#another kind of continuation of the previous drabble

[aplaceinme]

Day 15 of @118dailydrabble

Prompt: Defend - Pairing: Bucktommy - Rating: General Audiences

“So, you said no?” Hen looks at him incredulously.

Buck nods, feeling awful. 

“Why would you do that?” Chimney asks with a hint of accusation in his voice.

“Hey! I’m gonna defend Buck, here, ok? If it didn’t feel right, it didn’t feel right,” Eddie replied.

“I just panicked, ok?” Buck cries out, throwing his arms up in the air. 

Bobby pats him on the shoulder. “What happens now?”

“Well, he broke up with me, obviously,” Buck replies with tears in his eyes. “He was so heartbroken.”

“Idiot,” Hen says, slapping him on the side of his head. 

Startled, Buck wakes up, breathing heavily. He quickly looks down at his hand and smiles in relief. He said yes.

(All the previous drabbles can be found on ao3)

[sozila]

chiaroscuro. (nanami x reader)

synopsis: as a princess, you had a duty to the country. to knight kento nanami, you simply were his everything.

pairing: personal knight!kento nanami x princess!fem reader.

warnings: 18+, mdni. eventual sexual descriptions.

masterlist | previous | next

you are on: realization. part one of three

a/n:

hello lovelies 🩷 i was watching my lady jane and immediately had an urge to write this, so here’s a knight nanami moment for you guys :) it’ll just be three parts, like a longer drabble if you will. enjoy!!

realization. (part one)

“princess, we really must make haste.”

the hydrangeas you were admiring were no longer sunlit with the long figured shadow cast behind you. you hum absently and continue down the ivy-stone pathway, your cream heels clicking softly. 

“another five minutes will not kill my father, kento.”

knight kento nanami had to hold back a sigh. he knew better than to believe you would simply do what you were royally asked of. granted he would never dare to oppose your highness, sometimes he wished he could advise you away from the uphill battle approach you so loved to choose. it was a bit of mental torture for the young man to silently bear witness as you pleased with no fear of consequence. despite it all, he admired your courage and resilience. you were a very tough woman with a strong heart. compassion that grew for miles and miles, you simply amazed him. that kind of care was rare in this world.

you couldn’t hear the man following behind you, but you developed a sense of knowing he was always there. my loyal shadow, you’d tease him. your nimble hands brush by the soft petals and leaves of the flowers as you take in the same gardens you’ve been seeing— no, binded to, since your birth. 

“a divine princess does not go on outings whenever she pleases!” your governess snapped, slapping her cold cane on your tiny wrists. hot tears welled in the corners of your eyes. “princesses do not show weakness, either,” she huffed and shakes her head at the sight of you as if you were some reckless, hair-brained animal. the memories of your early schooling were rarely pleasant ones. any and all curiosity you had was intended to be stomped out, replaced with knowledge about ballroom dance, fashion history, etiquette. these were the makings of a good, silent wife in the future, best for political marriage union. however, you were not an easy soul to shatter. if anything, the treatment encouraged you tenfold.

you come to a halt at a fully bloomed gardenia bush, dropping your head to inhale the spicy aroma. ironic. its alabaster skin symbolized purity, innocence, refinery— but smelled like pure freedom and rebellion to you. a smile graces your pristine face, head tilted to give your knight a cheeky side eye. 

“alright then kento, let us see to what father dearest requires of me.”

when you reach the king’s gentleman’s room, your father stands with two men you hadn’t seen before. one looked older than your father and the other rather youthful. platinum white hair caught your attention first, but were soon replace with his unusual eyes. they were the sharpest arctic blue you’ve ever seen in your life. they felt.. cold. unwelcome. you notice kento settle at the corner of the room to stand guard out of the corner of your eye, a silent spectator. 

“ah! come come, daughter. meet his royal highness king masako gojo and his son, prince satoru gojo.” 

your face blanches. sharp ringing infiltrating your ears and you couldn’t grasp anything anymore. you knew what was occurring in this very moment. 

like clockwork, you curtsy and bow to both nobles. the older king simpers, nodding in approval. “a quiet and obedient one. this alliance will go swimmingly,” he chortles and slaps the prince’s back, giving a whisper you didn’t miss. “easier when they don’t speak, eh?” his joke falls flat as the young man seemed heavily disinterested in taking part in his father’s misogynistic capers. 

kento’s jaw ticks, the grip on his sword handle tightening as he fought back the urge to beat the old man to a pulp.

the words didn’t miss your hearing. nose held high, you flash an icy smile and clasp your hands together to keep from slapping the ever-loving sense out of the greasy monarch yourself.

“quite the contrary, your highness. i just don’t interest myself in speaking to puny-minded individuals.”

a low chuckle was quickly masked with a couple coughs from the prince, while king masako’s face sported a blotchy red out of anger and embarrassment.

you father’s eyes flashed with harsh warning at you. your antics were borderline detonating and were no longer found trivial and silly by him. this was the future of the nation at stake, alongside securing your prosperity. he plasters a nervous smile on his face and continues despite your outward rudeness.

“i deeply apologize for my daughter’s behavior- she simply has a sharp tongue. dearest, you are to acquaintance yourself with the prince the next three months for it has been decided you shall marry to bring our kingdoms together in harmony. you should treat them with the utmost respect.” you scoff. how grand of your own kin taking the outsider’s side rather than defend your honor. the anger within you boils. “and when was this decided?” you say with a raised brow. your father looks a little exasperated. 

king masako grins his greasy smile once more and steps forward to meet your eye, looking down on you. “didn’t you know? this has been arranged since your birth.. and my son’s.” 

your blood runs cold. you knew that you were to be wed and that it was your purpose as this country’s princess, but to know you were just a prize pig? your whole life? and not a soul told you that you were promised from the beginning. you feel your mother’s absence in your childhood, your father’s transactional love. all pieces to the puzzle that finally clicked for you— you’re just a pawn.

you slam your palms on the oak table. “i am not getting married unless it is my will to do so,” you seethe at the men. prince’s lips quirk up at your boldness. how curious.

kento brows scrunch in concern as to how this will play out for you. you father doesn’t mask his rage this time around. “who said anyone will abide your will? you forget your place,” he shouts at you like you’re an insolent child. “no, YOU forget that i am crown princess of this nation and i can very well be the reason it burns to the ground!” you scream back with equal fervor. “you undeserving wench! get out of my sight. get out!!” your father’s voice shakes with intensity and angry tears threaten to spill but you refuse to let them see you weak. 

kento’s resolve wavers when he hears the nasty insult come from the king’s mouth. you, a wench? he hasn’t known his daughter a day in his life. kento, however, spent nearly every waking moment observing you, protecting you. he knew your mannerism and habits, what you wore and what you liked or disliked. he knew you liked reading history books and devouring sweet peach tarts. he knew your allergies kicked up when your room was freshly cleaned. he knew you dreamed and raved about wanting more than the closed life you lived, to travel and see the world, and then maybe, just maybe, settle into a small cottage farm with a garden you curated for yourself. more than anything, he knew you were the farthest thing from a wench. what a wretched word. he wanted to demand your father apologize, but that would be a most highest treason to oppose the king in such a manner. especially as a ranked personal knight. he holds back for your sake. 

your head snaps to the prince. “i would rather die before the chance you and i shall wed,” you spit at him before you march out of the room, kento in tow. as kento exits, you slam the crested door with finality. your heels carry you before you realize it and you’re running down the halls, dress flowing and eyes blurry. maids walking by look at you and whisper, a butler trying to stop you and ask if you are alright but you brush by, his efforts in vain. once you reach your room, kento begins to follow and you stop him, looking up with shiny eyes. “please leave me be, kento,” you whisper, tears trickling down silently. 

kento feels his heart squeeze painfully at the sight. he hated seeing you upset. it would take the most evil person in world to reduce you to such anguish and your father was just that. he wanted to comfort you, to selfishly hold you close and whisper sweet nothings to you as you cried your heart out. but he knew that that was his guilty want, and you wished to feel through this pain by yourself. hesitantly, he nods and steps back. you close the door and immediately crumple to the floor, your body wracked with sobs. you felt so alone and insignificant. 

in this moment, kento could do nothing but helplessly listen to you. 

you eventually cried yourself to tiredness. you fell asleep with dried tears stained on your cheeks, draped over your footboard bench in an odd angle. kento had turned away all servants at your door, but took a plate of tarts and water on a tray. he waited for the halls to empty, the night soon befalling. 

he quietly opened your door with tray in hand, walking in as stealthy as he usually carries himself. the moonlight shone from the large windows of your balcony onto your slumped figure. you looked positively ethereal. the remnants of your grief didn’t hinder your natural beauty. kento felt dirty to admit you almost looked beautiful with tears painted on your glass skin. he brushed the thoughts from his mind and set the tray down on your table. 

he wasn’t allowed to be in your quarters at this distance but he couldn’t bear not making sure you were alright. a breeze from the open windows blows in gently and he catches you shiver. he thinks for a moment and eventually decides to just do it — he carefully picks you up from the floor to put you snugly in to your bed. this action causes you to awake slightly. you stir, rubbing your eyes. kento looks down at you in his arms in surprise. you looked like a soft pretty lamb, he thought. 

“kento..? where.. where am i?” he walks around the bed to lay you down carefully, standing beside you. “your room, princess. you came in yourself, remember?” the memories of the day flooded back to touch and your expression turns grim. “ah.. yes. i’m so sorry you had to come in and take care of me.” kento shakes his hand dismissing your worry. “nonsense. this is my duty as your protector.” you offer a small smile despite your low feelings. “it is greatly appreciated.” 

silence falls between the two of you. kento is looking at you with deep thought- he’s trying to formulate his message in a way that wouldn’t be overstepping of him, but— 

“i want to run away.” 

“what?!”

i'm so sorry if this feels abrupt :( since this is going to be three parts i had to split it at equal lengths in events </3 but!! do not fret!!! the next two will be up shortly to make up for it ;) peace luv bathtub!

© sozila 2024, all rights reserved. please do not plagiarize, translate, or repost any of my work on other mediums or sites. cross-posts on ao3 and tumblr under same alias.

[lovverletters]

Yandere! Prince × Royalty! Reader

Note that this is a reupload from my previous blog @hyerinrose

T/W : Possessive behaviour, murder, threats, abuse of power, implied forced marriage, controlling behaviour, the drabble kinda lowkey ass

•┈••✦ 🎀✦••┈•💌•┈••✦ 🎀 ✦••┈•

💌Yandere! Prince who were the heir to a prosperous kingdom ruled with an ironed fist by both the King and Queen.

🎀Yandere! Prince who were molded to become the perfect heir to the throne once his father passes. However it comes with a cost of his childhood being close to nonexistent.

💌Yandere! Prince who haven't lost his sanity yet because of you, his childhood friend. You were a royal too like him and the two of you bonded over the struggles of being in line for the throne together. You were the light to his dark depressing life.

🎀Yandere! Prince who grow possessive of you as you two grow older. He was already controlling over you when you were kids, not letting you having another friend other than him. But it only get worse now that you both are adults. Your beauty and worth are attracting too many suitors. He can't have that happened, you're going to be taken away from him!

💌Yandere! Prince who uses his power and influence to chase away your suitors, even at the cost of his parents being angry at him. It doesn't matter, if it mean he can keep you all to himself, that's all that matters. You matter the most to him, no one and nothing can change that.

🎀Yandere! Prince who's last straw snapped after finding out you were to be wed to another foreign royal. That night he poisoned his father and mother and set to become the new ruler of his kingdom the next day. He'd do anything, if it meant cancelling your engagement so you can be wed to him instead.

Drabble under the cut!

💌Short Drabble bc why tf not :

You were currently in a carriage and on your way to pay your friend a visit. After receiving the devastating news of the King and Queen passings, you immediately rushed to comfort your grieving friend, Prince Victor.

His parents sudden deaths meant that he'd rose to the throne to continue ruling his kingdom. You pitied your friend predicament, with becoming a King comes a huge responsibility.

"Poor Vic.. he must be overwhelmed and under so much pressured right now.." You muttered while looking at the scenery outside the window.

"We've arrived, your highness"

The coachman opens the carriage door and stepped aside for you to descend before bowing.You thanked him and made your way inside the palace, it's usual powerful aura felt gloomy with the loss of the King and Queen.

"[Name], how kind of you to pay me a visit"

You heard Victor's voice from behind you.Turning around you enveloped the taller man in a hug, catching by surprise. He recovered immediately and reciprocate it albeit a bit too tightly for comfort.

"Vic! I was looking for you.. and of course I would, the King and Queen are like a family to me. Also, I wanted to be there for you in this rough time"

Victor felt his face burning up at your words, oh if only you knew he was the one behind his parents deaths. You wouldn't be comforting him like you are now.

"I'm glad to hear that, [Name]. We consider you as one too"

After all, you would be part of his bloodline soon once you are wed to him after the period of mourning is over.

For now he'll just have to play up the act of grieving for his parent's deaths.

•┈••✦ 🎀✦••┈•💌•┈••✦ 🎀 ✦••┈•

[sweetiebugwrites]

Drabble #4

Nargles?

Xenophilius was a kind man. However, he believed in Nargles and Crumple-Horned Shortsnacks and other fairy tale creatures which he in turn, told all about to their Y/N. Although she stood still hanging onto every word she quickly noticed her group of boys finally pile in at the Gryffindor table for lunch. The very same, Xenophilius noticed Pandora enter the great hall and the two quickly said their goodbyes with promises of catching up at a later date. “Goodbye Phili! You must go into more detail later! Do tell Pandora I said hello!”

Sirius perks up at her voice, only to scrunch his face with disdain, had she called him Phili? Standing up from his scrunched position and moving his foot off the bench he greets her with wide arms. 

“Hi, Pup!” He smiles happily, wasting no time to wrap his arms around her and pick her up, letting her feet barely gloss over the floor. Taking the liberty to sway her back and forth enthusiastically as he hums in her ear while the other boys make room on the bench for one another. 

She giggles slightly out of breath, cheeks already turning pink as she lets out a chuff. “Hi, boys!” Plopping down on the seat beside James and Remus she reaches a hand over to Peter, tapping his arm and waving from across the table. With a shy wave back and a swift “Hi, Sunny.” Peter wastes no time to gather his lunch, quickly handing some water over to Y/N as she searches haphazardly over the broad surface. She barely has time to say ‘thank you’ before Remus is nudging her arm with his elbow, disturbing her from hoarding the strawberries adjacent to the group.

“So, Dove. Who were you talking to earlier? That blonde bloke?” He raises a curious eyebrow as Sirius sits opposite next to Peter, eagerly awaiting to see what ‘Phili’ had to say that was so enthralling. From his position adjacent to her, he taps his foot to hers under the table and waggles his eyebrows. 

She lightly giggled and tapped his foot back before lighting up at Remus’ words, quickly nibbling the last bite of her fruit and a quick sip of water before excitedly straightening up besides the boys as she remembers her previous conversation. “Have you guys ever heard of Nargles?!” Eyes wide and a tad crazy, the boys glance at one another as she waves her hands going into great detail of the little creatures, something about how they live in mistletoe and having tiny wings and pointed antennae. By the time she’s finished she’s a tad out of breath, smiling with childlike bewilderment and an excitable glean in her eyes as she waits for their response. “Don’t they sound amazing? If only I knew how to catch one…” Finishing her thoughts she looks back up to the boys, a curious almost distant look finding home on her face. 

“Pup? What just came out of your mouth?” Sirius says earnestly, not knowing if she was pulling one of her own little ‘jokes’ on them or simply believed everything that blonde chap had told her. Either way, she certainly had a way of explaining.

James even looked down at her from staring at Lily, his focus only popping in and out making him even more confused when no one was saying anything. “Y/N, I don’t think those are real.” He says unconvinced although he backtracks upon noticing her smile falling, “I mean, maybe we just haven’t learned about them yet? I’ve certainly never heard of anything remotely close to a Nurgle?”

She ‘tsks’, making a stray grape flick to his shoulder to correct him, “No James, a Nargle, it’s called a Nargle!” She exclaims exasperatedly. Y/N turns to Remus, targeting the young werewolf. “Do you think they’re real Mooney?” 

“I don’t see why not Dove. Many people don’t believe in ghosts, least of all a werewolf, anything is possible these days. Who’s to say a —“ he takes a moment to meet her eyes before continuing, “a Nargle isn't to be hiding in all your holiday shrubs.” He keeps staring at her before slowly reaching for a strawberry from her bowl as a distraction as he meets James' eyes, both boys sharing pure confusion.

“Yeah, who’s to say when those pesky Nargles won’t strike!” James quickly flings around the edge of the table, one arm sliding around her waist the other gripping across her shoulder and she squeals pushing away from him as he squeezes her playfully, quickly laughing at the joke though her heart rate is through the roof. The other boys break into laughter instantly, Remus throwing a victory strawberry in his mouth while she sends a very threatening glare his way. 

“You lot are going to send me to an early grave.” She groans still in James’ grasp. Slugging against her dear friend (no pun intended) Y/N slings her feet over Remus’ lap and he instantly brings his hand to support her calves, slowly rubbing circles with his thumb on her tensed muscle through the thick uniform fabrics.Sirius sits across the table watching his three friends chuckling at one another but he can’t help but think that he doesn’t want Y/N talking to that weirdo again, not wishing him to spill her tales of nonsense. She’s far too impressionable. As much as he’ll support her and encourage her own theories, he knows for a fact that those knock off imps don’t exist in the slightest. Or maybe it was because he wanted to be the one to fill her head with thoughts that made her so excited she nearly combusted.

[soarelesiluna-ao3]

sorry to hear that you’re feeling sad :(

hope that this can cheer you up! pick your favorite ship (or your favorite character and pair it with reader) and imagine them in a comfortable and cuddly situation, just some pure fluffy vibes

hope that you feel better soon! <3

You know what, I'll take this chance to write a bit more about Lucio and Tommaso because I'm really feeling them tonight. Thanks, kind anon!

Here's the continuation to my previous drabble - which you can access right here to read it!

I'll go back to my requests soon enough, promise. Life is kinda heavy atm but I swear I'll go back to writing regularly. I just need to get used to this new pace of life.

Content under the cut!

Lucio's back finally touched the bed in the hotel room and a loud sigh came out of his lips. It was a good thing all these interviews were done with casual clothes and no mime makeup - he simply wouldn't have the energy to take it all off at the end of the day. So now all he did was take a shower, put on a robe, dry his hair and be dead weight over the sheets. Just another day in the life of a super star.

Tommaso shut the door behind him as he left the bathroom too. The room had been properly warmed with the heating system, so it wasn't really necessary for the two of them to get dressed right away. Instead, both chose to lay beside each other in their robes, even when they could've gone to their separate beds.

"I should've just stuck to writing in my bedroom", Lucio joked. "I wouldn't be this tired by the end of the day."

Tommaso was about to make a remark about how else he could've gotten him tired in his bedroom, but he chose not to. He still had trouble regulating those thoughts after Lucio said all those things about wanting to try and fall in love. But he did his best. After all these years of yearning, something had to give. And there was no way he was messing up the chance.

"I think it's worth it, though, all of Italy loves you, as they should", he smiled. "Want me to order some room service? I think we're still on that time frame."

"Eh, I think tea? It'd help me fall asleep faster."

"Fine then."

Tommaso grabbed the phone and ordered some things. He was told they'd be coming in a while. After hanging up, he took his place back beside Lucio.

"But really... All that matters to me is making myself proud and I think I'm really getting somewhere I like", his hair moved when he nodded. "And I think that you've also played a part on it."

"Ah, come on..."

"Which is also why I chose you to fall in love in the first place. Because you already mean a lot to me, you know. I think my heart would be in good hands. Your hands", he made a point to grab Tommaso's hands and trace his fingers with his thumbs. "They look tough, after all those years of playing guitar. But it's good for me. Because I know those tough hands will be the gentlest and strongest in handling my feelings with care, should they arise."

All those words made the guitarist's heart rush all of a sudden. Lucio was always great with words, so this shouldn't have come as a surprise, but still, he was able to stun him so quickly. God.

"Trust me, Lu, I have no intention of letting you down. You've been able to trust me this far, right?"

"And I will continue to do so. Believe me", a pause. "Let me hold you in my arms."

Tommaso immediately moved between those slender arms, hiding into the crook of his neck as his hands wrapped around his waist. The hotel robes provided less coverage than usual. It wasn't like their skins hadn't touched before - Lucio seemed to have an allergy to wearing shirts in the summer, so the both of them napped shirtless frequently back in Maremma. But somehow, after all these talks, it felt different. Closer.

"I like hugging you", Lucio smiled to himself. "You feel so warm. I could stay like this all night."

Tommaso was about to say something like "then do it", but a knock on the door took him out from his thoughts. Room service. Damn it. Reluctantly, he got up from his place to get their drinks. In the meantime, Lucio opened a window and lit up a cigarette.

"I brought my portable record player, by the way", Lucio spoke from the window. "Take it out of my luggage and choose one. Let's hang out a little longer."

Because, for Lucio, these precious times were what falling in love were like.

Just being around him felt alright.

[zairene]

remembrance, suguru geto.

drabble. the action of remembering the dead. | wc: 493.

besides being satoru gojo’s only best friend, suguru geto also considered himself to be your lover. well, previous lover anyway.

you and suguru’s days together were during the years you both spent at jujutsu high. when you first met him, you were introduced to the kind and well-mannered young man he used to be. he carried himself with pride in being a jujutsu sorcerer. someone with dreams and aspirations, an unfathomable amount of hope for his future. that is the man you fell in love with.

he showered you in his infatuation for you, never letting any doubt fill your mind on whether or not he loved you. he was everything that someone could ask for in a partner. he was caring, loving, and most of all, he was mature. you both embraced the mistakes you both would make to one another and actively worked to fix problems, together. you both had a proper understanding that your relationship was a bond, and it takes two people for it to exist. loving him didn’t feel like a silly teenage relationship that you’d be embarrassed to look back on years into the future.

your love felt like a romance movie, where the main character somehow stumbles across their soulmate, the person that they want to be with forever, and like all fairytales, you would both live happily ever after. unfortunately for you, you ended up with one of the worst endings to a movie you could imagine.

the events that followed riko’s death could only be described by you as suguru’s mental spiral. this is when your relationship with him started to become rocky. he started to become increasingly distant, despite your pleas to let him know that you were there for him. that you wanted to support him. and that you loved him. however, those words fell on deaf ears. as time continued, you began to wonder, is this relationship even worth fighting for?

that mission completely destroyed him.

unbeknownst to you, everything about suguru’s previous ideologies began to shift and you had no idea whether that also meant his feelings for you did the same.

silence lingered in the room you both shared when you both broke up. it took the very existence of your beings and swallowed it whole, going down into a deep pit of nothingness and uncertainty, which seemed to perfectly mirror your dilemma.

“you refuse to talk,” you said, an attitude very present in your tone. another moment of unbearable silence passes by. you press on. “you refuse to do anything to save this relationship that’s dying.” you turn to him. “do you want it to die, suguru?”

as you reflect on this memory, the word “die” continuously feeds at your foul. it leaves no room for interpretation, intensifying your dejection. your mind produced the thought that maybe your utterance had manifested his death. some would deem it nearly impossible or far-fetched, but you couldn’t help but entertain the idea.

[threehuskiesinatrenchcoat]

Well well well, we‘re back at it again.

You‘ve seen a big part of this before bc I can’t keep this shit from you, it’s a bit embarrassing ngl lmao. I finished it now tho!

The rest of it is on ao3 bc I refuse to post smut on here. Do others do it? Yea. Have I read it? Yea. I won‘t tho. I wanna be able to show my blog to friends, sorry. Can‘t have horny mfs on there for that /hj

This drabble is inspired by the John Wick movie-verse. people r legit sleeping that one

For easy access imma give y’all the link for the series real quick (and yes, I made it into a series, so any and all comments on later chapters r lost but it’s easier to navigate now, hopefully):

https://archiveofourown.org/series/3828004

Enjoy!

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

Vargas was looking at him, all half-lidded eyes and contemplative smirk and it was driving him insane. They’d been at the bar for about an hour now, low lights dancing through the room, bathing it in a dizzying mix of pinks and blues, drinks flowing freely for everyone around them. Phillip knew this wasn’t the moment to get drunk, though. The mission to infiltrate the club and keep an eye on their mark had priority, no matter how much attention his mission partner was showering him with.

“If you’re not careful, someone’s gonna see the way you look at me”, he mumbled into his drink, surveying the dancefloor. Their mark wasn’t as far away as just a minute ago, making her way towards the bar they were sitting at. It was an opportunity, but he needed the Mexican to keep a cool head if he wanted it to work.

“What if I want them to see? The type of rumours it could spark…” The other’s taunting grin irritated him and he shot him a frosty glare.

“It won’t be as fun when the families get involved, believe me.” He ignored Vargas’ dismissive scoff and noted the mark’s position just two seats over. Honestly, there were better ways to spend a Saturday night, but the woman had dirt on high-ranking members of both their families. Discretion was needed and goodwill had to be shown, hence the involvement from both families – no one could secure the information to use it against the other later. Of course, it was Phillip’s luck to get paired with Vargas. Their continued shared work in the past, if reluctant, had proven successful and success was all their families needed right now. Personal vendettas were of no importance in this, never mind any other kind of previous mingling.

With a last warning look towards the other, who rolled his eyes and ordered another drink, he turned around, acting surprised at seeing the young woman close to them. He smiled charmingly when he caught her eye and feigned interest. “What’s a fine-looking lady like you doing here. We haven’t met before, have we?”

She seemed a bit suspicious of him, but smiled nonetheless, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear, revealing a glittering earring. “I don’t think we have, no.”

“That sounds about right. I’d remember a woman as stunning as you. I’m Jason by the way, it’s nice to meet you,” he drawled, putting on his Southern charm and holding out his hand. He didn’t like leaning into it, but many people outside the South liked it enough for him to use it again and again.

She gingerly took his offered hand, shook it once and they got talking. Marienne was French and had studied computer science, she owned a small poodle and had a sister. Phillip nodded and smiled along despite knowing all of it already. There was nothing new she could tell him except where she had hidden the information she had hacked their databases for. He would find out, one way or another, the pressure of his gun against his back where he had tucked in into his waistband a welcome reassurance.

Marienne smiled at him again as she leaned forward, asking him to come home with her for the night. It went just as he had hoped it would, but before he could agree, a hand landed on his hip, making him lose his train of thought as Alejandro stood right beside them, eyeing the woman. Graves’ heartbeat synced with the song‘s bass reverberating through the club, heat spreading from where their bodies touched. He must’ve been listening in to their conversation and gotten up when he heard her request. Something dark glimmered in his eyes and Phillip had a bad feeling about it.

The Mexican looked her up and down and then spoke, voice rough and dangerous. “I didn’t think you would want to get back at me that badly. Is she supposed to make me jealous? You can do better.” It was clear he was talking to Phillip despite looking at their target. Graves was speechless; partially out of surprise, partially out of anger. Couldn’t Vargas take the mission serious for even a moment? This was a huge opportunity he was ruining, as the woman looked from him to Phillip and back again, a sliver of apprehension and fear in her eyes.

She was starting to stand up. He had to save this somehow. Standing as well, he forcefully, if discreetly, removed the other’s hand from his hip and pushed him away as inconspicuously as possible. “He’s joking, I’m not with him.” He smiled reassuringly at her and winked. “Why don’t we get outta here, it’s getting late.” She nodded, but was hesitant about it. Graves slipped a tracker into her handbag while she was distracted by Alejandro still only a few feet away from them. It turned out to have been the right decision, as the other grabbed Phillip’s hand still keeping him in place and brought it up to his mouth to kiss the inside of his wrist.

“Oh please, you can drop the act. My attention is all yours.” He practically growled the last words, sending a shiver down Graves’s spine. This was not the plan. Their target took that moment to give a hasty goodbye and vanish into the crowd. Angry, the American turned towards his assigned partner and glared at him. The bar was more populated now, so he ripped his hand out of the other’s and seized his arm, steering Vargas outside and into a nearby alley.

“What the fuck was that? We almost had her!” Alejandro just grinned and Phillip’s blood started to boil. He pushed the other up against the dirty wall of the alley, the suit’s lapels clutched in his fists and his own nose just a few centimetres away from the Mexican’s. With bared teeth, he had to hold himself back from pulling a knife and getting rid of the nuisance in his grasp. “Why can’t you behave like the professional you’re supposed to be for one evening.”

WELL WELL WELL dw dw ily and i would be offended if you _didn't_ give me spoilers to chew on sjhgfdjsfhgsdf >:)

with that i can finally post this thing i drew for it!!! yay

yall, go read the whole thing NOW as usual im losing my mind and screaming and crying and everything in-between im gonna bite my laptop in half and it's gonna be YOUR fault sir

[sams-art-domain]

One shot/drabble thingy idk (skk/Dazai and Chuuya from bsd)

15!Chuuya being transmasc & Dazai not knowing and condescendingly calling Chuuya girl things ( “princess” “good girl” etc) ,to be mean but then Chuuya thinks Dazai’s realized he’s trans and gets really upset about it 

“Here fine, your fucking pen or whatever-“ Chuuya threw Dazai’s pen at him, rolling his eyes and going to sit down on the ground across from Dazai. 

“Good girl!!” Dazai exclaimed jokingly, trying to be condescending. Not knowing the can of worms he just exploded open with 20 sticks of dynamite. 

Chuuya froze, cringing at the “girl”- he thought he passed pretty well? Could Dazai tell? Dazai talked about him and to him like a guy? What happened? Did he figure it out?? Chuuya got pissed. What a dick- he clearly wanted to be a guy even if he wasn’t born one.

“The fuck you just call me?” Chuuya whipped his head around, glaring at Dazai. The amount of bite in Chuuya’s words strong enough to break bone. “Not a fucking girl.”

Dazai realized Chuuya was actually mad. What happened? Why would “good girl” piss him off that much??? “Noted…” he paused. “Why are you so pissed?” Dazai questioned monotonously. 

“I’m clearly a fucking guy.” Chuuya rolls his eyes and frowns, not sat down yet but looking down at dazai, who's sitting cross-cross on the ground with a blank expression.

Dazai didn’t really know how to respond. So he’s just insecure? Is he really that much of an insecure dude? Is that why he’s so aggressive, so he can be some kind of stupid alpha male? 

Chuuya’s gaze fell for a moment. “I’m a fucking dude.” He paused. “Right?” Chuuya seemed less aggressive and more worried than anything.

Ohhhhh Chuuya’s that- whatsitcalled.. trans? Yeah. Oh okay. Dazai finally started piecing together the puzzle, Chuuya’s high-pitched voice, the slouch, the layers of clothes- to seem flat chested.. Dazai decided to play oblivious, wanting Chuuya to trust him with that in his own time. “Yeah? You’re a dude.” Dazai pauses, trying to revive the previous mood. “Just verryyy useful! Like a dog~” He continues, dragging out the ‘dog’ for comedic effect.

Chuuya let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, then quickly got in a better mood. “I’m not your dog!!” Chuuya backhanded Dazai in the head. Dazai faking a cry of pain. Thank god Dazai didn’t figure it out- or if he did didn’t care. Maybe it would different this time.

“Bad dog!!” Dazai exclaimed as they began to argue, as they usually do.

Maybe  Chuuya will tell him another time. Whatever, Dazai’s content with this as is. 

[alfvaen]

Summer's ended, not for the first time. I guess I can see that it was not as ridiculously hot and smoky as some of the other recent summers around here, but still not great. Also ended is another month, which means it's time for me to ramble about books and stuff.

Possible spoilers for Kim Stanley Robinson's "Science In The Capital" series, Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching books, C.L. Polk's Kingston Cycle, and, for the last time for a while, Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga.

Lois McMaster Bujold: Gentleman Jole And The Red Queen, completed September 4

Here I come at last to the end of my latest Vorkosigan Saga reread. And my first reread of this book at all. It came out after I reached the end of the series in my reread blog in 2015, which was probably the last time I did a full reread of the series up to that point. I did read a number of books in the series to my sons when they got old enough, but I was unable to persuade them to go much past A Civil Campaign with my lukewarm assessments of the later books.

My primary impression of my first read of the series is that nothing happens. Which I'm sure is not a fair assessment, but, basically, it does not reach the level of excitement of any of the previous books in the series whatsoever. I kept catching what I thought where clues about where the plot was really going to go when it picked up, and then every single time it turned out to be a false alarm and the plot continued to not pick up. It's a fairly gentle book, and I found that excruciatingly annoying.

Sure, we return to Cordelia, we return to Sergyar, we revisit some of the landmarks (literally) from Shards of Honour. See, the surprise ending of Cryoburn (which I am now spoiling for you all) is the death of Aral Vorkosigan, and all that we get to deal with it is five drabbles (100-word snippets from the point of view of Miles, Cordelia, Ivan, Gregor and Mark). For this book, it's three years later, and Cordelia, now sole Vicereine of Sergyar, is contemplating changing her life in two ways: by resigning as Vicereine…and starting some embryos of new children of hers and Aral's from his frozen seed.

We also get to really meet Admiral Oliver Jole, who's in charge of the fleet around Sergyar. Previously I only remember him as one of Aral's staff officers back in The Vor Game. And it is gradually revealed (perhaps a spoiler, but I don't really care) that that whole time, he was Aral's lover. In fact, Aral, Cordelia and Jole were a secret throuple. It makes a kind of sense, since, by Cordelia's assessment, Aral is bisexual but more attracted to men, particularly military men. He probably wants to be monogamous, to be a good Barrayaran, but Cordelia's from Beta Colony and they have far fewer sexual hangups, so she wouldn't care, and so he gets to have his same-sex relationship as well.

Cordelia tells Jole that out of her frozen eggs, some of them weren't viable, but they can do a thing where they can remove the nucleus and replace it with genetic material from another cell. Including a sperm cell. So she offers him the chance to create his own embryos with his and Aral's DNA. Which he accepts. And so now they're both gestating some children in uterine replicators…and then they end up starting their own affair. It sounded like they had had their own sexual encounters before, but only with Aral also participating; now they're trying a relationship with just the two of them, sub rosa at first.

About halfway through the book, we get Miles and his family coming to visit, which is nice to see (though it still doesn't lead to anything exciting happening), including all six of their kids. Miles is in the loop on his mother's plans for new children, but not about Jole.

There's also a few subplots--Jole's assistant who ends up dating a ghem-lord from the Cetagandan embassy, plans to build a new facility so they can relocate the capital away from its current too-close-to-a-volcano location that keep going awry, and bored teenagers getting into trouble (which provides one of the few moments of tension). One explosion near the end which provides one of the others.

When I think of similarly low-excitement stories from elsewhere in the saga, I mostly end up with novellas--"Winterfair Gifts", perhaps, which is maybe principally a romance; "The Mountains of Mourning", which was a mystery, and still had attempted horse-murder and firebombing, and infanticide, so it packs way more of a punch; and "The Flowers of Vashnoi", which still has a little drama in it. This one is attempting to be an entire novel and it feels like it doesn't have enough steam. It also kind of reminds me of Ursula Le Guin's Tehanu, which I recall being equally dull for large chunks of it, and even that had some excitement at the end. This one just feels like waving a languid goodbye.

Goodbye, Vorkosigan Saga. We'll always have Memory. We'll probably never get to see stories with Miles's children (or Cordelia and Jole's children, or Ivan's or Gregor's) growing up, outside of fanfic. Lois isn't being mean to the characters any more, they can have their happily ever after.

Jenn Lyons: The Ruin of Kings, completed September 11

It was time to try a new author again, a female author. But considering the last two books were SF and urban fantasy, probably not one of those, which was a bit of a quandary because many of the one I was interested in were one of those. But I browsed the epic fantasy books on my shelf and decided to go with Jenn Lyons. I've heard good things about it, and my wife recommended it (and has read the whole series), so I guess. It seems thick, but it's actually not even 600 pages in the copy I've got, and I'm not worried about long books putting me behind on my Goodreads challenge any more anyway. (Since I changed my goal from 100 to 90, then added those two short humorous library books, I've been consistently ahead. I might be able to fit in a Neal Stephenson before the end of the year.)

The book is oddly structured. In the first part, our main character, Kihrin, is in jail and being watched over a being named Talon who seems to have absorbed the memories of a lot of other people. They pass back and forth a "recording stone" and tell Kihrin's story at different points (Kihrin started later than Talon thought he should so she takes it upon herself to fill in the backstory). This happens over alternating chapters (labelled with who's doing the telling), fairly short, Kihrin's in first person and Talon's in third, and often from different POVs. Oh, and this is also being annotated by a different character that we don't even meet until half to two-thirds of the way through the book, who puts in footnotes that I'm not sure even add much value.

I'm not entirely sure it all works. There's the disorientation of the rapid timeline shifts, the confusion of when the further-forward timeline mentions something that hasn't happened in the backstory timeline, the fact that due to body-swapping magic I started to lose track of who was who and who was whose child/parent and who was dead and who was alive… Sometimes information was dropped that seemed irrelevant, and so I didn't retain it, until it turned out that hey, that god was going to be an actual character and things that happened centuries ago are actually relevant. It feels like a book I'm going to have to reread, and not because "it was just that good" but because there's so much that I missed the first time through. (For instance, it's got icons at the beginnings of chapters, which I missed about 95% of on my way through, even after I first noticed them.) I also belatedly noticed the family tree at the back, which might have been helpful earlier (or perhaps spoilery), and it's confusingly annotated because of the body-swap thing mentioned above. And yeah, a lot of godlike characters with weird relationships to each other and Kihrin. (I do actually kind of like Talon, who is an interesting and dangerously amoral character mostly being used a tool by others.) Plus a significant item which seemed to just randomly appear to the main character during the climax? That could have been done better with a little bit of foreshadowing and/or lampshading to explain why it was more than just a horrendous coincidence.

It reminded me in bits of other series. The backstory structure reminded me a little bit of the Kingkiller Chronicles, some of the characters and worldbuilding reminded me of the Eli Monpress series, and the mostly nasty noble characters made me think of Pierce Brown's Red Rising. I will doubtless continue reading the series, but it hasn't fully won me over.

Mark Twain: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, completed September 15

I definitely wanted a palate-cleanser after the Jenn Lyons, something that wasn't fantasy. And maybe not even speculative fiction at all. And, because of my schedule, with a male author. And Huckleberry Finn has been sitting there for a while…and sometimes even gets some discussion on Tumblr, mostly to do with people claiming it's a bad book because Huck uses the n-word, and other people rebutting that that's part of the whole point, having it examine Huck's learned racism, or something. So it's still being talked about, is the thing, more often than, say, Madame Bovary.

As you may have gathered, the vast majority of my reading is science fiction or fantasy, and very little of it is what anyone might call "literature". (My wife and I had a disagreement recently about whether or not Sherlock Holmes stories count as "literature". I think that they're detective stories and thus still kind of genre, like the Dick Francis books are thrillers. But it's a fine distinction.) I read very little mainstream until I was in university, when I decided to branch out a bit. I actually liked Thomas Hardy's The Return of The Native, so I went out and read some more on my own initiative (mostly I liked them except for Jude The Obscure), and I also liked Dickens and Twain and Victor Hugo, and to some extent George Eliot and Jane Austen. But most of it just doesn't scratch that itch and give me what I want in a read.

I am already somewhat familiar with the Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn milieu. Which is to say, I had a tape of the soundtrack of a Tom Sawyer musical when I was a kid (lost decades ago, I couldn't even hum any of the songs, but I remember the bit about the fence whitewashing and the confrontation with "Inj*n Joe" at the end), and I had the Classic Comics version of Huckleberry Finn so in theory I know basically how it goes. I read the actual Twain version of Tom Sawyer a few years ago, but I haven't read this one yet.

So, is it the greatest American novel ever written? Chyeah, right. I mean, it was fine, I guess. It had its moments. It was very episodic as they went down the river (and, as was lampshaded in the text, why would you head south down the river, apart from the obvious answer of "it's hard to go upstream", when you're trying to help a runaway slave get to free states)? It was entertaining in parts, when Huck was coming up with regular off-the-cuff entire fictional backstories. Constant use of the n-word, which I was expecting, though perhaps not quite that much. But it's first-person POV so I guess it's just Huck's vernacular. Still, I can see that it would be off-putting.

The most annoying parts of the book, I'd say, were the parts actually involving Tom Sawyer. Tom apparently has a mental disorder where he reads a lot of bad books and absorbs their clichés and then insists that all of the clichés have to be present every time or else you're not doing it right. We see it near the beginning of the book where he's trying to set up the local boys as bandits or something (though grudgingly he admits that it's all really pretend), but it also dominates the last quarter of the book. Due to outlandish coincidence, Huck is staying with Tom's uncle and aunt who think that he's Tom, and when Tom actually shows up he has to pretend to be his own brother Sid. But Jim has also been captured as a runaway slave and Huck wants to free him. And Tom insists that Jim has to do all of the prisoner clichés and make the actual rescue 1000% harder, to the point of having to spend days digging a tunnel, warning the household in anonymous notes, getting a grindstone for him to scratch messages on (which they have to actually let Jim out to help them do), giving him random animal companions, and I was not there for it. It was trying to be funny but mostly it just came across as stupid.

And the reason Jim got captured in the first place was because of these two con artists they'd been traveling with, who were generally referred to as "the duke" and "the king" because of their respective claims to alleged nobility. They are nasty pieces of work (well, not so bad as Huck's actually-abusive father that he fakes his own death to get away from in the early part of the book, but highly distasteful) that at least do manage to get themselves tarred and feathered by the end, but I didn't enjoy most of the time we spent with them. So if we take the other third of the book without them or Tom Sawyer, it was pretty enjoyable. The rest of the time it was mostly just tolerable.

Kim Stanley Robinson: Sixty Days And Counting, completed September 21

After the laugh-fest that was Huckleberry Finn, I didn't want something too light-hearted, and I was still feeling a little off fantasy, so I went through my male-author books looking for something else, like maybe some science fiction. It had been more than a year (my usual "long-enough" criterion for continuing in a series) since I read the last book in Kim Stanley Robinson's "Science In The Capital" series, so I thought it might be a good choice.

I'm not always the biggest Kim Stanley Robinson fan. His Orange County trilogy was middling, and while I did enjoy the Green Mars trilogy, some parts were a bit of a slog. But, to my surprise, this series has been pretty readable. It focuses on a group of people in and around the National Science Foundation in what is presumably a near-future or, by this time, possibly-alternate-near-past. (The books were published during the second Bush administration.) We have the Quibler family--Charlie and Anna, and their kids Nick and Joe, and then we have Frank Vanderwal. Frank starts out in San Diego but comes to Washington to work for the NSF, Anna also works there, and Charlie was an assistant for Senator Phil Chase. In the first book, Forty Signs of Rain, there's a big rainstorm and the capital floods; in the second, Fifty Degrees Below, there's a very cold winter and the Gulf Stream starts shutting down. Because the series is primarily about climate change.

Frank seems to have the most interesting plotlines--he meets a mysterious woman mamed Caroline during the flood, whose husband seems to be into some shady dealings such as election tampering, and they have an affair, and during the second book he starts sleeping rough in his van and in a treehouse in a local park; he may also have gotten a brain injury that affects his decision-making processes. Meanwhile, Senator Phil Chase ends up running for president (spoilers: he wins) and somehow manages to commit to trying to deal with climate problems (which is how you can tell this is actually science fiction).

There's also a subplot about a group of climate refugees from a fictionalized place called Khembalung in alternate-Tibet, who were displaced onto islands in the Indian Ocean which are now disappearing as ocean levels rise. Charlie deals with parenting young Joe (who some Khembali suspect might be a reincarnation of a Dalai Lama-type figure) while his job for Phil Chase becomes more important.

I guess the nature of the plot (and the fact that it's supposed to be mostly realistic) means that, without a large timeskip to the future, we can't have a strong resolution that ties up all the climate loose ends. We deal with the Caroline plot, and there is progress made on the climate problems, but the rest mostly seems to just…end at a point. Plus there are plenty of scenes which are just there for theme or atmosphere or something (did we really need to see so much of Charlie and Frank hiking the Sierra Nevada with some of Charlie's friends?) It didn't gel for me, and it's gotten to the point where it feels like alternate history more than extrapolation. I'm sure it won't be the last Kim Stanley Robinson I read, but I liked the other books in the series better.

Terry Pratchett: A Hat Full of Sky, completed September 24

Reread time again, and now that I've finished the Vorkosigan reread, what's next? Well, some of the series I've been rereading have been longer ones, but I couldn't settle on another one of those. I kept thinking of shorter series to reread instead. And when I did the Katherine Kurtz Deryni series in four trilogies, I found it was nice to stick my interstitial rereads one at a time in the middle of the series rather than put them all at the end, and that's also what I did during the Vorkosigan reread. So this time I am going to be doing three shorter series rereads, and my four interstitial rereads before and after each one.

Among the "interstitials" is my slower Discworld series reread. I elected not to reread the whole thing all at once, because that's like 40 books, that would have taken too long, so instead I've been doing one book per other series reread. In fact, I started the reread before I got into doing all the series rereads, apparently, way back in like 2005, before Unseen Academicals was even out, which explains how I've managed to get this far into the series at this pace. One or two a year, and it kind of adds up. (In the interim I did read a lot of the series to my daughter as well, from Mort through to where we bogged down and abandoned The Fifth Elephant) My wife, who had fallen behind in the Discworld series apart from Amazing Maurice and the Tiffany Aching books, elected to read the books she'd missed just fast enough to stay ahead of me. (And now that I'm actually reached the Tiffany Aching rereads she may end up pulling even further ahead.)

When I first read The Wee Free Men I had no idea that there would be more Tiffany Aching books (and I don't know if Terry Pratchett did, either). I don't recall that it made a huge impression on me at the time, then. It was definitely aimed at younger readers, with a young protagonist and the Nac Mac Feegles for comic relief (and tiny but sort-of-adult reinforcements), and I, at the time, was not a younger reader. But I did like later books featuring Tiffany, and so this is the one where things do start to pick up a bit.

Now she's no longer trying to do everything on her own, she's being taken into the witching apprenticeship track, such as it is, which is a bit of an adjustment. And this ain't no Harry Potter. This is more like, say, the first part of A Wizard of Earthsea, before Ged goes to the wizard's college on Roke and is still studying with Ogion on Gont. Or maybe Tehanu, which I haven't read nearly as much and don't remember as clearly. But we also have a spooky creature, like Ged's shadow, for Tiffany to confront.

Apparently when I first read this I was kind of meh on it, since I only gave it three stars on Goodreads, but this time around I liked it better, and I'll bump it up to four. The Nac Mac Feegle scenes no longer strike me as gratuitous comedic pandering, and the book does a good job of showing Granny Weatherwax's power as a witch, as well as Tiffany's burgeoning powers. (And one has to wonder if Lois McMaster Bujold read this before "Penric's Demon" or if it's just a coincidence.)

C.L. Polk: Soulstar, completed September 28

"Female diversity" slot time again. (Anyone else getting tired of hearing me call it that? The more I repeat it the worse it sounds. How about "non-white non-male"?) Last time around I snuck in another Michelle Sagara, and perhaps I should be trying one of the new authors I have piling up for this slot, but I did kind of want to finish this C.L. Polk series first. She(/they) is a person of colour from the Calgary area, though I've never managed to see her in person.

This book is the third in the Kingston Cycle, set in a kind of analog of Britain, where they use magic to keep huge storms from devastating them. The only trouble is, having magic is illegal unless you're part of the existing group of magic families, who guard their prerogatives jealously, and illegal witches are locked up (to secretly power the weather magic). The first two books concern two siblings, Miles and Grace, from one of these families, one of whom was hiding his identity after undergoing experiences likely to get him locked away, and the other trying to use her political power for good ends. For the third book, though, we switch to an unrelated side character, Robin Thorpe, who was one of these hidden witches, but the political landscape has now changed and they can come out of hiding--and need to, to save their country. Robin is heavily involved with an anti-monarchist group who wants a full democracy in the country; with all the upheaval, is it the right or wrong time to move forward?

The books also have romance subplots, which are…well, let's just say none of them are heterosexual. In this one, Robin is reunited with her nonbinary spouse who has been a captive for decades, so it's a renewal of relationship rather than a new relationship, but still with a romance feel to it.

There were times in the book where I was just seething at some of the horrible things the (generally rich and arrogant) antagonists were able to get away with, but in the end they got their come-uppances. It's a kind of a short book, actually, and at the end I did feel like I wouldn't have minded more of some plot threads, but overall it did feel like a satisfactory conclusion to the trilogy. We also have Polk's The Midnight Bargain and clearly that will have to go on my shelf.

I also read a few more comics from April 1994 on Marvel Unlimited (and a handful of back issues, now that they've started putting those in again), and then I started reading the Ed Yong book An Immense World that I believe I got for my birthday a couple of months ago. It's about the senses that various animals and other living beings use to experience the world. My progress has been kind of fitful, depending on how my fiction book reading progresses in a day and whether I feel like just doing puzzles or games or something, but I can often manage a few pages near the end of the day.

[bozepomagaj]

Modern/College AU HC's! (Twins edition)

Nai/Knives Saverem

I plan on writing a small drabble on Rem's backstory and how she met&adopted the twins so I don't wanna spoil too much but as I mentioned, she worked as a biologist, made plenty of discoveries but then later on started focusing on rheumatology after taking the twins in. She found out after she adopted them that they both have a rare disease that barely any doctor was willing to work with, let alone give them some kind of treatment. Thankfully, Knives spent most of his life in remission, and when his symptoms did show, it was nowhere near like Vash. Vash's longest remission lasted for around 2 years. Since doctors didn't know what illness he had at first, they just stuffed him with random drugs that ended up causing other problems and illnesses in his body. I can go more into detail about the illnesses they have, but... maybe another time.

Due to all this, Knives takes meticulous care of his body. Goes to the gym regularly, makes sure to eat enough calories every day, takes supplements if needed, and has an extensive skincare routine. He has his sweet cravings, but he never indulges in them. 'Cheat days'? Never heard of them. Alcohol? He'd rather drink poison. I mean to him, it's the same.

Everyone thinks that the nickname 'Knives' came from Wolfwood, who kept calling him that because of his incredible cooking skills. In reality, it's because Knives had an affinity towards 'pretty' knives since he was a kid. A black higonokami and a trapper are his favorite possessions at the moment.

To add to the previous hc, Knives wanted to play darts so badly as a kid. He thought it would make him look cool, but Rem refused to buy him the game. So he just started throwing knives at the wall until she caved in and finally bought him the game so he'd stop making holes in her walls because she loved him. He loves playing 301 because he gets to show off how precise he can be.

Knives and Vash's shared apartment is big, but definitely not big enough to fit a grand piano, and it irks him. He bought an electric piano, but he absolutely despises it. It sounds too soulless, too shallow for him.

Cat dad? More like plant dad. That man has an insane amount of cacti in his room, their entire apartment is filled to the brim with all kinds of greenery Vash could rarely go outside as a kid due to him constantly going from hospital to hospital so plants and nature calm him down, he loves being surrounded by flowers but you can only find the cacti in his room, no other plant. Except... a singular Adam and Eve orchid next to his bed.

Surprisingly, Knives does enjoy video games. In fact, he was the one who first started playing them and got Vash into them. Anything with deep, unique plots and lots and lots of world building will have him drooling. Avid player of FF14 and a huge Zenos fan and defender. As for his favorite game, without a doubt, it's 'The Last Guardian' but he'll never admit it if you ask him.

Out of the entire friend group, the only person he actually likes is Milly, surprisingly. He knew her prior to finding out she's a part of Vash's friend group. They often went to the gym around the same times and left around the same times. It started with Milly trying to talk to him, but he'd never pay her any heed. But she continued. Hours upon hours. Every day. After some time, he finally started giving in, nodding and agreeing with what she's saying. Until they eventually started making actual conversations, giving each other tips, exchanging their favorite protein bars and their drinks. Vash was presently surprised by their friendship.

He enjoys sketching. Never actually making full-fledged art but just sketching either some type of scenery that left an impression on him or practicing dynamic poses he sees online or in fashion magazines. When he gets frustrated with his piano because it just 'doesn't sound right,' he'll plop down on hus bed, get himself a notebook, and start sketching until he gets bored of it. He wouldn't classify it as a hobby since he doesn't do it as often, but if he wanted to, he could definitely make some beautiful pieces of art.

Vash The Stampede

Plant dad #2 except he SUCKS. He has so many plants, sometimes when he's caught up with things he will completely forget to water them. He'll only notice when they wilt and he'll spend hours crying over it and feeling bad No, Knives isn't holding his laugh back when this happens, its just the allergies messing with him, he's just coughing.

Despite being incredibly ill, drumroll please... Vash has no allergies! He does have food restrictions, but hey, at least he can eat peanut butter!

Unlike his dear brother, he doesn't really watch after himself that well. Sure, he goes out on walks and spends an hour or two at the gym but dieting? Hell no, he's eating whatever he can, whenever he can.

Also, that man is as clumsy as it can get. He could be walking on a completely flat surface, and he'll still find a way to fall and hurt something.

Y'know how some people can tell when its gonna rain due to their joints hurting? Vash. Just... Vash. Everytime. But hey, at least everyone has their umbrellas always ready!

Like I mentioned with Knives, Vash loves video games! Simulators, RPG-s, point-and-click horror, anything! His favorite would definitely have to be 'Ori and the Will of the Wisps'. Loves the way it looks, and he always, and I mean always, cries when he sees Shrieks' backstory. The ending, too, makes him cry.

Also unlike Knives, he absolutely loves the multiplayer part of FF14. He'll spend hours of talking with people, making friends and just doing dumb shit.

Can't read notes for shit but will somehow make the most heart-wrenching tunes known to man when he gets ahold of his brothers piano. Knives will just stare at him, mouth agape, lowkey jealous...

Has plenty of cheesy, donut themed stuff around the house. Earrings, rings, cups with lil donuts on them, plates in the shape of a donut, shirts with donut puns, everything! This is due to Knives finally snapping and telling him to stop eating so much sugar every day. He is now allowed only 4 donuts per week.

He tends to get overwhelmed by beautiful scenery to the point of tears. Rem took them to a nearby forest once, near a stream during spring when flowers were in full bloom, and Vash ended up breaking down into tears because it was so beautiful to him.

Despite what Knives thinks, Vash doesn't always drink when he goes out. He does get drunk from time to time, but the cause of his clothes always smelling like alcohol is from constantly being on the dancefloor and bumping into people

Barely anyone knows about his condition, actually. He begged his professors not to tell anyone when he brought in the papers for the first time. As for his constant hospital visits, he'll just say he's 'unlucky' and got sick again, same goes for when he's gone for a couple of days/weeks.

That's it for now I think. If anyone has any questions or wants me to elaborate, I would absolutely love to do so🫡

[c0devex]

Schatten

A/n: here's another shadow drabble! I hope you like uncovering the parts of shadow as much as I do :)

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡ ˚

It's been a rather calm and peaceful day, which is rare for the type of work we do. Everyone is catching up on paperwork at the base, and I can hear the occasional sound of footsteps passing from one end of the corridor to the kitchen. What on earth am I doing? I'm lying on my single bed in total darkness, with pillows and blankets over my head to muffle the life around me. Today is strange, the kind of day where you wake up with a tightness in the pit of your chest. For me, this meant that a glimpse of the past was going to be unveiled. 

I quickly get to my feet and dash over to my vanity, where I fix my hair into its nice and tidy everyday style. My plate carrier hangs from the back of my tiny desk chair, and I grab my jacket from the back of the door. I know what I need to accomplish... I need to work out, but not the kind of workout you do when you think you're doing something good for your lifestyle. No, it wasn't like that. I needed my lungs to be heaving in agony in order to chase away whatever previous feelings my brain was going to regurgitate.

I pull a clean mask out of my top desk drawer. Standing in front of my small mirror in the corner of my quarters dressed in blue trousers, a black windbreaker, and a plate carrier... That should be adequate.  I grab my running shoes and lace them as quickly as I can, hoping to beat the mental clock that is about to explode. Swinging open my door at an alarming rate, I stumbled into the gray hallway.

My eyesight begins to blur as I rush through, colliding with fellow soldiers and hearing their grunts, but I don't stop to apologize. The way out is close; the hefty steel doors are the only thing standing between me and insanity. Fresh air reaches me swiftly.  The bleak gray clouds above offer a false sense of security, even soothing.  My boots rush on the gravel beneath me, and I begin at a problematic pace. The extra weight on my chest makes this run less enjoyable, but I don't want it to be. I reach around the base's stretch, and my heart beats in time with each stride. 

I glance at my watch 0.5 miles.

"Fuck you." I let out a hiss. His first raises, connecting perfectly with my nose. The warm blood trickles down my face and onto my lips.

"Maybe you should think before you open your mouth." He spins away from me on his heel, peering over his shoulder. "And speak when spoken to Little Schatten." He chuckles and walks out of the room, the cold steel rattling as he slams the door.

I glance down again 1.2 miles.

My jaw clenches and my eyes begin to blur, but my feet continue to follow the ground at a rapid rate. My lungs are starting to burn, and my thoughts are practically overflowing. The ringing in my ears is making my head spin. I come to an abrupt stop and lean against a nearby rock on the trail's edge. Chest heaving, tears running down my cheeks onto the moist ground underneath me. A deep voice vibrates through my body snapping my mind back to reality.

“Schatten!”

“Sir!?”

[sanpatron]

While I wouldn't consider the drabble explicit by any means, I still think it's necessary to put out a warning for anyone who might read it as I'd consider this quite heavy material. It ain't a happy post by any means as the intention is to go over Django's current state of mind and how he's been dealing with everything in his life that has led up to this moment. No holding back. Everything on full display. To anyone who does wind up reading this, I thank you for your time and hope you found something to enjoy regardless of how it's written.

I'm in bed again. Can't be bothered to move. Can't be bothered to go out. Can't be bothered to do a single damn thing that isn't just wallowing in my own misery. I'm tired. I'm sick of everything. I'm so done with myself and this constant pain I've been consumed by. How fucking stupid of me to think I'd be allowed to be happy on this godforsaken island. People like me don't deserve that. People like me are incapable of holding on to anything remotely good. I'm so fucking naive. I shouldn't have let myself get this lost in my emotions. Fuck them. I wish I could get rid of these awful things. Turn myself into an unfeeling piece of shit. I want to be completely devoid of any humanity. There's no point in trying anymore. Let me become a weapon. That's all I'm good for. That's all I'll ever be.

Four years and counting of this bullshit. And what for? I still have no idea. I don't think anyone who's stayed long enough knows either. Wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to be some kind of sick joke played on all of us. Sure feels that way to me. What the fuck do they even need a gangster on this island for? Am I meant to do something? Am I just a tool for them to use in case of another attack? For fucks sake just tell me already! PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TELL ME ALREADY. I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M STILL HERE WHEN I HAVE NOTHING LEFT.

This is Hell. This is my eternal punishment. Strip me of everything that made me who I am; my gang, my friends, my power. Take it all away and dump me here in some fucking hellhole where I can't do a single god damn thing about it. All the talk about fire and brimstone, demons tormenting you for eternity, none of that compares to this. It's a slow and agonizing waking nightmare that I will never get out of. I am doomed to rot here, living out a mundane existence until all my previous memories wither away like my will to continue.

For a moment I decide to sit up in bed and look out one of the windows. Before me is the Cotes Ward, with the rest of the city just barely in view. To think for a while I was actually fine staying here. That I could make a new life and live comfortably. Fuck easy living. Fuck being normal. I ain't that. I never will be.

As I continue to stare out across the city, one of my dogs decides to lie down next to me. Maybe I'm crazy—wouldn't be surprised—but I feel like they can all tell how tired I am. I can see the sympathy in their eyes. They don't need to understand what exactly led me down this path. All they need to know is that I'm sad. That I'm hurting. That I'm in such terrible pain. Those concepts are easy enough to grasp. Universal, even. And while I take great comfort in knowing that they feel for me, I really don't think this is what's going to set me free.

It's honestly suffocating. I don't know how in the hell people can even deal with this shit—especially with no one to talk to. Honestly, who the fuck can I even go to here? There's not a single soul who'd get me. Nobody wants to relate to a fucking criminal of all people. Actually, why do I even still call myself that? It's over! It's done! That life has been dead for years now! Everything I worked so hard for gone in an instant. It's all a sick joke. Fuck them! Fuck them! Fuck them! FUCK THEM! FUCK THEM! FUCK THEM! FUCK ME OF ALL PEOPLE! i can't even revive my own fucking gang here without messing it all up! Jesus Christ, and here I thought I was gonna go places?

I should be dead.

I should be dead.

Can't even fucking die here.

Can't fucking end this suffering.

Can't do anything but live with it.

I don't want to. I don't want to.

I DON'T WANT TO.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE MAKE IT STOP.

I DON'T WANT THIS ANYMORE.

I CAN'T TAKE IT.

THIS HURTS TOO MUCH.

My eyes open and I find myself yelling into a pillow. My poor dog is concerned. All of them have entered the bedroom now. I look at them with such exhaustion in my eyes. Wish I could cry it all out. Don't think I can anymore. Don't think I even know how to. Hate this. So tired. So very very tired.

I have no one on this island. I have no one who will stay with me. All of it is conditional. All of it is meaningless. There is no point in making connections anymore. There is no point in trying. There is no point in doing this for her, for myself, for anyone.

I accept my punishment. This is my eternal Hell. My prison.

I give up.

[cloudninetonine]

me back with another drabble? More likely than ya think >:3 no i wrote this while on 0 hours of sleep and will probably re-write it and or continue it later. Anyways hers an updated version/ prologue to my take of Mayu/Dame being with the player in youre lovely mess au. Enjoy! :3 --------

Panic and fear that's what Mayu felt in this moment. She's never been this scared before, not when the prince punished her , not when she upset Impa and not even when she fought her first lynel.No this was a new kind of fear and the worst part was she couldn't even tell the others around her what she was scared of. In all honesty she doesn't even know how she even got into this situation, everything was going just fine, nothing life threatening was happening at all she was was just walking around the castle grounds taking a small break for her traveling companions and next thing she knew she was in front of the castle again but something didn’t feel right. This led her to the current situation, walking with her were the nine previous heroes of hyrule and a person known as “the guide”. Now don't get her wrong, she thought the guide was a really sweet person and even felt some respect for them given how they had to deal with the chain's idiocy constantly but they weren't what was scaring her. What was making her feel this mass amount of fear was the chain themselves. Something wasn't right about them, they weren't the heroes she had previously traveled with, no this group had a darker feel to them not to mention how they glared at her every time the guide would interact with them.

It was sunset on the fourth day of traveling when they decided to stop for the night and set up camp, and that's when everything started to go downhill for mayu.The whole day she kept her guard up, she stayed a safe distance away from the others but they never let her out of their sights. She knew they didn't like her , she knew they didn't trust her, and she knew they didn't like how much attention she was getting for the guide. The second they went to bed she looked at the nine who were still up and knew they were going to try to scare her off. Not once in the past four days has she spoken, and not once had she showed any emotion and not once has she spoken up nor let on she knew that the guide was starting to realize that something was wrong. “Why don't you speak, Dame? Are you unable to, that's a shame.” Sky spoke up (or rather that's who he looked like anyways) and all he got was a cold stare in response. "We won't bite, we just want to get to know you, that's all. We only know you're a holder of the triforce of courage , you're a knight and that you're a woman. Won't you tell us more?” He sent her a smile, to someone else it would look kind but she knew that smile. It was the same one as the disgrace a prince always gave her when she upset him in public, it wasn't kind. It was a warning.

Sending a small glare at the so-called hero she just took out a notebook and pen before writing that the nine already had all of the information they needed from the woman. The hero of the sky frowned but his eyes showed no sadness, no they were empty and unimpressed “i see. Well then I'll just try again tomorrow. Rancher, you're on watch duty with her.” The taller hero nodded in response , mayu just glared. This will ruin her plans if she wasn't careful, what plan? Well it was a plan to steal the master sword for these heroes and take they’re innocent guide to safety. She hated doing this kind of stuff but despite times call for despite measures especially since she could sense an darker version of an old friend around but unluckily for him she knew all of his tricks, and she was planning to use everything he taught her to get away from him and his new puppets.

It's been several hours and eventually the rancher left to do another perimeter check, and mayu well she hadn't moved a muscle until she knew he was out of sight and hearing range so as quickly ash she could she jumped into action quickly applying a potion to her skin to hide her sent she carefully did the same to the guide. Acting fast she took the master sword and stored her in shikah tablet she grabbed the guid and booked it. Keeping to the trees she had her eyes on a mountain west of where they were camped for the night. By the time sunrise hit they were hidden safely in a cave.Placing the guide onto a bedroll, mayu sighed and removed the mask that covered the lower part of her face. Taking a seat with her back against the wall she closed her eyes before speaking. “I know you're there, there’s no point in hiding. Besides, if you stand out in the open like that, there's no doubt they’ll find us.” Turning her head so she could face them before opening her eyes to look at the new group. “For someone who got caught kidnapping you're oddly calm. But then again you're dressed like a Sheikah so it makes a bit of sense.” The man's voice was deep and smooth yet it showed some age to it which made sense, To mayu this man was old. All of them were actually, letting out a small chuckle the woman grinned a bit “fair enough, now join us. I'll make breakfast for you ten after all, when will I ever have the chance to chat with every version of Gannondorf known to history.” Letting out a laugh the eldest of the gerudo king nodded “Very well , breakfast and questions it’ll be”

As the ten entered the cave , being careful to not disrupt the sleeping person , mayu smiled and got to work. Today will be better than the past few days have been she knows it and besides if things go well maybe her and the guide could travel with this group. After all Mayu just wanted fo the guide to be safe and how much safer could they be than traveling with ten of the most powerful men in all of hylian history? --------

I have more than this so be prepared >:3 -Lunar

OH MY GOD I LOVED LUNEY WE GOTTA LOVE PROTECTIVE MAYU! DON'T BE AFRAID TO SEND MORE OKAY!?

I know Player's gonna wake up pissed though. "WHERE THE FUCK AM I!?" Mayu may have to dodge some hands (Very easily tho)

[onlyswan]

hi artiie 🦆🥨

i love the new iw couple update!! thank u for always giving us ur best in every update🥹 the latest one always tops the previous ♥️

i get what u mean ab the bangtan lore, would reread again just to find some more. one im kinda sure about but not really is, when oc flip the backpack mid air??? did jungkook the simp copy her? :( thats so cute… lmao reminds me of the idol oc ask that u just got. heres jungkook, copying everything oc did… smh.. 🙃 she would be such a successful idol w how charming she naturally is HHAHAHA

i will continue to be in awe at how smart the kind of fic writing that u chose to do for ur blog, art 💓 in which became the core of what u write about is so telling at how u are as a person. correct me if i’m wrong but u seem so genuine and loyal, through just following thru the characters and the world u built. its what makes a good writer i believe 😇✌️

idk how to describe it in words but i really genuinely love that u chose to kinda do only 1 story. but, the things you do with this story, goodness me 🥹 (but if u suddenly want to create another world pls dont let this stop u!! im sure we would all love it all the same. it’s just what i noticed after realizing iw is ur main focus💓)

ur choice to keep digging into ur characters, (mostly oc, but how much similar jungkook is in ur stories to irl jk, imagining for us what its like if he’s being put in these situations) is truly a talent. it cracks me up reading the super old iw drabbles that were kinda important to the iw universe being a mere 0.9k word count wise, but if u were to write it now, it would probably be 10k 😂 — another thing, not only wc wise, i love seeing ur growth through ur writing ♥️ ur ability to convey words and emotions are truly one in a million.

love u art, i hope u’ll continue writing for the iw couple for a very long time ♥️♥️

hiii my love 🥺💞 thank you so much for saying that :")

LMAOOOO YES THE BACKPACK FLIP i was waiting for someone to catch on to that :P

lmao reminds me of the idol oc ask that u just got. heres jungkook, copying everything oc did… smh.. 🙃

imagine them getting silly dating rumors over it then it turning out to be true 😭😭😭

oh my gosh it’s such an honor 🥲 idk if i’m a good writer yet but all of you encourage me and motivate me to keep striving to become one! and yeah haha i kind of can’t let go of them until i’m fully satisfied and done them justice by telling their stories 😭 now i understand those writers who take years finishing their work. but i do want to post other works this year as well ^_^

ur choice to keep digging into ur characters, (mostly oc, but how much similar jungkook is in ur stories to irl jk, imagining for us what its like if he’s being put in these situations) is truly a talent.

genuinely tearing upshdksjdkjdf thank you thank you i love you !!!! 😭💞

it cracks me up reading the super old iw drabbles that were kinda important to the iw universe being a mere 0.9k word count wise, but if u were to write it now, it would probably be 10k 😂

oh i wish you could see the horror on my face when i see those drabbles in my notifs HSJSHDJSHDHDHFD i’m ashamed but if i edited them now i know it won’t be the same idk how to explain it so yeah </3 let’s leave them as that ig 😭😭😭 being embarrassed of old works means i’ve improved so they kinda serve as that reminder for me hehehe. thank you so much for recognizing that too 🥹 for just everything really. this made my day. ilysmmmm 🫶🏼

[bvidzsoo]

I'll go animal to keep you next to me

⭔ Stalker!Wooyoung ⭔ 

∞ Author: bvidzsoo

∞ Pairing: Jung Wooyoung x female reader

∞ Warning: stalking, mentions of murder and kidnaping ∞ Word count: 4.9k ∞ Genre: non-idol!au, mafia!au, stalker!au, university!au, strangers to enemies!au ∞ Rating: nc-17 ∞ Summary: Not having enough money to pay your monthly rent and also your college bills, you start working at a nice coffee shop. One day, a mysterious man with a little girl in his arms comes inside and orders an Iced Americano. Why is that after that day you find white roses in front of your front door each day? Who is giving them to you? And what does this mystery person want from you?

∞ A/N: Hii, lovelies! Last update for the week as I'm going on a mini-trip tomorrow ^^ Wooyoung's part looked a lot different in my mind initially, but the drabble turned out like this, I hope it's good! I might just turn my initial idea into a oneshot or smth lol. Most probably Hongjoong's part will be next when I sit down to continue this mini-series, so keep an eye out for that. I'm not starting a taglist for this one, sorry<3 (you'll have to lurk around) Feedback is much appreciated and I hope you enjoy!

⭔  Listen to this before or while reading! ^^

∥ Hongjoong ∥ Seonghwa ∥  Yunho ∥ Yeosang ∥ San ∥ Mingi ∥ Wooyoung ∥ Jongho ∥ 

            How we perceive others is a peculiar and particular thing. How others perceive us is another thing we do not have power over. Sometimes, people can tell when somebody isn’t a good person, and sometimes, somebody manages to hide their dark side so well you wouldn’t even know until their mask slips and their true nature starts showing through the cracks. A good-hearted person will always try to see the good in everyone, in everything around them despite their friends' warnings about said somebody. A kind person will try and ignore all the red flags they seem to be getting from said somebody in favor of writing it off as paranoia. Because a handsome man with a sharp jawline and a Roman nose, high-pitched laughter that sounds like a witch's laughter, and is good with children cannot be a crazed man, right? He cannot hide his ugly nature underneath this perfect mask that seldom cracks, seldom.

I had met him in a coffee shop while I was on my shift, desperate for this part-time job to keep the bills paid as my parents paid for my university. It was a fair arrangement, I had been on board with the idea, but after they had to lay me down at my previous well-paying job, I was rather desperate and accepted almost any job to be able to pay this month’s rent. The coffee shop was in a relatively safe part of the city and was usually frequented by college students, so I had never truly felt unsafe. The bus station was right in front of it, so I didn’t even have to walk through dodgy alleyways to get home, or anything. Yet, somehow, when a man who looked like he was sculpted by a Greek God walked inside the coffee shop, my heart dropped and my arms got covered in goosebumps. It wasn’t even from his unnatural beauty; it was due to this very quiet voice in the back of my mind warning me that he was dangerous. But that voice must’ve been wrong because there was no way in hell a little girl would be clinging to his side and calling him uncle if that were the case. So, against my better judgment, I had ignored the warning voice, and instead, smiled widely as they arrived at the counter, our coffee shop’s welcoming speech rolling off my tongue like second nature.

Despite silencing the already quiet voice, I couldn’t shut down my body’s natural reactions to the man and I found myself having to force the smile to stay on my face, averting my eyes onto the young girl to try and remain genuine.

“I’d like an Iced Americano, Y/N.” Hearing him say my name made me blanch for a second, eyebrows furrowing as I wondered from where he had known my name until I remembered my nametag.

“Will that be all, sir?” I had asked with a polite smile as the little girl whined and pointed at the chocolate chip cookies we had in the fridge and the man, who looked barely a few years older than me, hummed and looked at me with his sharp eyes. They softened whenever he looked at the little girl and then grew harsh anytime he looked at me. His gaze was calculating and scrutinizing almost, full of wonder for a second before he was smiling dashingly, taking me off guard. I had seen many handsome men in my life before, but there was something almost ethereal to him. His dark hair fell around his face in untended curls making it look natural yet attractive. Something about his eyes made his gaze look almost lazy yet filled with sharpness, the mole right underneath his eye giving his already unusual face a charming glow.

“Two chocolate chip cookies, Y/N.” And there he was, saying my name again with a certain edge to it, and I gulped as I nervously typed in the rest of his order, telling him the total after I checked whether he needed anything else. The little girl had started singing as I got to brew his Iced Americano, and I could feel the man’s watchful eyes follow my every move as he muttered something to the little girl occasionally as he took her into his arms. I tried to calm my nervously beating heart, not quite understanding why I was having such a visceral reaction to the man. The warning voice I managed to silence in my mind was certainly gone, yet I couldn’t find it in myself not to flinch slightly away when I handed his drink over and our fingers touched accidentally. The man’s eyebrows had raised as a dangerous smirk painted his lips as he took the red straw between his teeth, waiting for me to bag the two chocolate chip cookies. Handing them over too, the little girl took one of the bags happily and pressed a sweet kiss against the man’s cheek, making him chuckle as he threw a glance at the cute girl. But then, the other bag was placed back onto the counter and slid towards me.

“For you, pretty girl.” My heart had halted as his pressing gaze bore into mine, making my cheeks flush as I stumbled through my words to thank him for his unnecessary kindness, “My name’s Wooyoung.”

And then he was gone with the little girl, the straw of his drink still between his teeth and pretty lips as he put on his shades, tickling the little girl’s side, making her giggle as she had dirtied her mouth with the chocolate from her cookie. After that first encounter, I had forgotten about Wooyoung rather quickly, with too many worries on my shoulders and too many new faces entering the coffee shop daily, making it hard to remember just one person, but perhaps it would’ve been smarter if I had remembered him. Wooyoung. White roses started showing up in front of my flat’s door every day after that warm day at the coffee shop, and I had no idea who they were from.

            The second time, based on my recollection, when I saw Wooyoung again—not that I could be sure of it—was on a random Friday night, months after having met him at the coffee shop, in an overcrowded club as I was celebrating my friend’s birthday with a large group of friends. Most of us have met at our university courses, some of us have known each other since highschool. I was relatively new to the group but they were nice and rather protective of me, I felt safe and appreciated with them. Not being a huge fan of clubbing and the sweaty crowd, I needed a few drinks in my system to make me loosen up, so, it was no surprise that I was tipsy not long after we arrived at the place. I couldn’t pre-game with them as I was on the afternoon shift at the coffee shop and had to lock up, but due to my low alcohol tolerance, it came as no problem catching up with their intoxicated states.

The music was loud and the flashing lights blinded me every few minutes, but I was enjoying myself. Arms high up in the air and hips swaying to the beat, I was surrounded by my friends who were screaming the lyrics to the songs that were played, and I finally felt free after ages. It was refreshing, relaxing, and most of all…I finally felt stress-free. I was enjoying myself, laughing and playing around as my friends and I played random dance challenges on the dance floor, roping in a few others as well as they seemed to be amused by our shenanigans. I felt eyes on me all night, a heavy and intense gaze, but I couldn’t pinpoint just one person. Perhaps it didn’t help that my vision was hazy from all of the alcohol I had consumed, but I didn’t feel uncomfortable. We were in a club, after all, everyone was looking at everyone, surveying the crowd and the people, probably looking for someone to hook up with for the night.

When my throat had started feeling parched and my stomach a little unsure, I pulled aside one of my friends and told her I needed a drink. She was eager to accompany me to the bar and I was even more eager to down a whole bottle of water in under a few seconds. My friend chuckled and asked for another one, knowing that I would need it, and she was right, the second bottle of water was gone in no time too, but this time I did share it with her as well. I wasn’t as thirsty as seconds before. But we weren’t satiated just yet, so, my friend asked for two rounds of some sour shots that I didn’t care to memorize the name of and once we had downed them, I was positive I would be throwing up in the morning with a head-splitting headache on the horizon. But that was tomorrow me’s problem, tonight was about having fun.

Just as my friend and I had decided to head back to the dance floor, the tall bartender came over with a pink and orange-looking cocktail, motioning for me to lean closer as his voice wasn’t audible over the loud music and even louder crowd. Apparently, the drink was from someone sitting down at the bar, and the bartender had said the man wanted me to know that a pretty girl like me deserves a sweet drink. Finding no harm in that, I thanked the bartender and tried to find the man, but upon being unsuccessful, I allowed my friend to lead the way back to our friend group as we shared my drink, which was definitely too sweet. Despite being curious of who the mystery man was that bought the drink for me was, I never came across him. Feeling those piercing eyes on me continued throughout the night, but I never quite seemed to make eye contact with anyone who could’ve been the culprit. I suppose it was meant to stay as a mystery. It also didn’t help that in a confusing flash of moment when someone crashed into me from behind and I turned to look at them, I had thought it was Wooyoung, from the coffee shop. But before I could actually make out his face, he was gone.

Underneath the blinding lights, as I was guided by my intoxicated mind, sometime along the night, I had felt arms sneak around my waist and then a broad chest pressing up against my back. I didn’t find it in me to complain and shake the man off, instead, I turned in his embrace and danced the night away by his side, vision too hazy to see his face clearly. But he was tall and he had muscles that could certainly crush my skull if put in a headlock, not that I thought he was dangerous or had evil motives, it was simply an observation that entered my fuzzy mind. But despite us enjoying each other’s company and even finding common ground in surprising subjects, after the man had excused himself to the restroom, he never returned. I was confused for a while until I realized he had probably found himself another company, and I couldn’t blame him or feel bad about it. We were here to have fun and if he found someone more suitable, that was alright. It’s not like I had found my soulmate in him.

What I didn’t expect, however, was to find another white rose in front of my door two days after clubbing with an added gift box to it. It was peculiar, it made me feel uneasy, but I’ve been receiving these roses for four months now, however, the gift was unusual. I still couldn’t figure out from who the roses were from, and despite my friends advice of reporting it to the police, I kept it to myself for now. What were they going to do? Probably send me back home after they tell me they can’t do anything about it, unless I was actually harmed, or this mystery person shows their face. Another shocking development to my day was switching on the TV as I wiped my kitchen clean, gasping and feeling faint for a second as despite my hazy memories I could recognize the face of the missing person they had shown in the news. Apparently, his name was Kim Mingyu, and he had been missing for exactly two days. It’s been exactly two days since we’ve been clubbing, and suddenly, I wasn’t so sure he didn’t return to me because he found somebody else to mingle with. As I went to phone my friend in a confused and worried frenzy, I realized the consistent eyes I had felt on me at the club had disappeared just as Mingyu had gone to the restroom.

I was scared to open the gift box, and when I did, my eyes widened and I panicked, scared to even touch the necklace that was so obviously Kim Mingyu’s. A letter with few words on it had been slipped inside it, underneath the necklace, and it read, ‘Pretty thing he was, unfortunate that he had to go so early on’. Instead of phoning my friend, I phoned the police.

            A month had passed and Kim Mingyu was nowhere to be found. I hadn’t known him for long, but it pained me that police could find no leads on him. I was ruled out as a suspect after I called and informed them of the box put in front of my door and they came to speak to me. The investigation was still ongoing, and I was asked to be very cautious as apparently whoever hurt him was the one probably sending me the roses. Rightfully so, I have grown paranoid and scared for my safety, often times I would only leave my apartment if one of my friends could accompany me. I still couldn’t give up my job, so most of the time I just sucked it up and put aside my fear, knowing that I was the safest I could be at the coffee shop with all the cameras in and outside, as well, watching and surveying everything. The roses never stopped showing up, and if at first I found them beautiful and kept them, now they lay in a pile in the trashcan, thrown out every day before I left for my classes. The grounds of the university were safe too. The only time I actually felt scared for my safety was when the crowd wasn’t big, or when I heard footsteps outside my flat. It could’ve only been my neighbors, but I still couldn’t know for sure.

Tonight, however, I finally gave in to my friends' naggings and went out to a barbeque with them. They were worried about me and I could understand them. They rarely saw me now, unless they would come over for the night or walk with me to my destinations. It was hard, I was trying to return to normal and ignore this weird paranoid feeling that I was constantly being watched, even inside my apartment. My gut had twisted before I left my flat, the quiet voice in the back of my mind warning me to stay out of my flat tonight, to just sleep over at my friend’s house, but I couldn’t do that. Her boyfriend was coming over and I didn’t want to be a burden. I already felt bad for always needing someone to be by my side, I didn’t want to inconvenience her even more. I was a big girl and I could take care of myself, it was just that stupid voice trying to scare me and nothing else. I was safe, besides, if whoever was sending me roses hadn’t approached me after five months of possible stalking, then I was alright, they certainly wouldn’t approach me now.

It was past eleven in the evening when I finally made my way home, belly full and tummy hurting from continuous laughter, body and mind at ease from having been with my friends who knew how to up-lift my spirits. I felt fine, serene even, and perhaps the fact that there wasn’t a rose in front of my door today only added onto feeling less worry. Perhaps this somebody had gotten bored of me, finally realized there was nothing special about me, or even fun. I unlocked my door and walked inside my small hallway, dropping my bag onto the floor as I stepped out of my shoes and wore my slippers, hanging my coat onto the hanger. I grabbed a hair tie from the small bowl on the shelf and tied my hair in a low bun, excited to shower and change into my pajamas and perhaps read a bit before going to bed. I had the morning shift tomorrow and I didn’t want to go to bed too late tonight. But as I started shuffling towards my bathroom, I froze in my steps as I realized there was light humming coming from the kitchen and the aroma of multiple foods combined in the air.

My muscles grew tense as I felt around my jeans for my phone, feeling dread when I realized I had left it in my bag, which was on the floor in the small hallway. Trying to be as quiet as possible, I started tiptoeing back to the hallway, but jumped and almost screamed when a body in the darkness rounded the corner, leaning against the wall. The person was now blocking my way towards the hallway and I gulped as my heart started racing, eyes narrowing as I tried to see through the darkness and recognize the person. Perhaps it was one of my friends’, it must be them. I has to be them.

“You’re home later than I expected.” I shuddered as I exhaled, the voice unfamiliar as my heart now beat even faster. So it wasn’t any of my friends. This wasn’t good.

“I—I was out with my—friends.” My voice sounded unsure, and I tried not to tremble too much as the person hummed nodding. I still couldn’t see their face; the blinds were drawn in the living room and I realized it wasn’t me who left them like that.

“You threw my roses away.” The voice sounded disappointed, accusing. I gulped, feeling a chill run down my spine as I eyed the exit. I needed to do something, I couldn’t just stand here and wait for something horrible to happen to me.

“There, uh, there were too many of them.” I whispered, fumbling with my hands as the person just hummed again then sighed loudly.

“Did you have fun at the barbeque, pretty girl?” I gasped quietly as he asked that question, making me shake as I realized he hadn’t only been sending me flowers, he was probably watching my every step. Had this person been inside my flat before? Were there cameras inside? I felt like crying, but I quickly swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to keep my composure.

“It was alright.”

“I cooked us dinner.” I bit my lower lip and flinched as the man pushed off the wall, approaching me very slowly as if he waiting to see if I would run away or not. I did think of running away, but I had no idea whether he was armed or not, whether he’d try to kill me or not if I flee. Not that I was safer staying put, my last dying hope was in talking my way out of this.

“I’m starving.” I lied through my teeth as the man chuckled, a low rumble, and then finally stopped just a few steps in front of me. My eyebrows furrowed as I looked up in his eyes, searching his face to familiarize myself with his features in case I do make it to the police to report him, but I was taken aback when I realized he seemed somewhat familiar. A sharp jawline and a Roman nose, asymmetrical eyes and a sharp gaze, I had seen him before. Months ago, perhaps at the coffee shop. Perhaps he was the man with the little girl. I needed a second to remember his name as my eyes stopped on the mole underneath his eye.

“Wooyoung?” I whispered uncertainly, flinching away when he reached a hand out towards.

“I knew you’d remember me, pretty girl.” He whispered smirking, a dangerous glint in his eyes as he touched my hair despite me trying to cower away, “Look at you, you’re prettier than I remembered you were.”

I gulped and tried to take a deep breath as Wooyoung stepped closer, making me back away, but then he was gripping my arm painfully and I froze, heart beating out of my chest in fright.

“Don’t lie to me.” Suddenly his voice dropped octaves and I shuddered as his grip tightened, making me wince, “How can you be hungry when you’ve been to a barbeque?”

“I didn’t eat much; I didn’t have an appetite.” I was quick with my lie as I tried to smile at him, arms covered in goosebumps as he traced his fingers down my skin, sucking his bottom lip between his teeth. The quiet voice in my mind was loud now and my gut was twisting painfully, making me wish I had listened to the warnings before it was too late. Could I escape this man? What should I do now?

“Is that so?” Wooyoung hummed, grabbing my hand in his as I nodded wordlessly, my body refusing to move when he pulled me after himself. His hand was cold, his fingers decorated by chunky rings, “Won’t you have dinner with me?”

“Ye-yes.” I stuttered and forced my legs to move after him, to follow him towards the kitchen just around the corner as I desperately glanced towards my small hallway, wishing that I had some telekinesis powers to make my phone come to me.

“And how was your day, pretty girl?” Wooyoung’s voice was warm and pleasant as he led me inside the kitchen, making my mouth fall open in shock at the sight. The table was set beautifully with candles in the middle and a huge bouquet of white roses in a vase that wasn’t mine. Wooyoung walked me to the chair that was furthest from the door and pulled it out for me, smiling cheekily as I gulped and remained standing. He said nothing as our eyes met again under the candlelight and I was losing the battle of trying to stay calm as my muscles started contracting, my heart beating too fast. I felt trapped in my own flat, threatened and unsafe with a man that broke in and had been stalking me for almost half a year now.

“It was—what do you want?!” I snapped, finally losing my cool as Wooyoung just chuckled, leaning his hip against the chair as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“You don’t have to be scared of me, if I wanted to hurt you, I would’ve done so a long time ago, pretty girl—”

“Stop calling me pretty girl!” My voice was shaky as I snapped, eyeing the table as I lunched for a knife before he could stop me. I held it in front of myself as I felt panic finally overtake my body and mind, making my hands shake uncontrollably and chest rise and fall rapidly.

“But you are a very pretty girl, Y/N.” Wooyoung pouted, looking down at the butter knife in my hand with an amused expression, “Since you seem scared, I’ll be honest with you. I want…you.”

I gulped as my eyebrows furrowed, growing more confused and scared by the minute. Wooyoung didn’t say anything else just stood up straight and stalked towards me with a confident stride, lips pulling into a menacing smirk again. I raised the knife as my hand shook, and lurched forward with zero intent of actually stabbing him, perhaps I hoped it would intimidate him. But before I could blink, he gripped my wrist harshly and twisted it until I dropped the knife with a pained cry, face scrunching up in pain as I was whirled around and immobilized by Wooyoung’s arms as he pulled me against his body, his warm lips pressing against my ear as his hot puffs of breath made me shiver. I was breathing loudly as Wooyoung hummed quietly, the hand that was still holding my wrist loosened slightly as his fingers started caressing my skin. It made my stomach churn as I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but it wasn’t working too well.

“Let go of me.” I tried to demand, but it came out as a helpless whisper and I felt Wooyoung’s lips press against my temple, making me flinch as I tried to trash around, but despite his lanky form he was strong. Way too strong, and I realized I had no chance of escaping unless he allowed me to.

“But if I let go of you, you will run, Y/N, and I can’t have that happening.” Wooyoung muttered and then sighed as if this was inconvenient to him, “I don’t want to watch you from the shadows anymore, I’ve done that enough. It’s time we get to know each other like normal people—”

“There’s nothing normal about this situation right now, Wooyoung.” I cut him off with a snare, trying to yank myself free again, “You’ve been stalking me for months.”

“Indeed,” Wooyoung confirmed and I felt like throwing up, “but that was because I had some pretty bad business to take care of first. If people would’ve seen us together they would have targeted you, and I can’t have that happening.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked in a whisper and stumbled forward as Wooyoung suddenly released me as I tugged against his arms again. I ran into a chair and caught myself just seconds before falling over. I eyed the exit as Wooyoung cleared his throat behind me.

“I have many enemies, Y/N.” Wooyoung spoke up with a casualty to his voice, and I glanced back and watched as he popped a grape in his mouth, giving me a questioning look, “Can’t have you kidnapped and tortured.”

That was all I needed to hear as I bolted towards the front door and tried to grab my bag too in the process, but realized I didn’t have time if I wanted to free myself. But as I threw the door open, I was met with two huge men blocking the doorway. They were dressed in black suits and had sunglasses on despite being inside. I gasped as they didn’t even look at me and whirled around as Wooyoung came walking to the hallway with a tsk rolling off his tongue.

“You’re making this more dramatic than it’s supposed to be, pretty girl.” I tried to scurry away from him but he marched up in my face in no time and grabbed the back of my head as I tried to fight him off, but as his eyes hardened, I knew it would be best to just obey him and stop fighting, “I like you and if you don’t stop trying to run away I will take you away with me by force, Y/N. I’m giving you two choices. One, you shut up about this and don’t go to the police, you let me take you out and we’ll see how our relationship develops from there on. Two, I knock you out right now and take you back to my highly guarded and isolated mansion and you’ll never see your loved ones or anyone you knew before. Which one will you choose?”

I was shaking as I tried to gulp, but my throat was dry and my eyes shook as they filled with tears as I clawed at his arm holding my head, “First option, I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”

“Good girl.” Wooyoung grinned as he bit his lower lip, eyes taking in my face as he leaned close until our foreheads pressed together, “I’ve been waiting for this since the moment I saw you cross the road and walk up to the coffee shop, ready to start your shift, Y/N.”

My heart stopped as a tear rolled down my cheek, “You’re insane.”

“I’m just a man bewitched by you.” Wooyoung retorted with a cackle and I yanked myself away as he released me and gave me a scrutinizing stare, “You don’t have to eat dinner, I know you’re full, but I’ll be back in the morning to take you out for breakfast. Now get some rest.”

I scowled when his lips touched my cheek and Wooyoung just chuckled and walked around me towards the bodyguards who stepped aside and made way for their boss. I turned to watch him with a frown, mind torn between what I should do next. But the wink he sent me before he closed the door and I heard his footsteps fade into the background, I knew Wooyoung wasn’t to be messed with. He really would kidnap me if I didn’t do as he wished. Just who is he and will I ever get away from him? What had I done to earn his attention? I fell to the ground as the tears finally fell free, wrecking my body painfully as I sobbed.

If I ran away, would he find me?

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[heiayen]

dumplings for the adepti furina & gn!reader

summary: you and furina decide to visit the hulao mountain and you decide to bring something for the adeptus living there.

tags: can be read both as romantic and platonic, depending on how you choose to read this! you&furina visit the hulao mountain and bring some dishes as a offering. it's fluffy it's silly it's a drabble! no dialogues written. part 1 (watching gaming's perfomance) part 2 (playing with kites) part 3 (picking qingxins) part 5 (trying out food stalls) part 6 (taking care of qiqi)

notes: AAAAAA this is my third entry for @/astronetwrk new lunar year event !!! im on a roll today. i don't have much to say for this piece. enjoy the sillies <3

In two ceramic bowls, carefully wrapped in an orange material, were round dumplings, filled with chicken and spinach, coated with sesame seeds– and the other bowl was filled with steaming, aromatic broth. You started to regret not preparing more of it to eat for yourself with Furina, but, well… you would just ask Smiley Yanxiao to let you use the kitchen.

The walk was long and tiring, since Hulao mountain was… a very tall mountain. And climbing a tall mountain with bowls of food in your hands and a very… vocal about her exhaustion companion was an experience. 

One that, despite all, you kind of enjoyed. 

After climbing and arriving at the road to the summit of the mountain, you and Furina decided to stop for a moment, to let your poor legs rest for at least a while and to watch the view from so high. 

The stone forest already looked incredible from the ground but now, it looked even more incredible. The tall, stone pillars really looked like trees…

After your rest, you decided to walk further. Furina was, frankly, not happy and really, you understood her complaints. After walking for so long after climbing so much, anyone would be tired… But you came here for a reason, and much to Furina’s disappointment, you didn’t back up and grabbed her hand, gently tugging her on the path toward the summit of the mountain.

How lucky you two were that this path had stairs! Real stairs, making the climb way easier… 

Still, somewhere in the middle of your walk, you both decided to take another break, this time by sitting on the stairs. You gently put the bowls next to you and basically lied on the stairs with a tired groan. 

Furina just sat next to you with a relieved sigh. 

Lying on the stairs wasn’t the most comfortable, but to your tired body, it surely was better than walking. You could take a nap, even! In the warm sun, letting the wind gently caress your cheeks…

Furina laughed at your musings. She would not fall asleep on rocks, after all. But in the nice, afternoon sun… sunbathing with you surely sounded nice. Watching the views, listening to the birds’ songs, with nothing to worry about.

That would be nice.

You spent some time like this, sitting and talking about everything and nothing– about the previous days, about the Lantern Rite, the people you met, about the upcoming leg ache… you giggled at her comment about it. All the places you visited surely would be worth the ache! It’s not as if it wouldn’t pass, after all.

The serene moment was broken when you remembered why exactly you came here. In hurry, with a nervous laugh and more comments from Furina, you picked up the bowls and continued your walk. After a few minutes, you finally arrived at the top and–

You heard Furina gasp. It was a really pretty place, the beautiful, red trees, the small pond with so many lilies on it, and the abode itself…

You gripped the bowls harder to not drop them.

You groaned in feigned annoyance seeing Furina step on the water’s surface like on the solid ground, while you had to walk around the small pond to not get your shoes wet. Oh, whatever else you would expect from a hydro user…

When you two stood before the abode’s entrance (without you getting your shoes wet too much or tripping on some rocks), you uncovered the bowls and placed them in front of it, as an offering.

You spent the entire morning cooking, with Furina assisting you in the kitchen– both by helping you cook and by simply being with you, accompanying you while you worked. You opted to cook something from your local cuisine, since you knew the recipe the best. 

After muttering a few words of respect, you decided to leave the abode and climb down the mountain. The evening hours were nearing, after all, and you two had still long way home.