds of Jiang sect members to boot, there was no need for his sacrifice – but the part of him that was more researcher and inventor than cultivator luxuriated in their discussions.

Nie Mingjue was a lot more concerned than Wei Wuxian had ever been with consequences, and how to mitigate them, but he supposed that made sense: losing his cultivation hadn’t impacted that Nie temper one bit, and demonic cultivation was likely to make things worse. Moreover, Nie Mingjue was simply who he was, stiff and unbending, as much steel in his spine as in Baxia’s; he could almost be described as being rigid in his thinking except for the fact that he was in fact seriously considering becoming a demonic cultivator.

“We’re saber cultivators,” Nie Mingjue said when Wei Wuxian tentatively brought it up. “Like a saber, our nature is to be firm and unyielding, not flexible like the sword, but we cannot allow ourselves to become too rigid – a too-rigid saber will break upon encountering an obstacle. It’s a difficult balance to keep, and one made more difficult by our cultivation style.”

“The demonic cultivation aspects, you mean? Using yao to refine your saber spirit?”

“One day, though not today, I’m going to ask you how you know about that,” Nie Mingjue remarked, and although his tone was causal Wei Wuxian’s back went cold. “And I’ll expect you to tell me the truth when I do. But not today. Anyway, yes, that’s what I mean. Do you know what they mean when they say that demonic cultivation harms the temperament?”

Wei Wuxian hesitated. “I assume you’re going to tell me something other than ‘it drives you crazy and makes you kill people’?”

Nie Mingjue snorted. “Sometimes I wonder how someone as smart as you got sent home before you finished your lessons at the Cloud Recesses, but other times it’s fairly obvious.”

Wei Wuxian shrugged, embarrassed.

“Do you really not know?”

“No one taught this to me,” Wei Wuxian said, stung. “I came up with it on my own. How would I know?”

“All demonic cultivation has the same root,” Nie Mingjue said. “Obsession.”

“With killing, yeah, I know, I’ve heard it a million times –”

“Shut up and listen, you impertinent brat. The killing comes later. It starts with obsession. Obsession with righteousness, obsession with love, obsession with the pleasures of this world, with power – a human becomes a demon when they cannot overcome the obsessions within their heart, and the obsession consumes them. In time, a demonic cultivator who is obsessed with power will do whatever it takes to obtain that power, and not mind the blood shed to do it; a demonic cultivator who is obsessed with love will kill everyone who they perceive stands between them and their love, a demonic cultivator who is obsessed with righteousness will turn to murder when in their judgment something that ought to be condemned goes unpunished…”

“What about one who only wants what’s best for his family?” Wei Wuxian said, and he did not know if the challenge in his voice was about Nie Mingjue’s future or his own past.

Nie Mingjue shrugged. “Two roads that I can see: first, their family turns away from them for what they have become and they become vicious with the abandonment, becoming quick to lash out against the world and eventually doing something that causes the world to turn against them. Second, their family stands by them, and eventually the world causes some harm to them – and the demonic cultivator turns to madness in revenge.”

“Not exactly an optimistic outlook.”

“Not especially, no.”

“You don’t seem as concerned by that as I would have thought.”

Nie Mingjue’s lips twitched. “I have a solution.”

“Would you like to share?”

“Using resentful energy to cultivate our sabers makes them prone to obsession, driving them ceaselessly to fight evil, destroy it, without discrimination. It makes them stronger, but also more dangerous – and that is why they must be carefully controlled.”

Wei Wuxian frowned. “So, what? You’re going to be the saber now? Under whose control?”

“Huaisang’s, of course,” Nie Mingjue said, as if it were obvious. “For better or for worse, he is sect leader now. Who else would it be?”

“But – what if you disagree? What if he wants to do things one way, and you another –”

“Then I argue and probably yell a lot, and if in the end he still insists on doing things his way, I listen,” Nie Mingjue said dryly. “That’s how hierarchy works. Isn’t it the same for you? When your shidi, Jiang Cheng, becomes sect leader, you’ll need to listen to him – or leave the sect. There’s no middle ground.”

Wei Wuxian scowled.

“A sect leader that can’t control his disciples is worse than a demonic cultivator,” Nie Mingjue said. “He’s weak. A target, ripe to be ripped apart and devoured by other sects – resources raided, disciples poached, responsibilities taken away...It’s not a fate I would wish on anyone. If you can’t commit to obeying, commit to leaving so that you don’t end up promising more than you can give.”

Ouch.

Just – ouch.

Great advice, fantastic advice, world-class advice, and totally useless because Jiang Cheng had travelled back in time with him and was therefore convinced that Wei Wuxian was just looking for the first way out of the Jiang sect he could find, no matter what Wei Wuxian said or did about it.

(Even Madame Yu was concerned by the new coldness in their relationship and had tried to talk to him about it, which – Wei Wuxian didn’t know what to do with that. It didn’t match any of what he had thought he’d understood.)

He decided to focus back in on the demonic cultivation lessons, shifting from theoretical discussions to the practical, and that, unfortunately, was when they encountered an issue.

“What do you mean you can’t play an instrument?” Wei Wuxian demanded, appalled. “It’s one of the Six Arts! Everyone can play some sort of instrument – even Nie Huaisang plays an instrument!”

“Everyone agreed it was better that I stop learning,” Nie Mingjue said defensively. “It’s all just plucking on strings or blowing air in pipes, and yet no matter that I did exactly what the teacher said to do, it never worked, that’s all.”

“Didn’t Zewu-jun offer to teach you…?”

“He did. And then he said it would be better if we stopped, too.”

The reason, Wei Wuxian soon learned, was that Nie Mingjue was almost completely tone deaf, and the only reason it was almost was that he was still capable of differentiating speech.

“I agree with the majority,” he said after an extremely frustrating day. “Stop. Never pick up an instrument ever again. And don’t let anyone but Zewu-jun play something especially for you, either, okay? Even if they’re highly recommended.”

“An interesting request,” Nie Mingjue said, eyebrows arched skeptically. “May I ask why?”

“Because you’ll have no idea if they’ve changed the music on you,” Wei Wuxian said bluntly. A great deal about the man’s murder in a different life made sense now, and Jin Guangyao’s brilliance in hiding the score of Turmoil inside of Clarity was a little less impressive when played to a man who thought all music, without exception, was just plucking strings or blowing air. “Musical cultivation is deadly in the right hands, especially if you lower your defenses against it. Just consider it a precaution.”

Nie Mingjue’s eyebrows remained arched, but he hummed in agreement.

“I guess we’ll have to think of a new way for you to cultivate demonic cultivation,” Wei Wuxian said, rubbing his face. He had not been planning on having to invent demonic cultivation at all in this life, and now he needed to not only ‘invent’ the original but actually come up with something new. Why was his life so hard? “How did you previously manipulate external energy?”

“With Baxia.”

“Well, that’s not helpful, is it? You can’t wield a human being. Perhaps another saber…?”

That didn’t work, primarily because it turned out that Baxia had strong feelings about Nie Mingjue even thinking about using another saber and well, as far as Wei Wuxian was concerned, whatever Baxia wanted, Baxia got.

(Nie Huaisang had had to go to Heijan once, with Wei Wuxian and Baxia accompanying him since Nie Mingjue wasn’t ready yet, and some unlucky Wen captain had tried to ambush them. That captain, and his squad, were not granted the courtesy of an intact corpse, and Baxia hadn’t even gotten a speck of blood on her nice new robes – no, Wei Wuxian would not be crossing Baxia any time soon.)

“There’s got to be something,” Wei Wuxian said, and Nie Mingjue agreed, and in the end they found something.

Nie Mingjue had been absent-mindedly playing around with one of Nie Huaisang’s fans when one of the fierce corpses Wei Wuxian had raised as practice targets had gotten loose; instinct had taken over and Nie Mingjue had lashed out with the weapon at hand as if it were a saber, and the resentful energy had surged in response –

Baxia was apparently not threatened by the notion of her master using a fan as a weapon, not even one inlaid with steel and heavy cloth with enough layers to catch a sword in.

(If Wei Wuxian needed to go have some time to himself at the sight of Nie Huaisang, dressed as a sect leader with his saber always at his side, standing next to Nie Mingjue holding a fan – well, that was his problem, and also one he intended to show to Jiang Cheng at the next possible opportunity. Someone else deserved to have their mind wrecked by the incongruity as much as he had.)

Even without the weirdness of Nie Mingjue, it was more than a little odd to see Nie Huaisang in the robes of a sect leader without him acting like the Head-shaker. The shock of having to become sect leader had fallen heavily on him: he had become a little more serious, a little more earnest (though still a bit frivolous); he was more inclined to listen and think things over, less inclined to run away.

“If da-ge is going to become a demonic cultivator, someone needs to stand behind him,” Nie Huaisang said simply when Wei Wuxian had tried probing. “He’s always held the world up for me – it’s the least I can do for him. I may not be able to do much, I might be terrible at it, but I owe it to him to at least try.”

Wei Wuxian wondered, sometimes, if Jiang Cheng would have stood up for him if only he had trusted in him, believed in him, the way Nie Mingjue believed in his notoriously useless little brother.

Maybe he’d ask, when he went back to the Jiang sect.

Maybe he’d –

“What the fuck is wrong with you,” Jiang Cheng said as a greeting, and for once Uncle Jiang didn’t disagree. “All those letters and you never once mentioned the terrors?”

“The what,” Wei Wuxian said, and that was how he learned that while he was on his way back to Yunmeng neither Baxia nor Nie Mingjue had wasted any time utilizing their newfound skills out on the battlefield.

Nie Huaisang was never going to be a particularly respected sect leader, especially by those that had met him beforehand, but evidently that wasn’t really important given that he was constantly flanked by what was being called the two terrors of Qinghe.

Nie Mingjue preferred darker colors now that he was no longer sect leader, the same dark grey shading towards black that Baxia had selected for herself, and the selection somehow made him seem even taller, verging on inhuman, and Baxia standing beside him, her human features patterned roughly after his, made the two of them appear a matched set. Nie Mingjue wielded the fan that Wei Wuxian had helped him design, which he had forged with his own hands out of the metal from the Xuanwu’s cave that Wei Wuxian had foolishly figured someone ought to get some use out of, painted over with a cinnabar array in Nie Huaisang’s careful brushstrokes, and in his hands it was both weapon and conduit for the raising of armies of corpses. Baxia, for her part, held nothing but required nothing, a sweeping gesture of her hand more devastating than a dozen blows with the saber.

They were terrifying, a nightmare writ large and unmistakably dangerous, undeniably demonic cultivators in a way that was entirely different from Wei Wuxian’s own dramatics, and it unnerved the rest of the cultivation world the way Wei Wuxian had feared it would.

“It won’t be a problem,” Jiang Cheng said impatiently. “The Nie sect are ascending in strength, and this only adds to their mystique – who would challenge them?”

“Uh, Jin Guangshan,” Wei Wuxian said. “Like last time?”

Jiang Cheng huffed. “At this rate, I don’t even think Jin Guangyao will bother defecting to the Jin sect,” he said. “Not if he knows how to play his cards right. The Nie sect’s strength in the original version was never about Chifeng-zun’s skill with the blade alone. It was the whole sect’s strength, with Chifeng-zun’s ability to wield them as skillfully as he did his saber; he’s an outstanding general. And now they have him as a general, him as a demonic cultivator, and whatever the fuck is going on with Lady Baxia –”

“I already told you. She’s a guai.”

“Like I already told you, it doesn’t matter how many times you say that, I will immediately expel the knowledge from my mind and you should too. ‘Immortal cultivator cousin that my brother named his saber after’, like what Nie Huaisang has been putting about, is a perfectly acceptable cover story.”

“And the fact that his saber disappeared at the same time?”

“Coincidence,” Jiang Cheng said firmly. “And we’re sticking with that. Anyway, the point is that if you’re an ambitious man, the Nie sect is the place to be right now and probably will continue to be in the future. This is going to be evident to both Jin Guangshan and the future Jin Guangyao, and we’ll need to deal with that.”

“I’ll keep an eye out,” Wei Wuxian promised. “After rescuing Chifeng-zun and helping with the demonic cultivation, I’ve gotten pretty close to them.”

“Mm. And how about your other mission?”

Wei Wuxian scowled at the smirk on Jiang Cheng’s face. “You know perfectly well that I haven’t had any time to seduce Lan Wangji, what with how busy I’ve been. I don’t even know for sure if he likes me yet -!”

“You’re an idiot, he does, and you’re not allowed to keep us all in suspense for two decades this time. Figure it out.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I’m sticking you with the job of being an information courier and you leave for the Lan sect front line tomorrow.”

“You are the best shidi ever,” Wei Wuxian said, and meant it.

Jiang Cheng huffed. “Yeah, well,” he said as if his cheeks weren’t red. “Remember that in the future. In this life we’re the Twin Heroes, you hear me? No take-backs.”

Nie Mingjue was right: Wei Wuxian would need to either learn to obey or tell Jiang Cheng early on that he was leaving, and walking a path in the middle would only cause heartbreak all over again.

“Okay,” he said, deciding to ask Lan Wangji for advice on obedience. Surely that was something that could be learned? “Deal. You do know that that means Lan Wangji’s going to have to marry in, right?”

“Oh no,” Jiang Cheng said, voice entirely flat. “How terrible. I’ll find a way to manage dealing with that ice block somehow…listen, I don’t care if you end up calling him Wei Sizhui in this life, but don’t ruin his character. He was perfectly nice.”

“I don’t know if he’s even been born yet,” Wei Wuxian said glumly. “I’ve been looking, but…”

“I’ve asked some of Mother’s spies to keep track of Wen Ning and Wen Qing,” Jiang Cheng said. “Collecting evidence we’ll need for their inevitable post-war trial, assuming we want them to live better lives than just refugees. Give it time, we’ll find him.”

“Now I just need to see if Lan Wangji will want to raise children with me…”

“Wei Wuxian. I don’t care. Go.”

#mdzs #nie mingjue #wei wuxian #nie huaisang #baxia #jiang cheng #my fic #my fics #academic discussion of demonic cultivation #this isn't an answer to your question but I hope you like it anyway #tkpartisan

281 notes · View notes

flowerwrites06 · 4 years

Text

diamond trail II — myg

Plot: The theft of his most elusive and mystery possession leads to a web of trickery that threatens every large syndicate in the country. (alternative: Yoongis’ prized possession is stolen but he’s not the only gang leader being betrayed)

Pairing(s): Mafia Boss!Yoongi x Consigliere!Y/N

Rating: G | PG | M | R 18+

Type: Drabble | Oneshot | Two Parter | Series

Word Count: 3k+

Genre: Mafia | Marriage | Mature Themes/Fluff/Smut

Tags & Warnings: criminal activities, mentions of past abuse (outside of the pair), explicit smut (spanking and very brief anal play), mild violence, coarse language, prostitution.

Authors Note: the planning got a little wack but i think i’ve got it down now. hope you enjoy this part and make sure a like/reblog/comment go a long way!

Morning turned dull and dreary as the cloud hung heavy in the sky. The driveway darkened from and the grass shimmered from the thunderstorms last night but the weather didn’t relent in its greyness. You wore a deep emerald sweater dress, black coat and warm hat while the guards prepared your car.

Yoongi stayed quiet throughout the entire ride, hand still holding yours. Except his mind wandered to mentally prepare himself. Gang leaders don’t always agree to meetings nor do they end up well for anyone. You were the glue that held them together at this point.

Consiglieres’ normally always have good connections but your web was unbeatable. The amount of time you were able to keep Yoongis’ business on the down low and manage to keep it running in the same line. It was one of the reasons he fell in love. The aura of magnetism around you that attracted so many to trust you. Aside from your looks, the way you spoke and held yourself was something any experienced gang leader would be careful not to test.

Their meeting was in a neutral zone. In the private basement of Petunia Valley, a small florist shop situated near the outskirts of the city. Namjoons’ car already arrived to the scene. Daisy, the owner, had some trouble with gang members in the past. She came to you for some aid and you suggested that making a front for Gae Pa would put Daisy under their protection. Making it an act of war or treason if gang members attacked her.

She’d been safe ever since which gladdened your heart.

As you and Yoongi entered the flower shop, Daisy gave you the biggest smile. “Ma’am! It’s good to see you.” She bowed.

“Everything’s ready for the meeting.” You nodded towards the stairs.

“Yes, ma’am.” She nodded enthusiastically. “The tall man with the shades came in. I’ve given them some jasmine tea to calm themselves since he looked antsy. No funny business or fights though.”

You smiled and patted her shoulder. She looked so much happier than the crying girl with bruises littered on her face three years ago. “You’re looking well.”

Her pale cheeks flushed in pink. “All thanks to you, ma’am.”

Another car pulled up at the entrance.

“Let’s get this over with, sweetheart.” Yoongi gently rubbed your arm. He gave an extremely brief smile to Daisy before guiding you down the stairs.

Thankfully the basement had a faint floral scent to it with that tiny hint of fertilizer than you both hoped wouldn’t get too pungent as the hour passed. Namjoon sat at the wooden table, tattooed hand clasping the adorable pink floral cup with a clear grimace on his face. Clearly that jade bracelet messed with his head as much as the diamond gun did Yoongi.

The shades were probably to hide hangover or lack of sleep. Or both.

You sat at the head of the table being the meeting coordinator. One of Namjoons’ bodyguards poured you a cup of tea by his boss’ request. “Thank you.” You smiled.

“I’ll have some too,” Yoongi said.

“Get your own fucking tea.” Namjoon narrowed his gaze.

“Gentlemen.” You warned, spreading silence between the two leaders. Taking the teapot, you poured a cup for Yoongi and gently placed it in front of him.

Jimin walked down with three bodyguards crowded around him. He sat on the far end of the table, purposely ignoring both Yoongi and Namjoons’ presence. Being the only leader without a sigil or history, he must’ve been trying to keep an air of intimidation up. “Let’s get this over with.” He straightened out his coat.

“Ass without a sigil thinks he can scare us, Min.” Namjoon scoffed. “You believe that?”

“No I don’t, Kim.”

You sighed in slight exasperation. “I’ve called you three here because our reputations are being toyed with. By an elusive thief who is trying to create tension between the gangs.”

“Would you really consider that ones’ business as a gang?” Namjoon tilted his head to Jimin.

“I work and have significant influence and following in the underworld. So yes, it counts as a gang.”

“I was asking the real gang consigliere, kid.” Namjoon smiled bitterly.

“Namjoon…he’s right.” You explained to the best of your thinning patience.

“You might have to explain things to him a little slower, my lady.” Jimin smirked. “He tends to focus more on the curves of your breasts than anything you say.”

“Little brat wants to die today,” Yoongi seethed, teeth grinding.

Jimin scoffed, plump lips curling upwards. “This is a neutral zone. You can’t kill me unless you risk this entire flower shop getting burned down.”

“I’ll decide what happens to this shop and the ones who harm it, Mr. Park.” Your gaze sharpened on the man. “I’m sure your wife and kids wouldn’t appreciate having their vacation stopped short because you wouldn’t play nicely in a meeting.” All Jimins’ bodyguards standing ready to fight and the man himself holding a clipped tongue, lost for words. “Bora Bora, is it? Lovely place.”

Jimin bit down the insides of his cheeks, chest rising and falling as frustration twisted his usually pretty features. He raised his chin to maintain his pride. “Continue.”

Yoongi tried to hide the impressed smirk that desperately tried to tug at his lips.

“Thank you.” You tapped the side of your cup. “I don’t have enough information to pinpoint a culprit yet but it is definitely someone notorious to like chaos in the country. Our best lead could be to suspect Jwi Pa but it’s too obvious.”

“Don Byeol doesn’t really share her grandfathers’ viewpoints anymore,” Namjoon said. “If we had another Sapphire Assassin scandal on our hands, we’d probably all be dead by now. This thief wants us to die by killing each other by your theory.”

“Is it really for power if it’s so indirect?” Yoongi asked. “The way this guy’s working is like he just wants the chaos for sport.”

“Why don’t we just settle our differences now?” Jimin asked.

“‘cause you’re refusing to give me my sisters’ bracelet, dumbass.”

“I bought it fair and square.”

“There is a way I can get more information. During a charity event, I heard that a street gang leader rose up to the ranks by killing the Don of Mal Pa. A sort of revolution since the previous Don was getting a little too obsessed with creating piles than actual influence,” you said.

Mal Pa hadn’t been too popular ever since Don Chun Hei passed away. She didn’t have a lot of children so the leadership moved to underbosses and then associates. The meaningfulness of the gangs’ importance subdued and eventually became obsolete. However, the gang was still alive and apparently running under unknown leadership. It was a good place to start.

Except you would have to dig deeper if you were looking into a mystery gang like this. You’d have to visit him.

“I know an information broker who might be able to gain a lot of information of Mal Pa and the thievery itself.”

Yoongi didn’t need too long before his expression softened in realization. “Absolutely not.”

“Why? What’s wrong with him?” Namjoon asked.

“He asks for information as his currency. Keeps his connections strong so you can only work with him a few times in dire circumstances.” The last time you had to gain information on the large robbery in Gae Pa and had to tell him that your father and brother were still alive in Singapore. “He can help me track down the thief. He might even be able to name him exactly.”

Yoongi curled his fingers into tight fists. Kim Seokjin. Always asking for the right things to keep up his popularity and wealth. Information can get you anywhere from the top of the most expensive building to the bottom most slums of the city. The country ran on it and Seokjin was one of the monarchs who owned it. “Is this the only way?”

“I’m afraid so.”

Even Namjoon and Jimin stayed quiet, unable to really comment on the matter. The only person at risk in this situation would be you. You knew all kinds of information but there were different promises and deals made in terms of spreading news on people and networks in the underworld.

Yoongi stared at you in silence. A mixed look of concern and anger twisting his features. Just let it this be over.

***

Seokjin knew what he was doing when he made the deal. Best way to gain power without being seen is to take advantage of the one with the most connections. You were the top tier.

Another storm poured down into the city the same night as you travelled to Seokjins’ favorite restaurant. Road glistened like polished obsidian, reflecting the pink neon of the entrance sign. You drove in alone but measures were taken to ensure your utmost safety in the matter. With a deep breath, you walked through the restaurant with an air of confidence.

Seokjin sat at the booth, tapping the side of his sherry glass. When he noticed you arrive, a wide grin tugged from ear to ear. “Darling!”

You bit the inside of your cheek at the nickname. The tall male reached in and kissed both her cheeks softly before relaxing back onto the black booth.

“I haven’t heard from you since that massive robbery. Have you been purposely avoiding me?” Pillowy lips jutted into a pout.

“I have to keep my peoples’ funds in check. You tend to ask for a high price even in casual visits.”

Seokjin chuckled, the warm lights casting an eerie shadow on his eyes. Black orbs of a demon. “I’m a bit of a workaholic.” He shrugged. “So what did you need tonight on such short notice?”

You waved your hand for a drink. “Someone is trying to create havoc with two gang leaders and a restaurant chain owner.”

“Ah yes, the robbed auction. The underground newsletters were brimming.” Seokjin failed to hide the excitement flooding through his veins as his face turned smug. “So much anger. Two dreadful murders already.” He looked at his nails with a forced saddened expression. “So gory, your people.”

“Well—” Your eyes flickered up to the waitress who gave you a cup of earl grey tea.

“On the house, ma’am.” The waitress grinned before turning on her heel.

“So terribly famous.” Seokjin smirked.

“My suspicions are on Mal Pa. I had a theory since the leader used to be in a street gang. There’s a lot of whispers that they have some kind of vendetta to all gangs. It’s a good place to start without getting traced.” You didn’t want to voice those rumors to Yoongi or Namjoon since it had no basis yet. But with the way Seokjin smiled at you knowingly, you knew that was a lead.

Thunder struck, silver bolt flickering against the blackened sky. You used the warmth of the tea to bring you some comfort even though all you really wanted was to snuggle up in bed for night. “You know something, yes?”

“So long as you understand the natures of this transaction.”

Anxiety crept at the back of your mind, like thorn vines climbing up an aged building. More thunder boomed across the skies almost making you jump. You blinked slowly and breathed deep. “I do.”

“Good,” Seokjin said. Long fingers intertwined, business stance with a ready breath. “Jeon Jungkook.”

“Jeon Jungkook?” You shook your head.

“That’s the current leader of Mal Pa. A former street goon who was apparently asking for the previous gang leaders’ aid. They refused so Jeon took it upon himself for justice. Got a bunch of people and trashed the entire place. Killed the Don along with it.” Seokjin traced the brim of his glass. “If anyone has an agenda against the Dons of this country, it’s him.”

“How do I get in contact with him?”

Seokjin laughed like you spoke the funniest joke in the world. “Sweetheart, even if you offered your body and soul to the man, he wouldn’t talk to you. He hates the higher ups.”

“I wasn’t always a higher up.” Your origins started in the streets just like Jungkook. The smell of garbage and cheap perfume lingering in the air. Hiding in the closet with earbuds while mother worked. Taking over the family business and expanding your horizon with nothing but the clothes on you back and sweat on your skin. “Is there a way I can get through to him?”

Seokjin sighed. “For a man with a supposed higher purpose, he visits this courtesan house quite regularly.” He grabbed a napkin and wrote down the name of the establishment. “If you meet him there while he’s high on opium then you might be able to gain some information.”

“Nectar Oak.” Your heart jumped up to your throat. How long had it been since you saw or heard that name before? The feeling of their silk uniform still lingered on your skin.

“I understand this is no strange place to you,” Seokjin spoke.

You swallowed the small lump in your throat. “A thing of the past.” You buried the napkin into your purse. “What’re your terms?”

“I’ve asked this of you before. Information on a gang leader requires a hefty price. You can’t delay me any longer since we found out about your father and brothers’ hideout.” That same sinister smirk tugged at his lips. “What were the true terms of your marriage with Don Min Yoongi?”

A cold flood washed over your form, welcoming unwanted twists and lurches in your stomach from the time years ago. Time when things weren’t as warm as they are now. You kept a steady face, the corner of your lips twitching just the slightest. “I was a worker at the courtesan house,” you spoke softly. “Before they pay you for customers, they train you with different workers in the house. My first real customer was Yoongi. He was very kind but distant.”

You took a deep breath. “One night he came in and he said that he was going to reserve me. I didn’t know customers could truly do that. It meant he paid for everything and I got to spend time outside of the house. Working in a place like that, you tend to gain many connections and information very easily. It allowed me to earn a place in Yoongis’ radar. He’d come to me for information and personal activities.”

Seokjin took a tiny sip of his sherry, eyes fixated on you like the excitement would stop if he blinked.

Sadness loomed over your face. “I got pregnant. I told him as soon as he arrived to the house.” You sucked in your bottom lip. “He looked so happy…but—then he never came back again. For seven months, I never saw him. I already prepared to have the baby on my own until one morning, he came back. I learned that Gae Pa was going through a power struggle. When Min Areum murdered the Don, there was chaos. Questions on whether Yoongi deserved to have power—but then my pregnancy created all the more chaos.”

“He came to me and told me that he needed help.” You smiled a little to yourself. “He knew I had people I could talk to help with the associates trying to harass Yoongi. But I had to be part of the family. So he married me. We signed a legal agreement and I took down all the associates who dared to threaten Gae Pas’ true heir.”

“So the most popular couple in the underworld—” Seokjin rested back on the booth. “—is a marriage run on business and convenience. Not love.”

“I didn’t say there wasn’t any love.”

Seokjin hummed with a slight smile. “I’m sure there is.”

You suppressed the need to roll your eyes as you stood up from the booth. “Pleasure doing business with you, Kim.”

“Be sure to give Yoongi my love!”

***

“No, no, no. Absolutely fucking not. Not a chance.” Yoongi kept blabbering as the news finally reached the room. He curled up the sleeves of his white shirt, roughly raking through his hair. He turned and took a deep breath. Trying to protest more before turning away again in light stammers. “I’m gonna kill him.”

“You’re not killing anyone.” You crossed your arms over your chest.

The maids were ordered to work on the bedroom quarters while the living room reserved for their little argument. Yoongi clasped onto his hips, shaking his head. “We’re risking too much, baby. I don’t think it’s worth it. Even my mother would slap me in the head if she saw this.”

“It’s not just about the gun anymore.” You padded closer to him, rubbing his arm. “There’s a high chance he’s gonna try something else. Something worse than a robbery. It’s already happening, there’s been two murders. We can’t wait for that to happen to us.”

Yoongi let out a deep sigh, nerves still aching from the tightness but at least information was registering in his head again. You were right. Jungkook could have Namjoon or Jimin assassinated in an instant. The underworld will be able to trace Gae Pa down immediately. Right now, he was playing but it could very well get serious and bite them back in the ass for ignoring it. “I just hate that you have to go back there again. Wearing those same clothes.” He swallowed down thickly. “You’ve done so much to get me out of problems and now it’s almost back to square one.”

You reached in and kissed the back of his neck. “It’s not gonna be like last time. We’re stronger now. And this is my home as much as it is yours.”

“I know—”

“So I’m going to protect it no matter what. Okay?” You moved so you stood in front him, nose nudging against his. “We’ll protect it together.”

Yoongi smiled, cupping your cheeks and kissing you on the forehead. “What did you ask you for?” A part of him didn’t wish to know. The fear of personal information in the slimy hands of that weasel made his insides lurch but he knew the weight would lifted off of you.

“Our terms of marriage.” You smiled sadly. “How it actually happened.”

“Did he ask about the baby?”

“Actually no—he seemed pretty satisfied with the story itself.” Or Seokjin figured on what might’ve happened if their child wasn’t public nor were there any rumors of a Gae Pa heir.

“We’re not talking to him ever again.”

“So long as we don’t get into trouble.” You chuckled under your breath. Even entertaining the idea of a trouble free life was too idealistic.

“Then we’re never getting rid of him.” Yoongi sighed.

Fear still lingered, twisting his stomach in knots at the events to come but his mind knew better. You were both stronger than the time Yoongi was taking the chair as Don. This was a small bump in the road. Nothing more.

<< prev chap | next chap >>

#yoongi #thebtswritersclub #yoongi imagines #bts imagines #yoongi fanfic #bts fanfic #yoongi angst #bts angst #yoongi mafia au #bts mafia au

137 notes · View notes

yuusa · 4 years

Text

𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝟏𝟕

𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟔𝟒𝟑𝟎

𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝟏𝟕:

“What the hell are you wearing?!” Uotani sobbed into her arms as she slammed her fist on the pool’s edge. You stared down at her in confusion while Hanajima only gave you a blank look.

After your recent tests, which you thought you scored quite okay in, most of the girls in your class were taking a break by relaxing in the pool with their swimsuits. You were a bit glad to finally take time away from schoolwork, you spent most of your time studying at home which meant less time with Aikyo and Machi. Although you asked her if she would be okay without you around, she eagerly wanted you to finish your education. You exchanged phone numbers with Machi but learned that she only used her home cell phone instead of a mobile one, leaving your visits with her short and brief as you rarely had time to hang out with her ever since you started testing.

Tohru wanted to invite you to the pool after school to which you agreed, thinking that it would be nice to have time away from extra committee work. You wanted to bring along Machi but felt as if it would be an awkward encounter, you wouldn't want her to feel overwhelmed after your encounter with her.

Earlier when Tohru greeted you at the gates, she was wearing a very childish swimsuit which looked as if it was provided by a middle school. You wondered how she still fit into her old swimsuit, but perhaps it was because Tohru had a naturally nice looking body. She said she had to find a hair tie for Hanajima, to which you pulled out an extra black one from your pocket that you normally use for running.

Although it was the time of summer and adventures. . .

You were wearing a sports uniform despite it being excruciatingly hot.

“Why are the two of you dressed like that?!” Uotani cried out, Hanajima comforting her as Tohru knelt down to hand her the black hair tie.

“I don’t go swimming so. . .” You replied. It was the honest answer though, you took track not swim. Although some may say it was a death wish to do track in summer, you never really wanted to buy a swimsuit if you rarely ever swim. It seemed like a waste of money.

“Ergh. . . We’ll be back in a bit, we’re gonna apply more sunblock.” Uotani lifted herself onto the surface while Hanajima nodded, following her towards the nearby bleachers.

Tohru smiled before jumping into the pool, the water splashing on your cheek and dripping down your face while you sat down next to her. She swam close to your seating area as she giggled childishly, feeling relaxed due to the cool waters soothing her hot skin. You gave her a smile as you watched her swim around.

“Do you like to swim Tohru-kun?” You asked, her paddling form coming over to you.

“Yes! I always thought it was quite fun! I’m really happy you came with us today (Y/n)-kun!” You gave her another closed eye smile as you pat the top of her head.

“That's nice to hear Tohru-kun, I’m glad to see you as well.”

On the bleachers, Uotani confronted Hanajima about the situation as she applied sunblock onto her arms. The two were underneath the shaded area observing you and Tohru interact.

“Arisa, you must get used to it. You see Tohru-kun in her school swimsuit every year.” Hanajima said, pulling back her hair with her hands running the water out of her black locks.

“I know that but. . . They were mandatory in middle school, but we can wear our own now!” Hanajima waved back at Tohru who was trying to get her attention about the deep end of the pool while Uotani frowned.

“Isn’t it adorable though?” She replied.

“I’m not saying it’s unflattering or embarrassing! But it's like. . . It’s the feeling I get seeing a grandpa and grandma buy convenience store food.” Uotani began to remember the moment she saw an old married couple deciding on two different types of bento for dinner.

Her eyes comedically dropped sparkling tears as she pulled herself away from the sight, “they probably think nothing of it, but I can’t stand watching them. It’s so sad. And I start crying for no reason! The tears just start flowing!”

“Yeah, I actually cry when ringing them up!” Uotani gripped her fist as she continued to visualize the old man bringing her the convince store bento, her eyes dripping down her face as she held back her sobs.

“Arisa. . . You cry so easily.” Hanajima commented.

“And the class rep too! She makes me cry when she came out in that apron at her workplace! It was cute but she looked so sad about wearing it!” Uotani said, bringing her fist back to the ground, “she always seems to wear the same stuff! The two of them make me wanna cry!”

“Even in track class when she is sweating badly, she still sticks with her sweater! I get hot just looking at her every single day!” Hanajima sweatdropped at Uotani’s rants.

Tohru hopped over to their side as she held onto your hand, bringing you along with her to join the others. You tilted her head, wondering what was the issue with Tohru’s swimsuit, but perhaps it was the issue of money where she isn’t able to treat herself to an actual swimsuit.

Sometimes you would wear your old clothes from middle school if they still fit, but you wouldn’t really consider a swimsuit something you would try to preserve. Then again, you never really swam much in your life. You heard from other students in your class that buying swimsuits were extremely expensive, some of them were as much as your entire day’s worth of money.

“Tohru-kun, do you not want to buy a new swimsuit?” You asked, turning your attention to Tohru as her eyes shined underneath the sunlight.

“O-Oh! I always thought it would be bit wasteful if I buy a new one if this one fits. . .” She scratched her cheek as she tilted her head away in embarrassment.

You hummed in response, “I see, I was just curious. Swimsuits are expensive and I’m afraid most of my savings go to my apartment.” You placed your index finger underneath your chin, “I sometimes wear my work clothes at home as well.”

“Really?!” Tohru’s eyes glittered in excitement, “I haven’t been to your workplace before! I really want to go though!”

Tohru felt herself get overly excited at you opening up to her. Despite it being small moments of your life, she thought all of them were special as you were her friend. She always wanted and tried to bring you closer to everyone else, she was happy to see that you were slowly opening up just slightly.

To you, the thought of Tohru feeling happy about something you did made you smile as you pulled back some of your strands of hair. You didn’t want to burden her at all with your problems, but she seems so joyous whenever you talk to her.

“S-Sure. . .” Your cheeks felt a bit hot, you couldn’t tell if it was because you needed more sunblock or not, “we can go next time okay?”

“Okay!”

Yuki continued to stare down at his lap, trying not to turn around to look at any of the swimsuits Tohru was looking at. He really didn’t want to engage himself in such activities based on how risque it was, it was really embarrassing for a boy to comment on a girl’s swimsuit after all. Uotani and Hanajima came over to the Sohma estate in order to talk to the group about buying the two of you two new swimsuits, one for you since it was becoming increasingly hot and they wanted you to finally have a cooling summer, while for Tohru they wanted her to feel appreciated.

“Sohma-san?” He snapped his head up to see you staring down at him, “you’re here too?”

You were wearing the same outfit you had when he came over to your house the other day, your sweater was luckily thin so that you weren’t overheating in the summer heat. Uotani was completely right when she told the Sohma family you rarely even wear anything new. Tohru had called you earlier but Uotani was the one to talk to you, she wanted you to meet up at the mall at a very specific store so you could go out and eat, she said that Shigure had a special book to give you. You heard that the group was going out to eat soba, something that you hadn’t tried before in your life but was too embarrassed to admit it to any of the others, so you did a brief research on it before you came to the mall.

You were expecting to meet at some regular store but you walked into a swimsuit store. You always thought that Uotani would never trick you into coming somewhere, but it seems as if Shigure really rubbed off of her. You sweatdropped as Uotani called you over.

“Class rep you made it!” She grinned as she draped her arm around your shoulder.

“You could just say (L/n)-kun. . . You told me we were just going out to eat. . . ” You frowned, pulling out your phone to show her the previous phone call, “you tricked me!”

“Sorry! Shigure-san said it would be better to tell you the details later otherwise you wouldn’t come!” She waved her hand around to dismiss your words, “plus we wanted your opinion for Tohru’s swimsuit! These two have really bad tastes for her!”

Uotani pointed over to the two boys who were blushing profusely on the benches. Yuki was fumbling with his fingers as he tried very hard not to turn around. It was embarrassing enough to see Tohru next to swimsuits, but he really didn’t want to handle seeing you in one either. He has only seen you in your tracksuit, school uniform, or your modest outfits.

“If you already chose a color for her why did we have to pitch in?!” Kyo protested, to which Uotani only rolled her eyes.

You pressed your lips together as Uotani dragged you over towards the selection of swimsuits. Tohru smiled at you as she waved towards you. The three girls decided to spend some time picking out different colors and styles for you to wear, but you were feeling a bit iffy when it came to the price tags. You just wanted one that was cheap and looked nice, nothing too flashy or glamourous.

But then again it seems you're such a shy boy! Scared to look my way when I'm tryin' to show you I care!

You wondered what kind of song the store was playing, tilting your head towards the ceiling to find the source of the noise. The singer was awfully cheerful which seemed to brighten up the atmosphere of the store.

Uotani pulled out a plain white bikini set while Hanajima held out a black frilly two-piece, Tohru had a light blue set with white lace. They stood in front of you holding out their respective choices as you sweatdropped, not knowing which one to actually choose.

“Hmm. . .” Uotani hummed as she tried to sort through the different types of swimsuits to find the perfect one, “I feel like red would look the best on (L/n)-kun, but she doesn’t like it at all.”

“Then we should ask the boys,” Hanajima suggested, raising her black two-piece higher to show you the design.

“Sure, you two! Tell us which one would look better on (L/n)-kun!” Uotani came over to their side, dragging you by the arm towards them as they all held out the different varieties of swimsuits in front of them.

You stood on the side clutching onto your clothes as you shifted your weight from one side to the other, you didn’t know what to say in the situation, but you really didn’t mind anything the girls chose. It was a bit embarrassing showing the boys your selection but if you couldn’t decide on what color or design, someone else would have to. You didn’t know how you felt about having Yuki’s thoughts on the matter.

Yuki tilted his head slowly to look at the selection, feeling his cheeks burst in flames as he stared at you and the garment that Tohru was holding onto. Kyo didn’t bother turning around as he shut his eyes tightly.

“Idiot you probably have some sort of color chosen already!” Kyo said, holding his hand over his eyes to block out the world.

“If we have then we wouldn’t be showing you these would we?!” Uotani argued.

Yuki frowned before pointing towards Tohru, “the blue one would look nice. . .” he mumbled as he turned his head away.

Tohru’s eyes sparkled as she handed you the swimsuit, “then blue it is!”

You stared down at the light blue colored garment, on closer inspection, it seems as if there were small decorated birds stitched at the corner of the bottom surrounded by flowers. The frilly white lace also felt smooth to the touch as you felt the material. You were surprised to see that Yuki had chosen this one out of the others, whether or not he did so because it was blue made you question his decision. You wondered if somewhere in his heart you had a place, perhaps there was something between you that someone was tugging on harshly.

You felt your face become slightly hot, something that Uotani noticed and commented on.

“Oh? (L/n)-kun you’re looking a bit red there,” She snickered, to which you pouted before you could make your way towards the cashier to pay for your swimsuit, Uotani had plucked it out of your hands and took Tohru’s to pay for them together.

“You don’t have to pay for me Uotani-san,” You slipped your wallet out from your pocket and held out a couple of dollars, “you invited me here after all.”

She blew a raspberry, “it’s fine. We’re gonna go eat after this so you could wait with the others.”

Before you could protest Tohru came to your side and dragged you off. You awkwardly toyed with your sleeves as Yuki stared at you.

There were moments where he would think about you even at home. The bags under your eyes were caked in, even more, makeup, something that you rarely wanted to wear but endured for the sake of your public image.

Uotani came back with two bags and handed you one of them, she grinned as she saw you pout but accepted it reluctantly, not wanting to refuse her offer as she seemed extremely insistent on buying you a new swimsuit. You sighed and followed the group towards their next destination, the one place you were promised to go but was tricked into going into a swimsuit store.

Yuki stifled a chuckle at the thought, it seems as if you fell for these simple tricks too easily but you didn’t seem to mind them as much as you said you did. He began to walk slower to casually meet at your side, trying not to alarm the others about his sudden change in position.

“(L/n)-san, are you getting enough sleep? It looks like you’re wearing a lot more makeup than usual.” Yuki asked, keeping his voice low enough so your conversation was kept privately.

You tilted your head towards him as you held onto the plastic handle of the bag tighter, “a-ah. . . I’ve been trying to but it’s a bit hard. . . You know with all the work and stress of being a committee member. . .” You half lied, “I wonder if you would be president of next year to take over President Takei’s spot. . .”

He hummed in response, “I was thinking about it but I haven’t made a final decision yet. Will you be staying in the committee?”

“I haven’t decided yet either. . .” You scratched your cheek awkwardly, “I might if you would. . .”

From the corner of Yuki’s eye, he noticed a small charm from the inside of the store. It caught his eye as he grabbed onto your wrist and tugged you towards the inside of the store.

“Sorry, but could we stop at this store?” Yuki pointed over to the gift shop next to him and the other group nodded.

“Did you find something you like Yuki-kun?” Tohru clapped her hands together, seeing that Yuki was holding onto your wrist before everyone decided to make their way into the store with him.

You felt your cheeks grow warm at his assertive nature, something so unexpected yet comforting in certain ways. You wondered what he saw that he found so mesmerizing but his reaction piqued your interest and curiosity. Uotani and Hanajima whispered to each other as they peered at the two of you walking together.

“I just wanted to check something out in there.” He replied, gently pulling you into the store as he made his way towards the keychains.

You could feel his warm hands engulf your wrist as you stared at him, not understanding the situation but searched through the keychains with only your eyes. Yuki gave you a small smile before picking up one of the keychains that you hadn’t seen before, but he covered it with his hand.

“Sohma-san, why did you want to bring me here?” You asked, fumbling with the handle of your bag as a way to avoid holding onto his hand by mistake.

Before you could take a peek at the inside of his hand he turned away and towards the cashier to quickly pay for the item. You pressed your lips together while Hanajima and Uotani snickered at your cluelessness. When Yuki came back he patted the top of your head, his figure still taller than you despite your height. You pouted while he smiled.

“I just saw something that I think looks nice, I’ll show you it in the end, think of it as a little surprise.” He winked flirtatiously, not knowing the effects it would have on you as your cheeks felt warmer. Uotani whistled at the sight while Hanajima felt deeply interested in your relationship with Yuki.

“W-Well you didn’t have to drag me here.” You huffed, he chuckled before continuing to pat the top of your head.

“Sorry I just got distracted. We can continue walking to the restaurant now.” Yuki waved at Tohru and the others. The brown-haired girl was at the other side of the store with Kyo by her side as she examined the variety of stuffed cat animals that were orange colored.

You stared at the bag that Yuki carried in his hands, wondering what kind of keychain did he actually buy. He might have gotten a gift for Tohru and wanted to show you it before he gave it to her. You nodded your head in agreement with your thoughts. You shouldn’t be getting your hopes up of course, but your heart wanted to disobey your orders and began to beat faster in excitement and anticipation. You sucked in a breath when everyone finally arrived at the restaurant.

The waiter was nicely dressed and led you to your tables. It seems as if Uotani knew the restaurant employees since they looked friendly to each other, but you shook off these thoughts. Yuki sat closest to the inner wall while Kyo sat on the other side near the walkway while you sat as the barrier between the two, while Tohru, Uotani, and Hanajima sat together. Overall, it was an evenly split group. You bumped shoulders with Yuki accidentally as you sat down, mumbling an embarrassed apology to which he smiled and waved it off.

You could hear Kyo gag a bit at the sight of you both talking but quickly shut his mouth when you raised your eyebrow at him. You sighed before picking up the menu and examining the food. You’ve never been to this place so you were a bit lost on what to order. You unconsciously had a slightly puffed cheek appearance as you tried to decide on what food you should eat. Tohru gave a closed eye smile at your habits slowly coming out of your shell, you were becoming much more expressive than before and she found it to be a great sight.

“Do you know what you’re eating (L/n)-kun?” Uotani asked, dropping her menu down onto the table as she already decided her meal.

“A-Ah not yet. . . I haven’t been to this place before so I’m a bit lost.” You replied. Even though you were looking through different articles about soba, it felt like your mind had just gone blank when you actually saw the menu.

“You really haven’t been to this place?” Kyo asked, leaning his head on his propped up hand, “do you just cook all of your meals?”

“I usually do. . . I just think it's a bit lonely to eat out by yourself.” You fumbled with the edges of the menu.

Kyo leaned over to examine the menu and pointed at the various dishes, explaining each of them to you as if you were oblivious. Actually, you might be a tad bit oblivious but it was in a charming and endearing way. Yuki pouted as he watched Kyo talk to you about the different types of soba that they sold in the store and which one was good. You didn’t expect Kyo to be so knowledgeable about food, he was always the better cook between him and Yuki but you didn’t think it reached to this extent.

“We should go out to eat together more often (Y/n)-kun!” Tohru beamed, giving you a wide grin as you saw the room light up with warm happiness, “you won’t have to feel like you’re eating alone when you’re with us!”

Your heart began to beat faster as your eyes widened to the size of saucers. You could feel the small tears prickling the edges of your eyes as your heart began to flutter.

“I-Is that really okay?” You asked, your face still in shock as you saw Tohru nod happily.

“Of course it is!”

The blush on your cheeks grew immensely at her response. Something about hearing about her wanting you to be part of her life makes you feel as if you were worth something. It made you feel valued. It felt so nice to enjoy this once moment that you had forgotten about the aching feeling of solitude and exclusion that plagued your entire body. You wiped at your tears before giving her a genuine smile, the whites of your teeth showing underneath the light of the restaurant as the rest of the group felt frozen with surprise.

Your smile was bright and beautiful, much more natural and relaxed compared to anything else you once showed throughout your years.

It was captivating.

“Thank you, Tohru-kun.”

Yuki’s heart began to swoon at the sight, the memory of your smile burning itself into his mind as his hands felt clammy. His face began to heat up as he covered his cheeks to hide his shy appearance.

The waitress came over to your side and took your order. You decided to go with cold soba, something that was simple yet refreshing for the hot summertime. You heard that recently a lot of students have been ordering cold soba more often in restaurants, you never thought such a product would be so desirable to the young audience but it may or may not have been because of an influential character floating around the media. As Uotani began to tell her origin story from being a gang member to Tohru’s closest friends, a group of young delinquents stood at the doorway, admiring the three sitting in front of Tohru and the other girls.

“Oi, Ishicchi, when are we going to say something?” One of the girls whispered, the three of them standing behind one of the pillars next to the entrance as they creepily stared at the group.

“Wait. . . After I get a picture of them. . .” She pulled up her phone and zoomed in on the three, your smile calming down and giving off a relieved expression while the Sohmas continued to listen to Uotani’s story. The three girls began to admire each of your appearances, seeing how you would tuck the strands of your hair behind your ear as Uotani let out a few chuckles. Your skin was glowing underneath the light as your rosy pink lips were colored in the right shade.

As you continued chatting, the waitress finally arrived with your food and you watched as she placed your cold soba down in front of you. You broke your chopsticks in half and carefully pulled the small splinters out of the sides. You didn’t eat out often and used reusable chopsticks since you didn’t want to spend constant money on buying new ones at home. They were a multipurpose tool for cooking and eating.

“As you briefly mentioned this before. . . Honda-san, your mom was. . .” Yuki trailed off, not knowing how to describe Tohru’s mother without coming off as offensive or rude.

“Yes! My mother was a bike leader before she had me.” Tohru replied.

“Oh. . . I see,” Yuki responded, “it’s hard to imagine, knowing you.”

“She wasn’t just any ordinary delinquent! They say whenever she rode her motorcycle, the red taillights resembled a fluttering butterfly.” Uotani added, “she was strong in a fight and chivalrous too. Every time the older members talked about her, my admiration grew. It happens to everybody no? They are your hero, and you put them on a pedestal.”

You quietly stared down at the glass of water in front of you, seeing the reflection of Yuki and Tohru from the side of the glass. You didn’t know exactly if what you felt was something of admiration but the way Uotani describes the feeling slightly differs from her. You might even say that instead of admiration, you felt envious but you can’t deny the fact that you would like to be someone as bright as Yuki or Tohru. Or even someone who is easy to talk to like Kyo. Your smile began to falter slightly as you continued to stare at the glass of water while Uotani continued talking.

Uotani began to talk about her strong feelings towards Tohru’s mother who was named Kyoko. It made Kyoko seem like an extremely warm and tender person, someone who was protective and motherly in all of the right ways despite being described as rowdy.

“Why do you keep looking at me? Go away.” She tightened her hands together as she prayed in front of the altar.

“You hate me, don’t you? I can see in your eyes. You want me to suffer. . .” She mumbled. “You’re simply a figment of my precious daughter. . .”

You winced at the painful memory but continued eating your food to ignore the ache in your chest. You were jealous of Tohru having such a kind and loving mother, one that inspired her to be the best and looking ahead into the future to make others happy. How could you ever compete with someone as great as her?

You pressed your lips tightly together as you clenched your teeth. Your eyes peered up at Uotani. You wondered if you had chosen another path in life, would you have joined a gang as she did? Even at your most desperate moments as a child, you would have never expected yourself to make it this far into life. You might have grown up in a gang if it wasn’t for your determination to find a new home for yourself. You could have become someone you absolutely despised if you went down the path of violence if you hadn’t already.

Thinking about it made you sick to your stomach and you began to felt more appreciation for Tohru grow. It seems as if not everyone here had a very happy childhood memory and you could slowly relate to their struggles.

Perhaps you weren’t so alone as you previously thought you were, there was more to this life of friendliness that you would have never discovered on your own. The group began to finish up their meals as you were almost done with yours, trying to finish the food while the group of delinquents approached your table.

“Uotani!” They called out, waltzing up to the table while you drank your water, feeling satisfied at your meal. “Step outside, we got business with you.”

You turned your head to see the girls loom over the group. They had strangely dyed hair, one of them even reminded you slightly of a hyena with her blond and black hair. You wondered why they decided to come over but you felt slightly on edge by their presence despite them being mere middle schoolers based on their uniform.

“Alone obviously.” The taller blond girl said, her mask covering the bottom half of her face as Uotani rolled her eyes.

“Should we head out soon?” Uotani casually smiled, ignoring the other girls' presence as they gawked at the group who only nodded and began making their way to the exit.

“See? I told you we shoulda called her out earlier!” The group jumped back and began to squat together, whispering out their next few plans.

“It’s ‘cause you took forever getting pics of the girl and boys, Ishi-chan,” The hyena colored girl said.

“Not my fault! I couldn’t get a good angle of them!” ‘Ishichan’ protested. When Uotani thanked the waitress for delivering the meal, the brown-haired middle schooler reached out to them, “hey! Wait, Uotani!”

Yuki, Kyo, and you turned around and stared at the group while the girls continued walking forward. The three of you watched as they froze underneath your intimidating glare, a stark contrast to the relaxed aura you gave off earlier at the table.

“Oh, I didn’t mean. . . You guys. . .”

You decided to walk away, not wanting to lecture a few middle schoolers about their poor behavior in public as Yuki followed you. He walked by your side as your group walked around with the other middle schoolers hot on your tail trying to get Uotani’s attention.

“I said stop, Arisa Uotani!”

“Quit ignoring us, dammit!”

Kyo sighed before tilting his head over to Uotani, “oi, you sure you don’t know them? They’re calling you by name.”

“I’ve never met those outdated delinquents in my life.” She replied, completely ignoring their cries for attention.

“Look who’s talking!” The middle schoolers shouted.

“Don’t you look down on us!” ‘Ishichan’ gripped her fist tightly next to her chest, feeling a bit irked at Uotani’s dismissive personality, “sure, we’re just some ordinary delinquents now, but we’re gonna make ourselves famous thrashing all of the show-offs like you, build a delinquent army that scares the shit outta people, and take over this whole neighborhood!”

“Good luck,” Uotani deadpanned.

“I wonder what a delinquent army is,” Yuki asked, turning around slightly to face the walking group.

“A bunch of troublemakers trying to start a revolution?” You presumed.

“Shall I take care of them?” Hanajima asked, preparing to use her waves to shock the other girls.

“Bad idea,” Kyo added, his hands deep into his pockets as he walked with a slight slouch.

You sighed as you decided to take a break by a nearby bench while the delinquents continued to gather unneeded attention to your group. Yuki leaned up against the wall while Kyo stared off to the side, not really wanting to be involved in the strange feud with Uotani.

“I-It seems things are getting a bit perilous here. . .W-What should we do?” Tohru commented, seeing Hanajima evoke her wave powers on the middle schoolers who trembled in fear.

“Hanajima, don’t go all out, they’re just kids,” Uotani called out.

“Who do you take me for? I hardly have to lift up a finger.” She replied, her emotionless voice giving the middle schoolers a scare.

“We gave you a second chance to respond and now you’re mocking us!” The delinquent said, pointing an accusing finger towards Uotani who crossed her arms.

“You’ve been talking the entire time.” Uotani sighed.

“S-Shut it! I’m gonna send you flying!” She reeled back a fist and your eyes widened, as your body began to move forward you were stopped when Uotani placed her hand on top of the shorter girl’s head, stopping her completely.

“W-Wh-Why don’t my arms reach?!” She cried, trying hard to punch Uotani but her short arms barely reached out to her.

“The kid doesn’t have a near enough reach. She should have aimed low.” Kyo commented.

“I hope she’ll release her soon.” Yuki looked off at your figure as you mumbled to yourself.

“The easier idea was to snap her wrist. . .” You trailed off, the faint sound of your voice shocking him as he heard your suggestion.

“The best time is when you’re still underestimated, girlie.” Uotani said, “if you just wanna show off, there are better ways of doing it. Stop acting out like this while you can before anything serious happens. If you want someone to scold you, I can do it anytime.”

Uotani went back to continue walking down the original path everyone was talking, “alright, wanna head back?” Everyone nodded and followed her back to the place that the group had met up before you arrived.

The sun began to set and shine an orange and pink color on the walls, giving it a warm and soothing atmosphere that you soaked up. Everything went by so fast that you hadn’t expected the day to be so packed full of adventures. You pressed your hand against your chest, feeling your heart began to beat a little faster at the thought of Tohru’s words, it really would be nice to go out with people more often like this.

Yuki patted the top of your head, stopping you in your tracks as he spoke to the others, “I’ll walk (L/n)-san home so she gets back safely, this stupid cat can walk Honda-san back. Thank you for showing us all a good time.” Yuki politely bowed in front of the others before guiding you back on the street to your house.

“No problem Prince!” Uotani waved and watched as Tohru said her goodbyes and walked with Kyo to the Sohma estate.

“It’s fine for you to walk back with Tohru-kun, I’m fine on my own.” You mumbled, hearing Yuki let out a small chuckle.

“I’m supposed to give your surprise as well, do you not want it?”

You had almost forgotten about the event of the store, you were too lost in your own thoughts about Uotani and Tohru that you completely overlooked Yuki’s surprise.

Your eyes widened as you snapped your neck up to Yuki, a flushed look present on your face, “w-wh-what? Y-You don’t have to give it to me!”

“Oh? Do you not want it?” He teased.

“N-No. . . I didn’t say that. . .” You pulled away from his gaze while fiddling with the handle of your plastic bag, feeling slightly vulnerable in this situation, “you didn’t have to. . . buy me something. . .”

“You’re quite shy when it comes to accepting gifts (L/n)-san.” He commented, admiring the way the sun began to shine a warm color.

“Is. . . Is it that obvious?” You responded.

“A bit, but it’s nice to see you look so relaxed today. I’m glad you had a good time.” Yuki smiled as the two of you approached your apartment complex.

“Close your eyes,” He asked, his kind smile never leaving his face as you shifted your weight on different sides.

“W-Why?”

“Just do it (L/n)-san.”

You huffed, “f-fine. . .” Your eyes fluttered shut at his request while he rummaged through the bag and pulled out a neatly wrapped package.

“Here’s your surprise.” He gently placed the keychain’s package on your forehead, his hand still grasping onto the other side as your eyes snapped open.

It was an eagle keychain for your phone, the strap of it was a simple black color and the bird was mid-flight as a camellia flower floated above it. It was very similar to the current keychain that you had around your phone, the same one that Yuki brought up at the start of your friendship.

“W-Wha? O-Oh, mhm. . .” You fumbled around in your bag and took out your cell phone. A small charm was dangling off of the side, it was a small white rat keychain with a single sakura flower. When Yuki took out his phone he had the exact same keychain.

“What a coincidence,” he smiled “we have matching keychains.” Your cheeks felt hot as you quickly unlocked your phone, “they didn’t sell any bird ones. . .”

“Hm. . . I got mine from Honda-san, I’ll be sure to find you a bird one too then.”

“Y-You don’t have to! It’s really embarrassing.” You held out your phone screen which displayed your number, “hurry and put it in already.”

He raised an eyebrow at your statement to which you quickly pulled your phone back as your cheeks felt even hotter. “I-I-I didn’t m-mean it like that! Quickly! Put my number in your phone!”

You felt the tears that you held back earlier began to swallow up your eyes as you held onto the keychain tightly to your chest. The past memories engulfing your entire mind as you held onto the treasured gift. The salty liquid falling down your face in chubby blobs as you wailed in front of him while he only gave you a comforting smile.

“Thank you. . . Thank you so much Sohma-san.”

#Fruits Basket #fruits basket x reader #Yuki Sohma #yuki sohma x reader #yuki soma #yuki soma x reader

41 notes · View notes

artificialqueens · 4 years

Text

Good Morning Campers, Chapter 4 (Crystal x Gigi) - Gelato

AN: Sorry this is so late but I started on another project that will be posted next week, thanks for the notes I really appreciate it!

“Aren’t you scared someone’s going to walk in, Miss Goode?” Crystal whispered, breathing shakily as Gigi dropped to her knees and lifted her skirt.

Her heart was racing and she hoped secretly that someone would catch them in the act.

They’d been sneaking around for well over two weeks now. Their stint in the disciplinary cabin at the edge of camp had quickly passed and they no longer had a reason to spend every waking moment together.

It was pure bliss for those seven days, spending every minute of the day at each other’s side for camp chores and each night in one another’s arms.

They’d truly gotten to know each other in and out. What they loved, hated, and wanted more than anything in the world. Stories swapped about childhood and life back home. What made each other tick, what turned each other on..

No secrets.

They were hooked on one another.

It didn’t end when they left the cabin and went their separate ways. They were just a mulch covered path away, their new quarters just a few feet from each other’s as they joined their peers as regular campers in overcrowded bunks for the remainder of their stay at Blue Springs.

Gigi was still miffed about her demotion, but wouldn’t change anything if it meant never spending the time with Crystal that she did.

“You want me to stop?” Gigi breathed hotly against Crystal’s thigh before running her tongue to meet the edge of her panties.

“No, don’t stop..” Crystal moaned softly, begging, praying that Gigi wouldn’t dare move as she ran her fingers through her red curls.

Gigi quickly did away with the offending underwear before swiftly hitching Crystal’s leg over her shoulder.

The shower stalls had become their regular meet up. It was mid morning just after breakfast, long after the morning shower rush had passed. They didn’t have much time, knowing their friends would come looking for them sooner or later.

Crystal reveled in the feel of Gigi’s tongue against her, coming undone in just a matter of minutes. She failed to keep her screams of pleasure from loudly bouncing off the shower stalls.

Gigi’s hand snaked up to cover her mouth. Crystal took her index finger between her lips and sucked slowly before pulling Gigi up to meet her lips. They kissed passionately, never wanting this moment to end.

“You.. have gotten so good at that.” Crystal breathed with a laugh, chest heaving and heart beating straight out of her chest.

“I learned from the best.” Gigi whispered hotly before bringing her in for another lasting kiss.

Crystal quickly dropped to her own knees to reciprocate before the echo of the camps PA system brought her to a screeching halt.

“Will all campers grades 10 through 12 please report to the main pavilion for announcements. That’s all campers, grade 10 through 12, report to the main pavilion.” Mrs. Davis’ voice reverberated through out the camp grounds.

The girls quickly scurried to compose themselves and to go there separate ways to meet up with their friends, much to their dismay.

After a rushed kiss goodbye, they left the stalls separately as they came, hoping that no one would notice.

——-

“Why is Creepy Crystal staring at you like that.” Violet leaned to whisper in Gigi’s ear as they sat in the crowded pavilion awaiting announcements.

It took everything in her not to yank her so called friend by the hair and threaten her life for speaking about Crystal that way, but she had agreed to Crystal’s suggestion to ignore anything anyone had to say about one another. They wanted to keep their relationship private for the time being.

Much to her relief, Mrs. Davis stepped onto the stage and began to garner the attention of everyone in the pavilion.

“Shh, it’s starting.” Gigi threw Violet’s way, ignoring her previous statement.

She chanced a glance over at Crystal, who was indeed looking over her way.

The lust in her eyes didn’t go unnoticed. Her cheeks were still flushed from their earlier meet up. She licked her lips and slowly uncrossed and recrossed her legs, flashing Gigi a bit to reveal that she hadn’t bothered to put her panties back on.

Gigi’s vision went hazy and her face got hot. She couldn’t look away.

“I’m still wet.” Crystal mouthed from across the room, biting down on her neon green polished finger tip.

Gigi went weak in the knees.

“Alright girls, settle down.” Mrs. Davis spoke into the microphone at center stage, barely succeeding in taking Gigi’s attention from Crystal.

“As many of you have looked forward to for the last few weeks, this weekend is our annual summer fling with the Blue Mountain’s Camp for Boys.” She began reading from her clip board.

Most of the pavilion erupted with cheers of excitement, aside from the Strange Gang that shared a few gagging noises, earning them a couple of glares from their peers.

“As we have in the years before, we will be tasking you all in preparing for the event. Before leaving our meeting today, please take a look at the sign up sheet. We need plenty of help decorating! Don’t forget to also place your nomination for Summer Fling Queen. You will have until the evening of the dance to place your votes.” Mrs. Davis continued.

This announcement sparked even more excited chatter from the girls, each prattling on about what to wear, what duty they wanted, and who’s name they’d throw in for Queen.

Gigi’s name flew around the room as it had the previous year. She was always a shoe-in for Queen, and although she had been mildly disgraced for being demoted from the Junior Counselors, her popularity around the camp had done nothing but soar.

“We’ll also be offering buses into town this afternoon for the young ladies who would like to do a little shopping ahead of the festivities!” Mrs. Davis shared, earning even more excited buzz from the audience.

“Yes! I’ve had my eye on a pair of earrings at the mall.” Naomi said, leading the girls out of their seats to head back to the cabin and prepare for their awaited mall trip.

Gigi chanced another glance at Crystal, who hadn’t seemed too excited for a shopping trip of her own. Her eyes were suddenly down casted and she stayed seated, twisting her fingers with one another. Gigi made quick of telling the girls that she wanted to stay behind for a moment to speak to Mrs. Davis so they would head back to the bunks before making a b-line toward Crystal.

“I’ll meet you guys later.” Crystal said to her own friends, hoping that they would give her a moment alone as she saw Gigi approaching.

“You don’t seem too thrilled about shopping.” Gigi began, taking a seat next to Crystal as the pavilion cleared out.

“Don’t have a lot of money to spend. But it’s alright, I think I’ll just skip out on the dance all together.” Crystal shrugged.

“What? No! You have to go! It’s camp tradition.” Gigi crossed her arms, in disbelief that she would be missing her chance to see Crystal in formal wear.

“I don’t have anything to wear.” Crystal laughed, leaning into a seemingly pissed Gigi. She found it amusing how worked up she had gotten over a dance.

“Well lucky for both of us, I have plenty.” Gigi smirked, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

Crystal bit her lip and began to protest, but was no match for Gigi as she pulled her from her seat and back toward the bunks.

———

Gigi denied the invitation to join the rest of the Heather’s on the bus to town, much to their annoyance.

She had insisted that she already had something to wear, but denying a trip to the mall was extremely unlike her, and this didn’t go unnoticed by Violet in particular.

After some back and forth the group left. Gigi breathed a sigh of relief and waved Crystal over from the cabin across from her own.

“Alright, short or long? I have a thousand options to choose from, baby. Take your pick!” Gigi wasted no time laying out her formal wear that had been hanging in the shared cabin closet until now.

“I dunno, Geeg’. I don’t think I’ve ever worn anything this expensive.” Crystal whispered sheepishly, taking a price tag between her fingers and running her thumb over the offensive numbers.

“Forget about that. I want you to feel as beautiful as you are. I know you don’t need an expensive dress for that. But I’m not going to let you skip out on this dance.” Gigi replied, picking up a shimmering piece toward the top of the pile.

“Try this for me, please. It’s super sparkly and bright and I’ve sort of been imagining you in it every time I see it hanging in the closet.” Gigi blushed a bit, still uncomfortable with sharing just how much she thought about Crystal on a daily basis.

Crystal agreed after some protest, stripping down and slipping the dress on.

It was a baby pink, silk gown with shimmering accents along the bodice. It hugged each of her curves just right, earning her a look of approval from Gigi who sat in awe at how a simple dress somehow transformed Crystal.

“Well, what do you think?” Crystal sighed, secretly loving how the dress fit her body like a glove. She turned her back to Gigi and looked over her shoulder for a pose.

“I think I love it on you, but I’d like it better off.” Gigi replied, pulling Crystal onto her lap.

The two took full advantage of having the cabin to themselves for the rest of the afternoon.

———

The evening of the dance came soon enough, the entire camp buzzing with excitement. After a full day on the lake, the campers scampered to get ready for a night they’d all been looking forward too since arriving weeks prior.

Crystal was a ball of nerves. She couldn’t even afford a prom ticket back home, so a dance was uncharted territory for her.

She admired herself in the single dirty mirror that cabin had to offer, the remaining member’s of the Strange Gang offering a stark contrast to her as they sported punky dresses of various colors paired with high top sneakers and wild makeup.

Crystal decided to forgo too many accessories as she normally would pile on and opted for a single drop pearl necklace Gigi had given her to pair with the dress, along with matching earrings. Her hair cascaded down her back in waves, and her make up was more subdued than usual, her sparkling lip gloss accentuating her plump lips and bringing out the shimmer in her gown.

She truly was a vision, the baby pink silken fabric hugged her perfectly, and her teal blue hair somehow tied it all in like a Barbie fever dream.

“You look stunning, babe. You think she’ll ask you to dance?” Adore piped up from behind her with a raised eyebrow. She was the only one that knew the dress was from Gigi, and the only one that she wasn’t afraid to tell the full truth of their relationship to.

Yvie still held a bit of resentment toward the Heather’s along with Katya, and Crystal had decided keeping them in the dark was better than pushing the envelope this close to camp being over.

“I have no clue. Every part of me hopes she does. But I understand if she doesn’t.” Crystal replied, suddenly nervous at the prospect of holding Gigi so closely in front of the entire camp.

She was just excited to finally see what Gigi would be wearing. During Crystal’s little fashion show in her cabin she had successfully kept her own gown under wraps, intending to keep it a surprise for Crystal. They hadn’t seen each other all day, Gigi having warned her that she would spend the majority of it getting ready for the evening.

A hoard of cheers erupted outside as the buses filled with young men from the Blue Mountain’s Camp for Boys pulled into front entrance of the camp. Many of the girls were excited at the idea of meeting a boy this evening, and some were even reuniting with boyfriends that were attending the neighboring camp.

An announcement calling all campers to the pavilion bellowed over the intercom and sent the remaining campers out of their bunks.

Crystal and Gigi agreed that they wouldn’t be able to spend too much time at each other’s side during the event as not to raise suspicion, so they opted to meet behind the pavilion before the dance for some alone time.

Crystal switched from foot to foot nervously, her toes already aching as the heels Gigi gave her to wear began to pinch. The dance had already started and Gigi was nowhere to be found. Her heart sank as she realized she may not be meeting her after all.

“Hey gorgeous.” An angelic voice came up from behind her. Crystal’s shoulder’s instantly relaxed as she turned to face Gigi in all her stunning glory.

She modeled a shimmering silk dress that was the exact same as Crystal’s, except in powder blue. Her red hair draped gracefully over her shoulders in luscious tendrils, perfectly styled and framing her face. She had gone for a makeup look that only Crystal could have inspired, her blue eyeshadow and bright pink cheeks tied her look together. Her wrists carried clunky multicolored bracelets that she had lifted from Crystal’s personal collection.

“I hope you don’t mind, I swiped these when we stayed together. I was always planning on wearing them tonight. I wanted to keep a piece of you on me.” Gigi blushed and explained the jewelry as she noticed Crystal’s eyes fall onto them.

Crystal couldn’t help but let out an ecstatic squeal and rush into Gigi’s arms, overjoyed that she had wanted to emulate her on such an important night.

“Aw baby, we’re matching!” She bounced excitedly and stepped back only to take all of Gigi in.

“I know, that’s sort of why I had you try this one on first. I already had mine picked out and I was hoping you would love it so we could be a pair!” Gigi bounced along with her.

They kissed and held each other closely for a few moments before the sound of loud pop music interrupted them from inside the newly transformed dance hall.

“I guess we better get in there. See you after, same spot? ” Crystal asked with a pout before leaning in to give Gigi a final peck and the lips.

“Actually, I was thinking we could go in.. together.” Gigi nearly whispered, intertwining her fingers with Crystal’s and gently tugging her toward the music.

Crystal’s smile grew wider and her eyes softened as she fought back tears of joy.

“Yeah?” She mustered, in shock with Gigi’s proposal.

“Yeah. And if anyone has a problem with it, fuck ‘em.” Gigi nodded and smiled broadly before walking hand in hand with Crystal to the front entrance.

They were greeted by many shocked stares from fellow campers but marched on, truly not caring what anyone thought.

The pavilion was dimly lit, a dated disco ball hanging from the ceiling lit up the dance floor as campers from both camps danced awkwardly with one another, well supervised by several counselors.

The upbeat music quickly diminished and transition into the first slow dance song of the night. The opening keys of “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin hummed over the loud speakers. The dance floor cleared, save for a few couples that lingered to dance with one another.

“May I have this dance?” Gigi asked, pulling Crystal onto the floor.

They held each other close and noticed right away how everyone was staring, including members of their own cliques.

The Strange Gang hooted and hollered in surprised shock, embracing the new couple as they drifted across the dance floor.

The Heather’s were a different story. Nicki was surprised but a bit elated at Gigi’s obvious happiness, as well was Naomi. Violet however looked as if she was about to burst a blood vessel.

Gigi waved daintily at them with a smirk over Crystal’s shoulder and pulled her close. Crystal leaned back to come face to face with the red head, their lips close and her voice low.

“Gigi.. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way before. You make me the happiest girl alive. I think... I know I love-“ She was abruptly interrupted by a booming voice across the dance floor.

“Geeg’! Babe, I’ve been looking all over for you.” A tall, blonde teenaged boy bounded over cluelessly to the couple, his tux slightly disheveled and his bow tie hanging loosely around his neck.

“Chip?!” Gigi yelped in horror and stepped away nervously from Crystal.

She wasn’t going to let anything come between her and Crystal tonight, but she certainly wasn’t expecting her boyfriend from back home to walk through the door.

#rpdr fanfiction #crystal methyd #gigi goode #summer camp au #lesbian au #good morning campers #gelato

29 notes · View notes

thoughts-on-bangtan · 4 years

Text

Let’s talk about: The World of Original Content (Weverse Magazine)

by Admin 1

Don’t you just love it when stan twt in particular has a giant fight victimizing the members and claiming they hate things like RUN BTS only for BH/Weverse Magazine to come through and deliver them a bitter wake up call? Because I sure do, which made reading this new article even more curious than the subject matter already is.

For those who might be intimidated by the length of the article (though I guess you wouldn’t be reading our posts in that case either), the basic gist is a discussion and exploration of how shows like RUN BTS or In the SOOP (or GOING SEVENTEEN used as comparative example) are so successful due to the fact that they give the members a place to participate in a variety show type program in an environment where they feel safe and also actively can add input to the actual things happening in the show, as well as how all this additional video content offers not only a great way for the idols to connect with fans but also to showcase different things about themselves, or even a form of self-presentation as was said about SEVENTEEN content.

Since their start 10 years ago in 2011 until they were named the most mentioned account in the world on Twitter and through to today as the most talked-about K-pop artist, BTS have released more than 12,400 videos and related media. Their YouTube channel, BANGTANTV, has secured 43.4 million subscribers and its videos more than 8.1 billion views cumulatively since its launch in 2012, and has 1,398 videos in its archive as of January 15. BTS have posted more than 590 videos to their V LIVE channel over the past five years, and in June of last year became the first in V LIVE history to surpass 20 million followers. These self-produced videos contain the artists’ histories as well as their messages to and joy for their fanbases, and this original content serves as an opportunity to reach out to even more people thanks to increased follower and subscriber counts.

Now those are some really interesting stats to take in, the numbers mind-blowing though in a sense not necessarily all that surprising. We’re talking about ARMY and eight years worth of content after all, but the fact that there is a lot of sincerity and a degree of genuine rawness to be found among all those videos certainly helps as well. Who doesn’t love Bangtan B*mbs showing the guys doing something fun together, like playing basket ball on the roof between filming the Black Swan MV or things like the short videos from their birthdays. Content like this is much easier to access (and free) than things like Bon Voyage and are a great “gateway drug”, so to speak, to fall even more in love with Bangtan.

The animation dubbing, meanwhile, started with an idea from the members. “Having watched the members for so long, I was confident they would be good at voice acting,” said Bang. “They told each other they wanted to try dubbing something, so we got to work on the episode. Copyright on web-based shows is generally strict, but discussions with Disney went smoothly because it’s BTS.”

This part I find particularly interesting for two reason:

“(...) started with an idea from the members.” confirms yet again the fact that the members do get a say into what they would be interested in doing as part of RUN BTS, that it isn’t just them showing up on set and being forced to do things they don’t care about or have to make themselves pretend they’re enjoying, both things solo stans have claimed about basically each member. It’s the same thing we’ve even seen in episode 124 where the episode was centered around the members coming up with ideas of tasks for episodes with the members even going as far as saying they’d love to do something longer, something that takes up a longer period of time like learning an instrument or sport or even composing a song for RUN BTS. In that same episode we also got confirmation that previous episodes were based on ideas from Taehyung (retro village m*fia type game episodes) and Namjoon (mini game based episode with bottle flipping etc).

“(...) but discussions with Disney went smoothly because it’s BTS.” which honestly just feels like such a (extremely) justified flex, love it. If I were a company that’s usually strict with my copyrights, I’d beg BTS to take my stuff if it’s something that would make them love and they’d have fun with it, but that’s just me.

The last part of the article I’d like to touch upon is this one since, to me, it once again proves Bangtan’s sincerity in sharing certain things and moments with us out of their own free will and desire, instead of due to some skewed ulterior motivation reasoning which some like to project onto them. Of course someone could argue that they only did this to create a false feeling of connection and faux love between the artist and fan, but with that you’re not only doing yourself a disservice but also belittling the members autonomy, feelings and genuine gratitude and connection to us. Yes, they don’t know all of us and they never will because that’s not humanly possible, but BTS being where they are today is (in parts) thanks to their genuine connection to ARMY since even before debut.

When artists enjoy making their videos, they elicit a response from their fans, which in turn instills the artists with even more enthusiasm to make more content. BTS “told the producers they wanted to share with their fans a video they had of them all goofing around,” Bang said, which shows “how sincere their love for their fans is.” The video, in which the members check the Grammy Awards nominations together, was shot on November 25 after they all agreed to RM’s suggestion that they record important moments together and share them: “It would have been somewhat inappropriate to ask the members to film when the nominations were going to be announced so late at night,” Bang recalled, “but they eagerly pitched the idea first, and thanked the staff after they were done shooting.” It was “thanks to the members that I was able to capture that important moment,” Kim said, while noting that “the most important thing when producing content is the artist’s desire to connect with their fans.”

This is something they certainly didn't have to do, just like they didn’t share the Billboard Hot100 #1 night with us in such a way either, but the members knew just how grand and meaningful of a moment that Grammy nomination would be so they wanted to not only film it for themselves as a memory, but also to share it with us. Also this line is quite telling to me: “It would have been somewhat inappropriate to ask the members to film when the nominations were going to be announced so late at night,” Bang recalled”. While some claim awful things against BH, little things like this, to me, show that there are still boundaries that the staff and producers keep and won’t cross unless given explicit permission or receiving an explicit request to do so, like they did in this case.

BH isn’t perfect by any means, they are a company after all (can we talk about the horrible shipping prices? And more general price tags on merchandise etc?) but at least when it comes to the treatment of their artists they seem leaps ahead of other agencies and BTS genuinely satisfied with working and being with them for more than a decade now, so as fan, who am I to judge that? Especially when we keep getting tiny pieces of “proof” that show that the members have good relationships with those they work with, some staff being already with them for years or even since the beginning, when Hoseok gets called “Hobi-nim” or “Hobi Hobi-nim” cutely by their stylists, when Tae’s bodyguard/manager gently fixes his hair when he notices Tae is still half asleep and his hair askew, or Seokjin sought “shelter” against one of their managers when he got shy at the airport a few years ago.

The more fans can tell that the artists are having fun and feel safe, the happier they are to share the videos, and this can continue to spread outside the fandom, resulting in all sorts of related or derivative media referencing the original.

Overall I’m really impressed with the level of journalism that the staff working on Weverse Magazine have exhibited so far. They could’ve just created fluff pieces with zero substance to them, wrote sugar sweet "articles” full of empty praise and phoned in the interviews with the members for the BE Comeback Interviews, but instead we got really interesting things instead, like their article about the Grammys or one of the first articles that highlighted the racism and gatekeeping BTS have experienced over the years abroad where they even called out some people by name which felt like the perfect (justified) power move. If you haven’t yet, I very much recommend looking through all the articles and interviews and giving them a read. It really is worth it and written in a language everyone regardless of their level of English can understand while staying interesting to read without appearing simplified or “dumbed down”.

#bts #bangtan sonyeondan #weverse magazine #discussion

23 notes · View notes